The `flutter` tool will no longer output the `.flutter-plugins` metadata file, and only output `.flutter-plugins-dependencies`.
- Who is affected
- Applications and packages relying on the previous behaviour or signature.
- Practical impact
- Behaviour or API differences that can break builds or change runtime behaviour.
- What action should I take?
- Follow the official migration guide below, update affected call sites, run `dart fix --apply` where a fix is available, then run your tests.
Official migration guide (excerpt, © The Flutter Authors, CC BY 3.0)
Most Flutter developers don't parse or use this file, but
build configurations might, including the settings.gradle file as
generated by older invocations of flutter create --platforms android.
These legacy files might still reference .flutter-plugins and
must be updated to a newer build script.
For example:
include ':app'
def flutterProjectRoot = rootProject.projectDir.parentFile.toPath()
def plugins = new Properties()
// Note explicitly reading the legacy '.flutter-plugins' file.
def pluginsFile = new File(flutterProjectRoot.toFile(), '.flutter-plugins')
if (pluginsFile.exists()) {
pluginsFile.withReader('UTF-8') { reader -> plugins.load(reader) }
}
plugins.each { name, path ->
def pluginDirectory = flutterProjectRoot.resolve(path).resolve('android').toFile()
include ":$name"
project(":$name").projectDir = pluginDirectory
}Might be upgraded to its settings.gradle.kts equivalent:
pluginManagement {
val flutterSdkPath = run {
val properties = java.util.Properties()
file("local.properties").inputStream().use { properties.load(it) }
val flutterSdkPath = properties.getProperty("flutter.sdk")
require(flutterSdkPath != null) { "flutter.sdk not set in local.properties" }
flutterSdkPath
}
includeBuild("$flutterSdkPath/packages/flutter_tools/gradle")
repositories {
google()
mavenCentral()
gradlePluginPortal()
}
}
plugins {
// Note the use of the flutter-plugin-loader versus reading '.flutter-plugins'
id("dev.flutter.flutter-plugin-loader") version "1.0.0"
id("com.android.application") version "8.1.0" apply false
id("org.jetbrains.kotlin.android") version "1.8.22" apply false
}
include(":app")For help switching to the newer plugin DSL, check out [Deprecated imperative apply of Flutter's Gradle plugins][imperative-apply].
To smoke test whether your build relies on a .flutter-plugins file,
you can use the feature flag explicit-package-dependencies:
$ flutter config --explicit-package-dependenciesAny build tools or scripts that might rely on the .flutter-plugins file
being output will now fail.
AI_PROVIDER (for example to openai-compatible with a local Ollama or LM Studio endpoint) to enable grounded explanations. Everything else on this page works without an AI provider.Listed in the official breaking-changes index (docs.flutter.dev/release/breaking-changes).
An official announcement or migration guide documents an intended behaviour or API change. A verified source change (git diff) shows code changed but does not by itself prove a public API is breaking. AI interpretations are labelled and never used to classify a change.
- Source commit
- b3045439b7c0
- Source last updated
- Oct 21, 2026
- Last synchronized
- Oct 21, 2026
- Publication status
- published
Publication history
- Oct 21, 2026, 8:31 PM: new → published (ingestion) — Backed by an official breaking-change/migration guide.
AI_PROVIDER (for example to openai-compatible with a local Ollama or LM Studio endpoint) to enable grounded explanations. Everything else on this page works without an AI provider.