Building the macOS Camera Preview App in 25 Minutes with Cline AI

Why?

The default camera preview on macOS is excessively large and takes up a significant amount of screen space, so I decided to create a custom version.

Overview

Developing the macOS Camera Preview app was a testament to the power of combining modern tools like Flutter and the AI assistant Cline. Within just 25 minutes, this app went from a basic concept to a functional product, showcasing a seamless integration of camera preview, expandable UI elements, and confetti effects.

What is Cline?

Cline is an AI-powered coding assistant integrated into tools like Visual Studio Code. It offers intelligent code suggestions, real-time debugging, and automates repetitive tasks, significantly streamlining the development process.

Development Process

Here’s how the app was developed step-by-step:

1. Setting Up the Flutter Project

Using Flutter’s command-line tools, the initial project structure was created:

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flutter create macos_camera_preview

2. Implementing Camera Functionality

The primary camera functionality was built using the camera_macos package. Cline was tasked with reading the relevant documentation and implementing the CameraMacOSView widget in MyHomePage. This provided a live camera preview with photo capture capability.

Code snippet:

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CameraMacOSView(
  key: cameraKey,
  fit: BoxFit.contain,
  cameraMode: CameraMacOSMode.photo,
  onCameraInizialized: (CameraMacOSController controller) {
    setState(() {
      macOSController = controller;
    });
  },
)

3. Enhancing the UI with Expandable FAB and Confetti

Next, an expandable Floating Action Button (FAB) was added, allowing users to switch between circular and rectangular camera previews and trigger confetti animations. Cline executed tasks to integrate these features efficiently.

Expandable FAB Implementation:

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ExpandableFab(
  type: ExpandableFabType.up,
  distance: 70,
  children: [
    FloatingActionButton.small(
      child: Icon(isCirclePreview ? Icons.circle : Icons.rectangle),
      onPressed: () {
        setState(() {
          isCirclePreview = !isCirclePreview;
        });
      },
    ),
    FloatingActionButton.small(
      child: const Icon(Icons.celebration),
      onPressed: () {
        _confettiController.play();
      },
    ),
  ],
)

Confetti Integration:

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ConfettiWidget(
  confettiController: _confettiController,
  blastDirection: pi / 2,
  maxBlastForce: 20,
  minBlastForce: 10,
  numberOfParticles: 20,
  gravity: 0.1,
)

4. Resolving the Mirroring Issue

While comparing the app to the default macOS camera preview, a mirroring issue was identified. Cline was instructed to fix this, leading to the use of Flutter’s Transform.scale widget to flip the camera preview horizontally.

Fixing Mirroring:

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Transform.scale(
  scaleX: -1,
  child: CameraMacOSView(
    key: cameraKey,
    fit: BoxFit.cover,
    cameraMode: CameraMacOSMode.photo,
    onCameraInizialized: (CameraMacOSController controller) {
      setState(() {
        macOSController = controller;
      });
    },
  ),
)

Key Takeaways

• Efficiency: Cline significantly reduced development time by automating repetitive coding tasks and integrating complex features.
• Collaboration: The interaction between human direction and AI execution ensured accuracy and adaptability in implementing new features.
• Innovation: Combining Flutter, Cline, and community packages (like flutter_expandable_fab and confetti) enabled a feature-rich app within minutes.

This project highlights the potential of leveraging AI tools in software development to enhance productivity and creativity. With tools like Cline, developers can focus on innovation while the assistant handles the heavy lifting.