Top Flutter State Management Packages in 2023

What is State Management in Flutter? 

Flutter State Management refers to the data that controls the behavior and the appearance of the application UI. The state in the app changes in response to the user input, and the triggered events, and for developers, it’s critical to manage the state effectively to build responsive and performant apps. 

Managing states helps developers to keep their code organized and maintained as the app's complexity grows. Moreover, state management avoids code duplication and ensures that state changes are propagated throughout the app constantly. This simplifies adding new features, bug fixing, and other customization to the UI.

To make state management smoother there are several stateful state management approaches in Flutter, ranging from the simple solution like setState(), to more complex tools such as  BLoC, Provider, Riverpod, MobX, and GetX. Each of these approaches has its own strengths and weaknesses. 

So, if you are looking for the best state management packages for your next Flutter project in 2023. This article can help you to explore more about the top Flutter State Management packages that can help you build a high-quality Flutter application.

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Top Flutter State Management Packages in 2023

There are several popular state management packages available for Flutter. Here are some of the most commonly used and highly recommended state management packages for Flutter:

• BLoC
• Provider
• Riverpod
• GetX
• MobX

Let’s look into each of them in detail..

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1. BLoC- Business Logic Component pattern

BLoC is an advanced solution that provides a high level of control and predictability but can be complex to implement. It is a popular state management solution that separates the presentation layer of an app from the business logic with the BLoC Layer.  The BLoC layer acts as a bridge between the UI layer and the data layer.

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How does it work?

It takes input from the UI layer, processes it, and sends output to the UI layer. The UI layer is only responsible for displaying the data and user interactions, while the BLoC layer is responsible for maintaining the application state and making decisions based on that state.

The BLoC layer handles the business logic of an application and communicates with the presentation layer through streams. The basic idea behind the BLoC pattern is to break an application down into small, reusable, and testable components, each with its responsibility. 

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Advantages of using the BLoC package:

1. It helps to make the codebase more modular and easier to maintain. Each BLoC can be developed and tested in isolation, making it easier to identify and fix bugs. 
2. BLoC makes it easier to handle complex state management scenarios, such as data dependencies and asynchronous operations, by using streams to communicate between the BLoC and UI layers.
3. BLoC provides a clear separation of concerns, making it easier for developers to understand and modify the code.

Overall, the BLoC is a design pattern that helps manage the app state in a modular and testable way. BLoC is an effective way to handle complex state management scenarios in Flutter applications.

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2. Provider

This package is a lightweight and flexible solution for managing state in Flutter apps. The provider works well for both small and large-scale apps and provides a simple API for managing states that can be easily understood and implemented.

In context, a provider is a class that holds some state and exposes it to other parts of the application that need to use it. This state can be any type of data, such as a boolean value, a list of items, or even an entire object.  

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How does it work? 

When a provider is used, it is typically wrapped around the widget tree that needs access to the state it manages. This allows the state to be accessed and updated by any child widget that needs it. 

As a result, changes to the state are automatically propagated throughout the widget tree, without the need for manual updates or callbacks.

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Advantages of using the Provider package:

1. Using a Provider can make it easier to manage and share state in a Flutter application, particularly for larger applications or those with complex state requirements. 
2. It can also help to avoid common state management pitfalls, such as overuse of setState or complex callback chains, which can lead to performance issues and difficult-to-maintain code.

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3. Riverpod

Riverpod is a package built on top of Provider that provides an improved API for managing state in Flutter apps. It's built on top of the provider package and offers better performance, scoping, and testability.

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How does it work?

With Riverpod, you can define your application state as a series of providers, which are objects that expose a value and can be used to read or modify that value throughout your application. Providers can depend on other providers, which makes it easy to compose complex state management logic.

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Advantages of using the Riverpod package: 

Riverpod provides a range of features that can help you to build maintainable and scalable Flutter applications, such as:

1. Dependency Injection: Riverpod allows you to inject your dependencies into your providers, making it easy to manage and test your application's dependencies.
2. Scoped Providers: Riverpod provides the concept of "scopes", which allow you to define a specific context for your state, such as a widget or a screen. Scoped providers are automatically disposed of when their associated context is destroyed, which helps to avoid memory leaks.
3. Async Providers: Riverpod provides a simple way to manage asynchronous state, such as data that is loaded from a remote API. You can define an async provider that will automatically rebuild your UI when the data is loaded.
4. State Notifier: Riverpod provides a simple and efficient way to manage mutable state using the StateNotifier class. This class provides a simple API for modifying the state, and Riverpod will automatically rebuild your UI when the state changes.

This is how Riverpod provides a flexible and powerful way to manage state in Flutter, with a range of features that can help you to build maintainable and scalable applications.

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4. GetX

GetX is a state management package that provides a full-featured solution for managing the state in Flutter apps, along with navigation and dependency injection. GetX is easy to use, fast, and well-documented, making it a popular choice for many Flutter developers.

Though GetX is primarily focused on state management, it also includes other functionalities, such as dependency injection, routing, and more.

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How does it work? 

In terms of state management, GetX offers a reactive approach that makes it easy to handle state changes in your Flutter application. It provides a simple and concise API for managing state using observables, reactions, and actions.

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Advantages of using the GetX package: 

1. The library is designed to be lightweight and fast, which makes it a good choice for large and complex applications. 

2. GetX uses a reactive programming model, where UI widgets are automatically updated when the state changes, without requiring any additional boilerplate code.

3. GetX also provides several other features that can help you to build robust and maintainable Flutter applications, such as:

1. Dependency injection: To manage dependencies. 
2. Routing: The routing system allows you to easily navigate between screens. 
3. Internationalization: Built-in support for internationalization, making it easy to localize your app.
4. Snackbars and Dialogs: Pre-built UI components, such as snackbars and dialogs.

As a whole, GetX provides a simple and efficient approach to state management in Flutter, with a range of additional features that can help you to build robust and maintainable applications.

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5. MobX

MobX is a state management library that uses reactive programming to manage state in Flutter apps. It's well-suited for complex apps with large amounts of state and provides a simple, easy-to-use API. It utilizes observables and reactions to automatically update the user interface in response to changes in the application state.

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How does it work?

In Flutter, MobX can help simplify state management by reducing the amount of boilerplate code required to handle state changes. It achieves this by using a reactive programming model that automatically updates the user interface whenever the state changes.

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Advantages of using MobX package:

1. With MobX, you can define observables, which are variables that can be observed for changes. When an observable is updated, any reactions that depend on it are automatically triggered, such as updating the UI to reflect the new state.
2. MobX supports computed observables, which are derived values that depend on other observables. Computed observables are useful for simplifying complex calculations or aggregations of state values.

Altogether the MobX package can help make state management in Flutter more efficient and easier to maintain by automating much of the manual work involved in keeping the UI in sync with the application state.

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Summing Up: 

In the article, we have learned about the top Flutter State Management Packages and their benefits. Ultimately, the choice of which state management package to use in your Flutter project depends on your specific requirements and preferences. 

Each of these packages has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it's important to evaluate them carefully to determine which one is the best fit for your project.

Well,  if you are using DhiWise Flutter builder, and worrying about state management be rest assured. As the platform provides you with inbuilt support for GetX approach as well as the Stateless approach. So, now managing state with Flutter builder is going to be easier than ever. 

Find out more about DhiWise Flutter builder and sign up for free to start building your next app with DhiWise.