Flutter MethodChannel Example: Call Native Kotlin & Swift
This flutter methodchannel example shows how to call native Kotlin and Swift code from Dart — arguments, return data, error handling, and EventChannel streams.
Every Flutter developer eventually hits a wall that Dart can't climb: battery state, Bluetooth, platform-specific SDKs, a sensor the plugins don't cover. Flutter platform channels are the bridge for exactly this — a typed message pipe between your Dart code and native Kotlin or Swift. This flutter methodchannel example walks you through the complete loop: invoking native methods from Dart, handling the Kotlin and Swift sides, passing arguments, streaming data back, and surviving the errors you'll meet on the way. No plugins, no magic. By the end you'll be able to call native code from Dart for anything the framework doesn't expose. What you'll learn What a MethodChannel is and how messages cross the Dart/native boundary The classic battery-level example in Dart, Kotlin, and Swift How to invoke methods with arguments and read return data safely How to handle PlatformException and MissingPluginException How to stream data from native code with EventChannel When to choose MethodChannel vs FFI Step 0 — Set up a project with native shells You need a normal Flutter project with Kotlin on Android and Swift on iOS. If you created yours recently, you're already set: flutter create --platforms=android,ios native_bridge_demo cd native_bridge_demo The native files you'll touch: Android: android/app/src/main/kotlin/<your/package>/MainActivity.kt iOS: ios/Runner/AppDelegate.swift Everything here works on Flutter 3.x with no extra packages — platform channels are part of the framework. Channel names are just strings, but treat them like API contracts — pick one and use it everywhere. We'll use samples.flutter.dev/battery . Step 1 — Flutter MethodChannel example: the Dart side Start from the Dart side, because it defines the contract both…