startForegroundService method

Future<void> startForegroundService(int id, String? title, String? body, { AndroidNotificationDetails? notificationDetails, String? payload, AndroidServiceStartType startType = AndroidServiceStartType.startSticky, Set<AndroidServiceForegroundType>? foregroundServiceTypes, })

Starts an Android foreground service with the given notification.

The id must not be 0, since Android itself does not allow starting a foreground service with a notification id of 0.

Since not all users of this plugin need such a service, it was not added to this plugins Android manifest. Thie means you have to add it if you want to use the foreground service functionality. Add the foreground service permission to your apps AndroidManifest.xml like described in the official Android documentation:

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

Furthermore, add the service itself to your AndroidManifest.xml (inside the <application> tag):

<!-- If you want your foreground service to be stopped if
      your app is stopped, set android:stopWithTask to true.
      See https://developer.android.com/reference/android/R.attr#stopWithTask -->
<service
 android:name="com.dexterous.flutterlocalnotifications.ForegroundService"
 android:exported="false"
 android:stopWithTask="false"
 android:foregroundServiceType="As you like" />

While the android:name must exactly match this value, you can configure the other parameters as you like, although it is recommended to copy the value for android:exported. Suitable values for foregroundServiceType can be found here.

The notification of the foreground service can be updated by simply calling this method multiple times.

Information on selecting an appropriate startType for your app's usecase should be taken from the official Android documentation, check Service.onStartCommand. The there mentioned constants can be found in AndroidServiceStartType.

The notification for the foreground service will not be dismissable and automatically removed when using stopForegroundService.

foregroundServiceType is a set of foreground service types to apply to the service start. It might be null or omitted, but it must never be empty! If foregroundServiceType is set, Service.startForeground(int id, Notification notification, int foregroundServiceType) will be invoked , else Service.startForeground(int id, Notification notification) is used. On devices older than Build.VERSION_CODES.Q, foregroundServiceType will be ignored. Note that foregroundServiceType (the parameter in this method) must be a subset of the android:foregroundServiceType defined in your AndroidManifest.xml (the one from the section above)!

Implementation

Future<void> startForegroundService(int id, String? title, String? body,
    {AndroidNotificationDetails? notificationDetails,
    String? payload,
    AndroidServiceStartType startType = AndroidServiceStartType.startSticky,
    Set<AndroidServiceForegroundType>? foregroundServiceTypes}) {
  validateId(id);
  if (id == 0) {
    throw ArgumentError.value(id, 'id',
        'The id of a notification used for an Android foreground service must not be 0!'); // ignore: lines_longer_than_80_chars
  }
  if (foregroundServiceTypes?.isEmpty ?? false) {
    throw ArgumentError.value(foregroundServiceTypes, 'foregroundServiceType',
        'foregroundServiceType may be null but it must never be empty!');
  }
  return _channel.invokeMethod('startForegroundService', <String, Object?>{
    'notificationData': <String, Object?>{
      'id': id,
      'title': title,
      'body': body,
      'payload': payload ?? '',
      'platformSpecifics': notificationDetails?.toMap(),
    },
    'startType': startType.index,
    'foregroundServiceTypes': foregroundServiceTypes
        ?.map((AndroidServiceForegroundType type) => type.value)
        .toList()
  });
}