Installation Guide

This guide walks you through a complete environment setup — from installing Flutter to running GreenCart on a real device or emulator.

:::tip Already have Flutter installed? Skip straight to the Quick Start → and be running in under 5 minutes. :::

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At a Glance

Step	What You'll Do
1	Install Git
2	Install Flutter SDK
3	Install Android Studio
4	Set Up Android SDK
5	Run Flutter Doctor
6	Set up Emulator or Device
7	Install VS Code + Extensions

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Step 1 — Install Git

Git is required to manage your project files.

1. Download Git from git-scm.com

2. Run the installer with the default settings — no changes needed.

3. Verify the installation:

git --version

Expected output: git version 2.x.x

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Step 2 — Install Flutter SDK

Windows

1. Download the Flutter SDK from flutter.dev

2. Extract the zip to C:\flutter

3. Add Flutter to your PATH:
   • Search for "Edit the system environment variables" in Windows Search
   • Click Environment Variables
   • Under System Variables, select Path → Edit → New
   • Add C:\flutter\bin and click OK

4. Open a new terminal and verify:

flutter --version

macOS

# Install via Homebrew (recommended)
brew install --cask flutter

# Or manually — add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile
export PATH="$HOME/flutter/bin:$PATH"

# Verify
flutter --version

Linux

# Download the .tar.xz from flutter.dev and extract
tar xf flutter_linux_*.tar.xz
export PATH="$PATH:$(pwd)/flutter/bin"

# Verify
flutter --version

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Step 3 — Install Android Studio

Android Studio provides the Android SDK, emulator, and build tools needed by Flutter.

1. Download from developer.android.com/studio

2. Run the installer and follow the setup wizard with default settings.

3. On first launch, Android Studio will download required SDK components — let it complete.

note

After installation, open Android Studio → SDK Manager and make sure Android SDK Platform-Tools and at least one SDK Platform (API 34+) are installed.

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Step 4 — Set Up Android SDK

After installing Android Studio, you need to configure the Android SDK:

1. Open Android Studio

2. Go to More Actions (or Configure) → SDK Manager

3. Select the SDK Tools tab

4. Check Android SDK Command-line Tools (latest)

5. Click Apply → OK to install

note

This step is required for Flutter to properly detect your Android toolchain.

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Step 5 — Run Flutter Doctor

flutter doctor checks your entire environment and tells you exactly what's missing.

flutter doctor

A fully healthy output looks like this:

[✓] Flutter (Channel stable, 3.22.x, Dart 3.x)
[✓] Android toolchain – develop for Android devices
[✓] Android Studio (version 2024.x)
[✓] VS Code (version 1.9x.x)
[✓] Connected device (1 available)
[✓] Network resources

:::warning Common Issues

Issue	Fix
Android licenses not accepted	Run flutter doctor --android-licenses and accept all
Xcode not found (macOS)	Install Xcode from the Mac App Store, then run sudo xcode-select --switch /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer
CocoaPods missing (macOS)	Run sudo gem install cocoapods
flutter not found	Make sure C:\flutter\bin is in your PATH and you opened a new terminal
:::

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Step 6 — Set Up an Emulator or Device

You need a device to run the app. Choose one option:

Android Emulator

1. Open Android Studio
2. Click Device Manager (icon in the right sidebar or top toolbar)

3. Click Create Device

4. Select a hardware profile (e.g., Pixel 8) → Choose a system image (API 34+) → Click Finish

5. Click the ▶ Play button to launch the emulator

iOS Simulator (macOS only)

# List available simulators
xcrun simctl list devices

# Open Simulator app
open -a Simulator

Select a device from File → Open Simulator within the Simulator app.

Physical Device

Android:

1. On your phone, go to Settings → About Phone
2. Tap Build Number 7 times to enable Developer Options
3. Go to Settings → Developer Options and enable USB Debugging
4. Connect your phone via USB and accept the trust prompt on your device

iOS:

1. Connect your iPhone via USB
2. Tap Trust on your device when prompted
3. Open Xcode once to register the device

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Step 7 — Install VS Code + Extensions

VS Code is the recommended editor for Flutter development.

1. Download VS Code from code.visualstudio.com

2. Install and launch VS Code.

3. Open Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X) and install the following:

Extension	Purpose
Flutter	Core Flutter support (debugging, run, hot reload)
Dart	Dart language support
Flutter Widget Snippets	Code snippets for common widgets

Flutter Extension

Dart Extension

All Extensions Installed