Should I use go_router or plain Navigator for a Flutter app with deep links and a login guard?

Short answer

Yes. Navigator.push (imperative, Navigator 1.0) is fine for simple apps. As soon as you need URLs, deep links, web support or redirects, use a declarative router. go_router is maintained by the Flutter team and covers all of these.

Basic setup with an auth guard

final router = GoRouter(
  initialLocation: '/',
  refreshListenable: authNotifier, // a ChangeNotifier that fires on login/logout
  redirect: (context, state) {
    final loggedIn = authNotifier.isLoggedIn;
    final goingToLogin = state.matchedLocation == '/login';
    if (!loggedIn && !goingToLogin) return '/login';
    if (loggedIn && goingToLogin) return '/';
    return null; // no redirect
  },
  routes: [
    GoRoute(path: '/', builder: (_, __) => const HomePage()),
    GoRoute(path: '/login', builder: (_, __) => const LoginPage()),
    GoRoute(
      path: '/product/:id',
      builder: (_, state) =>
          ProductPage(id: state.pathParameters['id']!),
    ),
  ],
);

MaterialApp.router(routerConfig: router);

go vs push

• context.go('/product/5') replaces the stack to match that location (web-style).
• context.push('/product/5') adds on top and returns a Future you can await for a result.

Tabs that keep state

Use StatefulShellRoute.indexedStack with one branch per tab; each branch keeps its own navigation stack and scroll position.

Deep links

Android needs an intent filter (with android:autoVerify for app links) and iOS needs associated domains plus an apple-app-site-association file on your server. The router then receives the path and matches it with no extra code on current Flutter versions.

Pitfalls

• Redirect loops: always return null when no change is needed.
• Forgetting refreshListenable, so login does not trigger a re-evaluation.
• Parameters are strings, parse ints yourself.

A related example: bottom navigation with nested navigators.