Complete Guide to Flutter Package Publishing on pub.dev

Publishing your own Flutter package to pub.dev is a great way to contribute to the Flutter community and showcase your skills. Whether you’re building a utility library or UI component, this guide will walk you through the entire publishing process from start to finish.

✅ Why Publish to pub.dev?

Share useful tools with other developers
Get feedback and contributions from the community
Boost your portfolio and credibility
Learn more about packaging, documentation, and versioning

🧱 Step 1: Create a New Flutter Package

Run the following in your terminal:

flutter create --template=package my_awesome_package

This creates a new directory with everything preconfigured. Open it in your editor of choice.

📦 Step 2: Define Package Info in `pubspec.yaml`

Update your pubspec.yaml with:

name: my_awesome_package
description: A short description of what your package does.
version: 0.0.1
homepage: https://github.com/yourusername/my_awesome_package
repository: https://github.com/yourusername/my_awesome_package
issue_tracker: https://github.com/yourusername/my_awesome_package/issues
environment:
  sdk: ">=2.17.0 <4.0.0"

Make sure to:

Set the correct Dart SDK range
Provide URLs (required for credibility)
Add a README.md, CHANGELOG.md, and LICENSE

🧪 Step 3: Write and Test Your Package

Implement your logic in lib/. Also add public-facing APIs in lib/my_awesome_package.dart.

Add tests in test/. Run them with:

flutter test

Good test coverage = more trust from the community.

📚 Step 4: Document Everything

Create a solid README.md:

Introduction
Installation
Usage examples
Screenshots or GIFs if needed

Add a CHANGELOG.md with:

## [0.0.1] - Initial release
- Basic features added.

Use clear language and follow Markdown formatting.

🔐 Step 5: Authenticate with pub.dev

dart pub publish --dry-run

Follow the instructions. The command will open your browser to sign in with your Google account.

🚀 Step 6: Publish!

After everything passes the dry run:

dart pub publish

You’ll be prompted to confirm. Type y and hit Enter. Boom—your package is live!

🧰 Bonus: Keeping Your Package Updated

Update CHANGELOG.md and bump version in pubspec.yaml
Use semantic versioning
Run dart pub publish again

🏁 Conclusion

Publishing to pub.dev is easier than you think. With just a few steps—planning, documenting, testing— Flutter package publishing allows you to share your Flutter creations with the world. Start small, iterate, and improve over time. Who knows? Your package could be the next Flutter Favorite ⭐