How to Setup Flutter Developer Environment For Each Platform

Introduction

Flutter, Google’s UI toolkit, is widely used for building natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase. This guide will help you set up the Flutter development environment for various platforms. Whether you’re on Windows, macOS, or Linux, we’ve got you covered.

Table of Contents

1. Setting Up Flutter on Windows
2. Setting Up Flutter on macOS
3. Setting Up Flutter on Linux
4. Common Setup Steps
5. Conclusion

Setting Up Flutter on Windows

Prerequisites

1. Windows 7 SP1 or later (64-bit)
2. Git for Windows

Steps

1. Download the Flutter SDK
   • Visit the Flutter official website to download the SDK.
   • Extract the zip file and place the contained flutter in the desired installation location for the Flutter SDK (e.g., C:\src\flutter).
2. Update your PATH
   • Add flutter\bin to your PATH.
   bashCopy codeset PATH=%PATH%;C:\src\flutter\bin
3. Run flutter doctor
   • Open a command prompt and run the following command to check for dependencies:
   bashCopy codeflutter doctor

Note: You may need to install additional dependencies based on the output of flutter doctor.

Additional Tools

• Android Studio
  • Install Android Studio.
  • Set up the Android emulator or connect a physical device for testing.

Setting Up Flutter on macOS

Prerequisites

1. macOS 10.14 (Mojave) or later
2. Xcode

Steps

1. Download the Flutter SDK
   • Visit the Flutter official website to download the SDK.
   • Extract the zip file and place the contained flutter in the desired installation location for the Flutter SDK (e.g., ~/flutter).
2. Update your PATH
   • Add flutter/bin to your PATH by modifying the .bashrc or .zshrc file:
   bashCopy codeexport PATH="$PATH:`pwd`/flutter/bin"
3. Run flutter doctor
   • Open a terminal and run the following command:
   bashCopy codeflutter doctor

Tip: Ensure that Xcode is installed and properly configured.

Additional Tools

• Android Studio
  • Install Android Studio.
  • Set up the Android emulator or connect a physical device for testing.

Setting Up Flutter on Linux

Prerequisites

1. 64-bit version of Linux
2. bash, curl, git 2.x, mkdir, rm, unzip, which, and xz-utils tools

Steps

1. Download the Flutter SDK
   • Visit the Flutter official website to download the SDK.
   • Extract the tar file and place the contained flutter in the desired installation location for the Flutter SDK (e.g., ~/flutter).
2. Update your PATH
   • Add flutter/bin to your PATH by modifying the .bashrc or .zshrc file:
   bashCopy codeexport PATH="$PATH:`pwd`/flutter/bin"
3. Run flutter doctor
   • Open a terminal and run the following command:
   bashCopy codeflutter doctor

Important: Follow any additional setup instructions provided by flutter doctor.

Additional Tools

• Android Studio
  • Install Android Studio.
  • Set up the Android emulator or connect a physical device for testing.

Common Setup Steps

IDE Plugins

For an enhanced development experience, consider installing Flutter and Dart plugins in your IDE. Here are the steps for Visual Studio Code:

1. Open Extensions
   • Press Ctrl+Shift+X to open the Extensions pane.
2. Search for Flutter
   • Install the Flutter and Dart plugins.

Testing Your Setup

1. Create a New Flutter Project
   • Use the following command to create a new project:
   bashCopy codeflutter create my_first_app
2. Run the Project
   • Navigate to the project directory and run the app:
   bashCopy codecd my_first_app flutter run

Reminder: Ensure that an emulator is running or a physical device is connected.

Conclusion

Setting up a Flutter development environment is straightforward with the right guidance. By following the steps outlined for your specific platform, you’ll be ready to start building your Flutter applications in no time. For more detailed information, visit the Flutter documentation. Happy coding!