Listener not triggered when updating nested object that is initially null

[ayyoub-coder]

When a provider’s field is nullable and starts as null, calling copyWith on that field does not trigger ref.listen / ref.watch for a .select on that field—even though the controller calls state = state.copyWith(...).

Steps:

userProfile is null at start.

Controller updates only username via state.copyWith(userProfile: state.userProfile?.copyWith(username: 'Bob')).

Because state.userProfile is still null, Riverpod sees “previous == next” and skips the listener.

UI never updates.

Expected: the listener fires whenever any nested field changes, even if the object was previously null.

[snapsl]

This should work. Please verify that your state is immutable. Also check that the state after you use "copyWith" does contain an user object and is not null.

[rrousselGit]

If userProfile starts as null, doing state.userProfile?.copyWith(...) is not going to do anything.
You probably want state.copyWith(userProfile: UserProfile(username: 'Bob'))

[ayyoub-coder]

Got it—always swap in a fresh object before any mutation, and the simplest way is to give the field an @Default() value up-front. That keeps updates safe and listeners consistent.