Flutter Advanced Chapter 15 of 20

App Architecture and Patterns

Organise a growing Flutter app: folder structure, MVC, MVVM, MVI, Clean Architecture, repositories, dependency injection and environment configuration.

A small app can live in a few files. As it grows, structure decides whether adding a feature takes an hour or a week. This chapter describes an architecture that is widely used and matches the Flutter team’s own recommendations.

MVC, MVVM, MVI and Clean Architecture are architectural patterns, not state management packages. You combine one of them with a state management tool, for example MVVM with Riverpod or Clean Architecture with Bloc.

Lessons in this chapter

1. Flutter App Architecture: Layers and Folder StructureStructure a Flutter app with clear layers and a feature-first folder layout: UI, logic and data, and the rules for what depends on what.
2. MVC in Flutter: Model–View–Controller Explained with an ExampleLearn the MVC (Model–View–Controller) pattern in Flutter with a runnable to-do example, what goes in each part, and how MVC compares to MVVM.
3. MVVM and the Repository Pattern in FlutterBuild a Flutter feature with MVVM: a model, a service, a repository with caching, a ChangeNotifier view model and a view, with tests.
4. MVI in Flutter: Model–View–Intent with One State and IntentsLearn MVI (Model–View–Intent) in Flutter: one immutable state, user intents and one-way data flow, with an easy runnable example and how Bloc relates.
5. Clean Architecture in Flutter: Layers, Use Cases and Folder StructureClean Architecture in Flutter made simple: presentation, domain and data layers, use cases and repositories, with a folder structure and Bloc example.
6. Dependency Injection and Environment Configuration in FlutterWire up a Flutter app with dependency injection using constructors, provider or get_it, and manage dev and production settings safely.