Skip to main content

​
Overview

Node is the fundamental building block of an AppFlowy Editor document. Each node has a type (e.g., “paragraph”, “heading”), attributes (data), and can contain child nodes, forming a tree structure. Nodes are organized in a linked list structure for efficient traversal and manipulation.

​
Constructor

Node({
  required String type,
  String? id,
  Node? parent,
  Attributes attributes = const {},
  Iterable<Node> children = const [],
})

​
Named Constructors

// Create from JSON
Node.fromJson(Map<String, Object> json)

​
Parameters

​
type
String
required
The type of the node (e.g., “paragraph”, “heading”, “bulletedList”).
​
id
String
Unique identifier for the node. Auto-generated if not provided.
​
parent
Node
Parent node in the tree.
​
attributes
Attributes
default:"{}"
Node data/attributes (e.g., delta for text, level for headings).
​
children
Iterable<Node>
default:"[]"
Child nodes.

​
Properties

​
type
String
The type identifier of this node.
​
id
String
Unique identifier for the node.
​
parent
Node?
Parent node, or null if this is the root.
​
children
List<Node>
List of child nodes.
​
attributes
Attributes
Copy of the node’s attributes.
​
path
Path
The path from the root to this node (e.g., [0], [1, 2]).
​
delta
Delta?
The text delta if this node contains text, otherwise null.
​
key
GlobalKey
Flutter global key for this node’s widget.
​
layerLink
LayerLink
Layer link for overlay positioning.
​
externalValues
NodeExternalValues?
External values for custom node data.
​
extraInfos
Map?
Temporary data cleared after rendering.

​
Methods

​
updateAttributes

void updateAttributes(Attributes attributes)
Updates the node’s attributes by merging with existing attributes.
​
attributes
Attributes
required
Attributes to merge into the node.
Example: 
node.updateAttributes({'bold': true, 'level': 2});

​
insert

void insert(Node entry, {int? index})
Inserts a child node at the specified index.
​
entry
Node
required
The node to insert.
​
index
int
The index to insert at. Defaults to end of children.

​
insertBefore

void insertBefore(Node entry)
Inserts a node before this node in the parent’s children.

​
insertAfter

void insertAfter(Node entry)
Inserts a node after this node in the parent’s children. 
bool unlink()
Removes this node from its parent’s children. Returns: true if successful, false if the node has no parent.

​
childAtPath

Node? childAtPath(Path path)
Returns the descendant node at the relative path.
​
path
Path
required
Relative path from this node.
Returns: The node at the path, or null. Example: 
final child = node.childAtPath([0]); // First child
final grandchild = node.childAtPath([0, 1]); // Second child of first child

​
childAtIndexOrNull

Node? childAtIndexOrNull(int index)
Returns the child at the given index, or null if out of bounds.

​
copyWith

Node copyWith({
  String? type,
  Iterable<Node>? children,
  Attributes? attributes,
})
Creates a deep copy of the node with optional overrides. Returns: A new node with a new ID.

​
deepCopy

Node deepCopy()
Creates a deep copy of the node including all children.

​
toJson

Map<String, Object> toJson()
Serializes the node to JSON format. Example: 
final json = node.toJson();
// {
//   'type': 'paragraph',
//   'data': {'delta': [...]},
//   'children': [...]
// }

​
notify

void notify()
Manually triggers a rebuild of this node’s widget.

​
checkDocumentIntegrity

void checkDocumentIntegrity()
Validates document tree integrity (for debugging).

​
Example

import 'package:appflowy_editor/appflowy_editor.dart';

// Create a paragraph node
final paragraph = Node(
  type: 'paragraph',
  attributes: {
    'delta': Delta([TextInsert('Hello, World!')]).toJson(),
  },
);

// Create a heading node with children
final heading = Node(
  type: 'heading',
  attributes: {
    'level': 1,
    'delta': Delta([TextInsert('Title')]).toJson(),
  },
  children: [paragraph],
);

// Access properties
print(heading.type); // 'heading'
print(heading.path); // [0] (if at root)
print(heading.children.length); // 1

// Get the delta
final delta = heading.delta;
if (delta != null) {
  print(delta.toPlainText()); // 'Title'
}

// Update attributes
heading.updateAttributes({'level': 2});

// Navigate children
final firstChild = heading.childAtIndexOrNull(0);
final nodeAtPath = heading.childAtPath([0]);

// Copy the node
final copy = heading.copyWith();

// Serialize to JSON
final json = heading.toJson();
final fromJson = Node.fromJson(json);

​
Common Node Types

  • paragraph - Text paragraph
  • heading - Heading with level 1-6
  • bulletedList - Bulleted list item
  • numberedList - Numbered list item
  • todoList - Todo list item
  • quote - Block quote
  • code - Code block
  • divider - Horizontal divider
  • image - Image block
  • page - Root page node

​
See Also

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us