chat_context_menu 2.3.0

A Flutter package that provides chat context menu with customizable appearance and animations, perfect for chat applications.

Chat Context Menu

A Flutter package that provides an iOS-style chat context menu with customizable appearance and animations. This package handles the positioning, arrow indicator, and background blur/dimming, allowing you to provide any widget as the menu content.

Features

• iOS-style Context Menu: Smooth animations and layout similar to native iOS context menus.
• Automatic Positioning: The menu is automatically positioned near the target widget, with smart overflow handling.
• Arrow Indicator: An optional arrow points to the target widget.
• Customizable Appearance: Configure background color, border radius, and barrier color.
• Flexible Content: You provide the widget for the menu content, giving you full control over the items and layout.
• Easy Integration: Wrap any widget with ChatContextMenuWrapper to enable the context menu.
• Selectable Text: ChatSelectableText provides fully custom text selection with draggable handles, auto-scroll, and a context menu with smart positioning — ideal for chat bubbles.
• Platform-Adaptive Triggers: Configurable trigger modes for mobile (tap / double-tap / long-press) and desktop (right-click / left-click) on ChatContextMenuWrapper.
• Barrier anchor cutout (opt-in): Set excludeAnchorFromBarrier: true with a non-transparent barrierColor to punch a hole over the anchor, keep it bright and tappable, and dismiss on shaded taps (in-route dismiss scrim). Use barrierAnchorPadding / barrierAnchorBorderRadius to size and round the cutout. When false (default), the barrier is a classic full sheet over the previous route.

Screenshots

ScreenShot	ScreenShot	ScreenShot ｜

Getting started

Add chat_context_menu to your pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  chat_context_menu: ^last_version

Usage

Wrap the widget you want to trigger the menu (usually a chat bubble) with ChatContextMenuWrapper.

import 'package:chat_context_menu/chat_context_menu.dart';
import 'package:example/app_theme.dart';
import 'package:example/context_menu_pane.dart';
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

void main() {
  runApp(const MyApp());
}

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  const MyApp({super.key});

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      title: 'Chat Context Menu',
      theme: AppTheme.light,
      darkTheme: AppTheme.dark,
      themeMode: .system,
      debugShowCheckedModeBanner: false,
      home: const ChatScreen(),
    );
  }
}

class ChatScreen extends StatefulWidget {
  const ChatScreen({super.key});

  @override
  State<ChatScreen> createState() => _ChatScreenState();
}

class _ChatScreenState extends State<ChatScreen> {
  final List<String> _messages = [
    "Hello!",
    "Hello!",
    "How are you?",
    "Im Fine",
    "and you?",
    "Im good too, thanks for asking.",
    "This is a long press context menu demo.",
    "Try long pressing on any message.",
    "Try long pressing on any message.",
    "You can see different options.",
    "You can see different options.",
    "Like Reply, Copy, Forward, Delete.",
    "It mimics the iOS style context menu.",
    "Hope",
    "It mimics the iOS style context menu.",
    "Hope",
    "Like Reply, Copy, Forward, Delete.",
  ];

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    final ThemeData theme = Theme.of(context);
    final TextTheme textTheme = theme.textTheme;
    final ColorScheme colorScheme = theme.colorScheme;

    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(title: const Text('Chat Context Menu')),
      body: Column(
        children: [
          Expanded(
            child: ListView.builder(
              padding: const EdgeInsets.all(16),
              itemCount: _messages.length,
              itemBuilder: (context, index) {
                final isMe = index % 2 == 0;
                return Padding(
                  padding: const EdgeInsets.symmetric(vertical: 4),
                  child: Align(
                    alignment: isMe
                        ? Alignment.centerRight
                        : Alignment.centerLeft,
                    child: ChatContextMenuWrapper(
                      barrierColor: Colors.transparent,
                      backgroundColor: colorScheme.surface,
                      borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular(10),
                      shadows: [
                        BoxShadow(
                          color: colorScheme.onSurface.withValues(alpha: 0.15),
                          blurRadius: 32,
                        ),
                      ],
                      menuBuilder: (context, hideMenu) {
                        return ContextMenuPane(
                          textTheme: textTheme,
                          colorScheme: colorScheme,
                          onReplayTap: hideMenu,
                          onForwardTap: hideMenu,
                          onCopyTap: hideMenu,
                          onDeleteTap: hideMenu,
                          onMoreTap: hideMenu,
                          onQuoteTap: hideMenu,
                          onSelectTap: hideMenu,
                        );
                      },
                      widgetBuilder: (context, showMenu) {
                        return GestureDetector(
                          onLongPress: showMenu,
                          child: Container(
                            padding: const EdgeInsets.symmetric(
                              horizontal: 12,
                              vertical: 8,
                            ),
                            margin: .symmetric(vertical: 4),
                            decoration: BoxDecoration(
                              color: isMe
                                  ? colorScheme.primary
                                  : colorScheme.surfaceContainerHighest,
                              borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular(8),
                            ),
                            child: Text(
                              _messages[index],
                              style: TextStyle(
                                fontSize: 16,
                                color: isMe ? colorScheme.onPrimary : null,
                              ),
                            ),
                          ),
                        );
                      },
                    ),
                  ),
                );
              },
            ),
          ),
          Padding(
            padding: const EdgeInsets.all(8.0),
            child: TextField(
              decoration: const InputDecoration(
                hintText: 'Type a message...',
                border: OutlineInputBorder(),
              ),
            ),
          ),
        ],
      ),
      bottomNavigationBar: BottomNavigationBar(
        items: const [
          BottomNavigationBarItem(icon: Icon(Icons.chat), label: 'Chat'),
          BottomNavigationBarItem(
            icon: Icon(Icons.settings),
            label: 'Settings',
          ),
        ],
      ),
    );
  }
}

Customization

You can customize the ChatContextMenuWrapper with the following properties:

• menuBuilder: A builder function that returns the widget to display in the menu. It provides a hideMenu callback.
• barrierColor: Color of the background overlay.
• excludeAnchorFromBarrier: When true, the overlay leaves a cutout over the anchor (see Usage notes). Default is false (standard modal dimming over the anchor as well).
• barrierAnchorPadding: EdgeInsets applied around the measured anchor rect to expand or shrink the barrier cutout.
• barrierAnchorBorderRadius: Optional bubble corner radius for both the punched hole outline and dismiss hit-testing (typically match your bubble BorderRadius.circular(...)).
• backgroundColor: Background color of the menu container.
• borderRadius: Border radius of the menu container.
• padding: Padding inside the menu container.
• barrierDismissible: When true (default), tapping the dimmed area closes the menu; when false, taps play the system alert sound and the menu stays open (aligned with Flutter’s ModalBarrier behavior).

Usage notes

Barrier with anchor cutout (recommended for chat bubbles)

• Set a non-transparent barrierColor and excludeAnchorFromBarrier: true. The overlay draws a hole over the wrapped anchor and uses an in-route dismiss layer so taps on the shaded area call Navigator.maybePop reliably (the hole geometry is shared by painting and hit-testing).
• Set barrierAnchorBorderRadius to match your bubble’s BoxDecoration.borderRadius so the cutout outline matches the bubble; if they differ, corners look misaligned.
• Use barrierAnchorPadding to slightly inflate or shrink the cutout if you need extra breathing room around the widget.

Long or scrollable content

• This applies when excludeAnchorFromBarrier is true: a tall message in a ListView still lays out at full content height; the package clips the anchor rect to the nearest scroll viewport (RenderAbstractViewport) and the MediaQuery window before opening the route, so the hole does not “brighten” the input bar or other UI below the list. If you use unusual clipping (nested scrollables, custom viewports), verify the result in your layout.

Default without cutout

• With excludeAnchorFromBarrier: false (default), you get Flutter’s usual modal barrier: the anchor is dimmed like the rest of the screen (no hole, no in-route dismiss scrim for that mode).

Menu wrapper scope

• ChatContextMenuWrapper measures the outer Listener around widgetBuilder. The trigger widget should be the same subtree you want to treat as the anchor; if you use a cutout, avoid wrapping an unnecessarily large parent or the hole will be oversized.

ChatSelectableText

A fully custom selectable text widget built from the ground up. Users can long-press to activate selection, adjust the range with draggable handles, and perform operations on the selected text via a context menu.

Basic Usage

ChatSelectableText(
  'Long press to select text and see the context menu.',
  style: TextStyle(fontSize: 16),
  menuBackgroundColor: Colors.white,
  menuShadows: [
    BoxShadow(color: Colors.black12, blurRadius: 32),
  ],
  menuBuilder: (context, selectedText, hideMenu, selectAll) {
    return Row(
      mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
      children: [
        IconButton(
          icon: Icon(Icons.copy),
          onPressed: () {
            Clipboard.setData(ClipboardData(text: selectedText));
            hideMenu();
          },
        ),
        IconButton(
          icon: Icon(Icons.select_all),
          onPressed: selectAll,
        ),
      ],
    );
  },
)

Custom Selection Colors

ChatSelectableText(
  'Custom selection and handle colors.',
  style: TextStyle(fontSize: 16),
  selectionColor: Colors.orange.withValues(alpha: 0.35),
  handleColor: Colors.deepOrange,
  menuBackgroundColor: Colors.white,
  menuBuilder: (context, selectedText, hideMenu, selectAll) {
    return Text('Selected: $selectedText');
  },
)

In Chat Bubbles

ChatSelectableText(
  message.text,
  style: TextStyle(
    fontSize: 16,
    color: isMe ? Colors.white : Colors.black,
  ),
  selectionColor: isMe
      ? Colors.white.withValues(alpha: 0.3)
      : Colors.blue.withValues(alpha: 0.3),
  handleColor: isMe ? Colors.white : Colors.blue,
  menuBackgroundColor: Colors.white,
  menuShadows: [
    BoxShadow(color: Colors.black12, blurRadius: 32),
  ],
  menuBuilder: (context, selectedText, hideMenu, selectAll) {
    return Row(
      mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
      children: [
        TextButton(onPressed: () { hideMenu(); }, child: Text('Copy')),
        TextButton(onPressed: selectAll, child: Text('Select All')),
      ],
    );
  },
  onSelectionChanged: (text) {
    debugPrint('Selected: $text');
  },
)

Word Selection Mode

// Select only the tapped word instead of all text
ChatSelectableText(
  'Long press a word to select just that word.',
  selectAllOnActivate: false,
  menuBuilder: (context, selectedText, hideMenu, selectAll) {
    return Row(
      mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
      children: [
        TextButton(onPressed: () { hideMenu(); }, child: Text('Copy')),
        TextButton(onPressed: selectAll, child: Text('Select All')),
      ],
    );
  },
)

ChatSelectableText Properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
data	String	required	Text content
style	TextStyle?	null	Text style
selectionColor	Color?	theme primary (30% alpha)	Selection highlight color
handleColor	Color?	theme primary	Drag handle color
handleSize	double	16.0	Handle widget size
selectAllOnActivate	bool	true	Select all text on activation, or just tapped word
autoScrollEdgeExtent	double	48.0	Distance from edge to trigger auto-scroll
autoScrollSpeed	double	10.0	Auto-scroll speed in pixels per frame
enableHapticFeedback	bool	true	Haptic feedback on selection activation
menuBuilder	Widget Function(BuildContext, String, VoidCallback, VoidCallback)	required	Menu content builder (context, text, hide, selectAll)
menuBackgroundColor	Color?	null	Menu background color
menuBorderRadius	BorderRadius	BorderRadius.circular(8)	Menu corner radius
menuPadding	EdgeInsets	EdgeInsets.all(8)	Menu internal padding
menuShadows	List<BoxShadow>?	null	Menu shadow
arrowHeight	double	8.0	Arrow indicator height
arrowWidth	double	12.0	Arrow indicator width
spacing	double	6.0	Space between menu and selection
horizontalMargin	double	10.0	Min margin from screen edges
onSelectionChanged	ValueChanged<String>?	null	Selection change callback
onMenuClosed	VoidCallback?	null	Menu closed callback
transitionsBuilder	Function?	null	Custom menu animation
transitionDuration	Duration	150ms	Menu animation duration

Additional information

For more details, check the example folder in the repository.