Secure mobile applications with Dart, Flutter, and Sonatype
5 minute read time
The Dart coding language and the Flutter framework architecture are gaining traction among developers looking to build fast, reliable, cross-platform applications.
Originally developed and maintained by Google, Dart and Flutter are increasingly being adopted by organizations around the world — including Sonatype customers.
At Sonatype, we've expanded our language support to include Dart and Flutter, helping developers and security teams gain visibility into open source risk within these ecosystems. Let's explore why Dart and Flutter matter, why we chose to support them, and how Sonatype empowers teams building in these languages to manage risk more effectively.
What are Dart and Flutter?
Dart is a modern, object-oriented programming language optimized for building UI-centric applications across platforms. Although it's been around for over a decade, its use has surged recently thanks to its integration with Flutter, Google's open source UI toolkit.
Flutter enables developers to create high-performance, natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop all from a single codebase using Dart.
Together, Dart and Flutter offer an appealing alternative to other mobile development stacks by providing speed, simplicity, and a cohesive developer experience.
Why Dart and Flutter are gaining popularity
There are several reasons why Dart and Flutter are being adopted more broadly, particularly outside North America:
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Efficiency: Developers can write one codebase and deploy it across platforms, reducing time-to-market.
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Google endorsement: Google not only created Dart and Flutter but also uses them internally, lending credibility and continued development support.
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Developer experience: Dart is often seen as a simpler and more user-friendly alternative to JavaScript, while Flutter offers a polished and consistent UI-building experience.
Flutter's rising popularity is evident in the way it has overtaken frameworks like React Native in some developer circles, especially for mobile app development.
Why Sonatype supports Dart and Flutter
At Sonatype, we closely follow our customers' needs. Support for Dart and Flutter was introduced in direct response to demand from leading clients in highly regulated industries, including banking and financial services.
For example, major financial institutions like Bay Bank use Dart and Flutter extensively in their mobile application development. Organizations like Equifax have also expressed interest in securing their Dart-based projects. By expanding our support to include these technologies, we help customers better manage their open source risk in modern application environments.
Learn more about our support for Dart and Flutter on our dedicated webpage.
Dart and Flutter security with Sonatype
Support for Dart and Flutter is rolling out across the entire Sonatype Platform, bringing the same deep policy enforcement, component intelligence, and automation our customers rely on for other ecosystems.
Key benefits include:
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Fast, accurate component analysis for Dart packages and Flutter libraries.
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Policy enforcement across the SDLC, including CI/CD pipelines and developer environments.
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Security insights at development time, helping teams fix issues before they reach production.
You can dive deeper into usage and setup through our Sonatype Help documentation.
Managing Dart dependencies
When developing with Dart and Flutter, managing dependencies accurately is critical.
Two key files play a role:
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pubspec.yaml: This file lists your project's dependencies, allowing Dart to pull the latest versions available. However, this can introduce risk if new versions include vulnerabilities or breaking changes.
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pubspec.lock: This file captures the exact versions of all dependencies used in your project, including transitive dependencies. It helps ensure reproducible builds and consistency across development environments.
To generate the lock file:
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Define your dependencies in pubspec.yaml.
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Run pub get to resolve versions and fetch packages.
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Verify that pubspec.lock is created in your project root.
This approach ensures that your application uses known and tested package versions — an essential part of managing open source risk.
Where to find Dart and Flutter packages
The official repository for Dart and Flutter packages is pub.dev. This is the central source for vetted libraries used by the Dart and Flutter communities.
With Sonatype's support, you can now gain visibility into the security posture of components you consume from this repository.
Dart doesn't replace JavaScript, but it's earning its place
While Dart won't replace JavaScript in web development, it's carving out a strong role in mobile development. Much like how React gained popularity years ago, Dart is now leading the way for mobile-first experiences, especially when paired with Flutter's modern UI capabilities.
With tools like Flutter, Dart has helped shift the development paradigm toward building rich, native-like applications more efficiently.
At Sonatype, we're committed to helping teams stay secure as they adopt new technologies like Dart and Flutter.
Secure your Flutter framework architecture with Sonatype
As Dart and Flutter adoption accelerates, securing their dependencies becomes critical.
Whether you're a mobile app developer or a security leader overseeing risk, Sonatype empowers you to manage open source components with confidence — no matter what language or framework your teams choose.
To learn more, visit our Dart support page or explore our documentation on Dart and Flutter analysis.
Aaron is a technical writer on Sonatype's Marketing team. He works at a crossroads of technical writing, developer advocacy, software development, and open source. He aims to get developers and non-technical collaborators to work well together via experimentation, feedback, and iteration so they ...
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