Getting Started with Dart

Open bin/hello_dart.dart and write your first program. A Dart program starts at the top-level main function, which can receive command-line arguments as a List<String>.

void main(List<String> arguments) {
  final name = arguments.isEmpty ? 'Dart' : arguments.first;
  print('Hello, $name!');
}

dart run finds the entry point under bin and runs it, and you can pass arguments after it. To run a single file, give its path directly.

dart run                      # runs bin/<package_name>.dart
dart run bin/hello_dart.dart developer
dart compile exe bin/hello_dart.dart -o hello
./hello

dart run uses the JIT (just-in-time) compiler for a fast development loop, while dart compile exe produces a self-contained native executable with the AOT (ahead-of-time) compiler. The executable runs on machines of the same operating system and architecture without a Dart SDK. You can also target JavaScript with dart compile js and WebAssembly with dart compile wasm.

Everyday dart commands

Make dart format and dart analyze a habit before every commit. The Dart community accepts the official formatter's output as-is, so there is very little debate about indentation or line breaks.

Trying code in DartPad

To taste Dart without installing anything, open DartPad. You write code in the browser and run it immediately, with access to the core libraries, a set of popular packages, and even Flutter UI rendering. It is handy for checking short examples, experimenting with syntax, or sharing a reproduction with someone else. Code that relies on dart:io, such as file system or process access, cannot run in the browser.

Editor setup

The Dart team maintains official plugins for VS Code and the IntelliJ family (IntelliJ IDEA and Android Studio).

• VS Code: install the Dart extension from the marketplace. If you use Flutter, installing the Flutter extension pulls in the Dart extension as well.
• IntelliJ and Android Studio: install the Dart plugin (or the Flutter plugin) from the plugin settings and point it at your SDK.

Both editors use the Dart analysis server, so they offer the same code completion, error highlighting, quick fixes, renaming and format-on-save. In VS Code, enable "editor.formatOnSave": true to get dart format output every time you save. Static analysis rules are tuned in the project's analysis_options.yaml.

include: package:lints/recommended.yaml

linter:
  rules:
    prefer_single_quotes: true
    avoid_print: false

Projects created by dart create already include the recommended rules from package:lints. Enable or disable rules to match your team's conventions.

Summary

You can get the Dart SDK on its own or as part of Flutter, and a single dart command handles project creation (dart create), running (dart run), compiling (dart compile), analysis, formatting and tests. Before installing, DartPad lets you experiment right away; for real work, pair the SDK with the Dart plugin for VS Code or IntelliJ. The next chapter covers the basic syntax: variables, functions and control flow.