Network Tools Flutter

Features

This package will add support for flutter features which is out of the scope of network_tools because of platform limitations.

Getting started

Usage

Add the dependency to pubspec.yaml. path_provider is needed by this example to locate the application support directory:

dependencies:
  flutter:
    sdk: flutter
    
  network_tools_flutter: ^3.0.7
  path_provider: ^2.1.5

Initialize the package in main:

 await configureNetworkToolsFlutter((await getApplicationSupportDirectory()).path);

Prefer the application support directory (not documents) on iOS: the database is internal state and should not be user-visible or backed up as a document.

The ARP table is ready when the future completes. The optional MAC vendor table is built in the background, so the first-run download never delays startup. Pass buildVendorTable: false to skip it entirely:

 await configureNetworkToolsFlutter(
   (await getApplicationSupportDirectory()).path,
   buildVendorTable: false,
 );

Changing dbDirectory or enableDebugging after the first call has no effect unless you pass rebuildData: true; the package logs a warning when that happens.

Host scans raise HostScanException (a StateError subtype) when the scan isolate crashes or reports an error, so callers can tell the two apart through kind:

try {
  await for (final host in HostScannerService.instance.getAllPingableDevices(subnet)) {
    // ...
  }
} on HostScanException catch (error) {
  // error.kind is HostScanFailureKind.isolateCrash or .scanError
}

Example

See the example directory for a complete Flutter app using this package. It showcases every public method of network_tools_flutter and network_tools (host discovery, port scanning, mDNS, ActiveHost resolution and reconfiguration) and doubles as a manual test harness, so you can run it on a device to exercise the packages standalone.

From here please follow the documentation of network_tools as they are the same.

macOS: MAC addresses and local network

ActiveHost.getMacAddress() reads the system ARP table through /usr/sbin/arp. On macOS:

• App Sandbox must be disabled for direct/Developer ID builds. A sandboxed app receives an empty ARP table, so MAC addresses and vendor lookups are unavailable. Mac App Store builds cannot disable the sandbox.
• macOS 27 and later also require the restricted entitlement com.apple.developer.networking.topology-observation for any third-party process reading the ARP table. Without it, arp exits successfully but returns no entries. The entitlement must be granted by Apple, and an ad-hoc signed build carrying it is killed at launch.
• mDNS TXT records that advertise a mac key are still mapped to ActiveHost.macAddress when a device publishes one.

Add these keys to macos/Runner/Info.plist so macOS shows the local-network prompt and allows Bonjour lookups:

<key>NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription</key>
<string>Required to discover devices on the local network.</string>
<key>NSBonjourServices</key>
<array>
    <string>_services._dns-sd._udp</string>
</array>

mDNS search

For mDNS search on Android, make sure your minimum API level is 21 and add the following permissions to the manifest file:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CHANGE_WIFI_MULTICAST_STATE" />

And for iOS add permissions to the Info.plist (replace service type with your own):

<key>NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription</key>
<string>Required to discover local network devices</string>
<key>NSBonjourServices</key>
<array>
    <string>_http._tcp</string>
    <!-- Required for service-type enumeration (searchMdnsDevices). -->
    <string>_services._dns-sd._udp</string>
</array>

List every service type you browse. On iOS 14+, mDNS results are silently empty when a browsed type is missing from NSBonjourServices.