ZenRouter File Generator #

A code generator for file-based routing in Flutter using zenrouter. Generate type-safe routes from your file/directory structure, similar to Next.js or Nuxt.js.

This package is part of the ZenRouter ecosystem and builds on the Coordinator paradigm for deep linking and web support.

Features #

• 🗂️ File = Route - Each file in routes/ becomes a route automatically
• 📁 Nested layouts - _layout.dart files define layout wrappers for nested routes
• 🔗 Dynamic routes - [param].dart files create typed path parameters
• 🎯 Type-safe navigation - Generated extension methods for type-safe navigation
• 📱 Full ZenRouter support - Deep linking, guards, redirects, transitions, and more
• 🚀 Zero boilerplate - Routes are generated from your file structure

Installation #

Add zenrouter_file_generator and zenrouter to your pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  zenrouter_file_generator: ^0.1.0
  zenrouter: ^0.2.1

dev_dependencies:
  build_runner: ^2.4.0

Quick Start #

1. Create your routes directory structure #

Organize your routes in lib/routes/ following these conventions:

lib/routes/
├── index.dart            → /
├── about.dart            → /about
├── profile/
│   └── [id].dart         → /profile/:id
└── tabs/
    ├── _layout.dart      → Layout for tabs
    ├── feed/
    │   ├── index.dart    → /tabs/feed
    │   └── [postId].dart → /tabs/feed/:postId
    ├── profile.dart      → /tabs/profile
    └── settings.dart      → /tabs/settings

2. Define routes with @ZenRoute #

// lib/routes/about.dart
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:zenrouter/zenrouter.dart';
import 'package:zenrouter_file_generator/zenrouter_file_generator.dart';
import 'routes.zen.dart';

part 'about.g.dart';

@ZenRoute()
class AboutRoute extends _$AboutRoute {
  @override
  Widget build(AppCoordinator coordinator, BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(title: const Text('About')),
      body: const Center(child: Text('About Page')),
    );
  }
}

3. Dynamic parameters with [param].dart #

Files named with brackets create dynamic route parameters:

// lib/routes/profile/[id].dart
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:zenrouter_file_generator/zenrouter_file_generator.dart';
import 'routes.zen.dart';

part '[id].g.dart';

@ZenRoute()
class ProfileIdRoute extends _$ProfileIdRoute {
  ProfileIdRoute({required super.id});

  @override
  Widget build(AppCoordinator coordinator, BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(title: Text('Profile: $id')),
      body: Center(child: Text('User ID: $id')),
    );
  }
}

4. Layouts with _layout.dart #

Layouts wrap child routes in a common UI structure:

// lib/routes/tabs/_layout.dart
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:zenrouter_file_generator/zenrouter_file_generator.dart';
import 'routes.zen.dart';

part '_layout.g.dart';

@ZenLayout(
  type: LayoutType.indexed,
  routes: [FeedRoute, ProfileRoute, SettingsRoute],
)
class TabsLayout extends _$TabsLayout {
  @override
  Widget build(AppCoordinator coordinator, BuildContext context) {
    final path = resolvePath(coordinator);
    
    return Scaffold(
      body: RouteLayout.buildPrimitivePath(
        IndexedStackPath, coordinator, path, this,
      ),
      // You control the UI completely
      bottomNavigationBar: BottomNavigationBar(
        currentIndex: path.activePathIndex,
        onTap: (i) => coordinator.push(path.stack[i]),
        items: const [
          BottomNavigationBarItem(icon: Icon(Icons.home), label: 'Feed'),
          BottomNavigationBarItem(icon: Icon(Icons.person), label: 'Profile'),
          BottomNavigationBarItem(icon: Icon(Icons.settings), label: 'Settings'),
        ],
      ),
    );
  }
}

5. Run build_runner #

Generate the routing code:

dart run build_runner build

Or watch for changes:

dart run build_runner watch

6. Use in your app #

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'routes/routes.zen.dart';

final coordinator = AppCoordinator();

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp.router(
      routerDelegate: coordinator.routerDelegate,
      routeInformationParser: coordinator.routeInformationParser,
    );
  }
}

// Type-safe navigation
coordinator.push(AboutRoute());
coordinator.pushProfileId('user-123');
coordinator.goToFeed();

File Naming Conventions #

Route Mixins #

Enable advanced behaviors with annotation parameters:

import 'package:zenrouter/zenrouter.dart';
import 'package:zenrouter_file_generator/zenrouter_file_generator.dart';

@ZenRoute(
  guard: true,      // RouteGuard - control pop behavior
  redirect: true,   // RouteRedirect - conditional routing
  deepLink: DeeplinkStrategyType.custom, // Custom deep link handling
  transition: true, // RouteTransition - custom animations
  queries: ['search', 'page'], // Query parameters
)
class CheckoutRoute extends _$CheckoutRoute {
  @override
  FutureOr<bool> popGuard() async {
    return await confirmExit();
  }
  
  @override
  FutureOr<AppRoute?> redirect() async {
    if (!auth.isLoggedIn) return LoginRoute();
    return null; // null means proceed with this route
  }
  
  @override
  FutureOr<void> deeplinkHandler(AppCoordinator c, Uri uri) async {
    c.replace(HomeRoute());
    c.push(CartRoute());
    c.push(this);
  }
  
  @override
  Widget build(AppCoordinator coordinator, BuildContext context) {
    final searchTerm = query('search');
    final page = query('page');
    return CheckoutScreen(search: searchTerm, page: page);
  }
}

Layout Types #

Stack Layout (NavigationPath) #

For push/pop navigation:

@ZenLayout(type: LayoutType.stack)
class SettingsLayout extends _$SettingsLayout {
  @override
  Widget build(AppCoordinator coordinator, BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(title: const Text('Settings')),
      body: RouteLayout.buildPrimitivePath(
        NavigationPath, coordinator, resolvePath(coordinator), this,
      ),
    );
  }
}

Indexed Layout (IndexedStackPath) #

For tabs/drawers:

@ZenLayout(
  type: LayoutType.indexed,
  routes: [Tab1Route, Tab2Route, Tab3Route], // Order = index
)
class TabsLayout extends _$TabsLayout {
  @override
  Widget build(AppCoordinator coordinator, BuildContext context) {
    final path = resolvePath(coordinator);
    
    return Scaffold(
      body: RouteLayout.buildPrimitivePath(
        IndexedStackPath, coordinator, path, this,
      ),
      // Full control over navigation UI
      bottomNavigationBar: YourNavigationWidget(
        index: path.activePathIndex,
        onTap: (i) => coordinator.push(path.stack[i]),
      ),
    );
  }
}

Generated Code Structure #

After running build_runner, your routes directory will look like:

lib/routes/
├── index.dart          # Your route class
├── index.g.dart        # Generated base class
├── about.dart
├── about.g.dart
└── routes.zen.dart     # Generated coordinator

Generated Coordinator #

The generator creates routes.zen.dart with:

• AppRoute base class (or custom name via @ZenCoordinator)
• AppCoordinator class with parseRouteFromUri implementation
• Navigation path definitions for layouts
• Type-safe navigation extension methods

// routes.zen.dart (generated)
abstract class AppRoute extends RouteTarget with RouteUnique {}

class AppCoordinator extends Coordinator<AppRoute> {
  final IndexedStackPath<AppRoute> tabsPath = IndexedStackPath([...]);
  
  @override
  List<StackPath> get paths => [root, tabsPath];
  
  @override
  AppRoute parseRouteFromUri(Uri uri) {
    return switch (uri.pathSegments) {
      [] => IndexRoute(),
      ['about'] => AboutRoute(),
      ['profile', final id] => ProfileIdRoute(id: id),
      _ => NotFoundRoute(uri: uri),
    };
  }
}

// Type-safe navigation extensions
extension AppCoordinatorNav on AppCoordinator {
  Future<dynamic> goToAbout() => push(AboutRoute());
  Future<dynamic> pushProfileId(String id) => push(ProfileIdRoute(id: id));
}

Custom Coordinator Configuration #

Customize the generated coordinator by creating lib/routes/_coordinator.dart:

// lib/routes/_coordinator.dart
import 'package:zenrouter_file_generator/zenrouter_file_generator.dart';

@ZenCoordinator(
  name: 'MyAppCoordinator',
  routeBase: 'MyAppRoute',
)
class CoordinatorConfig {}

Integration with ZenRouter #

This package generates routes compatible with zenrouter's coordinator pattern:

• Routes extend RouteTarget with RouteUnique
• Layouts use RouteLayout mixin
• Dynamic routes have typed parameters
• Full deep linking and URL synchronization support
• Route guards, redirects, and transitions

See the zenrouter documentation for more details on advanced features.

Example #

Check out the /example directory for a complete working example:

cd example
flutter pub get
dart run build_runner build
flutter run

License #

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.