accurate_step_counter 1.8.12

A highly accurate step counter plugin using accelerometer-based detection with low-pass filtering and peak detection. Includes Hive database logging with warmup validation. Supports foreground, backgr [...]

Accurate Step Counter

A simple, accurate step counter for Flutter. Works in foreground, background, and terminated states. Health Connect-like API with persistent storage.

✨ Features

• 🎯 Accurate - Uses sensors_plus accelerometer with peak detection algorithm
• 💾 Persistent - Steps saved to local DB (Hive)
• 📱 All States - Foreground, background, AND terminated
• 🚀 Simple API - One-line setup, no complexity
• 🔋 Battery Efficient - Event-driven, not polling
• ⏱️ Inactivity Timeout - Auto-reset sessions after idle periods
• 🌍 External Import - Import steps from Google Fit, Apple Health, etc.
• 🧪 Well Tested - 671 automated tests covering all scenarios

🛡️ Why it's Reliable (The ANR Fix)

Previous step counters (and earlier versions of this one) could freeze phones by asking "What time is it locally?" too often (50 times a second!). This forces the phone to read timezone files constantly, causing "Application Not Responding" (ANR) crashes on Android 12.

This package (v1.8.10+) uses UTC time for all high-speed processing. v1.8.11+ also handles cold start scenarios where Android kills the app. It only converts to "Local Time" when showing steps to the user. This means:

1. Zero lag: The 50Hz sensor loop never blocks the main thread.
2. Zero crashes: No timezone file lockups.
3. 100% Accuracy: "Today" is still safely calculated based on the user's local midnight.

🏗️ Code Structure (Simple View)

• SensorsStepDetector (The Eyes): Watches the accelerometer ~50 times a second to find generic movement.
• AccurateStepCounter (The Brain): Filters that movement. It ignores shakes and only counts real walking.
• StepRecordStore (The Memory): Saves every valid step to a local database (Hive) so data is never lost.
• StepCounterForegroundService (The Night Watchman): Keeps "The Eyes" open even when the app is closed (on older Androids).

📱 Platform Support

Platform	Status	Note
Android	✅ Full support (API 19+)	Includes critical ANR fix for Android 12 (v1.8.10+)
iOS	❌ Not supported

🚀 Quick Start

1. Install

dependencies:
  accurate_step_counter: ^1.8.12

2. Add Permissions

In android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_HEALTH"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS"/>

3. Use It!

import 'package:accurate_step_counter/accurate_step_counter.dart';

final stepCounter = AccurateStepCounter();

// 🚀 One-line setup!
await stepCounter.initSteps();

// Get today's steps
final todaySteps = await stepCounter.getTodayStepCount();

// Watch real-time updates
stepCounter.watchTodaySteps().listen((steps) {
  print('Steps today: $steps');
});

// Get yesterday's steps
final yesterdaySteps = await stepCounter.getYesterdayStepCount();

// Custom date range
final weekSteps = await stepCounter.getStepCount(
  start: DateTime.now().subtract(Duration(days: 7)),
  end: DateTime.now(),
);

📖 Complete Example

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:accurate_step_counter/accurate_step_counter.dart';
import 'package:permission_handler/permission_handler.dart';

class StepCounterPage extends StatefulWidget {
  @override
  State<StepCounterPage> createState() => _StepCounterPageState();
}

class _StepCounterPageState extends State<StepCounterPage> 
    with WidgetsBindingObserver {
  final _stepCounter = AccurateStepCounter();
  int _steps = 0;

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    WidgetsBinding.instance.addObserver(this);
    _init();
  }

  Future<void> _init() async {
    // Request permissions
    await Permission.activityRecognition.request();
    
    // Initialize step counter
    await _stepCounter.initSteps();
    
    // Watch today's steps (emits immediately with stored value!)
    _stepCounter.watchTodaySteps().listen((steps) {
      setState(() => _steps = steps);
    });
    
    // Handle terminated state sync
    _stepCounter.onTerminatedStepsDetected = (steps, from, to) {
      ScaffoldMessenger.of(context).showSnackBar(
        SnackBar(content: Text('Synced $steps missed steps!')),
      );
    };
  }

  @override
  void didChangeAppLifecycleState(AppLifecycleState state) {
    _stepCounter.setAppState(state); // Important for source tracking!
  }

  @override
  void dispose() {
    WidgetsBinding.instance.removeObserver(this);
    _stepCounter.dispose();
    super.dispose();
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      body: Center(
        child: Text('$_steps steps', style: TextStyle(fontSize: 48)),
      ),
    );
  }
}

🔧 API Reference

Core Methods

Method	Description
initSteps()	One-line setup (DB + detector + logging)
getTodayStepCount()	Get today's total steps
getYesterdayStepCount()	Get yesterday's total steps
getStepCount(start, end)	Get steps for date range
watchTodaySteps()	Real-time stream of today's steps
setAppState(state)	Track foreground/background (call in didChangeAppLifecycleState)
dispose()	Clean up resources

Reading Logs

// Get all step logs with details
final logs = await stepCounter.getStepLogs();

for (final log in logs) {
  print('${log.stepCount} steps');
  print('From: ${log.fromTime} To: ${log.toTime}');
  print('Source: ${log.source}'); // foreground, background, terminated, external
}

// Filter by date or source
final todayLogs = await stepCounter.getStepLogs(from: startOfToday);
final bgLogs = await stepCounter.getStepLogs(source: StepRecordSource.background);
final externalLogs = await stepCounter.getStepLogs(source: StepRecordSource.external);

// Get stats
final stats = await stepCounter.getStepStats();
// {totalSteps, foregroundSteps, backgroundSteps, terminatedSteps, ...}

Importing External Steps (NEW in v1.6.0)

// Import steps from Google Fit, Apple Health, wearables, etc.
await stepCounter.writeStepsToAggregated(
  stepCount: 500,
  fromTime: DateTime.now().subtract(Duration(hours: 2)),
  toTime: DateTime.now(),
  source: StepRecordSource.external, // Mark as external import
);
// All listeners automatically notified!

// Query external steps
final externalSteps = await stepCounter.getStepsBySource(
  StepRecordSource.external,
);

Data Management

// Clear all logs
await stepCounter.clearStepLogs();

// Delete old logs
await stepCounter.deleteStepLogsBefore(
  DateTime.now().subtract(Duration(days: 30)),
);

Debug Logs Viewer (NEW in v1.8.2)

Display step logs visually with filtering and export:

import 'package:accurate_step_counter/accurate_step_counter.dart';

// Add to your widget tree
StepLogsViewer(
  stepCounter: _stepCounter,
  maxHeight: 300,
  showFilters: true,      // Filter by source (FG/BG/Term/Ext)
  showExportButton: true,  // Copy logs to clipboard
  showDatePicker: true,    // Date range filtering
)

Features:

• 🔍 Filter by source (foreground/background/terminated/external)
• 📅 Date range picker
• 📋 Export to clipboard
• ⚡ Real-time updates
• 🎨 Color-coded entries by source

📱 How It Works (Hybrid Architecture v1.8.x)

App State	Android ≤10 (API ≤29)	Android 11+ (API 30+)
🟢 Foreground	sensors_plus accelerometer (realtime)	Native detector (realtime)
🟡 Background	sensors_plus accelerometer (realtime)	Native detector (realtime)
🔴 Terminated	Foreground service with sensors_plus	TYPE_STEP_COUNTER sync on restart

Key Benefits (v1.8.0):

• ✅ More Reliable: sensors_plus provides consistent accelerometer access across devices
• ✅ Better UX: No persistent notification when app is running (Android 11+)
• ✅ Better battery: Foreground service only runs when needed (terminated state on Android ≤10)
• ✅ Realtime updates: Instant step feedback in all running states
• ✅ No duplicates: Smart duplicate prevention prevents double-counting on rapid restarts
• ✅ OEM Compatible: Works reliably on MIUI, Samsung, and other aggressive battery optimization systems

sensors_plus Step Detection Algorithm:

• Low-pass filter for noise reduction
• Peak detection with configurable threshold
• Minimum time between steps enforcement
• Sliding Window Validation (v1.8.4+):
  • Checks step rate in 2-second windows during warmup
  • Prevents "shake dilution" where short bursts of shaking pass validation
  • Ensures only sustained, realistic walking is counted
• Configurable via StepDetectorConfig

⚙️ Advanced Configuration

For more control, use the advanced setup:

// Initialize database
await stepCounter.initializeLogging(debugLogging: true);

// Start with custom config
await stepCounter.start(
  config: StepDetectorConfig(
    enableOsLevelSync: true,
    useForegroundServiceOnOldDevices: true,
    foregroundServiceMaxApiLevel: 29, // Use service on Android ≤10
  ),
);

// Start logging with preset
await stepCounter.startLogging(config: StepRecordConfig.walking());
// Presets: walking(), running(), sensitive(), conservative(), aggregated()

// Custom config with inactivity timeout (NEW in v1.6.0)
await stepCounter.startLogging(
  config: StepRecordConfig.walking().copyWith(
    inactivityTimeoutMs: 10000, // Reset after 10s of no steps
  ),
);

🧪 Testing

The package includes 671 automated tests covering all scenarios:

# Run all tests
flutter test

# Expected output: 00:02 +671: All tests passed!

Test Coverage

Category	Tests
Foreground State	100+
Background State	100+
Terminated State	100+
Duplicate Prevention	100+
State Transitions	60+
API Level Tests	50+
Edge Cases	50+
Config & Parameters	100+

✅ Production Readiness

This package is production ready with:

• ✅ 671 automated tests
• ✅ Works on all Android versions (API 19+)
• ✅ OEM compatible (MIUI, Samsung, etc.)
• ✅ Battery efficient
• ✅ No duplicate step counting
• ✅ Handles all app states
• ✅ Well documented API

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE