flutter_device_apps

A Flutter plugin to list installed Android apps, get app icons, check installation status, launch apps, and monitor app changes. Also detects packaged frameworks.

Requires Android API 24+, Flutter 3.44+, and Dart 3.12+. API reference · Guide: List installed Android apps in Flutter

Call WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized() only when using APIs before runApp(). Calls from initState() and UI callbacks need no extra initialization.

List installed Android apps

final apps = await FlutterDeviceApps.listApps(
  includeSystem: false,
  onlyLaunchable: true,
  includeIcons: false,
  packageNamePrefix: null, // Optional: 'com.google.'.
  packageNameContains: null, // Optional: 'photos'.
);

Filters are case-sensitive and combined with AND; null or '' disables each filter.

Get apps by package name

final app = await FlutterDeviceApps.getApp('com.whatsapp', includeIcon: true);

final apps = await FlutterDeviceApps.getApps(
  ['com.whatsapp', 'org.telegram.messenger'],
  includeIcons: true,
);

getApp() returns null if unavailable; getApps() returns [] when no apps are found.

Detect packaged app frameworks

final frameworks = await FlutterDeviceApps.detectAppFrameworks('com.example.app');

Detects packaged indicators for Flutter, React Native, Unity, Unreal Engine, Godot, and .NET Android. This does not identify the app's primary UI framework. [] means no supported match; scan failures throw.

Listen to app install, update, and uninstall events

final subscription = FlutterDeviceApps.appChanges.listen(
  (event) => print('${event.type}: ${event.packageName}'),
  onError: (error) => print(error),
);

Stop listening with await subscription.cancel().

More APIs

All methods below belong to FlutterDeviceApps.

Method	Purpose
`getAppIcon(packageName)`	Get PNG icon bytes.
`isAppInstalled(packageName)`	Check whether the app is installed and visible.
`isSystemApp(packageName)`	Check system app status; `null` if unavailable.
`isAppEnabled(packageName)`	Check enabled status; `null` if unavailable.
`isAppLaunchable(packageName)`	Check whether a launch intent exists.
`getRequestedPermissions(packageName)`	Get requested permission names.
`getInstallSourceInfo(packageName)`	Get installer and install source metadata.
`openApp(packageName)`	Launch the app.
`openAppSettings(packageName)`	Open Android app settings.
`uninstallApp(packageName)`	Open the uninstall confirmation screen.

Android setup

Only visible packages can be queried. Launcher app visibility is included. Place the XML below inside <manifest>, outside <application>, as needed.

For other specific packages:

<queries>
    <package android:name="com.example.service" />
</queries>

For broader visibility, add this permission; Google Play restricts its use. See package visibility.

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES" />

uninstallApp() requires:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.REQUEST_DELETE_PACKAGES" />