Flutter Setup on Windows 11
No Android Studio required — clean, minimal, command-line only setup.
Flutter Stable
Windows 11
Android API 34
Java 17 (OpenJDK)
Hyper-V Emulator
No Android Studio
PowerShell
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1
Install Dependencies — Git & Java
We need Git to clone Flutter and Java 17 for Android's build system. We install both using winget — Windows' built-in package manager. Open PowerShell as Administrator.
winget install -e --id Git.Git winget install -e --id Microsoft.OpenJDK.17
⚠️ Close and reopen PowerShell after installation so the new tools are recognized.
Verify installation:
git --version java -version
2
Create Directory Structure
One clean parent folder called
development in your user directory. Flutter, Android SDK, and future tools all live here as subfolders.mkdir "$env:USERPROFILE\development\android-sdk\cmdline-tools\latest"
3
Install Flutter SDK
Clone the official Flutter SDK from GitHub using the
stable branch — the production-ready version.cd "$env:USERPROFILE\development" git clone https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git -b stable
4
Download Android Command Line Tools
Download from: developer.android.com/studio#command-line-tools-only — select the Windows .zip file.
cd "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads" Expand-Archive commandlinetools-win-*.zip -DestinationPath cmdline-temp Move-Item cmdline-temp\cmdline-tools\* "$env:USERPROFILE\development\android-sdk\cmdline-tools\latest\" Remove-Item cmdline-temp -Recurse
⚠️ The folder must be named
latest — the tools won't work otherwise.5
Configure Environment Variables
Windows doesn't know where Flutter, Android, or Java are yet. We add them to the system PATH using PowerShell. Run in PowerShell as Administrator.
# Flutter
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", $env:PATH + ";$env:USERPROFILE\development\flutter\bin", "User")
# Android SDK
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("ANDROID_HOME", "$env:USERPROFILE\development\android-sdk", "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("ANDROID_SDK_ROOT", "$env:USERPROFILE\development\android-sdk", "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", $env:PATH + ";$env:USERPROFILE\development\android-sdk\cmdline-tools\latest\bin", "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", $env:PATH + ";$env:USERPROFILE\development\android-sdk\platform-tools", "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", $env:PATH + ";$env:USERPROFILE\development\android-sdk\emulator", "User")
# Java
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("JAVA_HOME", "C:\Program Files\Microsoft\jdk-17.0.0.0+0", "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", $env:PATH + ";$env:JAVA_HOME\bin", "User")
⚠️ Close and reopen PowerShell after this step.
Verify Flutter is recognized:
flutter --version
6
Install Android SDK Packages
Use
sdkmanager to download platform files, build tools, emulator, and an Android 14 system image. Accept Google licenses first.sdkmanager --licenses sdkmanager "platform-tools" "platforms;android-34" "build-tools;34.0.0" "emulator" "system-images;android-34;google_apis;x86_64"
7
Enable Hyper-V / Hypervisor Platform (Faster Emulator)
On Windows, the Android emulator uses hardware virtualization for near-native speed. Without this, the emulator will be very slow. Choose the option that matches your Windows edition.
⚠️ Restart your PC after enabling either option.
8
Create and Launch Emulator
Create a Pixel 6 virtual device running Android 14 and launch it. This is the device Flutter deploys your apps to during development.
avdmanager create avd -n Pixel_API_34 -k "system-images;android-34;google_apis;x86_64" -d pixel_6 emulator -avd Pixel_API_34 -gpu host
First boot takes 1–3 minutes. Keep it running in the background.
9
Install Visual Studio Build Tools
Flutter on Windows needs C++ build tools for compiling Windows desktop apps. No full Visual Studio needed — just the build components. Download from: visualstudio.microsoft.com/visual-cpp-build-tools
🔧 During installer, select: Desktop development with C++
10
Verify Everything with Flutter Doctor
Run Flutter's built-in doctor tool to confirm the entire setup is correct. You should see all green checkmarks.
flutter doctor
Expected output:
[✓] Flutter [✓] Windows Version [✓] Android toolchain [✓] Visual Studio [✓] Connected device [✓] Network resources
11
Create and Run Your First App
Create a sample Flutter app and run it on the emulator to confirm everything works end to end.
cd "$env:USERPROFILE\development" flutter create myapp cd myapp flutter run
While running: r = hot reload | R = restart | q = quit
📁
Final Directory Structure
C:\Users\YourName\development\
├── flutter\
└── android-sdk\
├── cmdline-tools\latest\
├── platform-tools\
├── platforms\android-34\
├── build-tools\34.0.0\
├── emulator\
└── system-images\android-34\google_apis\x86_64\
🔧
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
flutter: command not found | Close and reopen PowerShell after setting PATH |
sdkmanager: command not found | Verify cmdline-tools\latest\bin\ exists and is in PATH |
adb: command not found | Confirm platform-tools is in your PATH |
| Licenses not accepted | Run flutter doctor --android-licenses |
| Emulator slow / won't start | Enable Hyper-V or HypervisorPlatform and restart PC |
| Build fails with Java error | Run java -version — must show Java 17 |
| JAVA_HOME not found | Check JDK install path and update the environment variable |
| winget not found | Update Windows Store or install winget from GitHub |