Managing Multiple Flutter Versions

For the best development experience with Komodo DeFi SDK, we recommend using a Flutter version manager to easily switch between different Flutter versions. This document outlines two recommended approaches:

1. Flutter Sidekick - A user-friendly GUI application (recommended for beginners)
2. FVM (Flutter Version Manager) - A command-line tool (recommended for advanced users)

Before You Begin: Remove Existing Flutter Installations

Before installing a version manager, you should remove any existing Flutter installations to avoid conflicts:

macOS

# If installed via git
rm -rf ~/flutter

# If installed via Homebrew
brew uninstall flutter

# Remove from PATH in ~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile
# Find and remove any lines containing flutter/bin

Windows

# If installed manually, delete the Flutter folder
# Remove from PATH in Environment Variables
# Start → Edit environment variables for your account → Path → Remove Flutter entry

# If installed via winget
winget uninstall flutter

Linux

# If installed via git
rm -rf ~/flutter

# If installed via package manager
sudo apt remove flutter  # for Ubuntu/Debian
sudo pacman -R flutter   # for Arch

# Remove from PATH in ~/.bashrc
# Find and remove any lines containing flutter/bin

Option 1: Flutter Sidekick (Recommended for Beginners)

Flutter Sidekick is a GUI application for managing Flutter versions across Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Installation Steps

1. Download and install Flutter Sidekick from the GitHub releases page

2. Launch Flutter Sidekick

3. Click on "Versions" in the sidebar and download Flutter version 3.41.4

4. Set this version as the global default by clicking the "Set as Global" button

5. Add Flutter to your PATH:

   • Click on "Settings" in the sidebar
   • Find the path to the FVM installation directory (typically ~/.fvm/default/bin on macOS/Linux or %LOCALAPPDATA%\fvm\default\bin on Windows)
   • Add this path to your system's PATH environment variable

6. Restart your terminal/IDE for the changes to take effect

7. Verify the installation:

   flutter --version
   

Option 2: FVM Command Line

FVM is a command-line tool for managing Flutter versions. While most developers will be well-served by Flutter Sidekick's graphical interface, the command-line version might be preferable in specific scenarios:

• If you need to integrate Flutter version management into CI/CD pipelines or scripts
• When working in environments without a graphical interface (e.g., remote servers)
• If you prefer terminal-based workflows and want to avoid graphical applications
• For automation in team environments where consistent versions need to be enforced programmatically

macOS and Linux

1. Install FVM using the installation script:

   curl -fsSL https://fvm.app/install.sh | bash
   

2. Install and use Flutter 3.41.4:

   fvm install 3.41.4
   fvm global 3.41.4
   

3. Add FVM's default Flutter version to your PATH by adding the following to your ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or equivalent:

   export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.fvm/default/bin"
   

4. Reload your shell configuration:

   source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc
   

5. Verify the installation:

   flutter --version
   

Windows

1. Install Chocolatey (if not already installed):

   Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force; [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072; iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))
   

2. Install FVM:

   choco install fvm
   

3. Install and use Flutter 3.41.4:

   fvm install 3.41.4
   fvm global 3.41.4
   

4. Add FVM's Flutter version to your PATH:

   • Open "Edit environment variables for your account"
   • Edit the Path variable
   • Add %LOCALAPPDATA%\fvm\default\bin

5. Restart your terminal/PowerShell and verify the installation:

   flutter --version
   

Project-Specific Flutter Version

To use a specific Flutter version for a project:

1. Navigate to your project directory

2. Run:

   fvm use 3.41.4
   

This will create a .fvmrc file in your project, which specifies the Flutter version to use for this project.

Using with VS Code

For optimal integration with VS Code:

1. Install the Flutter FVM extension to automatically use the project-specific Flutter version.

2. If you're using a project-specific Flutter version, you need to specify the Flutter SDK path in your VS Code settings:

   • Open the project in VS Code

   • Create or edit the .vscode/settings.json file in your project root and add:

     {
       "dart.flutterSdkPath": ".fvm/flutter_sdk"
       // Or if you're using a global FVM version:
       // "dart.flutterSdkPath": "${userHome}/.fvm/default/bin/flutter"
     }
     

3. Restart VS Code after making these changes.

This ensures VS Code uses the correct Flutter SDK version for your project, including for features like code completion, diagnostics, and debugging.