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2026-08-28-auth-key-store-plugin

title: "The signed-in session's key needs a DwKeyValueStorePlugin declared" affects: dartway_serverpod_core_flutter: "0.12.0" dartway_flutter: "0.8.0"​

Who is affected​

Every Flutter app on the framework. The core used to reach for shared_preferences itself, through its own copy of the storage contract; it no longer depends on that package at all and asks the plugins for whoever claims the DwKeyValueStorePlugin role.

Without a plugin claiming it, reaching for the auth key throws — with a message saying exactly that, at the moment something needs it. In practice that is the first thing after sign-in, or the first launch that should have restored a session.

What to change​

Declare a store plugin where DwCore is built (<project>_flutter/lib/core/dw_core.dart in a project laid out like the skeleton):

dw = DwCore<Client, UserProfile>(
+ // The session's key lives here. The core asks the plugins for whoever
+ // claimed the DwKeyValueStorePlugin role.
+ plugins: [DwSharedPreferences()],
  config: DwConfig(...),
  ...
)

If the project already declares plugins, add it to the list. If it has its own key-value storage, that class can claim the role instead — the framework asks for the role, not for this package.

Add dartway_shared_preferences to the Flutter package's pubspec.yaml if it is not there already; the core no longer brings it in.

If the project constructed DwAuthenticationKeyManager itself: Storage and SharedPreferenceStorage are gone, and the parameter storage: is now store:, taking the role.

How to check​

Sign in, kill the app, launch it again: the session survives. That is the whole behaviour the key is there for, and it is not covered by a compile error — the failure is a throw at runtime.