url_launcher #

A Flutter plugin for launching a URL. Supports iOS, Android, web, Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Usage #

To use this plugin, add url_launcher as a dependency in your pubspec.yaml file.

Example #

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

const String _url = 'https://flutter.dev';

void main() => runApp(
      const MaterialApp(
        home: Material(
          child: Center(
            child: RaisedButton(
              onPressed: _launchURL,
              child: Text('Show Flutter homepage'),
            ),
          ),
        ),
      ),
    );

void _launchURL() async {
  if (!await launch(_url)) throw 'Could not launch $_url';
}

See the example app for more complex examples.

Configuration #

iOS #

Add any URL schemes passed to canLaunch as LSApplicationQueriesSchemes entries in your Info.plist file.

Example:

<key>LSApplicationQueriesSchemes</key>
<array>
  <string>https</string>
  <string>http</string>
</array>

See -[UIApplication canOpenURL:] for more details.

Android #

Starting from API 30 Android requires package visibility configuration in your AndroidManifest.xml otherwise canLaunch will return false. A <queries> element must be added to your manifest as a child of the root element.

The snippet below shows an example for an application that uses https, tel, and mailto URLs with url_launcher. See the Android documentation for examples of other queries.

<queries>
  <!-- If your app opens https URLs -->
  <intent>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
    <data android:scheme="https" />
  </intent>
  <!-- If your app makes calls -->
  <intent>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.DIAL" />
    <data android:scheme="tel" />
  </intent>
  <!-- If your sends SMS messages -->
  <intent>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.SENDTO" />
    <data android:scheme="smsto" />
  </intent>
  <!-- If your app sends emails -->
  <intent>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND" />
    <data android:mimeType="*/*" />
  </intent>
</queries>

Supported URL schemes #

The launch method takes a string argument containing a URL. This URL can be formatted using a number of different URL schemes. The supported URL schemes depend on the underlying platform and installed apps.

Common schemes supported by both iOS and Android:

More details can be found here for iOS and Android

Note: URL schemes are only supported if there are apps installed on the device that can support them. For example, iOS simulators don't have a default email or phone apps installed, so can't open tel: or mailto: links.

Encoding URLs #

URLs must be properly encoded, especially when including spaces or other special characters. This can be done using the Uri class. For example:

String? encodeQueryParameters(Map<String, String> params) {
  return params.entries
      .map((e) => '${Uri.encodeComponent(e.key)}=${Uri.encodeComponent(e.value)}')
      .join('&');
}

final Uri emailLaunchUri = Uri(
  scheme: 'mailto',
  path: '[email protected]',
  query: encodeQueryParameters(<String, String>{
    'subject': 'Example Subject & Symbols are allowed!'
  }),
);

launch(emailLaunchUri.toString());

Warning: For any scheme other than http or https, you should use the query parameter and the encodeQueryParameters function shown above rather than Uri's queryParameters constructor argument, due to a bug in the way Uri encodes query parameters. Using queryParameters will result in spaces being converted to + in many cases.

Handling missing URL receivers #

A particular mobile device may not be able to receive all supported URL schemes. For example, a tablet may not have a cellular radio and thus no support for launching a URL using the sms scheme, or a device may not have an email app and thus no support for launching a URL using the mailto scheme.

We recommend checking which URL schemes are supported using the canLaunch in most cases. If the canLaunch method returns false, as a best practice we suggest adjusting the application UI so that the unsupported URL is never triggered; for example, if the mailto scheme is not supported, a UI button that would have sent feedback email could be changed to instead open a web-based feedback form using an https URL.

Browser vs In-app Handling #

By default, Android opens up a browser when handling URLs. You can pass forceWebView: true parameter to tell the plugin to open a WebView instead. If you do this for a URL of a page containing JavaScript, make sure to pass in enableJavaScript: true, or else the launch method will not work properly. On iOS, the default behavior is to open all web URLs within the app. Everything else is redirected to the app handler.