FlutterEngine
@interface FlutterEngine
: NSObject <FlutterTextureRegistry, FlutterPluginRegistry>
The FlutterEngine class coordinates a single instance of execution for a
FlutterDartProject
. It may have zero or one FlutterViewController
at a
time, which can be specified via -setViewController:
.
FlutterViewController
‘s initWithEngine
initializer will automatically call
-setViewController:
for itself.
A FlutterEngine can be created independently of a FlutterViewController
for
headless execution. It can also persist across the lifespan of multiple
FlutterViewController
instances to maintain state and/or asynchronous tasks
(such as downloading a large file).
A FlutterEngine can also be used to prewarm the Dart execution environment and reduce the
latency of showing the Flutter screen when a FlutterViewController
is created and presented.
See http://flutter.dev/docs/development/add-to-app/performance for more details on loading
performance.
Alternatively, you can simply create a new FlutterViewController
with only a
FlutterDartProject
. That FlutterViewController
will internally manage its
own instance of a FlutterEngine, but will not guarantee survival of the engine
beyond the life of the ViewController.
A newly initialized FlutterEngine will not actually run a Dart Isolate until
either -runWithEntrypoint:
or -runWithEntrypoint:libraryURI
is invoked.
One of these methods must be invoked before calling -setViewController:
.
-
Default initializer for a FlutterEngine.
Threads created by this FlutterEngine will appear as “FlutterEngine #” in Instruments. The prefix can be customized using
initWithName
.The engine will execute the project located in the bundle with the identifier “io.flutter.flutter.app” (the default for Flutter projects).
A newly initialized engine will not run until either
-runWithEntrypoint:
or-runWithEntrypoint:libraryURI:
is called.FlutterEngine created with this method will have allowHeadlessExecution set to
YES
. This means that the engine will continue to run regardless of whether aFlutterViewController
is attached to it or not, until-destroyContext:
is called or the process finishes.Declaration
Objective-C
- (nonnull instancetype)init;
-
Initialize this FlutterEngine.
The engine will execute the project located in the bundle with the identifier “io.flutter.flutter.app” (the default for Flutter projects).
A newly initialized engine will not run until either
-runWithEntrypoint:
or-runWithEntrypoint:libraryURI:
is called.FlutterEngine created with this method will have allowHeadlessExecution set to
YES
. This means that the engine will continue to run regardless of whether aFlutterViewController
is attached to it or not, until-destroyContext:
is called or the process finishes.Declaration
Objective-C
- (nonnull instancetype)initWithName:(nonnull NSString *)labelPrefix;
Parameters
labelPrefix
The label prefix used to identify threads for this instance. Should be unique across FlutterEngine instances, and is used in instrumentation to label the threads used by this FlutterEngine.
-
Initialize this FlutterEngine with a
FlutterDartProject
.If the FlutterDartProject is not specified, the FlutterEngine will attempt to locate the project in a default location (the flutter_assets folder in the iOS application bundle).
A newly initialized engine will not run the
FlutterDartProject
until either-runWithEntrypoint:
or-runWithEntrypoint:libraryURI:
is called.FlutterEngine created with this method will have allowHeadlessExecution set to
YES
. This means that the engine will continue to run regardless of whether aFlutterViewController
is attached to it or not, until-destroyContext:
is called or the process finishes.Declaration
Objective-C
- (nonnull instancetype)initWithName:(nonnull NSString *)labelPrefix project:(nullable FlutterDartProject *)project;
Parameters
labelPrefix
The label prefix used to identify threads for this instance. Should be unique across FlutterEngine instances, and is used in instrumentation to label the threads used by this FlutterEngine.
project
The
FlutterDartProject
to run. -
Initialize this FlutterEngine with a
FlutterDartProject
.If the FlutterDartProject is not specified, the FlutterEngine will attempt to locate the project in a default location (the flutter_assets folder in the iOS application bundle).
A newly initialized engine will not run the
FlutterDartProject
until either-runWithEntrypoint:
or-runWithEntrypoint:libraryURI:
is called.Declaration
Objective-C
- (nonnull instancetype)initWithName:(nonnull NSString *)labelPrefix project:(nullable FlutterDartProject *)project allowHeadlessExecution:(BOOL)allowHeadlessExecution;
Parameters
labelPrefix
The label prefix used to identify threads for this instance. Should be unique across FlutterEngine instances, and is used in instrumentation to label the threads used by this FlutterEngine.
project
The
FlutterDartProject
to run.allowHeadlessExecution
Whether or not to allow this instance to continue running after passing a nil
FlutterViewController
to-setViewController:
. -
Initialize this FlutterEngine with a
FlutterDartProject
.If the FlutterDartProject is not specified, the FlutterEngine will attempt to locate the project in a default location (the flutter_assets folder in the iOS application bundle).
A newly initialized engine will not run the
FlutterDartProject
until either-runWithEntrypoint:
or-runWithEntrypoint:libraryURI:
is called.Declaration
Objective-C
- (nonnull instancetype)initWithName:(nonnull NSString *)labelPrefix project:(nullable FlutterDartProject *)project allowHeadlessExecution:(BOOL)allowHeadlessExecution restorationEnabled:(BOOL)restorationEnabled;
Parameters
labelPrefix
The label prefix used to identify threads for this instance. Should be unique across FlutterEngine instances, and is used in instrumentation to label the threads used by this FlutterEngine.
project
The
FlutterDartProject
to run.allowHeadlessExecution
Whether or not to allow this instance to continue running after passing a nil
FlutterViewController
to-setViewController:
.restorationEnabled
Whether state restoration is enabled. When true, the framework will wait for the attached view controller to provide restoration data.
-
Runs a Dart program on an Isolate from the main Dart library (i.e. the library that contains
main()
), usingmain()
as the entrypoint (the default for Flutter projects), and using “/” (the default route) as the initial route.The first call to this method will create a new Isolate. Subsequent calls will return immediately and have no effect.
Declaration
Objective-C
- (BOOL)run;
Return Value
YES if the call succeeds in creating and running a Flutter Engine instance; NO otherwise.
-
Runs a Dart program on an Isolate from the main Dart library (i.e. the library that contains
main()
), using “/” (the default route) as the initial route.The first call to this method will create a new Isolate. Subsequent calls will return immediately and have no effect.
Declaration
Objective-C
- (BOOL)runWithEntrypoint:(nullable NSString *)entrypoint;
Parameters
entrypoint
The name of a top-level function from the same Dart library that contains the app’s main() function. If this is FlutterDefaultDartEntrypoint (or nil) it will default to
main()
. If it is not the app’s main() function, that function must be decorated with@pragma(vm:entry-point)
to ensure the method is not tree-shaken by the Dart compiler.Return Value
YES if the call succeeds in creating and running a Flutter Engine instance; NO otherwise.
-
Runs a Dart program on an Isolate from the main Dart library (i.e. the library that contains
main()
).The first call to this method will create a new Isolate. Subsequent calls will return immediately and have no effect.
Declaration
Objective-C
- (BOOL)runWithEntrypoint:(nullable NSString *)entrypoint initialRoute:(nullable NSString *)initialRoute;
Parameters
entrypoint
The name of a top-level function from the same Dart library that contains the app’s main() function. If this is FlutterDefaultDartEntrypoint (or nil), it will default to
main()
. If it is not the app’s main() function, that function must be decorated with@pragma(vm:entry-point)
to ensure the method is not tree-shaken by the Dart compiler.initialRoute
The name of the initial Flutter
Navigator
Route
to load. If this is FlutterDefaultInitialRoute (or nil), it will default to the “/” route.Return Value
YES if the call succeeds in creating and running a Flutter Engine instance; NO otherwise.
-
Runs a Dart program on an Isolate using the specified entrypoint and Dart library, which may not be the same as the library containing the Dart program’s
main()
function.The first call to this method will create a new Isolate. Subsequent calls will return immediately and have no effect.
Declaration
Objective-C
- (BOOL)runWithEntrypoint:(nullable NSString *)entrypoint libraryURI:(nullable NSString *)uri;
Parameters
entrypoint
The name of a top-level function from a Dart library. If this is FlutterDefaultDartEntrypoint (or nil); this will default to
main()
. If it is not the app’s main() function, that function must be decorated with@pragma(vm:entry-point)
to ensure the method is not tree-shaken by the Dart compiler.uri
The URI of the Dart library which contains the entrypoint method (example “package:foo_package/main.dart”). If nil, this will default to the same library as the
main()
function in the Dart program.Return Value
YES if the call succeeds in creating and running a Flutter Engine instance; NO otherwise.
-
Runs a Dart program on an Isolate using the specified entrypoint and Dart library, which may not be the same as the library containing the Dart program’s
main()
function.The first call to this method will create a new Isolate. Subsequent calls will return immediately and have no effect.
Declaration
Objective-C
- (BOOL)runWithEntrypoint:(nullable NSString *)entrypoint libraryURI:(nullable NSString *)libraryURI initialRoute:(nullable NSString *)initialRoute;
Parameters
entrypoint
The name of a top-level function from a Dart library. If this is FlutterDefaultDartEntrypoint (or nil); this will default to
main()
. If it is not the app’s main() function, that function must be decorated with@pragma(vm:entry-point)
to ensure the method is not tree-shaken by the Dart compiler.libraryURI
The URI of the Dart library which contains the entrypoint method (example “package:foo_package/main.dart”). If nil, this will default to the same library as the
main()
function in the Dart program.initialRoute
The name of the initial Flutter
Navigator
Route
to load. If this is FlutterDefaultInitialRoute (or nil), it will default to the “/” route.Return Value
YES if the call succeeds in creating and running a Flutter Engine instance; NO otherwise.
-
Runs a Dart program on an Isolate using the specified entrypoint and Dart library, which may not be the same as the library containing the Dart program’s
main()
function.The first call to this method will create a new Isolate. Subsequent calls will return immediately and have no effect.
Declaration
Objective-C
- (BOOL)runWithEntrypoint:(nullable NSString *)entrypoint libraryURI:(nullable NSString *)libraryURI initialRoute:(nullable NSString *)initialRoute entrypointArgs:(nullable NSArray<NSString *> *)entrypointArgs;
Parameters
entrypoint
The name of a top-level function from a Dart library. If this is FlutterDefaultDartEntrypoint (or nil); this will default to
main()
. If it is not the app’s main() function, that function must be decorated with@pragma(vm:entry-point)
to ensure the method is not tree-shaken by the Dart compiler.libraryURI
The URI of the Dart library which contains the entrypoint method (example “package:foo_package/main.dart”). If nil, this will default to the same library as the
main()
function in the Dart program.initialRoute
The name of the initial Flutter
Navigator
Route
to load. If this is FlutterDefaultInitialRoute (or nil), it will default to the “/” route.entrypointArgs
Arguments passed as a list of string to Dart’s entrypoint function.
Return Value
YES if the call succeeds in creating and running a Flutter Engine instance; NO otherwise.
-
Destroy running context for an engine.
This method can be used to force the FlutterEngine object to release all resources. After sending this message, the object will be in an unusable state until it is deallocated. Accessing properties or sending messages to it will result in undefined behavior or runtime errors.
Declaration
Objective-C
- (void)destroyContext;
-
Ensures that Flutter will generate a semantics tree.
This is enabled by default if certain accessibility services are turned on by the user, or when using a Simulator. This method allows a user to turn semantics on when they would not ordinarily be generated and the performance overhead is not a concern, e.g. for UI testing. Note that semantics should never be programmatically turned off, as it would potentially disable accessibility services an end user has requested.
This method must only be called after launching the engine via
-runWithEntrypoint:
or-runWithEntryPoint:libraryURI
.Although this method returns synchronously, it does not guarantee that a semantics tree is actually available when the method returns. It synchronously ensures that the next frame the Flutter framework creates will have a semantics tree.
You can subscribe to semantics updates via
NSNotificationCenter
by adding an observer for the nameFlutterSemanticsUpdateNotification
. Theobject
parameter will be theFlutterViewController
associated with the semantics update. This will asynchronously fire after a semantics tree has actually built (which may be some time after the frame has been rendered).Declaration
Objective-C
- (void)ensureSemanticsEnabled;
-
Sets the
FlutterViewController
for this instance. The FlutterEngine must be running (e.g. a successful call to-runWithEntrypoint:
or-runWithEntrypoint:libraryURI
) before calling this method. Callers may pass nil to remove the viewController and have the engine run headless in the current process.A FlutterEngine can only have one
FlutterViewController
at a time. If there is already aFlutterViewController
associated with this instance, this method will replace the engine’s current viewController with the newly specified one.Setting the viewController will signal the engine to start animations and drawing, and unsetting it will signal the engine to stop animations and drawing. However, neither will impact the state of the Dart program’s execution.
Declaration
Objective-C
@property (nonatomic, weak) FlutterViewController *_Nullable viewController;
-
The
FlutterMethodChannel
used for localization related platform messages, such as setting the locale.Can be nil after
destroyContext
is called.Declaration
Objective-C
@property (nonatomic, readonly, nullable) FlutterMethodChannel *localizationChannel;
-
The
FlutterMethodChannel
used for navigation related platform messages.Can be nil after
destroyContext
is called.See
Navigator WidgetDeclaration
Objective-C
@property (nonatomic, readonly) FlutterMethodChannel *_Nonnull navigationChannel;
-
The
FlutterMethodChannel
used for restoration related platform messages.Can be nil after
destroyContext
is called.Declaration
Objective-C
@property (nonatomic, readonly) FlutterMethodChannel *_Nonnull restorationChannel;
-
The
FlutterMethodChannel
used for core platform messages, such as information about the screen orientation.Can be nil after
destroyContext
is called.Declaration
Objective-C
@property (nonatomic, readonly) FlutterMethodChannel *_Nonnull platformChannel;
-
The
FlutterMethodChannel
used to communicate text input events to the Dart Isolate.Can be nil after
destroyContext
is called.Declaration
Objective-C
@property (nonatomic, readonly) FlutterMethodChannel *_Nonnull textInputChannel;
-
The
FlutterBasicMessageChannel
used to communicate app lifecycle events to the Dart Isolate.Can be nil after
destroyContext
is called.Declaration
Objective-C
@property (nonatomic, readonly) FlutterBasicMessageChannel *_Nonnull lifecycleChannel;
-
The
FlutterBasicMessageChannel
used for communicating system events, such as memory pressure events.Can be nil after
destroyContext
is called.See
System ChannelDeclaration
Objective-C
@property (nonatomic, readonly) FlutterBasicMessageChannel *_Nonnull systemChannel;
-
The
FlutterBasicMessageChannel
used for communicating user settings such as clock format and text scale.Can be nil after
destroyContext
is called.Declaration
Objective-C
@property (nonatomic, readonly) FlutterBasicMessageChannel *_Nonnull settingsChannel;
-
The
FlutterBasicMessageChannel
used for communicating key events from physical keyboardsCan be nil after
destroyContext
is called.Declaration
Objective-C
@property (nonatomic, readonly) FlutterBasicMessageChannel *_Nonnull keyEventChannel;
-
The
NSURL
of the observatory for the service isolate.This is only set in debug and profile runtime modes, and only after the observatory service is ready. In release mode or before the observatory has started, it returns
nil
.Declaration
Objective-C
@property (nonatomic, readonly, nullable) NSURL *observatoryUrl;
-
The
FlutterBinaryMessenger
associated with this FlutterEngine (used for communicating with channels).Declaration
Objective-C
@property (nonatomic, readonly) NSObject<FlutterBinaryMessenger> *_Nonnull binaryMessenger;
-
The UI Isolate ID of the engine.
This property will be nil if the engine is not running.
Declaration
Objective-C
@property (nonatomic, copy, readonly, nullable) NSString *isolateId;
-
Whether or not GPU calls are allowed.
Typically this is set when the app is backgrounded and foregrounded.
Declaration
Objective-C
@property (nonatomic) BOOL isGpuDisabled;