Allow setting depth of search for a Flutter/Dart app

[nickmeinhold]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

I have a multi-package project and recently changed the folder structure from having app folders just two levels down (eg. project/packages/app) to the app folders being further down (eg. project/packages/folder/app)

The extension stopped recognising the project as a Flutter project when opening the project folder.

Describe the solution you'd like

Perhaps a setting where we can change how deep the extension searches for a flutter app.

Additional context

If I add a flutter app back at the level project/packages/app, and open project, the extension starts detecting the project as a Flutter project again.

[DanTup]

I've added a dart.projectSearchDepth that controls this. It defaults to 3 with the same behaviour as before, but you can set it in your user settings or in a .vscode/settings.json in your monorepo root.

I did consider increasing the default to 4, but I'm not sure how common it is to be this deeply nested and didn't want to potentially slow down extension activation for anyone opening large folders (additional levels could add a larger number of extra folders the further down you go).

I did also try switching to VS Code's built-in workspace.findFile() API in the hope it would search the tree faster than our own code - but sadly it was surprisingly much slower for my test cases (whether allowed to search a whole workspace, or a glob that only searched a few levels).

[nickmeinhold]

Damn that was fast! ⏩ Thanks a lot @DanTup!

[DanTup]

If you're after the fix early, it was included in a new pre-release version. You can switch to the pre-release versions of the extensions in VS Code using the buttons shown in the screenshot below.

Please let me know if you hit any issues. Thanks!

[nickmeinhold]

Thanks @DanTup - I am on the 'preview' channel (not sure if that's the right term?) so I seem to already have the pre-release version:

Perhaps I don't have the version with the change though because I added "dart.projectSearchDepth": 5, to my settings and I see no change in behaviour, ie.

• opening the project folder with the structure described above isn't recognised as a Flutter project
• if I add a pubspec.yaml at the level of project/packages/app/ and open project the extension does recognise the project as a Flutter project
• adding "dart.projectSearchDepth": 5, (or 6 or 7) to my settings doesn't change either behaviour in the previous two points

[DanTup]

@nickmeinhold this change is actually inside the Dart extension, so you need to be on the pre-release of that too. The version should be v3.37.20220310 (the last part is the date in YYYYMMDD format). The latest Flutter pre-release is th eone you have - I didn't bother publishing an updated version of that as it contained no changes.

Please let me know if it still doesn't work!

[nickmeinhold]

Thanks @DanTup, didn't realise the change was in the Dart extension - I'm on the 'preview' channel for that too I believe, anyway I seem to have v3.37.20220310:

I believe this was the case when I tested and got the result mentioned above, anyway I tested again jut now and same result.

Anything I can do to help figure it out?

[DanTup]

I forgot to mention - you need to reload the extension for this setting to take effect. Have you done that since changing it? (eg. use the Developer: Reload Window command, or re-open the folder, or restart VS Code).

I tested again with this version and it seems to be working ok for me. If not for you, can you create a skeleton folder that's nested with a Flutter pubspec at the bottom to share so I can test with exactly what you're testing with? Thanks!

[nickmeinhold]

Oh bloody hell - I made a repo with the same basic structure, tested and took screenshots to match yours and finally realised my mistake - I haven't been opening a dart file and expecting the Flutter: 2.x.y and the device list to just appear 🤦 just user error, sorry for taking up your time

[nickmeinhold]

Actually I think the origin issue was user error too - going back now and deleting the "dart.projectSearchDepth": 5,, opening the relevant main.dart and then running the app seems to work, which is the only real issue I was having. That's embarrassing - I did know in some part of my brain that I needed to have a dart file open... once again sorry @DanTup 🙏

[nickmeinhold]

Oh I spoke too soon! In my case without setting the search depth, when I open main.dart in one of the Flutter projects (which is 4 levels down) I get:

And I can't run the project from a launch config

And when I set the search depth to 5, and open the same project I see

and the launch config works.

Maybe this is because I have Dart projects only 2 levels down in the monorepo?

Anyway being able to set the search depth seems to be exactly what I need for my use case. Thanks very much!