Macro Kit #

A blazingly fast code generation tool for Dart that generates code instantly on save—no build runner required.

Features #

• ⚡ Lightning Fast: Generate code in under 100ms after the initial run
• 🎯 Instant Generation: Simply press Ctrl+S and watch your code appear
• 🐛 Easy Debugging: Debug your own macros or third-party packages to understand and fix code generation issues
• 🚫 No Build Runner: Say goodbye to slow build processes and generated file conflicts
• 🔧 Flexible: Apply macros to classes with enough capability for most day-to-day code generation needs

Installation #

1. Activate the macro tool globally #

dart pub global activate macro_kit

Or install from source:

dart pub global activate --source path ./

2. Add macro_kit to your project #

In your pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  macro_kit: ^latest_version

3. Configure the analyzer plugin #

In your analysis_options.yaml:

analyzer:
  plugins:
    - macro_kit

4. Initialize macros in your app #

Add this code to your main entry point. This only runs in development mode and has no effect in production.

void main() async {
  await runMacro(
    macros: {
      'DataClassMacro': DataClassMacro.initialize,
      'MyMacro': MyMacro.initialize,
      // Add your own macros or use from other packages
    },
  );

  runApp(MyApp());
}

Usage #

1. Annotate your class #

To apply a macro like DataClassMacro to your class:

@dataClassMacro
class UserProfile with UserProfileData {
  const UserProfile({required this.name, required this.age});

  final String name;
  final int age;
}

2. Save and generate #

Press Ctrl+S to save the file. Code generation happens instantly!

• First run: ~3-5 seconds
• Subsequent runs: <100ms

The macro will automatically generate:

• fromJson method
• toJson method
• Equality operators
• toString method

3. Debug when needed #

If your macro isn't generating code properly, simply run your app in debug mode and step through the generation process to identify and fix issues.

Example #

import 'package:macro_kit/macro_kit.dart';

@dataClassMacro
class User with UserData {
  const User({
    required this.id,
    required this.name,
    required this.email,
  });

  final int id;
  final String name;
  final String email;
}

// Generated code includes:
// - User.fromJson(Map<String, dynamic> json)
// - Map<String, dynamic> toJson()
// - operator ==(Object other)
// - int get hashCode
// - String toString()

Limitations #

Currently, macros can only be applied to classes with limited functionality. However, this provides sufficient capability for most common code generation tasks. Future updates will include:

• Support for applying macros to variables
• More information exposed to library developers for building custom packages

Contributing #

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to submit issues and pull requests.

License #

This repo is licenced under MIT.