Required Software Installation

Complete step-by-step guide to install all necessary software components for developing and deploying the Mighty School Management System.

Installation Order Matters

Follow the installation sequence below to avoid dependency conflicts and ensure smooth setup. Each component builds upon the previous ones.

Flutter Development Environment

Critical

Flutter SDK 3.35.2+

Cross-platform mobile development framework for building native Android and iOS applications.

Official Flutter Installation Guide
1
Download Flutter SDK

Download the latest stable release from the official Flutter website

# Download using Git (Recommended)
git clone https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git -b stable

# Or download ZIP from https://flutter.dev/docs/get-started/install/windows
2
Add Flutter to PATH

Add Flutter bin directory to your system PATH environment variable

# Add to PATH (replace with your Flutter path)
$env:PATH += ";C:\flutter\bin"

# Make permanent by adding to System Environment Variables
3
Verify Installation

Run Flutter doctor to check for any missing dependencies

flutter doctor -v
1
Download Flutter SDK

Download the latest stable release for macOS

# Using Git (Recommended)
git clone https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git -b stable
cd flutter

# Or download ZIP from https://flutter.dev/docs/get-started/install/macos
2
Add Flutter to PATH

Add Flutter to your shell profile

# For Bash users
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:`pwd`/flutter/bin"' >> ~/.bash_profile
source ~/.bash_profile

# For Zsh users (default in macOS Catalina+)
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:`pwd`/flutter/bin"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc
3
Verify Installation

Check Flutter installation and dependencies

flutter doctor -v
1
Install Prerequisites

Install required dependencies for Linux

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install curl git unzip xz-utils zip libglu1-mesa

# CentOS/RHEL/Fedora
sudo yum install curl git unzip xz zip mesa-libGLU
2
Download and Install Flutter

Clone Flutter repository and set up PATH

# Clone Flutter
git clone https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git -b stable
cd flutter

# Add to PATH
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:`pwd`/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
3
Verify Installation

Run Flutter doctor to check setup

flutter doctor -v

PHP & Laravel Backend Environment

Critical

PHP 8.3+ & Laravel 11.9

Server-side scripting language and modern PHP framework for building robust web applications and APIs.

PHP Official Downloads Laravel Installation Guide Composer Installation
1
Install PHP 8.3+

Download and install PHP for Windows

# Using Chocolatey (Recommended)
choco install php

# Or download from https://windows.php.net/download/
# Extract to C:\php and add to PATH
2
Install Composer

PHP dependency manager for Laravel

# Download and run Composer-Setup.exe from https://getcomposer.org/download/
# Or using PowerShell:
php -r "copy('https://getcomposer.org/installer', 'composer-setup.php');"
php composer-setup.php
php -r "unlink('composer-setup.php');"
3
Install Laravel

Install Laravel via Composer

# Install Laravel installer globally
composer global require laravel/installer

# Verify installation
laravel --version
1
Install PHP 8.3+

Install PHP using Homebrew

# Install Homebrew if not already installed
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install PHP 8.3
brew install php@8.3

# Link PHP to make it available globally
brew link php@8.3 --force
2
Install Composer

Install Composer dependency manager

# Install Composer using Homebrew
brew install composer

# Or manual installation:
curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php
sudo mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer
3
Install Laravel

Install Laravel installer globally

# Install Laravel installer
composer global require laravel/installer

# Add Composer global bin to PATH
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.composer/vendor/bin"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

# Verify installation
laravel --version
1
Install PHP 8.3+

Install PHP and required extensions

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
sudo apt update
sudo apt install php8.3 php8.3-cli php8.3-common php8.3-mysql php8.3-zip php8.3-gd php8.3-mbstring php8.3-curl php8.3-xml php8.3-bcmath

# CentOS/RHEL/Fedora
sudo dnf install php php-cli php-common php-mysqlnd php-zip php-gd php-mbstring php-curl php-xml php-bcmath
2
Install Composer

Install Composer dependency manager

# Download and install Composer
curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php
sudo mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/composer

# Verify installation
composer --version
3
Install Laravel

Install Laravel installer globally

# Install Laravel installer
composer global require laravel/installer

# Add Composer global bin to PATH
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.config/composer/vendor/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# Verify installation
laravel --version

Development Tools & IDEs

Recommended

Visual Studio Code

Lightweight, powerful code editor with excellent Flutter and PHP support

  • Flutter & Dart extensions
  • PHP IntelliSense
  • Laravel Blade syntax
  • Git integration
Download VS Code

Android Studio

Official IDE for Android development with Flutter support

  • Android SDK management
  • Device emulators
  • Flutter plugin
  • Performance profiling
Download Android Studio

Xcode (macOS only)

Required for iOS development and deployment

  • iOS SDK
  • iOS Simulator
  • App Store deployment
  • Swift/Objective-C support
Download Xcode

Database Management

Tools for managing MySQL databases

  • phpMyAdmin (Web-based)
  • MySQL Workbench
  • HeidiSQL (Windows)
  • Sequel Pro (macOS)
MySQL Workbench

Additional Dependencies

Optional

Git Version Control

Essential for version control and collaboration

Windows: winget install Git.Git
macOS: brew install git
Linux: sudo apt install git

Node.js & npm

For asset compilation and package management

All Platforms: Download from nodejs.org
Verify: node --version && npm --version

Redis (Optional)

For caching and session management

Windows: choco install redis-64
macOS: brew install redis
Linux: sudo apt install redis-server

Installation Verification

Run these commands to verify all software is installed correctly:

Flutter: flutter doctor -v
Expected: All checks should pass with green checkmarks
PHP: php --version
Expected: PHP 8.3.x or higher
Composer: composer --version
Expected: Composer version 2.x
Laravel: laravel --version
Expected: Laravel Installer 5.x
Git: git --version
Expected: git version 2.x

Common Issues & Solutions

Flutter Doctor Issues

Problem: Flutter doctor shows missing dependencies

Solution:

  • Install Android SDK via Android Studio
  • Accept Android licenses: flutter doctor --android-licenses
  • Install Xcode command line tools (macOS): xcode-select --install

PHP Extensions Missing

Problem: Laravel requires missing PHP extensions

Solution:

  • Install required extensions based on your OS
  • Enable extensions in php.ini file
  • Restart web server after changes

PATH Issues

Problem: Commands not found after installation

Solution:

  • Restart terminal/command prompt
  • Verify PATH environment variable
  • Use full path to executable if needed

Ready for Backend Setup?

Once all software is installed and verified, you can proceed to the Backend Setup section where we'll configure the Laravel API and database connections.

Before proceeding, ensure: