28.6. Push Notifications in Flutter with Firebase: State Management

Push notifications are an important tool for increasing user engagement with your app. They allow you to send direct messages to users' devices even when the app is not in use. In Flutter, Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) is a popular way to implement push notifications. In this chapter, we'll explore how to configure and use FCM in a Flutter app, along with state management.

Configuring Firebase Cloud Messaging

To start using Firebase Cloud Messaging in Flutter, you first need to configure Firebase. To do this, you need to create a new Firebase project, add Flutter to your Firebase project and install the Flutter Firebase Messaging package.

Adding Flutter to your Firebase project

Once you create your Firebase project, you can add Flutter to it. To do this, go to the project's settings and click on 'Add Application'. Select Flutter as your app's platform, give your app a name and click 'Register App'. Next, you will receive a configuration file that must be added to your Flutter project.

Installing the Flutter Firebase Messaging package

To install the Flutter Firebase Messaging package, you need to add the following line to your pubspec.yaml file:

dependencies:
  firebase_messaging: ^10.0.0

Then run 'flutter pub get' to install the package. You are now ready to start using Firebase Cloud Messaging in Flutter.

Using Firebase Cloud Messaging

To use Firebase Cloud Messaging, you need to initialize Firebase in your Flutter app. This can be done in your application's main method, before running the application. Here is an example of how to do this:

void main() async {
  WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized();
  await Firebase.initializeApp();
  runApp(MyApp());
}

With Firebase initialized, you can start using Firebase Cloud Messaging. To send a push notification you need to create a new message and send it to FCM. FCM will then send the message to all devices that have installed your app.

State Management

Managing the state of a Flutter app can be complex, especially when it comes to push notifications. When a push notification is received, you might want to update your app's state to reflect the new message. To do this, you can use one of the many state management packages available for Flutter, such as Provider or Riverpod.

For example, if you are using the Provider, you can create a notification template that contains all incoming notifications. When a new notification is received, you can add the notification to the template and notify all listeners. Here is an example of how to do this:

class NotificationModel extends ChangeNotifier {
  List _notifications = [];

  List get notifications => _notifications;

  void addNotification(Notification notification) {
    _notifications.add(notification);
    notifyListeners();
  }
}

With this template, you can easily update your app's UI when a new notification is received. For example, you can show a list of all notifications or show a notification indicator on the app icon.

In short, push notifications are an important tool for increasing user engagement with your app. With Flutter and Firebase Cloud Messaging, it's easy to send and receive push notifications. However, managing app state can be complex, especially when it comes to push notifications. Fortunately, Flutter offers many options for state management, making it easy to update your app's UI when a new notification arrives.