signals-and-flutter-hooks skill

---
name: signals-and-flutter-hooks
description: Explore state management in Flutter, from the basics of `setState` to advanced techniques using ValueNotifier, Signals, Flutter Hooks, and the new signals_hooks package for a reactive and efficient approach.
metadata:
  url: https://rodydavis.com/posts/signals-and-flutter-hooks
  last_modified: Tue, 03 Feb 2026 20:04:15 GMT
---

# Signals and Flutter Hooks


When working with data in [Flutter](https://flutter.dev), on of the first things you are exposed to is [setState](https://api.flutter.dev/flutter/widgets/State/setState.html).

## setState

```
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

void main() {
  runApp(const MaterialApp(debugShowCheckedModeBanner: false, home: Counter()));
}

class Counter extends StatefulWidget {
  const Counter({super.key});

  @override
  State<Counter> createState() => _CounterState();
}

class _CounterState extends State<Counter> {
  int count = 0;

  void increment() {
    if (mounted) {
      setState(() {
        count++;
      });
    }
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(title: const Text('Counter')),
      body: Center(child: Text('Count: $count')),
      floatingActionButton: FloatingActionButton(
        onPressed: increment,
        child: const Icon(Icons.add),
      ),
    );
  }
}
```

This simply marks the widget as dirty every time you call **setState** but requires you (as the developer) to be mindful and explict about when those updates happen. If you forget to call **setState** when mutating data the widget tree can become stale.

## ValueNotifier

We can impove this by using [ValueNotifier](https://api.flutter.dev/flutter/foundation/ValueNotifier-class.html) instead of storing the value directly. This gives us the ability to read and write a value in a container and use helper widgets like [ValueListenableBuilder](https://api.flutter.dev/flutter/widgets/ValueListenableBuilder-class.html) to update sub parts of the widget tree on value changes.

```
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

void main() {
  runApp(const MaterialApp(debugShowCheckedModeBanner: false, home: Counter()));
}

class Counter extends StatefulWidget {
  const Counter({super.key});

  @override
  State<Counter> createState() => _CounterState();
}

class _CounterState extends State<Counter> {
  final count = ValueNotifier(0);

  void increment() {
    count.value++;
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(title: const Text('Counter')),
      body: Center(child: ValueListenableBuilder(
        valueListenable: count,
        builder: (context, value, child) {
          return Text('Count: $value');
        }
      )),
      floatingActionButton: FloatingActionButton(
        onPressed: increment,
        child: const Icon(Icons.add),
      ),
    );
  }
}
```

## FlutterSignal

Using the [signals](https://pub.dev/packages/signals) package we can upgrade ValueNotifier to a [signal backed implmentation](https://preactjs.com/guide/v10/signals/) which uses a reactive graph based on a push / pull architecture.

```
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:signals/signals_flutter.dart';

void main() {
  runApp(const MaterialApp(debugShowCheckedModeBanner: false, home: Counter()));
}

class Counter extends StatefulWidget {
  const Counter({super.key});

  @override
  State<Counter> createState() => _CounterState();
}

class _CounterState extends State<Counter> {
  final count = signal(0);

  void increment() {
    count.value++;
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(title: const Text('Counter')),
      body: Center(
        child: ValueListenableBuilder(
          valueListenable: count,
          builder: (context, value, child) {
            return Text('Count: $value');
          },
        ),
      ),
      floatingActionButton: FloatingActionButton(
        onPressed: increment,
        child: const Icon(Icons.add),
      ),
    );
  }
}
```

> Signals created after **6.0.0** also implement ValueNotifier so you can easily migrate them without changing any other code.

Instead of ValueListenableBuilder we can use the Watch widget or .watch(context) extension.

```
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:signals/signals_flutter.dart';

void main() {
  runApp(const MaterialApp(debugShowCheckedModeBanner: false, home: Counter()));
}

class Counter extends StatefulWidget {
  const Counter({super.key});

  @override
  State<Counter> createState() => _CounterState();
}

class _CounterState extends State<Counter> {
  final count = signal(0);

  void increment() {
    count.value++;
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(title: const Text('Counter')),
      body: Center(
        child: Text('Count: ${count.watch(context)}'),
      ),
      floatingActionButton: FloatingActionButton(
        onPressed: increment,
        child: const Icon(Icons.add),
      ),
    );
  }
}
```

## flutter\_hooks

Using [Flutter Hooks](https://pub.dev/packages/flutter_hooks) we can reduce boilerplate of StatefulWidget by switching to a HookWidget. With **useState** we can define the state directly in the build method and easily share them across widgets.

```
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:flutter_hooks/flutter_hooks.dart';

void main() {
  runApp(const MaterialApp(debugShowCheckedModeBanner: false, home: Counter()));
}

class Counter extends HookWidget {
  const Counter({super.key});

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    final count = useState(0);
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(title: const Text('Counter')),
      body: Center(child: Text('Count: ${count.value}')),
      floatingActionButton: FloatingActionButton(
        onPressed: () => count.value++,
        child: const Icon(Icons.add),
      ),
    );
  }
}
```

> **useState** returns a ValueNotifier that automatically rebuilds the widget on changes

## signals\_hooks

Using a new package [signals\_hooks](https://pub.dev/packages/signals_hooks) we can now define signals in HookWidgets and have the benifits of a reactive graph with shareable lifecycles between widgets.

```
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:flutter_hooks/flutter_hooks.dart';
import 'package:signals_hooks/signals_hooks.dart';

void main() {
  runApp(const MaterialApp(debugShowCheckedModeBanner: false, home: Counter()));
}

class Counter extends HookWidget {
  const Counter({super.key});

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    final count = useSignal(0);
    final countStr = useComputed(() => count.value.toString());
    useSignalEffect(() {
      print('count: $count');
    });
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(title: const Text('Counter')),
      body: Center(child: Text('Count: $countStr')),
      floatingActionButton: FloatingActionButton(
        onPressed: () => count.value++,
        child: const Icon(Icons.add),
      ),
    );
  }
}
```