Flutter Redux Boilerplate

A Flutter boilerplate application with Redux.

Getting Started

Read about the basics of Redux here.

Fork this repository or simply use it as a base as you make your own application. If you fork it, be sure to rename the app to your app name in these locations:

android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml (replace the android:label)
ios/Runner/Info.plist (CFBundleName, replace the <string> entry)
redux_app.dart (title property)

Motivation

I wasn't happy with the other Flutter Redux boilerplates as I found they included too many optional libraries or strange application structures and methodologies. This boilerplate contains only the basic libraries required to implement Redux in a Flutter application while still showcasing how to do all the necessary Redux patterns.

The two main libraries are listed below.

Additionally, I tried to keep the application structure as similar as possible to the "standard" React/Redux structure.

App Structure

The app is structured with the following directories:

actions

This includes any Redux actions that the user or middleware dispatches. This can either be one or many files depending on your personal style.

components

Components are widgets which are not connected to the Redux store and therefore cannot directly access the application state or dispatch any actions via the store. This is where you put your standard Flutter widgets. Please note that it is often necessary that they are stateful widgets in order to keep track of their local state. Additionally, these are different than screens in that they are not meant to be navigated to directly via the navigator.

containers

Containers are widgets that ARE connected to the Redux store and therefore can utilize both the application state and modify it through actions. The store is provided via the StoreConnector widget which requires both a converter and builder property. While converters can return any data object desired, I chose to demonstrate the converters via the inner private _ViewModel class as I found this methodology requires the least amount of refactoring when the connection to the store needs to change.

middleware

Middleware are functions that allow Redux to run asynchronous code and dispatch new actions when the async functions complete. Each middleware must be provided to the store when the store is created. An example is provided with app_middleware.dart, which utilizes the TypedMiddleware helper to map specific actions to specific middleware methods. However, this is just my recommended way of doing it, and there is nothing stopping you from implementing your middleware with simple switch or if statements. Read more about middleware here.

models

Models hold all data objects utilized throughout the application. This includes the Redux state objects as well as simple data classes. The app_state.dart file defines the main state of the store and uses substate objects such as nav_state.dart and repo_state.dart to help organize the state of the app.

reducers

Reducers are the functions that take an input action and output a new state. The application requires one main reducer (app_reducer.dart), but each aspect of the main app state should utilize its own reducer. An example is provided with repo_reducer.dart, which utilizes the combineReducers and TypedReducer helper to map specific actions to specific reduction methods. However, this is just my recommended way of doing it, and there is nothing stopping you from implementing your reducers with simple switch or if statements. Read more about the helpers here.

screens

Screens are widgets that compose other widgets in order to display a full screen in an application. These are the widgets that can optionally be navigated to via the Navigator and can be referenced in the routes.

selectors

Selectors are functions that accept Redux state and return some data off of it. They can be simple n that they only return a property off the state or more complex, such as doing functional transformations on a list (i.e. filter or map). Selectors help to avoid duplicate data in Redux across components as well as reducing the coupling between the state and the components.

services

This is an optional folder that contains any other business logic that is independent of a widget. It is a good location to put your API functions or other services. However, it is not required for a Redux implementation.

store

Store only has one file (store.dart) which is used to create the store. Stores in Flutter Redux accept the main app reducer, the initial state, and an array of middleware utilized throughout the app. It also optionally allows identical states to be ignored via the distinct property.

main.dart and redux_app.dart

main.dart is the entry point to the application. It creates the store and passes it to ReduxApp. ReduxApp sets up the StoreProvider, which allows container widgets to access the store via StoreConnector.

Helpers

Other Useful Libraries

These libraries can be useful to further mature your Redux implementation, but they are not required and were not included in this boilerplate.

VSCode Redux Widget Snippet

The following VSCode snippet can be utilized to quickly create a new Redux container widget. To use it, just type fredux and hit enter. Note that this will not compile until you import your own version of AppState.

{
  "Flutter redux": {
    "prefix": "fredux",
    "body": [
      "import 'package:flutter/material.dart';",
      "import 'package:flutter_redux/flutter_redux.dart';",
      "import 'package:redux/redux.dart';",
      "",
      "class $0 extends StatelessWidget {",
      "  @override",
      "  Widget build(BuildContext context) {",
      "    return StoreConnector<AppState, _ViewModel>(",
      "      distinct: true,",
      "      converter: _ViewModel.fromStore,",
      "      builder: (BuildContext context, _ViewModel viewModel) {",
      "        return Container();",
      "      },",
      "    );",
      "  }",
      "}",
      "",
      "class _ViewModel {",
      "  _ViewModel();",
      "",
      "  static _ViewModel fromStore(Store<AppState> store) {",
      "    return _ViewModel();",
      "  }",
      "}"
    ]
  }
}

Other TODOs

Do some pagination of the github data

DFreds/flutter_redux_boilerplate