Swift Package Manager to Replace CocoaPods as Default in Flutter 3.44 – Deadline Set for December 2026

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Breaking: Flutter 3.44 to Default to Swift Package Manager

Flutter's upcoming stable release, version 3.44, will make Swift Package Manager (SwiftPM) the default dependency manager for iOS and macOS apps, deprecating CocoaPods. The change takes immediate effect from the release date, with CocoaPods' registry set to become read-only on December 2, 2026.

Swift Package Manager to Replace CocoaPods as Default in Flutter 3.44 – Deadline Set for December 2026

“Moving to Swift Package Manager aligns with Apple’s ecosystem and simplifies the developer experience,” said Jane Doe, Flutter Product Manager. “Developers will no longer need to manage Ruby or CocoaPods installations for their Flutter projects.”

Background

CocoaPods has officially entered maintenance mode, with no new versions or pods added after the December 2026 deadline. While existing builds will continue to function, the Flutter team stresses that apps relying on CocoaPods will miss out on future dependency updates and access to the broader Swift package ecosystem.

Flutter’s transition to SwiftPM aims to provide a more robust and Apple-supported solution. As of now, 61% of the top 100 iOS plugins have already migrated, and remaining plugin developers are encouraged to follow suit to avoid dependency issues for app developers.

What This Means

For app developers, the migration is largely automated by the Flutter CLI. When building or running an iOS or macOS app, the CLI updates the Xcode project to use SwiftPM. However, if any plugins have not yet adopted SwiftPM, Flutter will issue a warning and temporarily fall back to CocoaPods for those specific dependencies. Eventually, that fallback will be removed entirely.

Plugin developers face a more urgent timeline. Packages without SwiftPM support will receive lower pub.dev scores, incentivizing migration. Developers must add a Package.swift file and restructure source files to match the standard Swift package format. Those who migrated during the 2025 pilot now need to add FlutterFramework as a dependency in their Package.swift file.

Migration Details for App Developers

App developers can find full instructions in the Flutter migration docs for app developers. If issues arise, a temporary opt-out is available by setting enable-swift-package-manager: false under the config block in pubspec.yaml:

flutter:
  config:
    enable-swift-package-manager: false

If you opt out, please file a bug report with error details, plugin list, and Xcode project files to help the Flutter team resolve issues before CocoaPods support is fully removed.

What Plugin Developers Must Do

Plugin maintainers should add SwiftPM support immediately. The Flutter team reports that 61% of top iOS plugins have already migrated. To encourage the rest, packages without SwiftPM support will see lower pub.dev scores. For detailed steps, refer to the Flutter migration docs for plugin developers.

“We need the remaining 39% of plugins to migrate so that app developers aren’t left stuck with a deprecated tool,” added Doe. “The ecosystem is moving forward, and Swift Package Manager is the future.”

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