background_downloader 8.6.0 
background_downloader: ^8.6.0 copied to clipboard
A multi-platform background file downloader and uploader. Define the task, enqueue and monitor progress
8.6.0 #
- Adds option for partial uploads, for binary uploads only. Set the byte range by adding a "Range" header to your binary 
UploadTask, e.g. a value of "bytes=100-149" will upload 50 bytes starting at byte 100. You can omit the range end (but not the "-") to upload from the indicated start byte to the end of the file. The "Range" header will not be passed on to the server. Note that on iOS an invalid range will cause enqueue to fail, whereas on Android and Desktop the task will fail when attempting to start. - Fixes issue in iOS when multiple Flutter engines register the plugin
 - Fixes issue with lingering HTTP connections on desktop
 - Adds CI workflow (formatting, lints, build Android, build iOS)
 
8.5.6 #
- Fixes desktop upload cancellation bug
 - Adds Url-encoding of Content-Disposition header for binary uploads. Note for multipart uploads, filename is 'browserEncoded' which does not encode Non-ASCII characters
 - Fixes bug with creation of unique filename on iOS
 
8.5.5 #
- Fixes concurrent database write bug for TaskRecords
 
8.5.4 #
- If the value of a 
fieldsentry of anUploadTaskis in JSON format (defined as start/end with {} or []) then the field's mime-type will be set toapplication/json, whereas it would not have been set prior - Fixes an issue on iOS where use of the holding queue can lead to deadlock
 - For Windows, when using 
BaseDirectory.root, fixes an issue withTask.splitandTask.baseDirectoryPath. When usingBaseDirectory.rooton Windows, your task'sdirectorymust contain the drive letter. 
8.5.3 #
- Bug fixes
 - Improvements to documentation
 
8.5.2 #
- Removes references to 
dart:htmlto allow web compilation using WASM. Note the package still does not work on the web - Adds auto-decode of 
postfield if Map or List. Throws ifjsonEncodecannot convert the object, in which case you have to encode it yourself using a custom encoder 
8.5.1 #
- Fixes an issue where temporary files were not deleted when canceling a paused parallel download task
 
8.5.0 #
- Adds 
DataTaskfor scheduled server requests - Fixes bug omitting Content-Type header for iOS uploads, and Content-Disposition header for desktop uploads
 
DataTask #
The downloader already supported server requests for immediate execution using FileDownloader.request(Request request). This change adds the option to scheduled a server request similar to scheduling any other Task.
To schedule a server request using the background mechanism (e.g. if you want to wait for WiFi to be available), create and enqueue a DataTask.
A DataTask is similar to a DownloadTask except it:
- Does not accept file information, as there is no file involved
 - Does not allow progress updates
 - Accepts 
postdata as a String, or - Accepts 
jsondata, which will be converted to a String and posted as content typeapplication/json - Accepts 
contentTypewhich will set theContent-Typeheader value - Returns the server 
responseBody,responseHeadersand possibletaskExceptionin the finalTaskStatusUpdatefields 
Typically you would use enqueue to enqueue a DataTask and monitor the result using a listener or callback, but you can also use transmit to enqueue and wait for the final result of the DataTask.
8.4.3 #
- Fixes iOS/Android issue where 
retrieveLocallyStoredDataretrieves only a basicTaskStatusUpdate, without responseCode, responseBody etc 
8.4.2 #
- Fixes iOS/Android bug with ParallelDownloadTask hanging when number of chunks exceeds ~10
 
8.4.1 #
- Fixes Android bug when using 
Config.runInForegroundthat can lead to a crash 
8.4.0 #
- Adds optional holding queue to manage how many tasks are executed concurrently
 - Fixes bug with using 
uniqueparameter in context of server suggested filename - Transition from imperative to declarative Gradle plugin application, see here
 
Holding queue #
Once you enqueue a task with the FileDownloader it is added to an internal queue that is managed by the native platform you're running on (e.g. Android). Once enqueued, you have limited control over the execution order, the number of tasks running in parallel, etc, because all that is managed by the platform.  If you want more control over the queue, you need to use a TaskQueue or a HoldingQueue:
- A 
TaskQueueis a Dart object that you can add to theFileDownloader. You can create this object yourself (implementing theTaskQueueinterface) or use the bundledMemoryTaskQueueimplementation. This queue sits "in front of" theFileDownloaderand instead of using theenqueueanddownloadmethods directly, you now simplyaddyour tasks to theTaskQueue. Because this is a Dart object, the queue will suspend when the OS suspends your application, and if the app gets killed, tasks held in theTaskQueuewill be lost (unless you have implemented persistence) - A 
HoldingQueueis native to the OS and can be configured usingFileDownloader().configureto limit the number of concurrent tasks that are executed (in total, by host or by group). When using this queue you do not change how you interact with the FileDownloader, but you cannot implement your own holding queue. Because this queue is native, it will continue to run when your app is suspended by the OS, but if the app is killed then tasks held in the holding queue will be lost (unlike tasks already enqueued natively, which persist) 
This update adds the holding queue.
Use a holding queue to limit the number of tasks running concurrently. Calling await FileDownloader().configure(globalConfig: (Config.holdingQueue, (3, 2, 1))) activates the holding queue and sets the constraints maxConcurrent to 3, maxConcurrentByHost to 2, and maxConcurrentByGroup to 1. Pass null for no constraint for that parameter.
Using the holding queue adds a queue on the native side where tasks may have to wait before being enqueued with the Android WorkManager or iOS URLSessions. Because the holding queue lives on the native side (not Dart) tasks will continue to get pulled from the holding queue even when the app is suspended by the OS. This is different from the TaskQueue, which lives on the Dart side and suspends when the app is suspended by the OS
When using a holding queue:
- Tasks will be taken out of the queue based on their priority and time of creation, provided they pass the constraints imposed by the 
maxConcurrentvalues - Status messages will differ slightly. You will get the 
TaskStatus.enqueuedupdate immediately upon enqueuing. Once the task gets enqueued with the Android WorkManager or iOS URLSessions you will not get another "enqueue" update, but if that enqueue fails the task will fail. Once the task starts running you will getTaskStatus.runningas usual - The holding queue and the native queues managed by the Android WorkManager or iOS URLSessions are treated as a single queue for queries like 
taskForIdandcancelTasksWithIds. There is no way to determine whether a task is in the holding queue or already enqueued with the Android WorkManager or iOS URLSessions 
8.3.0 #
- Adds 
responseStatusCodetoTaskStatusUpdatefor tasks that result inTaskStatus.completeorTaskStatus.notFound(null otherwise). - Adds 
Task.splitto extract the baseDirectory, directory and filename from an absolute filePath or a File. This is saver than using.fromFileand preferred - Adds 
UploadTask.fromFileto create anUploadTaskfrom an existingFileobject. Note that this will create a task with an absolute path reference andBaseDirectory.root, which can cause problems on mobile platforms, so use with care - Fixes bug on Android API 34 when using configuration 
Config.runInForeground 
Extracting baseDirectory, directory and filename from a filePath or File #
If you already have a path to a file or a File object, you can extract the values for baseDirectory, directory and filename using Task.split to create the task:
final (baseDirectory, directory, filename) = await Task.split(filePath: yourPath);
final task = UploadTask(
        url: 'https://yourserver.com',
        baseDirectory: baseDirectory,
        directory: directory,
        filename: filename);
Using foreground service on Android targeting API 34 #
If targeting API 34 or greater, you must add to your AndroidManifest.xml a permission declaration <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_DATA_SYNC" /> and the foreground service type definition (under the application element):
<service
  android:name="androidx.work.impl.foreground.SystemForegroundService"
  android:foregroundServiceType="dataSync"
  tools:node="merge" />
8.2.1 #
- Adds option to specify multiple values for a single field name in the 
UploadTask.fieldsproperty by formatting the value as'"value1", "value2", "value3"'(note the double quotes and the comma to separate the values). 
8.2.0 #
- Adds 
Future<bool> requireWiFi(RequireWiFi requirement, {final rescheduleRunningTasks = true})to set a globally enforced WiFi requirement, and pause/resume or cancel/restart tasks accordingly. This is helpful when implementing a global toggle switch to prevent data download over metered (cellular) networks. iOS and Android only 
8.1.0 #
- Adds 
responseHeaderstoTaskStatusUpdatefor tasks that complete successfully (null otherwise). Per Dart convention, header names are lower-cased - Added 
ext.kotlin_versionback to build.gradle 
8.0.5 #
Android minSdk now 21 (was 24) and compileSdk now 34 (was 33)
8.0.4 #
Kotlin compiler V1.9 #
Kotlin compiler version moved from 1.8 to 1.9, typically this means changing your project's build.gradle entry:
buildscript {
    ext.kotlin_version = '1.9.0' # changed from '1.8.0'
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
    }
Enable multiple application instances on Android #
- Changes approach to backgroundChannel and activity fields in Kotlin plugin
 - Allows use of 
android:launchMode="standard"in Android manifest 
Improvements and bug fixes #
- Notification handling on Android when app is suspended
 - Kotlin code refactoring for posting on backgroundChannel
 - Web compilation
 
8.0.3 #
Bypassing permissions on iOS #
By default, the downloader allows any of the permissions to be requested, but that also means that Apple requires you to add things like Photo Library Usage Description to your Info.plist, even if you never move files to the Photo Library.
On iOS, to bypass the permission code altogether at compile time (and therefore remove the need to provide the Info.plist entry) modify your app's Podfile as follows:
post_install do |installer|
  installer.pods_project.targets.each do |target|
    flutter_additional_ios_build_settings(target)
    
    # The following loop has been added to bypass compilation of specific
    # permissions.
    # If you want to bypass one or more permissions (so that you don't
    # have to include things like a Photo Library Usage Description
    # if you don't add files to the Photo Library) then add this loop
    # and uncomment the permissions you want to bypass.
    # If you bypass (by including the line below) then the
    # check will not happen, and the permission is aways denied. If you
    # bypass you do not need to include the associated entry in your
    # Info.plist file
    target.build_configurations.each do |config|
      config.build_settings['OTHER_SWIFT_FLAGS'] ||= ['$(inherited)']
      #config.build_settings['OTHER_SWIFT_FLAGS'] << '-D BYPASS_PERMISSION_NOTIFICATIONS'
      #config.build_settings['OTHER_SWIFT_FLAGS'] << '-D BYPASS_PERMISSION_IOSADDTOPHOTOLIBRARY'
      #config.build_settings['OTHER_SWIFT_FLAGS'] << '-D BYPASS_PERMISSION_IOSCHANGEPHOTOLIBRARY'
      end
  end
end
and uncomment the line items that you want to bypass by deleting the # mark at the start of the line.
8.0.2 #
Allow compilation on XCode 14 by adding compiler version gate for Swift >=5.9
8.0.1 #
Fix issue #208 concurrentModificationException on Android and similar in iOS
8.0.0 #
Summary of changes: #
- Permissions must now be explicitly checked and requested to improve user experience and give control to developer
 - Add images and video to iOS Photo Library when using 
SharedStorage.imagesorSharedStorage.video SqlitePersistentStoragebacking database moved to separate packagebackground_downloader_sqlto reduce app size for default- Add notification for groups of downloads
 - Add 
BaseDirectory.rootto allow absolute file path (use with care!) - Add fields 
mimeTypeandcharSettoTaskStatusUpdate - Add 
Request.cookieHeaderto parse 'Set-Cookie' response header - Add 
platformVersionmethod - Add 
readygetter to wait for initialization if needed - Bug fixes and other improvements
 
BREAKING: Permissions #
Permissions are no longer automatically requested. You need to explicitly check, and if necessary ask for permissions ahead of calling methods that use them.
User permissions may be needed to display notifications, to move files to shared storage (on Android) and to add images or video to the iOS Photo Library. These permissions should be checked and if needed requested before executing those operations.
You can use a package like permission_handler, or use the FileDownloader().permissions object, which has three methods:
status: returns aPermissionsStatus. On Android this is eithergrantedordenied. If you have not asked for permission yet, then Android returnsdeniedand iOS returns.undetermined. iOS can also return.partialrequest: to request the actual permission. Only do this if you have confirmed that the permission is not alreadygrantedshouldShowRationale: for Android only, iftrueyou should show a UI element (e.g. a dialog) to explain to the user why this permission is necessary
All three methods take one PermissionType parameter:
notifications, to display notificationsandroidSharedStorage, to move files to external storage on Android, before API 29iosAddToPhotoLibrary, to move files toSharedStorage.imagesorSharedStorage.videoon iOS, as this adds those files to the Photo LibraryiosChangePhotoLibrary, to access the path to files moved to the Photos Library
For example, to request permissions for notifications:
final permissionType = PermissionType.notifications;
var status = await FileDownloader().permissions.status(permissionType);
if (status != PermissionStatus.granted) {
if (await FileDownloader().permissions.shouldShowRationale(permissionType)) {
await showRationaleDialog(permissionType); // Show a dialog with rationale
}
status = await FileDownloader().permissions.request(permissionType);
debugPrint('Permission for $permissionType was $status');
}
The downloader will check permission status before each action, e.g. will not show notifications unless permissions for notifications have been granted.
Note that permissions are very platform and version dependent, e.g. notification permissions on Android are only required as of API 33, and iOS 14 introduced new Photo Library permissions. If you want to get into details, you can determine the platform version you're running by calling await FileDownloader().platformVersion().
BREAKING: Use iOS Photos Library for .video and .images SharedStorage destinations #
Previously, .images and .video destinations were 'faked' on iOS. With this change, when calling moveToSharedStorage, the file is added to the Photos Library (provided the user grants that permission).
For .images and .video SharedStorage destinations, you need user permission to add to the Photos Library, which requires you to set the NSPhotoLibraryAddUsageDescription key in Info.plist. The returned String is not a filePath, but a unique identifier. If you only want to add the file to the Photos Library you can ignore this identifier. If you want to actually get access to the file (and filePath) in the Photos Library, then the user needs to grant an additional 'modify' permission, which requires you to set the NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription in Info.plist. To get the actual filePath, call pathInSharedStorage and pass the identifier obtained via the call to moveToSharedStorage as the filePath parameter:
// assume we have permission
final identifier = await FileDownloader().moveToSharedStorage(task, SharedStorage.images);
if (identifier != null) {
  final path = await FileDownloader().pathInSharedStorage(identifier, SharedStorage.images);
  debugPrint('iOS path to dog picture in Photos Library = ${path ?? "permission denied"}');
} else {
  debugPrint('Could not add file to Photos Library, likely because permission denied');
}
The reason for this two-step approach is that typically you only want to add to the library (requires PermissionType.iosAddToPhotoLibrary), which does not require the user to give read/write access to their entire photos library (PermissionType.iosChangePhotoLibrary, required to get the filePath).
BREAKING: PersistentStorage and PersistentStorageMigrator #
If you use the default PersistentStorage then nothing changes. Otherwise:
SqlitePersistentStoragemoved to a separate package, and the migrator used isSqlPersistentStorageMigratorPersistentStorageis now an interface, not a class, andLocalStorePersistentStorageis the default implementationPersistentStorageMigratoris now an interface, andBasePersistentStorageMigratoris a basic implementation that can be extended to add migration options (as is done inSqlPersistentStorageMigrator)
Add background_downloader_sql to your dependencies in pubspec.yaml to get SqlitePersistentStorage and SQLite related migration options back.
The reason for this change is that the sqflite dependency adds significant size to apps, even if they do not use the SQLite functionality.
Introduce groupNotification #
If you download or upload multiple files simultaneously, you may not want a notification for every task, but one notification representing the group of tasks.  To do this, set the groupNotificationId field in a notificationConfig and use that configuration for all tasks in this group. It is easiest to combine this with the group field of the task, e.g.:
FileDownloader.configureNotificationForGroup('bunchOfFiles',
            running: const TaskNotification(
                '{numFinished} out of {numTotal}', 'Progress = {progress}'),
            complete:
                const TaskNotification('Done!', 'Loaded {numTotal} files'),
            error: const TaskNotification(
                'Error', '{numFailed}/{numTotal} failed'),
            progressBar: true,
            groupNotificationId: 'myGroupNotification');
            
// start every task like this
await FileDownloader().enqueue(DownloadTask(
            url: 'https://your_url.com',
            filename: 'your_filename',
            group: 'bunchOfFiles'));
All tasks in group bunchOfFiles will now use the notification group configuration with ID myNotificationGroup.
Add BaseDirectory.root #
You can now pass an absolute path to the downloader by using BaseDirectory.root combined with the path in directory. This allows you to reach any file destination on your platform. However, be careful: the reason you should not normally do this (and use e.g. BaseDirectory.applicationDocuments instead) is that the location of the app's documents directory may change between application starts (on iOS, and on Android in some cases), and may therefore fail for downloads that complete while the app is suspended.  You should therefore never store permanently, or hard-code, an absolute path, unless you are absolutely sure that that path is 'stable'.
Add fields mimeType and charSet to TaskStatusUpdate #
If the server provides this information via the Content-Type header then these fields will be non-null only for final states.
Add Request.cookieHeader to parse 'Set-Cookie' response header #
Servers may ask you to set a cookie (via the 'Set-Cookie' header in the response), to be passed along to the next request (in the 'Cookie' header). This may be needed for authentication, or for session state.
The method Request.cookieHeader makes it easy to insert cookies in a request. The first argument cookies is either a http.Response object (as returned by the FileDownloader().request method), a List<Cookie>, or a String value from a 'Set-Cookie' header. It returns a {'Cookie': '...'} header that can be added to the next request.
The second argument is the url you intend to use the cookies with. This is needed to filter the appropriate cookies based on domain and path.
For example:
final loginResponse = await FileDownloader()
   .request(Request(url: 'https://server.com/login', headers: {'Auth': 'Token'}));
const downloadUrl = 'https://server.com/download';
// add the cookies from the response to the task
final task = DownloadTask(url: downloadUrl, headers: {
  'Auth': 'Token',
  ...Request.cookieHeader(loginResponse, downloadUrl) // inserts the 'Cookie' header
});
Add platformVersion method #
Return the platform version as a String:
- On Android this is the API integer, e.g. "33"
 - On iOS this is the iOS version, e.g. "16.1"
 - On desktop this is a description of the OS version, not parsable
 
Add ready #
If initializing a non-default PersistentStorage such as SqlitePersistentStorage you may need to wait for database initialization and perhaps migration to complete before using the downloader. Call await FileDowloader().ready before the first call that involves the persistent storage. Because initialization is often followed immediately by the trackTasks call, that call waits for ready, so this is valid:
await FileDownloader(persistentStorage: SqlitePersistentStorage()).trackTasks();
Remove awaitGroup #
- Removed all references to 
awaitGroupas the logic for the convenience methods such asdownloadhas changed - Removed all references to 
modifiedTasksinPersistentStorageinterface - If you use a convenience function, your task must generate status updates (by setting the 
updatesfield toUpdates.status- the default - orUpdates.statusAndProgress) - If you use a convenience function and specify a progress callback, your task must also generate status updates (by setting the 
updatesfield toUpdates.statusAndProgress) 
Bug fixes and other improvements #
- Fixes Pause notification issue on iOS
 - Fixes issue with priority for multi-part file uploads
 - Fixes issue #194: remove notification when canceling a paused task
 - Fixes issue #200: prefer UTF-8 filename in Content-Disposition parse
 - Fixes issue #202: add minimum deployment target to PodSpec on iOS
 - Strip leading path separator from Task.directory instead of throwing an exception
 - Refactors code to improve readability
 
7.12.3 #
Issue #189 related to resume on Android versions prior to S, and to expediting a task prior to S
See https://stackoverflow.com/a/68468786/4172761
Fixes issue with parsing priority from JSON Fixes issue with setting expedited for Android versions prior to S. This effectively ignores priority (expedited) scheduling for tasks prior to Android S and defaults to normal.
7.12.2 #
Minor improvements to TaskQueue and MemoryTaskQueue
7.12.1 #
Bug fix for web compilation
7.12.0 #
Task priority levels #
The Task.priority field must be 0 <= priority <= 10 with 0 being the highest priority, and defaults to 5. On Desktop and iOS all priority levels are supported. On Android, priority levels <5 are handled as 'expedited', and >=5 is handled as a normal task.
Task queues #
Once you enqueue a task with the FileDownloader it is added to an internal queue that is managed by the native platform you're running on (e.g. Android). Once enqueued, you have limited control over the execution order, the number of tasks running in parallel, etc, because all that is managed by the platform.  If you want more control over the queue, you need to add a TaskQueue.
The MemoryTaskQueue bundled with the background_downloader allows:
- pacing the rate of enqueueing tasks, based on 
minInterval, to avoid 'choking' the FileDownloader when adding a large number of tasks - managing task priorities while waiting in the queue, such that higher priority tasks are enqueued before lower priority ones
 - managing the total number of tasks running concurrently, by setting 
maxConcurrent - managing the number of tasks that talk to the same host concurrently, by setting 
maxConcurrentByHost - managing the number of tasks running that are in the same 
Task.group, by settingmaxConcurrentByGroup 
A TaskQueue conceptually sits 'in front of' the FileDownloader queue. To use it, add it to the FileDownloader and instead of enqueuing tasks with the FileDownloader, you now add tasks to the queue:
final tq = MemoryTaskQueue();
tq.maxConcurrent = 5; // no more than 5 tasks active at any one time
tq.maxConcurrentByHost = 2; // no more than two tasks talking to the same host at the same time
tq.maxConcurrentByGroup = 3; // no more than three tasks from the same group active at the same time
FileDownloader().add(tq); // 'connects' the TaskQueue to the FileDownloader
FileDownloader().updates.listen((update) { // listen to updates as per usual
  print('Received update for ${update.task.taskId}: $update')
});
for (var n = 0; n < 100; n++) {
  task = DownloadTask(url: workingUrl, metData: 'task #$n'); // define task
  tq.add(task); // add to queue. The queue makes the FileDownloader().enqueue call
}
Because it is possible that an error occurs when the taskQueue eventually actually enqueues the task with the FileDownloader, you can listen to the enqueueErrors stream for tasks that failed to enqueue.
The default TaskQueue is the MemoryTaskQueue which, as the  name suggests, keeps everything in memory. This is fine for most situations, but be aware that the queue may get dropped if the OS aggressively moves the app to the background. Tasks still waiting in the queue will not be enqueued, and will therefore be lost. If you want a TaskQueue with more persistence, subclass the MemoryTaskQueue and add persistence.
In addition, if your app is suspended by the OS due to resource constraints, tasks waiting in the queue will not be enqueued to the native platform and will not run in the background. TaskQueues are therefore best for situations where you expect the queue to be emptied while the app is still in the foreground.
7.11.1 #
Fix #164 for progress updates for uploads.
7.11.0 #
Android external storage #
Add configuration for Android to use external storage instead of internal storage. Either your app runs in default (internal storage) mode, or in external storage. You cannot switch between internal and external, as the directory structure that - for example - BaseDirectory.applicationDocuments refers to is different in each mode. See the configuration document for important details and limitations
Use (Config.useExternalStorage, String whenToUse) with values 'never' or 'always'. Default is Config.never.
Server suggested filename #
If you want the filename to be provided by the server (instead of assigning a value to filename yourself), you now have two options. The first is to create a DownloadTask that pings the server to determine the suggested filename:
final task = await DownloadTask(url: 'https://google.com')
        .withSuggestedFilename(unique: true);
The method withSuggestedFilename returns a copy of the task it is called on, with the filename field modified based on the filename suggested by the server, or the last path segment of the URL, or unchanged if neither is feasible (e.g. due to a lack of connection). If unique is true, the filename will be modified such that it does not conflict with an existing filename by adding a sequence. For example "file.txt" would become "file (1).txt". You can now also supply a taskWithFilenameBuilder to suggest the filename yourself, based on response headers.
The second approach is to set the filename field of the DownloadTask to DownloadTask.suggestedFilename, to indicate that you would like the server to suggest the name. In this case, you will receive the name via the task's status and/or progress updates, so you have to be careful not to use the original task's filename, as that will still be DownloadTask.suggestedFilename. For example:
final task = await DownloadTask(url: 'https://google.com', filename: DownloadTask.suggestedFilename);
final result = await FileDownloader().download(task);
print('Suggested filename=${result.task.filename}'); // note we don't use 'task', but 'result.task'
print('Wrong use filename=${task.filename}'); // this will print '?' as 'task' hasn't changed
Set content length if not provided by server #
To provide progress updates (as a percentage of total file size) the downloader needs to know the size of the file when starting the download. Most servers provide this in the "Content-Length" header of their response. If the server does not provide the file size, yet you know the file size (e.g. because you have stored the file on the server yourself), then you can let the downloader know by providing a {'Range': 'bytes=0-999'} or a {'Known-Content-Length': '1000'} header to the task's header field. Both examples are for a content length of 1000 bytes.  The downloader will assume this content length when calculating progress.
Bug fix #
Partial Downloads, using a Range header, can now be properly paused on all platforms.
7.10.1 #
Add displayName field to Task that can be used to store and display a 'human readable' description of the task. It can be displayed in a notification using {displayName}.
Bug fix for regression in compiling for Web platform (through stubbing - no actual web functionality).
7.10.0 #
Add ParallelDownloadTask. Some servers may offer an option to download part of the same file from multiple URLs or have multiple parallel downloads of part of a large file using a single URL. This can speed up the download of large files.  To do this, create a ParallelDownloadTask instead of a regular DownloadTask and specify chunks (the number of pieces you want to break the file into, i.e. the number of downloads that will happen in parallel) and urls (as a list of URLs, or just one). For example, if you specify 4 chunks and 2 URLs, then the download will be broken into 8 pieces, four each for each URL.
Note that the implementation of this feature creates a regular DownloadTask for each chunk, with the group name 'chunk' which is now a reserved group. You will not get updates for this group, but you will get normal updates (status and/or progress) for the ParallelDownloadTask.
7.9.4 #
Enable compile for Web platform (through stubbing - no actual web functionality).
Automatically dismiss "complete" and "error" notifications when the user taps on the notification.
7.9.3 #
Bug fix for validating URLs to allow localhost URLs.
Update to Android Gradle Plugin 8.1.0
7.9.2 #
Add configuration Config.useCacheDir for Android and improved temp file logic. By default (Config.whenAble) the downloader will now use the application's cacheDir when the size of the file to download is less than half of the cacheQuotaBytes given to the app by Android, and use filesDir otherwise. If you find that downloads do not complete (or cannot be resumed when paused) this indicates the OS is removing the temp file from the cacheDir due to low memory conditions. In that situation, consider using Config.never to force the use of filesDir, but make sure to clean up remnant temp files in filesDir, as the OS does not do that for you.
Fix for Android 33 related to the new predictive back gesture navigation
Documentation updates
7.9.1 #
Failed download tasks can now be resumed (under certain conditions) even if the Task.allowPause field is false. Resuming a failed task will attempt to continue the download where the failure occurred.  If retries are set to a value >0 then retries will also first attempt to resume, and only start from scratch if that fails.
Tasks can only resume if the ETag header provided by the server is strong, and equal to the ETag at the moment the download was paused/failed, or if it is not provided at all.
7.9.0 #
Configuration #
Add configuration of the downloader for several aspects:
- Running tasks in 'foreground mode' on Android to allow longer runs and prevent the OS killing some tasks when the app is in the background
 - Setting the request timeout value and, for iOS only, the 'resourceTimeout'
 - Checking available space before attempting a download
 - Setting a proxy
 - Localizing the notification button texts on iOS
 - Bypassing TLS Certificate validation (for debug mode only)
 
Please read the configuration document for details on how to configure.
Configuration is experimental, so please test thoroughly before using in production, and let me know if there are any issues.
Network speed and time remaining in TaskStatusUpdate #
TaskStatusUpdate now has fields networkSpeed (in MB/s) and timeRemaining. Check the associated hasNetworkSpeed and hasTimeRemaining before using the values in these fields.  Use networkSpeedAsString and timeRemainingAsString for human readable versions of these values.
Filter TaskRecord entries by status: allRecordsWithStatus #
The database now has method allRecordsWithStatus to filter records based on their TaskStatus
7.8.1 #
Bug fix for taskNotificationTapCallback: convenience methods that await a result, such as download (but not enqueue), now use the default taskNotificationTapCallback, even though those tasks are in the awaitGroup, because that behavior is more in line with expectations. If you need a separate callback for the awaitGroup, then set it after setting the default callback. You set the default callback by omitting the group parameter in the registerCallbacks call.
7.8.0 #
Added field responseBody to TaskStatusUpdate that, if not null, contains the server response for uploads, and for downloads that are not complete (e.g. .notFound). In those instances, the server response may contain useful information (e.g. a url where the uploaded file can be found, or the reason for the 'not found' status as provided by the server)
Improved handling of notification tap callbacks.
7.7.1 #
Bug fix for Flutter Downloader migration on iOS, issue #86
7.7.0 #
Uploading multiple files in a single request #
If you need to upload multiple files in a single request, create a MultiUploadTask instead of an UploadTask. It has similar parameters as the UploadTask, except you specify a list of files to upload as the files argument of the constructor, and do not use fileName, fileField and mimeType. Each element in the files list is either:
- a filename (e.g. 
"file1.txt"). ThefileFieldfor that file will be set to the base name (i.e. "file1" for "file1.txt") and the mime type will be derived from the extension (i.e. "text/plain" for "file1.txt") - a record containing 
(fileField, filename), e.g.("document", "file1.txt"). ThefileFieldfor that file will be set to "document" and the mime type derived from the file extension (i.e. "text/plain" for "file1.txt") - a record containing 
(filefield, filename, mimeType), e.g.("document", "file1.txt", "text/plain") 
The baseDirectory and directory fields of the MultiUploadTask determine the expected location of the file referenced, unless the filename used in any of the 3 formats above is an absolute path (e.g. "/data/user/0/com.my_app/file1.txt"). In that case, the absolute path is used and the baseDirectory and directory fields are ignored for that element of the list.
Once the MultiUpoadTask is created, the fields fileFields, filenames and mimeTypes will contain the parsed items, and the fields fileField, filename and mimeType contain those lists encoded as a JSON string.
Use the MultiTaskUpload object in the upload and enqueue methods as you would a regular UploadTask.
Flutter Downloader migration #
Bug fixes related to migration from Flutter Downloader (see version 7.6.0). The migration is still experimental, so please test thoroughly before relying on the migration in your app.
Bug fixes #
Fixed a bug on iOS related to NSNull Json decoding
7.6.0 #
Added SqlitePersistentStorage as an alternative backing storage for the downloader, and implemented migration of a pre-existing database from the Flutter Downloader package. We use the sqflite package, so this is only supported iOS and Android.
To use the downloader with SQLite backing and migration from Flutter Downloader, initialize the FileDownloader at the very beginning of your app:
final sqlStorage = SqlitePersistentStorage(migrationOptions: ['flutter_downloader', 'local_store']);
FileDownloader(persistentStorage: sqlStorage);
// start using the FileDownloader
This will migrate from either Flutter Downloader or the default LocalStore.
Added an optional parameter to the tasksFinished method that allows you to use it the moment you receive a status update for a task, like this:
void downloadStatusCallback(TaskStatusUpdate update) async {
    // process your status update, then check if all tasks are finished
    final bool allTasksFinished = update.status.isFinalState && 
        await FileDownloader().tasksFinished(ignoreTaskId: update.task.taskId) ;
    print('All tasks finished: $allTasksFinished');
  }
This excludes the task that is currently finishing up from the test. Without this, it's possible tasksFinished returns false as that currently finishing task may not have left the queue yet.
7.5.0 #
Added pathInSharedStorage method, which obtains the path to a file moved to shared storage.
To check if a file exists in shared storage, obtain the path to the file by calling
pathInSharedStorage and, if not null, check if that file exists.
On Android 29+: If you have generated a version with an indexed name (e.g. 'myFile (1).txt'), then only the most recently stored version is available this way, even if an earlier version actually does exist. Also, only files stored by your app will be returned via this call, as you don't have access to files stored by other apps.
On iOS: To make files visible in the Files browser, do not move them to shared storage. Instead, download the file to the BaseDirectory.applicationDocuments and add the following to your Info.plist:
<key>LSSupportsOpeningDocumentsInPlace</key>
<true/>
<key>UIFileSharingEnabled</key>
<true/>
This will make all files in your app's Documents directory visible to the Files browser.
Bug fixes:
- Fixed bug when download is interrupted due to lost network connection (on Android)
 - Fixed bug with 
moveToSharedStorageon iOS: shared storage is now 'faked' on iOS, creating subdirectories of the regular Documents directory, as iOS apps do not have access to shared media and download directories - Fixed bug with notifications disappearing on iOS
 
7.4.1 #
Bug fix for type cast errors and for thread safety on iOS for notifications
7.4.0 #
Added method expectedFileSize() to DownloadTask, and added field expectedFileSize to
TaskProgressUpdate (provided to callbacks or listeners during download), and TaskRecord
entries in the database.
Note that this field is only valid when 0 < progress < 1. It is -1 if file size cannot be determined.
7.3.1 #
Improved DownloadProgressIndicator widget:
- In collapsed state, now shows progress as 'n' files finished out of 'total' started (and progress as that fraction)
 - Option to force collapsed state always by setting 
maxExpandableto 0. When set to 1, the indicator collapses only when the second download starts. When set greater than 1, the indicator expands to show multiple simultaneous downloads. 
Added usage examples upfront in the readme
7.3.0 #
Added DownloadProgressIndicator widget and modified the example app to show how to wire it up.
The widget is configurable (e.g. pause and cancel buttons) and can show multiple downloads simultaneously in either an expanded or collapsed mode.
If tracking downloads in persistent storage, pausing a file now does not override the stored progress with progressPaused.
Fixed bugs.
7.2.0 #
Added option to use a different persistent storage solution than the one provided by default. The downloader stores a few things in persistent storage, and uses a modified version of the localstore package by default. To use a different persistent storage solution, create a class that implements the PersistentStorage interface, and initialize the downloader by calling FileDownloader(persistentStorage: yourStorageClass()) as the first use of the FileDownloader.
A simple example is included in the example app (using the sqflite package).
Fixed a few bugs.
7.1.0 #
Added tasksFinished method that returns true if all tasks in the group have finished
Fixed bug related to allTasks method
7.0.2 #
Added namespace to Android build.gradle and removed irrelevant log messages
Fixed permission bug on Android 10
Changed class modifiers to allow mocking with Mockito
7.0.1 #
Migrating the persistent data from the documents directory to the support directory, so it is no longer visible in - for example - the iOS Files app, or the Linux home directory.
Further Dart 3 changes (not visible to user).
7.0.0 #
Migration to Dart 3 - not other functional change or API change.  If you use Dart 2 please use version 6.1.1 of this plugin, which will be maintained until the end of 2023.
Most classes in the package are now final classes, and under the hood we use the new Records and Pattern matching features of Dart 3. None of this should matter if you've used the package as intended.
6.3.2 #
Fixed a bug on iOS related to NSNull Json decoding
6.3.1 #
Added an optional parameter to the tasksFinished method that allows you to use it the moment you receive a status update for a task, like this:
void downloadStatusCallback(TaskStatusUpdate update) async {
    // process your status update, then check if all tasks are finished
    final bool allTasksFinished = update.status.isFinalState && 
        await FileDownloader().tasksFinished(ignoreTaskId: update.task.taskId) ;
    print('All tasks finished: $allTasksFinished');
  }
This excludes the task that is currently finishing up from the test. Without this, it's possible tasksFinished returns false as that currently finishing task may not have left the queue yet.
6.3.0 #
Added pathInSharedStorage method, which obtains the path to a file moved to shared storage.
To check if a file exists in shared storage, obtain the path to the file by calling
pathInSharedStorage and, if not null, check if that file exists.
On Android 29+: If you have generated a version with an indexed name (e.g. 'myFile (1).txt'), then only the most recently stored version is available this way, even if an earlier version actually does exist. Also, only files stored by your app will be returned via this call, as you don't have access to files stored by other apps.
On iOS: To make files visible in the Files browser, do not move them to shared storage. Instead, download the file to the BaseDirectory.applicationDocuments and add the following to your Info.plist:
<key>LSSupportsOpeningDocumentsInPlace</key>
<true/>
<key>UIFileSharingEnabled</key>
<true/>
This will make all files in your app's Documents directory visible to the Files browser.
Bug fixes:
- Fixed bug when download is interrupted due to lost network connection (on Android)
 - Fixed bug with 
moveToSharedStorageon iOS: shared storage is now 'faked' on iOS, creating subdirectories of the regular Documents directory, as iOS apps do not have access to shared media and download directories - Fixed bug with notifications disappearing on iOS
 
6.2.1 #
Bug fix for type cast errors and for thread safety on iOS for notifications
6.2.0 #
Added tasksFinished method that returns true if all tasks in the group have finished
Fixed bug related to allTasks method
6.1.4 #
Fixed permission bug on Android 10
6.1.3 #
Added namespace to Android build.gradle and removed irrelevant log messages
6.1.2 #
Migrating the persistent data from the documents directory to the support directory, so it is no longer visible in - for example - the iOS Files app, or the Linux home directory.
6.1.1 #
Bug fix for request method where the httpRequestMethod override was not taken into account properly.
6.1.0 #
Added unregisterCallBacks to remove callbacks if you no longer want updates, and resetUpdates to reset the updates stream so it can be listened to again.
Bug fix for DownloadTask.withSuggestedFilename for servers that do not follow case convention for the Content-Disposition header.
6.0.0 #
Breaking changes:
- The 
TaskStatusCallbackandTaskProgressCallbacknow take a single argument (TaskStatusUpdateandTaskProgressUpdaterespectively) instead of multiple arguments. This aligns the callback API with theupdateslistener API, and makes it easier to add data to an update in the future. For example, in this version we add anexceptionproperty to programmatically handle exceptions - Similarly, the 
downloadanduploadmethods now return aTaskStatusUpdateinstead of aTaskStatus - For consistency, the 
taskStatusproperty of theTaskRecord(used to store task information in a persistent database) is renamed tostatus - The 
trackTasksmethod no longer takes agroupargument, and starts tracking for all tasks, regardless of group. If you need tracking only for a specific group, call the newtrackTasksInGroupmethod 
Other changes (non-breaking):
- You can override the 
httpRequestMethodused for requests by setting it in theRequest,DownloadTaskorUploadTask. By default, requests and downloads use GET (unlesspostis set) and uploads use POST - The 
download,upload,downloadBatchanduploadBatchmethods now take an optionalonElapsedTimecallback that is called at regular intervals (defined by the optionalelapsedTimeIntervalwhich defaults to 5 seconds) with the time elapsed since the call was made. This can be used to trigger UI warnings (e.g. 'this is taking rather long') or to cancel the task if it does not complete within a desired time. For performance reasons theelapsedTimeIntervalshould not be set to a value less than one second, and this mechanism should not be used to indicate progress. - If a task fails, the 
TaskStatusUpdatewill contain aTaskExceptionthat provides information about the type of exception (e.g. aTaskFileSystemExceptionindicates an issue with storing or retrieving the file) and contains adescriptionand (forTaskHttpExceptiononly) thehttpResponseCode. If tasks are tracked, the The followingTaskExceptionsubtypes may occur:TaskException(general exception)TaskFileSystemException(issue retrieving or storing the file)TaskUrlException(issue with the url)TaskConnectionException(issue with the connection to the server)TaskResumeException(issue with pausing or resuming a task)TaskHttpException(issue with the HTTP connection, e.g. we received an error response from the server, captured inhttpResponseCode)
 
Fixed a few bugs.
5.6.0 #
Adds handler for when the user taps a notification, and an openFile method to open a file using the platform-specific convention.
To handle notification taps, register a callback that takes Task and NotificationType as parameters:
FileDownloader().registerCallbacks(
            taskNotificationTapCallback: myNotificationTapCallback);
            
void myNotificationTapCallback(Task task, NotificationType notificationType) {
    print('Tapped notification $notificationType for taskId ${task.taskId}');
  }
To open a file, call FileDownloader().openFile and supply either a Task or a full filePath (but not both) and optionally a mimeType to assist the Platform in choosing the right application to use to open the file.
The file opening behavior is platform dependent, and while you should check the return value of the call to openFile, error checking is not fully consistent.
Note that on Android, files stored in the BaseDirectory.applicationDocuments cannot be opened. You need to download to a different base directory (e.g. .applicationSupport) or move the file to shared storage before attempting to open it.
If all you want to do on notification tap is to open the file, you can simplify the process by
adding tapOpensFile: true to your call to configureNotifications, and you don't need to
register a taskNotificationTapCallback.
5.5.0 #
Adds withSuggestedFilename for DownloadTask. Use:
   final task = await DownloadTask(url: 'https://google.com')
       .withSuggestedFilename(unique: true);
The method withSuggestedFilename returns a copy of the task it is called on, with the filename field modified based on the filename suggested by the server, or the last path segment of the URL, or unchanged if neither is feasible. If unique is true, the filename will be modified such that it does not conflict with an existing filename by adding a sequence. For example "file.txt" would become "file (1).txt".
Bug fixes:
- Fix for issue #35 for pausing convenience download and a specific issue with nginx related to pause/resume
 - Fix for issue #38 related to notification permissions on iOS
 
5.4.6 #
Fix issue #34 with moveToSharedStorage on iOS
5.4.5 #
An invalid url in the Task now results in false being returned from the enqueue call on
all platforms. Previously, the behavior was inconsistent.
5.4.4 #
Added optional properties to UploadTask related to multi-part uploads:
fileFieldis the field name used to indicate the file (default to "file")mimeTypeoverrides the mimeType derived from the filename extensionfieldsis aMap<String, String>containing form field name/value pairs that will be uploaded along with the file in a multi-part upload
5.4.3 #
Added optional mimeType parameter for calls to moveToSharedStorage and
moveFileToSharedStorage. This sets the mimeType
directly, instead of relying on the system to determine the mime type based on the file extension.
Note that this may change the filename - for example, when moving the test file google.html to
SharedStorage.images while setting mimeType to 'images/jpeg', the path to the file in shared
storage becomes /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/google.html.jpg (note the added .jpg).
5.4.2 #
Better permissions management, implementation of moveToSharedStorage for Android versions below Q
5.4.1 #
Minor fixes
5.4.0 #
Shared and scoped storage #
The download directories specified in the BaseDirectory enum are all local to the app. To make downloaded files available to the user outside of the app, or to other apps, they need to be moved to shared or scoped storage, and this is platform dependent behavior. For example, to move the downloaded file associated with a DownloadTask to a shared 'Downloads' storage destination, execute the following after the download has completed:
    final newFilepath = await FileDownloader().moveToSharedStorage(task, SharedStorage.downloads);
    if (newFilePath == null) {
        ... // handle error
    } else {
        ... // do something with the newFilePath
    }
Because the behavior is very platform-specific, not all SharedStorage destinations have the same result. The options are:
.downloads- implemented on all platforms, but on iOS files in this directory are not accessible to other users.images- implemented on Android and iOS only. On iOS files in this directory are not accessible to other users.video- implemented on Android and iOS only. On iOS files in this directory are not accessible to other users.audio- implemented on Android and iOS only. On iOS files in this directory are not accessible to other users.files- implemented on Android only.external- implemented on Android only
On MacOS, for the .downloads to work you need to enable App Sandbox entitlements and set the key com.apple.security.files.downloads.read-write to true.
On Android, depending on what SharedStorage destination you move a file to, and depending on the OS version your app runs on, you may require extra permissions WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE and/or READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE . See here for details on the new scoped storage rules starting with Android API version 30, which is what the plugin is using.
Methods moveToSharedStorage and the similar moveFileToSharedStorage also take an optional directory argument for a subdirectory in the SharedStorage destination.
Thanks to @rebaz94 for implementing scoped storage on Android.
Library base directory #
The BaseDirectory enum now also supports .applicationLibrary. On iOS and MacOS this is the directory provided by the path_provider package's getLibraryDirectory() call. On Other platforms, for consistency, this is the subdirectory 'Library' of the directory returned byn the getApplicationSupportDirectory() call.
Bug fix #
Fixed a bug with iOS cancellation in non-US locales.
5.3.0 #
Notifications #
On iOS and Android, for downloads only, the downloader can generate notifications to keep the user informed of progress also when the app is in the background, and allow pause/resume and cancellation of an ongoing download from those notifications.
Configure notifications by calling FileDownloader().configureNotification and supply a TaskNotification object for different states. For example, the following configures notifications to show only when actively running (i.e. download in progress), disappearing when the download completes or ends with an error. It will also show a progress bar and a 'cancel' button, and will substitute {filename} with the actual filename of the file being downloaded.
    FileDownloader().configureNotification(
        running: TaskNotification('Downloading', 'file: {filename}'),
        progressBar: true)
To also show a notifications for other states, add a TaskNotification for complete, error and/or paused. If paused is configured and the task can be paused, a 'Pause' button will show for the running notification, next to the 'Cancel' button.
There are three possible substitutions of the text in the title or body of a TaskNotification:
- {filename} is replaced with the filename as defined in the 
Task - {progress} is substituted by a progress percentage, or '--%' if progress is unknown
 - {metadata} is substituted by the 
Task.metaDatafield 
Notifications on iOS follow Apple's guidelines, notably:
- No progress bar is shown, and the {progress} substitution always substitutes to an empty string. In other words: only a single 
runningnotification is shown and it is not updated until the download state changes - When the app is in the foreground, on iOS 14 and above the notification will not be shown but will appear in the NotificationCenter. On older iOS versions the notification will be shown also in the foreground. Apple suggests showing progress and download controls within the app when it is in the foreground
 
While notifications are possible on desktop platforms, there is no true background mode, and progress updates and indicators can be shown within the app. Notifications are therefore ignored on desktop platforms.
The configureNotification call configures notification behavior for all download tasks. You can specify a separate configuration for a group of tasks by calling configureNotificationForGroup and for a single task by calling configureNotificationForTask. A Task configuration overrides a group configuration, which overrides the default configuration.
When attempting to show its first notification, the downloader will ask the user for permission to show notifications (platform version dependent) and abide by the user choice. For Android, starting with API 33, you need to add <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS" /> to your app's AndroidManifest.xml. Also on Android you can localize the button text by overriding string resources bg_downloader_cancel, bg_downloader_pause, bg_downloader_resume and descriptions bg_downloader_notification_channel_name, bg_downloader_notification_channel_description. Localization on iOS is not currently supported.
5.2.0 #
Better persistence for tasks that execute while the app is suspended by the operating system.
To ensure your callbacks or listener capture events that may have happened when your app was
suspended in the background, call FileDownloader().resumeFromBackground() right after registering
your callbacks or listener.
5.1.0 #
Previously, Android file downloads were limited to 8 minutes. Now, long downloads are possible provided the DownloadTask.allowPause field is set to true. Just before the download times out, the downloader will pause and then resume the task in a new worker, effectively resetting the 9 minute clock.  As a result, the download will eventually complete
5.0.0 #
Pause and resume #
To pause or resume a task, call:
pauseto attempt to pause a task. Whether a task can be canceled or not depends primarily on the server. Soon after the task is running (TaskStatus.running) you can calltaskCanResumewhich will return a Future that resolves totrueif the server appears capable of pause & resume. If that returnsfalse, then callingpausewill returnfalseas well, and the call is ignoredresumeto resume a previously paused task, which returns true if resume appears feasible. The taskStatus will follow the same sequence as a newly enqueued task. If resuming turns out to be not feasible (e.g. the operating system deleted the temp file with the partial download) then the task will either restart as a normal download, or fail.
This adds TaskStatus.paused which may require updating switch statements to remain exhaustive, though this status will never appear unless you use pause.
Individual status and progress callbacks for batch upload and download #
Adds status and progress callbacks for individual files in a batch. This is breaking if you used a batch progress callback earlier, as that is now a named parameter. Change:
   final result = await FileDownloader().downloadBatch(tasks, (succeeded, failed) {
      print('$succeeded files succeeded, $failed have failed');
      print('Progress is ${(succeeded + failed) / tasks.length} %');
   });
to
   final result = await FileDownloader().downloadBatch(tasks, batchProgressCallback: (succeeded, failed) {
    ...
   });
To also monitor status and progress for each file in the batch, add a taskStatusCallback (taking Task and TaskStatus as arguments) and/or a taskProgressCallback (taking Task` and a double as arguments).
iOS minimum version from 11.0 to 13.0 #
To improve Swift code readability and maintenance, the minimum iOS version has moved from 11.0 to 13.0
4.2.3 #
Fixed another bug with database.allRecords if taskId contains illegal filename characters (like '/'). For
tracking record id purposes those are now replaced with '_'
4.2.2 #
Fixed bug with database.allRecords if taskId contains illegal filename characters (like '/'). For
tracking record id purposes those are now replaced with '_'
4.2.1 #
Upgraded dependency to address issue with Windows platform database performance
4.2.0 #
Added creationTime field to Request and Task.
Added allRecordsOlderThan(Duration age, {String? group}) to database, making it easy to extract
the TaskRecord entries that are stale.
4.1.0 #
Adds optional tracking of task status and progress in a persistent database.
To keep track of the status and progress of all tasks, even after they have completed, activate tracking by calling trackTasks() and use the database field to query. For example:
    // at app startup, start tracking
    await FileDownloader().trackTasks();
    
    
    // somewhere else: enqueue a download
    final task = DownloadTask(
            url: 'https://google.com',
            filename: 'testfile.txt');
    final successfullyEnqueued = await FileDownloader().enqueue(task);
    
    // somewhere else: query the task status by getting a `TaskRecord`
    // from the database
    final record = await FileDownloader().database.recordForId(task.taskId);
    print('Taskid ${record.taskId} with task ${record.task} has '
        'status ${record.taskStatus} and progress ${record.progress}'
You can interact with the database using allRecords, recordForId, deleteAllRecords, deleteRecordWithId etc. Note that only tasks that you asked to be tracked (using trackTasks, which activates tracking for all tasks in a group) will be in the database. All active tasks in the queue, regardless of tracking, can be queried via the FileDownloader.taskForId call etc, but those will only return the task itself, not its status or progress, as those are expected to be monitored via listener or callback.  Note: tasks that are started using download, upload, batchDownload or batchUpload are assigned a special group name 'await', as callbacks for these tasks are handled within the FileDownloader. If you want to  track those tasks in the database, call FileDownloader().trackTasks(FileDownloader.awaitGroup) at the start of your app.
4.0.0 #
Adds support for MacOS, Windows and Linux and refactored the backend to be more easily extensible.
Changes FileDownloader usage from static to a singleton. This means that instead of calling
FileDownloader.downloader(...) now call FileDownloader().downloader(...) etc.
Calling .initialize is not longer required.
3.0.1 #
iOS BaseDirectory.applicationSupport now uses iOS applicationSupportDirectory instead of libraryDirectory
3.0.0 #
Version 3 introduces uploads, onProgress and onStatus callbacks passed to download and upload,
and cleans up the API to be less verbose.
The class hierarchy is Request -> Task -> (DownloadTask | UploadTask), and several
methods and callbacks will return or expect a Task that may be a DownloadTask or UploadTask.
To align naming convention, several class and enum names have been changed:
- class BackgroundDownloadTask -> DownloadTask, and field progressUpdates -> updates
 - enum DownloadTaskStatus -> TaskStatus
 - enum DownloadProgressUpdates -> Updates (and enum value changes)
 - class BackgroundDownloadEvent -> TaskUpdate
 - class BackgroundDownloadStatusEvent -> TaskStatusUpdate
 - class BackgroundDownloadProgressEvent -> TaskProgressUpdate
 - typedef DownloadStatusCallback -> TaskStatusCallback
 - typedef DownloadProgressCallback -> TaskProgressCallback
 - class DownloadBatch -> Batch
 - typedef BatchDownloadProgressCallback -> BatchProgressCallback
 
2.1.1 #
The url and urlQueryParameters passed to a BackgroundDownloadTask or Request must be encoded if necessary. For example, if the url or query parameters contain a space, it must be replaced with %20 per urlencoding
2.1.0 #
Changes:
- Added option to use a POST request: setting the 
postfield to a String or UInt8List passes that data to the server using the POST method to obtain your file - Added 
requestmethod, taking aRequestobject (a superclass ofBackgroundDownloadTask), for simple server requests, where you process the server response directly (i.e. not in a file). - Refactored Android Kotlin code and made small improvement to the fix for issue with
Firebase plugin 
onMethodCallhandler 
2.0.0 #
Added option to automatically retry failed downloads. This is a breaking change, though for most existing implementations no or very little change is required.
The main change is the addition of enqueued and waitingToRetry status to the
DownloadTaskStatus enum (and removal of undefined). As a result, when checking a
DownloadStatusUpdate (e.g. using a switch statement) you need to cover these new cases (and
for existing implementations can typically just ignore them).  The progressUpdate equivalent of
waitingToRetry is a value of -4.0, but for existing implementations this will never be
emitted, as they won't have retries.
The second change is that a task now emits enqueued when enqueued, and running once the actual
download (on the native platform) starts. In existing applications this can generally be ignored,
but it allows for more precise status updates.
To use automatic retries, simply set the retries field of the BackgroundDownloadTask to an
integer between 0 and 10. A normal download (without the need for retries) will follow status
updates from enqueued -> running -> complete (or notFound). If retries has been set and
the task fails, the sequence will be enqueued -> running ->
waitingToRetry -> enqueued -> running -> complete (if the second try succeeds, or more
retries if needed).
1.6.0 #
Added option to set requiresWiFi on the BackgroundDownloadTask, which ensures the task won't
start downloading unless a WiFi network is available. By default requiresWiFi is false, and
downloads will use the cellular (or metered) network if WiFi is not available, which may incur cost.
1.5.0 #
Added allTasks method to get a list of running tasks. Use allTaskIds to get a list of taskIds
only.
1.4.2 #
Added note to README referring to an issue ( and fix) where the firebase plugin interferes with the downloader
1.4.1 #
Improved example app, updated documentation and fixed minor Android bug
1.4.0 #
Added downloadBatch method to enqueue and wait for completion of a batch of downloads
1.3.0 #
Added option to use an event listener instead of (or in addition to) callbacks
1.2.0 #
Added FileDownloader.download as a convenience method for simple downloads. This method's Future completes only after the download has completed or failed, and can be used for simple downloads where status and progress checking is not required.
1.1.0 #
Added headers and metaData fields to the BackgroundDownloadTask. Headers will be added to the request, and metaData is ignored but may be helpful to the user
1.0.2 #
Replaced Ktor client with a basic Kotlin implementation
1.0.0 #
Initial release