smf_flutter_core

The SMF module that creates the Flutter app every SMF app starts from. It provides the app entry role of SMF, which every app has exactly one provider of:

  • the Android and iOS projects of flutter create;
  • lib/main.dart, whose main() awaits bootstrap() and runs the root widget inside the wrappers of other modules;
  • lib/bootstrap.dart, where modules put their start-up code, phase by phase;
  • lib/app.dart, the root MaterialApp, which becomes MaterialApp.router when the app has a router;
  • a fallback start screen with a widget test;
  • pubspec.yaml with the dependencies of all modules, and analysis_options.yaml, which leaves build/ out of the analysis.

The app runs on iOS 15 or newer. For iOS builds with Xcode 27, use Flutter 3.47 or newer; see troubleshooting.

Use with the SMF CLI

smf create adds this module to every app by itself.

You don't add this package to an app yourself: smf create of the SMF CLI puts what the module generates into the app.

SMF generates apps for Flutter 3.44 or newer and Dart 3.12 or newer. It is tested on macOS, Linux and Windows.

Updating the Flutter template

The files in bricks/flutter_core/__brick__ are those that flutter create --platforms=android,ios --org com.example --no-pub my_app writes with Flutter 3.44.2, with these changes:

  • The names and ids come from the app. android:label and CFBundleDisplayName are its name in title case, and CFBundleName in Pascal case. The Android namespace, application id and Kotlin package path, and the iOS bundle id are variables of the brick.
  • IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET, in each build configuration of project.pbxproj, is the tag of the minimum iOS version, and the project has no DEVELOPMENT_TEAM.
  • The Android manifest, Info.plist and the Gradle files hold the tags of the native sockets of the app entry role, each alone on its line.
  • lib/, test/, pubspec.yaml, README.md and analysis_options.yaml are SMF's own.

gradlew, gradle-wrapper.jar, local.properties, .idea/ and the .iml files are left out: Flutter writes the Gradle wrapper when it builds the app, and the rest belongs to one machine.

To move to a newer Flutter:

  1. Run flutter create as above with it.
  2. Copy every file it writes over those of the brick, but for the files that SMF owns or leaves out. The files to copy include .metadata, which names the commit of Flutter, and both .gitignore files.
  3. Make the changes above again.
  4. Compare pubspec.yaml and analysis_options.yaml of the new app with the brick's. Their SDK constraint, the version of flutter_lints and the lints follow Flutter's template, but no test compares these files. The brick's analysis_options.yaml keeps leaving build/ out.
  5. Update the minimum Flutter and iOS versions of FlutterCoreModule, and the Flutter of the CI workflow with the SHA-256 of its archive.
  6. Bundle the bricks with melos bootstrap.

test/flutter_create_test.dart compares the brick with the app of flutter create, allowing only the changes above, and fails when Flutter asks for a later iOS than the brick. It runs when SMF_FLUTTER_CREATE_APP names that app, as the CI job Generated apps (real) does with the Flutter it pins:

flutter create --platforms=android,ios --org com.example --no-pub my_app
SMF_FLUTTER_CREATE_APP=$PWD/my_app dart test test/flutter_create_test.dart

Documentation

Libraries

bundles/flutter_core_bundle
smf_flutter_core
The module that creates the Flutter app every SMF app starts from: FlutterCoreModule, the provider of the app entry role.