**Quick Links**
- [Register](https://getstream.io/chat/trial/) to get an API key for Stream Chat
- [Flutter Chat Tutorial](https://getstream.io/chat/flutter/tutorial/)
- [Chat UI Kit](https://getstream.io/chat/ui-kit/)
## Flutter Chat Tutorial
The best place to start is the [Flutter Chat Tutorial](https://getstream.io/chat/flutter/tutorial/).
It teaches you how to use this SDK and also shows how to make frequently required changes.
## Example App
This repo includes a fully functional example app with setup instructions.
The example is available under the [example](https://github.com/GetStream/stream-chat-flutter/tree/master/example) folder.
## Add dependency
Add this to your package's pubspec.yaml file, use the latest version [](https://pub.dartlang.org/packages/stream_chat_flutter)
```yaml
dependencies:
stream_chat_flutter: ^latest_version
```
You should then run `flutter packages get`
### Android
All set ✅
### iOS
The library uses [flutter file picker plugin](https://github.com/miguelpruivo/flutter_file_picker) to pick
files from the os.
Follow [this wiki](https://github.com/miguelpruivo/flutter_file_picker/wiki/Setup#ios) to fulfill iOS requirements.
We also use [video_player](https://pub.dev/packages/video_player) to reproduce videos. Follow [this guide](https://pub.dev/packages/video_player#installation) to fulfill the requirements.
To pick images from the camera, we use the [image_picker](https://pub.dev/packages/image_picker) plugin.
Follow [these instructions](https://pub.dev/packages/image_picker#ios) to check the requirements.
### Troubleshooting
It may happen that you have some problems building the app.
If it seems related to the [flutter file picker plugin](https://github.com/miguelpruivo/flutter_file_picker) make sure to check [this page](https://github.com/miguelpruivo/flutter_file_picker/wiki/Troubleshooting)
## Docs
This package provides UI components required for integrating Stream Chat into your application.
Alternatively, you may use the core package [stream_chat_flutter_core](https://github.com/GetStream/stream-chat-flutter/tree/master/packages/stream_chat_flutter_core) which allows more customisation and provides business logic but no UI components.
If you require the maximum amount of control over the API, please use the low level client package: [stream_chat](https://github.com/GetStream/stream-chat-flutter/tree/master/packages/stream_chat).
### UI Components
These are the available Widgets that you can use to build your application UI.
Every widget uses the `StreamChat` or `StreamChannel` widgets to manage the state and communicate with Stream services.
- [ChannelHeader](https://pub.dev/documentation/stream_chat_flutter/latest/stream_chat_flutter/ChannelHeader-class.html)
- [ChannelImage](https://pub.dev/documentation/stream_chat_flutter/latest/stream_chat_flutter/ChannelImage-class.html)
- [ChannelListView](https://pub.dev/documentation/stream_chat_flutter/latest/stream_chat_flutter/ChannelListView-class.html)
- [ChannelName](https://pub.dev/documentation/stream_chat_flutter/latest/stream_chat_flutter/ChannelName-class.html)
- [ChannelPreview](https://pub.dev/documentation/stream_chat_flutter/latest/stream_chat_flutter/ChannelPreview-class.html)
- [MessageInput](https://pub.dev/documentation/stream_chat_flutter/latest/stream_chat_flutter/MessageInput-class.html)
- [MessageListView](https://pub.dev/documentation/stream_chat_flutter/latest/stream_chat_flutter/MessageListView-class.html)
- [MessageWidget](https://pub.dev/documentation/stream_chat_flutter/latest/stream_chat_flutter/MessageWidget-class.html)
- [StreamChatTheme](https://pub.dev/documentation/stream_chat_flutter/latest/stream_chat_flutter/StreamChatTheme-class.html)
- [ThreadHeader](https://pub.dev/documentation/stream_chat_flutter/latest/stream_chat_flutter/ThreadHeader-class.html)
- ...
### Customizing styles
The Flutter SDK comes with a fully designed set of widgets that you can customize to fit with your application style and typography.
Changing the theme of Chat widgets works in a very similar way that `MaterialApp` and `Theme` do.
Out of the box, all chat widgets use their default styling, and there are two ways to change the styling:
1. Initialize the `StreamChatTheme` from your existing `MaterialApp` style
```dart
class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
final StreamChatClient client;
MyApp(this.client);
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
final theme = ThemeData(
primarySwatch: Colors.green,
);
return MaterialApp(
theme: theme,
builder: (context, child) => StreamChat(
child: child,
client: client,
streamChatThemeData: StreamChatThemeData.fromTheme(theme),
),
home: ChannelListPage(),
);
}
}
```
2. Construct a custom theme and provide all the customizations needed
```dart
class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
final StreamChatClient client;
MyApp(this.client);
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
final theme = ThemeData(
primarySwatch: Colors.green,
);
return MaterialApp(
theme: theme,
builder: (context, child) => StreamChat(
child: child,
client: client,
streamChatThemeData: StreamChatThemeData.fromTheme(theme).copyWith(
ownMessageTheme: MessageTheme(
messageBackgroundColor: Colors.black,
messageText: TextStyle(
color: Colors.white,
),
avatarTheme: AvatarTheme(
borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular(8),
),
),
),
),
home: ChannelListPage(),
);
}
}
```
### Offline storage
To add data persistance you can extend the class `ChatPersistenceClient` and pass an instance to the `StreamChatClient`.
```dart
class CustomChatPersistentClient extends ChatPersistenceClient {
...
}
final client = StreamChatClient(
apiKey ?? kDefaultStreamApiKey,
logLevel: Level.INFO,
)..chatPersistenceClient = CustomChatPersistentClient();
```
We provide an official persistent client in the (stream_chat_persistence)[https://pub.dev/packages/stream_chat_persistence] package.
```dart
import 'package:stream_chat_persistence/stream_chat_persistence.dart';
final chatPersistentClient = StreamChatPersistenceClient(
logLevel: Level.INFO,
connectionMode: ConnectionMode.background,
);
final client = StreamChatClient(
apiKey ?? kDefaultStreamApiKey,
logLevel: Level.INFO,
)..chatPersistenceClient = chatPersistentClient;
```
## Contributing
We welcome code changes that improve this library or fix a problem,
please make sure to follow all best practices and add tests if applicable before submitting a Pull Request on Github.
We are pleased to merge your code into the official repository.
Make sure to sign our [Contributor License Agreement (CLA)](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScFKsKkAJI7mhCr7K9rEIOpqIDThrWxuvxnwUq2XkHyG154vQ/viewform) first.
See our license file for more details.