Flutter Local Build for VS Code

Flutter Local Build for VS Code adds editor support for .local-build.yaml and runs the installed local_build CLI without duplicating its build logic.

Features

Inline YAML diagnostics for unknown fields, missing required fields, invalid types, invalid enum values, empty applications, and incomplete publishers.
Context-aware completion for every Flutter Local Build field and accepted enum value.
Hover documentation with defaults and field behavior.
Validation for .local-build.yaml, .local-build.yml, and the workspace path configured through localBuild.config.
Commands to run or preview Flutter Local Build in a VS Code terminal.
A Flutter Local Build icon in the Activity Bar with profile, action, platform, publication, Run, Preview, and Open Config controls.
Profile and multi-app choices loaded directly from the configured Flutter Local Build YAML file.

Linting, completion, and hover support are powered by the bundled Flutter Local Build JSON Schema and YAML by Red Hat, which is installed as an extension dependency.

Requirements

Install the CLI and confirm it is available:

dart pub global activate local_build
local_build --help

The extension does not install Flutter, Shorebird, provider credentials, or the CLI itself.

Commands

Flutter Local Build: Run prompts for a profile, Flutter build/Shorebird release/ Shorebird patch action, platform, and Android artifact format, then starts the CLI in a terminal.
Flutter Local Build: Preview runs the same flow with --dry-run.
Flutter Local Build: Open Config opens the configured YAML file.

Activity Bar

Select the Flutter Local Build icon in VS Code's Activity Bar to open the Build Runner sidebar. Choose a profile, one or more applications, an action, a platform, and an Android AAB/APK artifact format before running or previewing the CLI. All configured applications are selected by default; clear the applications you do not want to build.

Flutter builds and Shorebird releases automatically add --publish, so every enabled publisher that supports the generated artifact runs. The Android artifact selector adds --android-artifact aab or --android-artifact apk. Google Drive accepts AAB, APK, and IPA; Firebase App Distribution accepts Android AAB/APK and iOS IPA when the matching Firebase App ID is configured; Play Console accepts Android AAB/APK; and TestFlight accepts iOS IPA. Shorebird patches do not add --publish because Shorebird delivers them directly. Shorebird Android release and patch workflows require AAB, so the artifact selector is fixed to AAB for those actions.

The action mapping is:

Sidebar action	CLI command
Flutter build	`local_build build`
Shorebird release	`local_build build --enable-shorebird`
Shorebird patch	`local_build patch`

The sidebar is a UI for the same terminal command; it does not contain separate build logic.

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`localBuild.executable`	`local_build`	Executable or command used to launch the CLI.
`localBuild.config`	`.local-build.yaml`	Workspace-relative configuration path. The YAML schema also follows this filename.
`localBuild.yamlValidation`	`true`	Enables schema validation, completion, and hover support.

YAML support

The bundled schema mirrors configuration version 1 of the Dart package. It covers apps, profiles, Dart defines, versioning, Google Drive, Play Console, TestFlight, Firebase App Distribution (including group aliases and automated testing), arbitrary shared/Android/iOS build arguments, and the separate root-level notifiers section for Slack and SMTP.

The Dart CLI remains authoritative at runtime. Update the extension alongside the CLI when a future configuration version adds or changes fields.

Development and extension coverage

npm install
npm test
npm run test:coverage
npm run package

Extension coverage is independent of the Dart package coverage. The coverage command tests the command wrapper, YAML registration, filename matching, and the actual schema against valid and invalid YAML fixtures, with 100% line, function, and branch thresholds for src/**/*.js.

Flutter Local Build is an open-source project by Pycify. See pycify/local_build for releases, contribution guidelines, security reporting, and the MIT license.