pub.dev Releases Screensaver
The pub.dev Releases screensaver shows dart and Flutter packages as they are published, gathered key-less by the pipeline. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
Live preview
Press ESC to leave fullscreen. Settings are saved in your browser only.
How the pub.dev Releases screensaver works
The saver reads the source described above and draws it on a canvas — no account, no tracking.
Dart and Flutter packages as they are published, gathered key-less by the pipeline. The feed announces every version rather than every package, so the same name often appears three times in an hour as an author walks a release through patch bumps.
It refreshes on a schedule, so what you see stays current.
Colours and any options can be changed in settings; nothing is stored beyond your own browser.
How pub.dev publishing works
pub.dev is the main package repository for the Dart language and the Flutter framework. A package’s identity is its name, and each upload adds a new version under it. Flutter apps for mobile, web and desktop pull in much of their functionality this way, and plain Dart programs use it too.
Publishing is close to permanent: the Dart documentation says “publishing is forever”, and unpublishing is allowed only in very few cases. A version can be retracted within seven days of release to stop new users adopting it, but it stays listed and is labelled RETRACTED, and an unmaintained package can be marked as discontinued. Versions follow semantic versioning, so 2.0.0 to 2.0.1 is normally a small fix, 2.1.0 a compatible feature and 3.0.0 a breaking change.
pub.dev also rates packages with pub points (a quality measure), likes, and a popularity figure based on how many other packages depend on a package. This saver shows only the release stream, none of those ratings, so a new version says nothing about quality. Brand-new names may be experiments or early scaffolds.
A worked example
Dart and Flutter packages as they are published, gathered key-less by the pipeline. The feed announces every version rather than every package, so the same name often appears three times in an hour as an author walks a release through patch bumps.
Settings & tips
- Accent and Background recolour the display.
- Every value on screen comes from the live source — nothing is simulated.
- Press ESC to leave fullscreen.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this real data?
- Yes — it comes from the source named on this page and is refreshed on a schedule.
- Is a key needed?
- No. This source is fully key-less.
- Is it free?
- Yes — free, no download, in your browser.
- What does 2.0.0 mean compared with 2.0.1?
- Under semantic versioning, the third number marks a patch-level fix and the first marks a major change that may break code relying on the older release.
- Is this limited to Flutter?
- No. pub.dev serves Dart packages in general, including command-line and server-side ones, and many of them do not use Flutter.
- Can a published version be removed?
- Rarely. Publishing is meant to be permanent. An author can retract a version within seven days, which discourages new use but does not delete it.