[android] Nested Recycler view height doesn't wrap its content

I have an application that manage collections of books (like playlists).

I want to display a list of collection with a vertical RecyclerView and inside each row, a list of book in an horizontal RecyclerView.

When i set the layout_height of the inner horizontal RecyclerView to 300dp, it is displayed correctly but when i set it to wrap_content, it doesn't display anything. I need to use wrap_content because I want to be able to change the layout manager programmatically to switch between vertical and horizontal display.

Do you know what i'm doing wrong ?

My Fragment layout :

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
                android:layout_width="match_parent"
                android:layout_height="match_parent"
                android:background="@color/white">

    <com.twibit.ui.view.CustomSwipeToRefreshLayout
        android:id="@+id/swipe_container"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent">

        <LinearLayout
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="match_parent"
            android:orientation="vertical">

            <android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView
                android:id="@+id/shelf_collection_listview"
                android:layout_width="match_parent"
                android:layout_height="match_parent"
                android:paddingTop="10dp"/>

        </LinearLayout>

    </com.twibit.ui.view.CustomSwipeToRefreshLayout>
</LinearLayout>

Collection element layout :

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
              android:layout_width="match_parent"
              android:layout_height="wrap_content"
              android:orientation="vertical">

    <RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
                    android:layout_width="match_parent"
                    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
                    android:background="#FFF">

        <!-- Simple Header -->

    </RelativeLayout>

    <FrameLayout
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content">

        <TextView
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="match_parent"
            android:text="@string/empty_collection"
            android:id="@+id/empty_collection_tv"
            android:visibility="gone"
            android:gravity="center"/>

        <android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView
            android:id="@+id/collection_book_listview"
            android:layout_width="match_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"/> <!-- android:layout_height="300dp" -->

    </FrameLayout>

</LinearLayout>

Book list item :

<FrameLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
              android:layout_width="180dp"
              android:layout_height="220dp"
              android:layout_gravity="center">

        <ImageView
            android:id="@+id/shelf_item_cover"
            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:layout_gravity="center"
            android:maxWidth="150dp"
            android:maxHeight="200dp"
            android:src="@drawable/placeholder"
            android:contentDescription="@string/cover"
            android:adjustViewBounds="true"
            android:background="@android:drawable/dialog_holo_light_frame"/>

</FrameLayout>

Here is my Collection Adapter :

private class CollectionsListAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter<CollectionsListAdapter.ViewHolder> {
    private final String TAG = CollectionsListAdapter.class.getSimpleName();
    private Context mContext;

    // Create the ViewHolder class to keep references to your views
    class ViewHolder extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder {

        private final TextView mHeaderTitleTextView;
        private final TextView mHeaderCountTextView;

        private final RecyclerView mHorizontalListView;
        private final TextView mEmptyTextView;

        public ViewHolder(View view) {
            super(view);

            mHeaderTitleTextView = (TextView) view.findViewById(R.id.collection_header_tv);
            mHeaderCountTextView = (TextView) view.findViewById(R.id.collection_header_count_tv);

            mHorizontalListView = (RecyclerView) view.findViewById(R.id.collection_book_listview);
            mEmptyTextView = (TextView) view.findViewById(R.id.empty_collection_tv);
        }
    }


    public CollectionsListAdapter(Context context) {
        mContext = context;
    }


    @Override
    public ViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(ViewGroup parent, int i) {
        Log.d(TAG, "CollectionsListAdapter.onCreateViewHolder(" + parent.getId() + ", " + i + ")");
        // Create a new view by inflating the row item xml.
        View v = LayoutInflater.from(parent.getContext()).inflate(R.layout.shelf_collection, parent, false);

        // Set the view to the ViewHolder
        ViewHolder holder = new ViewHolder(v);

        holder.mHorizontalListView.setHasFixedSize(false);
        holder.mHorizontalListView.setHorizontalScrollBarEnabled(true);

        // use a linear layout manager
        LinearLayoutManager mLayoutManager = new LinearLayoutManager(mContext);
        mLayoutManager.setOrientation(LinearLayoutManager.HORIZONTAL);
        holder.mHorizontalListView.setLayoutManager(mLayoutManager);

        return holder;
    }

    @Override
    public void onBindViewHolder(ViewHolder holder, int i) {
        Log.d(TAG, "CollectionsListAdapter.onBindViewHolder(" + holder.getPosition() + ", " + i + ")");

        Collection collection = mCollectionList.get(i);
        Log.d(TAG, "Collection : " + collection.getLabel());

        holder.mHeaderTitleTextView.setText(collection.getLabel());
        holder.mHeaderCountTextView.setText("" + collection.getBooks().size());

        // Create an adapter if none exists
        if (!mBookListAdapterMap.containsKey(collection.getCollectionId())) {
            mBookListAdapterMap.put(collection.getCollectionId(), new BookListAdapter(getActivity(), collection));
        }

        holder.mHorizontalListView.setAdapter(mBookListAdapterMap.get(collection.getCollectionId()));

    }

    @Override
    public int getItemCount() {
        return mCollectionList.size();
    }
}

And finally, the Book adapter :

private class BookListAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter<BookListAdapter.ViewHolder> implements View.OnClickListener {
    private final String TAG = BookListAdapter.class.getSimpleName();

    // Create the ViewHolder class to keep references to your views
    class ViewHolder extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder {
        public ImageView mCoverImageView;

        public ViewHolder(View view) {
            super(view);
            mCoverImageView = (ImageView) view.findViewById(R.id.shelf_item_cover);
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void onClick(View v) {
        BookListAdapter.ViewHolder holder = (BookListAdapter.ViewHolder) v.getTag();
        int position = holder.getPosition();
        final Book book = mCollection.getBooks().get(position);

        // Click on cover image
        if (v.getId() == holder.mCoverImageView.getId()) {
            downloadOrOpenBook(book);
            return;
        }
    }

    private void downloadOrOpenBook(final Book book) {
        // do stuff
    }

    private Context mContext;
    private Collection mCollection;

    public BookListAdapter(Context context, Collection collection) {
        Log.d(TAG, "BookListAdapter(" + context + ", " + collection + ")");
        mCollection = collection;
        mContext = context;
    }

    @Override
    public ViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(ViewGroup parent, int i) {
        Log.d(TAG, "onCreateViewHolder(" + parent.getId() + ", " + i + ")");
        // Create a new view by inflating the row item xml.
        View v = LayoutInflater.from(parent.getContext()).inflate(R.layout.shelf_grid_item, parent, false);

        // Set the view to the ViewHolder
        ViewHolder holder = new ViewHolder(v);
        holder.mCoverImageView.setOnClickListener(BookListAdapter.this); // Download or Open

        holder.mCoverImageView.setTag(holder);

        return holder;
    }

    @Override
    public void onBindViewHolder(ViewHolder holder, int i) {
        Log.d(TAG, "onBindViewHolder(" + holder.getPosition() + ", " + i + ")");

        Book book = mCollection.getBooks().get(i);

        ImageView imageView = holder.mCoverImageView;
        ImageLoader.getInstance().displayImage(book.getCoverUrl(), imageView);
    }

    @Override
    public int getItemCount() {
        return mCollection.getBooks().size();
    }
}

UPDATE March 2016

By Android Support Library 23.2.1 of a support library version. So all WRAP_CONTENT should work correctly.

Please update version of a library in gradle file.

compile 'com.android.support:recyclerview-v7:23.2.1'

This allows a RecyclerView to size itself based on the size of its contents. This means that previously unavailable scenarios, such as using WRAP_CONTENT for a dimension of the RecyclerView, are now possible.

you’ll be required to call setAutoMeasureEnabled(true)

Fixed bugs related to various measure-spec methods in update

Check https://developer.android.com/topic/libraries/support-library/features.html

Used solution from @sinan-kozak, except fixed a few bugs. Specifically, we shouldn't use View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED for both the width and height when calling measureScrapChild as that won't properly account for wrapped text in the child. Instead, we will pass through the width and height modes from the parent which will allow things to work for both horizontal and vertical layouts.

public class MyLinearLayoutManager extends LinearLayoutManager {

public MyLinearLayoutManager(Context context, int orientation, boolean reverseLayout)    {
    super(context, orientation, reverseLayout);
}

private int[] mMeasuredDimension = new int[2];

@Override
public void onMeasure(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, RecyclerView.State state,
                      int widthSpec, int heightSpec) {
    final int widthMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(widthSpec);
    final int heightMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(heightSpec);
    final int widthSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(widthSpec);
    final int heightSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(heightSpec);
    int width = 0;
    int height = 0;
    for (int i = 0; i < getItemCount(); i++) {    
        if (getOrientation() == HORIZONTAL) {
            measureScrapChild(recycler, i,
                View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(0, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(heightSize, heightMode),
                mMeasuredDimension);

            width = width + mMeasuredDimension[0];
            if (i == 0) {
                height = mMeasuredDimension[1];
            }
        } else {
            measureScrapChild(recycler, i,
                View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(widthSize, widthMode),
                View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(0, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                mMeasuredDimension);

            height = height + mMeasuredDimension[1];
            if (i == 0) {
                width = mMeasuredDimension[0];
            }
        }
    }

    // If child view is more than screen size, there is no need to make it wrap content. We can use original onMeasure() so we can scroll view.
    if (height < heightSize && width < widthSize) {

        switch (widthMode) {
            case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
                width = widthSize;
            case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
            case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
        }

        switch (heightMode) {
            case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
                height = heightSize;
            case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
            case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
        }

        setMeasuredDimension(width, height);
    } else {
        super.onMeasure(recycler, state, widthSpec, heightSpec);
    }
}

private void measureScrapChild(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, int position, int widthSpec,
                               int heightSpec, int[] measuredDimension) {

   View view = recycler.getViewForPosition(position);

   // For adding Item Decor Insets to view
   super.measureChildWithMargins(view, 0, 0);
    if (view != null) {
        RecyclerView.LayoutParams p = (RecyclerView.LayoutParams) view.getLayoutParams();
        int childWidthSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(widthSpec,
                    getPaddingLeft() + getPaddingRight() + getDecoratedLeft(view) + getDecoratedRight(view), p.width);
            int childHeightSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(heightSpec,
                    getPaddingTop() + getPaddingBottom() + getDecoratedTop(view) + getDecoratedBottom(view) , p.height);
            view.measure(childWidthSpec, childHeightSpec);

            // Get decorated measurements
            measuredDimension[0] = getDecoratedMeasuredWidth(view) + p.leftMargin + p.rightMargin;
            measuredDimension[1] = getDecoratedMeasuredHeight(view) + p.bottomMargin + p.topMargin;
            recycler.recycleView(view);
        }
    }
}

`

Simply wrap the content using RecyclerView with the Grid Layout

Image: Recycler as GridView layout

Just use the GridLayoutManager like this:

RecyclerView.LayoutManager mRecyclerGrid=new GridLayoutManager(this,3,LinearLayoutManager.VERTICAL,false);
mRecyclerView.setLayoutManager(mRecyclerGrid);

You can set how many items should appear on a row (replace the 3).

I have tried all solutions, they are very useful but this only works fine for me

public class  LinearLayoutManager extends android.support.v7.widget.LinearLayoutManager {

    public LinearLayoutManager(Context context, int orientation, boolean reverseLayout)    {
        super(context, orientation, reverseLayout);
    }

    private int[] mMeasuredDimension = new int[2];

    @Override
    public void onMeasure(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, RecyclerView.State state,
                          int widthSpec, int heightSpec) {
        final int widthMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(widthSpec);
        final int heightMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(heightSpec);
        final int widthSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(widthSpec);
        final int heightSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(heightSpec);
        int width = 0;
        int height = 0;
        for (int i = 0; i < getItemCount(); i++) {


            if (getOrientation() == HORIZONTAL) {

                measureScrapChild(recycler, i,
                        View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(i, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                        heightSpec,
                        mMeasuredDimension);

                width = width + mMeasuredDimension[0];
                if (i == 0) {
                    height = mMeasuredDimension[1];
                }
            } else {
                measureScrapChild(recycler, i,
                        widthSpec,
                        View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(i, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                        mMeasuredDimension);
                height = height + mMeasuredDimension[1];
                if (i == 0) {
                    width = mMeasuredDimension[0];
                }
            }
        }

        if (height < heightSize || width < widthSize) {

            switch (widthMode) {
                case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
                    width = widthSize;
                case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
                case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
            }

            switch (heightMode) {
                case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
                    height = heightSize;
                case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
                case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
            }

            setMeasuredDimension(width, height);
        } else {
            super.onMeasure(recycler, state, widthSpec, heightSpec);
        }
    }

    private void measureScrapChild(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, int position, int widthSpec,
                                   int heightSpec, int[] measuredDimension) {
        View view = recycler.getViewForPosition(position);
        recycler.bindViewToPosition(view, position);
        if (view != null) {
            RecyclerView.LayoutParams p = (RecyclerView.LayoutParams) view.getLayoutParams();
            int childWidthSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(widthSpec,
                    getPaddingLeft() + getPaddingRight(), p.width);
            int childHeightSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(heightSpec,
                    getPaddingTop() + getPaddingBottom(), p.height);
            view.measure(childWidthSpec, childHeightSpec);
            measuredDimension[0] = view.getMeasuredWidth() + p.leftMargin + p.rightMargin;
            measuredDimension[1] = view.getMeasuredHeight() + p.bottomMargin + p.topMargin;
            recycler.recycleView(view);
        }
    }
}

Here I have found a solution: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=74772

It is in no way my solution. I have just copied it from there, but I hope it will help someone as much as it helped me when implementing horizontal RecyclerView and wrap_content height (should work also for vertical one and wrap_content width)

The solution is to extend the LayoutManager and override its onMeasure method as @yigit suggested.

Here is the code in case the link dies:

public static class MyLinearLayoutManager extends LinearLayoutManager {

    public MyLinearLayoutManager(Context context) {
        super(context);
    }

    private int[] mMeasuredDimension = new int[2];

    @Override
    public void onMeasure(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, RecyclerView.State state,
                          int widthSpec, int heightSpec) {
        final int widthMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(widthSpec);
        final int heightMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(heightSpec);
        final int widthSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(widthSpec);
        final int heightSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(heightSpec);

        measureScrapChild(recycler, 0,
                View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(0, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(0, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                mMeasuredDimension);

        int width = mMeasuredDimension[0];
        int height = mMeasuredDimension[1];

        switch (widthMode) {
            case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
            case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
                width = widthSize;
                break;
            case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
        }

        switch (heightMode) {
            case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
            case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
                height = heightSize;
                break;
            case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
        }

        setMeasuredDimension(width, height);
    }

    private void measureScrapChild(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, int position, int widthSpec,
                                   int heightSpec, int[] measuredDimension) {
        View view = recycler.getViewForPosition(position);
        if (view != null) {
            RecyclerView.LayoutParams p = (RecyclerView.LayoutParams) view.getLayoutParams();
            int childWidthSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(widthSpec,
                    getPaddingLeft() + getPaddingRight(), p.width);
            int childHeightSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(heightSpec,
                    getPaddingTop() + getPaddingBottom(), p.height);
            view.measure(childWidthSpec, childHeightSpec);
            measuredDimension[0] = view.getMeasuredWidth();
            measuredDimension[1] = view.getMeasuredHeight();
            recycler.recycleView(view);
        }
    }
}

As @yigit mentioned, you need to override onMeasure(). Both @user2302510 and @DenisNek have good answers but if you want to support ItemDecoration you can use this custom layout manager.

And other answers cannot scroll when there are more items than can be displayed on the screen though. This one is using default implemantation of onMeasure() when there are more items than screen size.

public class MyLinearLayoutManager extends LinearLayoutManager {

public MyLinearLayoutManager(Context context, int orientation, boolean reverseLayout)    {
    super(context, orientation, reverseLayout);
}

private int[] mMeasuredDimension = new int[2];

@Override
public void onMeasure(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, RecyclerView.State state,
                      int widthSpec, int heightSpec) {
    final int widthMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(widthSpec);
    final int heightMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(heightSpec);
    final int widthSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(widthSpec);
    final int heightSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(heightSpec);
    int width = 0;
    int height = 0;
    for (int i = 0; i < getItemCount(); i++) {
        measureScrapChild(recycler, i,
                View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(i, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(i, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                mMeasuredDimension);

        if (getOrientation() == HORIZONTAL) {
            width = width + mMeasuredDimension[0];
            if (i == 0) {
                height = mMeasuredDimension[1];
            }
        } else {
            height = height + mMeasuredDimension[1];
            if (i == 0) {
                width = mMeasuredDimension[0];
            }
        }
    }

    // If child view is more than screen size, there is no need to make it wrap content. We can use original onMeasure() so we can scroll view.
    if (height < heightSize && width < widthSize) {

        switch (widthMode) {
            case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
                width = widthSize;
            case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
            case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
        }

        switch (heightMode) {
            case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
                height = heightSize;
            case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
            case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
        }

        setMeasuredDimension(width, height);
    } else {
        super.onMeasure(recycler, state, widthSpec, heightSpec);
    }
}

private void measureScrapChild(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, int position, int widthSpec,
                               int heightSpec, int[] measuredDimension) {

   View view = recycler.getViewForPosition(position);

   // For adding Item Decor Insets to view
   super.measureChildWithMargins(view, 0, 0);
    if (view != null) {
        RecyclerView.LayoutParams p = (RecyclerView.LayoutParams) view.getLayoutParams();
        int childWidthSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(widthSpec,
                    getPaddingLeft() + getPaddingRight() + getDecoratedLeft(view) + getDecoratedRight(view), p.width);
            int childHeightSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(heightSpec,
                    getPaddingTop() + getPaddingBottom() + getPaddingBottom() + getDecoratedBottom(view) , p.height);
            view.measure(childWidthSpec, childHeightSpec);

            // Get decorated measurements
            measuredDimension[0] = getDecoratedMeasuredWidth(view) + p.leftMargin + p.rightMargin;
            measuredDimension[1] = getDecoratedMeasuredHeight(view) + p.bottomMargin + p.topMargin;
            recycler.recycleView(view);
        }
    }
}

And if you want to use it with GridLayoutManager just extends it from GridLayoutManager and change

for (int i = 0; i < getItemCount(); i++)

to

for (int i = 0; i < getItemCount(); i = i + getSpanCount())

This answer is based on the solution given by Denis Nek. It solves the problem of not taking decorations like dividers into account.

public class WrappingRecyclerViewLayoutManager extends LinearLayoutManager {

public WrappingRecyclerViewLayoutManager(Context context)    {
    super(context, VERTICAL, false);
}

public WrappingRecyclerViewLayoutManager(Context context, int orientation, boolean reverseLayout)    {
    super(context, orientation, reverseLayout);
}

private int[] mMeasuredDimension = new int[2];

@Override
public void onMeasure(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, RecyclerView.State state, int widthSpec, int heightSpec) {
    final int widthMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(widthSpec);
    final int heightMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(heightSpec);
    final int widthSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(widthSpec);
    final int heightSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(heightSpec);
    int width = 0;
    int height = 0;
    for (int i = 0; i < getItemCount(); i++) {
        measureScrapChild(recycler, i,
                View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(i, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(i, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                mMeasuredDimension);
        if (getOrientation() == HORIZONTAL) {
            width = width + mMeasuredDimension[0];
            if (i == 0) {
                height = mMeasuredDimension[1];
            }
        } else {
            height = height + mMeasuredDimension[1];
            if (i == 0) {
                width = mMeasuredDimension[0];
            }
        }
    }
    switch (widthMode) {
        case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
            width = widthSize;
        case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
        case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
    }

    switch (heightMode) {
        case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
            height = heightSize;
        case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
        case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
    }

    setMeasuredDimension(width, height);
}

private void measureScrapChild(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, int position, int widthSpec, int heightSpec, int[] measuredDimension) {
    View view = recycler.getViewForPosition(position);
    if (view != null) {
        RecyclerView.LayoutParams p = (RecyclerView.LayoutParams) view.getLayoutParams();
        int childWidthSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(widthSpec, getPaddingLeft() + getPaddingRight(), p.width);
        int childHeightSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(heightSpec, getPaddingTop() + getPaddingBottom(), p.height);
        view.measure(childWidthSpec, childHeightSpec);
        Rect outRect = new Rect();
        calculateItemDecorationsForChild(view, outRect);
        measuredDimension[0] = view.getMeasuredWidth() + p.leftMargin + p.rightMargin;
        measuredDimension[1] = view.getMeasuredHeight() + p.bottomMargin + p.topMargin + outRect.bottom + outRect.top;
        recycler.recycleView(view);
    }
}

}

Android Support Library now handles WRAP_CONTENT property as well. Just import this in your gradle.

compile 'com.android.support:recyclerview-v7:23.2.0'

And done!

Yes the workaround shown in all answer is correct , that is we need to customize the linear layout manager to calculate the height of its child items dynamically at run time. But all answers not working as expected .Please the below answer for custom layout manger with all orientation support.

public class MyLinearLayoutManager extends android.support.v7.widget.LinearLayoutManager {

private static boolean canMakeInsetsDirty = true;
private static Field insetsDirtyField = null;

private static final int CHILD_WIDTH = 0;
private static final int CHILD_HEIGHT = 1;
private static final int DEFAULT_CHILD_SIZE = 100;

private final int[] childDimensions = new int[2];
private final RecyclerView view;

private int childSize = DEFAULT_CHILD_SIZE;
private boolean hasChildSize;
private int overScrollMode = ViewCompat.OVER_SCROLL_ALWAYS;
private final Rect tmpRect = new Rect();

@SuppressWarnings("UnusedDeclaration")
public MyLinearLayoutManager(Context context) {
    super(context);
    this.view = null;
}

@SuppressWarnings("UnusedDeclaration")
public MyLinearLayoutManager(Context context, int orientation, boolean reverseLayout) {
    super(context, orientation, reverseLayout);
    this.view = null;
}

@SuppressWarnings("UnusedDeclaration")
public MyLinearLayoutManager(RecyclerView view) {
    super(view.getContext());
    this.view = view;
    this.overScrollMode = ViewCompat.getOverScrollMode(view);
}

@SuppressWarnings("UnusedDeclaration")
public MyLinearLayoutManager(RecyclerView view, int orientation, boolean reverseLayout) {
    super(view.getContext(), orientation, reverseLayout);
    this.view = view;
    this.overScrollMode = ViewCompat.getOverScrollMode(view);
}

public void setOverScrollMode(int overScrollMode) {
    if (overScrollMode < ViewCompat.OVER_SCROLL_ALWAYS || overScrollMode > ViewCompat.OVER_SCROLL_NEVER)
        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown overscroll mode: " + overScrollMode);
    if (this.view == null) throw new IllegalStateException("view == null");
    this.overScrollMode = overScrollMode;
    ViewCompat.setOverScrollMode(view, overScrollMode);
}

public static int makeUnspecifiedSpec() {
    return View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(0, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED);
}

@Override
public void onMeasure(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, RecyclerView.State state, int widthSpec, int heightSpec) {
    final int widthMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(widthSpec);
    final int heightMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(heightSpec);

    final int widthSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(widthSpec);
    final int heightSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(heightSpec);

    final boolean hasWidthSize = widthMode != View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED;
    final boolean hasHeightSize = heightMode != View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED;

    final boolean exactWidth = widthMode == View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY;
    final boolean exactHeight = heightMode == View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY;

    final int unspecified = makeUnspecifiedSpec();

    if (exactWidth && exactHeight) {
        // in case of exact calculations for both dimensions let's use default "onMeasure" implementation
        super.onMeasure(recycler, state, widthSpec, heightSpec);
        return;
    }

    final boolean vertical = getOrientation() == VERTICAL;

    initChildDimensions(widthSize, heightSize, vertical);

    int width = 0;
    int height = 0;

    // it's possible to get scrap views in recycler which are bound to old (invalid) adapter entities. This
    // happens because their invalidation happens after "onMeasure" method. As a workaround let's clear the
    // recycler now (it should not cause any performance issues while scrolling as "onMeasure" is never
    // called whiles scrolling)
    recycler.clear();

    final int stateItemCount = state.getItemCount();
    final int adapterItemCount = getItemCount();
    // adapter always contains actual data while state might contain old data (f.e. data before the animation is
    // done). As we want to measure the view with actual data we must use data from the adapter and not from  the
    // state
    for (int i = 0; i < adapterItemCount; i++) {
        if (vertical) {
            if (!hasChildSize) {
                if (i < stateItemCount) {
                    // we should not exceed state count, otherwise we'll get IndexOutOfBoundsException. For such items
                    // we will use previously calculated dimensions
                    measureChild(recycler, i, widthSize, unspecified, childDimensions);
                } else {
                    logMeasureWarning(i);
                }
            }
            height += childDimensions[CHILD_HEIGHT];
            if (i == 0) {
                width = childDimensions[CHILD_WIDTH];
            }
            if (hasHeightSize && height >= heightSize) {
                break;
            }
        } else {
            if (!hasChildSize) {
                if (i < stateItemCount) {
                    // we should not exceed state count, otherwise we'll get IndexOutOfBoundsException. For such items
                    // we will use previously calculated dimensions
                    measureChild(recycler, i, unspecified, heightSize, childDimensions);
                } else {
                    logMeasureWarning(i);
                }
            }
            width += childDimensions[CHILD_WIDTH];
            if (i == 0) {
                height = childDimensions[CHILD_HEIGHT];
            }
            if (hasWidthSize && width >= widthSize) {
                break;
            }
        }
    }

    if (exactWidth) {
        width = widthSize;
    } else {
        width += getPaddingLeft() + getPaddingRight();
        if (hasWidthSize) {
            width = Math.min(width, widthSize);
        }
    }

    if (exactHeight) {
        height = heightSize;
    } else {
        height += getPaddingTop() + getPaddingBottom();
        if (hasHeightSize) {
            height = Math.min(height, heightSize);
        }
    }

    setMeasuredDimension(width, height);

    if (view != null && overScrollMode == ViewCompat.OVER_SCROLL_IF_CONTENT_SCROLLS) {
        final boolean fit = (vertical && (!hasHeightSize || height < heightSize))
                || (!vertical && (!hasWidthSize || width < widthSize));

        ViewCompat.setOverScrollMode(view, fit ? ViewCompat.OVER_SCROLL_NEVER : ViewCompat.OVER_SCROLL_ALWAYS);
    }
}

private void logMeasureWarning(int child) {
    if (BuildConfig.DEBUG) {
        Log.w("MyLinearLayoutManager", "Can't measure child #" + child + ", previously used dimensions will be reused." +
                "To remove this message either use #setChildSize() method or don't run RecyclerView animations");
    }
}

private void initChildDimensions(int width, int height, boolean vertical) {
    if (childDimensions[CHILD_WIDTH] != 0 || childDimensions[CHILD_HEIGHT] != 0) {
        // already initialized, skipping
        return;
    }
    if (vertical) {
        childDimensions[CHILD_WIDTH] = width;
        childDimensions[CHILD_HEIGHT] = childSize;
    } else {
        childDimensions[CHILD_WIDTH] = childSize;
        childDimensions[CHILD_HEIGHT] = height;
    }
}

@Override
public void setOrientation(int orientation) {
    // might be called before the constructor of this class is called
    //noinspection ConstantConditions
    if (childDimensions != null) {
        if (getOrientation() != orientation) {
            childDimensions[CHILD_WIDTH] = 0;
            childDimensions[CHILD_HEIGHT] = 0;
        }
    }
    super.setOrientation(orientation);
}

public void clearChildSize() {
    hasChildSize = false;
    setChildSize(DEFAULT_CHILD_SIZE);
}

public void setChildSize(int childSize) {
    hasChildSize = true;
    if (this.childSize != childSize) {
        this.childSize = childSize;
        requestLayout();
    }
}

private void measureChild(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, int position, int widthSize, int heightSize, int[] dimensions) {
    final View child;
    try {
        child = recycler.getViewForPosition(position);
    } catch (IndexOutOfBoundsException e) {
        if (BuildConfig.DEBUG) {
            Log.w("MyLinearLayoutManager", "MyLinearLayoutManager doesn't work well with animations. Consider switching them off", e);
        }
        return;
    }

    final RecyclerView.LayoutParams p = (RecyclerView.LayoutParams) child.getLayoutParams();

    final int hPadding = getPaddingLeft() + getPaddingRight();
    final int vPadding = getPaddingTop() + getPaddingBottom();

    final int hMargin = p.leftMargin + p.rightMargin;
    final int vMargin = p.topMargin + p.bottomMargin;

    // we must make insets dirty in order calculateItemDecorationsForChild to work
    makeInsetsDirty(p);
    // this method should be called before any getXxxDecorationXxx() methods
    calculateItemDecorationsForChild(child, tmpRect);

    final int hDecoration = getRightDecorationWidth(child) + getLeftDecorationWidth(child);
    final int vDecoration = getTopDecorationHeight(child) + getBottomDecorationHeight(child);

    final int childWidthSpec = getChildMeasureSpec(widthSize, hPadding + hMargin + hDecoration, p.width, canScrollHorizontally());
    final int childHeightSpec = getChildMeasureSpec(heightSize, vPadding + vMargin + vDecoration, p.height, canScrollVertically());

    child.measure(childWidthSpec, childHeightSpec);

    dimensions[CHILD_WIDTH] = getDecoratedMeasuredWidth(child) + p.leftMargin + p.rightMargin;
    dimensions[CHILD_HEIGHT] = getDecoratedMeasuredHeight(child) + p.bottomMargin + p.topMargin;

    // as view is recycled let's not keep old measured values
    makeInsetsDirty(p);
    recycler.recycleView(child);
}

private static void makeInsetsDirty(RecyclerView.LayoutParams p) {
    if (!canMakeInsetsDirty) {
        return;
    }
    try {
        if (insetsDirtyField == null) {
            insetsDirtyField = RecyclerView.LayoutParams.class.getDeclaredField("mInsetsDirty");
            insetsDirtyField.setAccessible(true);
        }
        insetsDirtyField.set(p, true);
    } catch (NoSuchFieldException e) {
        onMakeInsertDirtyFailed();
    } catch (IllegalAccessException e) {
        onMakeInsertDirtyFailed();
    }
}

private static void onMakeInsertDirtyFailed() {
    canMakeInsetsDirty = false;
    if (BuildConfig.DEBUG) {
        Log.w("MyLinearLayoutManager", "Can't make LayoutParams insets dirty, decorations measurements might be incorrect");
    }
}
}

The code up above doesn't work well when you need to make your items "wrap_content", because it measures both items height and width with MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED. After some troubles I've modified that solution so now items can expand. The only difference is that it provides parents height or width MeasureSpec depends on layout orientation.

public class MyLinearLayoutManager extends LinearLayoutManager {

public MyLinearLayoutManager(Context context, int orientation, boolean reverseLayout)    {
    super(context, orientation, reverseLayout);
}

private int[] mMeasuredDimension = new int[2];

@Override
public void onMeasure(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, RecyclerView.State state,
                      int widthSpec, int heightSpec) {
    final int widthMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(widthSpec);
    final int heightMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(heightSpec);
    final int widthSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(widthSpec);
    final int heightSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(heightSpec);
    int width = 0;
    int height = 0;
    for (int i = 0; i < getItemCount(); i++) {


        if (getOrientation() == HORIZONTAL) {

            measureScrapChild(recycler, i,
                    View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(i, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                    heightSpec,
                    mMeasuredDimension);

            width = width + mMeasuredDimension[0];
            if (i == 0) {
                height = mMeasuredDimension[1];
            }
        } else {
            measureScrapChild(recycler, i,
                    widthSpec,
                    View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(i, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                    mMeasuredDimension);
            height = height + mMeasuredDimension[1];
            if (i == 0) {
                width = mMeasuredDimension[0];
            }
        }
    }
    switch (widthMode) {
        case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
            width = widthSize;
        case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
        case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
    }

    switch (heightMode) {
        case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
            height = heightSize;
        case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
        case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
    }

    setMeasuredDimension(width, height);
}

private void measureScrapChild(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, int position, int widthSpec,
                               int heightSpec, int[] measuredDimension) {
    View view = recycler.getViewForPosition(position);
    recycler.bindViewToPosition(view, position);
    if (view != null) {
        RecyclerView.LayoutParams p = (RecyclerView.LayoutParams) view.getLayoutParams();
        int childWidthSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(widthSpec,
                getPaddingLeft() + getPaddingRight(), p.width);
        int childHeightSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(heightSpec,
                getPaddingTop() + getPaddingBottom(), p.height);
        view.measure(childWidthSpec, childHeightSpec);
        measuredDimension[0] = view.getMeasuredWidth() + p.leftMargin + p.rightMargin;
        measuredDimension[1] = view.getMeasuredHeight() + p.bottomMargin + p.topMargin;
        recycler.recycleView(view);
    }
}
}

Existing layout manager do not yet support wrap content.

You can create a new LayoutManager that extends the existing one and overrides onMeasure method to measure for wrap content.

@user2302510 solution works not as good as you may expected. Full workaround for both orientations and dynamically data changes is:

public class MyLinearLayoutManager extends LinearLayoutManager {

    public MyLinearLayoutManager(Context context, int orientation, boolean reverseLayout)    {
        super(context, orientation, reverseLayout);
    }

    private int[] mMeasuredDimension = new int[2];

    @Override
    public void onMeasure(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, RecyclerView.State state,
                          int widthSpec, int heightSpec) {
        final int widthMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(widthSpec);
        final int heightMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(heightSpec);
        final int widthSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(widthSpec);
        final int heightSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(heightSpec);
        int width = 0;
        int height = 0;
        for (int i = 0; i < getItemCount(); i++) {
            measureScrapChild(recycler, i,
                    View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(i, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                    View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(i, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                    mMeasuredDimension);

            if (getOrientation() == HORIZONTAL) {
                width = width + mMeasuredDimension[0];
                if (i == 0) {
                    height = mMeasuredDimension[1];
                }
            } else {
                height = height + mMeasuredDimension[1];
                if (i == 0) {
                    width = mMeasuredDimension[0];
                }
            }
        }
        switch (widthMode) {
            case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
                width = widthSize;
            case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
            case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
        }

        switch (heightMode) {
            case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
                height = heightSize;
            case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
            case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
        }

        setMeasuredDimension(width, height);
    }

    private void measureScrapChild(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, int position, int widthSpec,
                                   int heightSpec, int[] measuredDimension) {
        View view = recycler.getViewForPosition(position);
        if (view != null) {
            RecyclerView.LayoutParams p = (RecyclerView.LayoutParams) view.getLayoutParams();
            int childWidthSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(widthSpec,
                    getPaddingLeft() + getPaddingRight(), p.width);
            int childHeightSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(heightSpec,
                    getPaddingTop() + getPaddingBottom(), p.height);
            view.measure(childWidthSpec, childHeightSpec);
            measuredDimension[0] = view.getMeasuredWidth() + p.leftMargin + p.rightMargin;
            measuredDimension[1] = view.getMeasuredHeight() + p.bottomMargin + p.topMargin;
            recycler.recycleView(view);
        }
    }
}

Based on the work of Denis Nek, it works well if the sum of item's widths is smaller than the size of the container. other than that, it will make the recyclerview non scrollable and only will show subset of the data.

to solve this problem, i modified the solution alittle so that it choose the min of the provided size and calculated size. see below:

package com.linkdev.gafi.adapters;

import android.content.Context;
import android.support.v7.widget.LinearLayoutManager;
import android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;

import com.linkdev.gafi.R;

public class MyLinearLayoutManager extends LinearLayoutManager {

    public MyLinearLayoutManager(Context context, int orientation, boolean reverseLayout)    {
        super(context, orientation, reverseLayout);
        this.c = context;
    }


    private Context c;
    private int[] mMeasuredDimension = new int[2];


    @Override
    public void onMeasure(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, RecyclerView.State state,
                          int widthSpec, int heightSpec) {
        final int widthMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(widthSpec);
        final int heightMode = View.MeasureSpec.getMode(heightSpec);
        final int widthSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(widthSpec);
        final int heightSize = View.MeasureSpec.getSize(heightSpec);



        int width = 0;
        int height = 0;
        for (int i = 0; i < getItemCount(); i++) {
            measureScrapChild(recycler, i,
                    View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(i, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                    View.MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(i, View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
                    mMeasuredDimension);

            if (getOrientation() == HORIZONTAL) {
                width = width + mMeasuredDimension[0];
                if (i == 0) {
                    height = mMeasuredDimension[1];
                }
            } else {
                height = height + mMeasuredDimension[1];
                if (i == 0) {
                    width = mMeasuredDimension[0];
                }
            }
        }


        switch (widthMode) {
            case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
                width = widthSize;
            case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
            case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
        }

        switch (heightMode) {
            case View.MeasureSpec.EXACTLY:
                height = heightSize;
            case View.MeasureSpec.AT_MOST:
            case View.MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED:
        }

        int widthDesired = Math.min(widthSize,width);
        setMeasuredDimension(widthDesired, height);
    }

    private void measureScrapChild(RecyclerView.Recycler recycler, int position, int widthSpec,
                                   int heightSpec, int[] measuredDimension) {
        View view = recycler.getViewForPosition(position);
        if (view != null) {
            RecyclerView.LayoutParams p = (RecyclerView.LayoutParams) view.getLayoutParams();
            int childWidthSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(widthSpec,
                    getPaddingLeft() + getPaddingRight(), p.width);
            int childHeightSpec = ViewGroup.getChildMeasureSpec(heightSpec,
                    getPaddingTop() + getPaddingBottom(), p.height);
            view.measure(childWidthSpec, childHeightSpec);
            measuredDimension[0] = view.getMeasuredWidth() + p.leftMargin + p.rightMargin;
            measuredDimension[1] = view.getMeasuredHeight() + p.bottomMargin + p.topMargin;
            recycler.recycleView(view);
        }
    }}

An alternative to extend LayoutManager can be just set the size of the view manually.

Number of items per row height (if all the items have the same height and the separator is included on the row)

LinearLayout.LayoutParams params = (LinearLayout.LayoutParams) mListView.getLayoutParams();
params.height = mAdapter.getItemCount() * getResources().getDimensionPixelSize(R.dimen.row_height);
mListView.setLayoutParams(params);

Is still a workaround, but for basic cases it works.