Zorphy vs Freezed

Both generate immutable data classes. Zorphy goes further — it is a full entity toolkit with a nested patch system, filter/query descriptors, compareTo diffs, and an AI-agent CLI/MCP server.

Capability	zorphy 2.0	freezed 3.2.5
Immutable data classes + copyWith	✅	✅
Function-based copyWith (copyWithFn)	✅ opt-in (ZorphyPreset.full)	❌
JSON + polymorphic discriminators + toJsonLean	✅	✅ (no toJsonLean)
Sealed unions	✅ sealed $$Base + Dart 3 pattern matching	✅ via when/map helpers
Nested patch system (partial updates of deep graphs)	✅ UserPatch()..withAddressPatch(...)	❌ manual nested copyWith chains
Filter/query descriptors (Field<E, T>)	✅	❌
compareTo diffs between instances	✅	❌
changeTo conversions between subtypes	✅	❌
Multiple interface inheritance with generics	✅	❌
Self-referencing types	✅	✅
CLI + MCP server for scaffolding	✅	❌
Output size control	✅ ZorphyPreset.lean/standard/full + per-feature flags	❌
analyzer 14 support	✅ >=13.0.0 <15.0.0	❌ caps analyzer <11.0.0 (as of 2026-07-30)

Where freezed differs (honest notes)

• freezed's mixin pattern (with _$Foo) keeps the annotated class itself concrete; zorphy uses abstract class $Foo + a generated concrete Foo.
• freezed's when/map helpers are answered in zorphy by Dart 3's native exhaustive switch on the sealed base class.
• freezed's ecosystem is older and larger.

Side by side

1. Simple data class

freezed:

@freezed
class User with _$User {
  const factory User({required String id, required String name, String? email}) = _User;
  factory User.fromJson(Map<String, dynamic> json) => _$UserFromJson(json);
}

zorphy (lean preset — no patch/filter/compareTo bloat):

@Zorphy(preset: ZorphyPreset.lean, generateJson: true)
abstract class $User {
  String get id;
  String get name;
  String? get email;
}

2. Sealed union

freezed:

@freezed
class Result with _$Result {
  const factory Result.ok(String value) = Ok;
  const factory Result.err(String message) = Err;
}

zorphy (real sealed hierarchy, exhaustive Dart 3 switch):

@Zorphy(explicitSubTypes: [$Ok, $Err])
abstract class $$Result {}

@Zorphy()
abstract class $Ok implements $$Result { String get value; }

@Zorphy()
abstract class $Err implements $$Result { String get message; }

String describe(Result r) => switch (r) {
  Ok(:final value) => 'ok: $value',
  Err(:final message) => 'err: $message', // exhaustive — no default needed
};

3. Nested partial update

freezed requires manual deep copyWith chains:

user.copyWith(address: user.address.copyWith(city: 'Berlin'));

zorphy's patch system composes:

final patch = ProfilePatch()
  ..withName('Ada')
  ..withAddressPatch(AddressPatch()..withCity('Berlin'));
final updated = patch.applyTo(profile);

All three zorphy examples are real, compilable code — see zorphy/example/lib/comparison/ in the repo.

Migrating from freezed

Use the zorphy_migrator codemod — see the migration guide.