Flutter Version Management

Flutter Version Management (FVM)

Overview

FVM pins a Flutter project to a specific SDK version so every contributor and CI runner builds against the same toolchain. This skill installs FVM, pins a project to a version, runs Flutter/Dart through FVM, configures IDEs, and wires up CI.

If the project has no pubspec.yaml, this is not a Flutter project — stop and ask the user before proceeding.

Workflow

1. Discover current state

Run these in parallel and use the results to decide which steps below apply:

fvm --version 2>/dev/null || echo "fvm-not-installed"
test -f .fvmrc && cat .fvmrc || echo "no-.fvmrc"
test -d .fvm && ls .fvm || echo "no-.fvm-dir"
test -f pubspec.yaml && grep -E "^\s*sdk:|^\s*flutter:" pubspec.yaml || echo "no-pubspec"
grep -E "(^|/)\.fvm(/|$)" .gitignore 2>/dev/null || echo ".fvm-not-in-gitignore"

Branch on results:

• No FVM installed → Step 2 (Install FVM).
• No .fvmrc → Step 3 (Pin a version).
• .fvmrc exists but .fvm/flutter_sdk missing → run fvm install (Step 4).
• All present, user wants to change version → Step 5 (Switch version).
• CI / IDE setup requested → Steps 6 / 7.

2. Install FVM

Pick one method based on platform and existing tooling. Confirm with the user before installing.

After install, verify: fvm --version and fvm doctor.

3. Pin a version (new project or first-time pin)

1. Decide which version. Default to the channel/version already in use; otherwise the latest stable. List options with fvm releases | tail -20 or use stable.
2. Run fvm use <version> from the project root. This:
   • Downloads the SDK if missing (cached globally in ~/fvm/versions/).
   • Creates .fvmrc with {"flutter": "<version>"}.
   • Creates .fvm/flutter_sdk as a symlink to the cached SDK.
   • Runs flutter pub get (skip with --skip-pub-get for monorepos with custom bootstrap).
3. Add .fvm/ to .gitignore (keep .fvmrc tracked):

   .fvm/
   !.fvmrc
   

4. Commit .fvmrc and the updated .gitignore. Do not commit .fvm/flutter_sdk — it is a machine-local symlink to a cached SDK.

4. Install the version a project already pins

fvm install        # reads .fvmrc
fvm doctor         # confirms symlinks resolve and SDK is healthy
fvm flutter --version

5. Switch versions

• Same project, new version: fvm use <version> (updates .fvmrc).
• Force when contributing to a fork or a non-standard channel: fvm use <version> --force.
• Pin to an exact release rather than the channel head: fvm use <version> --pin.
• System-wide default for ad-hoc work outside any project: fvm global <version>. Then add the global symlink to PATH: export PATH="$HOME/fvm/default/bin:$PATH" (zsh/bash rc).

6. IDE setup

VS Code — write/merge .vscode/settings.json:

{
  "dart.flutterSdkPath": ".fvm/flutter_sdk",
  "search.exclude": { "**/.fvm": true },
  "files.watcherExclude": { "**/.fvm": true }
}

Android Studio / IntelliJ — point Flutter SDK path to <project>/.fvm/flutter_sdk in Preferences → Languages & Frameworks → Flutter. Restart the IDE after switching versions in .fvmrc.

After IDE setup, confirm Dart Analyzer picked up the change (Command Palette → Dart: Restart Analysis Server).

7. CI configuration

For GitHub Actions with subosito/flutter-action, read the version from .fvmrc so CI never drifts from local:

- name: Read Flutter version
  id: fvm
  run: echo "version=$(jq -r .flutter .fvmrc)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"

- uses: subosito/flutter-action@v2
  with:
    flutter-version: ${{ steps.fvm.outputs.version }}
    channel: stable

Avoid installing FVM itself on CI runners — it adds startup time for no benefit. The .fvmrc is the source of truth; the action consumes it directly.

8. Run Flutter / Dart through FVM

Once pinned, all Flutter and Dart commands must go through FVM in this project, otherwise contributors will silently use their global SDK:

fvm flutter pub get
fvm flutter run
fvm flutter test
fvm dart run build_runner build
fvm dart format .

Encourage a shell alias only at the user level (alias flu="fvm flutter"), never as a project-level script that masks the explicit fvm prefix.

9. Test against multiple versions

For library/package authors validating compatibility:

fvm spawn 3.19.0 test
fvm spawn 3.22.0 test
fvm spawn beta test

spawn runs the command against a specific version without changing the project's pinned version.

10. Maintenance

• fvm list — show installed versions and which one each project uses.
• fvm releases — list available Flutter releases.
• fvm remove <version> — free disk space (each cached SDK is ~1–2 GB).
• fvm doctor — diagnose broken symlinks, PATH, or cache corruption.
• fvm destroy — nuclear option; removes the entire FVM cache. Confirm with the user before running — it deletes all cached SDKs across all projects.

Output

Report back to the user with:

• Current Flutter version (from fvm flutter --version).
• Files created or modified (.fvmrc, .gitignore, .vscode/settings.json, CI workflow).
• Any commands the user must run themselves (e.g., shell PATH updates, IDE restart).
• Verification commands they can run to confirm setup.

Anti-patterns

• Mixing fvm flutter and bare flutter in the same project. The whole point of FVM is reproducibility; calling the global Flutter even once defeats it. Audit Makefile, package.json scripts, shell scripts, and CI for unprefixed flutter/dart calls.
• Committing .fvm/flutter_sdk. It is a symlink to a machine-local cache — useless on another machine and bloats the repo if the symlink resolves on commit. Only .fvmrc belongs in version control.
• Pinning to a channel name (stable, beta) on a serious project. Channels move. Two contributors running fvm install a week apart end up on different SDKs. Use a concrete version (3.22.0) for shipped projects; reserve channels for exploratory work.
• Installing FVM on CI just to read .fvmrc. A one-line jq against .fvmrc plus subosito/flutter-action is faster and has fewer moving parts than installing FVM on every run.
• Editing .fvm/flutter_sdk/ directly to patch an SDK bug. The symlink target is shared across projects; edits leak everywhere and disappear on fvm install. Use fvm use <fork>/<branch> to point at a fork instead.
• Running fvm destroy to "clean up". It wipes every cached SDK on the machine, forcing every project to re-download gigabytes. Use fvm remove <version> for targeted cleanup.