New
Small details that build taste in Flutter.
curated by 
Show the app version where users can see it
Show your app's version somewhere users can reach it, usually at the bottom of the settings/account page:
It pays off in small ways. QA always knows which version they're debugging, you can ask a user which one they're on, and if you ship with Shorebird, the patch number tells you whether your patch actually landed.
Here's a drop-in widget. It reads the app name, version, build, and Shorebird patch for you, so you just paste it in and put VersionIndicator() wherever you want it:
class VersionIndicator extends StatefulWidget {
const VersionIndicator({super.key});
@override
State<VersionIndicator> createState() => _VersionIndicatorState();
}
class _VersionIndicatorState extends State<VersionIndicator> {
String? _label;
@override
void initState() {
super.initState();
_load();
}
Future<void> _load() async {
final (PackageInfo info, Patch? patch) = await (
PackageInfo.fromPlatform(),
ShorebirdUpdater().readCurrentPatch(),
).wait;
if (!mounted) return;
final String base = '${info.appName} ${info.version} (${info.buildNumber})';
setState(() {
_label = patch != null ? '$base · patch ${patch.number}' : base;
});
}
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
if (_label == null) {
return const SizedBox.shrink();
}
return Text(
_label!,
style: TextStyle(
fontSize: 12,
fontWeight: FontWeight.w500,
fontFeatures: const [FontFeature.tabularFigures()],
color: Colors.grey.shade500,
),
);
}
}A few choices that matter:
- Show the build number, not just the version.
- No patch number means the user is on the store build.
- Keep it dim. This line should whisper to users.