State management in Flutter refers to how you manage and share the state (data) of your application across widgets. There are several approaches, categorized broadly into two main types:
🔹 1. Ephemeral (Local) State Management
State that is managed within a single widget.
Best for simple, short-lived state like toggling a switch, showing a snackbar, etc.
Common Techniques:
setState() (built-in)
InheritedWidget / InheritedModel
Example:
setState(() {
counter++;
});
🔹 2. App-wide (Global) State Management
For sharing state across multiple widgets or screens.
Suitable for complex apps needing reactive updates, like user auth, themes, etc.
Popular Techniques:
Approach
Description
When to Use
Provider
Lightweight and recommended by the Flutter team.
Medium to large apps; scalable and easy to understand.
Riverpod
A complete rewrite of Provider with improvements (null safety, testability).
When you want better structure, performance, and testability.
Bloc / Cubit
Uses streams and events; based on the BLoC pattern.
Complex apps with business logic separation.
GetX
Simple, powerful, minimal boilerplate.
When you want quick setup and minimal code.
MobX
Uses observables and reactions (reactive programming).
If you like reactive coding patterns and less manual state tracking.
Redux
Port of the JS Redux pattern.
When working with large teams or need predictable state management.
