invalid_null_aware_operator

The element can't be null, so the null-aware operator '?' is unnecessary.

The map entry key can't be null, so the null-aware operator '?' is unnecessary.

The map entry value can't be null, so the null-aware operator '?' is unnecessary.

The receiver can't be 'null' because of short-circuiting, so the null-aware operator '{0}' can't be used.

The receiver can't be null, so the null-aware operator '{0}' is unnecessary.

The analyzer produces this diagnostic when a null-aware operator (?., ?.., ?[, ?..[, or ...?) is used on a receiver that's known to be non-nullable.

The following code produces this diagnostic because s can't be null:

int? getLength(String s) {
  return s?.length;
}

The following code produces this diagnostic because a can't be null:

var a = [];
var b = [...?a];

The following code produces this diagnostic because s?.length can't return null:

void f(String? s) {
  s?.length?.isEven;
}

The reason s?.length can't return null is because the null-aware operator following s short-circuits the evaluation of both length and isEven if s is null. In other words, if s is null, then neither length nor isEven will be invoked, and if s is non-null, then length can't return a null value. Either way, isEven can't be invoked on a null value, so the null-aware operator isn't necessary. See Understanding null safety for more details.

The following code produces this diagnostic because s can't be null.

void f(Object? o) {
  var s = o as String;
  s?.length;
}

The reason s can't be null, despite the fact that o can be null, is because of the cast to String, which is a non-nullable type. If o ever has the value null, the cast will fail and the invocation of length will not happen.

The following code produces this diagnostic because s can't be null:

List<String> makeSingletonList(String s) {
  return <String>[?s];
}

Replace the null-aware operator with a non-null-aware equivalent; for example, change ?. to .:

int getLength(String s) {
  return s.length;
}

(Note that the return type was also changed to be non-nullable, which might not be appropriate in some cases.)

Unless stated otherwise, the documentation on this site reflects Dart 3.8.0. Page last updated on 2025-05-08. View source or report an issue.