Posts on QuickCoder

How To Enable Test Purchases For Your Android Apps

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Many developers want to monetize their apps to cover development costs. One common approach is a subscription-based app model. In this article, I am going to show you how to enable test purchases for your Android apps to easily test your subscriptions and digital products.

What you need

To get started, you need a working Android app in the internal test track and test users.

To allow test purchases for your test users, go to the Play Console -> Settings -> License testing.

Why Does Copilot Suddenly Appear In GitHub Commit Messages?!

Mon, 04 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

A few days ago, I started noticing that Copilot was a co-author in some of my commits to my GitHub project. Since I write commit messages myself, I had no idea what this was about. The hint in GitHub just tells

Co-authored-by: Copilot <copilot@github.com>

Yes, I am using GitHub Copilot for development. But I haven’t seen any information that it will be mentioned in my commits as co-author. It just appeared one day.

Hate The AI Slop In Windows? Here Is How To Disable AI in Windows

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Windows 11 is forcing us to use AI, ads, and many other features most people don’t want. Here is how you disable AI in Windows.

In recent years, Microsoft changed Windows from a local operating system to an always-online, cloud-based, agentic one full of AI slop, ads, and unwanted features.

Here are some of the feature that nobody asked for and nobody wants:

Windows Recall
Windows Copilot
Start menu searches the web
Ads everywhere
Excessive telemetry information
…

I have been using Windows for years and it wasn’t a problem until recently. Due to some app constraints, I cannot switch to Linux and I am also not a big fan of virtual machines or dual boot solutions.

How To Use Google Fonts In Your Flutter App

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Google Fonts contains over 1,800 different fonts that are free to use. You’ll find the perfect font for any app in their repository. But how do you get them in your app? The usual way is to download the fonts, add them to your pubspec.yaml, and configure them in your app. But there is an easier way. So here is how to use Google Fonts in your Flutter app!

Install the package

Manually installing fonts is not hard, but it’s a bit annoying. The google_fonts package takes care of most of it. Install the package for your app.

How To Handle Tap Gestures In Widget Tests

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

I tried to do something pretty simple in my opinion. Have a widget handle tap, long press, double tap, and right click events. Making it work is rather easy, but it’s way harder to test than I ever imagined. Here is my approach on how to handle tap gestures in widget tests.

Testing tap events

I started with a ListTile which offers onTap and onLongPress to begin with. Things went smoothly and here is a working widget test:

How To Test Your Responsive Flutter App

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Flutter web apps become more and more popular and the Flutter team has made significant improvements over the last years to the platform.

A good web app needs to be responsive these days. Flutter offers some solutions here (LayoutBuilder, MediaQuery), but testing still feels hard.

I came up with some solutions myself which I want to share. So here is how to test your responsive Flutter app.

Breakpoints

This article focuses on widget testing since this is the layer that handles the responsiveness. The basic idea is to run every test with a different resolution with minimal effort. I use this little helper in various forms:

The Best Way To Consume APIs In Your Apps!

Thu, 03 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

When consuming large REST APIs, it requires writing a lot of boilerplate code to support all required endpoints. To make your life easier, you can use generators to automatically create type-safe production code for your apps. I’ll show you how to do this in this article. All it takes are 5 minutes of setup and you can enjoy the best way to consume APIs in your apps.

Requirements

This approach only works if the API source offers an open API specification file to generate the code. It can be either in json or yaml format and is usually available for download in the documentation of the API.

4 Firebase Services That Are Always Free

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

I have read more and more articles in recent months saying that Firebase is too expensive. While that might be true for some cases, it is not for others. In this article, I want to present 4 Firebase services that are always free.

No credit card information, no bank accounts required, no usage limits. All you need is a Firebase account and a Firebase project to get started.

Firebase Remote Config

📺 YouTube Tutorial

The Best Flutter UI Library Alternatives

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Sick of Material Design? Try out the best Flutter UI library alternatives to make your app stand out from the rest!

Material and Cupertino designs have been part of the Flutter ecosystem since the beginning. But sometimes you want your app to look differently without doing all the styling. In this article, I am presenting the best Flutter UI library alternatives found on pub.dev.

All presented packages offer a large amount of widgets ready to be used in your apps. The goal is to spend less time with styling and more time with feature development.

Exploring Firebase Studio — A New AI Cloud Code Editor

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

I am exploring Firebase Studio to find out if it’s already a serious competitor for Windsurf or Cursor.

Firebase Studio is the new kid on the block after Cursor and Windsurf made vibe coding generally available. Instead of writing code directly, users prompt the AI to get a working app for mobiles or the web. In this article, I am exploring Firebase Studio and find out if the tool is already worth a try or not.

How To Enable Hot Reload For Flutter Web

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Mobile apps already benefit from it. Next in line is Flutter web. So here is how to enable hot reload for Flutter web apps!

Debugging web apps has always been a little painful for me. Imagine you have multiple menus and nested screens. Any change resulted in a hot restart and you had to navigate to the previous screen again to see if the changes were applied. But things are about to get better!

How To Show A Popup In Your Flutter App With Riverpod

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Displaying a popup is a rather trivial task for any seasoned Flutter developer. But when you are using Riverpod as state management solution, it can be a bit tricky. Here is my approach on how to show a popup in your Flutter app with Riverpod.

Why addPostFrameCallback doesn’t work

First, you might come up with this approach:

class MyView extends StatefulWidget {
  const MyView({super.key});

  @override
  State<MyView> createState() => _MyViewState();
}

class _MyViewState extends State<MyView> {
  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    WidgetsBinding.instance.addPostFrameCallback((_) async {
      await showDialog(
        context: context,
        builder: (context){
        return SomeDialogWidget();
      });
    });
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Container();
  }
}

Using the addPostFrameCallback function is a good way to perform actions after the first frame is rendered. The widget is build and the dialog appears on top of it. Great in theory, but this doesn’t work with Riverpod notifiers.

How To Do Widget Testing In Flutter Apps

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Flutter offers several types of tests that you can use to ensure correct app behavior. There are unit tests, integration tests, and finally widget tests. In this article, we’ll have a look at how to do widget testing in Flutter apps. Improve your testing knowledge with this guide. This means that a part of the app is rendered during the tests and you can describe test steps to copy the behavior of a real user. The Flutter SDK offers methods to simulate a complete workflow.

Easy Confetti Animations In Flutter Apps

Fri, 30 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Celebrating user achievements is a great way to boost engagement in your Flutter apps. In this article, we’ll discover how to add simple confetti animations in Flutter apps . But since we are lazy developers, we use a package instead of creating the animation on our own. With the code examples and demo videos, you’ll be ready to blast your users away with confetti!

Animation

A proper confetti animation can be a challenge. Lucky for us, there is a package on pub.dev that helps us here.

How To Implement Account Management Methods With Firebase Authentication

Tue, 27 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

In this article, we explore how to build a modern Flutter app with user authentication powered by Firebase Authentication. You’ll learn how to implement account management methods with Firebase Authentication in the most simple way. Check out the demo application and see how everything comes together.

This article covers the following use cases with Flutter code examples for Firebase Authentication:

Registration with email and password
Users can create an account by providing an email address and a password.

How To Show Test Coverage Of A Flutter App In Visual Studio Code

Thu, 22 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Here is a short guide about how to show test coverage of a Flutter app in Visual Studio Code. With code coverage, you can identify parts of your app that aren’t tested yet. However, it doesn’t tell you if your tests are good or your app is free of bugs!

We are going to use Visual Studio Code and two free extensions from the Visual Studio Marketplace:

Flutter Coverage

How To Use BottomNavigationBar In Flutter Apps

Thu, 15 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Mobile apps often use bottom navigation. You can reach all entries with one hand and it’s the same for Android and iOS. For Flutter apps, there is the widget BottomNavigationBar to accomplish this. In this article, I’ll share how to use BottomNavigationBar in Flutter apps.

We start with this standard implementation:

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  const MyApp({super.key});

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      title: 'Flutter Demo',
      debugShowCheckedModeBanner: false,
      theme: ThemeData(
        colorScheme: ColorScheme.fromSeed(
          seedColor: Colors.deepPurple,
        ),
      ),
      home: const MainPage(),
    );
  }
}

class MainPage extends StatefulWidget {
  const MainPage({super.key});

  @override
  State<MainPage> createState() => _MainPageState();
}

class _MainPageState extends State<MainPage> {
  final List<String> pages = ["Home", "Search", "Settings"];
  String _selectedPage = "Home";

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      bottomNavigationBar: BottomNavigationBar(
        currentIndex: pages.indexOf(_selectedPage),
        onTap:
            (index) => setState(() {
              _selectedPage = pages[index];
            }),
        items: [
          BottomNavigationBarItem(icon: Icon(Icons.home), label: pages[0]),
          BottomNavigationBarItem(icon: Icon(Icons.search), label: pages[1]),
          BottomNavigationBarItem(icon: Icon(Icons.settings), label: pages[2]),
        ],
      ),
      body: Center(child: Text(_selectedPage)),
    );
  }
}

There are 3 item that set the page to the corresponding entry when they are clicked. Every item consists of an icon and a label.

How To Cut A Design Mockup Into Flutter Widgets

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

In software projects, there is usually a project vision of what the end product should look like. When a developer starts working, there should be some kind of mockup (best case is a Figma file, but I have also seen pencil drawings…). In this article, I want to share my strategies of how to cut a design mockup into Flutter widgets.

To illustrate the process, let’s assume we have this template:

Why AbsorbPointers Are Dangerous In Flutter Widget Tests

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

I introduced an AbsorbPointer widget which broke my app but the tests to prevent exactly this didn’t fail. Here is why AbsorbPointers are dangerous in Flutter widget tests.

Once again, I stumbled across a weird issue with Flutter widget tests. They are not as reliable as you might think. This time I found a problem with a combination of AbsorbPointer and TextField.

Here is a pretty simple example:

@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
  return AbsorbPointer(absorbing: true, child: TextField());
}

We have a TextField widget wrapped inside an AbsorbPointer widget. The purpose of the AbsorbPointer is to prevent the TextField from getting focused. The keyboard doesn’t open and you cannot enter text.

How To Write A Proper Dart Data Model (AI Prompt Included)

Sat, 08 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Here is how to write a proper Dart data model by hand, with various packages, and with AI assistance to make your life easier.

Writing good data models is essential for every developer. In this article I want to show you how to write a proper Dart data model manually, with package support, through AI assistance, or with a web tool. Take this as a starting point to write better models in the future.

How To Download Files With The web Package In Flutter Apps

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Since the release of Dart 3.7, your Flutter web app will give you warnings when you use dart:html in your code and have the latest Dart version activated. It was deprecated by the Flutter team. In this article, I am going to show you how to download files with the web package in Flutter apps. To do that, we will remove dart:html, replace it with the web package, and apply some code changes.

How To Debug Firebase Analytics Events From A Flutter Web App

Sat, 15 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

The Firebase Analytics Debug View is a handy tool to check what events your app sends in real time. However, it requires a bit of setup to work from a Flutter web app. Here is how to debug Firebase Analytics events from a Flutter web app.

Setup

The initial step is to connect your Flutter app with your Firebase project. Follow my guide in case you haven’t done this yet.

A Short Excursion Into The Pitfalls Of Flutter Widget Testing

Sat, 07 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Sometimes testing is a joy and sometimes not. Here is a short excursion into the pitfalls of Flutter widget testing.

I am currently developing a rather complex Flutter web app. Overall, it’s going great and I like the progress. But I wouldn’t write a short excursion into the pitfalls of Flutter widget testing if everything was perfect.

The project is rather complicated and the UI has a lot to offer. So I am investing heavily in testing it properly with widget tests.

How To Organize Your Widgets In Flutter Apps

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

This article is about how to organize your widgets in Flutter apps in small, medium, and large apps. Not all of them work in every case and some of them require more attention than others. The results also depends on what you want have.

A clear and well-organized structure
A simple file structure
As few files as possible
As few imports as possible

You cannot have everything but I can give you strategies to reach all those goals … but not at the same time.

How To Implement Double Opt-In With Firebase and Flutter

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

To comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the EU, the double opt-in process is the best way. It means that users need to confirm a registration with a secondary step. Usually, this is done by clicking a link in an email. In this article, I’ll show you how you can use Firebase to set up such a process. Let’s get started on how to implement double opt-in with Firebase and Flutter.

How To Create Notifiers With The Riverpod Generator In Flutter

Sat, 28 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

One year ago I avoided code generation as best as I could. I always thought that it is way better to write the code yourself so that you know what happens. With generators, there is usually a different syntax with annotations and eventually some code pops out that doesn’t really look like what you have declared. But my view has changed. Now, I am always in favor of generators. And for all those struggling with it, I created this article. Learn how to create notifiers with the Riverpod generator in Flutter in the most simple way!

How To Use The Flutter Badge Widget

Sat, 21 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Let’s say you have a notification icon and want to display the number of new messages. Or you have a shop with limited items that you want to advertise. Or you have a list and want to put the index number to every item. All those use cases can be accomplished with the Badge widget. All those simple solutions can be implemented within minutes. Here is how to use the Flutter Badge widget.

How To Make Rounded Profile Pictures In Flutter

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

For your Instagram clone or your member app: Here is how to make rounded profile pictures in Flutter. An easy and fast solution for all app types!

In this article, I am going to show you how to make rounded profile pictures in Flutter apps. Why? Because it’s state of the art on many well-known websites. Even Medium uses them, just take a look here:

How To Prevent A Double Click On Buttons In Flutter Apps

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Get rid of annoying bugs and learn how to prevent a double click on buttons in Flutter apps with this easy approach. Your users will also thank you for this!

We always assume the best. All people are treated equally, nobody wants war, and users only click once on a button and wait patiently until something happens. Sadly, I can’t fix everything but for the last point, I have a tip for you. Here is how to prevent a double click on buttons in Flutter apps.

How To Monitor Your Mobile Apps With Firebase Crashlytics

Sat, 24 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Learn why your apps crash and why you get complaints from users. Here is how to monitor your mobile apps with Firebase Crashlytics. Firebase Crashlytics is a light-weight solution to get insight about why your users get app crashes and exception messages. It is part of the Firebase cloud services, but can be used for free and supports mobile apps.

A dashboard shows you in detail your app metrics and allows inspecting reported crashes in detail. You get information about the exception, the exact line of code, and also the current stack trace at that time.

How To Set Up A Free Repository For Your Flutter Packages

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Here is how to set up a free repository for your Flutter packages with Cloudsmith in no time!

A package repository has many benefits over packages in local folders or GitHub repositories. If you want to publish your package publicly, you usually are fine with pub.dev. In case you need a private solution, continue reading here. I’ll show you how to set up a free repository for your Flutter packages with Cloudsmith.

How You Can Find Out If Two Flutter Objects Are Equal Or Not

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Built-In vs external package: Here are two essential methods of how you can find out if two Flutter objects are equal or not.

Equality comparison is essential in any kind of app. Duplicate objects are often undesired. In this article I’ll demonstrate how you can find out if two Flutter objects are equal or not. You might probably know the drill from other programming languages and Dart makes no exception here. The article will show you two ways of comparison. A longer one with built-in methods provided by Dart and another one that relies on an external package but is less verbose.

How To Add Password Manager Support To Your Flutter Apps

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Let’s welcome Bitwarden, KeePass, LastPass, and others. Here is how to add password manager support to your Flutter apps. In addition, you can use other autofill options for credit cards, birthdays, address data, and more in the same way!

Password managers save us time and help choosing stronger and more diverse passwords in general. Instead of remembering hundreds of credentials for all your sites, a master password is enough. In this article I will show you how to add password manager support to your Flutter apps. In addition, you also can configure this to support autofills for emails, username, birthdays, address data, or credit card information!

How To Track Your Location In A Flutter App

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Here is a deep dive into GPS, permissions, and manifests. Learn how to track your location in a Flutter app. Find out how to collect location data while your app is in the background. There are also tips included to prevent the OS from terminating your app after some time.

Working with location data in mobile-aware apps is a common use case in the current app ecosystem. In this deep dive I will show you everything you need to know about how to track your location in a Flutter app. No matter if you want a to put a pin on a map with the current location or track a device continuously for hours, everything is possible.

How To Use Riverpod In Flutter Apps - A Practical Approach

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Here is my practical guide about Riverpod. Learn how to use Riverpod in Flutter apps with simple code examples. Explore AsyncNotifierProvider, NotifierProvider, and FutureProvider in real-world scenarios.

Riverpod is probably one of the top 2 state management solutions in Flutter apps together with BLoC according to my observations. In this guide, I want to show you some real-world use cases and how you can implement them with Riverpod. I assume you already used Riverpod before and gained some first-hand experience. So, let’s get started on how to use Riverpod in Flutter apps.

How To Manage A Flutter Monorepo With Multiple Packages

Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Here is how to manage a Flutter monorepo with multiple packages and melos instead of using shell scripts. Repository administration is really easy with this field-tested tool!

I have some private Flutter packages in single repositories on GitHub. And because they are private, I had some authentication issues with transitive dependencies. But then someone guided me into another direction → monorepo. Here is a quick start guide of how to manage a Flutter monorepo with multiple packages and melos.

How To Backup Your Cloud Firestore Database

Tue, 07 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Backups are underrated … until you really need them. So here is how to backup your Cloud Firestore database. Forget about external tools or self-written Cloud Functions and use the provided tools instead!

I store quite a lot of stuff in Firestore, mostly for personal use. In the last months, I often thought about backups. But I have to admit … I am lazy when it comes to boring stuff. However, some of the data is really valuable and will be lost in case of a disaster. So I finally stopped doing cooler things and investigate backup solutions. Here is my approach on how to backup your Cloud Firestore database.

A Quick Introduction To Different Dart Constructors

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Default, named, constant, factory?!? Here is a quick introduction to different Dart constructors. Knowing the differences can make your code way more readable!

Everybody needs to use constructors. And everybody needs to know what’s possible with them. So here is a quick introduction to different Dart constructors.

Default Constructor

The default constructor is the constructor type you probably use the most. It creates an instance of an object and is essential in any object-oriented programming language. Here is a small code example:

How To Use Firebase Cloud Firestore With A Flutter App

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

In this article, I guide you through the setup steps for Cloud Firestore and show you how to use Firebase Cloud Firestore with a Flutter app. We take a look at CRUD operations, security rules, and some pitfalls to avoid.

Firebase Cloud Firestore is a scalable NoSQL cloud database where you can store relevant data for your apps. It is very flexible and can be secured with access rules. You will learn ow to use Firebase Cloud Firestore with a Flutter app. In the following sections, we’ll talk about

How To Make HTTP Requests With Flutter And Parse JSON Result Data

Sun, 17 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

This short article shows how to perform HTTP requests from a Flutter application. We have a look at the most common request types GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE.

Performing HTTP requests is a must-have for every app nowadays. In this article, I am going to show you how to add this capability to your Flutter app. We will have a look at two packages to accomplish this task: The http package and the dio package. They are very similar and you can use whatever you like more. In the end, we focus on parsing JSON results from requests, so that the data can be used within our app.

How I Created An Instagram Clone With Flutter And Firebase

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Learn how I created an Instagram clone with Flutter and Firebase. Fun fact: Creating the UI took the most time! However, it was really easy overall. Here is a deep dive for you!

Instagram is a well-known app with hundreds of millions of users. The newsfeed with posts, likes, comments, and images is the main feature that stands out. I wanted to know what it takes to build a small app with those features. So here is how I created an Instagram clone with Flutter and Firebase.

6 Easy Tips When Working With SetState In A Flutter Application