How to pass data using SafeArgs in Android Navigation

The Android Navigation component is a part of the Android Jetpack suite of libraries that provides a powerful and flexible way to manage navigation in an Android app. It helps you design a consistent navigation structure and implement navigation in a way that is easy to maintain and test.

The navargs class is generated automatically by the Android Navigation component based on the arguments that are defined in the navigation graph. It contains fields for each of the arguments that are passed to the destination, as well as getter and setter methods for those arguments.

To use SafeArgs in the Android navigation component, you will need to follow these steps:

1. Add the SafeArgs plugin to your project-level build.gradle file:

buildscript { 
	dependencies 
		{ // Add this line 
			classpath "androidx.navigation:navigation-safe-args-gradle-plugin:$nav_version" 
		}
	}

OR on Latest Android Project:

plugins {
 	// Add this line 
    id 'androidx.navigation.safeargs.kotlin' version '2.5.1' apply false
}

2. Apply the SafeArgs plugin to your app-level build.gradle file:

apply plugin: "androidx.navigation.safeargs"

OR on Latest Android Project:

plugins {
	// Add this line
    id 'androidx.navigation.safeargs.kotlin'
}

3. Define the arguments for your destination in the navigation graph. You can do this either by using the Navigation Editor in Android Studio or by manually adding them to the navigation XML file. For example:

<fragment
    android:id="@+id/SecondFragment"
    android:name="com.Abdulqa.androidnavigationsafeargsexample.SecondFragment"
    android:label="@string/second_fragment_label"
    tools:layout="@layout/fragment_second">

    <argument
        android:name="stringData" // it can be any name 
        app:argType="string" /> // type of argument list shared below
</fragment>

4. Build your project to generate the SafeArgs classes. These classes will be located in the app/build/generated/source/navigation/ directory and will have the same package as your app.

5. Use the generated SafeArgs classes to pass data between destinations. For example:

val action = FirstFragmentDirections.actionFirstFragmentToSecondFragment("Hello from SafeArgs!")
findNavController().navigate(action)

6. In the destination fragment, you can retrieve the argument value using the generated SafeArgs class:

private val args: SecondFragmentArgs by navArgs()

binding.textviewSecond.text = args.stringData

That's it! You have successfully used SafeArgs in your Android navigation component to pass data between destinations.

 

Android SafeArgs Navigation supported Argument Types:
 

Github Code Link