Automate Flutter's New Split Package Migration with AI Agent Skills

Randal Schwartz's open-source repository, dart-sdk-skills, provides AI coding assistants with the knowledge and runbooks to automate migration of Flutter apps to the newly decoupled material_ui and cupertino_ui packages. The repository addresses LLM training cutoffs by offering version-specific agent skills that guide tools like Claude Code and Cursor through the migration process.

The Flutter framework has undergone one of its most significant architectural evolutions: the complete unbundling of Material Design and Cupertino libraries into standalone pub packages material ui https://pub.dev/packages/material ui and cupertino ui While this decoupling brings independent release cycles, lighter core framework footprints, and true headless UI development, it also introduces a massive migration across existing Flutter apps. If you rely on AI coding assistants such as Claude Code, Google Antigravity, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, or Cline , you have likely hit a familiar wall: LLM training cutoffs . Most models still generate monolithic package:flutter/material.dart imports and do not know how to perform the new split package migration. In this article, we will explore how the open-source repository gives your AI agent the exact knowledge and execution runbooks to automate this migration in a single prompt. dart-sdk-skills Historically, Flutter bundled every Material Design and Cupertino widget directly into the core flutter SDK. While convenient initially, this approach had drawbacks: Under the modern decoupled architecture: ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Legacy Flutter Monolithic │ │ │ │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ package:flutter/material.dart & package:flutter/cupertino.dart │ │ │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ package:flutter/widgets.dart & package:flutter/rendering.dart │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ▼ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Modern Decoupled Architecture │ │ │ │ ┌───────────────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ package:material ui │ │ package:cupertino ui │ │ │ └───────────────┬───────────────┘ └──────────────┬───────────────┘ │ │ └───────────────┬──────────────────┘ │ │ ▼ │ │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Core Flutter SDK package:flutter/widgets.dart │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Both design systems are now maintained as independent packages by the official Flutter team on pub.dev: material ui ^1.1.0 : Canonical entrypoint package:material ui/material ui.dart cupertino ui ^1.0.1 : Canonical entrypoint package:cupertino ui/cupertino ui.dart When you tell an unassisted AI agent: "Migrate my app to the new split Flutter design packages." It often stumbles: GlobalMaterialLocalizations .This is where Agent Skills step in. dart-sdk-skills ? is an authoritative repository of version-by-version agent skills for the Dart and Flutter SDKs. Built using the open Agent Skill specification dart-sdk-skills SKILL.md , it progressively discloses precise rules, API matrices, and tactical upgrade runbooks to your AI pair programmer. dart-sdk-skills in Seconds You can add the skills globally or per-project using your preferred tool: npx skills : Install globally for all AI agents npx skills add RandalSchwartz/dart-sdk-skills -g skills add https://github.com/RandalSchwartz/dart-sdk-skills --global --all git clone https://github.com/RandalSchwartz/dart-sdk-skills.git ~/Projects/Dart/dart-sdk-skills ln -s ~/Projects/Dart/dart-sdk-skills/skills/flutter-sdk-changelog ~/.gemini/config/skills/flutter-sdk-changelog Once installed, your agent automatically recognizes split-package requests. Simply prompt: "Migrate this project to the new split Material and Cupertino packages." Here is the exact multi-phase pipeline the agent executes based on the skill runbook: The agent leverages the built-in Dart toolchain fix runner: dart fix --apply --code=migrate design widgets This updates references and applies data-driven transform rules published inside material ui/lib/fix data/ . pubspec.yaml The agent ensures your project bounds satisfy the minimum SDK constraints Flutter =3.44.0 , Dart ^3.12.0 : dependencies: flutter: sdk: flutter Standalone design systems material ui: ^1.1.0 cupertino ui: ^1.0.1 The agent replaces monolithic imports across all Dart files with the canonical entrypoints: // ❌ Legacy Monolithic Imports import 'package:flutter/material.dart'; import 'package:flutter/cupertino.dart'; // ✅ Modern Standalone Package Imports import 'package:material ui/material ui.dart'; import 'package:cupertino ui/cupertino ui.dart'; Both material ui.dart and cupertino ui.dart export their respective global localization delegates without requiring extra legacy glue: import 'package:flutter/widgets.dart'; import 'package:flutter localizations/flutter localizations.dart'; import 'package:material ui/material ui.dart'; import 'package:cupertino ui/cupertino ui.dart'; Widget buildApp { return MaterialApp localizationsDelegates: const GlobalMaterialLocalizations.delegate, GlobalCupertinoLocalizations.delegate, GlobalWidgetsLocalizations.delegate, , supportedLocales: const Locale 'en', 'US' , Locale 'es', 'ES' , , home: const HomeScreen , ; } The agent finishes by running static analysis and tests to ensure no ambiguous symbol collisions or unresolved imports remain: dart analyze --fatal-infos dart test One of the greatest benefits of this decoupling is that Flutter apps with custom enterprise design systems can now completely omit material ui and cupertino ui . By building directly against package:flutter/widgets.dart , you can create a lightweight, high-performance UI layer with zero design system bloat: import 'package:flutter/widgets.dart'; class BrandButton extends StatelessWidget { final Widget child; final VoidCallback onTap; const BrandButton { super.key, required this.child, required this.onTap, } ; @override Widget build BuildContext context { return GestureDetector onTap: onTap, child: Container padding: const EdgeInsets.symmetric horizontal: 20.0, vertical: 12.0 , decoration: BoxDecoration color: const Color 0xFF1E88E5 , borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular 10.0 , , child: child, , ; } } The split package architecture is a major milestone for Flutter's scalability and modularity. By equipping your AI development workflow with , you turn what could be a tedious manual refactor into an effortless, one-command migration. dart-sdk-skills material ui on Pub cupertino ui on PubHappy coding, and let your agents do the heavy lifting 🚀