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Flutter on webOS: The LG SDK That Puts Flutter on the Living Room TV

LG's flutter-webOS SDK lets you build, package, and run Flutter apps on webOS TV devices, with hot reload, Riverpod, and platform plugins.

Published on • October 19, 2026

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Flutter’s footprint outside phones and browsers keeps expanding — a 2026 Toyota RAV4 multimedia system runs on it — and one of the more consequential targets announced recently is televisions. In What’s new in Flutter 3.44 (May 2026), the Flutter team previewed what was coming: “LG is on the verge of launching the webOS SDK to help developers easily build Flutter apps that target WebOS devices, empowering Flutter for the big screen and beyond,” complete with plugin support for Firebase, video players, and gamepads, plus stateful hot reload and Riverpod.

That SDK has since shipped. Here’s what Flutter on webOS actually is today, and how you build for it.

What the webOS Flutter SDK is

Per LG’s own webOS TV developer announcement, Flutter for webOS TV is officially available to developers: you can build, package, and run Flutter apps directly on webOS TV devices using the flutter-webOS SDK.

The key architectural fact is that flutter-webOS is an extension of the Flutter SDK, not a fork of your app’s code model:

“Flutter-webOS is an extension to the Flutter SDK for developing Flutter applications for webOS. It provides the necessary tools and libraries to build, package, and run Flutter apps on webOS-powered devices.” — lg-flutter-webos/flutter-webos

You write standard Dart and Flutter. The SDK adds the embedder, tooling, and platform plugins that make your app a first-class webOS citizen — environment setup, project creation, build, deployment, and on-device debugging are all covered in the Flutter for webOS guide.

What’s in the box

From LG’s announcement and the lg-flutter-webos GitHub organization, the pieces are:

  • flutter-webos — the SDK extension itself: tools and libraries to build, package, and run apps on webOS.
  • plugins — webOS-specific Flutter plugins. LG lists Luna Service integration, media playback, Firebase support, and App Manager and Display APIs among the platform features your app can reach.
  • ndk — the webOS NDK the SDK builds against.
  • artifacts — prebuilt flutter-webos artifacts.
  • devcontainer — a Dev Container setup for reproducible environments.
  • plugins-beta — beta plugins, currently for authorized partners.

LG’s announcement also promises the Flutter features developers expect anywhere else: stateful hot reload and state management with Riverpod — the exact combination the Flutter 3.44 preview called out. In other words, the TV workflow is meant to feel like the mobile workflow: flutter run, edit, see it on the device.

Device availability

Flutter for webOS TV supports webOS TV 26 Re:New and later. LG notes a wrinkle worth checking before you plan a rollout: TVs that originally shipped with webOS 26 require the Re:New update to get Flutter support. LG has also stated that further updates are planned for the second half of 2026, including Flutter version upgrades and new plugin development — so track their release notes alongside Flutter’s own quarterly stables.

Why this is happening now

Two 2026 roadmap themes explain the timing:

  1. Out-of-tree platform support. The roadmap commits to “improving the extensibility of the Flutter Engine and command line tools so that support for new platforms can be authored ‘out-of-tree’.” A TV vendor shipping its own SDK extension without forking the framework is exactly the outcome that work targets.
  2. Governance and partners. The same roadmap formalizes partner channels (Consultancy Program, CAB, PAB), and 3.44 announced Canonical as lead maintainer for Flutter Desktop. LG arriving as a platform partner fits the pattern: Flutter supplies the framework, OEMs supply the embedder.

For you as a developer, the practical consequence is code reuse. A Flutter app targeting Android TV, desktop, and webOS can share its UI layer, state management, and — thanks to the plugin list above — even parts of its Firebase integration.

Building your first webOS Flutter app

The exact bootstrap comes from LG’s docs, but the shape of the workflow is familiar Flutter with a webOS device target:

# 1. Install the flutter-webOS SDK per LG's getting-started guide
#    https://webostv.developer.lge.com/develop/getting-started

# 2. Verify your environment
flutter doctor

# 3. Create or use an existing Flutter project
flutter create tv_app
cd tv_app

# 4. Run against a connected webOS TV or emulator
flutter devices     # should list your webOS TV
flutter run -d <webos-device>

A few things should shape the app itself if you’re coming from mobile:

  • Input is a remote, not a touchscreen. D-pad navigation, focus handling, and back-button semantics drive everything; Flutter’s focus system and Shortcuts/Actions framework map well, but you’ll want a 10-foot UI: larger type, stronger selection states, fewer hover-dependent affordances.
  • Media is a platform feature. LG’s media playback plugin is the intended path for video — pair it with the gamepad plugin if your app supports controllers.
  • Firebase works where you expect. Firebase plugin support in the SDK means auth, Firestore, and analytics don’t require you to invent a webOS shim.
  • Performance discipline still applies. TV hardware varies widely; Impeller’s availability depends on the underlying graphics stack, so profile on real devices rather than assuming desktop-class GPU behavior.

What to watch

Flutter on webOS is young: the SDK launched in 2026, some plugins are still behind a partners-only beta, and LG’s stated H2 2026 roadmap includes Flutter version upgrades. If you’re betting on it for a product:

  • read LG’s Flutter guide and SDK release notes before committing;
  • pin the Flutter version your target webOS SDK expects — a mismatch between flutter-webOS and upstream Flutter is the most likely integration pain;
  • file feedback through LG’s developer portal, since plugin priorities are still being set.

The strategic read is straightforward: after mobile, web, desktop, and car infotainment, Flutter on televisions is another proof that the framework’s story is “every screen,” and the SDK extension model makes the list of screens something other than Google’s roadmap to decide.

Sources

flutter webos lg embedded