Implements a method that allows a Fragment to be removed from anywhere in the back stack, using reflection to achieve this

FragmentBackStackModifyActivity.java

import java.lang.reflect.Field;
import java.lang.reflect.Method;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Random;
 
import android.graphics.Color;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v4.app.Fragment;
import android.support.v4.app.FragmentActivity;
import android.support.v4.app.FragmentManager;
import android.support.v4.app.FragmentManager.BackStackEntry;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.Gravity;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.FrameLayout;
import android.widget.LinearLayout;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.Toast;
 
/**
 * Implements a method that allows a Fragment to be removed from anywhere in the
 * back stack, <br/>
 * using reflection to achieve this.<br/>
 * <br/>
 * Although this code was tested, it was written as an exercise and not to be
 * used in a real-world app. <br/>
 * Someting may be broken, so re-test, explore the code, see if anyone thought
 * of a better way to achive this, <br/>
 * and rethink if you really need this before using it.<br/>
 * <br/>
 * Developed and tested with revision 19.0.1 of the support-v4 library
 * 
 * @author Dejan Jankov
 */
public class FragmentBackStackModifyActivity extends FragmentActivity {
 
	private static final String TAG = "BackStackModify";
	private static final int FRAME_ID = 7256453;
 
	@Override
	protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
		super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
 
		if (savedInstanceState == null) {
			Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),
					"popBackStack from FragmentManager is used when the backstack size <= 1 or", Toast.LENGTH_LONG)
					.show();
			Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "the Fragment to be removed is the visible one", Toast.LENGTH_LONG)
					.show();
			Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Add 2 or more to remove random Fragment", Toast.LENGTH_LONG)
					.show();
		}
 
		LinearLayout container = new LinearLayout(this);
		container.setOrientation(LinearLayout.VERTICAL);
 
		Button addNewFragment = new Button(this);
		addNewFragment.setText("Add new Fragment");
		addNewFragment.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {
 
			@Override
			public void onClick(View v) {
				performAddNewFragment();
			}
		});
		container.addView(addNewFragment);
 
		Button removeRandomFragment = new Button(this);
		removeRandomFragment.setText("Remove random from backstack");
		removeRandomFragment.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {
 
			@Override
			public void onClick(View v) {
				performRemoveRandomFragment();
			}
		});
		container.addView(removeRandomFragment);
 
		FrameLayout frame = new FrameLayout(this);
		LinearLayout.LayoutParams lp = new LinearLayout.LayoutParams(ViewGroup.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT,
				ViewGroup.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT);
		frame.setLayoutParams(lp);
		frame.setId(FRAME_ID);
		container.addView(frame);
 
		setContentView(container);
	}
 
	public void performAddNewFragment() {
		int backStackEntryCount = getSupportFragmentManager().getBackStackEntryCount();
		getSupportFragmentManager() //
				.beginTransaction() //
				.replace(FRAME_ID, TextFragment.newInstance(backStackEntryCount)) //
				.addToBackStack(backStackEntryCount + "") //
				.commit();
 
	}
 
	public void performRemoveRandomFragment() {
		try {
			@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
			ArrayList<BackStackEntry> backStack = (ArrayList<BackStackEntry>) getValueFromField(null,
					getSupportFragmentManager(), "mBackStack");
 
			String indexFrToRemove = "0";
			if (backStack != null && backStack.size() > 1) {
				int backStackSize = backStack.size();
				indexFrToRemove = String.valueOf(new Random().nextInt(backStackSize));
				for (int i = 0; backStack != null && i < backStackSize; i++) {
					BackStackEntry entry = backStack.get(i);
					if (entry.getName().equals(indexFrToRemove)) {
						// retrieve the index of the backstack record from the
						// list
						int bsrIndex = (Integer) getValueFromField(null, entry, "mIndex");
						removeBackStackEntry(backStack, bsrIndex);
						Log.d(TAG, backStack.size() + " records left in the back stack");
						return;
					}
				}
			} else if (backStack != null && backStack.size() != 0) {
				removeBackStackEntry(backStack, 0);
				return;
			}
			Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(),
					backStack == null ? "Backstack empty" : "Could not find Fragment with name " + indexFrToRemove,
					Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
		} catch (Exception e) {
			// not handled
			e.printStackTrace();
		}
	}
 
	/**
	 * Removes the Fragment with index of {@code index} from the back stack
	 * 
	 * @param backStack
	 *            the backstack list
	 * @param index
	 *            the index of the Fragment to be removed in {@code backStack}
	 */
	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
	private void removeBackStackEntry(List<BackStackEntry> backStack, final int index) {
		FragmentManager fm = getSupportFragmentManager();
		if (backStack.size() - 1 <= 1 || backStack.size() - 1 == index) {
			Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "popBackStack of FramentManager invoked", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT)
					.show();
			Log.i(TAG, "Invoked popBackStack on manager");
			fm.popBackStack();
			return;
		}
		if (backStack.size() <= index || index < 0) {
			Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Fragment index invalid", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
			Log.i(TAG, "Fragment index invalid: " + index);
			return;
		}
 
		synchronized (fm) {
			// FragmentManagerImpl#mActive
			List<Fragment> activeFragments = fm.getFragments();
 
			if (index < 0 || index > activeFragments.size() || activeFragments.get(index) == null) {
				Log.d(TAG, "Index " + index + " not valid");
				return;
			}
 
			int backStackSize = backStack.size();
			for (int i = index; i < backStackSize; i++) {
				// fm relies on mIndex for saving the state of the fragment,
				// showing the next/previous, etc.
				// we need to change their index values
				// because we're going to remove one fragment from the backstack
				int newIndex = i - 1;
				Log.i(TAG, "Reseting mIndex of " + i + " to " + newIndex);
				Fragment tmpFr = activeFragments.get(i);
				BackStackEntry tmpBse = backStack.get(i);
				if (tmpFr != null) {
					setValueToField(Fragment.class, activeFragments.get(i), "mIndex", newIndex);
				} else {
					// should never happen
					Log.d(TAG, "Fragment for index " + i + " is null");
					continue;
				}
				if (tmpBse != null) {
					setValueToField(null, backStack.get(i), "mIndex", newIndex);
				} else {
					// should never happen
					Log.d(TAG, "BackStackEntry for index " + i + " is null");
				}
			}
 
			// remove the fragment from the backstack list
			BackStackEntry removedEntry = backStack.remove(index);
			int removedEntryIndex = index;
 
			// BackStackRecord#popFromBackStack uses the 'removed' fragment list
			// to go back to the previous fragment.
			// here we set the list of 'removed' fragments from the fragment
			// to-be-removed, to the next one in the backstack
			Object removedEntryOpHead = getValueFromField(null, removedEntry, "mHead");
			Object removedOpRemovedFragment = getValueFromField(null, removedEntryOpHead, "removed");
 
			Object nextEntryOpHead = getValueFromField(null, backStack.get(removedEntryIndex), "mHead");
			setValueToField(null, nextEntryOpHead, "removed", removedOpRemovedFragment);
			Object nextEntryOpTail = getValueFromField(null, backStack.get(removedEntryIndex), "mTail");
			setValueToField(null, nextEntryOpTail, "removed", removedOpRemovedFragment);
 
			Log.i(TAG, "Fragments 'removed' list set to next backstack record");
 
			Fragment removedFragment = activeFragments.get(index);
			try {
				// perform destroy one the fragment before removing it
				Method performDestoryMethod = Fragment.class.getDeclaredMethod("performDestroy");
				performDestoryMethod.setAccessible(true);
				performDestoryMethod.invoke(removedFragment);
				Log.i(TAG, "Invoked performDestory on fragment");
 
				// FragmentManagerImpl#mAvailBackStackIndices
				List<Integer> availableIndices = (List<Integer>) getValueFromField(fm.getClass(), fm,
						"mAvailBackStackIndices");
 
				// FragmentManagerImpl#mBackStackIndices
				List<BackStackEntry> backStackIndices = (List<BackStackEntry>) getValueFromField(fm.getClass(), fm,
						"mBackStackIndices");
 
				// we need to know where to store the fragment and it's
				// backstackrecord so we can use the manager to make the
				// fragment inactive and mark it's index as free.
				// this will place the objects after the last non-null item in
				// the lists
				int nextAvailableIndex = backStackIndices.size() - 1;
				if (availableIndices != null && availableIndices.size() > 0) {
					nextAvailableIndex = availableIndices.get(availableIndices.size() - 1);
					nextAvailableIndex = Math.min(backStackIndices.size() - 1, nextAvailableIndex - 1);
				} else if (backStackIndices.size() < activeFragments.size()) {
					// this can happen if the parent activity was restarted for
					// example. now 'activeFragments' holds some null values but
					// 'backStackIndices' holds only non-null values and
					// 'availableIndices' is empty.
					// because 'backStackIndices' does not hold any null values
					// we know that we should place the fragment on the back of
					// that list
					nextAvailableIndex = backStackIndices.size() - 1;
				}
 
				// move the fragment to be back of the list
				activeFragments.remove(index);
				activeFragments.add(nextAvailableIndex, removedFragment);
				// modify the 'mIndex' field to match the position in the list
				// so we can safely call `makeInactive`
				setValueToField(Fragment.class, removedFragment, "mIndex", nextAvailableIndex);
				Log.i(TAG, "Moved the fragment to the back of the list");
 
				// notify the fragment that it's detached
				removedFragment.onDetach();
 
				// move the bsr to be back of the list
				backStackIndices.remove(index);
				backStackIndices.add(nextAvailableIndex, removedEntry);
				Log.i(TAG, "Moved the backstack record to the back of the list");
 
				// free the index we used for the removed items
				Method freeIndexMethod = fm.getClass().getDeclaredMethod("freeBackStackIndex", int.class);
				freeIndexMethod.setAccessible(true);
				freeIndexMethod.invoke(fm, nextAvailableIndex);
				Log.i(TAG, "Freed backstack index");
 
				// the frament needs to be active to be detached by
				// detachFragment
				setValueToField(Fragment.class, removedFragment, "mAdded", true);
				Method detachFragmentMethod = fm.getClass().getDeclaredMethod("detachFragment", Fragment.class,
						int.class, int.class);
				detachFragmentMethod.invoke(fm, removedFragment, 0, 0);
				Log.i(TAG, "Fragment detached");
 
				// invalidate the fragment.
				// removes it from the 'mActive' list, adds the index to the
				// available indices list, destroys loaders, etc.
				Method makeInactiveMethod = fm.getClass().getDeclaredMethod("makeInactive", Fragment.class);
				makeInactiveMethod.setAccessible(true);
				makeInactiveMethod.invoke(fm, removedFragment);
				Log.i(TAG, "Fragment made inactive");
 
				// clear references of the activity and manager
				setValueToField(Fragment.class, removedFragment, "mActivity", null);
				setValueToField(Fragment.class, removedFragment, "mFragmentManager", null);
 
				Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Fragment with index " + index + " removed from back stack",
						Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
			} catch (Exception e) {
				// not handled, like every other exception
				e.printStackTrace();
				Toast.makeText(
						getApplicationContext(),
						"Fragment with index " + index + " could not be removed from the back stack, reason: "
								+ e.getMessage(), Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
			}
		}
	}
 
	/**
	 * 
	 * @param clazz
	 *            will be read from {@code fieldObject} if null
	 * @param fieldObject
	 * @param fieldName
	 * @param value
	 */
	private void setValueToField(Class<?> clazz, Object fieldObject, String fieldName, Object value) {
		if (clazz == null) {
			clazz = fieldObject.getClass();
		}
		try {
			Field field = clazz.getDeclaredField(fieldName);
			field.setAccessible(true);
			field.set(fieldObject, value);
		} catch (Exception e) {
			e.printStackTrace();
		}
	}
 
	/**
	 * 
	 * @param clazz
	 *            will be read from {@code fieldObject} if null
	 * @param fieldObject
	 * @param fieldName
	 * @return
	 */
	private Object getValueFromField(Class<?> clazz, Object fieldObject, String fieldName) {
		if (fieldObject == null) {
			return null;
		}
 
		if (clazz == null) {
			clazz = fieldObject.getClass();
		}
 
		try {
			Field field = clazz.getDeclaredField(fieldName);
			field.setAccessible(true);
			return field.get(fieldObject);
		} catch (Exception e) {
			e.printStackTrace();
		}
 
		return null;
	}
 
	public static class TextFragment extends Fragment {
 
		public static Fragment newInstance(int index) {
			Bundle args = new Bundle();
			args.putInt("fragmentIndex", index);
			Fragment fr = new TextFragment();
			fr.setArguments(args);
			return fr;
		}
 
		public TextFragment() {
		}
 
		@Override
		public View onCreateView(LayoutInflater inflater, ViewGroup container, Bundle savedInstanceState) {
			TextView textView = new TextView(getActivity());
			textView.setTextColor(Color.WHITE);
			textView.setTextSize(22);
			textView.setBackgroundColor(Color.GRAY);
			textView.setGravity(Gravity.CENTER);
			int index = getIndex();
			textView.setText(index + ": " + System.currentTimeMillis() + "");
			ViewGroup.LayoutParams lp = new ViewGroup.LayoutParams(ViewGroup.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT,
					ViewGroup.LayoutParams.MATCH_PARENT);
			textView.setLayoutParams(lp);
			return textView;
		}
 
		private int getIndex() {
			return getArguments().getInt("fragmentIndex");
		}
 
		@Override
		public void onDetach() {
			Log.v("Fragment", "[onDetach] " + getIndex());
			super.onDetach();
		}
 
		@Override
		public void onDestroy() {
			Log.v("Fragment", "[onDestroy] " + getIndex());
			super.onDestroy();
		}
 
		@Override
		protected void finalize() throws Throwable {
			Log.v("Fragment", "[finalize] " + getIndex());
			super.finalize();
		}
 
	}
 
}

Thanks for sharing your code. I try to use it with Three Fragment (A,B,C Fragments)
but removeBackStackEntry parameter is final int index..

i use addToBackStrack fragmentName string instead of back stack count;

how to replace your code?

Found a difference in my code
I used fragment.add(), occur invocation target exception in removeBackStackEntry method (by invoke calling)
so After a trace of the original source (FragmentMasterImpl)
FragmentManager.mActivity that was null and An exception was thrown

I dont have any idea
Are you able to modify?

i solved the problem
setValueToField(Fragment.class, removedFragment, "mChildFragmentManager", null);
above detachFragmentMethod in removeBackStackEntry
thank you shared source

Awesome! Thanks for the hard work and documentation on this gist... This totally got me 99 yards down the field. You get 5 internets.