What is Firestore ODM?
This project is a type-safe Object Document Mapper (ODM) for Cloud Firestore on Dart and Flutter. It's designed from the ground up to solve the common frustrations of working with Firestore in a type-safe language, allowing you to build amazing apps faster and with fewer runtime errors.
Why We Built This
If you've worked with the standard cloud_firestore package, you know the pain:
- No Type Safety: You refer to fields using strings (
'isActive','profile.followers'), which the compiler can't check. A simple typo can lead to a runtime error that's hard to find. - Manual Serialization: You have to manually convert
DocumentSnapshotobjects to your data models and back again, which is tedious and error-prone. - Complex Queries: Writing complex queries with nested logic can be difficult and hard to read.
- Incomplete Solutions: Other ODMs for Flutter are often incomplete or not actively maintained.
We wanted a solution that provides: ✅ Complete, end-to-end type safety. ✅ Intuitive, readable, and chainable APIs. ✅ Automatic, seamless serialization. ✅ Powerful features that solve real-world problems. ✅ Active maintenance and a focus on the Flutter ecosystem.
Firestore ODM vs Standard cloud_firestore
| Feature | Standard cloud_firestore | Firestore ODM |
|---|---|---|
| Type Safety | ❌ Map<String, dynamic> everywhere | ✅ Strong types throughout |
| Query Building | ❌ String-based, error-prone | ✅ Type-safe with IDE support |
| Data Updates | ❌ Manual map construction | ✅ Three smart update strategies |
| Aggregations | ❌ Basic count only | ✅ Comprehensive + streaming |
| Pagination | ❌ Manual, inconsistency risks | ✅ Smart Builder, zero risk |
| Transactions | ❌ Manual read-before-write | ✅ Automatic deferred writes |
| Code Generation | ❌ None | ✅ Highly optimized, minimal output |
| Model Reusability | ❌ N/A | ✅ Same model, multiple collections |
| Runtime Errors | ❌ Common | ✅ Eliminated at compile-time |
| Developer Experience | ❌ Frustrating | ✅ Productive and enjoyable |
Ready to Migrate?
If you're currently using the standard cloud_firestore package and want to experience these benefits, check out our comprehensive Migration Guide that walks you through migrating every feature step-by-step with detailed before/after examples.
Quick Example
Here's a taste of what Firestore ODM looks like in action:
Before (cloud_firestore):
// String-based, error-prone
final snapshot = await FirebaseFirestore.instance
.collection('users')
.where('isActive', isEqualTo: true)
.where('age', isGreaterThan: 18)
.get();
List<Map<String, dynamic>> users = snapshot.docs
.map((doc) => doc.data())
.toList();
After (Firestore ODM):
// Type-safe, IDE-supported
List<User> users = await db.users
.where(($) => $.and(
$.isActive(isEqualTo: true),
$.age(isGreaterThan: 18),
))
.get();
Firestore ODM transforms Firestore from a source of frustration into a powerful, type-safe database layer that enhances your Flutter development experience.