An Open Letter to the Creator of GetX: Gratitude, Concerns, and the Path Forward

[sdegenaar]

Dear @jonataslaw

First and foremost, I want to extend my gratitude for creating GetX. Over the years, it has been a transformative tool for many developers in the Flutter community, helping us streamline state management, navigation, and dependency injection in ways that were both accessible and elegant. It offered developers simplicity and flexibility, making it a go-to choice for many projects. Your work has inspired countless applications.

That said, there seems to be a growing concern within the community: the perception that GetX has been abandoned. Updates have started to slow significantly, and issues raised by developers are left lingering for long periods. Everyone understands that maintaining such a popular library takes a tremendous amount of time, effort, and responsibility. It's not an easy task, especially when done single-handedly or for free. However, the lack of clarity on the library’s future direction has created uncertainty among developers relying on GetX for their projects.

The Flutter ecosystem has seen new tools, like Riverpod, Bloc, and Provider, become increasingly prominent alternatives. Many developers who previously used GetX are migrating their projects, hesitant to continue relying on a library with unclear support and a stagnant roadmap.

This isn’t an attempt to criticise or undermine your monumental work. Instead, it's an honest plea for clarity: What is the future of GetX? If maintaining and updating it no longer aligns with your priorities or abilities, that is entirely understandable. The community would surely rally to support you, whether by helping to maintain the project, forking it effectively, or transitioning to alternatives.

Developers don’t just need words—they need actions. If you intend to pass the baton, perhaps facilitating the transfer of responsibility to trusted contributors could ensure that the project lives on. And if future updates are to be resumed, a clear roadmap or announcement would provide much-needed confidence to the community.

GetX has been a gift to us all, not just for its functionality but for the philosophy it inspired: simplicity, developer experience, and productivity. I hope this can continue, whether through your work, through the community, or by encouraging developers to discover tools that align better with their needs.

With the utmost respect for your efforts and contribution, I ask for clarity—for actions louder than words—to ensure that developers using GetX can make informed decisions about its role in their projects going forward.

Thank you again for all that GetX has done for Flutter developers worldwide. Wishing you all the best in your future endeavours, whether related to GetX or beyond.

[Aniketkhote]

Have you tried the refreshed package? You should give it a try!

[sdegenaar]

Thank you @Aniketkhote

Thanks for your work on this package. Are you intending to further develop the package (refreshed) or just fixes and wait for @jonataslaw updates and roadmap. Will it be tied to Getx completely or do envisage its own roadmap?

[Aniketkhote]

@sdegenaar
GetX, created by @jonataslaw, is a great package, and I appreciate the work behind it. As for Refreshed, I'm trying to fix as many bugs as possible to ensure compatibility with the latest Dart and Flutter versions. There's no fixed plan on whether it will remain dependent on GetX or take its own direction. However, I'll follow what the community wants. As I’ve mentioned, I'm not an expert like @jonataslaw, but I’ll keep trying to improve it.