NativeFlow

An OS-compliant native runtime for long-running, event-driven Flutter apps:
driver, delivery, fleet, field-service, IoT, chat and voice-agent apps.

NativeFlow provides the runtime. Your libraries own the protocol. The OS owns background policy.

Features

	Android	iOS
One runtime for all workloads (single foreground service)	✅	coordinated background modes
Adapters for your own libraries, with backoff + network-aware recovery	✅	✅
Restore after process death / app relaunch	✅	✅ (relaunch)
Opt-in reboot restore	✅	—
Adapters survive the UI being swiped away (background engine)	✅	—
Persistent, acknowledged event store	✅	✅
Network state events	✅	✅
Notifications: channels, actions, deep links, groups	✅	✅
Full-screen call/alarm notifications	✅	—
Native floating overlays	✅	—
Live Activities / widget refresh	—	✅
OS-scheduled background tasks	JobScheduler	BGTaskScheduler
Honest capability report (supported … unavailable)	✅	✅

What NativeFlow is NOT

• Not a socket, MQTT, HTTP, BLE or location library. It never opens a connection or reads GPS for you.
• Not a way to keep an app "alive forever" or to bypass Doze, OEM battery managers or iOS suspension. No library can guarantee a connection.
• Not a database. The event store is a bounded queue of runtime signals.

Install

dependencies:
  nativeflow: ^0.1.0

Then follow Android setup and iOS setup. Declare only what your app legitimately uses.

Quick start

import 'package:nativeflow/nativeflow.dart';

await NativeFlow.initialize();

await NativeFlow.attach(RuntimeAdapter(
  id: 'driver',
  requirements: const RuntimeRequirements(capabilities: {
    RuntimeCapability.backgroundExecution,
    RuntimeCapability.network,
    RuntimeCapability.notifications,
  }),
  start: (ctx) async {
    channel = WebSocketChannel.connect(url);   // your library
    await channel.ready;                        // throw → retried with backoff
    channel.stream.listen(
      (m) => ctx.emit('ride.offer', payload: {'raw': '$m'}, persist: true),
      onError: ctx.reportFailure,               // → recover()
      onDone: () => ctx.reportFailure('closed'),
    );
  },
  stop: (ctx) async => channel.sink.close(),
));

await NativeFlow.start(const RuntimeOptions(
  notification: ForegroundNotification(title: 'You are online'),
));

NativeFlow.events.named('ride.offer').listen((e) => showOffer(e.payload));

Documentation

Getting started	Install, setup, first adapter
Adapters	Wrapping WebSocket / Socket.IO / MQTT / BLE / location
Runtime lifecycle	States, sessions, engine ownership
Recovery	Backoff, process death, reboot
Events	Event bus, persistence, acknowledgement
Notifications · Overlays · Presentation & Live Activities	UI outside your app
Background tasks · Permissions · Capabilities	Platform features
Logging · Testing · Troubleshooting · Migration	Operating it
Architecture · Decisions · Roadmap	Design

Example

example/ is a complete driver app with one screen per API area. It covers every public method, plus WebSocket, Socket.IO, MQTT and location adapters that keep their own libraries, and a Live Activity widget extension.

Platform limits, stated plainly

• Android: foreground services must be started while the app is visible (Android 12+); typed services need their permission (Android 14+); dataSync is limited to 6 h per day and some types cannot start at boot (Android 15+). OEM battery managers may still kill the service. NativeFlow reports interrupted and restores at the next legitimate opportunity.
• iOS: there are no persistent services. Without a declared continuous background mode (location, audio, VoIP), adapters are paused before suspension. BGTaskScheduler timing is decided by the OS.
• Events are delivered at least once. De-duplicate by event.id.

Security

A closed native command set with no reflective dispatch. Ids and payloads are validated (JSON only, 32 KB maximum). Payloads, notification content and credentials are never logged. No background activity launches. No dangerous permission is declared or requested on your behalf. The privacy manifest is included.

License

MIT