Migration Guide

Learn how to migrate your Flutter app when upgrading between major versions of the Rive Flutter runtime, including breaking changes and new features.

Version 0.14.0

This is a significant update for Rive Flutter. We’ve completely removed all of the Dart code that was used for the Rive runtime and replaced it with our underlying C++ Runtime. See the Rive Native for Flutter page for more details.

This has resulted in a number of changes to the underlying API, and a large portion of the code base that was previously accessible through Dart is now implemented in C++ through FFI.

What’s New in 0.14.0

This release of Rive Flutter adds support for:

• Rive Renderer
• Data Binding
• Layouts
• Scrolling
• N-Slicing
• Vector Feathering
• All other features added to Rive that did not make it to the previous versions of Rive Flutter
• Includes the latest fixes and improvements for the Rive C++ runtime
• Adds prebuilt libraries, with the ability to build manually. See the rive_native package for more information
• Removes the rive_common package and replaces it with rive_native

Now that Rive Flutter makes use of the core Rive C++ runtime, you can expect new Rive features to be supported sooner for Rive Flutter.

All your Rive graphics will still look and function the same as they did before.

Requirements

Dart and Flutter Versions

This release bumps to these versions:

sdk: ">=3.5.0 <4.0.0"
flutter: ">=3.3.0"

Required Setup

Important: You must call RiveNative.init at the start of your app, or before you use Rive. For example, in main.dart:

import 'package:rive/rive.dart';

Future<void> main() async {
  WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized();
  await RiveNative.init(); // Call init before using Rive
  runApp(const MyApp());
}

Migration Guide

Quick Migration Checklist

1. ✅ Update your pubspec.yaml dependencies to use version 0.14.0 or later
   dependencies:
     rive: ^0.14.0-dev.8 # or latest version
   
2. ✅ Add RiveNative.init() to your main() function, or call before using Rive.
3. ✅ Replace Rive and RiveAnimation widgets with RiveWidget or RiveWidgetBuilder
4. ✅ Update your controllers to use the new API, see RiveWidgetController
5. ✅ Review and update any custom asset loading code
6. ✅ Test your graphics and interactions

Removed Classes

The following classes have been completely removed:

• Rive and RiveAnimation widgets → Use RiveWidget and RiveWidgetBuilder
• RiveAnimationController and its subclasses → Use RiveWidgetController, SingleAnimationPainter, and StateMachinePainter
• OneShotAnimation and SimpleAnimation → Use SingleAnimationPainter to play individual animations
• StateMachineController → Use StateMachine instead (can be accessed via RiveWidgetController.stateMachine)
• RiveEvent → Replaced with Event
• SMITrigger → Replaced with TriggerInput
• SMIBool → Replaced with BooleanInput
• SMINumber → Replaced with NumberInput
• FileAssetLoader → Replaced with optional callback when creating a File

Loading Rive Files

RiveFile has been removed and replaced with File. Important changes:

New API

final file = await File.decode(bytes, factory: Factory.rive);
final artboard = file.defaultArtboard();
final artboard = file.artboard('MyArtboard');

Old API

Old API

final file = await RiveFile.import(bytes);
final artboard = file.mainArtboard;
final artboard = file.artboardByName('MyArtboard');

The provided Factory determines the renderer that will be used. Use Factory.rive for the Rive renderer or Factory.flutter for the shipped Flutter renderer (Skia or Impeller).

Vector Feathering only works with the Rive Renderer.

Key Changes:

• Creating a Rive File now requires a factory (Factory.rive or Factory.flutter)
• Replace RiveFile.import with File.decode() which returns a Future<File>
• Replace mainArtboard with defaultArtboard()
• Replace artboardByName(name) with artboard(name)
• Replace RiveFile.network with File.url
• Replace RiveFile.file with File.path

Widget Migration

See the updated example app for a complete migration guide, including how to use the new RiveWidget and RiveWidgetBuilder APIs.

Old Widget	New Widget	Notes
Rive/RiveAnimation	RiveWidget/RiveWidgetBuilder	Direct replacement

New API - Option 1

Using RiveWidgetBuilder

class SimpleAssetAnimation extends StatefulWidget {
    const SimpleAssetAnimation({Key? key}) : super(key: key);

    @override
    State<SimpleAssetAnimation> createState() => _SimpleAssetAnimationState();
}

class _SimpleAssetAnimationState extends State<SimpleAssetAnimation> {
    late final fileLoader = FileLoader.fromAsset(
        'assets/off_road_car.riv',
        riveFactory: Factory.rive,
    );

    @override
    void dispose() {
        fileLoader.dispose();
        super.dispose();
    }

    @override
    Widget build(BuildContext context) {
        return Scaffold(
            appBar: AppBar(
                title: const Text('Simple Animation'),
            ),
            body: Center(
                child: RiveWidgetBuilder(
                    fileLoader: fileLoader,
                    builder: (context, state) => switch (state) {
                        RiveLoading() => const CircularProgressIndicator(),
                        RiveFailed() => Text('Failed to load: ${state.error}'),
                        RiveLoaded() => RiveWidget(
                            controller: state.controller,
                            fit: Fit.cover,
                        ),
                    },
                ),
            ),
        );
    }
}

New API - Option 2

Using RiveWidget directly

class SimpleAssetAnimation extends StatefulWidget {
    const SimpleAssetAnimation({Key? key}) : super(key: key);

    @override
    State<SimpleAssetAnimation> createState() => _SimpleAssetAnimationState();
}

class _SimpleAssetAnimationState extends State<SimpleAssetAnimation> {
    File? file;
    RiveWidgetController? controller;
    bool isInitialized = false;

    @override
    void initState() {
        super.initState();
        initRive();
    }

    void initRive() async {
        file = (await File.asset('assets/off_road_car.riv', riveFactory: Factory.rive))!;
        controller = RiveWidgetController(file!);
        setState(() => isInitialized = true);
    }

    @override
    void dispose() {
        controller?.dispose();
        file?.dispose();
        super.dispose();
    }

    @override
    Widget build(BuildContext context) {
        return Scaffold(
            appBar: AppBar(
                title: const Text('Simple Animation'),
            ),
            body: Center(
                child: isInitialized && controller != null
                    ? RiveWidget(
                        controller: controller!,
                        fit: Fit.cover,
                    )
                    : const CircularProgressIndicator(),
            ),
        );
    }
}

Old API

Old API

class SimpleAssetAnimation extends StatelessWidget {
    const SimpleAssetAnimation({Key? key}) : super(key: key);

    @override
    Widget build(BuildContext context) {
        return Scaffold(
            appBar: AppBar(
                title: const Text('Simple Animation'),
            ),
            body: const Center(
                child: RiveAnimation.asset(
                    'assets/off_road_car.riv',
                    fit: BoxFit.cover,
                ),
            ),
        );
    }
}

Controller Migration

Old Controller	New Controller	Notes
RiveAnimationController	RiveWidgetController	Main controller for widgets
StateMachineController	StateMachine	Direct state machine access
OneShotAnimation and SimpleAnimation	SingleAnimationPainter	For individual animations

Example using the new RiveWidgetController:

Using RiveWidgetController

final file = await File.asset('assets/off_road_car.riv', riveFactory: Factory.rive);
final controller = RiveWidgetController(file!);
final artboard = controller.artboard; // access the loaded artboard
final viewModelInstance = controller.dataBind(DataBind.auto()); // auto data binding

Optionally specify which Artboard and State Machine to use:

Specifying Artboard and State Machine

final file = await File.asset('assets/off_road_car.riv', riveFactory: Factory.rive);
final controller = RiveWidgetController(
  file,
  artboardSelector: ArtboardSelector.byName('Main'),
  stateMachineSelector: StateMachineSelector.byName('State Machine 1'),
);

Playing Animations

This functionality is deprecated. We strongly encourage playing and blending animations through a state machine.

In the previous version you were able to play an animation directly by passing animations: ['myAnimation'] to RiveAnimation.

To achieve the same in the new version, use a SingleAnimationPainter and RiveArtboardWidget instead of RiveWidgetController and RiveWidget.

Single animation example

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:rive/rive.dart';
import 'package:rive_example/main.dart' show RiveExampleApp;

/// This is an alternative controller (painter) to use instead of the
/// [RiveWidgetController].
///
/// This painter is used to paint/advance a state machine. Functionally it's
/// very similar to the [RiveWidgetController], which we recommend using for
/// most use cases.
class ExampleSingleAnimationPainter extends StatefulWidget {
  const ExampleSingleAnimationPainter({super.key});

  @override
  State<ExampleSingleAnimationPainter> createState() =>
      _ExampleSingleAnimationPainterState();
}

class _ExampleSingleAnimationPainterState
    extends State<ExampleSingleAnimationPainter> {
  late File file;
  Artboard? artboard;
  late SingleAnimationPainter painter;

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    init();
  }

  void init() async {
    file = (await File.asset(
      'assets/off_road_car.riv',
      riveFactory: RiveExampleApp.getCurrentFactory,
    ))!;
    painter = SingleAnimationPainter('idle');
    artboard = file.defaultArtboard();
    setState(() {});
  }

  @override
  void dispose() {
    painter.dispose();
    artboard?.dispose();
    file.dispose();
    super.dispose();
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    if (artboard == null) {
      return const Center(child: CircularProgressIndicator());
    }
    return RiveArtboardWidget(
      artboard: artboard!,
      painter: painter,
    );
  }
}

To play and mix multiple animations, you need to create your own painter. See the implementation of SingleAnimationPainter and extend it to create and advance multiple animations.

Handling State Machine Inputs

Consider using Data Binding for more advanced use cases

StateMachineController has been removed and replaced with StateMachine. Important changes:

New API

State Machine Inputs: New API

stateMachine.trigger('myTrigger');
stateMachine.boolean('myBool');
stateMachine.number('myNumber');

Old API

State Machine Inputs: Old API

controller.getTriggerInput('myTrigger');
controller.getBooleanInput('myBool');
controller.getNumberInput('myNumber');

You can access the stateMachine from the RiveWidgetController:

final controller = RiveWidgetController(file);
final stateMachine = controller.stateMachine;

It is recommended to manually dispose inputs when no longer needed: input.dispose()

Nested Inputs

You can access nested inputs by providing an optional path parameter:

Nested Inputs

stateMachine.boolean('myBool', path: 'nested/path');
stateMachine.number('myNumber', path: 'nested/path');
stateMachine.trigger('myTrigger', path: 'nested/path');

Handling Rive Events

Consider using Data Binding instead of events for more advanced use cases.

RiveEvent has been removed and replaced with Event. Event is a sealed class with two options:

• OpenUrlEvent
• GeneralEvent

Registering an event listener:

New API

Rive Events: New API

// New API
final controller = RiveWidgetController(_riveFile!);
controller?.stateMachine.addEventListener(_onRiveEvent);

void _onRiveEvent(Event event) {
    // Do something with the event
}

Old API

Rive Events: Old API

// Old API
final controller =
    StateMachineController.fromArtboard(artboard, 'State Machine 1')!;
controller.addEventListener(_onRiveEvent);

void _onRiveEvent(RiveEvent event) {
    // Do something with the event
}

Accessing properties returns Map<String, CustomProperty>. CustomProperty is also a sealed class with options:

• CustomNumberProperty
• CustomBooleanProperty
• CustomStringProperty

All of these have a value field. On the Event class, there are convenient accessors:

// Convenient accessors
event.property(name);           // Returns a CustomProperty
event.numberProperty(name);     // Returns a CustomNumberProperty
event.booleanProperty(name);    // Returns a CustomBooleanProperty
event.stringProperty(name);     // Returns a CustomStringProperty

Layout Changes

BoxFit → Fit

Previously we used Flutter’s BoxFit class. Now we use our own Fit which includes an extra option:

// Old API
BoxFit.contain

// New API
Fit.contain
Fit.layout  // New option for layout-based fitting

Asset Loading Changes

The FileAssetLoader class and all its subclasses have been removed:

• CDNAssetLoader
• LocalAssetLoader
• CallbackAssetLoader
• FallbackAssetLoader

Out-of-band Asset Loading

New API

Asset types: FontAsset, ImageAsset, and AudioAsset.

See this example that demonstrates loading random fonts.

Out-of-band assets: New API

// New API
final fontFile = await File.asset(
  'assets/acqua_text_out_of_band.riv',
  riveFactory: Factory.rive,
  assetLoader: (asset, bytes) {
    // Replace font assets that are not embedded in the rive file
    if (asset is FontAsset && bytes == null) {
      final urls = [
        'https://cdn.rive.app/runtime/flutter/IndieFlower-Regular.ttf',
        'https://cdn.rive.app/runtime/flutter/comic-neue.ttf',
        'https://cdn.rive.app/runtime/flutter/inter.ttf',
        'https://cdn.rive.app/runtime/flutter/inter-tight.ttf',
        'https://cdn.rive.app/runtime/flutter/josefin-sans.ttf',
        'https://cdn.rive.app/runtime/flutter/send-flowers.ttf',
      ];

      // pick a random url from the list of fonts
      http.get(Uri.parse(urls[Random().nextInt(urls.length)])).then((res) {
        if (mounted) {
          asset.decode(
            Uint8List.view(res.bodyBytes.buffer),
          );
          setState(() {
            // force rebuild in case the Rive graphic is no longer advancing
          });
        }
      });
      return true; // Tell the runtime not to load the asset automatically
    } else {
      return false; // Tell the runtime to proceed with loading the asset if it exists
    }
  },
);

You can also create the asset resource types manually and set them. This is useful if you want to preload the resources:

Future<void?> updateImageAsset(ImageAsset asset, Uint8List bytes) async {
    final renderImage = await Factory.rive.decodeImage(bytes);
    if (renderImage != null) {
        asset.renderImage(renderImage);
    }
}

Future<void?> updateFontAsset(FontAsset asset, Uint8List bytes) async {
    final font = await Factory.rive.decodeFont(bytes);
    if (font != null) {
        asset.font(font);
    }
}

Future<void?> updateAudioAsset(AudioAsset asset, Uint8List bytes) async {
    final audioSource = await Factory.rive.decodeAudio(bytes);
    if (audioSource != null) {
        asset.audio(audioSource);
    }
}

Old API

Out-of-band Asset Loading: Old API

// Old API
assetLoader: (asset, bytes) async {
  /* async work */
  final someImage = await ImageAsset.parseBytes(bytes)
  asset.image = someImage;
}

Key Changes:

• assetLoader can no longer be an asynchronous lambda
• ImageAsset.parseBytes(bytes) → riveFactory.decodeImage(bytes) or asset.decode(bytes)
• FontAsset.parseBytes(bytes) → riveFactory.decodeFont(bytes) or asset.decode(bytes)
• AudioAsset.parseBytes(bytes) → riveFactory.decodeAudio(bytes) or asset.decode(bytes)
• ImageAsset.image = value → ImageAsset.renderImage(value) (returns boolean)
• FontAsset.font = value → FontAsset.font(value) (returns boolean)
• AudioAsset.audio = value → AudioAsset.audio(value) (returns boolean)

Text Run Updates

We recommend using Data Binding instead to update text at runtime.

It’s no longer possible to access a TextValueRun object directly. Use these methods instead to access the String value:

Get/Set Text Run Value

final controller = RiveWidgetController(riveFile);
final artboard = controller.artboard;

// Get a text run value
artboard.getText('textRunName')
artboard.getText('textRunName', path: 'nested/path')

// Set a text run value
artboard.setText('textRunName', 'new value')
artboard.setText('textRunName', 'new value', path: 'nested/path')

Known Missing Features

These features are not available in v0.14.0 but may be added in future releases:

• Automatic Rive CDN asset loading
• speedMultiplier
• useArtboardSize
• clipRect
• isTouchScrollEnabled
• dynamicLibraryHelper

Removed Code Paths

All of the “runtime” Dart code has been removed from these paths:

• src/controllers
• src/core
• src/generated
• rive_core
• utilities

Getting Help

If you encounter issues during migration:

1. Check the Rive Flutter documentation
2. Review the Data Binding guide
3. Visit the Rive community forums
4. Report issues on the GitHub repository