Flutter Package CI Pipeline

Flutter Package CI/CD Pipeline

Reusable pipeline pattern distilled from bloc, riverpod, Very Good Workflows, and flutter/packages, validated on production packages.

When to use

• New Flutter/Dart library (pub package) needs GitHub Actions
• Existing package CI needs audit, DRY refactor, or release automation
• User asks for pub.dev publish automation, Dependabot, or package quality gates

Quick start (new project)

1. Profile the project — fill project-profile.md
2. Copy scaffold — create .github/actions/ + .github/workflows/ per profile toggles
3. Customize placeholders — package name, repo, paths, optional jobs
4. Validate locally — dart format, flutter analyze, flutter test, flutter pub publish --dry-run, pana .
5. Configure pub.dev OIDC — one-time admin setup (see reference.md)
6. Enable Dependabot — .github/dependabot.yml with project's pub workspaces

Architecture

Pull Request ─┬─ semantic-pr.yml          (PR title convention)
              ├─ pr-tests.yml           (multi-OS lint + test + dry-run)
              ├─ release-gate.yml       (main-target PR: version/changelog/pana)
              ├─ check-generation.yml   (optional: codegen drift)
              └─ project-specific.yml   (benchmarks, migration, docs)

Push main ────┬─ ci-main.yml             (lint → test → publish dry-run)
              └─ check-generation.yml

Push tag v* ──┬─ release-tags.yml
              │    ├─ release-gate  (validate)
              │    ├─ publish       (OIDC → pub.dev)
              │    └─ github-release (optional CLI artifacts)

Schedule ─────┬─ nightly.yml
              └─ dependabot.yml (weekly PRs)

Composite actions (DRY core)

Always prefer composite actions over duplicated workflow steps.

Scaffold copies: reference.md

Workflow inventory

Project adaptation checklist

Before generating files, determine:

Project profile:
- [ ] Package name and README usage grep pattern
- [ ] Default branch (main/master)
- [ ] Workspaces: example/, tool/*, packages/* (list paths)
- [ ] Has committed generated code? → check-generation.yml
- [ ] Has CLI binaries for GitHub Release? → release artifact step
- [ ] Has custom smoke tests? → release-gate generator step
- [ ] License checker config path (or disable)
- [ ] Min pana score (run `pana .` first)
- [ ] Docs site (MkDocs) → github-pages.yml
- [ ] Monorepo? → use melos/paths-filter instead of single-package actions

Full template: project-profile.md

Adaptation rules

Package name in hygiene checks

Replace README usage awk pattern with project identifiers:

# Example for package "my_package":
$0 ~ /(my_package|MyPackage)/

setup-flutter workspaces

Add install_<workspace> inputs for each extra pubspec.yaml (example, tool apps). Remove unused inputs in consuming workflows.

Multi-OS PR matrix

Run expensive checks (lychee, dart doc, pana) on ubuntu-latest only. Format/analyze on all OSes to catch path issues.

Release tag pattern

Must match pub.dev OIDC config:

• Git tag: v0.1.0
• pubspec: version: 0.1.0
• pub.dev tag pattern: v{{version}}

OIDC publish constraints

• Publish job only on tag push (not workflow_dispatch, not branch push)
• Job needs permissions: id-token: write
• Use official dart-lang/setup-dart/.github/workflows/publish.yml@v1

Dependabot pub directories

List every directory with its own pubspec.yaml. Root library packages typically omit pubspec.lock; Dependabot still works on pubspec.yaml.

Optional: approval gate before publish

Add environment: pub.dev to publish job and configure matching environment on pub.dev admin + GitHub repo settings.

Implementation workflow for the agent

When user asks to set up or port this pipeline:

1. Read target project: pubspec.yaml, example/, tool/, existing .github/, CHANGELOG.md, .pubignore
2. Fill project profile (ask user for repo owner/name if unclear)
3. Create composite actions first (stable foundation)
4. Create workflows from smallest to largest: semantic-pr → ci-main → pr-tests → release-gate → release-tags → dependabot
5. Add optional workflows only if profile flags them
6. Run local gates: dart analyze, flutter test, pana ., flutter pub publish --dry-run
7. Document pub.dev OIDC setup in CONTRIBUTING.md (brief section)

Patterns from famous packages

Anti-patterns

• Do not put dart pub publish in a branch-triggered workflow (OIDC fails)
• Do not duplicate 50-line hygiene blocks across workflows — use composites
• Do not require pubspec.lock in library root packages
• Do not ship doc/api/ to pub.dev — exclude via .pubignore, generate in CI before dry-run
• Do not use workflow_dispatch for production publish

Install

# This skill only
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Melsaeed276/cursor-skills/main/skills/flutter-package-ci-pipeline/install.sh | bash

# Or via root installer
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Melsaeed276/cursor-skills/main/scripts/install.sh | bash -s -- flutter-package-ci-pipeline

Then invoke: "Use the flutter-package-ci-pipeline skill to set up CI for this project."

Additional resources

• Composite action + workflow templates: reference.md
• Per-project customization form: project-profile.md
• Reference implementation: anas_localization .github/
• Skills collection: github.com/Melsaeed276/cursor-skills