Skip to main content
Version: 1.2.0

Configuration

This page explains the Fory constructor options.

Creating a Fory Instance

Pass options directly to the constructor:

import 'package:fory/fory.dart';

// defaults: xlang wire format with compatible schema evolution
final fory = Fory();

// customize limits while keeping default compatible mode
final fory = Fory(
maxDepth: 512,
);

Create one instance per application and reuse it; there is no benefit to creating a new Fory per request.

Options

compatible

Compatible mode is enabled by default. Keep it enabled when your service needs to handle payloads from different versions of the same model, for example during rolling deployments or client/server version skew.

When compatible: true:

  • Adding or removing fields on one side does not break the other.
  • Peers must still use the same name (or numeric id) to identify types.

When compatible: false:

  • Both sides must have exactly the same schema. Use this only when every reader and writer always uses that schema and you want faster serialization and smaller size. For cross-language payloads, set compatible: false only after verifying that every language uses the same schema, or when native types are generated from Fory schema IDL.
final fory = Fory(compatible: false);

checkStructVersion

Relevant only when compatible: false. When true, Fory validates that the schema version in the payload matches the one the receiver knows about, catching accidental mismatches for intentional same-schema payloads.

final fory = Fory(
compatible: false,
checkStructVersion: true, // default
);

This option has no effect when compatible: true.

maxDepth

Limits how deeply nested an object graph can be. Increase this if you have legitimately deep trees; lower it to reject unexpectedly deep payloads fast.

final fory = Fory(maxDepth: 128);

Defaults

OptionDefault
compatibletrue
checkStructVersionfalse
maxDepth256

Xlang Notes

When Fory is used to communicate between services written in different languages:

  • Keep compatible mode enabled on all sides if any side needs schema evolution.
  • Use the same numeric IDs or name values on every side.
  • Match the compatible setting on both the writing and reading side — mismatching modes will fail.

Security

Security-related configuration:

  • Register only the expected generated models before deserializing untrusted payloads.
  • Use checkStructVersion: true with compatible: false for intentional same-schema payloads.
  • Set maxDepth to reject unexpectedly deep payload shapes.
  • Prefer generated schemas and explicit field metadata over broad dynamic fields for untrusted input.