Spacing

Introduction

The Spacing widget provides a clean, readable way to add consistent spacing between UI elements. Instead of manually creating SizedBox instances throughout your code, you can use Spacing with semantic presets or custom values.

// Instead of this:
SizedBox(height: 16),

// Write this:
Spacing.md,

Preset Sizes

Spacing comes with built-in presets for common spacing values. These help maintain consistent spacing throughout your app.

Vertical Spacing Presets

Use these in Column widgets or anywhere you need vertical space:

Column(
  children: [
    Text("Title"),
    Spacing.sm,
    Text("Subtitle"),
    Spacing.lg,
    Text("Body content"),
    Spacing.xl,
    ElevatedButton(
      onPressed: () {},
      child: Text("Action"),
    ),
  ],
)

Horizontal Spacing Presets

Use these in Row widgets or anywhere you need horizontal space:

Row(
  children: [
    Icon(Icons.star),
    Spacing.smHorizontal,
    Text("Rating"),
    Spacing.lgHorizontal,
    Text("5.0"),
  ],
)

Custom Spacing

When presets don't fit your needs, create custom spacing:

Vertical Spacing

Spacing.vertical(12) // 12 logical pixels of vertical space

Horizontal Spacing

Spacing.horizontal(20) // 20 logical pixels of horizontal space

Both Dimensions

Spacing(width: 10, height: 20) // Custom width and height

Example

Column(
  children: [
    Text("Header"),
    Spacing.vertical(40), // Custom 40px gap
    Card(
      child: Padding(
        padding: EdgeInsets.all(16),
        child: Row(
          children: [
            Icon(Icons.info),
            Spacing.horizontal(12), // Custom 12px gap
            Expanded(child: Text("Information text")),
          ],
        ),
      ),
    ),
  ],
)

Using with Slivers

When working with CustomScrollView and slivers, use the asSliver() method:

CustomScrollView(
  slivers: [
    SliverAppBar(
      title: Text("My App"),
    ),
    Spacing.lg.asSliver(), // Converts to SliverToBoxAdapter
    SliverList(
      delegate: SliverChildBuilderDelegate(
        (context, index) => ListTile(title: Text("Item $index")),
        childCount: 10,
      ),
    ),
    Spacing.xl.asSliver(),
    SliverToBoxAdapter(
      child: Text("Footer"),
    ),
  ],
)

The asSliver() method wraps the Spacing widget in a SliverToBoxAdapter, making it compatible with sliver-based layouts.

Conditional Spacing

Use Spacing.zero for conditional spacing:

Column(
  children: [
    Text("Always visible"),
    showExtraSpace ? Spacing.lg : Spacing.zero,
    Text("Content below"),
  ],
)