flutter-pre-caching

Pre-caching in Flutter and Flutter Web

Pre-caching helps avoid jank, loading flashes, font swaps, and delayed first renders.

The key rule:

Pre-cache only what the user will likely see in the next 1 to 2 screens.

Do not pre-cache the whole app. That can slow startup and waste memory.

1. Google Fonts

Runtime Google Fonts preloading

Use GoogleFonts.pendingFonts() to load the font variants before showing text.

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

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

  @override
  State<ExampleSimple> createState() => _ExampleSimpleState();
}

class _ExampleSimpleState extends State<ExampleSimple> {
  late final Future<List<void>> googleFontsPending;

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();

    googleFontsPending = GoogleFonts.pendingFonts([
      GoogleFonts.poppins(),
      GoogleFonts.montserrat(fontStyle: FontStyle.italic),
    ]);
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    final pushButtonTextStyle = GoogleFonts.poppins(
      textStyle: Theme.of(context).textTheme.headlineMedium,
    );

    final counterTextStyle = GoogleFonts.montserrat(
      fontStyle: FontStyle.italic,
      textStyle: Theme.of(context).textTheme.displayLarge,
    );

    return FutureBuilder<List<void>>(
      future: googleFontsPending,
      builder: (context, snapshot) {
        if (snapshot.connectionState != ConnectionState.done) {
          return const SizedBox();
        }

        return Column(
          mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
          children: [
            Text(
              'You have pushed the button this many times:',
              style: pushButtonTextStyle,
            ),
            Text(
              '0',
              style: counterTextStyle,
            ),
          ],
        );
      },
    );
  }
}

Production recommendation

For production and offline support, prefer bundling critical fonts as assets.