| name | flutter-hot-reload |
| description | Trigger a Flutter hot reload after meaningful edits to `lib/**/*.dart` or `test/**/*.dart` while `task dev` or another Taskfile `_run_with_pid` flutter task is active, so the running app reflects the change without a manual `r` press. Requires `/tmp/flutter.pid` or `FLUTTER_PID`. |
Flutter Hot Reload
Use this skill after a batch of Dart edits when the app is already running through the project's Taskfile.
How it works
task dev and the other _run_with_pid tasks write the running Flutter PID to /tmp/flutter.pid or the path in FLUTTER_PID.- The reload script reads that PID and sends
SIGUSR1.
flutter run treats that signal as a hot reload.
Run it
Run once per edit batch:
.agent/skills/flutter-hot-reload/scripts/hot_reload_from_pid.sh --verbose
Expected success output:
Read Flutter PID '<pid>' from '/tmp/flutter.pid'
Hot reload signal sent to PID <pid>.
Then confirm in flutter.log:
tail -5 flutter.log
Look for Performing hot reload... followed by Reloaded N libraries in ...ms.
When to run
- Single focused Dart edit: run after the write is finished.
- Multi-file refactor: run once after the batch.
- Comment-only changes: skip it.
Failure modes
Surface failures clearly instead of hiding them:
PID file not found: the app is not running through task dev or another _run_with_pid task.process '<pid>' is not running: the PID file is stale.unable to send USR1: permission issue or wrong process owner.Reloaded 0 libraries: signal worked, but Flutter had nothing new to reload.
Do not run it for
pubspec.yaml dependency changes- native
ios/ or android/ edits
- localization ARB changes before
task locale
- changes that need a hot restart instead of reload, such as some
main_*.dart or initState-driven behavior
- cases where the user explicitly said not to reload
Report in the final summary if the reload did not run or did not succeed.
