provider

name	provider
description	Use when setting up providers, consuming state, optimizing rebuilds, using ProxyProvider, or migrating from deprecated providers (Provider package).

Provider Skill

This skill defines how to correctly use the provider package in Flutter applications.

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1. Provider Types

Provider	Use for
Provider	Exposing any immutable value
ChangeNotifierProvider	Mutable state with ChangeNotifier
FutureProvider	Exposing a Future result
StreamProvider	Exposing a Stream
ProxyProvider / ChangeNotifierProxyProvider	Objects that depend on other providers

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2. Setup

MultiProvider(
  providers: [
    Provider<Something>(create: (_) => Something()),
    ChangeNotifierProvider(create: (_) => MyNotifier()),
    FutureProvider<String>(create: (_) => fetchData(), initialData: ''),
  ],
  child: MyApp(),
)

• Use MultiProvider to group multiple providers and avoid deeply nested trees.
• ChangeNotifierProvider automatically disposes the model when it is no longer needed.
• Never create a provider's object from variables that can change over time — the object won't update when the variable changes. Use ProxyProvider instead.
• If you have 150+ providers, consider mounting them over time (e.g., during a splash screen) rather than all at once to avoid StackOverflowError.

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3. Consuming State

Always specify the generic type for type safety:

// Listen and rebuild on change — only valid inside build() or a Provider's update method
final count = context.watch<MyModel>().count;

// Access without listening — use in callbacks, not inside build()
context.read<MyModel>().increment();

// Listen to only part of the state
final count = context.select<MyModel, int>((m) => m.count);

Use Consumer<T> or Selector<T, R> widgets when you need fine-grained rebuilds and cannot access a descendant BuildContext:

Consumer<MyModel>(
  builder: (context, model, child) => Text('${model.count}'),
  child: const ExpensiveWidget(), // rebuilt only once
)

Selector<MyModel, int>(
  selector: (_, model) => model.count,
  builder: (_, count, __) => Text('$count'),
)

---

4. ProxyProvider

Use ProxyProvider or ChangeNotifierProxyProvider for objects that depend on other providers or values that can change:

MultiProvider(
  providers: [
    Provider<Auth>(create: (_) => Auth()),
    ProxyProvider<Auth, Api>(
      update: (_, auth, __) => Api(auth.token),
    ),
  ],
)

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5. Rules

• Do not access providers inside initState or constructors — use them in build, callbacks, or lifecycle methods where the widget is fully mounted.
• You can use any object as state, not just ChangeNotifier; use Provider.value() with a StatefulWidget if needed.

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6. Debugging

Implement toString or DiagnosticableTreeMixin to improve how your objects appear in Flutter DevTools:

class MyModel with DiagnosticableTreeMixin {
  final int count;
  MyModel(this.count);

  @override
  String toString() => 'MyModel(count: $count)';
}

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7. Migration: ValueListenableProvider

ValueListenableProvider is deprecated. Use Provider with ValueListenableBuilder instead:

ValueListenableBuilder<int>(
  valueListenable: myValueListenable,
  builder: (context, value, _) {
    return Provider<int>.value(
      value: value,
      child: MyApp(),
    );
  },
)

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References

• Provider GitHub Repository