/dart-flutter-patterns

name: dart-flutter-patterns
description: Production-ready Dart and Flutter patterns covering null safety, immutable state, async composition, widget architecture, popular state management frameworks (BLoC, Riverpod, Provider), GoRouter navigation, Dio networking, Freezed code generation, and clean architecture.
metadata:
  origin: ECC

Dart/Flutter Patterns

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Starting a new Flutter feature and need idiomatic patterns for state management, navigation, or data access
• Reviewing or writing Dart code and need guidance on null safety, sealed types, or async composition
• Setting up a new Flutter project and choosing between BLoC, Riverpod, or Provider
• Implementing secure HTTP clients, WebView integration, or local storage
• Writing tests for Flutter widgets, Cubits, or Riverpod providers
• Wiring up GoRouter with authentication guards

How It Works

This skill provides copy-paste-ready Dart/Flutter code patterns organized by concern: 1. **Null safety** — avoid `!`, prefer `?.`/`??`/pattern matching 2. **Immutable state** — sealed classes, `freezed`, `copyWith` 3. **Async composition** — concurrent `Future.wait`, safe `BuildContext` after `await` 4. **Widget architecture** — extract to classes (not methods), `const` propagation, scoped rebuilds 5. **State management** — BLoC/Cubit events, Riverpod notifiers and derived providers 6. **Navigation** — GoRouter with reactive auth guards via `refreshListenable` 7. **Networking** — Dio with interceptors, token refresh with one-time retry guard 8. **Error handling** — global capture, `ErrorWidget.builder`, crashlytics wiring 9. **Testing** — unit (BLoC test), widget (ProviderScope overrides), fakes over mocks

Examples

// Sealed state — prevents impossible states
sealed class AsyncState<T> {}
final class Loading<T> extends AsyncState<T> {}
final class Success<T> extends AsyncState<T> { final T data; const Success(this.data); }
final class Failure<T> extends AsyncState<T> { final Object error; const Failure(this.error); }

// GoRouter with reactive auth redirect
final router = GoRouter(
  refreshListenable: GoRouterRefreshStream(authCubit.stream),
  redirect: (context, state) {
    final authed = context.read<AuthCubit>().state is AuthAuthenticated;
    if (!authed && !state.matchedLocation.startsWith('/login')) return '/login';
    return null;
  },
  routes: [...],
);

// Riverpod derived provider with safe firstWhereOrNull
@riverpod
double cartTotal(Ref ref) {
  final cart = ref.watch(cartNotifierProvider);
  final products = ref.watch(productsProvider).valueOrNull ?? [];
  return cart.fold(0.0, (total, item) {
    final product = products.firstWhereOrNull((p) => p.id == item.productId);
    return total + (product?.price ?? 0) * item.quantity;
  });
}

---

Practical, production-ready patterns for Dart and Flutter applications. Library-agnostic where possible, with explicit coverage of the most common ecosystem packages.

---

1. Null Safety Fundamentals

Prefer Patterns Over Bang Operator

// BAD — crashes at runtime if null
final name = user!.name;

// GOOD — provide fallback
final name = user?.name ?? 'Unknown';

// GOOD — Dart 3 pattern matching (preferred for complex cases)
final display = switch (user) {
  User(:final name, :final email) => '$name <$email>',
  null => 'Guest',
};

// GOOD — guard early return
String getUserName(User? user) {
  if (user == null) return 'Unknown';
  return user.name; // promoted to non-null after check
}

Avoid `late` Overuse

// BAD — defers null error to runtime
late String userId;

// GOOD — nullable with explicit initialization
String? userId;

// OK — use late only when initialization is guaranteed before first access
// (e.g., in initState() before any widget interaction)
late final AnimationController _controller;

@override
void initState() {
  super.initState();
  _controller = AnimationController(vsync: this, duration: const Duration(milliseconds: 300));
}

---

2. Immutable State

Sealed Classes for State Hierarchies

sealed class UserState {}

final class UserInitial extends UserState {}

final class UserLoading extends UserState {}

final class UserLoaded extends UserState {
  const UserLoaded(this.user);
  final User user;
}

final class UserError extends UserState {
  const UserError(this.message);
  final String message;
}

// Exhaustive switch — compiler enforces all branches
Widget buildFrom(UserState state) => switch (state) {
  UserInitial() => const SizedBox.shrink(),
  UserLoading() => const CircularProgressIndicator(),
  UserLoaded(:final user) => UserCard(user: user),
  UserError(:final message) => ErrorText(message),
};

Freezed for Boilerplate-Free Immutability

import 'package:freezed_annotation/freezed_annotation.dart';

part 'user.freezed.dart';
part 'user.g.dart';

@freezed
class User with _$User {
  const factory User({
    required String id,
    required String name,
    required String email,
    @Default(false) bool isAdmin,
  }) = _User;

  factory User.fromJson(Map<String, dynamic> json) => _$UserFromJson(json);
}

// Usage
final user = User(id: '1', name: 'Alice', email: 'alice@example.com');
final updated = user.copyWith(name: 'Alice Smith'); // immutable update
final json = user.toJson();
final fromJson = User.fromJson(json);

---

3. Async Composition

Structured Concurrency with Future.wait

Future<DashboardData> loadDashboard(UserRepository users, OrderRepository orders) async {
  // Run concurrently — don't await sequentially
  final (userList, orderList) = await (
    users.getAll(),
    orders.getRecent(),
  ).wait; // Dart 3 record destructuring + Future.wait extension

  return DashboardData(users: userList, orders: orderList);
}

Stream Patterns

// Repository exposes reactive streams for live data
Stream<List<Item>> watchCartItems() => _db
    .watchTable('cart_items')
    .map((rows) => rows.