type_mate

TypeMate

A Flutter plugin for system-wide writing assistance with overlay bubbles that appear when typing in text fields across all applications.

Features

🔵 System-wide overlay - Works across all Android apps
📱 Text field detection - Automatically detects when you focus on text fields
✍️ Writing assistance - Provides spell check and grammar fix options
🔐 Permission management - Handles overlay and accessibility permissions
⚡ Foreground service - Runs reliably in the background
🎨 Customizable - Configure bubble appearance and behavior

Platform Support

Platform	Support
Android	✅ Full support
iOS	❌ Not supported (iOS limitations)
Web	❌ Not applicable
Desktop	❌ Not supported

Getting Started

Installation

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

dependencies:
  type_mate: ^1.0.0

Android Setup

1. Add permissions to your android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.BIND_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICE" />

2. Add services to your AndroidManifest.xml inside the <application> tag:

<!-- Overlay Service -->
<service
    android:name="com.ratulhasanruhan.type_mate.OverlayService"
    android:enabled="true"
    android:exported="false"
    android:foregroundServiceType="mediaProjection" />

<!-- Accessibility Service -->
<service
    android:name="com.ratulhasanruhan.type_mate.TextAccessibilityService"
    android:enabled="true"
    android:exported="true"
    android:permission="android.permission.BIND_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICE">
    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="android.accessibilityservice.AccessibilityService" />
    </intent-filter>
    <meta-data
        android:name="android.accessibilityservice"
        android:resource="@xml/accessibility_service_config" />
</service>

Usage

Basic Usage

import 'package:type_mate/type_mate.dart';

class MyApp extends StatefulWidget {
  @override
  _MyAppState createState() => _MyAppState();
}

class _MyAppState extends State<MyApp> {
  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    _setupTypeMate();
  }

  Future<void> _setupTypeMate() async {
    // Initialize the plugin
    await TypeMate.instance.initialize();
    
    // Listen to text field focus events
    TypeMate.instance.textFieldFocusedStream.listen((_) {
      print('Text field focused in external app');
    });
    
    // Quick setup with all necessary steps
    final result = await TypeMate.instance.quickSetup();
    if (result['serviceStarted'] == true) {
      print('TypeMate is ready!');
    }
  }
}

Advanced Usage

// Check permissions
bool hasOverlayPermission = await TypeMate.instance.checkOverlayPermission();
bool hasAccessibilityService = await TypeMate.instance.checkAccessibilityService();

// Request permissions
if (!hasOverlayPermission) {
  await TypeMate.instance.requestOverlayPermission();
}

if (!hasAccessibilityService) {
  await TypeMate.instance.openAccessibilitySettings();
}

// Start/Stop overlay service
await TypeMate.instance.startOverlayService();
await TypeMate.instance.stopOverlayService();

// Test the overlay
await TypeMate.instance.testOverlay();

// Get comprehensive status
Map<String, dynamic> status = await TypeMate.instance.getStatus();
print('Status: $status');

Configuration

You can customize the overlay behavior using OverlayConfig:

final config = OverlayConfig(
  autoShow: true,
  autoHideDuration: 3000, // milliseconds
  enableVibration: false,
  bubbleSize: 56.0,
  bubbleOpacity: 0.9,
  enableSpellCheck: true,
  enableGrammarCheck: true,
  initialX: 100,
  initialY: 200,
);

// Use config when starting the service (planned for future versions)

How It Works

TypeMate consists of three main components:

1. Flutter Plugin Interface - Provides Dart API for controlling the overlay
2. Overlay Service - Android foreground service that displays the bubble
3. Accessibility Service - Detects text field focus events across all apps

Architecture Flow

User types in any app
        ↓
Accessibility Service detects text input
        ↓
Triggers Overlay Service
        ↓
Bubble appears with writing assistance options
        ↓
User can check spelling/grammar or close bubble

Permissions Required

Overlay Permission (SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW)

• Purpose: Allows the app to draw over other applications
• User Action: Must be granted manually in Android settings
• Automatic Request: Plugin can open the settings page

Accessibility Service (BIND_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICE)

• Purpose: Detects text field focus events across all applications
• User Action: Must be enabled manually in Android Accessibility settings
• Automatic Request: Plugin can open the accessibility settings page

Example App

The plugin comes with a complete example app that demonstrates all features:

cd example
flutter run

The example app includes:

• Permission status checking
• Quick setup functionality
• Manual service control
• Test overlay feature
• Live status updates

API Reference

TypeMate

Main plugin class providing all functionality.

Methods

Method	Return Type	Description
initialize()	Future<bool>	Initialize the plugin
checkOverlayPermission()	Future<bool>	Check if overlay permission is granted
requestOverlayPermission()	Future<void>	Request overlay permission
checkAccessibilityService()	Future<bool>	Check if accessibility service is enabled
openAccessibilitySettings()	Future<void>	Open accessibility settings
startOverlayService()	Future<void>	Start the overlay service
stopOverlayService()	Future<void>	Stop the overlay service
testOverlay()	Future<void>	Show test bubble for 3 seconds
quickSetup()	Future<Map<String, bool>>	Perform complete setup
getStatus()	Future<Map<String, dynamic>>	Get comprehensive status

Streams

Stream	Type	Description
textFieldFocusedStream	Stream<void>	Notifies when text fields are focused
textFieldUnfocusedStream	Stream<void>	Notifies when text fields lose focus

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Bubble not appearing:

1. Check if overlay permission is granted
2. Verify accessibility service is enabled
3. Ensure the overlay service is running
4. Try the test overlay function

Accessibility service not working:

1. Disable and re-enable the service in Android settings
2. Restart the app
3. Check Android logs for accessibility events

Permission requests failing:

1. Ensure your app targets API level 23 or higher
2. Check if the device supports overlay permissions
3. Try manually granting permissions in Android settings

Debugging

Enable verbose logging to see what's happening:

// Check status regularly
Timer.periodic(Duration(seconds: 5), (timer) async {
  final status = await TypeMate.instance.getStatus();
  print('TypeMate Status: $status');
});

Limitations

• Android Only: iOS doesn't allow system-wide overlays for security reasons
• Manual Permissions: Users must manually grant overlay and accessibility permissions
• Android Version: Requires Android API level 21+ for overlay functionality
• Performance: May affect battery life when running continuously

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read our contributing guidelines and submit pull requests to help improve TypeMate.

License

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

Acknowledgments

Based on the focus_bubble project architecture and inspired by system-wide writing assistance tools.

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🚀 Happy Coding with TypeMate!

If you find this plugin useful, please consider giving it a star ⭐ on GitHub and sharing it with the Flutter community!