AppRestarter

A powerful Flutter package that allows you to restart your application programmatically with advanced features like callbacks, animations, delayed restart, and conditional logic.

✨ Features

  • 🔄 Simple Restart: Restart your app with a single function call
  • 🎨 Custom Animations: Smooth transitions with customizable animation builders
  • ⏱️ Delayed Restart: Schedule restarts with optional delays
  • 🎯 Conditional Restart: Execute restarts based on custom conditions
  • 🔔 Lifecycle Callbacks: Run code before and after restart
  • 🚀 Zero Dependencies: Pure Flutter implementation
  • 📱 All Platforms: Works on Android, iOS, Web, macOS, Windows, and Linux

📊 Comparison with flutter_phoenix

Feature app_restarter flutter_phoenix
Basic Restart ✅ ✅
Custom Animations ✅ ❌
Lifecycle Callbacks ✅ ❌
Delayed Restart ✅ ❌
Conditional Restart ✅ ❌
Error Handling ✅ ⚠️
Active Maintenance ✅ ⚠️

🚀 Getting Started

Add app_restarter to your pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  app_restarter: ^0.1.0

📖 Usage

Basic Setup

Wrap your root widget with AppRestarter:

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:app_restarter/app_restarter.dart';

void main() {
  runApp(
    AppRestarter(
      child: MyApp(),
    ),
  );
}

Simple Restart

ElevatedButton(
  onPressed: () {
    AppRestarter.restartApp(context);
  },
  child: Text('Restart App'),
)

Restart with Callbacks

AppRestarter.restartApp(
  context,
  config: RestartConfig(
    onBeforeRestart: () async {
      // Save user data, clear cache, etc.
      await saveUserData();
      print('Preparing to restart...');
    },
    onAfterRestart: () {
      // Re-initialize services, show welcome message, etc.
      print('Restart complete!');
    },
  ),
);

Delayed Restart

AppRestarter.restartApp(
  context,
  config: RestartConfig(
    delay: Duration(seconds: 2),
  ),
);

Conditional Restart

AppRestarter.restartApp(
  context,
  config: RestartConfig(
    condition: () => userIsLoggedOut,
  ),
);

Custom Animations

AppRestarter(
  transitionDuration: Duration(milliseconds: 500),
  transitionBuilder: (context, animation, child) {
    return FadeTransition(
      opacity: animation,
      child: ScaleTransition(
        scale: Tween<double>(begin: 0.8, end: 1.0).animate(animation),
        child: child,
      ),
    );
  },
  child: MyApp(),
)

All Features Combined

AppRestarter.restartApp(
  context,
  config: RestartConfig(
    delay: Duration(seconds: 1),
    condition: () => shouldRestart,
    onBeforeRestart: () async {
      await cleanup();
    },
    onAfterRestart: () {
      initialize();
    },
  ),
);

🎯 Common Use Cases

Theme Switching

void switchTheme() async {
  await saveThemePreference(newTheme);
  AppRestarter.restartApp(context);
}

Language Change

void changeLanguage(String locale) async {
  await setLocale(locale);
  AppRestarter.restartApp(
    context,
    config: RestartConfig(
      onBeforeRestart: () async {
        await clearCache();
      },
    ),
  );
}

User Logout

void logout() {
  AppRestarter.restartApp(
    context,
    config: RestartConfig(
      onBeforeRestart: () async {
        await clearUserData();
        await clearAuthTokens();
      },
      delay: Duration(milliseconds: 500),
    ),
  );
}

🎮 GetX Integration

app_restarter is fully compatible with GetX state management! The key is to use the async onAfterRestart callback to reinitialize your dependencies.

Setup with GetX

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:app_restarter/app_restarter.dart';
import 'package:get/get.dart';

// Initialize dependencies
class DependencyInjection {
  static Future<void> init() async {
    final storageService = await StorageService().init();
    Get.put(storageService, permanent: true);
    Get.put(ConnectivityService(), permanent: true);
  }
}

void main() async {
  WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized();
  
  // Initialize dependencies BEFORE running the app
  await DependencyInjection.init();
  
  runApp(
    AppRestarter(
      child: GetMaterialApp(
        initialRoute: '/home',
        getPages: AppPages.routes,
      ),
    ),
  );
}

Restart with GetX

// ✅ CORRECT: Reinitialize dependencies after restart
ElevatedButton(
  onPressed: () async {
    await AppRestarter.restartApp(
      context,
      config: RestartConfig(
        onBeforeRestart: () async {
          // Optional: Clear GetX if needed
          // await Get.deleteAll(force: true);
        },
        onAfterRestart: () async {
          // Reinitialize all GetX services
          await DependencyInjection.init();
        },
      ),
    );
  },
  child: Text('Restart App'),
)

// ❌ WRONG: Will crash because dependencies are lost
AppRestarter.restartApp(context); // Don't do this with GetX!

Why This Works

The issue with GetX is that dependencies are initialized in main() before runApp(). When AppRestarter rebuilds the widget tree, it doesn't re-run main(), so dependencies are lost.

The fix: Use the async onAfterRestart callback to reinitialize dependencies after the widget tree rebuilds.

Complete GetX Example

See example/lib/getx_example.dart for a complete working example with:

  • Dependency injection setup
  • Multiple GetX services
  • Proper restart with reinitialization
  • Navigation between pages

💡 Best Practices

  1. Always wrap at the root level: Place AppRestarter above MaterialApp or CupertinoApp
  2. Use callbacks for cleanup: Leverage onBeforeRestart to save state or clear sensitive data
  3. Provide user feedback: Show loading indicators or messages during restart
  4. Test conditions carefully: Ensure your condition functions are reliable
  5. Keep animations smooth: Use reasonable durations (300-500ms recommended)

🔧 Troubleshooting

Error: "AppRestarter.restartApp() called with a context that does not contain an AppRestarter"

Solution: Make sure AppRestarter wraps your root widget:

// ❌ Wrong
void main() {
  runApp(MyApp());
}

// ✅ Correct
void main() {
  runApp(
    AppRestarter(child: MyApp()),
  );
}

Restart not working as expected

Solution: Ensure you're using the correct context. The context must be a descendant of AppRestarter.

🔄 Migration from flutter_phoenix

Migrating from flutter_phoenix is straightforward:

// Before (flutter_phoenix)
Phoenix.rebirth(context);

// After (app_restarter)
AppRestarter.restartApp(context);

// Before (flutter_phoenix)
Phoenix(child: MyApp())

// After (app_restarter)
AppRestarter(child: MyApp())

📝 Additional Information

This package uses KeyedSubtree and UniqueKey to force a rebuild of the widget tree from the root. This effectively resets the state of all widgets in the tree without terminating the underlying OS process.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🌟 Show Your Support

If you find this package helpful, please give it a ⭐ on GitHub!

Libraries

app_restarter