How do you build a Singleton in Dart?

Thanks to Dart's factory constructors, it's easy to build a singleton:

class Singleton {
  static final Singleton _singleton = Singleton._internal();

  factory Singleton() {
    return _singleton;
  }

  Singleton._internal();
}

You can construct it like this

main() {
  var s1 = Singleton();
  var s2 = Singleton();
  print(identical(s1, s2));  // true
  print(s1 == s2);           // true
}

Here is a comparison of several different ways to create a singleton in Dart.

1. Factory constructor

class SingletonOne {

  SingletonOne._privateConstructor();

  static final SingletonOne _instance = SingletonOne._privateConstructor();

  factory SingletonOne() {
    return _instance;
  }

}

2. Static field with getter

class SingletonTwo {

  SingletonTwo._privateConstructor();

  static final SingletonTwo _instance = SingletonTwo._privateConstructor();

  static SingletonTwo get instance => _instance;
  
}

3. Static field

class SingletonThree {

  SingletonThree._privateConstructor();

  static final SingletonThree instance = SingletonThree._privateConstructor();
  
}

How to instantiate

The above singletons are instantiated like this:

SingletonOne one = SingletonOne();
SingletonTwo two = SingletonTwo.instance;
SingletonThree three = SingletonThree.instance;

Note:

I originally asked this as a question, but discovered that all of the methods above are valid and the choice largely depends on personal preference.

Here is a simple answer:

first of all, we need a private and static property of class type.

secondly, the constructor should be private, because we want to prevent object initialization from outside of the class.

and finally, we check instance nullability, if it is null we will instantiate and return it, else we will return the already instantiated instance.

Implementation with Lazy Loading

class Singleton {
  static Singleton? _instance;

  Singleton._();

  static Singleton get instance => _instance ??= Singleton._();

  void someMethod(){
    ...
  }

  ...
}

Implementation with Eager Loading

class Singleton {
  static Singleton _instance = Singleton._();

  Singleton._();

  static Singleton get instance => _instance;

  void someMethod(){
    ...
  }

  ...
}

Usage

Singleton.instance.someMethod();

I don't find it very intuitive reading new Singleton(). You have to read the docs to know that new isn't actually creating a new instance, as it normally would.

Here's another way to do singletons (Basically what Andrew said above).

lib/thing.dart

library thing;

final Thing thing = new Thing._private();

class Thing {
   Thing._private() { print('#2'); }
   foo() {
     print('#3');
   }
}

main.dart

import 'package:thing/thing.dart';

main() {
  print('#1');
  thing.foo();
}

Note that the singleton doesn't get created until the first time the getter is called due to Dart's lazy initialization.

If you prefer you can also implement singletons as static getter on the singleton class. i.e. Thing.singleton, instead of a top level getter.

Also read Bob Nystrom's take on singletons from his Game programming patterns book.

What about just using a global variable within your library, like so?

single.dart:

library singleton;

var Singleton = new Impl();

class Impl {
  int i;
}

main.dart:

import 'single.dart';

void main() {
  var a = Singleton;
  var b = Singleton;
  a.i = 2;
  print(b.i);
}

Or is this frowned upon?

The singleton pattern is necessary in Java where the concept of globals doesn't exist, but it seems like you shouldn't need to go the long way around in Dart.

Here is another possible way:

void main() {
  var s1 = Singleton.instance;
  s1.somedata = 123;
  var s2 = Singleton.instance;
  print(s2.somedata); // 123
  print(identical(s1, s2));  // true
  print(s1 == s2); // true
  //var s3 = new Singleton(); //produces a warning re missing default constructor and breaks on execution
}

class Singleton {
  static final Singleton _singleton = new Singleton._internal();
  Singleton._internal();
  static Singleton get instance => _singleton;
  var somedata;
}

Dart singleton by const constructor & factory

class Singleton {
  factory Singleton() =>
    Singleton._internal_();
  Singleton._internal_();
}
 
 
void main() {
  print(new Singleton() == new Singleton());
  print(identical(new Singleton() , new Singleton()));
}

In this example I do other things that are also necessary when wanting to use a Singleton. For instance:

pass a value to the singleton's constructor

initialize a value inside the constructor itself

set a value to a Singleton's variable

be able to access AND access those values.

Like this:

class MySingleton {

  static final MySingleton _singleton = MySingleton._internal();

  String _valueToBeSet;
  String _valueAlreadyInSingleton;
  String _passedValueInContructor;

  get getValueToBeSet => _valueToBeSet;

  get getValueAlreadyInSingleton => _valueAlreadyInSingleton;

  get getPassedValueInConstructor => _passedValueInContructor;

  void setValue(newValue) {
    _valueToBeSet = newValue;
  }

  factory MySingleton(String passedString) {
    _singleton._valueAlreadyInSingleton = "foo";
    _singleton._passedValueInContructor = passedString;

    return _singleton;
  }

  MySingleton._internal();
}

Usage of MySingleton:

void main() {

MySingleton mySingleton =  MySingleton("passedString");
mySingleton.setValue("setValue");
print(mySingleton.getPassedValueInConstructor);
print(mySingleton.getValueToBeSet);
print(mySingleton.getValueAlreadyInSingleton);

}

Singleton that can't change the object after the instantiation

class User {
  final int age;
  final String name;
  
  User({
    this.name,
    this.age
    });
  
  static User _instance;
  
  static User getInstance({name, age}) {
     if(_instance == null) {
       _instance = User(name: name, age: age);
       return _instance;
     }
    return _instance;
  }
}

  print(User.getInstance(name: "baidu", age: 24).age); //24
  
  print(User.getInstance(name: "baidu 2").name); // is not changed //baidu

  print(User.getInstance()); // {name: "baidu": age 24}

Since Dart 2.13 version, it is very easy with late keyword. Late keyword allows us to lazily instantiate objects.

As an example, you can see it:

class LazySingletonExample {
  LazySingletonExample._() {
    print('instance created.');
  }

  static late final LazySingletonExample instance = LazySingletonExample._();
  
  
}

Note: Keep in mind that, it will only be instantiated once when you call lazy instance field.

After reading all the alternatives I came up with this, which reminds me a "classic singleton":

class AccountService {
  static final _instance = AccountService._internal();

  AccountService._internal();

  static AccountService getInstance() {
    return _instance;
  }
}

This is how I implement singleton in my projects

Inspired from flutter firebase => FirebaseFirestore.instance.collection('collectionName')

class FooAPI {
  foo() {
    // some async func to api
  }
}

class SingletonService {
  FooAPI _fooAPI;

  static final SingletonService _instance = SingletonService._internal();

  static SingletonService instance = SingletonService();

  factory SingletonService() {
    return _instance;
  }

  SingletonService._internal() {
    // TODO: add init logic if needed
    // FOR EXAMPLE API parameters
  }

  void foo() async {
    await _fooAPI.foo();
  }
}

void main(){
  SingletonService.instance.foo();
}

example from my project

class FirebaseLessonRepository implements LessonRepository {
  FirebaseLessonRepository._internal();

  static final _instance = FirebaseLessonRepository._internal();

  static final instance = FirebaseLessonRepository();

  factory FirebaseLessonRepository() => _instance;

  var lessonsCollection = fb.firestore().collection('lessons');
  
  // ... other code for crud etc ...
}

// then in my widgets
FirebaseLessonRepository.instance.someMethod(someParams);

Here's a concise example that combines the other solutions. Accessing the singleton can be done by:

Using a singleton global variable that points to the instance.

The common Singleton.instance pattern.

Using the default constructor, which is a factory that returns the instance.

Note: You should implement only one of the three options so that code using the singleton is consistent.

Singleton get singleton => Singleton.instance;
ComplexSingleton get complexSingleton => ComplexSingleton._instance;

class Singleton {
  static final Singleton instance = Singleton._private();
  Singleton._private();
  factory Singleton() => instance;
}

class ComplexSingleton {
  static ComplexSingleton _instance;
  static ComplexSingleton get instance => _instance;
  static void init(arg) => _instance ??= ComplexSingleton._init(arg);

  final property;
  ComplexSingleton._init(this.property);
  factory ComplexSingleton() => _instance;
}

If you need to do complex initialization, you'll just have to do so before using the instance later in the program.

Example

void main() {
  print(identical(singleton, Singleton.instance));        // true
  print(identical(singleton, Singleton()));               // true
  print(complexSingleton == null);                        // true
  ComplexSingleton.init(0); 
  print(complexSingleton == null);                        // false
  print(identical(complexSingleton, ComplexSingleton())); // true
}

Modified @Seth Ladd answer for who's prefer Swift style of singleton like .shared:

class Auth {
  // singleton
  static final Auth _singleton = Auth._internal();
  factory Auth() => _singleton;
  Auth._internal();
  static Auth get shared => _singleton;

  // variables
  String username;
  String password;
}

Sample:

Auth.shared.username = 'abc';

If you happen to be using Flutter and provider package for state management, creating and using a singleton is quite straightforward.

Create an instance

void main() { runApp( MultiProvider( providers: [ ChangeNotifierProvider(create: (context) => SomeModel()), Provider(create: (context) => SomeClassToBeUsedAsSingleton()), ], child: MyApp(), ), ); }

Get the instance

Widget build(BuildContext context) { var instance = Provider.of(context); ...

This should work.

class GlobalStore {
    static GlobalStore _instance;
    static GlobalStore get instance {
       if(_instance == null)
           _instance = new GlobalStore()._();
       return _instance;
    }

    _(){

    }
    factory GlobalStore()=> instance;


}

As I'm not very fond of using the new keyword or other constructor like calls on singletons, I would prefer to use a static getter called inst for example:

// the singleton class
class Dao {
    // singleton boilerplate
        Dao._internal() {}
        static final Dao _singleton = new Dao._internal();
        static get inst => _singleton;

    // business logic
        void greet() => print("Hello from singleton");
}

example usage:

Dao.inst.greet();       // call a method

// Dao x = new Dao();   // compiler error: Method not found: 'Dao'

// verify that there only exists one and only one instance
assert(identical(Dao.inst, Dao.inst));

Hello what about something like this? Very simple implementation, Injector itself is singleton and also added classes into it. Of course can be extended very easily. If you are looking for something more sophisticated check this package: https://pub.dartlang.org/packages/flutter_simple_dependency_injection

void main() {  
  Injector injector = Injector();
  injector.add(() => Person('Filip'));
  injector.add(() => City('New York'));

  Person person =  injector.get<Person>(); 
  City city =  injector.get<City>();

  print(person.name);
  print(city.name);
}

class Person {
  String name;

  Person(this.name);
}

class City {
  String name;

  City(this.name);
}


typedef T CreateInstanceFn<T>();

class Injector {
  static final Injector _singleton =  Injector._internal();
  final _factories = Map<String, dynamic>();

  factory Injector() {
    return _singleton;
  }

  Injector._internal();

  String _generateKey<T>(T type) {
    return '${type.toString()}_instance';
  }

  void add<T>(CreateInstanceFn<T> createInstance) {
    final typeKey = _generateKey(T);
    _factories[typeKey] = createInstance();
  }

  T get<T>() {
    final typeKey = _generateKey(T);
    T instance = _factories[typeKey];
    if (instance == null) {
      print('Cannot find instance for type $typeKey');
    }

    return instance;
  }
}

** Sigleton Paradigm in Dart Sound Null Safety**

This code snippet shows how to implement singleton in dart This is generally used in those situation in which we have to use same object of a class every time for eg. in Database transactions.

class MySingleton {
  static MySingleton? _instance;
  MySingleton._internal();
  factory MySingleton() {
    if (_instance == null) {
      _instance = MySingleton._internal();
    }
     return _instance!;
  }
}

Singleton objects can be betterly created with null safety operator and factory constructor.

class Singleton {
  static Singleton? _instance;

  Singleton._internal();

  factory Singleton() => _instance ??= Singleton._internal();
  
  void someMethod() {
    print("someMethod Called");
  }
}

Usage:

void main() {
  Singleton object = Singleton();
  object.someMethod(); /// Output: someMethod Called
}

Note: ?? is a Null aware operator, it returns the right-side value if the left-side value is null, which means in our example _instance ?? Singleton._internal();, Singleton._internal() will be return first time when object gets called , rest _instance will be return.

This is my way of doing singleton which accepts parameters (you can paste this directly on https://dartpad.dev/ ):

void main() {
  
  Logger x = Logger('asd');
  Logger y = Logger('xyz');
  
  x.display('Hello');
  y.display('Hello There');
}


class Logger{
  
  
  Logger._(this.message);
  final String message;
  static Logger _instance = Logger._('??!?*');
  factory Logger(String message){
    if(_instance.message=='??!?*'){
      _instance = Logger._(message);
    }
    return _instance;
  }
  
  void display(String prefix){
    print(prefix+' '+message);
  }
  
}

Which inputs:

Hello asd
Hello There asd

The '??!?*' you see is just a workaround I made to initialize the _instance variable temporarily without making it a Logger? type (null safety).

how to create a singleton instance of a class in dart flutter

  class ContactBook {
      ContactBook._sharedInstance();
      static final ContactBook _shared = ContactBook._sharedInstance();
      factory ContactBook() => _shared;
    }

I use this simple pattern on dart and previously on Swift. I like that it's terse and only one way of using it.

class Singleton {
  static Singleton shared = Singleton._init();
  Singleton._init() {
    // init work here
  }

  void doSomething() {
  }
}

Singleton.shared.doSomething();

This is also a way to create a Singleton class

class Singleton{
  Singleton._();
  static final Singleton db = Singleton._();
}

You can just use the Constant constructors.

class Singleton {
  const Singleton(); //Constant constructor
  
  void hello() { print('Hello world'); }
}

Example:

Singleton s = const Singleton();
s.hello(); //Hello world

According with documentation:

Constant constructors If your class produces objects that never change, you can make these objects compile-time constants. To do this, define a const constructor and make sure that all instance variables are final.