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Hardware planning estimator
Example profile: Apple M3 Max · 64 GB unified memory
Extensible Environment Matrix · Zero-Config Onboarding

Developer Setup Hub & PC Preflight Matrix

An interactive setup guide, a hardware planning estimator, environment recipes, and a client-side terminal log helper.

Step 1 of 6 Primary Archetype Selection

Select Development Goal & Archetype

Configure your primary project focus to tailor runtimes, dependencies, and diagnostic validation rules.

5 Archetypes
Hardware profile: example Results are estimates
Planning estimate · not a hardware benchmark

⚙️ Your Machine Specs

📊 Preflight Compatibility Verdict

✅

Optimal & Production-Ready Baseline

Your machine comfortably satisfies recommended development thresholds with headroom for compilation and multitasking.

ESTIMATED STORAGE IMPACT 14.5 GB Total
SDKs (5.0 GB) Build Tools (3.5 GB) Emulators (4.0 GB) Caches (2.0 GB)
Tier Baseline RAM Free Disk Virtualization
Official Minimum 4 GB 10 GB Optional
Recommended Baseline 16 GB 35 GB Required for AVD
Comfortable Heavy Workload 32 GB 70 GB Required
💡 Low-Spec Machine Optimization Tips:

If constrained by RAM (< 16 GB), enable USB debugging with a physical Android phone to save 8 GB RAM and 12 GB emulator disk space. Use lightweight VS Code rather than full Android Studio IDE.

Install commands for 8 common developer stacks

Each card lists the version we document, the install command for macOS, Windows and Linux, and a command to check the install worked. Always compare against the official docs link, because package names and versions change.

How we test: we run the check commands on our own Apple M5 Mac, 16 GB RAM, macOS 27.0.1 and write down what happened. So far 4 of 8 stacks have been run; cards without a "Tested on our Mac" box have not been run yet.

Flutter & Dart

Flutter 3.24.3 / Dart 3.5.3

Multi-platform UI framework with ahead-of-time compilation for mobile, web, and desktop with Impeller rendering engine.

macOS
brew install --cask flutter && flutter doctor
Windows
winget install Google.Flutter && flutter doctor
Linux
sudo snap install flutter --classic && flutter doctor
Check it works
flutter doctor -v && flutter run -d chrome

Tested on our Mac ·

  • flutter doctor reported no issues with Flutter 3.47.8 and Dart 3.13.7, Xcode 27.2, Android SDK 36.0.0 and CocoaPods 1.17.0.
  • The Android toolchain passed even though java -version found no Java on the system. Flutter uses the JDK bundled with Android Studio, so you do not always need a separate JDK install.

Things to know

  • Run flutter doctor after installing and fix each item it reports before creating a project.
  • Android builds also need the Android SDK (through Android Studio or the command-line tools) and JDK 17.
  • iOS builds only work on a Mac with Xcode and CocoaPods installed.
Official docs ↗

Next.js & React 19

Next.js 15.0 / React 19 / Node 22

Fullstack React framework with App Router, Turbopack, Server Actions, and edge deployments.

macOS
brew install node@22 pnpm && pnpm create next-app@latest my-app --typescript --tailwind --eslint
Windows
winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS && corepack enable && corepack prepare pnpm@latest --activate
Linux
sudo apt install -y nodejs npm && npm i -g pnpm
Check it works
pnpm run build && pnpm run dev

Tested on our Mac ·

  • Node.js v26.12.1 and pnpm 12.15.0 were available for the commands above. We have not run a full create-next-app build on this machine yet.

Things to know

  • Next.js 15 needs Node.js 18.18 or later. Node 22 LTS is a safe choice.
  • create-next-app asks about TypeScript, ESLint, Tailwind and the App Router; the flags above answer those questions up front.
Official docs ↗

Python, FastAPI & Astral uv

Python 3.12 / uv 0.4.20 / PyTorch 2.4

Fast Python package and virtual environment management with uv, plus PyTorch with Metal (MPS) acceleration on Apple Silicon.

macOS
brew install uv && uv venv --python 3.12 && uv pip install torch torchvision
Windows
powershell -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex" && uv venv --python 3.12
Linux
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh && uv venv --python 3.12
Check it works
uv run python -c "import torch; print(torch.backends.mps.is_available())"

Tested on our Mac ·

  • uv venv --python 3.12 took about 20 seconds the first time because uv downloaded Python 3.12.15 itself. The environment ran natively on arm64.
  • Running pip install with the system Python 3.15 failed with error: externally-managed-environment, which is why we recommend a virtual environment.

Things to know

  • Create one virtual environment per project (uv venv) so packages from different projects do not conflict.
  • On Apple Silicon the standard PyTorch wheels include Metal (MPS) support. With an NVIDIA GPU on Windows or Linux, pick the CUDA build from pytorch.org instead.
Official docs ↗

Node.js, Bun & TypeScript

Node 22.9 LTS / Bun 1.1 / TS 5.6

Backend services, native ESM modules, zero-config TypeScript execution, and the Bun runtime.

macOS
brew install node@22 oven-sh/bun/bun && bun -v
Windows
winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS && winget install Oven-sh.Bun
Linux
sudo apt install -y nodejs npm && curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
Check it works
node -v && bun -v && npx tsx --version

Tested on our Mac ·

  • Node.js v26.12.1 and pnpm 12.15.0 were installed and on PATH. We have not tested Bun yet.

Things to know

  • If your projects need different Node versions, use a version manager such as fnm, nvm or Volta instead of one global install.
  • Bun runs most npm packages, but some native add-ons do not work yet. Test before switching a production service.
Official docs ↗

Rust Systems & Cargo

Rust 1.81.0 / Cargo / LLVM

Memory-safe systems programming, WebAssembly engines, and native CLI utilities.

macOS
curl --proto "=https" --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh && source "$HOME/.cargo/env"
Windows
winget install Rustlang.Rustup && winget install Microsoft.VisualStudio.2022.BuildTools
Linux
curl --proto "=https" --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh && sudo apt install build-essential
Check it works
rustc --version && cargo --version

Things to know

  • On Windows, rustup uses the MSVC toolchain by default, which needs the Visual Studio C++ build tools.
  • Stable Rust releases every six weeks. Run rustup update to stay current.
Official docs ↗

Go Microservices & gRPC

Go 1.23.2 / gopls

Cloud services, concurrency pipelines, and network tools with small memory footprints.

macOS
brew install go && go version
Windows
winget install GoLang.Go && go version
Linux
sudo apt install -y golang-go && go version
Check it works
go version && go env

Things to know

  • Use Go modules: start each project with go mod init. Projects no longer need to live inside GOPATH.
  • Linux distribution packages can lag behind. For the newest release, use the installer from go.dev/dl.
Official docs ↗

React Native & Expo SDK 51

RN 0.75 / Expo SDK 51 / Hermes

Cross-platform mobile apps using React and the New Architecture (Fabric renderer + Hermes engine).

macOS
brew install node watchman && npx create-expo-app@latest my-app
Windows
winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS Git.Git Microsoft.OpenJDK.17
Linux
sudo apt install -y nodejs npm openjdk-17-jdk
Check it works
npx expo --version

Things to know

  • With Expo Go you can run the app on your phone without installing Android Studio or Xcode.
  • You only need the native toolchains (Android SDK with JDK 17, or Xcode) when you make a development build.
Official docs ↗

Docker Desktop & Compose v2

Docker 27.2 / Compose v2.29

Containerized services, reproducible devcontainers, and multi-architecture buildx images.

macOS
brew install --cask orbstack || brew install --cask docker
Windows
winget install Docker.DockerDesktop
Linux
sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose-v2
Check it works
docker --version && docker compose version

Things to know

  • Docker Desktop needs a paid subscription for larger companies (more than 250 employees or more than $10 million in yearly revenue). OrbStack, Colima and Podman are alternatives.
  • On Windows, Docker Desktop runs on WSL 2, so enable WSL first.
Official docs ↗
🛡️

Read before you run

Diagnostic scripts are meant to only read your system details. Always read the full script below before running it, and never run a script you do not understand. 

# Read-only environment check for macOS, Linux and Windows.
# Choose your system above to show the full script (needs JavaScript).
How to execute: In PowerShell: Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process Bypass; .\verify-env.ps1

📚 Common Setup Errors

Android SDK / Flutter Android SDK cmdline-tools component is missing cmdline-tools component is missing · Android license status unknown

Why it happens: flutter doctor needs the Android SDK Command-line Tools to accept SDK licenses and find build-tools. Android Studio does not always install them.

  1. Install them from the SDK Manager. Android Studio → Settings → Languages & Frameworks → Android SDK → SDK Tools tab. Tick "Android SDK Command-line Tools (latest)" and click Apply.
  2. Point ANDROID_HOME at the SDK. Set ANDROID_HOME to your SDK folder (Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Android\Sdk, macOS: ~/Library/Android/sdk) and add cmdline-tools/latest/bin to PATH.
  3. Accept the licenses. Open a new terminal and run flutter doctor --android-licenses, then answer y to each agreement.
Flutter / React Native · macOS CocoaPods not installed or not in a valid state CocoaPods not installed · pod: command not found

Why it happens: iOS builds use CocoaPods to fetch native plugin code. Without it, any plugin with iOS code fails to build.

  1. Install CocoaPods with Homebrew. Run brew install cocoapods, then pod --version to confirm it is on PATH.
  2. Re-run pod install. From the ios folder run pod install --repo-update. If it still fails, delete ios/Pods and ios/Podfile.lock and run it again.
Android / Gradle Unsupported class file major version (Java and Gradle mismatch) Unsupported class file major version 65 · Could not determine java version

Why it happens: The JDK running Gradle is newer than the Gradle version in the project supports. Major version 65 means Java 21; older Gradle wrappers expect Java 17.

  1. Use JDK 17 for the build. Install JDK 17 and set JAVA_HOME to it. For Flutter you can run flutter config --jdk-dir <path-to-jdk-17>.
  2. Upgrade the Gradle wrapper. Raise distributionUrl in android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties to a Gradle version that supports your JDK (check the Gradle compatibility table).
Node.js / Next.js Port already in use (listen EADDRINUSE :::3000) Error: listen EADDRINUSE: address already in use :::3000

Why it happens: Another process, often an old dev server left running, already holds port 3000.

  1. Start on another port. Run PORT=3001 pnpm run dev, or pnpm next dev -p 3001, and leave the other process alone.
  2. Find the process using the port. Windows: netstat -ano | findstr :3000. macOS/Linux: lsof -i :3000.
  3. Stop that process. Windows: taskkill /PID <PID> /F. macOS/Linux: kill <PID> (use kill -9 only if it will not stop).
Python / pip error: externally-managed-environment error: externally-managed-environment

Why it happens: Newer Homebrew Python and Debian/Ubuntu Python block pip install into the system interpreter (PEP 668) so packages do not break OS tools.

  1. Use a virtual environment. Run uv venv (or python3 -m venv .venv), activate it, then install packages inside it.
  2. Use pipx for command-line tools. For tools you run as commands, install them with pipx install <tool> instead of pip.
Docker Cannot connect to the Docker daemon Cannot connect to the Docker daemon at unix:///var/run/docker.sock. Is the docker daemon running?

Why it happens: The docker CLI is installed but the engine is not running, or your user cannot access its socket.

  1. Start the engine. Open Docker Desktop or OrbStack and wait until it reports running. On Linux run sudo systemctl start docker.
  2. Fix socket permissions on Linux. Run sudo usermod -aG docker $USER, then log out and back in. Note that the docker group grants root-level access.
Rust / Python · Windows Microsoft C++ build tools missing (link.exe not found) linker `link.exe` not found · Microsoft Visual C++ 14.0 or greater is required

Why it happens: The Windows MSVC toolchain used by Rust and by Python packages with C extensions needs the Microsoft C++ build tools.

  1. Install Build Tools with winget. Run winget install Microsoft.VisualStudio.2022.BuildTools.
  2. Select the C++ workload. Open Visual Studio Installer, click Modify on Build Tools, tick "Desktop development with C++" and install.
All platforms Command not found right after installing flutter: command not found · 'go' is not recognized as an internal or external command

Why it happens: The installer added a folder to PATH, but terminals that were already open still use the old PATH.

  1. Open a new terminal. Close every terminal and editor window, open a fresh one, and try the command again.
  2. Check PATH directly. macOS/Linux: echo $PATH and look in ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc. Windows: run $env:Path in PowerShell and edit it under System Properties → Environment Variables.

🔒 Client-Side Secret Redactor & Matcher

Paste raw terminal error traces. Our client-side regex engine scrubs private usernames, file paths, tokens, and credentials in your browser before diagnosis.

Try Sample:
⚡ 351 OPEN-SOURCE TOOLS & APPS · 21 CATEGORIES

Find the right free tool for the job.
Compare them before you install.

Browse 351 open-source tools by what you need to do. See what each one is for, whether it runs offline, which platforms it supports, and compare up to three side by side.

🛡️

How this catalog works

Each entry is compiled by Chirag Shyani from the project's README and official documentation, and every repository link was checked on Nov 4, 2026. Entries marked Tested were installed and run by WidgetExamples; the rest have not been installed by us yet. Commands run only on your own machine. Read them, and the official install guide, before you run anything.

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Showing 351 of 351 catalog entries across 21 categories
Guided Architecture Decision

Choose Your Goal — Example Tool Stacks

Select a goal to view an example stack and setup notes. Confirm current versions, platform support, and commands in each project’s official documentation before installing.

Cost Model & Hardware Transparency

Open-source tooling frequently blurs the line between genuinely free local execution and tools that require paid cloud LLM subscriptions. We categorize every tool explicitly:

Free · runs locally Zero Cloud API Dependency

Tools like Ollama, Playwright, Gitleaks, Astral uv, and Trivy execute entirely on your machine. You do not need credit cards, API accounts, or internet access once installed.

Open-Source Conditional Model or Cloud Dependent

Tools like gstack or Strix have permissive open-source source licenses (MIT/GPL), but their full reasoning capabilities may require connection to capable models or local container runtimes.

💡 Developer FAQ & Knowledge Base

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about WidgetExamples Studio, 60fps Flutter Web physics, local AI inference, and production widget engineering.

What can I find on WidgetExamples? +

WidgetExamples is an independent Flutter learning resource with practical examples, explanations of common Flutter issues, tutorials, and browser-based developer tools.

How do I resolve Flutter layout overflow errors like RenderFlex and unconstrained height? +

Start by identifying the widget that receives unbounded or insufficient constraints. The Flutter Fix Lab provides examples for common cases such as a Row overflow or a scrollable list inside a Column. Check each example against your own widget tree and Flutter version.

Where should I start learning? +

Browse the tutorials for step-by-step Flutter topics, or use the Fix Lab when you are investigating a specific layout or state issue.