Step-by-Step Guide to Installing Flutter and Dart on Windows

How to Install and Configure Flutter SDK on Windows

Flutter, a revolutionary open-source UI software development kit by Google, is a game-changer in mobile app development. Its cross-platform capabilities enable developers to create high-performance, natively compiled applications for both iOS and Android using a single codebase. This not only accelerates development but also significantly reduces time and costs.

With Flutter, developers harness a robust widget library, offering a rich set of pre-designed widgets for creating visually stunning and customized user interfaces. Its hot-reload feature facilitates real-time code changes and immediate feedback, streamlining the development process.

In an increasingly competitive app market, Flutter empowers businesses to reach a wider audience efficiently. Its appeal extends to both startups and established enterprises seeking a cost-effective and agile solution for mobile app development. Experience the future of app creation with Flutter.

Windows install

System requirements

• Operating Systems: Windows 10 or later (64-bit), x86–64 based.
• Disk Space: 2.5 GB (does not include disk space for IDE/tools).
• Tools: Flutter depends on these tools being available in your environment.
• Windows PowerShell 5.0 or newer (this is pre-installed with Windows 10)
• Git for Windows 2.x, with the Use Git from the Windows Command Prompt option.

If Git for Windows is already installed, make sure you can run git commands from the command prompt or PowerShell.

Get the Flutter SDK

Step 1: Download Flutter SDK:

Download the following installation bundle to get the latest stable release of the Flutter SDK

Step 2: Extract the File: Extract the downloaded zip file and move it to the desired location where you want to install Flutter SDK.

Do not install it in a folder or directory that requires elevated privileges, (such as C:\Program Files\) to ensure the program runs properly. For this tutorial, it will be stored in C:\development\flutter.

You are now ready to run Flutter commands in the Flutter Console.

Step 3: Update Path Variable for Windows PowerShell

If you wish to run Flutter commands in the regular Windows console, take these steps to add Flutter to the PATH environment variable:

• From the Start search bar, enter ‘env’ and select Edit environment variables for your account.

• Under User variables check if there is an entry called Path:
• If the entry exists, append the full path to flutter\bin using; as a separator from existing values.

On the next screen, click New and add the full path to your flutter\bin directory. For this guide, it is shown below. Click OK on both windows to enable running Flutter commands in Windows consoles.

• If the entry doesn’t exist, create a new user variable named Path with the full path to flutter\bin as its value.

Step 4: Confirm Installed Tools for Running Flutter

In CMD, run the flutter doctor command to confirm the installed tools along with brief descriptions.

As visible, several components still need to be installed to complete the installation.

Step 5: Download and Install Android Studio

Download Android Studio:

• Visit the official Android Studio download page at https://developer.android.com/studio.
• Click on the “Download Android Studio” button.

Next, proceed by downloading Android Studio. During the setup, unless you have unique requirements, simply click “Next” on all screens to keep the default settings. On the “Choose Components” screen, be sure to select the “Android Virtual Device” option to enable an Android emulator for your app development needs.

Afterward, The Android Studio Setup Wizard will start and you can proceed by clicking Next.

On the Install Type screen, select Custom and click Next

Select the installation location or leave the default path and click Next.

Select your UI theme and click Next.

Verify the selections and click Next.

On the next screen, accept the License Agreement and click Finish.

The download of the components will start and Android Studio install. Once completed, click Finish.

After the installation, start Android Studio. On the left side, click Plugins. Search for Flutter and click Install to install the Flutter plugin.

It will also prompt you to install Dart, a programming language used to create Flutter apps. Click Install at the prompt.

Finally, click Restart IDE so that the plugin changes are applied. Click Restart at the prompt to confirm this action.

Afterward, run the flutter doctorcommand in CMD to confirm the Android Studio installation.

C:\Users\blup>flutter doctor
Doctor summary (to see all details, run flutter doctor -v):
[√] Flutter (Channel stable, 2.10.4, on Microsoft Windows [version 10.0.19041.746), locale en-US)
[!] Android toolchain - develop for Android devices (Android SDK version 32.1.0-rc1)
    ! Some Android licenses not accepted. To resolve this, run: flutter doctor --android-licenses
[√] Chrome - develop for the web
[X] Visual Studio - develop for Windows
    X Visual Studio not installed; this is necessary for Windows development.
      Download at https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/.
      Please install the "Desktop development with C++- workload, including all of its default components
[√] Android Studio (version 2021.1)
[√] Connected device (2 available)
[√] HTTP Host Availability

! Doctor found issues in 2 categories.

Android Studio was successfully installed; however, it found an issue with Android licenses. This issue is fairly common and is mitigated by running the following command in CMD.

flutter doctor --android-licenses

When asked, input y to all prompts, to accept licenses.

C:\Users\blup>flutter doctor --android-licenses
5 of 7 SDK package licenses not accepted. 100% Computing updates...
Review licenses that have not been accepted (y/N)? y

Running the Flutter Doctor command again shows the issue resolved.

C:\Users\blup>flutter doctor
Doctor summary (to see all details, run flutter doctor -v):
[√] Flutter (Channel stable, 2.10.4, on Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19041.746], locale en-US)
[√] Android toolchain - develop for Android devices (Android SDK version 32.1.0-rc1)
[√] Chrome - develop for the web
[X] Visual Studio - develop for Windows
    X Visual Studio not installed; this is necessary for Windows development.
      Download at https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/.
      Please install the "Desktop development with C++" workload, including all of its default components
[√] Android Studio (version 2021.1)
[√] Connected device (2 available)
[√] HTTP Host Availability

! Doctor found issues in 1 category.

Step 6: Install Visual Studio (Optional)

The above output also shows that Visual Studio is not installed. Visual Studio is not needed unless you want to use Flutter for Windows desktop development.

If you need to use it, you can download Microsoft’s Visual Studio 2022 with C++. Once the VisualStudioSetup.exe file is downloaded, open it and proceed with the installation by agreeing to all default installation options. This installation requires at least 20 GB of free disk space. After the installation completes, run the flutter doctor command in CMD to confirm the Visual Studio installation.

C:\Users\blup>flutter doctor
Doctor summary (to see all details, run flutter doctor -v):  
[√] Flutter (Channel stable, 2.10.4, on Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19041.746], locale en-US)
[√] Android toolchain - develop for Android devices (Android SDK version 32.1.0-rc1)
[√] Chrome - develop for the web
[√] Visual Studio - develop for Windows (Visual Studio Community 2022 17.1.3)
[√] Android Studio (version 2021.1)
[√] Connected device (2 available)
[√] HTTP Host Availability

• No issues found!

At this point, all the tools for Flutter projects are ready to be used for the development of Flutter apps. Depending on your needs, you can start your projects in Android Studio or Visual Studio.

List companies that have started using Flutter, you can see Flutter Showcase blup.in/blogs

Apart from this, we have written other in-detail articles on Flutter and mobile app development. You can find them below:

• Best Flutter Learning Roadmap in 2023 to become a top Flutter Developer
• Flutter Developer Learning Roadmap: Unveiling the Power of Dart
• Complete Guide to Mobile App Development
• Top 20 apps built with Flutter Framework
• Which is the Top Flutter app development company in 2023?

Conclusion: You’ve successfully installed Flutter on your Windows machine and set up the environment for Android and iOS app development. You’re now ready to create cross-platform applications with Flutter. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just starting, the power of Flutter is at your fingertips on your Windows system. Happy coding!