DevTools extensions
What are DevTools extensions?
#DevTools extensions are developer tools provided by third-party packages that are tightly integrated into the DevTools tooling suite. Extensions are distributed as part of a pub package, and they are dynamically loaded into DevTools when a user is debugging their app.
Use a DevTools extension
#If your app depends on a package that provides a DevTools extension, the extension automatically shows up in a new tab when you open DevTools.
Configure extension enablement states
#You need to manually enable the extension before it loads for the first time. Make sure the extension is provided by a source you trust before enabling it.
When you open the extension for the first time, you'll see a prompt to enable the extension:
You can modify the setting at any time from the DevTools Extensions dialog:
Note: if the extension requires a running a connection to a running application, you will not see the enablement prompt or enablement settings until DevTools is connected to a running app.**
Extension enablement states are stored in a devtools_options.yaml
file in the root of the user's project (similar to analysis_options.yaml
).
description: This file stores settings for Dart & Flutter DevTools.
documentation: https://docs.flutter.dev/tools/devtools/extensions#configure-extension-enablement-states
extensions:
- provider: true
- shared_preferences: true
- foo: false
This file stores per-project (or optionally, per user) settings for DevTools.
If this file is checked into source control, the specified options are configured for the project. This means that anyone who pulls a project's source code and works on the project uses the same settings.
If this file is omitted from source control, for example by adding devtools_options.yaml
as an entry in the .gitignore
file, then the specified options are configured separately for each user. Since each user or contributor to the project uses a local copy of the devtools_options.yaml
file in this case, the specified options might differ between project contributors.
Build a DevTools extension
#For an in-depth guide on how to build a DevTools extension, check out Dart and Flutter DevTools extensions, a free article on Medium.
To learn more about writing and using DevTools extensions, check out the following video:
Watch on YouTube in a new tab: "Building DevTools extensions | Flutter Build Show"
Unless stated otherwise, the documentation on this site reflects the latest stable version of Flutter. Page last updated on 2025-04-15. View source or report an issue.