architecture-feature-first

Flutter Architecture — Feature-First Skill

This skill defines how to design, structure, and implement Flutter applications using the recommended layered architecture with feature-first file organization.

It is state management agnostic: the business logic holder in the UI layer may be named ViewModel, Controller, Cubit, Bloc, Provider, or Notifier — depending on the chosen state management approach. The architectural rules apply equally to all of them.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Designing the folder/file structure of a new Flutter app or feature.
• Creating a new View, ViewModel, Repository, or Service.
• Deciding which layer owns a piece of logic.
• Wiring dependency injection between components.
• Adding a domain (logic) layer for complex business logic.
• Refactoring an existing app from type-first to feature-first organization.

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1. Layers

Separate every app into a UI Layer and a Data Layer. Add a Logic (Domain) Layer between them only for complex apps.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   UI Layer    │  Views + business logic holders              │
│               │  (ViewModel / Cubit / Controller / Provider) │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Logic Layer  │  Use Cases / Interactors  (optional)         │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│   Data Layer  │  Repositories + Services                     │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Rules:

• Only adjacent layers may communicate. The UI layer must never access a Service directly.
• The Logic layer is added only when business logic is too complex for the business logic holder or is reused across multiple screens.
• Data changes always happen in the Data layer (SSOT = Repository). No mutation in UI or Logic layers.
• Follow unidirectional data flow: state flows down (Data → UI), events flow up (UI → Data).

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2. Feature-First File Structure

Organize code by feature, not by type. Group all layers belonging to one feature together in a single directory.

Sample directory structure

lib/
├── app.dart
├── main.dart
├── core/                          # Shared utilities, theme, DI setup
│   ├── di/
│   │   └── service_locator.dart
│   ├── theme/
│   │   └── app_theme.dart
│   └── network/
│       └── api_client.dart
├── features/
│   ├── auth/
│   │   ├── data/
│   │   │   ├── auth_repository.dart
│   │   │   └── auth_api_service.dart
│   │   ├── domain/                # Optional — only for complex logic
│   │   │   └── login_usecase.dart
│   │   └── ui/
│   │       ├── auth_viewmodel.dart
│   │       ├── login_screen.dart
│   │       └── widgets/
│   │           └── login_form.dart
│   └── profile/
│       ├── data/
│       │   ├── profile_repository.dart
│       │   └── profile_api_service.dart
│       └── ui/
│           ├── profile_viewmodel.dart
│           └── profile_screen.dart
└── shared/                        # Shared widgets, models, extensions
    ├── models/
    │   └── user.dart
    └── widgets/
        └── loading_indicator.dart

Each feature directory contains the files needed for that feature, named according to the chosen state management approach:

Approach	Business logic holder file
MVVM / ChangeNotifier	*_viewmodel.dart / *_controller.dart
BLoC	*_cubit.dart / *_bloc.dart
Provider / Riverpod	*_provider.dart / *_notifier.dart

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3. Component Responsibilities

View

• Describes how to present data to the user; keep logic minimal and only UI-related.
• Passes events to the business logic holder in response to user interactions.
• Extract reusable widgets into separate components within a widgets/ subdirectory.
• Use StatelessWidget when possible; keep build methods simple.

Business Logic Holder (ViewModel / Cubit / Controller / Provider)

• Contains logic to convert app data into UI state and maintains current state needed by the view.
• Exposes callbacks (commands) to the View and retrieves/transforms data from repositories.

class AuthViewModel extends ChangeNotifier {
  final AuthRepository _authRepo;
  AuthViewModel(this._authRepo);

  bool _isLoading = false;
  bool get isLoading => _isLoading;

  String? _error;
  String? get error => _error;

  Future<bool> login(String email, String password) async {
    _isLoading = true;
    _error = null;
    notifyListeners();
    try {
      await _authRepo.login(email, password);
      return true;
    } catch (e) {
      _error = e.toString();
      return false;
    } finally {
      _isLoading = false;
      notifyListeners();
    }
  }
}

Repository

• Single Source of Truth (SSOT) for a given type of model data.
• The only class allowed to mutate its data; all other classes read from it.
• Handles caching, error handling, and data refresh logic.
• Transforms raw data from services into domain models.

Service

• Wraps API endpoints and exposes asynchronous response objects.
• Isolates data-loading and holds no state.

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4. Domain Layer (Use Cases)

Introduce use cases/interactors only when:

• Logic is complex or does not fit cleanly in the UI or Data layers.
• Logic is reused across multiple business logic holders or merges data from multiple repositories.

Do not add a domain layer for simple CRUD apps.

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5. Dependency Injection

Use dependency injection to provide components with their dependencies, enabling testability and flexibility.

• Supply repositories to business logic holders via constructors.
• Supply services to repositories via constructors.
• Define abstract interfaces so implementations can be swapped without changing consumers.

// In service_locator.dart — register dependencies at startup
void setupDependencies() {
  final apiClient = ApiClient();

  // Services
  final authService = AuthApiService(apiClient);
  final profileService = ProfileApiService(apiClient);

  // Repositories
  final authRepo = AuthRepository(authService);
  final profileRepo = ProfileRepository(profileService);

  // Register with your DI framework (get_it, provider, riverpod, etc.)
  getIt.registerSingleton<AuthRepository>(authRepo);
  getIt.registerSingleton<ProfileRepository>(profileRepo);
}

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6. Workflow: Add a New Feature

1. Create the features/<name>/ directory with data/, ui/, and optionally domain/ subdirectories.
2. Implement the Service — wrap the API endpoints in data/<name>_api_service.dart.
3. Implement the Repository — inject the Service, add caching/error handling in data/<name>_repository.dart.
4. Implement the ViewModel — inject the Repository, expose UI state and commands in ui/<name>_viewmodel.dart.
5. Implement the View — bind to the ViewModel, render state, dispatch events in ui/<name>_screen.dart.
6. Register in DI — add the new Service, Repository, and ViewModel to the service locator.
7. Verify — confirm the View never accesses the Service directly and data flows unidirectionally.

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References

• Flutter app architecture guide
• Architecture case study (Compass app)
• Architecture recommendations