DhiWise - Convert Figma Designs to Working Code

Look, I've spent the last 6 months using DhiWise for client projects, and honestly, it's decent at converting Figma designs into Flutter and React code that doesn't immediately break. Saves you from writing tons of responsive CSS by hand, which is honestly why I keep using it.

Anyone telling you it "revolutionizes development" has clearly never spent a weekend debugging generated state management code. But for getting UI boilerplate done fast? It works.

The Stuff That Actually Functions

DhiWise converts Figma designs into Flutter widgets and React components that compile and look right about 80% of the time. I've lost count... maybe 12 projects? Could be 20? They all blur together after a while. Point is, like everything else, it comes with opinions - specifically, they force GetX patterns on every Flutter project whether you like it or not.

If you're used to other Flutter state management approaches like Bloc, Provider, or Riverpod, you'll either need to adapt to GetX or spend time refactoring. The Flutter community has mixed opinions about DhiWise's opinionated approach to state management.

The tool shines for standard UI patterns - login screens, dashboards, list views, forms. If your design follows Material Design or typical mobile app conventions, you'll get decent results. I've seen it handle responsive breakpoints correctly about 80% of the time, which beats writing all that CSS yourself.

The VS Code extension (WiseGPT) is actually useful for code suggestions. It analyzes your existing codebase patterns and generates code that matches your style. When it works, it's faster than GitHub Copilot for Flutter-specific stuff, though other Figma-to-code alternatives like Anima and Locofy have similar capabilities.

The Figma plugin interface is straightforward - you select your design frames, configure export settings, and generate code. The process usually takes 2-5 minutes depending on design complexity.

When It Actually Breaks

Here's what they don't tell you: the generated code follows their patterns, not yours. You'll spend time learning DhiWise's way of organizing files, naming conventions, and architectural decisions. The Flutter apps use GetX for everything - routing, state management, dependency injection. If you hate GetX, you're fucked.

Debugging generated code is a nightmare. When something breaks (and it will), you're digging through code you didn't write, following patterns you might not agree with. Spent an entire Saturday debugging auth that just... wouldn't work. Turns out DhiWise's generated API code handles errors like shit - throws generic Exception: Request failed for everything instead of actual HTTP status codes like 401 Unauthorized or 403 Forbidden.

The authentication handling is especially frustrating - you get basic token storage but the refresh logic is minimal. When you need to implement proper React authentication with robust error handling, you're basically rewriting the whole auth layer.

The "production-ready" claim is bullshit. The code compiles and runs, but you'll need to add proper error handling, loading states, accessibility features, and performance optimizations. It's a good starting point, not a finished product. I've never shipped generated code without significant modifications.

When It Actually Saves Time

DhiWise is genuinely useful for:

• MVP development where you need something working quickly and design fidelity matters more than perfect architecture
• Prototyping complex UIs before writing them properly
• CRUD applications with standard patterns - forms, lists, detail views
• Learning Flutter if you're coming from web development (though learn proper patterns afterward)

The Figma plugin integration works well when your designs are structured properly. If your Figma file is a mess with random groupings and inconsistent naming, the output will be garbage. Clean design structure is essential.

Pricing reality: The free tier lets you generate unlimited apps but you can't export the code. You need the Pro plan ($149/year) to actually download your code, which is fair but not the "free" some people expect. Fun fact: DhiWise breaks if your Figma layers have emojis in the names. Learned that one the hard way. Other low-code platforms like FlutterFlow have similar pricing models, so this isn't unique to DhiWise.

So here's what actually happens: DhiWise works best for rapid prototyping and MVP development where getting something that looks right matters more than perfect architecture. It's not replacing developers, but it can definitely speed up the boring parts of UI development.

After building multiple Flutter and React apps with DhiWise, here's what actually happens when you dig into the generated code and try to ship something real.

Code Quality and Architecture Patterns

The generated Flutter code follows a specific structure that DhiWise decided is "best practice." I've built enough apps to see the same folder layout every time: lib/core, lib/presentation, lib/data, and lib/domain. This is fine if you like clean architecture, but annoying if your team uses different patterns.

State management is locked to GetX. Every screen gets a GetX controller, every navigation call uses Get.to(), and dependency injection happens through Get.put(). The generated code includes proper binding but if you prefer Bloc, Provider, or Riverpod, you're rewriting the entire state layer.

The Flutter community debates about GetX can get heated - some developers love its simplicity, others hate how it breaks traditional Flutter patterns. DhiWise's decision to standardize on GetX means you don't get a choice.

The good news: I've looked at the generated widgets and they're actually clean. No deep nesting, reasonable widget names, and proper use of const constructors. I've debugged human-written Flutter code that's way worse. The responsive design implementation uses ScreenUtil for scaling, which works but isn't what everyone prefers.

API Integration Gotchas

I've seen DhiWise generate API service classes that follow a repository pattern. The code looks professional but has some quirks I've run into:

Authentication handling is basic

The generated code includes token storage using GetStorage, but refresh token logic is minimal. The auth interceptor was totally broken - kept showing users "Something went wrong" when their session expired instead of just redirecting to login. Took me a whole afternoon to fix what should've been handled properly. The interceptor code literally just catches everything with catch (e) { throw Exception('Something went wrong'); } - fucking useless for debugging. The authentication patterns DhiWise generates are fine for demos but need serious work for real apps.

Error handling is overly generic

I've seen every API call catch exceptions and show the same "Something went wrong" message. You'll want to add specific error types and user-friendly messages for different failure scenarios. When I tested APIs with Postman, I found tons of edge cases the generated code doesn't handle.

Network layer uses Dio

which is solid, but the generated interceptors don't include retry logic or request deduplication. Fine for MVPs, needs work for production apps with spotty network conditions. The API integration best practices DhiWise follows are decent but basic.

Platform-Specific Implementation

Flutter projects I've worked on include platform channel setup for runtime permissions, but the implementation is Android-focused. I've had to manually tweak iOS permission handling, especially for camera, location, and notification permissions. The iOS Info.plist entries are often missing or incomplete - spent 2 hours debugging camera access because NSCameraUsageDescription wasn't properly set. The iOS simulator shows your app perfectly, then real devices look like someone put it in a blender.

React projects I've generated get modern functional components with hooks, but the component structure is opinionated. Every page component gets separated into its own folder with styles, which is clean but verbose. The generated CSS uses CSS modules, not styled-components or Tailwind - learned that the hard way when trying to integrate with my existing setup.

Responsive design works but uses fixed breakpoints (768px, 1024px) that might not match your design system. I've found the generated media queries functional but ended up customizing them anyway. Flutter's MediaQuery approach is more flexible than what DhiWise generates by default.

Integration Reality Check

I've tested the Supabase integration and it generates working authentication flows, but only for email/password login. GetX routing works until you need deep linking, then you're rewriting half the navigation. I had to manually implement social auth (Google, Apple, GitHub). The generated database queries use basic CRUD operations - no complex joins, real-time subscriptions, or RLS policies.

Stripe integration

is basically starter code. I got a payment form component and basic charge creation, but had to write subscription handling, webhooks, and error scenarios myself. Useful for getting started, not for production e-commerce.

GitHub sync

works well for pushing generated code to repositories, but I've noticed it creates new branches with "DhiWise" prefixes every time. This workflow assumes you'll merge to a development branch and manage conflicts manually. I've had to learn Git workflows better to deal with DhiWise's automated commits.

Performance and Production Readiness

Flutter apps I've built compile and run smooth on devices, but the generated code doesn't include performance optimizations like lazy loading, image caching, or background task handling. Bundle size starts around 12-15MB, or maybe 18MB? Point is, it's not terrible until you add real features and it balloons to 45MB because DhiWise includes every dependency whether you need it or not. Had one project balloon to 45MB because DhiWise includes every dependency in the main bundle instead of splitting code properly.

Loading states are minimal - I've seen basic spinners but no skeleton screens, progress indicators, or empty state handling. Users see blank screens during API calls until I add better UX patterns.

Accessibility is basic - semantic labels exist but no screen reader optimization, focus management, or keyboard navigation. I've had to add these manually for production apps.

The VS Code extension helps with ongoing development by syncing project changes and providing AI code suggestions. It's actually useful for generating boilerplate after you understand the patterns DhiWise uses.