A blazingly fast, cross-platform real-time chat app built with Flutter and PocketBase.
Swift Chat is designed for speed, privacy, and simplicity — delivering a Discord-like group chat experience across Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, and Web. Built using modern Flutter architecture with PocketBase as a realtime backend.
| Layer | Technologies |
|---|---|
| Frontend | Flutter, Riverpod, Google Fonts, Flutter Animate |
| Backend | PocketBase (Realtime Database, Auth, File Storage) |
| Storage | Hive, Isar |
| Notifications | Firebase Messaging, Flutter Local Notifications |
| Media & File Handling | Image Picker, File Picker, Video Player, Photo View, OpenFileX |
| Utilities | Cached Network Image, Connectivity Plus, Permission Handler, Crypto, Saver Gallery, Path Provider |
| Design & Icons | Cupertino Icons, Font Awesome Flutter |
- 💬 Realtime Chat – Built on PocketBase’s websocket subscriptions
- 🔒 Private & Secure – Locally encrypted data (Crypto + Hive)
- 🖼️ Rich Media Sharing – Send images, videos, and files easily
- 📶 Offline-first Support – Messages auto-sync when reconnected
- 🔔 Push Notifications – Delivered via Firebase Cloud Messaging
- 🧩 Cross-Platform Ready – Works on Android, iOS, macOS, Windows & Web
- 🎨 Smooth UI & Animations – Built with Flutter Animate + Riverpod
- 🧑💻 Self-Hosted Freedom – Control your backend with PocketBase
I wanted to create a chat experience as smooth as Discord — but lightweight, private, and self-hosted.
Firebase was great but limited on the free tier, so I switched to PocketBase, giving me full backend control with real-time updates, authentication, and file storage — all in one small binary.
- Built using Flutter Riverpod for reactive state management.
- Local caching handled by Hive and Isar for fast, persistent storage.
- Integrated Firebase Messaging + Flutter Local Notifications for background and foreground push alerts.
- Offline message queue and auto-retry ensure reliability on poor networks.
- Media is efficiently cached with CachedNetworkImage and FlutterCacheManager.
Swift Chat │ ├── lib/ │ ├── main.dart │ ├── models/ │ ├── services/ # PocketBase, Auth, Notifications, etc. │ ├── screens/ # Chat, Login, Media Viewer, Settings │ ├── widgets/ │ └── utils/ │ ├── assets/ │ ├── icons/ │ └── configs/config.json │ └── pubspec.yaml
Here’s a glimpse of Swift Chat in action 👇
Ritom Ghosh
📧 ritomghosh856@gmail.com
🌐 me.ritom.site
🐙 @mister-ritom
This project is currently private. An open-source release is planned soon.