flutter-api_skill

Overview

This skill is a comprehensive Flutter API reference that documents widgets, Material and Cupertino components, layout, animation, navigation, gestures, state management, and platform integration. It is designed to speed development by providing concise examples, common patterns, and recommended APIs for building cross-platform mobile, web, and desktop apps with Flutter.

How this skill works

The reference inspects core Flutter libraries and surfaces practical usage notes, code snippets, and typical workflows for widgets, forms, lists, navigation, and animations. It categorizes examples by library (widgets, material, cupertino, animation, navigation) and highlights common patterns like responsive layout, state handling, and platform channels for native integration.

When to use it

• When implementing UI with Flutter and you need quick, copy-ready widget examples.
• When choosing between Material and Cupertino components for platform-adaptive design.
• When building lists, grids, scrolling layouts, or optimizing large data sets.
• When implementing navigation patterns, passing arguments, or returning results between routes.
• When adding animations (implicit or explicit) or gesture-driven interactions.
• When integrating native platform features via platform channels or plugins.

Best practices

• Prefer composable widgets (small, focused widgets) to improve reuse and testability.
• Use ListView.builder or GridView.builder for large or dynamic collections to save memory.
• Validate forms with GlobalKey<FormState> and TextFormField validators for consistent UX.
• Choose Material or Cupertino at the top level to keep consistent platform look and feel, or adapt selectively for platform-specific polish.
• Dispose AnimationController and other controllers in dispose() to avoid memory leaks.
• Use Navigator named routes for app-wide routing and push/pop for transient navigation; pass typed arguments to avoid runtime casts.

Example use cases

• Create a responsive dashboard using Row, Column, Flexible, and Wrap to adapt to screen sizes.
• Build a paginated list using ListView.builder with separators and pull-to-refresh behavior.
• Implement a form with validation, masked inputs, and submit handling using Form and TextFormField.
• Animate a layout change with AnimatedContainer or an explicit AnimationController for complex motion.
• Provide an iOS-first experience with CupertinoApp and Cupertino widgets while offering Material fallback on Android.
• Perform native device calls (camera, sensors) using platform channels and handle results asynchronously.