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--dart-define-from-file entries are available in the environment during Xcode build when they should not be #136444

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--dart-define-from-file entries are available in the environment during Xcode build when they should not be#136444
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P2Important issues not at the top of the work listfound in release: 3.13Found to occur in 3.13found in release: 3.16Found to occur in 3.16has reproducible stepsThe issue has been confirmed reproducible and is ready to work onplatform-iosiOS applications specificallyr: fixedIssue is closed as already fixed in a newer versionteam-toolOwned by Flutter Tool teamtoolAffects the "flutter" command-line tool. See also t: labels.triaged-toolTriaged by Flutter Tool team

Description

@fstotz
fstotz
opened on Oct 12, 2023

Is there an existing issue for this?

Steps to reproduce

  1. create a flutter project with IOS support
  2. change the "CFBundleDisplayName" in the Info.plist of the runner to use a new variable
  3. run the app and set the variable using --dart-define

If I use --dart-define-from-file instead it is working fine

Expected results

The app name is changed to the one set in the --dart-define variable

Actual results

The app name is falling back to Runner because the variable is not set

Code sample

Code sample

https://github.com/felixmede/dart_define_issue

[Paste your code here]

Screenshots or Video

Screenshots / Video demonstration

[Upload media here]

Logs

Logs 
[Paste your logs here]

Flutter Doctor output

Doctor output 
[✓] Flutter (Channel stable, 3.13.7, on macOS 13.6 22G120 darwin-x64, locale en)
    • Flutter version 3.13.7 on channel stable at
      /Users/fstotz/development/flutter
    • Upstream repository https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git
    • Framework revision 2f708eb839 (3 days ago), 2023-10-09 09:58:08 -0500
    • Engine revision a794cf2681
    • Dart version 3.1.3
    • DevTools version 2.25.0

[✓] Android toolchain - develop for Android devices (Android SDK version 34.0.0)
    • Android SDK at /Users/fstotz/Library/Android/sdk
    • Platform android-34, build-tools 34.0.0
    • ANDROID_HOME = /Users/fstotz/Library/Android/sdk
    • Java binary at: /Applications/Android Studio.app/Contents/jbr/Contents/Home/bin/java
    • Java version OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 17.0.6+0-17.0.6b829.9-10027231)
    • All Android licenses accepted.

[✓] Xcode - develop for iOS and macOS (Xcode 15.0)
    • Xcode at /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer
    • Build 15A240d
    • CocoaPods version 1.13.0

[✓] Chrome - develop for the web
    • Chrome at /Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome

[✓] Android Studio (version 2022.3)
    • Android Studio at /Applications/Android Studio.app/Contents
    • Flutter plugin can be installed from:
      🔨 https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/9212-flutter
    • Dart plugin can be installed from:
      🔨 https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/6351-dart
    • android-studio-dir = /Applications/Android Studio.app
    • Java version OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 17.0.6+0-17.0.6b829.9-10027231)

[✓] VS Code (version 1.83.0)
    • VS Code at /Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents
    • Flutter extension version 3.29.0

[✓] Connected device (4 available)
    • iPhone_13_AI (mobile)       • 00008110-000978A81E52401E            • ios            • iOS 17.0.3 21A360
    • Iphone 6s IOS 14.5 (mobile) • BCF2B76E-B095-4562-A906-0ED50070D680 • ios            • com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.iOS-14-5 (simulator)
    • macOS (desktop)             • macos                                • darwin-x64     • macOS 13.6 22G120 darwin-x64
    • Chrome (web)                • chrome                               • web-javascript • Google Chrome 117.0.5938.149

[✓] Network resources
    • All expected network resources are available.

• No issues found!

Activity

  1. dam-ease
    added
    in triagePresently being triaged by the triage team
    on Oct 12, 2023

  2. dam-ease commented on Oct 12, 2023

    @dam-ease
    dam-ease
    on Oct 12, 2023

    Hi @felixmede. Thanks for filing this, I cloned your project, ran the app and set the variable using --dart-define and it works fine, same with --dart-define-from-file. Can you share the command you are running in your terminal and the result you are getting?

  3. dam-ease
    added
    waiting for responseThe Flutter team cannot make further progress on this issue until the original reporter responds
    on Oct 12, 2023

  4. fstotz commented on Oct 13, 2023

    @fstotz
    fstotz
    on Oct 13, 2023
    Author

    If I am running flutter run lib/main.dart --dart-define=DEFINEEXAMPLE_APP_NAME=testname the app name is Runner
    If I am running flutter run lib/main.dart --dart-define-from-file=config.json the app name is awesomeApp1

    I think it started to happen after I upgraded to the newest version of Xcode

  5. github-actions
    removed
    waiting for responseThe Flutter team cannot make further progress on this issue until the original reporter responds
    on Oct 13, 2023

  6. dam-ease commented on Oct 13, 2023

    @dam-ease
    dam-ease
    on Oct 13, 2023

    Thanks for your response @felixmede. I thought you were describing a crash earlier. I can see this on the latest master and stable channels. This doesn't seem peculiar to the newest Xcode version as I can reproduce the same behaviour with Xcode 14.3.1.

    stable, master flutter doctor -v 

    [✓] Flutter (Channel stable, 3.13.7, on macOS 13.0 22A380 darwin-arm64, locale
    en-NG)
    • Flutter version 3.13.7 on channel stable at
      /Users/damilolaalimi/sdks/flutter
    • Upstream repository https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git
    • Framework revision 2f708eb839 (3 days ago), 2023-10-09 09:58:08 -0500
    • Engine revision a794cf2681
    • Dart version 3.1.3
    • DevTools version 2.25.0

[✓] Android toolchain - develop for Android devices (Android SDK version 34.0.0)
    • Android SDK at /Users/damilolaalimi/Library/Android/sdk
    • Platform android-34, build-tools 34.0.0
    • ANDROID_HOME = /Users/damilolaalimi/Library/Android/sdk
    • Java binary at: /Applications/Android
      Studio.app/Contents/jbr/Contents/Home/bin/java
    • Java version OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build
      17.0.6+0-17.0.6b802.4-9586694)
    • All Android licenses accepted.

[✓] Xcode - develop for iOS and macOS (Xcode 14.3.1)
    • Xcode at /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer
    • Build 14E300c
    • CocoaPods version 1.12.1

[✓] Chrome - develop for the web
    • Chrome at /Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome

[✓] Android Studio (version 2022.2)
    • Android Studio at /Applications/Android Studio.app/Contents
    • Flutter plugin can be installed from:
      🔨 https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/9212-flutter
    • Dart plugin can be installed from:
      🔨 https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/6351-dart
    • Java version OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build
      17.0.6+0-17.0.6b802.4-9586694)

[!] Android Studio (version unknown)
    • Android Studio at /Users/damilolaalimi/Downloads/Android Studio
      Preview.app/Contents
    • Flutter plugin can be installed from:
      🔨 https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/9212-flutter
    • Dart plugin can be installed from:
      🔨 https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/6351-dart
    ✗ Unable to determine Android Studio version.
    • Java version OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build
      17.0.7+0-17.0.7b1000.6-10550314)

[✓] VS Code (version 1.82.3)
    • VS Code at /Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents
    • Flutter extension version 3.50.0

[✓] Connected device (4 available)
    • sdk gphone64 arm64 (mobile) • emulator-5556                        •
      android-arm64  • Android 14 (API 34) (emulator)
    • iPhone XS (mobile)          • 3CFD1268-0D52-486E-A12E-6E136E972D94 • ios
      • com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.iOS-16-4 (simulator)
    • macOS (desktop)             • macos                                •
      darwin-arm64   • macOS 13.0 22A380 darwin-arm64
    • Chrome (web)                • chrome                               •
      web-javascript • Google Chrome 117.0.5938.149

[✓] Network resources
    • All expected network resources are available.

! Doctor found issues in 1 category.

    [✓] Flutter (Channel master, 3.16.0-10.0.pre.72, on macOS 13.0 22A380 darwin-arm64, locale en-NG)
    • Flutter version 3.16.0-10.0.pre.72 on channel master at /Users/damilolaalimi/fvm/versions/master
    • Upstream repository https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git
    • Framework revision d479b5e2c6 (72 minutes ago), 2023-10-13 03:35:07 -0400
    • Engine revision b59d779d4f
    • Dart version 3.3.0 (build 3.3.0-20.0.dev)
    • DevTools version 2.28.1

[✓] Android toolchain - develop for Android devices (Android SDK version 34.0.0)
    • Android SDK at /Users/damilolaalimi/Library/Android/sdk
    • Platform android-34, build-tools 34.0.0
    • ANDROID_HOME = /Users/damilolaalimi/Library/Android/sdk
    • Java binary at: /Applications/Android Studio.app/Contents/jbr/Contents/Home/bin/java
    • Java version OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 17.0.6+0-17.0.6b802.4-9586694)
    • All Android licenses accepted.

[✓] Xcode - develop for iOS and macOS (Xcode 14.3.1)
    • Xcode at /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer
    • Build 14E300c
    • CocoaPods version 1.12.1

[✓] Chrome - develop for the web
    • Chrome at /Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome

[✓] Android Studio (version 2022.2)
    • Android Studio at /Applications/Android Studio.app/Contents
    • Flutter plugin can be installed from:
      🔨 https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/9212-flutter
    • Dart plugin can be installed from:
      🔨 https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/6351-dart
    • Java version OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 17.0.6+0-17.0.6b802.4-9586694)

[!] Android Studio (version unknown)
    • Android Studio at /Users/damilolaalimi/Downloads/Android Studio Preview.app/Contents
    • Flutter plugin can be installed from:
      🔨 https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/9212-flutter
    • Dart plugin can be installed from:
      🔨 https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/6351-dart
    ✗ Unable to determine Android Studio version.
    • Java version OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 17.0.7+0-17.0.7b1000.6-10550314)

[✓] VS Code (version 1.82.3)
    • VS Code at /Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents
    • Flutter extension version 3.50.0

[✓] Connected device (4 available)
    • sdk gphone64 arm64 (mobile) • emulator-5556                        • android-arm64  • Android 14 (API 34) (emulator)
    • iPhone XS (mobile)          • 3CFD1268-0D52-486E-A12E-6E136E972D94 • ios            • com.apple.CoreSimulator.SimRuntime.iOS-16-4 (simulator)
    • macOS (desktop)             • macos                                • darwin-arm64   • macOS 13.0 22A380 darwin-arm64
    • Chrome (web)                • chrome                               • web-javascript • Google Chrome 117.0.5938.149

[✓] Network resources
    • All expected network resources are available.

! Doctor found issues in 1 category.

  7. dam-ease
    changed the title [-]dart-define not working with info.plist variables anymore[/-] [+]dart-define not working with info.plist variables[/+] on Oct 13, 2023
  8. dam-ease
    added
    platform-iosiOS applications specifically
    toolAffects the "flutter" command-line tool. See also t: labels.
    has reproducible stepsThe issue has been confirmed reproducible and is ready to work on
    team-toolOwned by Flutter Tool team
    found in release: 3.13Found to occur in 3.13
    found in release: 3.16Found to occur in 3.16
    and removed
    in triagePresently being triaged by the triage team
    on Oct 13, 2023

  9. christopherfujino commented on Oct 17, 2023

    @christopherfujino
    christopherfujino
    on Oct 17, 2023
    Contributor

    @andrewkolos to possibly de-dupe this with another issue

  10. andrewkolos commented on Oct 17, 2023

    @andrewkolos
    andrewkolos
    on Oct 17, 2023
    Contributor

    This is nearly a dupe of #130599. I suspect this is caused by this code. With --dart-define, we encode them all into one b64 string and pass them to the build environment as a single property/variable. However, with --dart-define-from-file we pass them individually.

    I will keep this issue open as the Xcode counterpart of #130599. I will rename the other issue to focus on Android.

  11. andrewkolos
    added
    P2Important issues not at the top of the work list
    triaged-toolTriaged by Flutter Tool team
    on Oct 17, 2023
  12. andrewkolos
    changed the title [-]dart-define not working with info.plist variables[/-] [+]`--dart-define-from-file` entries are available in the environment during Xcode build when they should not be[/+] on Oct 17, 2023

  13. andrewkolos commented on Oct 17, 2023

    @andrewkolos
    andrewkolos
    on Oct 17, 2023
    Contributor

    @felixmede Sorry, I forgot to actually address your issue in my most recent comment. To summarize, reading --dart-define or --dart-define-from-file values in the environment during Xcode (or Gradle) build, to my knowledge, is not a supported use case. The key-value pairs given to --dart-define or --dart-define-from-file are only meant to be accessible in Dart code (per the help text).

  14. auto-submit
    added a commit that references this issue on Oct 19, 2023

    do not include entries from `--dart-define-from-file` files in the gr…

    25bed91

  15. koji-1009 commented on Nov 20, 2023

    @koji-1009
    koji-1009
    on Nov 20, 2023
    Contributor

    I have noticed that flutter 3.17.0 (beta) is unable to retrieve the values defined in dart-define-from-file. I understand that this behavior is unintentional.

    Could you please tell me about an alternative approach to switching native settings? I would like to have an easy way to switch bundle ID for iOS, applicationIdSuffix for Android, build flavor, etc. during development, QA and release.
    This is common (I think) in development with Android and iOS SDKs and is needed by stakeholders. This is a risk due to Flutter updates and I'm looking for a way to fix it.

    Thanks.

  16. andrewkolos commented on Nov 20, 2023

    @andrewkolos
    andrewkolos
    on Nov 20, 2023
    Contributor

    Could you please tell me about an alternative approach to switching native settings?

    Of course! If your native build configurations are reading from the system environment, then you could always set those through other means (e.g. export key=value in your build script).

    I would like to have an easy way to switch bundle ID for iOS, applicationIdSuffix for Android, build flavor, etc. during development, QA and release.

    This sounds like something Flutter's flavors feature is well-suited for. You can define different native build configs and have Flutter choose one of them at build time using the --flavor option on the flutter run and flutter build commands. The examples in the documentation demonstrate how to set up different flavors that will set the bundle ID or applicationIdSuffix appropriately.

    Thanks for the well-written questions.

    I will be closing this issue since it was meant to be closed by #136865, which has already been merged. If I was unclear or you still have concerns, you can reach out via the #hackers-tool channel in the Flutter Discord server, or you can file another issue that references this one.

  17. andrewkolos
    closed this as completedon Nov 20, 2023
  18. dam-ease
    added
    r: fixedIssue is closed as already fixed in a newer version
    on Nov 21, 2023

  19. TatsuUkraine commented on Nov 21, 2023

    @TatsuUkraine
    TatsuUkraine
    on Nov 21, 2023

    Flavors doesn't give same flexibility that you can get with passing env variables from file directly into the native config (including gradle). Don't know why such useful feature marked as bug😕

  20. mobikats commented on Nov 30, 2023

    @mobikats
    mobikats
    on Nov 30, 2023

    This sounds like something Flutter's flavors feature is well-suited for.

    The problem is that the flavors approach becomes complicated and fragile when you have a more complete project that has multiple targets and includes custom extensions (for example supporting "share to" features for iOS and Android, and being able to deliver multiple apps from the same code base with adaptions for different clients).

    The dart-define-from-file approach felt cleaner to use, because you keep the native projects with a single target and extensions, and change only the specific elements required by your separate outputs.

  21. github-actions commented on Dec 14, 2023

    @github-actions
    github-actionsbot
    on Dec 14, 2023 – with GitHub Actions

    This thread has been automatically locked since there has not been any recent activity after it was closed. If you are still experiencing a similar issue, please open a new bug, including the output of flutter doctor -v and a minimal reproduction of the issue.

  22. github-actions
    locked as resolved and limited conversation to collaborators on Dec 14, 2023
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    P2Important issues not at the top of the work listfound in release: 3.13Found to occur in 3.13found in release: 3.16Found to occur in 3.16has reproducible stepsThe issue has been confirmed reproducible and is ready to work onplatform-iosiOS applications specificallyr: fixedIssue is closed as already fixed in a newer versionteam-toolOwned by Flutter Tool teamtoolAffects the "flutter" command-line tool. See also t: labels.triaged-toolTriaged by Flutter Tool team

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