selection_group 0.0.9

A Flutter widget that manages selection and focus state across a group of items.

SelectionGroup

A Flutter package for managing selection and focus state across a group of items — similar to how TabController works for tabs, but for any custom selectable widget.

When focus enters the group (e.g. via TV remote or keyboard), it automatically moves to the currently selected item.

Motivation

Flutter doesn't have a built-in way to group arbitrary selectable widgets and track which one is selected while also managing focus correctly. This is especially noticeable on TV/desktop, where navigating into a sidebar or menu should restore focus to the last selected item.

Building blocks

The package is designed as composable pieces — use as much or as little as you need:

Piece	What it does
SelectionGroup	Provides a SelectionGroupController to descendants and manages focus routing
SelectionGroupController	Tracks the selected value and registered focus nodes
SelectionGroupItemMixin	Handles registration, unregistration, focus, and WidgetState.selected automatically — exposes focusNode, statesController, and select() to your State
SelectionGroupItem	Ready-to-use item: wraps FilledButton + ValueListenableBuilder so you only write the visual

You can use SelectionGroupItem for most cases. Drop down to SelectionGroupItemMixin when you need full control over the widget structure.

Note: select() and WidgetState.selected only make sense inside a SelectionGroup — without one, there's no shared selection state to update. Outside a group, SelectionGroupItem still gives you focus and other states via Flutter's native focus engine, but select() is a no-op and WidgetState.selected is never applied.

Usage

1. Wrap your items with SelectionGroup

SelectionGroup<String>(
  initialValue: 'home',
  child: Column(
    children: [
      MyNavItem(value: 'home', label: 'Home'),
      MyNavItem(value: 'search', label: 'Search'),
      MyNavItem(value: 'profile', label: 'Profile'),
    ],
  ),
)

2. Use ready-to-use SelectionGroupItem — the recommended starting point

Handles focus, press, and visual states. You only write the visual:

SelectionGroupItem<String>(
  value: 'home',
  builder: (context, states) {
    final isSelected = states.contains(WidgetState.selected);
    final isFocused = states.contains(WidgetState.focused);

    return Container(
      color: isSelected ? Colors.blue : Colors.transparent,
      child: Text(
        'Home',
        style: TextStyle(fontWeight: isFocused ? FontWeight.bold : FontWeight.normal),
      ),
    );
  },
)

Under the hood it uses a FilledButton with a neutral style, inheriting Flutter's native focus engine — TV (D-pad), touch, mouse, and keyboard work automatically.

SelectionGroupItem can also be used outside of a SelectionGroup — passing value: null opts out of group selection while keeping focus and other button states. Useful when you want the same button boilerplate without the selection logic.

3. Or use SelectionGroupItemMixin for full control

Add the mixin to your State when you need complete control over the widget structure:

class _MyNavItemState extends State<MyNavItem>
    with SelectionGroupItemMixin<MyNavItem, String> {

  @override
  String? get selectionValue => widget.value; // return null to opt out of group selection

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return FilledButton(
      focusNode: focusNode,               // provided by the mixin
      statesController: statesController, // provided by the mixin — includes WidgetState.selected
      onPressed: () => select(),          // provided by the mixin — no-op outside a group
      child: Text(widget.label),
    );
  }
}

The mixin provides:

• focusNode — pass to your button so the group can control focus
• statesController — automatically updated with WidgetState.selected when this item is selected
• select() — marks this item as selected in the group on press

4. Works with any type, not just String

enum NavDestination { home, search, profile }

SelectionGroup<NavDestination>(
  initialValue: NavDestination.home,
  child: Column(
    children: [
      MyNavItem(value: NavDestination.home),
      MyNavItem(value: NavDestination.search),
    ],
  ),
)

5. React when focus changes

Use onFocusedItemChanged to react when the focused item changes — useful for switching pages, expanding a sidebar, or triggering animations.

Returns the value of the focused item, or null when the group loses focus entirely:

SelectionGroup<String>(
  initialValue: 'home',
  onFocusedItemChanged: (value) {
    if (value != null) {
      // item 'value' gained focus — switch page, expand drawer, etc.
    } else {
      // group lost focus — collapse drawer, etc.
    }
  },
  child: Column(...),
)

By default, WidgetState.selected is suppressed on all items while the group has focus, so focused and selected states don't overlap visually. It restores when the group loses focus entirely.

6. Control when selection happens

By default, an item is selected as soon as it gains focus — ideal for TV navigation drawers where focus and selection are the same thing.

Set selectOnFocus: false when selection should only happen on press — for example, radio buttons:

SelectionGroup(
  initialValue: 'option1',
  selectOnFocus: false,
  child: Column(
    children: [
      MyRadioItem(value: 'option1'),
      MyRadioItem(value: 'option2'),
    ],
  ),
)

Focus still moves freely between items — only the selection behavior changes.

7. Show selected and focused states simultaneously

By default, WidgetState.selected is suppressed while the group has focus so the two states don't overlap visually. Set maintainSelectionOnFocus: true when you want both states visible at the same time — for example, a list where the selected row should stay highlighted while you navigate:

SelectionGroup<String>(
  initialValue: 'item1',
  maintainSelectionOnFocus: true,
  child: Column(
    children: [
      MyListItem(value: 'item1'),
      MyListItem(value: 'item2'),
    ],
  ),
)

With this enabled, items can show WidgetState.selected and WidgetState.focused at the same time. Without it (the default), WidgetState.selected is only visible when the group has no focus.

8. Focus the initial item automatically

Set focusInitialItem: true to have the initialValue item request focus on the first frame — useful when a screen opens and focus should land directly on the selected item without any user interaction:

SelectionGroup<String>(
  initialValue: 'home',
  focusInitialItem: true,
  child: Column(
    children: [
      MyNavItem(value: 'home'),
      MyNavItem(value: 'search'),
    ],
  ),
)

This is a one-time request on mount. After that, focus follows the normal traversal rules.

How it works

SelectionGroup uses an InheritedWidget to provide a SelectionGroupController to all descendants. When focus enters the group, the controller calls requestFocus() on the FocusNode of the currently selected item.

Each item registers its FocusNode with the controller via SelectionGroupItemMixin, which handles registration, cleanup, and WidgetState.selected updates automatically.