Flutter App Troubleshooting

Running the Flutter App

CRITICAL: Always run from ecommerce-app/ directory:

cd ecommerce-app

# Ensure Flutter is in PATH
$env:Path += ";C:\src\flutter\bin"

# Get dependencies first
flutter pub get

# Analyze for issues
flutter analyze

# Run on Chrome (web)
flutter run -d chrome --web-port=3000

# Run on Windows desktop
flutter run -d windows

# Run on Android emulator (if set up)
flutter run -d emulator-5554

Pre-flight Checks

cd ecommerce-app

# 1. Verify Flutter SDK
flutter --version

# 2. Check available devices
flutter devices

# 3. Verify pubspec.yaml exists
Test-Path "pubspec.yaml"

# 4. Clean build cache (if issues)
flutter clean
flutter pub get

Common Flutter Issues

"flutter: command not found" or "flutter not recognized"

Solution: Add Flutter to PATH

$env:Path += ";C:\src\flutter\bin"
# Or permanently add C:\src\flutter\bin to system PATH

"No devices found"

Solutions:

1. •For Web: Ensure Chrome is installed
2. •For Windows: Enable Developer Mode in Windows Settings
3. •For Android: Start an emulator first
   powershell

   # List emulators
   flutter emulators
   # Launch emulator
   flutter emulators --launch <emulator_id>
   

"pub get failed" or dependency errors

cd ecommerce-app
flutter clean
rm pubspec.lock  # If exists
flutter pub get
flutter pub upgrade  # If conflicts

Build errors after code changes

cd ecommerce-app
flutter clean
flutter pub get
flutter run -d chrome

API Connection Issues

Cannot connect to backend (http://localhost:8080)

Check backend is running first:

# In separate terminal
cd ecommerce-backend
make run

Verify API endpoint in Flutter:

• •File: lib/core/constants/api_constants.dart
• •Should be: http://localhost:8080/api/v1
• •For web: Use http://localhost:8080 (not http://127.0.0.1)
• •For mobile emulator: Use http://10.0.2.2:8080 (Android) or http://localhost:8080 (iOS)

Test backend manually:

curl http://localhost:8080/health

CORS errors in web browser

Backend already has CORS configured. If still seeing errors:

1. •Check internal/api/middleware/cors.go in backend
2. •Ensure backend is running
3. •Clear browser cache

State Management Issues (Provider)

"Provider not found" errors

• •Ensure Provider is initialized in lib/main.dart
• •Check if MultiProvider or ChangeNotifierProvider wraps MaterialApp
• •Verify context.read<T>() or context.watch<T>() usage is correct

State not updating

• •Check if notifyListeners() is called in Provider after state changes
• •Verify using context.watch<T>() for reactive updates (not context.read<T>())

Build and Deployment

Building for production

cd ecommerce-app

# Android APK
flutter build apk --release

# Android App Bundle (for Play Store)
flutter build appbundle --release

# iOS (requires macOS)
flutter build ios --release

# Windows desktop
flutter build windows --release

# Web
flutter build web --release

Output locations:

• •Android: build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/
• •Windows: build/windows/runner/Release/
• •Web: build/web/

Analyzing Code Quality

cd ecommerce-app

# Run analyzer
flutter analyze

# Format code
flutter format .

# Run tests
flutter test

# Test with coverage
flutter test --coverage

Hot Reload Issues

If hot reload (r) isn't working:

1. •Try hot restart (R in terminal)
2. •Stop app and run again
3. •Clear build cache: flutter clean

Debugging Tips

Enable verbose logging

flutter run -d chrome --verbose

Inspect widget tree

• •Use Flutter DevTools
• •Run app, then: flutter pub global activate devtools
• •Access at printed URL

Common import errors

• •Ensure all imports use package:ecommerce_app/... format
• •Check name in pubspec.yaml matches
• •Verify file paths are correct

Secure Storage Issues

App uses flutter_secure_storage for tokens.

On Windows: No special setup needed On Android: Handle keystore errors by clearing app data On iOS: Handle keychain access prompts

Clear secure storage for testing

// Add temporarily to code
final storage = FlutterSecureStorage();
await storage.deleteAll();

Performance Optimization

If app is slow:

1. •Run in release mode: flutter run --release
2. •Profile mode: flutter run --profile
3. •Check for unnecessary rebuilds (use const widgets)
4. •Optimize image sizes and assets