As the best Flutter app development company, we know that app performance is more than just clean code—it’s also about how well your assets are optimized. Flutter projects often include images, fonts, audio, and videos, but unmanaged assets can quickly inflate app size and slow performance.
Assets are bundled directly into the app.
APK/IPA sizes can grow rapidly.
Flutter doesn’t provide built-in optimization for media files.
It’s common to see even simple apps exceed 100MB, making downloads slower and increasing storage usage. To solve this, developers are turning to flutter_assets CLI.
Introducing flutter_assets CLI
The flutter_assets CLI is a community-driven tool designed to help businesses and developers streamline asset management. For companies delivering the best web & app development services, this tool ensures apps remain lightweight and efficient without sacrificing quality.
Key Features:
Automatic compression for PNG, JPEG, and WebP images.
Generates easy-to-use Dart asset references.
Cleans up unused files.
Resizes images for different screen densities.
Fully configurable with YAML.
This makes it an essential tool for anyone offering mobile app development services where performance is a top priority.
Installation
Install with:
dart pub global activate flutter_assets
Update your shell profile:
export PATH="$PATH":"$HOME/.pub-cache/bin"
Confirm installation:
flutter_assets --help
Project Setup Example
Example flutter_assets.yaml config:
input: assets/images
output: assets/optimized_images
optimize:
image: true
image_types: [png, jpg, webp]
quality: 75
generate_references: true
resize:
- scale: 0.5 suffix: "@0.5x"
- scale: 1 suffix: "@1x"
- scale: 2 suffix: "@2x" This setup:
Compresses images from assets/images.
Outputs optimized versions to assets/optimized_images.
Generates multi-resolution assets for all devices.
Creates Dart references for hassle-free access.
Run the CLI
flutter_assets run
Result:
Images compressed and resized.
Dart reference file created, e.g.:
class AppAssets {
static const logo = 'assets/optimized_images/logo@1x.png';
}
Real-World Impact
Asset Set Before (KB) After (KB) Reduction
20 PNG files 1450 710 ~51%
10 JPEG files 2000 1200 ~40%
✅ Reduced app size
✅ Faster startup times
✅ Smoother experience
Pro Tips for Developers
Use WebP instead of PNG for better compression:
flutter_assets convert --to webp
Detect unused assets to clean up your project:
flutter_assets unused
Automate in CI/CD for production-ready apps:
flutter_assets run && flutter build apk
Final Thoughts
For businesses aiming to deliver fast, efficient, and scalable apps, asset optimization is a must. As the best Flutter app development company, we recommend making flutter_assets CLI a core part of your toolkit. It reduces app size, accelerates load times, and improves user experience.
Whether you’re investing in mobile app development services or looking for the best web & app development services, using this tool ensures your Flutter apps run at peak performance.
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