🚀 Flutter App Auto Update Checker #

A lightweight, cross-platform Flutter package that automatically checks for app updates from Google Play Store (Android) and Apple App Store (iOS), compares versions, and shows customizable update dialogs.

✨ Features #

• ✅ Cross-platform support - Works on both Android and iOS
• ✅ Automatic version checking - Fetches latest version from app stores
• ✅ Smart version comparison - Compares semantic versions accurately
• ✅ Customizable dialog - Beautiful, customizable update dialog with release notes
• ✅ Easy integration - Simple API with minimal code
• ✅ Lightweight - No heavy dependencies
• ✅ Production-ready - Built for real-world applications

📦 Installation #

Add this to your package's pubspec.yaml file:

dependencies:
  flutter_app_auto_update_checker: ^1.0.0

Then run:

flutter pub get

🚀 Quick Start #

1. Basic Usage #

import 'package:flutter_app_auto_update_checker/flutter_app_auto_update_checker.dart';

// Check for updates
final updateInfo = await UpdateCheckerService.checkForUpdate();

if (updateInfo.hasUpdate) {
  // Show update dialog
  UpdateDialog.show(context, updateInfo: updateInfo);
}

2. Complete Example #

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

void main() {
  runApp(const MyApp());
}

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  const MyApp({super.key});

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      title: 'Flutter Demo',
      theme: ThemeData(
        primarySwatch: Colors.blue,
      ),
      home: const HomePage(),
    );
  }
}

class HomePage extends StatefulWidget {
  const HomePage({super.key});

  @override
  State<HomePage> createState() => _HomePageState();
}

class _HomePageState extends State<HomePage> {
  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    _checkForUpdate();
  }

  Future<void> _checkForUpdate() async {
    // Check for updates
    final updateInfo = await UpdateCheckerService.checkForUpdate();

    if (updateInfo.hasUpdate && mounted) {
      // Show update dialog
      UpdateDialog.show(
        context,
        updateInfo: updateInfo,
        title: 'Update Available!',
        message: 'A new version of the app is available.',
        updateButtonText: 'Update Now',
        laterButtonText: 'Later',
        isCritical: false, // Set to true for forced updates
      );
    }
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(
        title: const Text('Auto Update Checker'),
      ),
      body: Center(
        child: Column(
          mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
          children: [
            const Icon(
              Icons.check_circle_outline,
              size: 64,
              color: Colors.green,
            ),
            const SizedBox(height: 16),
            const Text(
              'Update Check Complete',
              style: TextStyle(fontSize: 20, fontWeight: FontWeight.bold),
            ),
            const SizedBox(height: 8),
            const Text('Your app is up to date!'),
            const SizedBox(height: 24),
            ElevatedButton.icon(
              onPressed: _checkForUpdate,
              icon: const Icon(Icons.refresh),
              label: const Text('Check Again'),
            ),
          ],
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

📖 API Reference #

UpdateCheckerService #

Main service class for checking app updates.

Methods

checkForUpdate({String? packageName})

Checks for app updates from the respective app store.

Parameters:

• packageName (optional): The app's package name (Android) or bundle ID (iOS). If not provided, it will be fetched automatically.

Returns: Future<AppUpdateInfo>

Example:

final updateInfo = await UpdateCheckerService.checkForUpdate();

AppUpdateInfo #

Model class containing app update information.

Properties:

• currentVersion (String): The current version of the installed app
• latestVersion (String): The latest version available on the store
• hasUpdate (bool): Whether an update is available
• packageName (String): The app's package name (Android) or bundle ID (iOS)
• storeUrl (String): The URL to the app store listing
• releaseNotes (String?): Release notes or changelog for the update
• isCritical (bool): Whether this is a critical/forced update

Example:

if (updateInfo.hasUpdate) {
  print('Update available: ${updateInfo.currentVersion} -> ${updateInfo.latestVersion}');
}

UpdateDialog #

A customizable dialog widget for displaying app update information.

Constructor

UpdateDialog({
  required AppUpdateInfo updateInfo,
  String title = 'Update Available',
  String? message,
  String updateButtonText = 'Update Now',
  String laterButtonText = 'Later',
  bool showLaterButton = true,
  VoidCallback? onUpdatePressed,
  VoidCallback? onLaterPressed,
  bool isCritical = false,
})

Static Method: show()

Shows the update dialog.

Parameters:

• context (BuildContext): The build context
• updateInfo (AppUpdateInfo): The app update information to display
• title (String): Title of the dialog (default: 'Update Available')
• message (String?): Message to display in the dialog
• updateButtonText (String): Text for the update button (default: 'Update Now')
• laterButtonText (String): Text for the later button (default: 'Later')
• showLaterButton (bool): Whether to show the later button (default: true)
• onUpdatePressed (VoidCallback?): Callback when update button is pressed
• onLaterPressed (VoidCallback?): Callback when later button is pressed
• isCritical (bool): Whether this is a critical update (forces update) (default: false)

Example:

UpdateDialog.show(
  context,
  updateInfo: updateInfo,
  title: 'New Version Available!',
  message: 'Please update to the latest version.',
  updateButtonText: 'Update Now',
  laterButtonText: 'Maybe Later',
  isCritical: false,
);

🎨 Customization #

Custom Update Dialog #

You can customize the update dialog by providing your own callbacks:

UpdateDialog.show(
  context,
  updateInfo: updateInfo,
  title: 'Update Required',
  message: 'This update includes important security fixes.',
  updateButtonText: 'Update Now',
  laterButtonText: 'Remind Me Later',
  showLaterButton: false, // Hide later button for critical updates
  isCritical: true, // Force update (prevents dismissing dialog)
  onUpdatePressed: () {
    // Custom action when update is pressed
    print('Update pressed!');
  },
  onLaterPressed: () {
    // Custom action when later is pressed
    print('Later pressed!');
  },
);

Forced Updates #

To force users to update (prevent dismissing the dialog):

UpdateDialog.show(
  context,
  updateInfo: updateInfo,
  isCritical: true, // This prevents dismissing the dialog
);

🔧 Advanced Usage #

Check Updates on App Launch #

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  const MyApp({super.key});

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      title: 'My App',
      home: const HomePage(),
      builder: (context, child) {
        // Check for updates when app starts
        WidgetsBinding.instance.addPostFrameCallback((_) {
          _checkForUpdate(context);
        });
        return child!;
      },
    );
  }

  Future<void> _checkForUpdate(BuildContext context) async {
    final updateInfo = await UpdateCheckerService.checkForUpdate();
    
    if (updateInfo.hasUpdate && context.mounted) {
      UpdateDialog.show(context, updateInfo: updateInfo);
    }
  }
}

Check Updates Periodically #

class UpdateChecker {
  static Timer? _timer;

  static void startPeriodicCheck(BuildContext context) {
    _timer = Timer.periodic(const Duration(hours: 24), (timer) async {
      final updateInfo = await UpdateCheckerService.checkForUpdate();
      
      if (updateInfo.hasUpdate && context.mounted) {
        UpdateDialog.show(context, updateInfo: updateInfo);
      }
    });
  }

  static void stopPeriodicCheck() {
    _timer?.cancel();
    _timer = null;
  }
}

🐛 Troubleshooting #

Issue: Update not detected #

Solution: Make sure your app is published on the app store. The package fetches version information from the official app store pages.

Issue: iOS version not detected #

Solution: The iTunes Search API might take some time to index your app after publishing. Wait a few hours and try again.

Issue: Android version not detected #

Solution: Ensure your app is published on Google Play Store and the package name matches exactly.

📝 License #

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

👨‍💻 Author #

Raza Khan

• GitHub: @m-raza-dreamy
• GitHub: @thisiskhan

🤝 Contributing #

Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome! Feel free to check the issues page.

⭐ Support #

If you like this package, please consider giving it a ⭐ on pub.flutter-io.cn!

📄 Changelog #

See CHANGELOG.md for a list of changes.

🔗 Links #

• pub.flutter-io.cn Package
• GitHub Repository
• Issue Tracker

Made with ❤️ by Raza Khan