tv_textfield

A Flutter package that fixes common TV / remote control issues with TextField on Android TV, Apple TV, and other platforms — including D-pad focus getting stuck after the on-screen keyboard is dismissed (flutter#147772).

Platform support

Platform Default backend Soft keyboard Hardware keyboard
Android TV Native EditText Yes Yes
Apple TV (tvOS) Native UITextField Yes (system keyboard) Yes (Bluetooth)
iOS / iPadOS Flutter Yes Yes
Android phone Native EditText Yes Yes
macOS / Windows / Linux Flutter N/A Yes
Web Flutter Browser keyboard Yes

Works with flutter-tvos for Apple TV builds.

Features

  • D-pad / Siri Remote friendly — move between fields with arrows when not editing
  • Select / Enter to edit — opens the keyboard without trapping navigation
  • Back / Menu / Escape to dismiss — closes the keyboard and releases focus
  • Cross-platform — native views on Android and Apple TV, Flutter fallback elsewhere
  • Drop-in API — familiar TextField-like parameters

Installation

dependencies:
  tv_textfield: ^0.1.0

Usage

Initialize platform detection (recommended for Apple TV auto-detection), wrap your app with TvTextFieldScope, and use TvTextField:

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

Future<void> main() async {
  WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized();
  await initializeTvTextField();
  runApp(const MyApp());
}

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  const MyApp({super.key});

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      home: TvTextFieldScope(
        child: MyHomePage(),
      ),
    );
  }
}

TvTextField(
  controller: controller,
  focusNode: focusNode,
  decoration: InputDecoration(
    labelText: 'Search',
    border: OutlineInputBorder(),
  ),
  textInputAction: TextInputAction.search,
  onSubmitted: (value) => debugPrint('Submitted: $value'),
)

Remote controls

Action Android TV Apple TV
Move focus D-pad arrows Siri Remote swipe
Start editing Select / Enter Select (center click)
Dismiss keyboard Back Menu

Implementation modes

Mode Description
auto (default) Native on Android; native on tvOS; Flutter elsewhere
flutter Pure Flutter with TV focus fixes
native Native on Android or Apple platforms
androidNative Force Android EditText
appleNative Force Apple UITextField 
TvTextField(
  implementation: TvTextFieldImplementation.flutter,
  // ...
)

Example

cd example
flutter run                  # mobile / desktop
flutter run -d <tv-device>   # Android TV or Apple TV

Android TV

Add the leanback launcher category if needed:

<intent-filter>
  <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
  <category android:name="android.intent.category.LEANBACK_LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>

Apple TV

Use the flutter-tvos toolchain to build for tvOS. The plugin registers for both ios and tvos targets with shared Swift sources.

How it works

Flutter mode shows a read-only field display while focused but not editing. D-pad arrows are not consumed, so focus traversal keeps working. When the user activates the field, a real TextField is shown for typing.

Native mode embeds a platform text field (EditText on Android, UITextField on Apple platforms), delegating soft-keyboard behavior to the OS — the recommended approach for TV devices.

License

MIT

Libraries

tv_textfield