i. What You Need

To follow along with this book, you’ll need the following:

• A Mac running macOS Catalina (10.15) or later. You also have the option of using Linux or Windows, but you will not be able to install Xcode or build apps for iOS on those platforms.
• Flutter SDK 1.20 or later. You can download the Flutter SDK from the official Flutter site at https://flutter.dev/docs/get-started/install/macos. Installing the Flutter SDK will also install the Dart SDK, which you need to compile the Dart code in your Flutter apps.
• Xcode 12 or later. Xcode is the main development tool for iOS and is needed to build your Flutter app for iOS. You can download the latest version of Xcode from Apple’s developer site here: apple.co/2asi58y, or from the Mac App Store.
• Android Studio 4.0.1 or later, available at https://developer.android.com/studio. This is the IDE in which you’ll develop the sample code in this book, and it also includes the Android SDK and the build system for running Flutter apps on Android.
• Flutter Plugin for Android Studio v49.0.2 or later, installed by going to Android Studio Preferences on macOS (or Settings on Windows/Linux) and choosing Plugins, then searching on “Flutter”.

You also have the option of using Visual Studio Code for your Flutter development environment instead of Android Studio. You will still need to install Android Studio in order to have access to the Android SDK and an Android emulator. If you choose to use Visual Studio Code, follow the instructions on the official Flutter site at https://flutter.dev/docs/get-started/editor?tab=vscode to get set up.

If you don’t already have the latest versions of the above software tools installed, Chapter 1: “Introduction” will show you how to get started with the Flutter SDK, Xcode and Android Studio to build and run Flutter apps.