Local Setup

This guide will walk you through setting up and running the Flutter News App Mobile Client on your local machine.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you must have the Flutter SDK installed on your system. To ensure you are using the most up-to-date and accurate installation instructions, we recommend following the official guide directly from the Flutter team.
- Flutter SDK: Please follow the Official Flutter Installation Guide for your specific operating system.
Set Up a Firebase Project (Required)

The mobile client requires a Firebase project for core features like push notifications. You will need to create your own Firebase project as the configuration files are not included in the source code.
- Create a Firebase Project: Go to the Firebase Console and create a new project.
- Add an Android App:
  - In your Firebase project, add an Android app.
  - The package name must match the one in the project: com.example.flutter_news_app_mobile_client_full_source_code.
  - Download the generated google-services.json file.
- Add an iOS App:
  - In the same Firebase project, add an iOS app.
  - The iOS bundle ID must match the one in the project: com.example.flutterNewsAppMobileClientFullSourceCode.
  - Download the generated GoogleService-Info.plist file.
- Place the Configuration Files:
  - Place the google-services.json file in the android/app/ directory of the mobile client project.
  - Place the GoogleService-Info.plist file in the ios/Runner/ directory of the mobile client project.
Set Up OneSignal (Optional)

If you plan to use OneSignal for push notifications, create an account and a project on the OneSignal Dashboard. You will need the App IDs for Android and iOS from the Keys & IDs section of your OneSignal project settings.
Download the Latest Release

Download the source code of the latest release from the GitHub releases page for the Mobile Client:
- Mobile Client: https://github.com/flutter-news-app-full-source-code/flutter-news-app-mobile-client-full-source-code/releases/latest
After downloading and extracting the archive, navigate into the project directory.
Install Dependencies

Fetch all the required Dart and Flutter packages for the project:
Terminal window
```
flutter pub get
```
Configure the Environment

The mobile client uses compile-time variables to configure its environment. This allows you to easily switch between mock data, a local API, or a live production API without changing the code.

Required Environment Variables
Section titled “Required Environment Variables”

For a development or production build, you must provide the following variables. The Firebase values can be copied directly from the google-services.json and GoogleService-Info.plist files you downloaded earlier.
- APP_ENVIRONMENT: development or production.
- BASE_URL: The URL of your API server (e.g., http://localhost:8080 for local development).
OneSignal Keys:
- ONE_SIGNAL_ANDROID_APP_ID: Your OneSignal Android App ID.
- ONE_SIGNAL_IOS_APP_ID: Your OneSignal iOS App ID.
Firebase Keys (from google-services.json & GoogleService-Info.plist):
- FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID: from project_info.project_id
- FIREBASE_MESSAGING_SENDER_ID: from project_info.project_number
- FIREBASE_STORAGE_BUCKET: from project_info.storage_bucket
- FIREBASE_ANDROID_API_KEY: from client[0].api_key[0].current_key
- FIREBASE_ANDROID_APP_ID: from client[0].client_info.mobilesdk_app_id
- FIREBASE_IOS_API_KEY: from the API_KEY field in your .plist file.
- FIREBASE_IOS_APP_ID: from the GOOGLE_APP_ID field in your .plist file.
For an even easier workflow, you can configure your editor to run these commands for you. Check out the Configuring VS Code Launch Environments guide.
Run the Application

Start the application using one of the commands below. Ensure you have a simulator/emulator running or a physical device connected.
- Demo Mode (Default): Runs the app with in-memory mock data. No backend API or extra variables are required, making it perfect for focusing on UI changes.
  Terminal window
```
flutter run
```
- Development Mode: Connects the app to a locally running instance of the API server. You must provide all the required --dart-define variables.
  Terminal window
```
# Example for Android
flutter run \
  --dart-define=APP_ENVIRONMENT=development \
  --dart-define=BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080 \
  --dart-define=ONE_SIGNAL_ANDROID_APP_ID=YOUR_ONESIGNAL_ID \
  --dart-define=FIREBASE_ANDROID_API_KEY=YOUR_FIREBASE_ANDROID_API_KEY \
  # ... and all other required keys
```
For the development environment, you must have the API Server running locally first.

To connect to your local API server from a physical mobile device, additional configuration is required. Please see the Connecting to a Local API from a Physical Device guide.

The application will now launch on your selected device.

Local Setup

Required Environment Variables