Dart Dataforge

A high-performance Dart data class forge that crafts perfect code structures multiple times faster than build_runner.

Features

• ⚡ Lightning Fast: Multiple times faster than build_runner
• 🎯 Zero Configuration: Works out of the box
• 📦 Complete: Auto-generates copyWith, ==, hashCode, toJson, toString
• 🔄 Automatic fromJson: Automatically adds fromJson factory method to original file when includeFromJson is true
• 🔧 Flexible: Supports nested objects, collections, custom field mapping

Installation

Add dependency to pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  dataforge_annotation:
    git:
      url: https://github.com/lwj1994/dataforge
      ref: main
      path: annotation

Install CLI tool:

dart pub global activate --source git https://github.com/lwj1994/dataforge

Quick Start

Create a data class:

import 'package:dataforge_annotation/dataforge_annotation.dart';

part 'user.data.dart';

@Dataforge(includeFromJson: true, includeToJson: true)
class User with _User {
  @override
  final String name;
  
  @override
  @JsonKey(name: "user_age")
  final int age;
  
  @override
  final List<String> hobbies;

  const User({
    required this.name,
    this.age = 0,
    this.hobbies = const [],
  });

  factory User.fromJson(Map<String, dynamic> json) => _User.fromJson(json);
}

Generate code:

dataforge .

Use generated methods:

final user = User(name: "John", age: 25);
final updated = user.copyWith(age: 26);
final json = user.toJson();
final fromJson = User.fromJson(json);
print(user.toString()); // User(name: John, age: 25, hobbies: [])

Annotations

@Dataforge: Configure code generation

@Dataforge(includeFromJson: true, includeToJson: true)

@JsonKey: Customize field serialization

@JsonKey(name: "custom_name")           // Rename field
@JsonKey(ignore: true)                  // Skip field
@JsonKey(alternateNames: ["alt1"])      // Multiple names
@JsonKey(includeIfNull: false)          // Exclude null values from JSON

Backward Compatibility

⚠️ Migration from data_class_gen

If you're migrating from the old data_class_gen package, the @DataClass annotation is still supported but deprecated. We recommend migrating to @Dataforge for new projects.

Legacy Support (Deprecated):

// ❌ Deprecated - still works but not recommended
@DataClass(includeFromJson: true, includeToJson: true)
class User with _User {
  // ...
}

// ✅ Recommended - use the new annotation
@Dataforge(includeFromJson: true, includeToJson: true)
class User with _User {
  // ...
}

Migration Steps:

1. Replace @DataClass with @Dataforge
2. Replace @dataClass with @dataforge
3. Update import from data_class_annotation to dataforge_annotation
4. Update CLI command from data_class_gen to dataforge

Why migrate?

• Better naming that reflects the tool's purpose as a "data forge"
• Future features will only be available in @Dataforge
• Cleaner, more intuitive API

Supported Types

• Basic: String, int, double, bool, optional types
• Collections: List<T>, Set<T>, Map<K, V>
• Complex: Nested objects, custom classes

Development

git clone https://github.com/lwj1994/dataforge.git
cd dataforge
dart pub get
dart test