generate_clone

Stop struggling with Flutter flavors, build variants, and complex white-labeling setups.

Tired of maintaining multiple main_dev.dart, main_prod.dart, main_client1.dart files? Frustrated with flavor configurations, build scripts, and environment variables scattered everywhere?

generate_clone is a simple CLI tool that generates fully configured Flutter app clones from a single JSON file. Perfect for:

  • White-label apps - Create branded versions for multiple clients
  • Multi-tenant applications - Deploy the same app with different configurations
  • App cloning services - Automate client app generation
  • B2B SaaS products - Customize apps for enterprise customers

Why generate_clone?

Traditional Approach With generate_clone
Complex flavor setup Single JSON config
Multiple main files One command
Build variant headaches Auto-generated constants
Manual asset copying Automatic asset management
Environment variable chaos Type-safe Dart code

Features

  • Flexible Input Sources: Local directories, ZIP files, or remote URLs
  • Auto-Type Detection: Colors, gradients, strings, ints, bools - all detected automatically
  • Sensitive Fields Support: Use $ENV:VAR_NAME for API keys and secrets (works with flutter_dotenv, Platform.environment, etc.)
  • Auto Project Configuration: Automatically updates pubspec.yaml, creates flutter_launcher_icons.yaml and flutter_native_splash.yaml
  • Latest Package Versions: Fetches the latest versions of required packages from pub.dev
  • Complete Flutter Integration: Runs flutter_native_splash, flutter_launcher_icons, and rename plugins
  • Asset Management: Splash screens, icons, and custom assets organized automatically
  • Zero Configuration: Just provide your config.json and run

Installation

dart pub global activate generate_clone

Or add to your pubspec.yaml:

dev_dependencies:
  generate_clone: ^1.0.2

Quick Start

# From a local directory
generate_clone ./my_client_config

# From a ZIP file
generate_clone ./client_branding.zip

# From a remote URL (CI/CD friendly)
generate_clone https://your-server.com/clients/acme/config.zip

Configuration File (config.json)

{
  "appName": "Acme Corp",
  "packageName": "com.acme.app",
  "baseUrl": "https://api.acme.com/v1",
  "cloneId": "acme",

  "fields": {
    "kPrimaryColor": "#FF5733",
    "kSecondaryColor": "#3498DB",
    "kPrimaryGradient": {
      "colors": ["#FF5733", "#FFC300"],
      "begin": "topLeft",
      "end": "bottomRight"
    },
    "analyticsUrl": "https://analytics.acme.com",
    "maxRetries": 3,
    "enableDarkMode": true,
    "taxRate": 0.15,
    "apiKey": "$ENV:API_KEY",
    "secretToken": "$ENV:SECRET_TOKEN"
  }
}

Supported Field Types (Auto-Detected)

Type Example Value Generated Dart Code
Color "#FF5733" Color(0xFFFF5733)
Gradient {"colors": [...], ...} LinearGradient(...)
String "https://example.com" String
int 3 int
double 0.15 double
bool true bool
Sensitive "$ENV:API_KEY" String get apiKey => _resolve('API_KEY')

Sensitive Fields (Environment Variables)

For API keys, secrets, and other sensitive data, use the $ENV: prefix. This generates code with a resolver pattern that you initialize once in main.dart:

// With flutter_dotenv
await dotenv.load();
CloneConfigs.init((key) => dotenv.env[key] ?? '');

// With Platform.environment
CloneConfigs.init((key) => Platform.environment[key] ?? '');

// With your custom solution
CloneConfigs.init((key) => MySecretManager.get(key));

Note: If your config.json doesn't contain any $ENV: fields, the generated code won't include the resolver pattern and you don't need to call CloneConfigs.init().

For a complete example, check out the example file.

Input Directory Structure

client_config/
├── config.json           # Required: Configuration
├── splash.png            # Optional: Splash screen
├── splashAndroid12.png   # Optional: Android 12+ splash
├── ic_launcher.png       # Optional: App icon
└── assets/               # Optional: Custom assets
    ├── logo.png
    └── background.png

Generated Output

Type-safe, auto-generated lib/generated/clone/clone_configs.dart:

// Auto-generated file. Do not edit manually.
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

abstract class CloneConfigs {
  // Resolver for sensitive fields (only if $ENV: fields exist)
  static String Function(String key)? _envResolver;
  static void init(String Function(String key) resolver) => _envResolver = resolver;
  static String _resolve(String key) => _envResolver!(key);

  // Fixed configuration
  static const String baseUrl = "https://api.acme.com/v1";
  static const String cloneId = "acme";

  // Dynamic configuration
  static const kPrimaryColor = Color(0xFFFF5733);
  static const kSecondaryColor = Color(0xFF3498DB);
  static const kPrimaryGradient = LinearGradient(...);
  static const String analyticsUrl = "https://analytics.acme.com";
  static const int maxRetries = 3;
  static const bool enableDarkMode = true;
  static const double taxRate = 0.15;

  // Sensitive fields
  static String get apiKey => _resolve('API_KEY');
  static String get secretToken => _resolve('SECRET_TOKEN');
}

Use Cases

  • Agencies: Generate branded apps for multiple clients from a single codebase
  • SaaS Companies: Deploy customized versions for enterprise customers
  • Franchises: Create location-specific apps with unique branding
  • Startups: Quickly spin up MVPs with different configurations

Keywords

white-label whitelabel multi-tenant clone flutter-clone app-generator branding flavors-alternative build-variants b2b saas enterprise customization

License

BSD 3-Clause License - see LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request on GitHub.

Libraries