Flutter Data Grid #

A high-performance, reactive data grid for Flutter with comprehensive features including virtualization, sorting, filtering, cell editing, row selection, column pinning, and keyboard navigation.

Flutter Data Grid Overview

Early Development - Beta: This package is in active development. While core features are stable and well-tested, some advanced features are still being refined. APIs may evolve based on community feedback. See Known Issues & Roadmap below for current limitations.

✨ Features #

Core Functionality #

✅ Virtualized Rendering - Only visible rows/columns rendered for smooth 60fps scrolling
✅ Column Management - Resize, pin, hide/show, reorder columns
✅ Column Sorting - Single-column sorting with ascending/descending/clear cycle
✅ Column Filtering - Customizable column filtering
✅ Row Selection - None/Single/Multiple modes with checkbox column
✅ Cell Editing - Inline editing with validation and callbacks
✅ Pagination - Client-side and server-side pagination with customizable page sizes
✅ Theming - Fully customizable appearance
✅ Interceptors - Logging, validation, custom event handling

Performance #

Isolate Processing - Sorting and filtering run on background isolates for large datasets
Debouncing - Configurable debounce for sort/filter operations
Efficient Updates - Reactive state management with RxDart
O(1) Viewport - Constant-time visibility calculations

📦 Installation #

Add this to your package's pubspec.yaml file:

dependencies:
  flutter_data_grid: ^0.0.13

Then run:

flutter pub get

Import the package in your Dart code:

import 'package:flutter_data_grid/data_grid.dart';

⚠️ Known Issues & Roadmap #

This package is in active development. Core features work well, but some advanced features are still being refined:

What Works Well ✅ #

Row selection - Fully implemented with none/single/multiple modes
Virtualized rendering - Smooth scrolling with 100k+ rows
Sorting & filtering - Single-column sorting with background processing for large datasets
Column management - Resize, pin, hide/show columns
Cell editing - Inline editing with validation (some edge cases remain)
Pagination - Client-side and server-side pagination with loading states
Theming - Comprehensive customization options

In Progress / Known Issues ⚠️ #

Keyboard navigation - Arrow keys work but may have issues in some scenarios
Tab navigation - Between cells needs improvement
Cell editing - Edge cases with rapid interactions being addressed

Planned Features 🚀 #

Cell selection - Individual cell selection and ranges
Column selection - Select entire columns
Accessibility - Improved screen reader support and ARIA labels
Column reordering - Drag-and-drop reordering
Context menus - Right-click menus for rows/cells
Copy/paste - Clipboard integration

Production Use #

This package is suitable for:

✅ Internal tools and dashboards
✅ Admin panels and data management UIs
✅ Projects willing to work around known limitations
✅ Applications that can test thoroughly for their use case

Consider waiting for v1.0 if you need:

❌ Full accessibility compliance
❌ Rock-solid keyboard navigation
❌ Complete feature parity with enterprise data grids

Contributions welcome! If you'd like to help improve any of these areas, please see the Contributing section.

🏗️ Architecture #

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              DataGrid Widget                    │
│  ┌──────────────┐        ┌──────────────┐      │
│  │    Header    │        │  Scrollbars  │      │
│  └──────────────┘        └──────────────┘      │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐      │
│  │         Virtualized Body             │      │
│  │  (TwoDimensionalScrollView)          │      │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────┘      │
└────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
             │
    ┌────────▼────────┐
    │   Controller    │
    │    (RxDart)     │
    └────────┬────────┘
             │
    ┌────────▼────────────────────────┐
    │    Event-Driven Architecture    │
    │  • Data Events (CRUD)           │
    │  • Sort Events                  │
    │  • Filter Events                │
    │  • Selection Events             │
    │  • Edit Events                  │
    │  • Pagination Events            │
    │  • Keyboard Events              │
    └─────────────────────────────────┘

📁 Project Structure #

lib/
├── controllers/
│   ├── data_grid_controller.dart    # Main state controller
│   └── grid_scroll_controller.dart  # Scroll synchronization
│
├── models/
│   ├── data/
│   │   ├── column.dart              # Column configuration
│   │   └── row.dart                 # Row interface
│   ├── state/
│   │   └── grid_state.dart          # Freezed state models
│   ├── enums/
│   │   ├── filter_operator.dart     # Filter operators
│   │   ├── selection_mode.dart      # Selection modes
│   │   └── sort_direction.dart      # Sort directions
│   └── events/
│       ├── data_events.dart         # CRUD operations
│       ├── sort_events.dart         # Sorting
│       ├── filter_events.dart       # Filtering
│       ├── selection_events.dart    # Row/cell selection
│       ├── edit_events.dart         # Cell editing
│       ├── keyboard_events.dart     # Keyboard navigation
│       └── pagination_events.dart   # Pagination
│
├── delegates/
│   ├── sort_delegate.dart           # Pluggable sorting
│   └── filter_delegate.dart         # Pluggable filtering
│
├── interceptors/
│   ├── data_grid_interceptor.dart   # Base interceptor
│   ├── logging_interceptor.dart     # Event logging
│   └── validation_interceptor.dart  # Data validation
│
├── theme/
│   ├── data_grid_theme.dart         # Theme provider
│   └── data_grid_theme_data.dart    # Theme configuration
│
├── utils/
│   ├── data_indexer.dart            # Sort/filter operations
│   ├── isolate_sort.dart            # Background sorting
│   └── isolate_filter.dart          # Background filtering
│
├── widgets/
│   ├── data_grid.dart               # Main widget
│   ├── data_grid_header.dart        # Header row
│   ├── data_grid_body.dart          # Virtualized body
│   ├── data_grid_pagination.dart    # Pagination controls
│   ├── cells/
│   │   ├── data_grid_cell.dart      # Standard cell
│   │   ├── data_grid_header_cell.dart # Header cell
│   │   ├── data_grid_checkbox_cell.dart # Selection checkbox
│   │   └── cell_scope.dart          # Per-cell InheritedWidget (CellScope)
│   ├── filters/
│   │   ├── filter_scope.dart        # Per-column filter InheritedWidget
│   │   ├── default_filter_widget.dart # Default text-based filter
│   │   └── filter_text_field.dart   # Reusable filter text field
│   ├── overlays/
│   │   └── loading_overlay.dart     # Loading indicator + scoped overlay
│   ├── scroll/
│   │   ├── scrollbar_horizontal.dart
│   │   └── scrollbar_vertical.dart
│   └── viewport/
│       ├── data_grid_viewport.dart  # TwoDimensionalScrollView
│       └── data_grid_header_viewport.dart  # Header/filter render object
│
└── data_grid.dart                   # Public API exports

⚡ Migration Guide #

v0.0.11 → v0.0.12: Cell rebuild optimization & removed viewport/scroll state #

Breaking changes:

ViewportState removed from DataGridState — The viewport field on DataGridState and the entire ViewportState freezed class have been removed. Flutter's TwoDimensionalScrollView already manages scroll offsets and visible range internally, so tracking them in grid state was redundant and caused unnecessary rebuilds.
ViewportDelegate removed — ViewportDelegate, DefaultViewportDelegate, and ViewportCalculator have been deleted. Remove the viewportDelegate: parameter from your DataGridController constructor if you were passing one.
ScrollEvent / ViewportResizeEvent removed — These events are no longer dispatched or handled. Remove any code that dispatches or listens for them.
FilterRenderer → filterWidget + FilterScope — The FilterRenderer abstract class and DataGrid.filterRenderer parameter have been replaced by DataGrid.filterWidget (a plain Widget) paired with FilterScope (an InheritedWidget). See the v0.0.9 → v0.0.10 migration below for the pattern — the same approach now applies globally.
RowRenderer / RenderContext removed — These unused renderer abstractions have been deleted.

Cell rebuild performance:

Cells no longer subscribe to global state changes via InheritedModel. Instead, each cell subscribes to a stream scoped to its own row/column, so only the affected cells rebuild when selection or edit state changes. This dramatically reduces unnecessary rebuilds in grids with many visible cells.

Loading overlay:

The loading overlay is now wrapped in DataGridLoadingScope, which subscribes only to the loading aspect of the grid state. This prevents loading state changes from triggering rebuilds in unrelated widgets.

v0.0.8 → v0.0.9+: `cellRenderer` → `cellWidget` + `CellScope` #

The CellRenderer interface and the DataGrid.cellRenderer parameter have been removed. Custom cell rendering now uses a plain Widget declared on each DataGridColumn and a CellScope inherited widget for per-cell data access.

Before (v0.0.8):

class MyRenderer implements CellRenderer<MyRow> {
  @override
  Widget buildCell(RenderContext<MyRow> context) {
    return Text(context.value.toString());
  }
}

DataGrid<MyRow>(
  controller: controller,
  cellRenderer: MyRenderer(),
)

After (v0.0.9+):

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

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    final scope = CellScope.of<MyRow>(context);
    return Text(scope.value.toString());
  }
}

// Set per-column — no global cellRenderer on DataGrid:
DataGridColumn<MyRow>(
  id: 1,
  title: 'Name',
  width: 150,
  valueAccessor: (row) => row.name,
  cellWidget: const MyCell(),
)

Migration checklist:

❌ Delete any class that implements CellRenderer<T>
❌ Remove cellRenderer: from your DataGrid(...) constructor call
❌ Create a StatelessWidget with a const constructor for each custom cell
❌ Inside the widget's build, call CellScope.of<MyRow>(context) to access row data
❌ Set cellWidget: const MyCell() on each DataGridColumn that needs custom rendering

Why this change? The old approach built a new renderer widget every frame, preventing Flutter from reusing element subtrees. The new const cellWidget + CellScope pattern lets Flutter preserve element identity across scrolls and rebuilds — only the InheritedWidget data changes, so only CellScope.of call sites are rebuilt.

v0.0.9 → v0.0.10+: `filterRenderer` → `filterWidget` + `FilterScope` #

The FilterRenderer abstract class and the DataGrid.filterRenderer / DataGridColumn.filterRenderer parameters have been removed. Custom filter rendering now uses a plain Widget on each column and a FilterScope inherited widget for accessing filter context.

Before (v0.0.9):

class MyFilter implements FilterRenderer {
  @override
  Widget buildFilter(
    BuildContext context,
    DataGridColumn column,
    ColumnFilter? currentFilter,
    void Function(FilterOperator, dynamic) onChange,
    void Function() onClear,
  ) {
    return TextField(onChanged: (v) => onChange(FilterOperator.contains, v));
  }
}

DataGridColumn<MyRow>(
  id: 1,
  title: 'Name',
  width: 150,
  filterRenderer: MyFilter(),
)

After (v0.0.10+):

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

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    final scope = FilterScope.of(context);
    return TextField(
      onChanged: (v) => scope.onChange(FilterOperator.contains, v),
    );
  }
}

DataGridColumn<MyRow>(
  id: 1,
  title: 'Name',
  width: 150,
  filterWidget: const MyFilter(),
)

Migration checklist:

❌ Delete any class that implements FilterRenderer
❌ Remove filterRenderer: from your DataGrid(...) and DataGridColumn(...) calls
❌ Create a StatelessWidget with a const constructor for each custom filter
❌ Inside the widget's build, call FilterScope.of(context) to access column, currentFilter, onChange, onClear
❌ Set filterWidget: const MyFilter() on each DataGridColumn that needs a custom filter

FilterScope provides:

scope.column — the column definition
scope.currentFilter — the active ColumnFilter (operator + value), or null
scope.onChange(operator, value) — dispatch a filter change
scope.onClear() — dispatch a filter clear

Why this change? Same reason as the CellScope migration: FilterRenderer.buildFilter() was called every frame, creating a new widget subtree each rebuild. The const filterWidget + FilterScope pattern preserves element identity — only widgets that call FilterScope.of are rebuilt when filter state changes.

🚀 Quick Start #

1. Define Your Row Model #

class Person extends DataGridRow {
  final String name;
  final int age;
  final String email;
  
  Person({required double id, required this.name, required this.age, required this.email}) {
    this.id = id;
  }
}

2. Create Columns #

final columns = <DataGridColumn<Person>>[
  DataGridColumn<Person>(
    id: 1,
    title: 'Name',
    width: 200,
    valueAccessor: (row) => row.name,
    cellValueSetter: (row, value) => row.name = value,
    sortable: true,
    filterable: true,
    editable: true,
    pinned: false,
  ),
  DataGridColumn<Person>(
    id: 2,
    title: 'Age',
    width: 100,
    valueAccessor: (row) => row.age,
    cellValueSetter: (row, value) => row.age = value,
  ),
  DataGridColumn<Person>(
    id: 3,
    title: 'Email',
    width: 250,
    valueAccessor: (row) => row.email,
    validator: (oldValue, newValue) => newValue.contains('@'),
  ),
];

3. Create Controller #

final controller = DataGridController<Person>(
  initialColumns: columns,
  initialRows: rows,
  rowHeight: 48.0,
  sortDebounce: Duration(milliseconds: 300),
  filterDebounce: Duration(milliseconds: 500),  // Default: 500ms
  sortIsolateThreshold: 10000,  // Use isolate for >10k rows
  filterIsolateThreshold: 10000,
);

4. Use the Widget #

@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
  return Scaffold(
    body: DataGrid<Person>(
      controller: controller,
      headerHeight: 48.0,
      rowHeight: 48.0,
    ),
  );
}

📖 Detailed Usage #

Column Configuration #

DataGridColumn<MyRow>(
  id: 1,                                  // Unique column identifier
  title: 'Column Title',                  // Header text
  width: 150,                             // Initial width
  pinned: false,                          // Pin to left
  visible: true,                          // Show/hide column
  resizable: true,                        // Allow resize
  sortable: true,                         // Enable sorting
  filterable: true,                       // Enable filtering
  editable: true,                         // Allow inline editing
  valueAccessor: (row) => row.value,      // Get cell value
  cellValueSetter: (row, val) => row.value = val,  // Set cell value
  validator: (old, new) => new != null,   // Validate edits
  cellWidget: const MyCell(),             // Custom cell widget (see CellScope)
  cellEditorBuilder: customEditor,        // Custom editor
  cellFormatter: (row, col) => 'text',    // Format display
)

Data Operations #

// Load data
controller.setRows(myRows);

// Insert rows
controller.insertRow(newRow);
controller.insertRow(newRow, position: 0);  // Insert at index
controller.insertRows([row1, row2, row3]);

// Update data
controller.updateRow(rowId, updatedRow);
controller.updateCell(rowId, columnId, newValue);

// Delete data
controller.deleteRow(rowId);
controller.deleteRows({id1, id2, id3});

Sorting #

// Sort by column (ascending)
controller.addEvent(SortEvent(
  columnId: 1,
  direction: SortDirection.ascending,
));

// Sort by column (descending)
controller.addEvent(SortEvent(
  columnId: 1,
  direction: SortDirection.descending,
));

// Clear sort
controller.addEvent(SortEvent(
  columnId: 1,
  direction: null,  // Clears the sort
));

// Note: Sorting a different column replaces the current sort
// Only single-column sorting is supported

Filtering #

// Apply filter
controller.addEvent(FilterEvent(
  columnId: 1,
  operator: FilterOperator.contains,
  value: 'search term',
));

// Available operators:
// - equals, notEquals
// - contains, startsWith, endsWith (case-insensitive, trims whitespace)
// - greaterThan, lessThan
// - greaterThanOrEqual, lessThanOrEqual
// - isEmpty, isNotEmpty

// String filters are sanitized:
// - Trimmed (leading/trailing whitespace removed)
// - Case-insensitive matching
// - Multiple spaces normalized to single space

// Clear filter
controller.addEvent(ClearFilterEvent(columnId: 1));  // Clear one
controller.addEvent(ClearFilterEvent());              // Clear all

Selection #

// Configure selection mode
controller.setSelectionMode(SelectionMode.none);      // Disabled
controller.setSelectionMode(SelectionMode.single);    // Single row
controller.setSelectionMode(SelectionMode.multiple);  // Multiple rows

// Or use helpers
controller.disableSelection();
controller.enableMultiSelect(true);

// Select rows
controller.addEvent(SelectRowEvent(rowId: 1));
controller.addEvent(SelectRowEvent(rowId: 2, multiSelect: true));

// Select range
controller.addEvent(SelectRowsRangeEvent(
  startRowId: 1,
  endRowId: 5,
));

// Select all visible
controller.addEvent(SelectAllVisibleEvent());

// Clear selection
controller.addEvent(ClearSelectionEvent());

// Listen to selection
controller.selection$.listen((selection) {
  print('Selected: ${selection.selectedRowIds}');
});

Pagination #

// Enable pagination
controller.enablePagination(true);

// Navigate pages
controller.setPage(5);           // Go to specific page
controller.nextPage();           // Next page
controller.previousPage();       // Previous page
controller.firstPage();          // First page
controller.lastPage();           // Last page

// Change page size
controller.setPageSize(25);      // 25 rows per page

// Disable pagination
controller.enablePagination(false);

Server-Side Pagination

For server-side pagination, provide callbacks when creating the controller:

final controller = DataGridController<MyRow>(
  initialColumns: columns,
  initialRows: [],  // Start empty for server-side
  onLoadPage: (page, pageSize) async {
    // Fetch data from your API
    final response = await api.fetchPage(page: page, limit: pageSize);
    return response.rows;
  },
  onGetTotalCount: () async {
    // Return total row count from server
    return await api.getTotalCount();
  },
);

// Enable server-side pagination
controller.enablePagination(true);
controller.setServerSidePagination(true);

// For server-side, you must set total items after loading
controller.setTotalItems(totalCount);

Cell Editing #

// Start editing
controller.startEditCell(rowId, columnId);

// Update value
controller.updateCellEditValue(newValue);

// Commit changes
controller.commitCellEdit();

// Cancel editing
controller.cancelCellEdit();

// With validation
final controller = DataGridController<MyRow>(
  columns: columns,
  rows: rows,
  canEditCell: (rowId, columnId) => rowId > 0,  // Custom permission
  onCellCommit: (rowId, columnId, oldValue, newValue) async {
    // Return true to allow, false to reject
    return await saveToDatabase(rowId, columnId, newValue);
  },
);

Keyboard Navigation #

Built-in keyboard shortcuts:

Arrow Up/Down: Navigate rows
Arrow Left/Right: Navigate columns
Escape: Clear selection
Ctrl+A / Cmd+A: Select all visible rows

Custom Rendering #

Custom cell widgets use CellScope to access per-cell data. Declare a const widget on the column — Flutter preserves element identity across rebuilds, so only widgets that call CellScope.of are rebuilt when data changes.

// 1. Define a const cell widget
class ValueCell extends StatelessWidget {
  const ValueCell({super.key});

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    final scope = CellScope.of<MyRow>(context);
    return Container(
      color: scope.row.value > 100 ? Colors.green : Colors.red,
      padding: const EdgeInsets.symmetric(horizontal: 8),
      alignment: Alignment.centerLeft,
      child: Text(scope.value.toString()),
    );
  }
}

// 2. Assign it to the column
DataGridColumn<MyRow>(
  id: 1,
  title: 'Value',
  width: 150,
  valueAccessor: (row) => row.value,
  cellWidget: const ValueCell(),  // const for maximum performance
)

CellScope<T> provides:

scope.row — the typed row object
scope.column — the column configuration
scope.value — pre-computed value from valueAccessor
scope.rowIndex — zero-based visible row index
scope.isSelected — whether the row is currently selected
scope.isPinned — whether the column is pinned
scope.controller — grid controller for dispatching events

Theming #

DataGrid<MyRow>(
  controller: controller,
  theme: DataGridThemeData(
    colors: DataGridColors(
      headerBackground: Colors.blue,
      cellBackground: Colors.white,
      selectedRow: Colors.blue.shade100,
      gridLines: Colors.grey.shade300,
    ),
    dimensions: DataGridDimensions(
      headerHeight: 48,
      rowHeight: 40,
      columnMinWidth: 50,
    ),
    typography: DataGridTypography(
      headerTextStyle: TextStyle(fontWeight: FontWeight.bold),
      cellTextStyle: TextStyle(fontSize: 14),
    ),
  ),
)

Interceptors #

// Logging interceptor
controller.addInterceptor(LoggingInterceptor<MyRow>());

// Validation interceptor  
controller.addInterceptor(ValidationInterceptor<MyRow>(
  validators: {
    'age': (value) => value >= 0 && value <= 150,
  },
));

// Custom interceptor
class MyInterceptor extends DataGridInterceptor<MyRow> {
  @override
  DataGridEvent? onBeforeEvent(DataGridEvent event, DataGridState<MyRow> state) {
    // Modify or cancel events
    return event;
  }
  
  @override
  DataGridState<MyRow>? onBeforeStateUpdate(
    DataGridState<MyRow> newState,
    DataGridState<MyRow> oldState,
    DataGridEvent? event,
  ) {
    // Modify state before update
    return newState;
  }
  
  @override
  void onAfterStateUpdate(
    DataGridState<MyRow> newState,
    DataGridState<MyRow> oldState,
    DataGridEvent? event,
  ) {
    // React to state changes
  }
}

Custom Events #

You can create custom events to extend the grid's functionality:

// 1. Define your custom event
class ExportToCSVEvent extends DataGridEvent {
  final String filename;
  
  ExportToCSVEvent({required this.filename});
  
  @override
  DataGridState<T>? apply<T extends DataGridRow>(EventContext<T> context) {
    // Access current state
    final rows = context.state.visibleRows;
    final columns = context.state.columns;
    
    // Perform your custom logic
    _exportToCSV(rows, columns, filename);
    
    // Return null if no state change needed
    // Or return modified state if needed
    return null;
  }
  
  void _exportToCSV(List rows, List columns, String filename) {
    // Your export logic here
    print('Exporting ${rows.length} rows to $filename');
  }
}

// 2. Dispatch your custom event
controller.addEvent(ExportToCSVEvent(filename: 'data.csv'));

// 3. More complex example with state changes
class HighlightRowsAboveThresholdEvent extends DataGridEvent {
  final int threshold;
  
  HighlightRowsAboveThresholdEvent(this.threshold);
  
  @override
  DataGridState<T>? apply<T extends DataGridRow>(EventContext<T> context) {
    // Find rows that meet criteria
    final highlightedIds = <double>{};
    for (final row in context.state.visibleRows) {
      // Assuming row has a 'value' property
      if ((row as dynamic).value > threshold) {
        highlightedIds.add(row.id);
      }
    }
    
    // Update selection to highlight these rows
    return context.state.copyWith(
      selection: context.state.selection.copyWith(
        selectedRowIds: highlightedIds,
      ),
    );
  }
}

// Usage
controller.addEvent(HighlightRowsAboveThresholdEvent(100));

// 4. Async custom event example
class FetchAndAppendDataEvent extends DataGridEvent {
  final String apiEndpoint;
  
  FetchAndAppendDataEvent(this.apiEndpoint);
  
  @override
  bool shouldShowLoading(DataGridState state) => true;
  
  @override
  String? loadingMessage() => 'Fetching data from API...';
  
  @override
  Future<DataGridState<T>?> apply<T extends DataGridRow>(EventContext<T> context) async {
    try {
      // Fetch data from API
      final newRows = await _fetchFromAPI(apiEndpoint);
      
      // Append to existing data
      final updatedRowsById = Map<double, T>.from(context.state.rowsById);
      for (final row in newRows) {
        updatedRowsById[row.id] = row as T;
      }
      
      final updatedDisplayOrder = [
        ...context.state.displayOrder,
        ...newRows.map((r) => r.id),
      ];
      
      return context.state.copyWith(
        rowsById: updatedRowsById,
        displayOrder: updatedDisplayOrder,
        isLoading: false,
      );
    } catch (e) {
      print('Error fetching data: $e');
      return context.state.copyWith(isLoading: false);
    }
  }
  
  Future<List<DataGridRow>> _fetchFromAPI(String endpoint) async {
    // Your API call here
    await Future.delayed(Duration(seconds: 2));
    return [];
  }
}

// Usage
controller.addEvent(FetchAndAppendDataEvent('https://api.example.com/data'));

Delegates (Advanced) #

// Custom sort delegate
class MySortDelegate extends SortDelegate<MyRow> {
  @override
  Future<SortResult?> handleSort(
    SortEvent event,
    DataGridState<MyRow> state,
    void Function(SortResult) onComplete,
  ) async {
    // Custom sorting logic
  }
}

final controller = DataGridController<MyRow>(
  columns: columns,
  rows: rows,
  sortDelegate: MySortDelegate(),
  filterDelegate: MyFilterDelegate(),
);

🎯 Performance Tips #

Use isolate thresholds wisely: Default 10,000 rows works well for most cases
Set appropriate debounce: 500ms for filters (default), 300ms for sort
Implement valueAccessor efficiently: Avoid heavy computations
Use pinned columns sparingly: Too many pinned columns affect performance
Dispose controllers: Always call controller.dispose() in State.dispose()

Web / Chrome Performance #

Debug mode on Chrome (without --release or --wasm) will have poor performance. This is expected — Flutter's debug mode includes extra assertions, disables optimizations, and the Dart-to-JS compilation is unoptimized. The data grid automatically caps cacheExtent to 500px in debug builds to mitigate this, but scrolling will still feel sluggish compared to release builds.

For accurate performance testing on the web, always use one of:

# Release mode (recommended for testing)
flutter run -d chrome --release

# WebAssembly (best performance)
flutter run -d chrome --wasm

📊 Performance Benchmarks #

100,000 rows: Smooth 60fps scrolling
Initial render: <100ms
Sorting: Non-blocking with isolate (background thread)
Selection: <16ms (instant feedback)
Column resize: Instant visual feedback

🧪 Testing #

Comprehensive test suite included:

Widget tests for all major features (128 passing tests)
State management tests
Selection mode tests
Edit workflow tests
Keyboard navigation tests

Run tests:

flutter test

📝 Event Reference #

Data Events #

LoadDataEvent - Load rows
InsertRowEvent / InsertRowsEvent - Add rows
DeleteRowEvent / DeleteRowsEvent - Remove rows
UpdateRowEvent / UpdateCellEvent - Modify data

Sort Events #

SortEvent - Apply/modify sort
SortCompleteEvent - Sort finished (internal)

Filter Events #

FilterEvent - Apply filter
ClearFilterEvent - Remove filters

Selection Events #

SelectRowEvent - Select row
SelectRowsRangeEvent - Select range
SelectAllRowsEvent / SelectAllVisibleEvent - Select all
ClearSelectionEvent - Clear selection
SetSelectionModeEvent - Change mode

Edit Events #

StartCellEditEvent - Begin editing
UpdateCellEditValueEvent - Update value
CommitCellEditEvent - Save changes
CancelCellEditEvent - Discard changes

Pagination Events #

EnablePaginationEvent - Enable/disable pagination
SetServerSidePaginationEvent - Toggle server-side mode
SetPageEvent - Go to specific page
SetPageSizeEvent - Change rows per page
NextPageEvent / PreviousPageEvent - Navigate pages
FirstPageEvent / LastPageEvent - Jump to start/end
SetTotalItemsEvent - Set total count (server-side)

Keyboard Events #

NavigateUpEvent / NavigateDownEvent - Move selection
NavigateLeftEvent / NavigateRightEvent - Navigate columns

Column Events #

ColumnResizeEvent - Resize column
SetColumnWidthEvent - Set exact width

🔧 Troubleshooting #

Q: Blank cells while scrolling?
A: This is normal virtualization behavior. Cells render as they become visible.

Q: Sorting/filtering not working in tests?
A: Use sortDebounce: Duration.zero and filterDebounce: Duration.zero for tests. Also use await tester.runAsync(() => Future.delayed(Duration(milliseconds: 50))) before assertions to allow async stream operations to complete.

Q: Selection not working?
A: Ensure SelectionMode is not set to none.

Q: Column resize not persisting?
A: Column widths are in-memory. Persist to storage if needed.

Q: Build errors after changes?
A: Run: dart run build_runner build --delete-conflicting-outputs

📚 Dependencies #

dependencies:
  flutter:
    sdk: flutter
  rxdart: ^0.28.0
  collection: ^1.18.0
  freezed_annotation: ^2.4.4

dev_dependencies:
  build_runner: ^2.4.12
  freezed: ^2.5.7

🚧 Roadmap & Future Enhancements #

High Priority (Addressing Limitations) #

❌ Cell selection - Individual cell selection and ranges
❌ Improved keyboard navigation - Reliable arrow key navigation and Tab support
❌ Accessibility improvements - Screen reader support, ARIA labels, focus management
❌ Column reordering - Drag-and-drop column reordering
❌ Stable cell editing - Fix edge cases and improve UX

Medium Priority #

❌ Context menus - Right-click menus for rows/cells/headers
❌ Copy/paste - Clipboard integration
❌ Row grouping UI - Visual grouping with expand/collapse
✅ Pagination - Built-in pagination controls (added in v0.0.3)
❌ Export functionality - CSV/Excel export
❌ Column auto-sizing - Fit content or fit header
❌ Frozen rows - Pin rows to top/bottom

Low Priority #

✅ Header viewport optimization - Custom RenderObject for header/filter scrolling (no widget rebuilds)
❌ Advanced layout logic - More flexible positioning and z-ordering for overlays
❌ Touch gestures - Swipe actions, pinch-to-zoom
❌ Undo/redo - Action history
❌ Advanced filtering UI - Filter builder with AND/OR logic
❌ Conditional formatting - Rule-based cell styling

👥 Contributing #

Contributions are welcome! This is an experimental project and could benefit from community input.

Areas Needing Help #

Accessibility - Making the grid work with screen readers
Keyboard Navigation - Improving reliability and coverage
Cell Selection - Implementing individual cell selection
Testing - Adding more test coverage
Documentation - Improving examples and API docs
Performance - Optimizing for even larger datasets

How to Contribute #

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Make your changes
Add tests if applicable
Run tests: flutter test
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

Development Setup #

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/archie934/data_grid.git
cd data_grid

# Install dependencies
flutter pub get

# Run code generation (for Freezed models)
dart run build_runner build --delete-conflicting-outputs

# Run tests
flutter test

# Run the example app
cd example
flutter pub get
flutter run

📄 License #

See LICENSE file.

🙏 Acknowledgments #

Built with Flutter's TwoDimensionalScrollView for efficient virtualization
Uses RxDart for reactive state management
Uses Freezed for immutable state models
Inspired by data grid implementations in AG Grid, Handsontable, and Excel

Built with Flutter 💙

flutter_data_grid 0.0.13 flutter_data_grid: ^0.0.13 copied to clipboard

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