Dart Environment

Local Install

Install Dart SDK from the official distribution channel for your operating system. Prefer stable channel for production work.

1. Install Dart SDK from dart.dev/get-dart.
2. Open a new terminal and verify the installation.
3. Pin the SDK version in project docs so the team uses the same runtime.

dart --version
dart --disable-analytics
dart --enable-analytics

Editor Setup

Use VS Code with the Dart extension and configure formatting/linting early so coding standards are enforced from day one.

• Install Dart extension in VS Code.
• Enable format on save.
• Use analyzer diagnostics to catch issues before runtime.

# analysis_options.yaml
include: package:lints/recommended.yaml

linter:
  rules:
    - always_declare_return_types
    - avoid_print
    - prefer_final_locals

Project Bootstrap

Create either a CLI project or a web project template, then run test and analyze immediately.

# CLI app
dart create -t console-full dart_cli_app
cd dart_cli_app
dart pub get
dart analyze
dart test

# Web app
dart create -t web dart_web_app

AI Setup Workflow

Use AI for acceleration, not authority. Ask for deterministic outputs and verify every generated step.

High-Value Prompts

1. "Generate a Dart project setup checklist for Windows/macOS/Linux with SDK verification commands."
2. "Create an analysis_options.yaml for a production Dart CLI app using recommended lints."
3. "Propose a folder structure for domain, application, and infrastructure layers in a Dart backend."

Guardrails

• Require AI responses to include exact commands and expected output.
• Run dart analyze and dart test after AI-generated edits.
• Reject generated dependencies that are unmaintained or undocumented.

Setup Lab

1. Install Dart SDK and verify dart --version.
2. Create one CLI app and one web app.
3. Add lints and fix all analyzer warnings.
4. Write one passing unit test for each project.