Downloader Flutter #

A powerful Flutter download plugin supporting Android & iOS with real-time progress, parallel downloads, background safety, system DownloadManager integration, iOS URLSessionDownloadDelegate support, automatic file saving, Photos library export, and EventChannel-based streaming updates. Designed for handling large files with accurate progress tracking and smooth cross-platform performance.

Flutter Downloader Plugin A full-featured, cross-platform file downloader built for Flutter, supporting Android & iOS with real-time progress, safe background execution, system-level integrations, and a clean EventChannel-driven update stream.

This plugin provides advanced download capabilities:

Android Demo #

iOS Demo #

🚀 Features #

Android Support #

• Uses Android DownloadManager for reliable system-level downloading

• Supports parallel / multiple downloads simultaneously

• Real-time progress updates using EventChannel

• Safe background execution using coroutines (Dispatchers.IO)

• Automatic file handling and storage management

• Saves images/videos to Gallery when requested

• Toast feedback for start/error (optional)

• Thread-safe updates using Dispatchers.Main

• Kotlin implementation optimized for performance

iOS Support #

• Uses URLSessionDownloadDelegate for accurate progress tracking

• Supports true percentage (%) progress

• Parallel file downloads with per-file delegates

• Automatic movement of temporary downloaded files

• Optional save to Photos app

• Sends real-time events using Flutter EventChannel

• 100% main-thread safe event dispatching

• Swift implementation with clean status mapping

Support #

Plugin Configuration #

Android (Permission) #

• Internet Permission Required

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />

iOS (Info.plist) #

1. Photo Library Access (required) #

Because your code calls PHPhotoLibrary.requestAuthorization(...) and saves images/videos.

<key>NSPhotoLibraryAddUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app saves downloaded media files to your Photos library.</string>
<key>NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app needs access to your Photos to save and view downloaded files.</string>

2. App Transport Security (for HTTP downloads) #

If any of your download URLs use HTTP (not HTTPS), iOS will block them unless you add this:

• Option A – Allow only specific domains (recommended)

<key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key>
<dict>
    <key>NSExceptionDomains</key>
    <dict>
        <key>commondatastorage.googleapis.com</key>
        <dict>
            <key>NSIncludesSubdomains</key>
            <true/>
            <key>NSExceptionAllowsInsecureHTTPLoads</key>
            <true/>
            <key>NSExceptionRequiresForwardSecrecy</key>
            <false/>
        </dict>
    </dict>
</dict>

• Option B – Allow all HTTP (for testing only)

<key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key>
<dict>
  <key>NSAllowsArbitraryLoads</key>
  <true/>
</dict>

3. File Sharing (for “On My iPhone → AppName”) #

To let users see downloaded files in the Files app:

<key>UIFileSharingEnabled</key>
<true/>
<key>LSSupportsOpeningDocumentsInPlace</key>
<true/>

4. Background downloads (optional but recommended) #

If you want downloads to continue when the app goes into the background:

<key>UIBackgroundModes</key>
<array>
<string>fetch</string>
<string>processing</string>
</array>

Usage #

• Object creation for DownloaderFlutter() class.

final _downloaderFlutterPlugin = DownloaderFlutter();

Single file download #

    await _downloaderFlutterPlugin.downloadSingleFile(
        url: 'https://images.pexels.com/photos/10725897/pexels-photo-10725897.jpeg',
        fileName: "image.jpeg",
         saveToPhoto: true, (Optional)
         showToastAndroid: false, (Optional)
         response: (data) {
             debugPrint("Response In App: $data");
         },
    ) ?? 'Downloader Not Connected';

Properties downloadSingleFile

Multiple file download #

    await _downloaderFlutterPlugin.downloadMultipleFile(
        urls: [
          'https://images.pexels.com/photos/177598/pexels-photo-177598.jpeg',
          'https://images.pexels.com/photos/577585/pexels-photo-577585.jpeg',
          'https://images.pexels.com/photos/1181244/pexels-photo-1181244.jpeg',
          'https://images.pexels.com/photos/4816921/pexels-photo-4816921.jpeg',
          'https://images.pexels.com/photos/248515/pexels-photo-248515.png',
        ],
        fileNames: [
          'image1.jpg',
          'image2.jpg',
          'image3.jpg',
          'image4.jpg',
          'image5.png',
        ],
        saveToPhoto: true, (Optional)
        showToastAndroid: true, (Optional)
        response: (data) {
          debugPrint("Response In App: $data");
        },
      ) ?? 'Downloader Not Connected';

Properties downloadMultipleFile

Event listener for downloadProgress #

    _downloaderFlutterPlugin.downloadProgress().listen((event) {
        handleDownloadEvent(event);
    });

Download handler #

    void handleDownloadEvent(Map<String, dynamic> event) {
    
    final status = event["status"] as String?;
    
    if (status == null) {
      debugPrint("⚠️ Unknown event: $event");
      return;
    }

    final fileName = event["fileName"] as String? ?? "unknown";

    switch (status) {
      case "started":
        debugPrint("🚀 Started $fileName");
        break;

      case "progress":
        final progress = event["progress"] as int? ?? 0;
        debugPrint("📊 Progress $fileName: $progress%");
        break;

      case "success":
        debugPrint("✅ Completed $fileName");
        break;

      case "saved":
        debugPrint("📷 Saved to photo $fileName");
        break;

      case "failed":
        debugPrint("❌ Failed $fileName");
        break;

      case "completed":
        debugPrint("🎉 Download completed $fileName");
        break;

      case "error":
        final message = event["message"] as String? ?? "Unknown error";
        debugPrint("⚠️ Error: $message");
        break;

      default:
        debugPrint("❓ Unknown status: $status");
    }
  }

Properties handleDownloadEvent

Bugs/Requests #

Feel free to open an issue if you encounter any problems or think that the plugin is missing some feature.