Binding to native iOS code using dart:ffi

Flutter mobile and desktop apps can use the dart:ffi library to call native C APIs. FFI stands for foreign function interface. Other terms for similar functionality include native interface and language bindings.

Before your library or program can use the FFI library to bind to native code, you must ensure that the native code is loaded and its symbols are visible to Dart. This page focuses on compiling, packaging, and loading iOS native code within a Flutter plugin or app.

This tutorial demonstrates how to bundle C/C++ sources in a Flutter plugin and bind to them using the Dart FFI library on iOS. In this walkthrough, you'll create a C function that implements 32-bit addition and then exposes it through a Dart plugin named "native_add".

A native library can be linked into an app either dynamically or statically. A statically linked library is embedded into the app's executable image, and is loaded when the app starts.

Symbols from a statically linked library can be loaded using DynamicLibrary.executable or DynamicLibrary.process.

A dynamically linked library, by contrast, is distributed in a separate file or folder within the app, and loaded on-demand. On iOS, the dynamically linked library is distributed as a .framework folder.

A dynamically linked library can be loaded into Dart using DynamicLibrary.open.

API documentation is available from the Dart dev channel: Dart API reference documentation.

To create an FFI plugin called "native_add", do the following:

$ flutter create --platforms=android,ios,macos,windows,linux --template=plugin_ffi native_add
$ cd native_add

This will create a plugin with C/C++ sources in native_add/src. These sources are built by the native build files in the various os build folders.

The FFI library can only bind against C symbols, so in C++ these symbols are marked extern "C".

You should also add attributes to indicate that the symbols are referenced from Dart, to prevent the linker from discarding the symbols during link-time optimization. __attribute__((visibility("default"))) __attribute__((used)).

On iOS, the native_add/ios/native_add.podspec links the code.

The native code is invoked from dart in lib/native_add_bindings_generated.dart.

The bindings are generated with package:ffigen.

Dynamically linked libraries are automatically loaded by the dynamic linker when the app starts. Their constituent symbols can be resolved using DynamicLibrary.process. You can also get a handle to the library with DynamicLibrary.open to restrict the scope of symbol resolution, but it's unclear how Apple's review process handles this.

Symbols statically linked into the application binary can be resolved using DynamicLibrary.executable or DynamicLibrary.process.

To link against a platform library, use the following instructions:

1. In Xcode, open Runner.xcworkspace.
2. Select the target platform.
3. Click + in the Linked Frameworks and Libraries section.
4. Select the system library to link against.

A first-party native library can be included either as source or as a (signed) .framework file. It's probably possible to include statically linked archives as well, but it requires testing.

To link directly to source code, use the following instructions:

1. In Xcode, open Runner.xcworkspace.

2. Add the C/C++/Objective-C/Swift source files to the Xcode project.

3. Add the following prefix to the exported symbol declarations to ensure they are visible to Dart:

   C/C++/Objective-C

   objc

   extern "C" /* <= C++ only */ __attribute__((visibility("default"))) __attribute__((used))

   Swift

   swift

   @_cdecl("myFunctionName")

To link to a compiled dynamic library, use the following instructions:

1. If a properly signed Framework file is present, open Runner.xcworkspace.
2. Add the framework file to the Embedded Binaries section.
3. Also add it to the Linked Frameworks & Libraries section of the target in Xcode.

To create a Flutter plugin that includes both C/C++/Objective-C and Dart code, use the following instructions:

1. In your plugin project, open ios/<myproject>.podspec.
2. Add the native code to the source_files field.

The native code is then statically linked into the application binary of any app that uses this plugin.

To create a Flutter plugin that includes Dart source code, but distribute the C/C++ library in binary form, use the following instructions:

1. In your plugin project, open ios/<myproject>.podspec.
2. Add a vendored_frameworks field. See the CocoaPods example.

When creating a release archive (IPA), the symbols are stripped by Xcode.

1. In Xcode, go to Target Runner > Build Settings > Strip Style.
2. Change from All Symbols to Non-Global Symbols.

To learn more about C interoperability, check out these videos:

• C interoperability with Dart FFI
• How to Use Dart FFI to Build a Retro Audio Player