Simple Routes

Simple, declarative route and navigation management for go_router.

Migrations

See the Migration Guide for more information on migrating between versions.

Features

simple_routes is a companion package to GoRouter that provides a simple, declarative way to define your app's routes.

By using simple_routes, you can eliminate magic strings, simplify your route definitions and navigation, and enforce type-safe routing requirements.

Getting started
Usage
Advanced usage
- Route matching

Getting started

This package is intended to be used with the GoRouter package.

dependencies:
  go_router: [latest]
  simple_routes: [latest]

Usage

TL;DR

Define your routes as children of SimpleRoute, then use .go or .push to navigate.

class HomeRoute extends SimpleRoute {
  const HomeRoute();

  @override
  final String path = 'home';
}

...

const HomeRoute().go(context);

For routes with parameters, extend the DataRoute class and define an accompanying data class. Then, use the .go or .push method to navigate, providing an instance of your data class.

// Define your route
class UserRoute extends DataRoute<UserRouteData> {
  const UserRoute();

  @override
  String get path => fromSegments(['user', RouteParams.userId.prefixed]);
}

// Define the route data
class UserRouteData extends SimpleRouteData {
  const UserRouteData({
    required this.userId,
  });

  final String userId;

  @override
  Map<Enum, String> get parameters => {
    RouteParams.userId: userId,
  };
}

...

// Navigate to the route using the data class
const UserRoute().go(
  context,
  data: UserRouteData(
    userId: '123',
  ),
);

Route definitions

Basic (simple) routes

Define your routes as classes that extend the SimpleRoute base class and override the path property with the route's path segment.

class ProfileRoute extends SimpleRoute {
  const ProfileRoute();

  @override
  final String path = 'profile';
}

No need to add the leading slash for a root-level route; if your route is not a child route (more on this below), the leading slash will automatically be added, when necessary.

Route path segments

If your route contains more than one path segment, build your path using the fromSegments method.

class UserProfileRoute extends SimpleRoute {
  const UserProfileRoute();

  @override
  String get path => fromSegments(['user', 'profile']);
}

When in debug mode (or in tests), this method will check for duplicate segments and throw an assertion error if any are found.

Route parameters and DataRoutes

For routes that require parameters, extend DataRoute instead. This will allow you to define a data class that will be used to pass data to your route.

For example, say you have a route that requires a user ID. First, define an enum value that represents the "userId" parameter.

enum RouteParams {
  userId,
}

Next, define your route data class, mapping the userId value to the enum value defined earlier.

class UserRouteData extends SimpleRouteData {
  const UserRouteData({
    required this.userId,
  });

  // Tip: Define a factory constructor to easily create an instance of your data class
  factory UserRouteData.fromState(GoRouterState state) {
    final userId = state.getParam(RouteParams.userId);

    return UserRouteData(
      userId: userId,
    );
  }

  final String userId;

  @override
  Map<Enum, String> get parameters => {
    RouteParams.userId: userId,
  };
}

Finally, we can define our route, extending the DataRoute class.

// Define the route as a DataRoute, typed for your data class.
class UserRoute extends DataRoute<UserRouteData> {
  const UserRoute();

  // Define the route path using the appropriate enum value.
  // Use the `prefixed` property to automatically prefix the
  // enum value name with a colon (e.g. ":userId").
  //
  // To define a path with multiple segments, use the `fromSegments` 
  // method to join the segments with a forward-slash.
  @override
  String get path => fromSegments(['user', RouteParams.userId.prefixed]);
}

Because this route is a "data route," we must provide it with an instance of its route data class when navigating. More on this in the Navigation section.

Please note that the Map<Enum, String> parameters, Map<Enum, String?> query, and Object? extra overrides are entirely optional, depending on your needs.

Parameters

Any values supplied in the parameters map will be mapped to the route template. For example, the userId value will be mapped to the :userId segment in the route path.

Query

Any values supplied in the query map will be added to the route as URL-encoded query parameters. For example, a query value of {'search': 'some query'} will be added to the route as ?search=some%20query.

Extra

The extra property is a catch-all for any additional data you may need to pass to your route. This can be any object and will be added to the GoRouterState object for the route.

Child routes

To define a route that is a child of another route, implement the ChildRoute interface.

class UserDetailsRoute extends DataRoute<UserRouteData> implements ChildRoute<UserRoute> {
  const UserDetailsRoute();

  // Define the route path segment. No need to worry about 
  // leading slashes - they will be added automatically.
  @override
  final String path = 'details';

  // Define the parent route. This will be used to 
  // construct the full path for this route.
  @override
  final UserRoute parent = const UserRoute();
}

In the example above, the generated route will be /user/:userId/details.

Note: Routes that are children of a DataRoute must also be a DataRoute themselves, even if they don't require any data. In cases like these, you can re-use the parent's data class and factory constructor.

However, if they require their own data, the data class must provide it and the data necessary for the parent(s).

GoRouter configuration

Configuring GoRouter is easy. When defining a GoRoute, create an instance of your class and pass the goPath property to the path parameter.

GoRoute(
  path: const HomeRoute().goPath,
),

Below is a full example of a GoRouter configuration, including a route protected by a redirect and extracting data from the GoRouterState in a builder callback.

GoRouter(
  // Note that the initialLocation should use the "fullPath" property
  // to include any parent routes, if applicable.
  initialLocation: const HomeRoute().fullPath(),
  routes: [
    GoRoute(
      path: const HomeRoute().goPath,
      builder: (context, state) => const HomeScreen(),
    ),
    GoRoute(
      path: const UserRoute().goPath,
      redirect: (context, state) {
        // Use the extension methods to validate that any and all 
        // required values are present.

        if (state.getParam(RouteParams.userId) == null) {
          // If the data is not present, redirect to another route 
          // using the `fullPath` method - this is important, 
          // as the `path` and `goPath` properties only include the 
          // route's segment(s), but not the full URI.
          return const HomeRoute().fullPath();

          // Note: If you're redirecting to a data route, the `fullPath`
          // method will require an instance of your route data object. 
          // For example:
          // return const UserRoute().fullPath(UserRouteData(...));
          // 
          // See the "DataRoute generation" section below.
        }

        // If all of the data is present, return null to allow the 
        // route to be built.
        return null;
      },
      builder: (context, state) {
        final routeData = UserRouteData.fromState(state);

        return UserScreen(
          userId: routeData.userId,
        );
      },
      routes: [
        // Define the child route, using the same data class as
        // the parent route.
        GoRoute(
          path: const UserDetailsRoute().goPath,
          builder: (context, state) {
            final routeData = UserRouteData.fromState(state);

            return UserDetailsScreen(
              userId: routeData.userId,
            );
          },
        ),
      ],
    ),
  ],
);

DataRoute generation

If you need the full path of a DataRoute, such as for generating a link or redirect, the fullPath method will require an instance of your route's data class.

For example, given the following route:

class MyRoute extends DataRoute<MyRouteData> {
  const MyRoute();

  @override
  String get path => fromSegments(['user', RouteParams.userId.prefixed]);
}

The fullPath method will require an instance of the MyRouteData class.

redirect: (context, state) {
  return const MyRoute().fullPath(MyRouteData(userId: '123'));
}

This will return the full, populated path: /user/123.

Once your routes are defined and your router is configured, you can navigate between your routes using the go and push methods.

Go

Just like with GoRouter, the go method will navigate to a route, replacing the current route.

onPressed: () => const HomeRoute().go(context),

For your routes that require parameters, the go method will enforce that you pass an instance of your data class.

onPressed: () => const UserRoute().go(
  context,
  data: UserRouteData(
    userId: '123',
  ),
),

Push

The push method will navigate to a route, pushing it onto the navigation stack. The method arguments are identical to their go counterparts, but the push method allows for an optional value to be awaited and returned.

onPressed: () async {
  final result = await const HomeRoute().push(context);
  debugPrint('The result is: $result');
},

Advanced usage

Route matching

Current route

The isCurrentRoute method will determine if your app is at a particular route.

For example, given the following routes:

class BaseRoute extends SimpleRoute {
  const BaseRoute();

  @override
  String get path => 'base';
}

class SubRoute extends SimpleRoute implements ChildRoute<BaseRoute> {
  const SubRoute();

  @override
  String get path => 'sub';

  @override
  BaseRoute get parent => const BaseRoute();
}

and your app is at the location of /base/sub:

// current location: '/base/sub'
if (const SubRoute().isCurrentRoute(context)) {
  debugPrint('We are at SubRoute!');
}

Your app will print We are at SubRoute!.

Parent route

Similar to isCurrentRoute, you can use the isParentRoute method to check whether a route is a parent of the current location.

For example, if your app is at the location of /base/sub:

// current location: '/base/sub'
if (const BaseRoute().isParentRoute(context)) {
  debugPrint('We are at a child of BaseRoute!');
}

Your app will print We are at a child of BaseRoute!.

Note: this method will return false if the current route is an exact match for the route in question (i.e. isCurrentRoute).

For example, if we are at the /base/sub location and use isParentRoute, it will return false:

// current location: '/base/sub'
if (const SubRoute().isParentRoute(context)) {
  debugPrint('We are at a child of SubRoute!');
}

In this case, the print statement will not be executed.

Active route

If you need to determine if a route is active, but not necessarily whether it is the current route or a parent, you can use the isActive method.

This method will check that the route exists in the current location, but does not discern between being an exact match or a parent match.