diagnose-scroll-spy

Diagnose scroll_spy

Work symptom-first: find the row that matches, verify its cause in the code, apply the smallest fix, then confirm with the overlay workflow at the end. Most reports match exactly one row.

Symptom table

Symptom	Cause to verify	Fix
Everything null/empty, never any state	No ScrollSpyItem/ScrollSpyItemLite in the subtree, or scope not above the scrollable	Wrap items; scope must enclose the scrollable that scrolls them
Same, but items exist	Type parameter mismatch: ScrollSpyScope<String> with ScrollSpyItem<int> (or an omitted <T> defaulting to dynamic). Items look up the scope by exact T; a mismatch throws an assert in debug builds but silently tracks nothing in release	Make every scope, item, controller, builder, and listener share the same concrete T
Same, only in widget tests	State is committed in post-frame callbacks: registration on frame 1, compute on frame 2	After pumpWidget, pump() twice before asserting
First frame after mount shows no focus (runtime)	Same post-frame pipeline; initial state lands one frame late by design	Do not read focus in initState; listen, or read after the first frames
Focus ignores jumpTo/programmatic scrolls until the user wiggles	Scope observes notifications only; a bare jumpTo on an external ScrollController can bypass them	Pass the same controller as scrollController: to the scope or wrapper (wrappers wire it to both the view and the scope)
Highlight/primary is offset under a pinned SliverAppBar, tab bar, safe area, or bottom bar	Region anchored in the full viewport while an overlay covers part of it	viewportInsets: EdgeInsets.only(top: <overlay px>) (or bottom:); keep insetsAffectVisibility: true so covered items also stop counting as visible
Highlight resets to null on setState; external listeners go dead	ScrollSpyController created inside build, so each rebuild swaps in a fresh controller and orphans the old one	Make it a State field; dispose() it; never construct it in build
Focus updates when an inner carousel scrolls, or not at all in nested scrollables	Notification depth/filtering: default notificationDepth: 0 targets the immediate child scrollable; nested setups deliver other depths	Set notificationDepth, or notificationPredicate/metricsNotificationPredicate (filter on n.metrics.axis)
Primary stale while scrolling, corrects after stop	onScrollEnd/hybrid update policy semantics, not a bug	If per-scroll updates are wanted, use perFrame (default); see the tune-scroll-spy-stability skill
Primary flickers, sticks, or picks the "wrong" item near boundaries	Selection/stability configuration	Use the tune-scroll-spy-stability skill
First/last items never become primary with a centered anchor	Edge geometry: at the list edges those items cannot reach the anchor	Add symmetric list padding of (viewportExtent - itemExtent) / 2, bias the anchor, or accept the nearest-fallback behavior
Items inside a horizontal pager/second scrollable never focus in the outer scope	Items resolve to their nearest enclosing viewport; the scope tracks the first-registered viewport and skips items from others	Give the inner scrollable its own scope of its own type, or restructure which widget registers
Off-screen kept-alive items (AutomaticKeepAlive) report nothing	Unlaidout children are unmeasurable that pass by design	Treat absence as "not visible"; do not special-case
Debug assert about fast-path geometry mismatch with a custom sliver	A custom sliver's paint transform lies about actual positions	Fix the sliver's applyPaintTransform, or file an issue with the assert text
itemRectInViewport/visibleRectInViewport always null	Rects are only populated with debug: true + ScrollSpyDebugConfig(includeItemRectsInFrame: true)	Enable both while debugging; keep off in release
Listener attached but no callback for existing state	Listenables fire on transitions; attaching produces no initial call	Read .value for current state; use listeners for changes

Instrumentation workflow

When no row matches, or to confirm one:

1. Turn on the overlay: debug: true on the scope/wrapper (optionally debugConfig: ScrollSpyDebugConfig(showLabels: true)). Red = focus region, green = primary outline, yellow = focused outlines, blue = visible bounds.
   • Region drawn where you did not expect: anchor/insets problem.
   • No item outlines at all: registration problem (rows 1-3).
   • Outlines but never green: selection/stability (tune skill).
2. Log engine events without widgets: ScrollSpyDiagnostics.sink = ScrollSpyDiagnostics.debugPrintSink(); (set to null when done).
3. Snapshot ground truth at a breakpoint or in a listener: controller.snapshot.value shows primaryId, focusedIds, visibleIds, and per-item metrics for everything measurable this pass.

Reporting

State the confirmed root cause, the one-line fix, and what you verified (overlay observation, passing test, or both). If the behavior needed a config change with product implications (anchor moves, insets, update policy), say what tradeoff was made.