SelectionGroup

A Flutter package for grouping selectable widgets with automatic focus management — no boilerplate, works on TV, desktop, and mobile.

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Why it exists

Flutter has no built-in way to group arbitrary selectable widgets and manage focus correctly across them. The common problems this package solves:

• Focus restoration — when the user re-enters a group, focus returns to the last selected item automatically. No FocusNode juggling.
• D-pad / keyboard navigation — items register themselves into the group; traversal, selection on focus, and back-button handling are all wired up internally.
• WidgetState.selected without a controller — any widget can react to selected, focused, pressed, and hovered states through a unified WidgetStatesController, without managing it manually.

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Building blocks

Piece	What it does
SelectionGroup.single()	Single-selection group. Focus auto-restores to the selected item when re-entering.
SelectionGroup.multi()	Multi-selection group with optional max limit and toggle callbacks.
SelectionItem	Ready-to-use item. Wraps a FilledButton — you only write the visual via builder.
SelectionMixin	For full widget control. Add to your State to get focusNode, statesController, and select().
SelectionRadio	Themeable radio button driven by WidgetStateProperty.
SelectionControllerBase<T>	The "brain". Manage selection programmatically from BLoCs or ViewModels.

Start with SelectionItem — it covers most cases. Use SelectionMixin when you need to plug selection into an existing widget without restructuring it. Use SelectionRadio when Flutter's built-in Radio doesn't expose enough state hooks for your design.

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Common patterns

These aren't named constructors — they're configuration recipes for SelectionGroup.single() and .multi().

Tab bar / Sidebar

Focus moves to content when a tab is pressed. Selection stays active.

SelectionGroup<Section>.single(
  initialValue: Section.home,
  selectOnFocus: false,
  maintainSelectionOnFocus: true,
  moveFocusOnPress: TraversalDirection.down, // or right
  child: Row(...),
)

Radio group

Selection only happens on press, not on focus. Useful when the user browses options before confirming.

SelectionGroup<String>.single(
  selectOnFocus: false,
  maintainSelectionOnFocus: true,
  child: Column(...),
)

Multi-selection Tag Cloud

Allows selecting up to 3 tags. Oldest is removed when the 4th is selected.

SelectionGroup<String>.multi(
  maxSelection: 3,
  maxSelectionBehavior: MaxSelectionBehavior.dequeue,
  onItemToggled: (tag, selected) => print('$tag: $selected'),
  child: Wrap(
    children: tags.map((t) => SelectionItem<String>(
      value: t,
      builder: (context, states) => MyChip(
        label: t,
        selected: states.contains(WidgetState.selected),
      ),
    )).toList(),
  ),
)

Swapping pages

Focusing an item automatically scrolls a PageController.

SelectionGroup<int>.single(
  initialValue: 0,
  onFocusedItemChanged: (index) {
    if (index != null) pageController.animateToPage(index, ...);
  },
  child: Row(...),
)

Focus-only group

Manages focus restoration and D-pad traversal without any visual selection state.

SelectionGroup<String>.single(
  applySelectedState: false,
  child: Column(...),
)

---

External state (BLoC / ViewModel)

Starting with version 0.2.2, you can instantiate controllers outside the widget tree. This is the recommended way to handle selection in complex apps.

1. Create the controller

// In your State or ViewModel
final controller = SelectionControllerBase<String>.single(initialValue: 'home');

// Drive it programmatically
controller.select('search');   // selects + requests focus (respects applySelectedState)
controller.focus('search');    // requests focus only, no selection state change

// Check state at any time
final isSelected = controller.isSelected('profile');

2. Pass it to the group

SelectionGroup<String>.single(
  controller: controller, // Group will not dispose it
  child: Column(...),
)

@override
void dispose() {
  controller.dispose();
  super.dispose();
}

---

TV / D-pad example

A sidebar where pressing OK moves focus into the content area. Pressing back from the content area returns focus to the sidebar.

Row(
  children: [
    SelectionGroup<Section>.single(
      initialValue: Section.profile,
      selectOnFocus: true,
      moveFocusOnPress: TraversalDirection.right,
      child: Column(
        children: Section.values.map((s) =>
          SelectionItem<Section>(
            value: s,
            builder: (context, states) => SidebarTile(
              label: s.label,
              isSelected: states.contains(WidgetState.selected),
              isFocused: states.contains(WidgetState.focused),
            ),
          ),
        ).toList(),
      ),
    ),
    Expanded(
      child: SelectionItem<Section>(
        value: currentSection,
        moveFocusOnBack: TraversalDirection.left,
        builder: (context, states) => ContentView(section: currentSection),
      ),
    ),
  ],
)

Always specify the type (e.g. <String>, <MyEnum>). Without it, the group won't match values correctly and WidgetState.selected won't fire.

---

SelectionGroup.single()

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
initialValue	T?	null	The selected item on first build. When applySelectedState is false, determines which item receives initial focus only. Ignored when controller is provided.
controller	SelectionControllerBase<T>?	null	External controller. When provided, the group does not dispose it.
onFocusedItemChanged	ValueChanged<T?>?	null	Called when the focused item changes. null when the group loses focus.
applySelectedState	bool	true	When false, the group manages focus only — WidgetState.selected is never applied.
selectOnFocus	bool	true	Whether focusing an item also selects it. Ignored when applySelectedState is false.
maintainSelectionOnFocus	bool	false	Whether WidgetState.selected stays visible while the group has focus.
focusInitialItem	bool	false	Whether the initial item requests focus on the first frame.
moveFocusOnPress	TraversalDirection?	null	Moves focus in this direction when an item is pressed.
moveFocusOnBack	TraversalDirection?	null	Moves focus in this direction when the back button (remotes/controllers) is pressed and a group item has focus.

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SelectionGroup.multi()

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
initialValues	Set<T>?	null	The selected items on first build.
onItemToggled	void Function(T, bool)?	null	Called when an item is toggled. Second argument is the new selected state.
onFocusedItemChanged	ValueChanged<T?>?	null	Called when the focused item changes. null when the group loses focus.
maxSelection	int?	null	Maximum number of simultaneously selected items.
maxSelectionBehavior	MaxSelectionBehavior	.block	What happens when maxSelection is reached.
initialItemToFocus	T?	null	The item that receives focus on the first frame.

MaxSelectionBehavior

Value	Behavior
block	Prevents selecting more items once the limit is reached.
dequeue	Removes the oldest selected item to make room for the new one.

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SelectionGroup.of<T>()

Returns the SelectionControllerBase<T> from the closest SelectionGroup<T> ancestor, or null if there is none:

// select: applies selection state + requests focus
SelectionGroup.of<String>(context)?.select('home');

// focus: requests focus only, no selection state change
SelectionGroup.of<String>(context)?.focus('home');

final isSelected = SelectionGroup.of<String>(context)?.isSelected('home');

Always specify the type when calling SelectionGroup.of<T>().

---

SelectionItem

Handles focus, press, and WidgetState automatically — you only write the visual:

SelectionItem<String>(
  value: 'home',
  builder: (context, states) {
    return Container(
      color: states.contains(WidgetState.selected) ? Colors.blue : Colors.transparent,
      child: Text('Home'),
    );
  },
)

Under the hood it uses a FilledButton with a neutral style, inheriting Flutter's native focus engine — TV (D-pad), touch, mouse, and keyboard all work automatically.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
value	T?	required	Identifies this item within the group. Pass null to opt out of group selection while keeping focus and press states.
builder	Widget Function(BuildContext, Set<WidgetState>)	required	Builds the visual. Receives the current state set on every change.
onPressed	VoidCallback?	null	Additional callback fired on press, after select().
enabled	bool	true	When false, WidgetState.disabled is applied.
autofocus	bool	false	Whether this item requests focus when first built.
moveFocusOnPress	TraversalDirection?	null	Moves focus in this direction when this item is pressed. Overrides the group's moveFocusOnPress for this item.
moveFocusOnBack	TraversalDirection?	null	Moves focus in this direction when the back button (remotes/controllers) is pressed and this item has focus.
externalStates	Set<WidgetState>?	null	When set, the item becomes a passive visual driven by these states. See below.

externalStates

When externalStates is set, the item bypasses its own focusNode, statesController, and FilledButton entirely (rendered inside IgnorePointer). Useful for composing a radio inside a list item:

SelectionItem<String>(
  value: 'option1',
  builder: (context, states) {
    return Row(
      children: [
        Text('Option 1'),
        SelectionRadio<String>(
          value: 'option1',
          externalStates: states,
        ),
      ],
    );
  },
)

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SelectionMixin

Use when you need full control over the widget structure:

class _MyNavItemState extends State<MyNavItem>
    with SelectionMixin<MyNavItem, String> {

  @override
  String? get selectionValue => widget.value;

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return FilledButton(
      focusNode: focusNode,
      statesController: statesController,
      onPressed: () => select(),
      child: Text(widget.label),
    );
  }
}

Always specify both types (e.g. SelectionMixin<MyWidget, String>).

---

SelectionRadio

Flutter's built-in Radio doesn't expose its WidgetStatesController — reacting to focused, hovered, and selected simultaneously in a custom design isn't possible without rewriting the widget. SelectionRadio solves that by exposing three layers, each driven by a WidgetStateProperty:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
value	T	required	Identifies this radio within its SelectionGroup.
enabled	bool	true	When false, WidgetState.disabled is applied.
overlayColor	WidgetStateProperty<Color?>?	null	Outer circle — typically used for focus/hover feedback.
borderColor	WidgetStateProperty<Color?>?	null	Border circle.
dotColor	WidgetStateProperty<Color?>?	null	Inner dot — typically visible when selected.
externalStates	Set<WidgetState>?	null	When set, renders passively using these states.

SelectionGroup<String>.single(
  initialValue: 'a',
  selectOnFocus: false,
  child: Row(
    children: [
      SelectionRadio<String>(
        value: 'a',
        overlayColor: WidgetStateProperty.resolveWith((states) =>
          states.contains(WidgetState.focused)
            ? Colors.blue.withValues(alpha: 0.12)
            : Colors.transparent,
        ),
        borderColor: WidgetStateProperty.resolveWith((states) =>
          states.contains(WidgetState.selected) ? Colors.blue : Colors.grey,
        ),
        dotColor: WidgetStateProperty.resolveWith((states) =>
          states.contains(WidgetState.selected) ? Colors.blue : Colors.transparent,
        ),
      ),
    ],
  ),
)

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How it works

SelectionGroup uses an InheritedWidget to provide a controller to all descendants. When focus enters the group, the controller calls requestFocus() on the FocusNode of the currently selected item — restoring focus exactly where the user left off.

Each item registers its FocusNode via SelectionMixin, which handles registration, cleanup, and WidgetState.selected updates automatically. Calling select() also requests focus for the item, so touch interactions move focus correctly without any extra wiring.

SelectionGroup wraps its subtree in a FocusTraversalGroup with WidgetOrderTraversalPolicy, so focus follows widget tree order internally and doesn't leak outside the group.

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Migration from 0.1.x

Old	New
SelectionGroup()	SelectionGroup.single()
SelectionGroupItem	SelectionItem
SelectionGroupItemMixin	SelectionMixin
SelectionGroupRadio	SelectionRadio
SelectionGroupController	Internal — no longer part of the public API

The old API still works but is deprecated and frozen.