AvoidStreamInBuildRule class

Warns when a Stream is created inside a widget's build() method.

Since: v2.1.0 | Updated: v4.14.0 | Rule version: v3

Detects two patterns that create new stream subscriptions on every rebuild:

  1. StreamController() instantiation inside build()
  2. StreamBuilder(stream: someMethod()) where stream: is a method call

Both cause overlapping subscriptions, memory leaks, and lost events. Excludes safe constructors (Stream.value(), Stream.empty()) and caching idioms (_stream ??= method()).

BAD:

Widget build(BuildContext context) {
  final controller = StreamController<int>(); // Recreated every build!
  return StreamBuilder(stream: controller.stream, ...);
}

BAD:

Widget build(BuildContext context) {
  return StreamBuilder<List<Model>>(
    stream: DatabaseIO.watchAll(), // New subscription every rebuild!
    builder: (context, snapshot) => ListView(...),
  );
}

GOOD:

late final Stream<List<Model>> _stream;

void initState() {
  super.initState();
  _stream = DatabaseIO.watchAll();
}

Widget build(BuildContext context) {
  return StreamBuilder(stream: _stream, ...); // Cached field reference
}

Quick fix available: For a StatelessWidget whose build() passes a bare method call as StreamBuilder's stream: argument (Pattern 2), converts the class to a StatefulWidget with the stream cached in a late final field assigned in initState(). Only offered when the class has no fields and no methods besides build() — see ConvertStatelessToStatefulForStreamFix for why.

Inheritance

Constructors

AvoidStreamInBuildRule()

Properties

accuracyTarget → AccuracyTarget?
Optional accuracy target for this rule (for documentation and tooling). Does not enforce; used by reports and rule-audit scripts.
no setterinherited
applicableFileTypes → Set<FileType>?
The file types this rule applies to.
no setterinherited
canUseParsedResult → bool
Indicates whether this analysis rule can work with just the parsed information or if it requires a resolved unit.
no setterinherited
certIds → List<String>
CERT coding standard identifiers (e.g. STR02-C). Populate only where there is a clear mapping; leave empty for most rules initially.
no setterinherited
code → LintCode
The lint code for this rule.
no setterinherited
configAliases → List<String>
Alternate config keys that can be used to reference this rule.
no setterinherited
conflictingRules → List<String>
Curated opposite/competing rule names.
no setterinherited
cost → RuleCost
The estimated execution cost of this rule.
no setteroverride
cweIds → List<int>
CWE identifiers this rule helps prevent or detect. https://cwe.mitre.org/ — e.g. CWE-798 (Hardcoded Credentials).
no setterinherited
description → String
Short description suitable for display in console output and IDEs.
finalinherited
diagnosticCode → DiagnosticCode
The code to report for a violation.
no setterinherited
diagnosticCodes → List<DiagnosticCode>
The diagnostic codes associated with this analysis rule.
no setterinherited
documentationUrl → String
Returns the documentation URL for this rule.
no setterinherited
effectiveSeverity → DiagnosticSeverity?
Get the effective severity for this rule, considering overrides.
no setterinherited
exampleBad → String?
Short code example that VIOLATES this rule (shown in CLI walkthrough).
no setterinherited
exampleGood → String?
Short code example of COMPLIANT code (shown in CLI walkthrough).
no setterinherited
fixGenerators → List<SaropaFixGenerator>
Fix producer generators for this rule.
no setteroverride
hashCode → int
The hash code for this object.
no setterinherited
hyphenatedName → String
Returns the rule name in hyphenated format for display.
no setterinherited
impact → LintImpact
The business impact of this rule's violations.
no setteroverride
incompatibleRules → List<String>
A list of incompatible rule names.
no setterinherited
isDisabled → bool
Check if this rule is disabled via configuration.
no setterinherited
maximumLineCount → int
Maximum line count for this rule to run.
no setterinherited
minimumLineCount → int
Minimum line count for this rule to run.
no setterinherited
name → String
The rule name.
finalinherited
owasp → OwaspMapping?
OWASP categories this rule helps prevent.
no setterinherited
pubspecVisitor → PubspecVisitor?
A visitor that visits a Pubspec to perform analysis.
no setterinherited
relatedRules → List<String>
Curated "see also" rule names for discoverability in docs/IDE tooling.
no setterinherited
reporter ← DiagnosticReporter
Sets the DiagnosticReporter for the CompilationUnit currently being visited.
no getterinherited
requiredPatterns → Set<String>?
String patterns that must be present in the file for this rule to run.
no setterinherited
requiresAsync → bool
Whether this rule only applies to async code.
no setterinherited
requiresBlocImport → bool
Whether this rule only applies to files that import Bloc.
no setterinherited
requiresClassDeclaration → bool
Whether this rule only applies to files with class declarations.
no setterinherited
requiresFlutterImport → bool
Whether this rule only applies to files that import Flutter.
no setterinherited
requiresImports → bool
Whether this rule only applies to files with imports.
no setterinherited
requiresMainFunction → bool
Whether this rule only applies to files with a main() function.
no setterinherited
requiresProviderImport → bool
Whether this rule only applies to files that import Provider.
no setterinherited
requiresRiverpodImport → bool
Whether this rule only applies to files that import Riverpod.
no setterinherited
requiresWidgets → bool
Whether this rule only applies to Flutter widget code.
no setterinherited
ruleStatus → RuleStatus
Lifecycle status. Default RuleStatus.ready. Use RuleStatus.beta for new or heuristic-heavy rules; RuleStatus.deprecated for sunset.
no setterinherited
ruleType → RuleType?
Semantic type of this rule. Default null = unspecified (legacy). When set, used for quality gates, accuracy targets, and reporting.
no setteroverride
runtimeType → Type
A representation of the runtime type of the object.
no setterinherited
skipExampleFiles → bool
Whether to skip example files (example/**).
no setterinherited
skipFixtureFiles → bool
Whether to skip fixture files (fixture/, fixtures/).
no setterinherited
skipGeneratedCode → bool
Whether to skip generated files (*.g.dart, *.freezed.dart, *.gen.dart).
no setterinherited
skipTestFiles → bool
Whether to skip test files (*_test.dart, test/**).
no setterinherited
state → RuleState
The state of this analysis rule.
finalinherited
supersedesRules → List<String>
Rule names this rule supersedes/replaces.
no setterinherited
tags → Set<String>
Tags for filtering and discovery (e.g. in docs, IDE, or CI). Examples: 'performance', 'accessibility', 'suspicious', 'convention'.
no setteroverride
testRelevance → TestRelevance
How this rule relates to test files.
no setterinherited
usesTypeResolution → bool
Whether this rule triggers lazy cross-library type resolution in the analyzer (e.g. .staticType, .library, .allSupertypes, .enclosingElement).
no setteroverride

Methods

noSuchMethod(Invocation invocation) → dynamic
Invoked when a nonexistent method or property is accessed.
inherited
registerNodeProcessors(RuleVisitorRegistry registry, RuleContext context) → void
Registers node processors in the given registry.
inherited
reportAtNode(AstNode? node, {List<Object> arguments = const [], List<DiagnosticMessage>? contextMessages}) → Diagnostic?
Reports a diagnostic at node with message arguments and contextMessages.
inherited
reportAtOffset(int offset, int length, {List<Object> arguments = const [], List<DiagnosticMessage>? contextMessages}) → Diagnostic
Reports a diagnostic at offset, with length, with message arguments and contextMessages.
inherited
reportAtPubNode(PubspecNode node, {List<Object> arguments = const [], List<DiagnosticMessage> contextMessages = const []}) → Diagnostic
Reports a diagnostic at Pubspec node, with message arguments and contextMessages.
inherited
reportAtSourceRange(SourceRange sourceRange, {List<Object> arguments = const [], List<DiagnosticMessage>? contextMessages}) → Diagnostic
Reports a diagnostic at sourceRange, with message arguments and contextMessages.
inherited
reportAtToken(Token token, {List<Object> arguments = const [], List<DiagnosticMessage>? contextMessages}) → Diagnostic?
Reports a diagnostic at token, with message arguments and contextMessages.
inherited
runWithReporter(SaropaDiagnosticReporter reporter, SaropaContext context) → void
Override this method to implement your lint rule.
override
shouldSkipFile(String path) → bool
Check if a file path should be skipped based on context settings.
inherited
toString() → String
A string representation of this object.
inherited

Operators

operator ==(Object other) → bool
The equality operator.
inherited