Meet the Flutter Extension for Gemini CLI
Article Summary
Google just dropped an experimental Flutter extension that turns Gemini CLI into an AI coding assistant that can build production-ready apps from scratch. This isn't just autocomplete: it's an agent that plans, implements, tests, and commits code.
The Flutter team released the first experimental version of their Flutter Extension for Gemini CLI, combining the Dart and Flutter MCP Server with AI-powered commands. It's designed to help developers build Flutter apps faster by providing context-aware assistance throughout the entire development lifecycle, from initial design to final commit.
Key Takeaways
- /create-app generates DESIGN.md and IMPLEMENTATION.md files before writing any code
- Extension automatically runs dart fix, analyzer, and tests before committing
- Built-in best practices ensure quality code with unit tests and documentation
- MCP server integration enables package search, dependency management, and live app introspection
- /modify command creates branching strategy and modification plans for existing codebases
Flutter developers can now use AI agents to handle everything from app scaffolding to code review, with built-in guardrails that enforce Dart and Flutter best practices at every step.
About This Article
Flutter developers had to manually run linting, formatting, and testing before each commit. This meant repeating the same steps over and over across different development phases, which made it hard to keep code quality consistent.
John Ryan built a Flutter Extension for Gemini CLI that handles this automatically. The /commit command runs dart fix, dart format, the analyzer, and tests without any manual work. It then creates a commit message for you to review and approve.
Developers can now break their work into 3-5 logical phases and let the tool clean up and test the code between each one. This cuts down on setup time and lets teams iterate faster while keeping their code production-ready.
