hotspot_connection

A Flutter plugin for local network peer-to-peer (P2P) discovery and communication. This plugin uses native Network Service Discovery (NSD on Android, Bonjour/NetService on iOS) to find nearby devices on the same Wi-Fi network and establishes direct TCP socket connections for real-time data broadcasting and chat rooms.

Features

Broadcast Presence: Let other devices on the local network find you.
Discover Devices: Scan the network for other devices broadcasting their presence.
Create P2P Rooms: Host a session and connect with multiple selected devices.
Real-time Messaging: Send and receive text payloads natively across connected TCP sockets.
Cross-Platform: Supports both Android and iOS with native APIs.

Platform Setup

Android

Add the following permissions to your android/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE" />

iOS

Add the following keys to your ios/Runner/Info.plist:

<key>NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription</key>
<string>We need to discover nearby devices.</string>
<key>NSBonjourServices</key>
<array>
    <string>_hotspotchat._tcp</string>
</array>

Usage

1. Initialize Plugin

import 'package:hotspot_connection/hotspot_connection.dart';

final hotspot = HotspotConnection();

2. Joiner: Broadcast Presence

To allow the host to find you, start broadcasting your username:

await hotspot.startBroadcasting("John Doe");

// Listen for connection events when the host creates the room
hotspot.roomEvents.listen((event) {
  if (event['type'] == 'connected') {
    print("Joined the room!");
  }
});

3. Host: Discover Devices

Start looking for broadcasting devices:

await hotspot.startDiscovery();

// Listen to the discovery stream to see devices as they are found
hotspot.discoveryEvents.listen((device) {
  print("Found device: $device");
});

4. Host: Create a Room

Once you have collected the names of the discovered devices, select the ones you want to connect to:

await hotspot.stopDiscovery(); // Good practice to stop scanning before connecting
await hotspot.createRoom(["John Doe", "Jane Smith"]);

5. Send and Receive Messages

Once connected, both Host and Joiners can listen to and send messages:

Listen for messages:

hotspot.roomEvents.listen((event) {
  if (event['type'] == 'message') {
    print("Received: ${event['data']}");
  } else if (event['type'] == 'disconnected') {
    print("A user disconnected.");
  }
});

Send a message:

await hotspot.sendMessage("Hello everyone!");

Example

Check the example/ folder for a complete working chat application implementing host and join features.