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How to Manage Multiple Flutter SDK Versions on One Computer using FVM

Learn how to use FVM (Flutter Version Manager) to install, switch, and manage multiple Flutter SDK versions on a single PC. Beginner-friendly steps included.

Shashikant Dwivedi
3 min read
How to Manage Multiple Flutter SDK Versions on One Computer using FVM
App Development03 MIN

Hey there, If you are a Flutter developer and have been working on multiple projects, you must have faced a very common issue: handling projects that work on different versions of Flutter. And usually what we do is keep each version of Flutter in a folder and link them manually.

But what if I say there is a better solution to it, which is using FVM?

FVM

So FVM, as its name sounds, stands for "Flutter Version Manager". And it's a super easy way to manage multiple Flutter versions on a PC, from installing to using – super easy.

So let's begin without wasting any more time.

Setup

So here, I'll be covering Windows, as the majority of people use Windows, but if you on another system, just use this link –

To install on Windows, you need to have "Chocolatey Package Manager" already installed.

If it's not installed on your PC, follow this link –

Once you have installed chocolatey, run this command -

bash
choco install fvm

And thats it, it will get installed in your PC.

Usage

So now you know how you can use it; for it there are just 2 commands you need to use.

Installing new version

bash
fvm install <version>

Using a specific version

bash
fvm use <version>

You need to run this inside your flutter project, it will do all the necessary things.

Android Stuido & VS Code Setup

Usually it will get auto-configured to use the version in FVM, but if not, simply do this.

Also, if you have any confusion about where the versions are stored, simply run this command –

text
fvm list

It will show all the installed versions as well as the path where all these are stored. Although by default FVM adds the version in the project folder itself using symlinks.

VS Code

Set flutterSdkPath in settings.json

json
{
  "dart.flutterSdkPath": "<version-path>"
}

Android Studio

In Android Studio got to -

Settings > Languages & Framerworks > Flutter

Here you can see the option to set the Flutter Sdk Path.


So this is all; by following the guide, you can set up FVM on your computer.

If you have any queries, do let me know in the comments.

Why FVM

FVM stores multiple Flutter SDKs side by side and switches per project, so you can match the engine version in CI, older apps, and plugins that pin a specific SDK.

Written by Shashikant Dwivedi

Engineer, occasional writer, full-time noticer. Based in Prayagraj, India. New essays land roughly twice a month.

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