Textf

A Flutter widget for inline text formatting — fully compatible with Flutter’s Text widget. Easily replace Text with Textf to add simple formatting:

Textf('Hello **Flutter**. Build for ==any screen== !');

Overview

Textf provides basic text formatting capabilities similar to a subset of Markdown syntax, focusing exclusively on inline styles. It's designed for situations where you need simple text formatting without the overhead of a full Markdown rendering solution.

About the Name

The name "Textf" is inspired by the C standard library function printf (print formatted), which formats text and writes it to standard output. Similarly, Textf (Text formatted) provides simple, efficient text formatting for Flutter applications.

Why Textf?

Lightweight – Significantly smaller and faster than full Markdown packages
Performance-focused – Optimized for speed and memory efficiency
Flutter-native – Uses the familiar Text API for seamless integration
Zero dependencies – No external packages required
Interactive links – Built-in link support with customizable styles and hover effects

Perfect for chat applications, comment sections, UI elements, and any scenario where simple inline formatting is all you need.

Installation

Add Textf to your pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  textf: ^0.5.1

Then run:

flutter pub get

Requirements

Flutter: >=3.0.0

Getting Started

Import the package and use it like a regular Text widget:

import 'package:textf/textf.dart';

class MyWidget extends StatelessWidget {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Textf(
      'Hello **bold** *italic* ~~strikethrough~~ `code` '
      '++underline++ ==highlight== '
      '[link](https://flutter.dev)',
      style: TextStyle(fontSize: 16),
    );
  }
}

Supported Formatting

Textf supports the following inline formatting syntax, similar to a subset of Markdown:

Format	Syntax	Result
Bold	`bold` or `__bold__`	bold
Italic	`italic` or `_italic_`	italic
Bold+Italic	`*both*` or `___both___`	both
Strikethrough	`~~strikethrough~~`	~~strikethrough~~
Underline	`++underline++`	++underline++
Highlight	`==highlight==`	==highlight==
Code	`code`	`code`
Link	`[text](url)`	Example Link

Links `[text](url)`

Syntax: Enclose the display text in square brackets [] and the URL in parentheses ().
Rendering: Links are rendered with a distinct style (usually blue and underlined) that can be customized via TextfOptions.
Interaction:
- Textf renders links as tappable/clickable elements.
- To handle taps (e.g., open the URL) or hovers, wrap your Textf widget (or a parent widget containing multiple Textf widgets) with TextfOptions and provide the onUrlTap and/or onUrlHover callbacks.
- TextfOptions also allows custom styling for links (urlStyle, urlHoverStyle) and mouse cursor (urlMouseCursor).
Nested Formatting: The display text within the square brackets [ ] can contain other formatting markers (e.g., [**bold link**](https://example.com)).

// Example using TextfOptions for link interaction and styling
TextfOptions(
  // Optional: Customize link styles globally for descendants
  urlStyle: TextStyle(color: Colors.green),
  urlHoverStyle: TextStyle(fontWeight: FontWeight.bold),
  onUrlTap: (url, rawDisplayText) {
    // Implement URL launching logic (e.g., using url_launcher package)
    print('Tapped URL: $url (Display Text: $rawDisplayText)');
  },
  onUrlHover: (url, rawDisplayText, isHovering) {
    // Handle hover effects (e.g., change cursor, update UI state)
    print('Hovering over $url: $isHovering');
  },
  child: Textf(
    'Visit [**Flutter website**](https://flutter.dev) or [this link](https://example.com).',
    style: TextStyle(fontSize: 16),
  ),
)

Nesting Formatting

When nesting formatting, use different marker types (asterisks vs underscores) to ensure proper parsing:

Format	Correct	Incorrect
Nested formatting	`Bold with _italic_`	`*Bold with italic***`

Using the same marker type for nested formatting may result in unexpected rendering.

Example

Textf(
  'The **quick** _brown_ fox jumps over \n'
  'the ~~lazy~~ ++wily++ ==alert== `dog`. \*Escaped asterisks\*',
  style: TextStyle(fontSize: 18),
  textAlign: TextAlign.center,
)

Customizing with TextfOptions

The TextfOptions widget allows you to customize the appearance and behavior of formatted text throughout your app. It uses the InheritedWidget pattern to make configuration available to all descendant Textf widgets.

When resolving styles or callbacks, Textf searches up the widget tree for the nearest TextfOptions ancestor that defines the specific property (e.g., boldStyle, onUrlTap). If no ancestor defines it, theme-based defaults (for code/links) or package defaults (for bold, italic, strikethrough) are used.

Basic Usage

// Import url_launcher if you need it for the tap callback
// import 'package:url_launcher/url_launcher.dart';

TextfOptions(
  // Styling options (merged onto the base style)
  boldStyle: TextStyle(fontWeight: FontWeight.w900, color: Colors.red),
  italicStyle: TextStyle(fontStyle: FontStyle.italic, color: Colors.blue),
  codeStyle: TextStyle(fontFamily: 'RobotoMono', backgroundColor: Colors.grey.shade200),

  strikethroughStyle: TextStyle(decorationColor: Colors.orange, decorationThickness: 3.0),

  underlineStyle: TextStyle(decoration: TextDecoration.underline, decorationColor: Colors.purple, decorationStyle: TextDecorationStyle.wavy),
  highlightStyle: TextStyle(backgroundColor: Colors.greenAccent.withOpacity(0.5), color: Colors.black),

  // Link options
  urlStyle: TextStyle(color: Colors.green),
  urlHoverStyle: TextStyle(decoration: TextDecoration.underline, fontWeight: FontWeight.bold),
  urlMouseCursor: SystemMouseCursors.click,

  // Link callbacks
  onUrlTap: (url, displayText) {
    // Example using url_launcher:
    // final uri = Uri.tryParse(url);
    // if (uri != null) {
    //   launchUrl(uri);
    // }
    print('Tapped URL: $url (Display Text: $displayText)');
  },
  onUrlHover: (url, displayText, isHovering) {
    print('Hover state changed for $url: $isHovering');
  },

  child: Textf(
    'This text has **bold**, *italic*, ~~strikethrough~~, `code`, '
    '++underline++, ==highlight==, '
    'and [links](https://example.com).',
    style: TextStyle(fontSize: 16),
  ),
)

Available TextfOptions Properties:

boldStyle: TextStyle? for bold text (**bold** or __bold__).
- Merged onto the base text style if provided.
- If null, DefaultStyles.boldStyle (adds FontWeight.bold) is used as a fallback.
italicStyle: TextStyle? for italic text (*italic* or _italic_).
- Merged onto the base text style if provided.
- If null, DefaultStyles.italicStyle (adds FontStyle.italic) is used as a fallback.
boldItalicStyle: TextStyle? for bold and italic text (***both*** or ___both___).
- Merged onto the base text style if provided.
- If null, DefaultStyles.boldItalicStyle (adds FontWeight.bold and FontStyle.italic) is used as a fallback.
strikethroughStyle: TextStyle? for strikethrough text (~~strike~~).
- Merged onto the base text style if provided.
- If null, the default strikethrough effect is applied using the resolved strikethroughThickness. Providing this overrides strikethroughThickness.
strikethroughThickness: double? Specifies the thickness of the strikethrough line.
- This property is only used if strikethroughStyle is null.
- If both strikethroughStyle and strikethroughThickness are null in the entire ancestor chain, DefaultStyles.defaultStrikethroughThickness (1.5) is used.
underlineStyle: TextStyle? for underlined text (++underline++).
- Merged onto the base text style if provided.
- If null, DefaultStyles.underlineStyle (adds TextDecoration.underline) is used as a fallback. The decoration color and thickness are derived from the base style or package defaults.
highlightStyle: TextStyle? for highlighted text (==highlight==).
- Merged onto the base text style if provided.
- If null, a theme-aware default highlight style (e.g., using Theme.of(context).colorScheme.tertiaryContainer as background) is applied.
codeStyle: TextStyle? for inline code text (`code`).
- Merged onto the base text style if provided.
- Overrides the default theme-based styling for code if specified.
urlStyle: TextStyle? for link text ([text](url)) in its normal (non-hovered) state.
- Merged onto the base text style if provided.
- Overrides the default theme-based styling for links if specified.
urlHoverStyle: TextStyle? for link text when hovered.
- Merged onto the final normal link style (which includes base style and urlStyle if provided).
- Allows defining specific hover appearances.
urlMouseCursor: MouseCursor? The cursor to display when hovering over links.
- Searches up the widget tree for the first non-null value.
- If none found, defaults to DefaultStyles.urlMouseCursor (SystemMouseCursors.click).
onUrlTap: Callback Function(String url, String rawDisplayText)? triggered when a link is tapped or clicked.
- Searches up the widget tree for the first non-null callback.
- Provides the resolved URL and the original, unparsed display text (e.g., **bold** link).
onUrlHover: Callback Function(String url, String rawDisplayText, bool isHovering)? triggered when the mouse pointer enters or exits the bounds of a link.
- Searches up the widget tree for the first non-null callback.
- Provides the resolved URL, the raw display text, and the current hover state (true on enter, false on exit).

Inheritance

When multiple TextfOptions are nested in the widget tree, options are inherited through the hierarchy. If a specific property (e.g., boldStyle, strikethroughThickness, onUrlTap) is null on the nearest ancestor TextfOptions widget, Textf automatically searches further up the widget tree for the first ancestor that does define that property. This allows for global defaults with specific overrides in subtrees.

TextfOptions(
  // Root level options (global defaults)
  boldStyle: TextStyle(fontWeight: FontWeight.w900),
  strikethroughThickness: 2.0, // Use thickness here, applies if style is null below
  urlStyle: TextStyle(color: Colors.blue),
  onUrlTap: (url, text) => print('Root tap: $url'),
  child: Column(
    crossAxisAlignment: CrossAxisAlignment.start, // Align text left for readability
    children: [
      Textf('This uses **blue links**, w900 bold, and ~~thickness 2.0~~.'),

      SizedBox(height: 16), // Add some spacing

      TextfOptions(
        // Override only URL style and strikethrough appearance for this subtree
        urlStyle: TextStyle(color: Colors.green),
        strikethroughStyle: TextStyle(decoration: TextDecoration.lineThrough, color: Colors.red, decorationThickness: 1.0), // Use full style here

        // boldStyle is inherited from the root
        // onUrlTap is inherited from the root
        // strikethroughThickness from root is IGNORED because strikethroughStyle is set here
        child: Textf('This uses **green links**, w900 bold, and ~~red line thickness 1.0~~.'),
      ),

      SizedBox(height: 16),

      TextfOptions(
         // Override only thickness, inherit bold/url/tap from root
         strikethroughThickness: 0.5,
         child: Textf('This uses **blue links**, w900 bold, and ~~very thin thickness 0.5~~.'),
      ),
    ],
  ),
)

Styling Recommendations

To effectively style your Textf widgets and leverage the theme-aware defaults and customization options, follow these recommendations:

Use DefaultTextStyle for Base Styles:
- What: Apply base styling like font size, default text color, or font family by wrapping Textf (or a common ancestor) with DefaultTextStyle.
- Why: This is the standard Flutter approach for inherited text styles. It ensures that Textf's theme-aware defaults (for code and links) and relative format styles (bold, italic) are correctly merged onto a consistent base style provided by your app's theme or your explicit DefaultTextStyle.
```
// Good: Set base style via DefaultTextStyle
DefaultTextStyle(
  style: Theme.of(context).textTheme.bodyLarge!.copyWith(color: Colors.deepPurple),
  child: Textf(
    'This text uses the default style. **Bold** inherits it, and `code` uses theme colors based on it.',
  ),
)
```
Use TextfOptions for Format-Specific Styles:
- What: Use TextfOptions to customize the appearance of specific formatting types (e.g., making bold text blue, changing link underlines, setting a custom code background).
- Why: TextfOptions provides targeted overrides for how formatted segments look, taking precedence over theme and package defaults for those specific formats. See the "Customizing with TextfOptions" section for details.
Use Textf's style Parameter Cautiously:
- What: The style parameter directly on the Textf widget.
- Why: Use this primarily for one-off style overrides on a specific Textf instance where you don't want it to inherit from DefaultTextStyle. Be aware that providing an explicit style here replaces the DefaultTextStyle when the parser calculates its internal base style. If this explicit style is incomplete (e.g., only sets fontSize), it can interfere with the correct application of theme-based defaults (like code background/color) for that specific instance. Prefer DefaultTextStyle for setting the base.
```
// Use with caution: Might interfere with theme defaults for code/links within this Textf
Textf(
  'Specific override `code`.',
  style: TextStyle(fontSize: 12, fontStyle: FontStyle.italic), // Overrides DefaultTextStyle here
)
```
Understand Styling Precedence:
- Textf resolves styles in this order (highest priority first):
  1. TextfOptions: Specific style defined for the format type (e.g., boldStyle, urlStyle) found in the nearest ancestor TextfOptions.
  2. Theme/Package Defaults (if no Option):
    - For code, links, and highlight: Theme-aware defaults derived from ThemeData (e.g., colorScheme.primary for links).
    - For bold, italic, strikethrough, underline: Relative styles applied to the base style (e.g., adding FontWeight.bold).
  3. Base Style: The style inherited from DefaultTextStyle or provided directly via Textf's style parameter.

By following these guidelines, you can ensure predictable styling that integrates well with your application's theme while retaining full control over specific formatting appearances via TextfOptions.

Properties

Textf supports all the same styling properties as Flutter's standard Text widget:

Textf(
  'Formatted **text** example',
  style: TextStyle(fontSize: 16),
  strutStyle: StrutStyle(...),
  textAlign: TextAlign.center,
  textDirection: TextDirection.ltr,
  locale: Locale('en', 'US'),
  softWrap: true,
  overflow: TextOverflow.ellipsis,
  textScaler: TextScaler.linear(1.2),
  maxLines: 2,
  semanticsLabel: 'Example text',
)

Performance

Textf is designed with performance in mind:

Optimized parsing - Efficient tokenization algorithm
Smart caching - Automatically caches parse results
Fast paths - Quick handling of plain text without formatting
Memory efficient - Minimal memory overhead

Performance benchmarks show Textf maintains smooth rendering (60+ FPS) even with frequent updates and complex formatting. Memory usage scales linearly with text length.

Limitations

Textf is intentionally focused on inline formatting only:

Maximum nesting depth of 2 formatting levels
No support for block elements (headings, lists, quotes, etc.)
No support for images
Designed for inline formatting and links only, not full Markdown rendering

If you need more comprehensive Markdown features, consider a full Markdown package.

Roadmap

Implemented Features

✅ Bold formatting with **text** or __text__
✅ Italic formatting with *text* or _text_
✅ Combined bold+italic with ***text*** or ___text___
✅ Strikethrough with ~~text~~
✅ Inline code with `code`
✅ Underline with ++underline++
✅ Highlight with ==highlight==
✅ Nested formatting (up to 2 levels deep)
✅ Escaped characters with backslash
✅ Fast paths for plain text
✅ Link support with [text](url)
✅ Custom styles for each formatting type
✅ Full support for Flutter text properties

Planned Features

🔲 Superscript and subscript with ^text^ and ~text~: Textf('E = mc^2^ and H2O')
🔲 RTL language optimization
🔲 Improved accessibility features

When to Use Textf

✅ When you need simple inline text formatting
✅ When performance is critical
✅ When you want a familiar Flutter Text-like API
✅ For chat messages, comments, captions, or UI labels
✅ For internationalized text with formatting
❌ When you need full Markdown with blocks, links, images
❌ When you need HTML rendering
❌ For complex document rendering

Internationalization (i18n)

Textf is particularly valuable for applications requiring internationalization:

Why Textf is Great for i18n

Translator-friendly syntax - Simple formatting that non-technical translators can understand
Consistent across languages - Maintain formatting regardless of text length or language
Error-tolerant - Gracefully handles formatting mistakes that might occur during translation
No HTML required - Avoid HTML tags that might break during translation workflows

Example with i18n

// In your translation file (e.g., app_en.arb)
{
  "welcomeMessage": "Welcome to **Flutter**, the _beautiful_ way to build apps!",
  "errorMessage": "__Oops!__ Something went *wrong*. Please try again."
}

// In your widget
Textf(
  AppLocalizations.of(context)!.welcomeMessage,
  style: Theme.of(context).textTheme.bodyLarge,
)

This approach allows translators to focus on the content while preserving formatting instructions as simple text markers rather than complex HTML or widgets.

Error Handling

Textf handles malformed formatting gracefully:

Unclosed tags are treated as plain text
Excessive nesting is prevented
Escaped characters are properly rendered

API Documentation

For complete API documentation, see the API reference on pub.dev.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Textf

Overview

About the Name

Why Textf?

Installation

Requirements

Getting Started

Supported Formatting

Links `[text](url)`

Nesting Formatting

Example

Customizing with TextfOptions

Basic Usage

Inheritance

Styling Recommendations

Properties

Performance

Limitations

Roadmap

Implemented Features

Planned Features

When to Use Textf

Internationalization (i18n)

Why Textf is Great for i18n

Example with i18n

Error Handling

API Documentation

Contributing

License

Libraries

textf package

Textf

Overview

About the Name

Why Textf?

Installation

Requirements

Getting Started

Supported Formatting

Links [text](url)

Nesting Formatting

Example

Customizing with TextfOptions

Basic Usage

Inheritance

Styling Recommendations

Properties

Performance

Limitations

Roadmap

Implemented Features

Planned Features

When to Use Textf

Internationalization (i18n)

Why Textf is Great for i18n

Example with i18n

Error Handling

API Documentation

Contributing

License

Libraries

textf package

Links `[text](url)`