LibraryHub App — Flutter Library Companion App

Step 2. Verify Flutter installation

flutter --version
flutter doctor

Resolve any issues reported by flutter doctor before continuing.

Step 3. Configure the backend URL

Open lib/utils/constants.dart and update ApiEndpoints.baseUrl to point to your LibraryHub backend:

class ApiEndpoints {
  static const String baseUrl = 'https://your-domain.com/api';
  // ... rest of endpoints remain unchanged
}

The URL must end with /api and use HTTPS in production. See Section 4 for full configuration details.

Step 4. Install dependencies

flutter pub get

Step 5. Run on a device or emulator

# List available devices
flutter devices

# Run on a specific device
flutter run -d <device-id>

# Run in debug mode (default)
flutter run

For iOS, you may need to run pod install inside the ios/ folder first if using a physical device or the iOS Simulator.

App Name

The display app name lives in lib/utils/constants.dart:

class AppStrings {
  static const String appName = 'LibraryHub';  // ✏️ Change this
  ...
}

Also update the native app name for each platform:

# Android — android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
android:label="LibraryHub"  # ✏️ Change this

# iOS — ios/Runner/Info.plist
<key>CFBundleDisplayName</key>
<string>LibraryHub</string>  # ✏️ Change this

App Colors

All UI colors are defined in lib/utils/constants.dart under AppColors:

class AppColors {
  static const Color primary     = Color(0xFFE91E63);  // ✏️ Main brand color
  static const Color primaryDark = Color(0xFFC2185B);  // ✏️ Darker shade (app bar gradient)
  static const Color primaryLight = Color(0xFFF8BBD9); // ✏️ Light tint (badges)
  static const Color secondary   = Color(0xFF673AB7);  // ✏️ Accent (e-books, secondary actions)
  static const Color accent      = Color(0xFFFF9800);  // ✏️ Warning / overdue color
}

All screens and widgets reference AppColors directly, so changing these values updates the entire app theme.

App Icon

The app icon source is at assets/icons/library-hub.png. Replace it with your own icon (1024×1024 PNG, no alpha for iOS) and regenerate:

flutter pub run flutter_launcher_icons

The launcher icon config in pubspec.yaml targets both Android and iOS automatically. Minimum Android icon size is API 21-compatible.

Package Name / Bundle ID

Change the Android package name in android/app/build.gradle.kts:

applicationId = "com.yourcompany.libraryapp"  // ✏️ Change this

Change the iOS bundle identifier in Xcode or in ios/Runner/Info.plist:

<key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>
<string>com.yourcompany.libraryapp</string>  # ✏️ Change this

Pre-Build Checklist

• ✓ ApiEndpoints.baseUrl updated to production HTTPS URL
• ✓ App name updated in constants.dart, AndroidManifest.xml, and Info.plist
• ✓ Package name / bundle ID changed from default
• ✓ App icon replaced and regenerated with flutter_launcher_icons
• ✓ Tested on a real device against the production backend

Android — APK (direct install)

flutter build apk --release

Output: build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/app-release.apk

Android — App Bundle (Play Store)

flutter build appbundle --release

Output: build/app/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab — upload this to Google Play Console.

Android — Signing with a Keystore

For Play Store submission, sign the app with your keystore:

# Generate a keystore (one-time)
keytool -genkey -v -keystore ~/my-release-key.jks \
  -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000 \
  -alias my-key-alias

Create android/key.properties (do not commit this file):

storePassword=your_store_password
keyPassword=your_key_password
keyAlias=my-key-alias
storeFile=/Users/you/my-release-key.jks

Reference it in android/app/build.gradle.kts:

val keyPropertiesFile = rootProject.file("key.properties")
val keyProperties = Properties()
keyProperties.load(FileInputStream(keyPropertiesFile))

android {
    signingConfigs {
        create("release") {
            keyAlias = keyProperties["keyAlias"] as String
            keyPassword = keyProperties["keyPassword"] as String
            storeFile = file(keyProperties["storeFile"] as String)
            storePassword = keyProperties["storePassword"] as String
        }
    }
    buildTypes {
        release {
            signingConfig = signingConfigs.getByName("release")
        }
    }
}

iOS — Build for App Store

flutter build ios --release

Then open Xcode, select Product → Archive, and submit via the Organizer. Ensure you have:

• ✓ An Apple Developer account with an active distribution certificate
• ✓ A provisioning profile for the bundle ID set in Info.plist
• ✓ CocoaPods dependencies installed (pod install in the ios/ folder)