In Flutter, Clean Architecture is a design pattern that separates your code
into distinct layers with clear responsibilities. This allows for easier testing,
maintenance, and scalability. Clean Architecture helps structure your
application in a way that allows you to decouple your business logic from UI
and framework concerns.
Here’s how you can implement Clean Architecture in a Flutter app:
Basic Layers of Clean Architecture
1. Presentation Layer (UI): This layer contains widgets and screens (UI
components). It is responsible for displaying data and capturing user
inputs. It communicates with the domain layer (use cases or business
logic).
2. Domain Layer: This is the core of your app and contains business
logic, use cases, and entities. It is completely independent of
frameworks and external dependencies.
3. Data Layer: This layer manages data sources like remote servers
(APIs), local databases, and caching. It fetches data and sends it to the
domain layer.
Structure Example
Here is a basic folder structure for a Flutter project that follows Clean
Architecture:
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lib/
├── core/
│ ├── error/
│ ├── usecases/
│ └── utils/
├── features/
│ ├── feature1/
│ │ ├── data/
│ │ │ ├── datasources/
│ │ │ ├── models/
│ │ │ └── repositories/
│ │ ├── domain/
│ │ │ ├── entities/
│ │ │ ├── repositories/
│ │ │ └── usecases/
│ │ ├── presentation/
│ │ │ ├── bloc/
│ │ │ └── pages/
│ └── feature2/
└── main.dart
Explanation of the Layers
1. Presentation Layer
Widgets: Flutter UI code (screens, components, etc.)
State Management: You can use Provider, Riverpod, BLoC, or Cubit
for state management.
Example:
dart
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class MyPage extends StatelessWidget {
final MyUseCase useCase;
MyPage(this.useCase);
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
body: Center(
child: FutureBuilder(
future: useCase.getData(),
builder: (context, snapshot) {
if (snapshot.connectionState == ConnectionState.waiting) {
return CircularProgressIndicator();
}
if (snapshot.hasError) {
return Text("Error: ${snapshot.error}");
}
return Text("Data: ${snapshot.data}");
},
),
),
);
}
}
2. Domain Layer
Entities: This represents the core business objects.
Use Cases: These are the operations you can perform on the entities
(business logic).
Example:
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// Entity
class MyEntity {
final String name;
MyEntity(this.name);
}
// UseCase
class GetDataUseCase {
final MyRepository repository;
GetDataUseCase(this.repository);
Future<MyEntity> getData() {
return repository.fetchData();
}
}
3. Data Layer
Datasources: These are responsible for interacting with external
resources like databases or APIs.
Repositories: They provide a data interface to the domain layer and
manage the data retrieval logic.
Example:
dart
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// Model
class MyModel {
final String name;
MyModel(this.name);
factory MyModel.fromJson(Map<String, dynamic> json) {
return MyModel(json['name']);
}
}
// Repository
class MyRepository implements MyRepository {
final MyRemoteDataSource remoteDataSource;
MyRepository(this.remoteDataSource);
@override
Future<MyEntity> fetchData() async {
final model = await remoteDataSource.getDataFromApi();
return MyEntity(model.name);
}
}
// DataSource
class MyRemoteDataSource {
Future<MyModel> getDataFromApi() async {
final response = await http.get('https://api.example.com/data');
return MyModel.fromJson(json.decode(response.body));
}
}
Benefits of Clean Architecture
Testability: Each layer can be tested independently. You can mock
dependencies for unit testing.
Separation of Concerns: Different concerns are handled by different
layers, which makes the codebase easier to understand and modify.
Scalability: Adding new features or changing business logic can be
done in isolation without affecting the entire app.
Maintainability: Decoupling allows for easier refactoring and better
management of dependencies.
Summary
In Flutter, Clean Architecture encourages separating the codebase into
distinct layers (presentation, domain, and data) with well-defined
responsibilities. By following this pattern, your app can be more testable,
scalable, and easier to maintain. While implementing Clean Architecture
requires effort and discipline, it can significantly improve the long-term
quality of your project, especially in larger applications.
