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Package detailsv2.0.0

debug_overlay

View debug infos and change settings via a central overlay for your app.

AndroidiOS
30-day downloads
767
Likes
28
Pub points
160

Install package

flutter pub add debug_overlay

Package Overview

Package selection guidance compiled from public package information, community data, and project usage.

The debug_overlay package provides a centralized overlay in Flutter apps to display debug information and adjust settings dynamically during development. It enables developers to view real-time app metrics, toggle features, and inspect state without restarting the app. The overlay is accessible via a simple gesture and integrates seamlessly into Android and iOS builds. Designed for ease of use, it enhances debugging workflows by offering quick access to diagnostic data and configurable options directly within the app interface.

Use cases

  • Real-time debugging during development
  • Toggling app features on-the-fly
  • Monitoring app performance metrics
  • Inspecting state changes
  • Testing different configurations
  • Quick access to debug tools

Key features

  • Centralized debug overlay
  • Gesture-based activation
  • Live setting adjustments
  • Platform support for Android and iOS
  • Minimal setup with pub add
  • Display of runtime app information

Suitable for

  • Flutter developers in active development
  • Teams needing rapid debugging
  • Apps requiring dynamic feature toggles
  • Prototyping and testing phases
  • Developers focused on UX during debugging

Considerations

  • Not intended for production use
  • Overlay may interfere with UI during testing
  • Requires manual removal before release
  • Limited customization options
  • No built-in security for sensitive debug data
  • May impact performance slightly in large apps

Original README

Original README snapshot from the linked source repository. Visit the repository for the latest content.

debug_overlay

🐛 View debug infos and change settings via a central overlay for your app.

debug_overlay demo

To add a debug overlay to your app, pass DebugOverlay.builder() to MaterialApp/CupertinoApp/WidgetsApp.builder:

MaterialApp(
  builder: DebugOverlay.builder(),
  // And other customization...
)

The debug overlay only works in debug mode and is not included in your widget tree in profile or release mode unless you pass enableOnlyInDebugMode: false.

To open the overlay, call DebugOverlay.show().

By default, this overlay includes MediaQueryDebugHelper, PackageInfoDebugHelper, and DeviceInfoDebugHelper.

Debug Helpers

To add a debug helper, you have to register it by calling either of the following two (which accept any sliver widget):

  • DebugOverlay.prependHelper(myDebugHelper) to add it to the front of the list
  • DebugOverlay.appendHelper(myDebugHelper) to add it to the end of the list

Or, if you want to override all currently registered overlays, set DebugOverlay.helpers.value to a list of sliver widget.

DeviceInfoDebugHelper
DeviceInfoDebugHelper demo

Displays information obtained from device_info_plus.

MediaQueryDebugHelper
´MediaQueryDebugHelper demo

Displays information obtained from MediaQuery.

LogsDebugHelper
´LogsDebugHelper demo

Displays logs generated by your app. To use it, follow these steps:

  1. Store its mutable state, e.g., in a global variable:

    final logs = LogCollection(
      // Default values:
      maximumSize: 500,
      onlyStoreLogsInDebugMode: true,
    );
    
  2. Register the helper and supply its state, e.g., in main():

    void main() {
      if (kDebugMode) {
        DebugOverlay.appendHelper(LogsDebugHelper(logs));
      }
    
      runApp(MyApp());
    }
    
  3. When you generate logs, add them to the collection. Except for message, all parameters are optional:

    logs.add(Log(
      level: DiagnosticLevel.info,
      timestamp: DateTime.now(),
      message: 'My message',
      error: myException,
      stackTrace: myStackTrace,
    ));
    

The error field can also hold data for non-error logs. If it stores JSON data (on an object with a toJson() method), the data can be inspected using json_view.

MediaOverridesDebugHelper
´MediaOverridesDebugHelper demo

This allows you to override the theme mode and locale of your app. To use it, follow these steps:

  1. Store its mutable state, e.g., in a global variable:

    final mediaOverrideState = ValueNotifier(MediaOverrideState());
    
  2. Register the helper and supply its state, e.g., in main():

    void main() {
      if (kDebugMode) {
        DebugOverlay.prependHelper(MediaOverrideDebugHelper(
          mediaOverrideState,
          // To support overriding locales, this value must be set and should
          // contain the same locales as passed to [MaterialApp.supportedLocales],
          // [CupertinoApp.supportedLocales] or [WidgetsApp.supportedLocales].
          supportedLocales: supportedLocales,
        ));
      }
    
      runApp(MyApp());
    }
    
  3. When building your MaterialApp/CupertinoApp/WidgetsApp, wrap it in a ValueListenableBuilder that uses the state from step 1:

    ValueListenableBuilder<MediaOverrideState>(
      valueListenable: mediaOverrideState,
      builder: (context, overrideState, child) {
        return MaterialApp(
          // You can access overridden values via [overrideState]:
          themeMode: overrideState.themeMode,
          locale: overrideState.locale,
    
          builder: DebugOverlay.builder(),
          supportedLocales: supportedLocales,
    
          // And your other customizations...
        );
      },
    );
    
PackageInfoDebugHelper
PackageInfoDebugHelper demo

Displays information obtained from package_info_plus.

Custom

To implement your own debug helper, you can use the provided DebugHelper class for the layout.

If your information can be represented with Flutter's DiagnosticsNode, you can use DiagnosticsBasedDebugHelper which automatically provides filtering. This is also used internally by DeviceInfoDebugHelper, MediaQueryDebugHelper, and PackageInfoDebugHelper.

Categories

Dependencies

Dependency list 9 items

Source repository

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