dir_picker

A Flutter plugin for picking a directory across all platforms using native system dialogs. Returns a PickedLocation? — null if the user cancelled, and can list entries from a previously picked directory with DirPicker.listEntries().

Features

• 📁 All Platforms – Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux, and Web
• ⚡ Native Performance – Powered by FFI (iOS/macOS/Windows) and JNI (Android) for near-zero overhead
• 🎨 Customizable Dialogs – Platform-specific options for title, button labels, and more
• 🔗 Persistent Permissions – Android SAF persistent URI access across reboots
• 🐧 Linux Portals – XDG Desktop Portal with zenity/kdialog fallback

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Installation

First, follow the package installation instructions and add dir_picker to your app.

Quick Start

Platform Setup

Android Configuration

Supported: API 21+ (Android 5.0+)

No configuration needed. The plugin uses the Storage Access Framework (Intent.ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT_TREE), which grants URI access through the system picker UI — no manifest permissions required.

iOS Configuration

Supported: iOS 13.0+

No configuration needed. The plugin uses UIDocumentPickerViewController, which is available without extra entitlements.

macOS Configuration

Supported: macOS 10.15+

Add the following entitlement to macos/Runner/Release.entitlements and macos/Runner/DebugProfile.entitlements:

<key>com.apple.security.files.user-selected.read-write</key>
<true/>

Windows Configuration

Supported: Windows 10+

No configuration needed. The plugin uses the native IFileOpenDialog COM API.

Linux Configuration

The plugin tries the following dialog backends in order:

1. XDG Desktop Portal – Works on all modern desktop environments via D-Bus (org.freedesktop.portal.FileChooser)
2. zenity – GNOME fallback
3. kdialog – KDE fallback

If none are available, the pick call throws. To install a fallback manually:

# GNOME
sudo apt install zenity

# KDE
sudo apt install kdialog

Web Configuration

No configuration needed. The plugin uses the File System Access API.

Browser support: Chrome 86+ and Edge 86+. Not supported in Firefox or Safari.

Note: On web, pick() returns a WebPickedLocation wrapping a FileSystemDirectoryHandle. Use .handle to access directory contents via the File System Access API. PickedLocation.uri is always null on web — browsers do not expose full filesystem paths. Requires package:web in your app's dependencies to work with the handle directly.

Basic Usage

import 'package:dir_picker/dir_picker.dart';

final PickedLocation? location = await DirPicker.pick();

if (location == null) {
  print('Cancelled');
} else if (location is WebPickedLocation) {
  // Web: use handle to access directory contents via File System Access API
  // Requires package:web in your app's dependencies
  final handle = location.handle; // FileSystemDirectoryHandle
  print('Selected directory: ${location.name}');
} else {
  // Native (Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux)
  print('Selected: ${location.uri}');
}

List directory entries

final location = await DirPicker.pick();
if (location == null) return;

final entries = await DirPicker.listEntries(location, recursive: true);
for (final entry in entries) {
  print('${entry.relativePath} (dir: ${entry.isDirectory})');
}

Platform Options

Pass a PickOptions to DirPicker.pick() to customize the dialog for the current platform:

final location = await DirPicker.pick(
  options: PickOptions.android(shouldPersist: true),
);

final location = await DirPicker.pick(
  options: PickOptions.macos(acceptLabel: 'Choose', message: 'Select a project folder'),
);

final location = await DirPicker.pick(
  options: PickOptions.linux(title: 'Select Folder', acceptLabel: 'Choose'),
);

final location = await DirPicker.pick(
  options: PickOptions.windows(title: 'Select Folder', acceptLabel: 'Choose'),
);

Options for other platforms are silently ignored — only the one matching the current platform is applied.

AndroidOptions

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
shouldPersist	bool	true	Take persistable URI permission so the app retains access across reboots (SAF takePersistableUriPermission).

MacosOptions

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
acceptLabel	String	'Select'	Label for the confirmation button (NSOpenPanel.prompt).
message	String	'Choose a directory'	Descriptive text shown inside the panel (NSOpenPanel.message).

LinuxOptions

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
title	String	'Select Directory'	Window title of the dialog.
acceptLabel	String	'Select'	Label for the confirmation button (XDG Portal and zenity only).

WindowsOptions

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
title	String	'Select Directory'	Window title of the dialog (IFileDialog::SetTitle).
acceptLabel	String	'Select'	Label for the confirmation button (IFileDialog::SetOkButtonLabel).

Core Concepts

Return value

Result	Meaning
IOPickedLocation	Native platforms — use .uri to get the selected directory URI.
WebPickedLocation	Web — use .handle (FileSystemDirectoryHandle) to access directory contents. .uri is null.
null	The user cancelled.

Native Mechanisms

Platform	Mechanism
Android	SAF (Intent.ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT_TREE) via JNI
iOS	UIDocumentPickerViewController via FFI
macOS	NSOpenPanel via FFI
Windows	IFileOpenDialog (COM) via pure Dart FFI
Linux	XDG Desktop Portal → zenity → kdialog
Web	window.showDirectoryPicker() (JS interop)

Common Use Cases

Simple directory pick (native)

final location = await DirPicker.pick();
if (location != null) {
  print('Selected: ${location.uri}');
}

Simple directory pick (web)

import 'package:dir_picker/dir_picker.dart';
import 'package:web/web.dart' as web; // required to use FileSystemDirectoryHandle

final location = await DirPicker.pick();
if (location is WebPickedLocation) {
  final web.FileSystemDirectoryHandle handle = location.handle;
  // list files, read contents, etc.
}

Custom dialog labels

final location = await DirPicker.pick(
  options: PickOptions.macos(
    acceptLabel: 'Use This Folder',
    message: 'Select the folder to import from',
  ),
);

// or on Linux/Windows:
final location = await DirPicker.pick(
  options: PickOptions.linux(
    title: 'Import Folder',
    acceptLabel: 'Use This Folder',
  ),
);

Android — enable persistent permission

final location = await DirPicker.pick(
  options: PickOptions.android(shouldPersist: true),
);

API Reference

DirPicker.pick

static Future<PickedLocation?> pick({PickOptions? options})

Returns a PickedLocation (either IOPickedLocation or WebPickedLocation), or null if the user cancelled.

options is a PickOptions sealed class — pass the platform-specific subclass using its factory constructor (e.g. PickOptions.android(...), PickOptions.macos(...)). Options for other platforms are ignored.

DirPicker.listEntries

static Future<List<FileSystemEntry>> listEntries(
  PickedLocation location, {
  bool recursive = false,
})

Lists files and directories inside a previously picked location.

Behavior:

• Returns a flat list of descendants under the picked root.
• Excludes the picked root itself.
• Lists only immediate children when recursive is false.
• Lists all nested descendants when recursive is true.
• Does not guarantee output ordering.

PickedLocation

Base type returned by DirPicker.pick().

Type	Platform	Notes
IOPickedLocation	Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux	Provides a non-null uri.
WebPickedLocation	Web	Provides a FileSystemDirectoryHandle; uri is always null.

FileSystemEntry

Model returned by DirPicker.listEntries().

Field	Type	Description
name	String	Basename of the entry.
relativePath	String	Path relative to the picked root, always using / separators.
isDirectory	bool	Whether the entry is a directory.
uri	Uri?	Native URI when available; always null on web.
size	int?	File size in bytes; null for directories or when unavailable.
lastModified	DateTime?	Last modified timestamp when available.

PickOptions

Platform-specific options passed to DirPicker.pick().

Factory	Platform	Purpose
PickOptions.android()	Android	Controls whether SAF URI permission should be persisted.
PickOptions.macos()	macOS	Customizes the open panel accept label and message.
PickOptions.linux()	Linux	Customizes dialog title and accept label.
PickOptions.windows()	Windows	Customizes dialog title and accept label.

Platform Support

Android	iOS	macOS	Windows	Linux	Web
✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅

Minimum versions:

• Flutter ≥ 3.3.0
• Dart SDK ≥ 3.6.0
• Kotlin 2.1.0
• Swift 5.9
• Android API 21+
• iOS 13.0+
• macOS 10.15+
• Windows 10+
• Web: Chrome/Edge 86+

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT License — see LICENSE file for details.