Flutter Installation Guide for Windows
This guide provides a concise summary of the steps to install Flutter on Windows for mobile development.
1. System Requirements
2. Get the Flutter SDK
1. Download the following installation bundle to get the latest stable release of the Flutter SDK: Flutter SDK
2. Extract the zip file and place the contained flutter in the desired installation location for the Flutter SDK (for example, C:\src\flutter ).
Note: Do not install Flutter in a directory like C:\Program Files\ that requires elevated privileges.
3. Update Your Path
To run flutter commands in the regular Windows console, you need to add the Flutter SDK to your PATH environment variable:
1. In the Start search bar, type 'env' and select Edit environment variables for your account.
2. Under User variables, check if there is an entry called Path:
Path flutter\bin
If the entry exists, append the full path to flutter\bin using ; as a separator from existing values.
4. Run flutter doctor
1. From a console window that has the Flutter directory in its path, run the following command to see if there are any platform dependencies you need to complete the setup:
flutter doctor
2. This command checks your environment and displays a report of the status of your Flutter installation. Check the output carefully for any other software you might need to
install or further tasks to perform.
5. Android Setup
Install Android Studio
1. Download and install Android Studio.
2. Start Android Studio, and go through the 'Android Studio Setup Wizard'. This installs the latest Android SDK, Android SDK command-line tools, and Android SDK build-tools,
which are required by Flutter when developing for Android.
Set up your Android device
To prepare to run and test your Flutter app on an Android device, you'll need an Android device running Android 4.1 (API level 16) or higher.
1. Enable Developer options and USB debugging on your device. Detailed instructions are available in the Android documentation.
2. Using a USB cable, plug your phone into your computer. If prompted on your device, authorize your computer to access your device.
3. In the terminal, run the flutter devices command to verify that Flutter recognizes your connected Android device.
6. Next Steps
You are now ready to start developing with Flutter! Here are a few things you can do:
Set up an editor: Install the Flutter and Dart plugins for Visual Studio Code or Android Studio.
Create your first app: Run the flutter create command. Run your
app: Run the flutter run command.
For more details, please refer to the official documentation: [Link]
Flutter Installation guide for Mac
System Requirements
Item Minimum / Required
macOS version macOS 13 (Ventura) or later
Shell zsh (default) assumed
If Apple Silicon (M1 / M2 / etc) Rosetta 2 may be needed for some components
Tools You’ll Need
• Android Studio (full version) — required for Android SDK, emulators, build tools etc.
• Git — for version control and managing the Flutter SDK. If not installed, xcode-select --install helps install Git (and Xcode Command Line Tools).
• Text editor or IDE (optional but recommended):
o Visual Studio Code with Flutter extension
o Android Studio, IntelliJ IDEA with Flutter plugin etc.
Steps to Install Flutter SDK
1. Download Flutter
o Visit the Flutter stable release page and download the macOS bundle (.zip) suitable for your architecture (Intel or Apple Silicon).
For Intel: click here
For Silicon: click here
o Alternative: If using VS Code, there’s an option to “Clone Flutter SDK” via the Flutter extension.
2. Extract / place SDK
o Put it in a directory of your choice; often people use ~/development/flutter or something similar.
3. Add to PATH
o Open (or create if missing) ~/.zshenv (since zsh is assumed).
o Add a line like:
export PATH="$HOME/development/flutter/bin:$PATH"
o Save, then restart your Terminal (or source the file).
Configure Android Development
These are steps so Flutter can build & run Android apps on your Mac.
1. Android Studio setup
o Launch Android Studio. Use the Setup Wizard if it's your first time.
o In SDK Manager (Tools → SDK Manager or via “More Options” → SDK Manager): ensure you have the following:
▪ Android SDK Platform (API level 35 or latest recommended)
▪ Android SDK Command-line Tools
▪ Android SDK Build-Tools
▪ Android SDK Platform-Tools
▪ Android Emulator
2. Configure an Android virtual device (Emulator)
o From Android Studio → Device Manager → Virtual / AVD → Create Device.
o Select a device definition, then select a system image appropriate for your CPU (Intel vs ARM / Apple Silicon).
o Set performance settings (Graphics etc.) appropriately. Hardware acceleration improves speed.
3. Physical device (optional)
o Enable Developer Options & USB Debugging on Android device.
o Connect by USB (or use wireless debugging). Allow your Mac to communicate when prompted on the device.
4. Agree to Android licenses
o In your Terminal, run:
flutter doctor --android-licenses
o Accept all the required licenses.
Verify Installation
• In Terminal, run:
flutter doctor
This checks your setup; you should see checks (✓) for Flutter, Android toolchain, etc.
• If any component shows missing or with issues, flutter doctor -v gives more verbose info.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Problem Possible Fixes
JAVA_HOME wrong / invalid Make sure JAVA_HOME environment variable points to correct JDK folder, no backslash escapes in path names.
Missing SDK tools / Android emulator errors Use Android Studio’s SDK Manager to install required components. Ensure virtualization support / hardware acceleration is enabled.
PATH not updated Check if you edited the correct shell env file (~/.zshenv if zsh), then restart terminal or source file: source ~/.zshenv.
After Setup: Create Your First Flutter App (Android)
1. In terminal, pick a folder (e.g. cd ~/development)
2. Run:
3. flutter create my_first_app
4. cd my_first_app
5. flutter run
o This should compile and run on connected device (emulator or physical).
6. Use your editor / IDE to explore code, hot reload etc.
Flutter Guide for Linux
Make Android apps | Flutter