flutter-best-practices

Purpose

Apply Flutter and Dart best practices from official documentation and community standards. Covers widget patterns, state management (Riverpod/BLoC), performance optimization, testing, security, and Dart 3.x language patterns.

Core Principles

Widget composition over inheritance
Unidirectional data flow
Immutable state
const by default
Platform-adaptive design

Rules

1. Widget Patterns

composition:
  prefer: "Small, focused StatelessWidget classes"
  avoid: "Helper functions returning Widget (no Element identity)"
  reason: "Flutter diffing depends on widget type identity"

const_constructors:
  rule: "Mark all static widgets const"
  pattern: "const Text('Hello'), const SizedBox(height: 8)"
  impact: "Zero rebuild cost — compile-time constant"

sizing_widgets:
  prefer: "SizedBox for spacing/sizing"
  avoid: "Container when only size is needed"
  reason: "SizedBox is lighter, no decoration overhead"

state_choice:
  StatelessWidget: "No mutable state, pure rendering"
  StatefulWidget: "Local ephemeral state (animations, form input)"
  InheritedWidget: "Data propagation down tree (base of Provider)"

build_context:
  rule: "Never store BuildContext across async gaps"
  pattern: "Check mounted before using context after await"

keys:
  ValueKey: "When items have unique business identity"
  ObjectKey: "When items are objects without natural key"
  UniqueKey: "Force rebuild on every build (rare)"
  GlobalKey: "Cross-widget state access (use sparingly)"

lists:
  prefer: "ListView.builder for >10 items (lazy construction)"
  avoid: "ListView(children: [...]) for large lists"
  optimization: "Set itemExtent to skip intrinsic layout passes"

layout:
  rule: "Constraints flow down, sizes flow up"
  common_error: "Unbounded constraints in Column/Row children"
  fix: "Wrap with Expanded/Flexible or constrain explicitly"

repaint_boundary:
  when: "Frequently repainting subtrees (animations, video, maps)"
  effect: "Isolates paint scope, prevents cascade repaints"
  detect: "DevTools → highlight repaints toggle"

slivers:
  prefer: "CustomScrollView + SliverList.builder for complex scrolling"
  use_for: "Floating headers, parallax, mixed scroll content"
  avoid: "Nested ListView in ListView"

Reference: guides/flutter/fundamentals.md

2. State Management

default_choice:
  new_projects: "Riverpod 3.3"
  enterprise: "BLoC 9.1"
  simple_prototypes: "setState or Provider"
  avoid: "GetX (maintenance crisis, runtime crashes)"

riverpod_patterns:
  reactive_read: "ref.watch(provider) — in build methods only"
  one_time_read: "ref.read(provider) — in callbacks, onPressed"
  never: "ref.watch inside non-build methods"
  async_state: "AsyncNotifier + AsyncValue (loading/data/error)"
  family: "family modifier for parameterized providers"
  keep_alive: "Only when justified (expensive computations)"
  invalidate_vs_refresh: "ref.invalidate() resets to loading (lazy); ref.refresh() immediate re-fetch"

bloc_patterns:
  one_event_per_action: "One UI action = one event class"
  cubit_vs_bloc: "Cubit for simple state changes; Bloc when audit trail needed"
  never: "Emit state in constructor body"
  listener_vs_consumer: "BlocListener for side effects; BlocConsumer for UI + effects; BlocBuilder for UI only"
  stream_management: "Cancel subscriptions in close()"

state_immutability:
  rule: "All state objects must be immutable"
  tool: "freezed package for copyWith/==/hashCode generation"

result_type:
  rule: "Return Result<T> from repositories, never throw"
  pattern: "sealed class Result<T> with Ok<T> and Error<T> subclasses"

Reference: guides/flutter/state-management.md

3. Performance

build_optimization:
  const_widgets: "Mark immutable widgets const — zero rebuild"
  localize_setState: "Call setState on smallest possible subtree"
  extract_widgets: "StatelessWidget class > helper method"
  child_parameter: "Pass static child through AnimatedBuilder to avoid rebuild"

rebuild_avoidance:
  consumer_placement: "Place Consumer/ListenableBuilder as deep as possible"
  read_in_callbacks: "context.read<T>() not context.watch<T>() in handlers"
  selector: "Use BlocSelector/Selector for partial state rebuilds"

rendering:
  avoid_opacity: "Use color.withValues(alpha:) (Flutter 3.27+) or AnimatedOpacity instead; color.withOpacity() is deprecated"
  avoid_clip: "Pre-clip static content; avoid ClipRRect in animations"
  minimize_saveLayer: "ShaderMask, ColorFilter, Chip trigger saveLayer"

compute_offloading:
  rule: "Isolate.run() for operations >16ms (one frame budget)"
  web_compatible: "Use compute() for web-compatible apps"
  use_for: "JSON parsing, image processing, complex filtering"

frame_budget:
  target: "<8ms build + <8ms render = 16.67ms (60fps)"
  profiling: "flutter run --profile, not debug mode"
  tool: "DevTools Performance view for jank detection"

Reference: guides/flutter/performance.md

4. Testing

test_pyramid:
  unit: "Single class/function — fast, low confidence"
  widget: "Single widget tree — fast, medium confidence"
  integration: "Full app on device — slow, high confidence"
  golden: "Visual regression via matchesGoldenFile()"

widget_test_pattern:
  rule: "Use pumpWidget with ProviderScope overrides, then pump/pumpAndSettle for async"

mocking:
  prefer: "mocktail (null-safe, no codegen)"
  avoid: "Legacy mockito with build_runner"
  fakes: "Use Fake implementations for deterministic tests"

bloc_testing:
  rule: "Use blocTest<Bloc, State> with build/act/expect pattern"

coverage_target:
  widget_tests: "80%+ for UI logic"
  unit_tests: "90%+ for business logic"
  integration: "Critical user flows only"

Reference: guides/flutter/testing.md

5. Security

secrets:
  never: "Hardcode API keys, tokens, or credentials in source"
  best: "Backend proxy for all sensitive API calls"
  use: "--dart-define-from-file=.env for NON-SECRET build config only (feature flags, environment URLs)"
  warning: "dart-define values are embedded in compiled binary and extractable via static analysis"

storage:
  sensitive_data: "flutter_secure_storage v10+ (Keychain/Keystore)"
  never: "SharedPreferences for tokens, PII, or credentials"
  ios: "AppleOptions(useSecureEnclave: true) for high-value"
  android: "AndroidOptions(encryptedSharedPreferences: true)"
  web_warning: "flutter_secure_storage on Web uses localStorage by default (XSS vulnerable). Use HttpOnly cookies or in-memory-only for sensitive data."

network:
  tls: "Certificate pinning (SPKI) for financial/health apps"
  cleartext: "cleartextTrafficPermitted=false in network_security_config"
  ios_ats: "NSAllowsArbitraryLoads=false (default, never override)"

release_builds:
  obfuscate: "--obfuscate --split-debug-info=<path>"
  proguard: "Configure android/app/proguard-rules.pro"
  debug_check: "Remove all kDebugMode unguarded print() calls"
  rule: "Never ship debug APK to production"

deep_links:
  validate: "Allow-list all URI parameters with RegExp"
  reject: "Arbitrary schemes and unvalidated paths"
  prefer: "Universal Links (iOS) and App Links (Android) only"

logging:
  rule: "Guard print() with kDebugMode"
  prefer: "dart:developer log() for debug output"
  never: "Log PII, tokens, or credentials"

Reference: guides/flutter/security.md

6. Dart Language Patterns

naming:
  types: "UpperCamelCase for classes, enums, typedefs, extensions, mixins"
  variables: "lowerCamelCase for variables, parameters, named constants"
  libraries: "lowercase_with_underscores for libraries, packages, directories, source files"
  constants: "lowerCamelCase for const (NOT SCREAMING_CAPS)"
  private: "Prefix with underscore for library-private"
  boolean: "Prefix with is/has/can/should"
  avoid: "Hungarian notation, type prefixes, abbreviations unless universally known"

null_safety:
  default: "Non-nullable types — use ? only when null is meaningful"
  avoid_bang: "Minimize ! operator — use only when null is logically impossible"
  late: "Only when initialization is guaranteed before use"

sealed_classes:
  use_for: "Exhaustive pattern matching on state/result types"
  pattern: "sealed class with subclass per state, exhaustive switch expression"

records:
  use_for: "Lightweight multi-value returns without class boilerplate"
  avoid: "Records for complex data — use freezed classes instead"

extension_types:
  use_for: "Zero-cost type wrappers for primitive IDs"

immutability:
  prefer: "final variables, const constructors"
  collections: "UnmodifiableListView for exposed lists"
  models: "freezed package for data classes"

async:
  streams: "async* yield for reactive data pipelines"
  futures: "async/await for sequential async operations"
  isolates: "Isolate.run() for CPU-intensive work >16ms"

dynamic:
  avoid: "dynamic type — use generics or Object? instead"
  reason: "No compile-time type checking, reduces IDE support"

Reference: guides/flutter/fundamentals.md

7. Architecture & Project Structure

default_structure:
  small_app: "lib/{models,services,screens,widgets}/"
  medium_app: "lib/{ui/{core/,<feature>/},data/{repositories/,services/},domain/}"
  large_app: "lib/{core/,features/<feature>/{data/,domain/,presentation/}}"

navigation:
  default: "go_router (official recommendation)"
  go_vs_push: "context.go() replaces stack; context.push() adds to stack"

dependency_injection:
  riverpod: "Built-in — providers as DI (default)"
  getit: "GetIt + injectable — for non-Riverpod projects"
  rule: "Dependency direction always inward (UI → ViewModel → Repository → Service)"

environments:
  pattern: "Flavors + --dart-define for multi-environment builds"
  rule: "Separate bundle IDs, API URLs, and Firebase config per flavor"

Reference: guides/flutter/architecture.md

Default Stack

state_management: Riverpod 3.3
navigation: go_router
models: freezed + json_serializable
di: Riverpod (built-in)
http: dio
linting: very_good_analysis
testing: flutter_test + mocktail
structure: Official MVVM (lib/{ui,data}/)

Enterprise Stack

state_management: BLoC 9.1 + Cubit
navigation: go_router or auto_route
models: freezed + json_serializable
di: GetIt + injectable (or Riverpod)
http: dio with interceptors
testing: flutter_test + bloc_test + mocktail (80%+ coverage)
structure: Clean Architecture (features/{feature}/{presentation,domain,data}/)

Application

When writing or reviewing Flutter/Dart code:

1. Always use const constructors for static widgets
2. Always return Result from repositories, never throw
3. Always use flutter_secure_storage for sensitive data
4. Prefer Riverpod 3.3 for new projects, BLoC for enterprise
5. Prefer StatelessWidget classes over helper functions
6. Prefer sealed classes for state/result types (exhaustive matching)
7. Use freezed for all data model classes
8. Use go_router for navigation with deep linking
9. Guard all print() with kDebugMode
10. Never use GetX for new projects (maintenance risk)
11. Never store sensitive data in SharedPreferences
12. Never hardcode API keys in source code