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The path_provider_tvos package provides a tvOS (Apple TV) implementation of the path_provider Flutter plugin, enabling Flutter apps to access standard directories such as the application documents, caches, and temporary folders on Apple TV. It is part of the Flutter TV plugins ecosystem and ensures consistent file path handling across tvOS platforms. This package supports Flutter applications targeting Apple TV, allowing developers to manage local file storage reliably within the constraints of the tvOS environment.
Use cases
Accessing app-specific document directories on Apple TV
Storing cached data for offline use
Managing temporary files in tvOS apps
Persisting user preferences or settings
Handling media files in Apple TV apps
Key features
tvOS-specific path resolution
Integration with Flutter's path_provider API
Supports documents, caches, and temp directories
Minimal overhead and lightweight
Maintains consistency with other Flutter platforms
Suitable for
Flutter developers building apps for Apple TV
Apps requiring local file storage on tvOS
Projects using the path_provider pattern across platforms
Teams maintaining cross-platform file utilities
Considerations
Only works on tvOS devices or simulators
Does not support iOS or Android platforms
Requires Flutter TV SDK setup
Limited to file system paths, no network functionality
Dependent on flutter-tvos plugin ecosystem
Original README
Original README snapshot from the linked source repository. Visit the repository for the latest content.
FlutterTV Plugins
Flutter plugins with Apple TV (tvOS) support, maintained by the
fluttertv.dev organization.
These are companions to flutter-tvos
— the Flutter tvOS custom embedder. Most are federated *_tvos
implementations of popular pub.dev plugins, produced with the
flutter-tvos plugin port tool and finished/verified by hand.
Published on pub.dev under the
fluttertv.dev
verified publisher. Add them like any other plugin (<name>_tvos: ^0.0.1).
List of plugins
Every plugin below has a tvOS implementation; full details (API
coverage, disabled regions, and porting notes) are available in each
package's README.md and PORTING_REPORT.md.
Then use the upstream plugin's API exactly as on iOS — the tvOS
implementation registers automatically. Once published these become
plain ^version dependencies.
A few packages need a writable directory and therefore also
path_provider_tvos: e.g. video_player_tvos (for
VideoPlayerController.file) and sqflite_tvos (for the database
path). Their READMEs note this.
How this repository was created
These packages were not hand-written from scratch. They were produced
with the flutter-tvos plugin port tool (part of
flutter-tvos) and then
verified — and where needed finished — by hand. This is the exact,
reproducible workflow.
For the full porter reference — every flag, what the transformer
does and doesn't do, and how to read the generated PORTING_REPORT.md
— see Porting an existing plugin
in the flutter-tvos docs. The summary below is the recipe we used to
produce this repo.
flutter-tvos plugin port takes an existing Apple plugin (the iOS or
macOS implementation package) and emits a federated *_tvos package.
# from a published pub.dev package (what we used):$TVOS plugin port --from-pub video_player_avfoundation \
--output plugins/packages/video_player_tvos --include-example
# or from git, or from a local path:$TVOS plugin port --from-git https://github.com/foo/bar.git --ref main --output ...
$TVOS plugin port ../some_plugin_ios --output ...
The exact upstream source for each package is recorded at the top of
its PORTING_REPORT.md (e.g. video_player_tvos ←
video_player_avfoundation, shared_preferences_tvos ←
shared_preferences_foundation, audioplayers_tvos ←
audioplayers_darwin).
What the porter does automatically:
Copies the upstream Dart lib/ (rewriting package: self-imports)
and federates through the upstream *_platform_interface.
Copies the native Swift/Objective-C into tvos/Classes/ and
generates a tvOS *.podspec (no dependency on the Flutter
CocoaPod — tvOS resolves Flutter.framework via search paths).
Makes tvOS follow the iOS code paths: widens #if os(iOS) →
(os(iOS) || os(tvOS)), ObjC #if TARGET_OS_IOS →
(TARGET_OS_IOS || TARGET_OS_TV), and @available / #available
/ API_AVAILABLEiOS <v> → also tvOS <v>.
Collapses modern multi-target / include/-modular SwiftPM packages
into one CocoaPods module (drops the macOS-only target).
Sets FLTAssetsPath so plugin asset lookup resolves on a real
Apple TV; sanitizes example pub-workspace / dependency_overrides
wiring.
Graceful partial port: an API that genuinely doesn't exist on
tvOS, used at type/top-level scope, is wrapped in #if !os(tvOS) /
#if !TARGET_OS_TV so the package still compiles with that feature
disabled, and every such region is listed in PORTING_REPORT.md
under "Disabled on tvOS". A compatibility database
(WebKit, SafariServices, CoreLocation, CoreTelephony,
AVAudioSession routing options, …) drives this.
2. Read the porting report
Every package gets a PORTING_REPORT.md: the source + version, the
tvOS build outlook, methods ported/stubbed, every disabled region with
the reason, and a checklist. Read it before trusting a port.
3. Verify
cd plugins/packages/<pkg>/example
flutter pub get
$TVOS build tvos --simulator --debug # must be green$TVOStest integration_test/<plugin>_test.dart -d <sim-udid>
# on a physical Apple TV (set your signing team):
DEVELOPMENT_TEAM=XXXXXXXXXX $TVOS run -d <device-udid>
Only a green simulator build (and, ideally, passing integration tests
on a real Apple TV) qualifies a package for this list.
4. Hand-finish where the porter can't
The porter is honest about its limits; some packages needed manual
work, all of it documented in their PORTING_REPORT.md:
path_provider_tvos — path_provider_foundation is a
dart:ffi/native-assets plugin the tvOS toolchain can't build, so the
porter only emits a skeleton. A real native implementation
(NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains / NSTemporaryDirectory) was
written by hand.
flutter_secure_storage_tvos — Keychain works on tvOS; the
optional LAContext / .biometryAny / Secure-Enclave biometric
path (which tvOS lacks) was guarded out by hand.
audioplayers_tvos, flutter_tts_tvos — AVAudioSession
category options that don't exist on tvOS
(allowBluetooth, defaultToSpeaker, …) were mapped to no-ops.
sqflite_tvos — re-ported once the porter learned to collapse
single-target include/-modular SwiftPM packages.
5. Curate
Packages whose primary purpose can't work on tvOS, or that don't
build after best-effort, are removed rather than published broken (see
Evaluated but not provided).
See AUTHORING.md for the deeper per-plugin recipe.
Repository layout
plugins/├──packages/<plugin>_tvos/# one directory per plugin│├──lib/# Dart (federated impl)│├──tvos/Classes/# native Swift/ObjC│├──tvos/<plugin>.podspec# CocoaPods spec, tvOS 13+│├──example/# runnable tvOS example│├──PORTING_REPORT.md# port detail + checklist│├──README.mdCHANGELOG.mdLICENSE└──AUTHORING.md# how to add a new one
Contributing
Federate via the upstream *_platform_interface; suffix _tvos.
Target tvOS 13.0+; guard shared iOS code with #if os(tvOS).
Document API support and any disabled regions in the package README.md
and PORTING_REPORT.md so users can assess compatibility.