v4.0

Version 4.0.0 of the Stream Chat Flutter SDK carries significant architectural changes to improve the developer experience by giving you more control and flexibility in how you use our core components and UI widgets.

This v4.0 Migration Guide is intended to enumerate and better explain the changes in the SDK.

If you find any bugs or have any questions, please file an issue on our GitHub repository. We want to support you as much as we can with this migration.

Code examples:

See our Stream Chat Flutter tutorial for an up-to-date guide using the latest Stream Chat version.
See the Stream Flutter Samples repository with our full fledged messaging sample application.

All of our documentation has also been updated to support v4, so all of the guides and examples will have updated code.

Dependencies

To migrate to v4.0.0, update your pubspec.yaml with the correct Stream chat package you’re using:

dependencies:
	stream_chat_flutter: ^4.0.0 # full UI, core and client packages
	stream_chat_flutter_core: ^4.0.0 # core and client packages
	stream_chat: ^4.0.0 # client package

Name Changes

The majority of the Stream Chat widgets and classes have now been renamed to have a “Stream” prefix associated with them. This increases Stream widgets’ discoverability and avoids name conflicts when importing.

For example, MessageListView is now called StreamMessageListView, and UserAvatar is renamed to StreamUserAvatar.

The old class names are deprecated and will be removed in the next major release (v5.0.0).

See the sections below on “deprecated classes” for a complete list of changes. Some of these classes/widgets have undergone functional changes as well, that will be explore in the following sections.

Removed Functionality/Widgets

This section highlights functionality removed.

Removed Methods And Classes

In version 4 we removed the following deprecated methods and classes:

Channel.banUser
Channel.unbanUser
ClientState.user
ClientState.userStream
MessageWidget.allRead
MessageWidget.readList
StreamChat.user
StreamChat.userStream
StreamChatCore.user
StreamChatCore.userStream

These were marked as deprecated in v3.

Video Compression

The automatic video compression when uploading a video has been removed. You can integrate this yourself by manipulating attachments using a custom attachment uploader.

Slidable Channel List Item

The default slidable channel preview behavior has been removed. We have created a guide showing you how you can easily add this functionality yourself.

Pin Permission

pinPermissions is no longer needed in the MessageListView widget. The permissions are automatically fetched for each Stream project. To enable users to pin the message, make sure the pin permissions are granted for different types of users on your Stream application dashboard.

Deprecated Classes

This section covers all the deprecated classes and widgets in the Stream chat packages. Some of these have also undergone functional changes, for example, MessageInput and ChannelsBloc. These are discussed in more detail below.

The majority of the Stream widgets and classes have now been renamed to have a “Stream” prefix associated with them.

Changes:

AttachmentTitle in favor of StreamAttachmentTitle
AttachmentUploadStateBuilder in favor of StreamAttachmentsUploadStateBuilder
AttachmentWidget in favor of StreamAttachmentWidget
AvatarThemeData in favor of StreamAvatarThemeData
ChannelAvatar in favor of StreamChannelAvatar
ChannelBottomSheet in favor of StreamChannelInfoBottomSheet
ChannelHeader in favor of StreamChannelHeader
ChannelHeaderTheme in favor of StreamChannelHeaderTheme
ChannelHeaderThemeData in favor of StreamChannelHeaderThemeData
ChannelInfo in favor of StreamChannelInfo
ChannelListHeader in favor of StreamChannelListHeader
ChannelListHeaderTheme in favor of StreamChannelListHeaderTheme
ChannelListHeaderThemeData in favor of StreamChannelListHeaderThemeData
ChannelListView in favor of StreamChannelListView
ChannelListViewTheme in favor of StreamChannelListViewTheme
ChannelListViewThemeData in favor of StreamChannelListViewThemeData
ChannelListHeader in favor of StreamChannelListHeader
ChannelListView in favor of StreamChannelListView
ChannelName in favor of StreamChannelName
ChannelPreview in favor of StreamChannelListTile
ChannelPreviewTheme in favor of StreamChannelPreviewTheme
ChannelPreviewThemeData in favor of StreamChannelPreviewThemeData
ChannelName in favor of StreamChannelName
ColorTheme in favor of StreamColorTheme
CommandsOverlay in favor of StreamCommandsOverlay
ConnectionStatusBuilder in favor of StreamConnectionStatusBuilder
DateDivider in favor of StreamDateDivider
DeletedMessage in favor of StreamDeletedMessage
EmojiOverlay in favor of StreamEmojiOverlay
FileAttachment in favor of StreamFileAttachment
FullScreenMedia in favor of StreamFullScreenMedia
GalleryFooter in favor of StreamGalleryFooter
GalleryFooterThemeData in favor of StreamGalleryFooterThemeData
GalleryHeader in favor of StreamGalleryHeader
GalleryHeaderTheme in favor of StreamGalleryHeaderTheme
GalleryHeaderThemeData in favor of StreamGalleryHeaderThemeData
GiphyAttachment in favor of StreamGiphyAttachment
GradientAvatar in favor of StreamGradientAvatar
GroupAvatar in favor of StreamGroupAvatar
ImageAttachment in favor of StreamImageAttachment
ImageGroup in favor of StreamImageGroup
InfoTile in favor of StreamInfoTile
MediaListView in favor of StreamMediaListView
MessageAction in favor of StreamMessageAction
MessageActionsModal in favor StreamMessageActionsModal
MessageInput in favor of StreamMessageInput
MessageInputTheme in favor of StreamMessageInputTheme
MessageInputThemeData in favor of StreamMessageInputThemeData
MessageInputState in favor of StreamMessageInput
MessageListView in favor of StreamMessageListView
MessageListViewTheme in favor of StreamMessageListViewTheme
MessageListViewThemeData in favor of StreamMessageListViewThemeData
MessageSearchListView in favor of StreamMessageSearchListView
MessageSearchListViewTheme in favor of StreamMessageSearchListViewTheme
MessageSearchListViewThemeData in favor of StreamMessageSearchListViewThemeData
MessageReactionsModal in favor of StreamMessageReactionsModal
MessageSearchItem in favor of StreamMessageSearchItem
MessageSearchListView in favor of StreamMessageSearchListView
MessageText in favor of StreamMessageText
MessageWidget in favor of StreamMessageWidget
MessageThemeData in favor of StreamMessageThemeData
MultiOverlay in favor of StreamMultiOverlay
OptionListTile in favor of StreamOptionListTile
QuotedMessageWidget in favor of StreamQuotedMessageWidget
ReactionBubble in favor of StreamReactionBubble
ReactionIcon in favor of StreamReactionIcon
ReactionPicker in favor of StreamReactionPicker
SendingIndicator in favor of StreamSendingIndicator
SystemMessage in favor of StreamSystemMessage
TextTheme in favor of StreamTextTheme
ThreadHeader in favor of StreamThreadHeader
TypingIndicator in favor of StreamTypingIndicator
UnreadIndicator in favor of SteamUnreadIndicator
UploadProgressIndicator in favor of StreamUploadProgressIndicator
UrlAttachment in favor of StreamUrlAttachment
UserAvatar in favor of StreamUserAvatar
UserItem in favor of StreamUserItem
UserListView in favor of StreamUserListView
UserListViewTheme in favor of StreamUserListViewTheme
UserListViewThemeData in favor of StreamUserListViewThemeData
UserMentionTile in favor of StreamUserMentionTile
UserMentionsOverlay in favor of StreamUserMentionsOverlay
VideoAttachment in favor of StreamVideoAttachment
VideoService in favor of StreamVideoService
VideoThumbnailImage in favor of StreamVideoThumbnailImage
VisibleFootnote in favor of StreamVisibleFootnote

ChannelListView to StreamChannelListView

The ChannelListView widget has been deprecated, and it is now recommended to use StreamChannelListView.

Version 4 of the Stream Chat Flutter packages introduces a new controller called, StreamChannelListController. This controller manages the content for a channel list; it lets you perform tasks such as:

Load initial data.
Use channel events handlers.
Load more data using loadMore.
Replace the previously loaded channels.
Return/Create a new channel and start watching it.
Pause and Resume all subscriptions added to this composite.

For more information see the StreamChannelListView documentation.

ChannelsBloc to StreamChannelListController

The ChannelsBloc widget should be replaced with StreamChannelListController. This controller provides all the functionality needed to query and manipulate channel data previously accessible through ChannelsBloc.

For more information see the StreamChannelListController documentation.

StreamChannelListView Examples

Let’s explore some examples of the functional differences when using the new StreamChannelListView.

The StreamChannelListController provides various methods, such as:

deleteChannel
loadMore
muteChannel
deleteChannel

For a complete list with additional information, see the code documentation.

Basic Use

The following code demonstrates the old way of creating a ChannelListPage, that displays a list of channels:

class ChannelListPage extends StatelessWidget {
  const ChannelListPage({
    Key? key,
  }) : super(key: key);

  @override
  // ignore: prefer_expression_function_bodies
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      body: ChannelsBloc(
        child: ChannelListView(
          filter: Filter.in_(
            'members',
            [StreamChat.of(context).currentUser!.id],
          ),
          sort: const [SortOption('last_message_at')],
          limit: 20,
          channelWidget: const ChannelPage(),
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

In v4 this can now be achieved with the following:

class ChannelListPage extends StatefulWidget {
  const ChannelListPage({
    Key? key,
    required this.client,
  }) : super(key: key);

  final StreamChatClient client;

  @override
  State<ChannelListPage> createState() => _ChannelListPageState();
}

class _ChannelListPageState extends State<ChannelListPage> {
  late final _controller = StreamChannelListController(
    client: widget.client,
    filter: Filter.in_(
      'members',
      [StreamChat.of(context).currentUser!.id],
    ),
    channelStateSort: const [SortOption('last_message_at')],
  );

  @override
  void dispose() {
    _controller.dispose();
    super.dispose();
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) => Scaffold(
        body: RefreshIndicator(
          onRefresh: _controller.refresh,
          child: StreamChannelListView(
            controller: _controller,
            onChannelTap: (channel) => Navigator.push(
              context,
              MaterialPageRoute(
                builder: (_) => StreamChannel(
                  channel: channel,
                  child: const ChannelPage(),
                ),
              ),
            ),
          ),
        ),
      );
}

As you can see, the ChannelsBloc has been replaced with a StreamChannelListController, where the filter, limit, and sort arguments can be set. The above code also demonstrates how to refresh the channel list by calling _controller.refresh().

MessageSearchListView to StreamMessageSearchListView

The MessageSearchListView widget has been deprecated, and it is now recommended to use StreamMessageSearchListView.

Version 4 of the Stream Chat Flutter packages introduces a new controller called, StreamMessageSearchListController. This controller manages the content when searching for a message; it lets you perform tasks such as:

Load initial data.
Set filters and search terms.
Load more data using loadMore.
Refresh data.

For more information see the StreamMessageSearchListView documentation.

MessageSearchBloc to StreamMessageSearchListController

The MessageSearchBloc widget should be replaced with a StreamMessageSearchListController. This controller provides all the functionality needed to query and manipulate message search data previously accessible through MessageSearchBloc.

For more information see the StreamMessageSearchListController documentation.

StreamMessageSearchListView Example

The following code demonstrates the old way of searching for messages:

class SearchExample extends StatelessWidget {
  const SearchExample({
    Key? key,
  }) : super(key: key);

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MessageSearchBloc(
      child: MessageSearchListView(
        showErrorTile: true,
        messageQuery: 'message query',
        filters: Filter.in_('members', const ['user-id']),
        sortOptions: const [
          SortOption(
            'created_at',
            direction: SortOption.ASC,
          ),
        ],
        pullToRefresh: false,
        limit: 30,
        emptyBuilder: (context) => const Text('Nothing to show'),
				itemBuilder: (context, messageResponse) {
					/// Return widget
				}
        onItemTap: (messageResponse) {
          /// Handle on tap
        }
      ),
    );
  }
}

In v4, this can now be achieved with the following:

class SearchExample extends StatefulWidget {
  const SearchExample({
    Key? key,
  }) : super(key: key);

  @override
  State<SearchExample> createState() => _SearchExampleState();
}

class _SearchExampleState extends State<SearchExample> {
  late final StreamMessageSearchListController _messageSearchListController =
      StreamMessageSearchListController(
    client: StreamChat.of(context).client,
    filter: Filter.in_('members', [StreamChat.of(context).currentUser!.id]),
    limit: 5,
    searchQuery: '',
    sort: [
      const SortOption(
        'created_at',
        direction: SortOption.ASC,
      ),
    ],
  );

	search() {
    _messageSearchListController.searchQuery = 'search-value';
    _messageSearchListController.doInitialLoad();
  }

  @override
  dispose() {
    _messageSearchListController.dispose();
    super.dispose();
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return StreamMessageSearchListView(
        controller: _messageSearchListController,
        emptyBuilder: (context) => const Text('Nothing to show'),
        itemBuilder: (
          context,
          messageResponses,
          index,
          defaultWidget,
        ) {
          return defaultWidget.copyWith(); // modify default widget
        });
  }
}

UserListView to StreamUserListView

The UserListView widget has been deprecated, and it is now recommended to use StreamUserListView.

Version 4 of the Stream Chat Flutter packages introduces a new controller called, StreamUserListController. This controller manages the content when retrieving Stream users; it let’s you perform tasks, such as:

Load data.
Set filters.
Refresh data.

For more information see the StreamUserListView documentation.

UsersBloc to StreamUserListController

The UsersBloc widget should be replaced with a StreamUserListController. This controller provides all the functionality needed to query and manipulate user data previously accessible through UsersBloc.

For more information see the StreamUserListController documentation.

StreamUserListView Example

The following code demonstrates the old way of displaying all users:

class UsersExample extends StatelessWidget {
  const UsersExample({
    Key? key,
  }) : super(key: key);

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return UsersBloc(
      child: UserListView(
        groupAlphabetically: true,
        onUserTap: (user, _) {
          /// Handle on tap
        },
        limit: 25,
        filter: Filter.and([
          Filter.autoComplete('name', 'some-name'),
          Filter.notEqual('id', StreamChat.of(context).currentUser!.id),
        ]),
        sort: const [
          SortOption(
            'name',
            direction: 1,
          ),
        ],
      ),
    );
  }
}

In v4, this can now be achieved with the following:

class UsersExample extends StatefulWidget {
  const UsersExample({
    Key? key,
  }) : super(key: key);

  @override
  State<UsersExample> createState() => _UsersExampleState();
}

class _UsersExampleState extends State<UsersExample> {
  late final userListController = StreamUserListController(
    client: StreamChat.of(context).client,
    limit: 25,
    filter: Filter.and([
      Filter.notEqual('id', StreamChat.of(context).currentUser!.id),
    ]),
    sort: [
      const SortOption(
        'name',
        direction: 1,
      ),
    ],
  );

  void _load() {
    userListController.filter = Filter.and([
      Filter.autoComplete('name', 'some-name'),
      Filter.notEqual('id', StreamChat.of(context).currentUser!.id),
    ]);
    userListController.doInitialLoad();
  }

  @override
  dispose() {
    userListController.dispose();
    super.dispose();
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return StreamUserListView(
      controller: userListController,
      onUserTap: (user) {
        /// Handle on tap
      },
      emptyBuilder: (context) => const Text('Nothing to show'),
      itemBuilder: (
        context,
        users,
        index,
        defaultWidget,
      ) {
        return defaultWidget.copyWith(); // modify default widget
      },
    );
  }
}

MessageInput to StreamMessageInput

The MessageInput widget has been deprecated, and it is now recommended to use StreamMessageInput.

Version 4 of the Stream Chat Flutter packages introduces a new controller called, MessageInputController. This controller maintains the state of the message input and exposes various methods to allow you to customize and manipulate the underlying Message value.

Creating a separate controller allows easier control over the message input content by moving logic out of the deprecated MessageInput and into the controller. This controller can then be created, managed, and exposed in whatever way you like.

The widget is also separated into smaller components: StreamCountDownButton, StreamAttachmentPicker, etc.

❗The MessageInputController is exposed by the stream_chat_flutter_core package. This allows you to use the controller even if you’re not using the UI components.

As a result of this extra control, it is no longer needed for the new StreamMessageInput widget to expose these MessageInput arguments:

parentMessage: parent message in case of a thread
editMessage: message to edit
initialMessage: message to start with
quotedMessage: message to quote/reply
onQuotedMessageCleared: callback for clearing quoted message
textEditingController: the text controller of the text field

The following arguments are newly introduced to the StreamMessageInput, and are not available on the old MessageInput:

messageInputController: the controller for the message input
attachmentsPickerBuilder: builder for bottom sheet when attachment picker is opened
sendButtonBuilder: builder for creating send button
validator: a callback function that validates the message
restorationId: restoration ID to save and restore the state of the MessageInput
enableSafeArea: wraps the StreamMessageInput widget with a SafeArea widget
elevation: elevation of the StreamMessageInput widget
shadow: Shadow for the StreamMessageInput widget

For more information see the StreamMessageInput documentation.

StreamMessageInput Examples

Let’s explore some examples of the functional differences when using the new StreamMessageInput.

Basic Use

Unless you want to programmatically manipulate the value of the message input, then there is no difference in how you would use the message input widget.

The following code demonstrates the old way of creating a ChannelPage widget that displays a chat screen:

class ChannelPage extends StatelessWidget {
  const ChannelPage({
    Key? key,
  }) : super(key: key);

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: const ChannelHeader(),
      body: Column(
        children: const <Widget>[
          Expanded(
            child: MessageListView(),
          ),
          MessageInput(),
        ],
      ),
    );
  }
}

In v4 this is the same, the only difference being that all the Stream widgets are now prefixed with Stream. For example, MessageListView becomes StreamMessageListView, and so forth.

class ChannelPage extends StatelessWidget {
  const ChannelPage({
    Key? key,
  }) : super(key: key);

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) => Scaffold(
        appBar: const StreamChannelHeader(),
        body: Column(
          children: const <Widget>[
            Expanded(
              child: StreamMessageListView(),
            ),
            StreamMessageInput(),
          ],
        ),
      );
}

However, you can optionally pass in a MessageInputController in the StreamMessageInput, which gives extra control over the message input value.

Thread Page

The following code demonstrates the old way of creating a thread page:

class ThreadPage extends StatelessWidget {
  const ThreadPage({
    Key? key,
    this.parent,
  }) : super(key: key);

  final Message? parent;

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: ThreadHeader(
        parent: parent!,
      ),
      body: Column(
        children: <Widget>[
          Expanded(
            child: MessageListView(
              parentMessage: parent,
            ),
          ),
          MessageInput(
            parentMessage: parent,
          ),
        ],
      ),
    );
  }
}

In v4 the only difference is the Stream prefix and the way that the parent message is passed to the message input:

class ThreadPage extends StatelessWidget {
  const ThreadPage({
    Key? key,
    this.parent,
  }) : super(key: key);

  final Message? parent;

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: StreamThreadHeader(
        parent: parent!,
      ),
      body: Column(
        children: <Widget>[
          Expanded(
            child: StreamMessageListView(
              parentMessage: parent,
            ),
          ),
          StreamMessageInput(
            messageInputController: MessageInputController(
              message: Message(parentId: parent!.id),
            ),
          ),
        ],
      ),
    );
  }
}

To send a thread message, you need to specify the message’s parent ID for which you’re creating a thread.

Reply/Quote Message

The following code demonstrates the old way of replying to a message:

...

void _reply(Message message) {
  setState(() => _quotedMessage = message);
}

...

MessageInput
	quotedMessage: _quotedMessage,
  onQuotedMessageCleared: () {
    setState(() => _quotedMessage = null);
  },
),

To reply to a message in v4:

...

void _reply(Message message) {
  _messageInputController.quotedMessage = message;
}

...

StreamMessageInput(
  messageInputController: _messageInputController,
),

The controller makes it much simpler to dynamically modify the message input.

Stream Chat Flutter Core

Various changes have been made to the Core package, most notably, the introduction of all of the controllers mentioned above.

These controllers replace the business logic implementations (Bloc). Please note that this is not related to the well-known Flutter Bloc package, but instead refers to the naming we used for our business logic components.

In this version we’re introducing controllers in place of their bloc counterparts: StreamChannelListController in favor of ChannelsBlocStreamMessageSearchListController in favor of MessageSearchBlocStreamUserListController in favor of UsersBloc

The Bloc components are deprecated in v4.0.0 but can still be used. They will be removed in the next major release (v5.0.0).

Additionally, we also now have the StreamMessageInputController, as discussed above. This can be used outside of our UI package as well.

Finally, the following Core builders are also deprecated as their functionality can be replaced using their controller counterparts:

ChannelListCore
MessageSearchListCore
UserListCore

Initialize Stream Chat in Part of the Widget Tree

v5.0