Self Launcher Package #

A lightweight Flutter plugin that enables Android apps to bring themselves to the foreground or reopen when closed. Simple, minimal, and focused on core app launching functionality.

Features #

• ✅ Bring app to foreground when running in background
• ✅ Reopen app when completely closed
• ✅ Zero permissions required - Uses only standard Android intents
• ✅ Lightweight implementation with minimal code
• ✅ Modern Flutter plugin architecture with null safety

Requirements #

• Flutter SDK: >=3.13.0
• Dart SDK: >=3.1.0 <4.0.0
• Android: API level 21+ (Android 5.0+)
• Target SDK: 34 (Android 14)

Installation #

Add this package to your pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  self_launcher: ^1.0.0

Run:

flutter pub get

Android Setup #

No additional setup required! The plugin uses standard Android intents that don't require special permissions.

Usage #

Basic Example #

import 'package:self_launcher/self_launcher.dart';

// Bring app to foreground or reopen if closed
try {
  final success = await SelfLauncher.bringToForeground();
  if (success) {
    print('App brought to foreground successfully!');
  } else {
    print('Failed to bring app to foreground');
  }
} catch (e) {
  print('Error: $e');
}

Complete Example #

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

class LaunchButton extends StatefulWidget {
  @override
  _LaunchButtonState createState() => _LaunchButtonState();
}

class _LaunchButtonState extends State<LaunchButton> {
  bool _isLoading = false;
  String _message = '';

  Future<void> _bringToForeground() async {
    setState(() {
      _isLoading = true;
      _message = '';
    });

    try {
      final success = await SelfLauncher.bringToForeground();
      setState(() {
        _message = success 
          ? 'App brought to foreground successfully!' 
          : 'Failed to bring app to foreground';
      });
    } catch (e) {
      setState(() {
        _message = 'Error: $e';
      });
    } finally {
      setState(() {
        _isLoading = false;
      });
    }
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Column(
      mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
      children: [
        ElevatedButton(
          onPressed: _isLoading ? null : _bringToForeground,
          child: _isLoading 
            ? CircularProgressIndicator()
            : Text('Bring to Foreground'),
        ),
        if (_message.isNotEmpty)
          Padding(
            padding: EdgeInsets.all(16),
            child: Text(_message),
          ),
      ],
    );
  }
}

API Reference #

Methods #

SelfLauncher.bringToForeground()

Brings the app to the foreground if it's running in the background, or reopens it if it's completely closed.

• Returns: Future<bool> - true if successful, false otherwise
• Throws: PlatformException if there's an error launching the app

Example:

final success = await SelfLauncher.bringToForeground();
if (success) {
  // App is now in foreground
}

How It Works #

The plugin uses Android's standard PackageManager.getLaunchIntentForPackage() method to get the app's launch intent, then starts the activity with appropriate flags:

• FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK: Allows starting from non-activity context
• FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP: Brings existing activity to front
• FLAG_ACTIVITY_SINGLE_TOP: Prevents creating duplicate activities

This approach is reliable, lightweight, and doesn't require any special permissions.

Platform Support #

Troubleshooting #

App doesn't come to foreground #

• Ensure your app is not being killed by aggressive battery optimization
• Check that the app package name is correct
• Verify the app is properly installed

Permission errors #

• This plugin doesn't require any special permissions
• If you see permission errors, they might be from other plugins

Contributing #

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License #

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