DVAI-Bridge

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Contributing: Flutter SDK ​

This page covers the local build + test loop for contributors working on the Flutter slice. For end-user docs see flutter-sdk.md.

The Flutter plugin (dvai_bridge) wraps the iOS + Android native SDKs behind a Pigeon-generated platform-channel API. There is no hand-rolled FFI; Pigeon owns both the Dart and the native (Swift / Kotlin) sides of the channel.

Prerequisites ​

  • Flutter 3.41+ (latest stable) and Flutter 3.39+ (floor) — CI exercises both. The package is developed against 3.41.5.
  • Dart 3.7+ — bundled with Flutter; no separate install.
  • Pigeon 26.3+ — declared as a dev_dependency in pubspec.yaml. Pulled by flutter pub get.
  • iOS toolchain — Xcode 16+, CocoaPods, iOS 18.5 simulator. See contributing-ios.md.
  • Android toolchain — JDK 23, Android SDK 36, AGP 8.7.3 (see the AGP-pin note below). See contributing-android.md.

Build + test loop ​

bash
cd packages/dvai-bridge-flutter

# Pull deps + run the Pigeon codegen before any test pass.
flutter pub get
dart run pigeon --input pigeons/messages.dart

# Static analysis + tests.
flutter analyze
flutter test

The repo also ships an npm-style script alias mirror in package.json for monorepo tooling — pnpm --filter @dvai-bridge/flutter build runs flutter pub get and the Pigeon command together. Either path is fine; the dart run pigeon ... form is the source of truth.

Why AGP 8.7.3 (and not 9.x) ​

The Flutter plugin module pins AGP 8.7.3 in packages/dvai-bridge-flutter/android/build.gradle, intentionally behind the umbrella's AGP 9.2 pin. Flutter 3.41's plugin Gradle templates don't yet support AGP 9 — switching breaks the plugin's embedding pipeline. Consumer apps can use AGP 9.2 in their own android/app/build.gradle; AGP versions can differ between a Flutter plugin and the consumer app, and Gradle resolves the asymmetry correctly. Revisit when Flutter ships AGP-9-ready plugin templates (tracked in the package's README "AGP asymmetry" note).

Common breakage modes ​

  • Stale Pigeon output — if you edit pigeons/messages.dart and forget to re-run codegen, flutter test will fail with type mismatches against the regenerated native bindings. Re-run dart run pigeon --input pigeons/messages.dart.
  • flutter pub get resolves to the wrong Pigeon major — the pubspec pins pigeon: ^26.3.4. If a transitive constraint pulls a different major, run flutter pub upgrade --major-versions and inspect the resulting pubspec.lock.
  • iOS plugin doesn't link — cd example/ios && pod install after any Pigeon regen, same as RN.
  • Android example app fails with AGP-version errors — the consumer app uses its own AGP pin (independent of the plugin's 8.7.3). If the example app is on AGP 9.2 and starts breaking, check whether Flutter has updated its plugin templates yet.
  • flutter analyze fails after a Dart SDK upgrade — the floor is sdk: ">=3.7.0 <4.0.0" in pubspec.yaml. Check that your local Flutter ships a Dart inside that range.