Fade in images with a placeholder

Contents

In-Memory
- Complete example
From asset bundle
- Complete example

When displaying images using the default Image widget, you might notice they simply pop onto the screen as they’re loaded. This might feel visually jarring to your users.

Instead, wouldn’t it be nice to display a placeholder at first, and images would fade in as they’re loaded? Use the FadeInImage widget for exactly this purpose.

FadeInImage works with images of any type: in-memory, local assets, or images from the internet.

In-Memory

In this example, use the transparent_image package for a simple transparent placeholder.

FadeInImage.memoryNetwork(
  placeholder: kTransparentImage,
  image: 'https://picsum.photos/250?image=9',
),

Complete example

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:transparent_image/transparent_image.dart';

void main() {
  runApp(const MyApp());
}

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  const MyApp({super.key});

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    const title = 'Fade in images';

    return MaterialApp(
      title: title,
      home: Scaffold(
        appBar: AppBar(
          title: const Text(title),
        ),
        body: Stack(
          children: <Widget>[
            const Center(child: CircularProgressIndicator()),
            Center(
              child: FadeInImage.memoryNetwork(
                placeholder: kTransparentImage,
                image: 'https://picsum.photos/250?image=9',
              ),
            ),
          ],
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

Fading In Image Demo

From asset bundle

You can also consider using local assets for placeholders. First, add the asset to the project’s pubspec.yaml file (for more details, see Adding assets and images):

 flutter:
   assets:
+    - assets/loading.gif

Then, use the FadeInImage.assetNetwork() constructor:

FadeInImage.assetNetwork(
  placeholder: 'assets/loading.gif',
  image: 'https://picsum.photos/250?image=9',
),

Complete example

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

void main() {
  runApp(const MyApp());
}

class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
  const MyApp({super.key});

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    const title = 'Fade in images';

    return MaterialApp(
      title: title,
      home: Scaffold(
        appBar: AppBar(
          title: const Text(title),
        ),
        body: Center(
          child: FadeInImage.assetNetwork(
            placeholder: 'assets/loading.gif',
            image: 'https://picsum.photos/250?image=9',
          ),
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

Asset fade-in