smart_auto_suggest_box 0.2.0

A highly customizable auto-suggest text field with smart dropdown positioning that adapts to available screen space.

Smart Auto Suggest Box

A highly customizable auto-suggest (autocomplete) Flutter package offering two widgets:

• SmartAutoSuggestBox — floating overlay dropdown
• SmartAutoSuggestView — inline suggestion list embedded in the widget tree

Both share the same SmartAutoSuggestDataSource API and item model.

Features

• Two display modes — floating overlay (SmartAutoSuggestBox) or inline list (SmartAutoSuggestView)
• Unified data source — SmartAutoSuggestDataSource with sync initialList and async onSearch
• Smart overlay positioning — auto-repositions to the opposite side if insufficient space (SmartAutoSuggestBox only)
• 4-direction support — top, bottom, start, end with RTL awareness
• Search modes — onNoLocalResults (default) or always (every keystroke)
• Configurable debounce — control search trigger timing
• Keyboard navigation — ↑ ↓ Enter Escape
• Form support — SmartAutoSuggestBox.form() and SmartAutoSuggestView.form() with validation
• Custom builders — item, no-results, loading state
• Internationalization — built-in i18n

Getting Started

dependencies:
  smart_auto_suggest_box: ^0.2.0

flutter pub get

Usage

SmartAutoSuggestBox (floating overlay)

SmartAutoSuggestBox<String>(
  dataSource: SmartAutoSuggestDataSource(
    initialList: (context) => [
      SmartAutoSuggestItem(value: 'apple', label: 'Apple'),
      SmartAutoSuggestItem(value: 'banana', label: 'Banana'),
    ],
  ),
  decoration: const InputDecoration(
    labelText: 'Search fruits',
    border: OutlineInputBorder(),
  ),
  onSelected: (item) => print(item?.label),
);

SmartAutoSuggestView (inline list)

SmartAutoSuggestView<String>(
  dataSource: SmartAutoSuggestDataSource(
    initialList: (context) => [
      SmartAutoSuggestItem(value: 'apple', label: 'Apple'),
      SmartAutoSuggestItem(value: 'banana', label: 'Banana'),
    ],
  ),
  showListWhenEmpty: true,   // show list even when text field is empty
  listMaxHeight: 300,
  decoration: const InputDecoration(
    labelText: 'Search',
    border: OutlineInputBorder(),
  ),
  onSelected: (item) => print(item?.label),
);

Async Server Search

SmartAutoSuggestBox<String>(   // or SmartAutoSuggestView
  dataSource: SmartAutoSuggestDataSource(
    initialList: (context) => [],
    onSearch: (context, currentItems, searchText) async {
      final results = await api.search(searchText);
      return results.map((r) =>
        SmartAutoSuggestItem(value: r.id, label: r.name),
      ).toList();
    },
    debounce: const Duration(milliseconds: 500),
  ),
  onSelected: (item) {},
);

searchMode.always

Call onSearch on every keystroke (after debounce):

SmartAutoSuggestBox<String>(
  dataSource: SmartAutoSuggestDataSource(
    initialList: (context) => localItems,
    onSearch: (context, current, searchText) async {
      return await api.search(searchText);
    },
    searchMode: SmartAutoSuggestSearchMode.always,
    debounce: const Duration(milliseconds: 600),
  ),
  onSelected: (item) {},
);

Dropdown Direction (SmartAutoSuggestBox only)

SmartAutoSuggestBox<String>(
  dataSource: SmartAutoSuggestDataSource(initialList: (c) => items),
  direction: SmartAutoSuggestBoxDirection.top,   // falls back if no space
  onSelected: (item) {},
);

Direction	Description
bottom	Below the text field. Falls back to top.
top	Above the text field. Falls back to bottom.
start	Start side (left in LTR). Falls back to end.
end	End side (right in LTR). Falls back to start.

Form Validation

SmartAutoSuggestView.form(
  dataSource: SmartAutoSuggestDataSource(initialList: (c) => items),
  validator: (value) {
    if (value == null || value.isEmpty) return 'Required';
    return null;
  },
  autovalidateMode: AutovalidateMode.onUserInteraction,
  onSelected: (item) {},
);

SmartAutoSuggestDataSource API

Property	Type	Default	Description
initialList	List<SmartAutoSuggestItem<T>> Function(BuildContext)?	null	Sync initial items
onSearch	Future<List<SmartAutoSuggestItem<T>>> Function(BuildContext, List, String?)?	null	Async search
searchMode	SmartAutoSuggestSearchMode	onNoLocalResults	When to trigger onSearch
debounce	Duration	400ms	Debounce before calling onSearch

SmartAutoSuggestView unique parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
listMaxHeight	double	380	Max height of the inline suggestion list
showListWhenEmpty	bool	true	Show list when text field is empty

Migration from 0.1.x

All old type names are kept as deprecated typedef aliases — no code changes required. Rename at your own pace:

Old	New
SmartAutoSuggestBoxItem	SmartAutoSuggestItem
SmartAutoSuggestBoxDataSource	SmartAutoSuggestDataSource
SmartAutoSuggestBoxSearchMode	SmartAutoSuggestSearchMode
SmartAutoSuggestBoxSorter	SmartAutoSuggestSorter
SmartAutoSuggestBoxItemBuilder	SmartAutoSuggestItemBuilder

Additional Information

• Example app — complete demo with both widgets
• CHANGELOG — version history
• File issues on GitHub