How to create publisher account on pub.dev? | Complete Guide

If you are a developer who is looking to publish your Flutter packages, then you should definitely create a publisher account on pub.dev. 

Let us first understand what pub.dev is?

pub.dev is by its own definition, "The official package repository for Dart and Flutter apps".

pub.dev is the official site for Flutter packages, and it is also where developers can search for and discover new packages.

It is the home of thousands of libraries/packages which eases the development efforts of Dart and Flutter developers.

Anybody who has a useful package for Dart and Flutter apps can publish them.

If a developer publishes a package without creating a publisher account, their personal email address will be visible on the package details page.

So, by having a publisher account, one can avoid exposing their personal email address.

A publisher badge will also be shown next to the package name. This helps you promote your domain name and professional email address as well.

Having a publisher account on pub.dev also makes it easier for other developers to find and use your packages. 

This is because your packages will be listed in the pub.dev search results, and they will also be featured on your publisher profile page.

So if you want to make it easy for others to find and use your Flutter packages, then create a publisher account on pub.dev.

There is no cost to create a publisher account, and it only takes a few minutes to set up.

Now, let us look at the exact steps to create a publisher account on pub.dev.

Prerequisite: You must own a domain name.

Here are the steps to create a publisher account on pub.dev:

1. Login to pub.dev with your Google account.

2. Click on "Create publisher" from the dropdown menu

3. Verify yourself as a domain property owner. To do that click on "Google Search Console".

4. Enter your domain name in the Google Search Console

5. Copy the google-site-verification code.

6. Add this code as a TXT record in the DNS configuration of your website. (GoDaddy, Namecheap etc or in Cloudflare). In some cases it takes hours for the TXT records to propagate.

7. Go back to Google search console and click on "Continue" to verify. You should now see a success message like below.

8. Enter your domain name in pub.dev and click on "Create Publisher" account.

Hooray! You have now created a publisher account.

If you want to show your email address linked to your domain instead of Gmail address, go to the drop down menu -> Publishers -> Admin.

Now you can update your email address here. You'll then get an invitation link to your domain's email address to verify.

Hope this was useful!

While it is a good idea for developers to publish packages on pub.dev, it is also a good idea for Software Engineers to have their own app or website.

I have written an article explaining why. Do check it out -> Software Engineers should own a website or an app

Author: Anil Rao K