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Overview

App Courier uses a simple environment configuration system to manage different build modes and settings. This guide covers how to configure your environment for development and production.

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Environment Class

The main environment configuration is located in lib/core/config/environment.dart: 
class Environment {
  static const bool useMockData = false;
}

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Configuration Options

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useMockData
bool
default:"false"
Controls whether the app uses mock data instead of real API calls. Useful for testing and development.

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Build Modes

Flutter supports three build modes that affect app performance and debugging:

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Debug Mode

Optimized for development with hot reload enabled: 
flutter run
# or explicitly
flutter run --debug
Characteristics:
  • Hot reload and hot restart enabled
  • Assertions enabled
  • Service extensions enabled
  • Slower runtime performance
  • Larger app size

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Profile Mode

For performance testing and profiling: 
flutter run --profile
Characteristics:
  • Some debugging ability maintained
  • Performance tracking enabled
  • Service extensions enabled
  • Optimized performance
  • Medium app size

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Release Mode

Optimized for production deployment: 
flutter build apk --release  # Android
flutter build ios --release  # iOS
Characteristics:
  • Maximum optimization
  • No debugging capabilities
  • Smallest app size
  • Best runtime performance
  • Assertions disabled

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Environment Variables

Currently, the app uses hardcoded configuration values. For production deployments, consider implementing proper environment variable management using packages like flutter_dotenv or envied.
For better configuration management, you can implement environment-specific settings: 
// lib/core/config/environment.dart
class Environment {
  static const String environment = String.fromEnvironment(
    'ENV',
    defaultValue: 'development',
  );
  
  static const bool useMockData = bool.fromEnvironment(
    'USE_MOCK_DATA',
    defaultValue: false,
  );
  
  static bool get isDevelopment => environment == 'development';
  static bool get isProduction => environment == 'production';
  static bool get isStaging => environment == 'staging';
}
Then build with specific environment variables: 
# Development
flutter run --dart-define=ENV=development --dart-define=USE_MOCK_DATA=true

# Staging
flutter build apk --dart-define=ENV=staging

# Production
flutter build apk --dart-define=ENV=production

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Configuration Best Practices

Version Control

Never commit sensitive configuration values to version control. Use environment variables or secure vaults.

Environment Separation

Maintain separate configurations for development, staging, and production environments.

Mock Data

Use mock data during development to avoid unnecessary API calls and speed up testing.

Build Variants

Consider using Flutter flavors for managing multiple app variants with different configurations.

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Flutter Flavors (Advanced)

For complex apps requiring multiple variants, implement Flutter flavors:

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Android Configuration

Add to android/app/build.gradle: 
android {
    flavorDimensions "environment"
    
    productFlavors {
        dev {
            dimension "environment"
            applicationIdSuffix ".dev"
            versionNameSuffix "-dev"
        }
        
        prod {
            dimension "environment"
        }
    }
}

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iOS Configuration

Create schemes in Xcode for each flavor (dev, prod).

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Building with Flavors

# Development flavor
flutter run --flavor dev

# Production flavor
flutter build apk --flavor prod

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Next Steps

API Setup

Configure backend API connection and authentication

Permissions

Set up required Android and iOS permissions

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