This guide will get you reading and writing health data in under 5 minutes. For a complete working example, check out the example app in carp-health-flutter/example.

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Prerequisites

Flutter Installed

Make sure Flutter SDK is installed on your machine

Platform Setup

Complete iOS and Android setup steps

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Step 1: Create Health Instance

First, import the package and create a Health instance: 
import 'package:health/health.dart';

final health = Health();
await health.configure();
Call configure() once when your app starts. This initializes the health plugin for your platform.

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Step 2: Request Permissions

  • Beginner
  • Advanced
Request basic read permissions for common health data:
final types = [
  HealthDataType.STEPS,
  HealthDataType.HEART_RATE,
];

final granted = await health.requestAuthorization(types);

if (granted) {
  print('✓ Permissions granted!');
} else {
  print('✗ Permissions denied');
}
Start with just STEPS and HEART_RATE to keep things simple. You can add more types later.

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Android: Check Health Connect

On Android, users need Google Health Connect installed:
// Check if Health Connect is available
final available = await health.isHealthConnectAvailable();

if (!available) {
  // Open Play Store to install Health Connect
  await health.installHealthConnect();
}

// Check detailed status
final status = await health.getHealthConnectSdkStatus();
print('Health Connect status: $status');
Health Connect is the modern replacement for Google Fit on Android. Most devices running Android 14+ have it pre-installed.

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Step 3: Read Health Data

  • Beginner
  • Advanced
Read your step count from the last 24 hours:
final now = DateTime.now();
final yesterday = now.subtract(const Duration(hours: 24));

final healthData = await health.getHealthDataFromTypes(
  types: [HealthDataType.STEPS],
  startDate: yesterday,
  endDate: now,
);

for (var point in healthData) {
  print('Steps: ${point.value}');
}

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Quick Step Count

Get Today's Steps

Use the optimized method for step counting:
final now = DateTime.now();
final midnight = DateTime(now.year, now.month, now.day);

final steps = await health.getTotalStepsInInterval(midnight, now);

print('Steps today: ${steps ?? 0}');

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Step 4: Write Health Data

  • Beginner
  • Advanced
Save a simple health measurement like weight:
final now = DateTime.now();

final success = await health.writeHealthData(
  value: 70.5,  // 70.5 kg
  type: HealthDataType.WEIGHT,
  startTime: now,
);

if (success) {
  print('✓ Weight saved!');
} else {
  print('✗ Failed to save weight');
}
Make sure you requested WRITE permission for the data type you want to save!

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Step 5: Delete Data (Optional)

Delete data you’ve previously written:
final now = DateTime.now();
final yesterday = now.subtract(Duration(hours: 24));

final success = await health.delete(
  type: HealthDataType.STEPS,
  startTime: yesterday,
  endTime: now,
);

if (success) {
  print('✓ Data deleted');
}
Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Always confirm with the user before deleting health data.

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Complete Example

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

class SimpleHealthExample extends StatefulWidget {
  @override
  _SimpleHealthExampleState createState() => _SimpleHealthExampleState();
}

class _SimpleHealthExampleState extends State<SimpleHealthExample> {
  final health = Health();
  int? steps;

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    _initHealth();
  }

  Future<void> _initHealth() async {
    // Configure
    await health.configure();
    
    // Request permissions
    final types = [HealthDataType.STEPS];
    final granted = await health.requestAuthorization(types);
    
    if (granted) {
      _fetchSteps();
    }
  }

  Future<void> _fetchSteps() async {
    final now = DateTime.now();
    final midnight = DateTime(now.year, now.month, now.day);
    
    final stepCount = await health.getTotalStepsInInterval(midnight, now);
    
    setState(() {
      steps = stepCount;
    });
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(title: Text('Health Example')),
      body: Center(
        child: Column(
          mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.center,
          children: [
            Text(
              'Steps Today',
              style: TextStyle(fontSize: 24),
            ),
            SizedBox(height: 16),
            Text(
              '${steps ?? '...'}',
              style: TextStyle(fontSize: 48, fontWeight: FontWeight.bold),
            ),
            SizedBox(height: 24),
            ElevatedButton(
              onPressed: _fetchSteps,
              child: Text('Refresh'),
            ),
          ],
        ),
      ),
    );
  }
}

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Next Steps

Reading Data

Learn about different reading methods and data processing

Writing Data

Explore writing workouts, meals, and specialized data

Permissions

Understand permission management in depth

Data Types

See all 100+ supported health data types

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Common Issues

On iOS, if permissions are denied once, they can only be changed in the Settings app. Guide users to:
  1. Open Settings app
  2. Scroll to your app
  3. Tap Health
  4. Enable the data types you need
Use the installation helper:
if (!await health.isHealthConnectAvailable()) {
  await health.installHealthConnect();
}
Common causes:
  • Permissions not granted
  • No data exists for the time range
  • On iOS: device is locked
  • On Android: Health Connect not synced
Need help? Check out the full example app for a complete implementation with UI.