Install method on linux should use git clone

[ArrODevv]

Page URL

https://docs.flutter.dev/get-started/install/linux/android#download-then-install-flutter

Page source

https://github.com/flutter/website/tree/main/src/content/get-started/install/linux/android.md

Describe the problem

On the page listed above, there is a download link for a .tar.xz and every time (2 times to be precise) I install flutter from this file, flutter doctor complains that the directory should be a git clone of flutter/flutter. After cloning said repo it immediately worked. It's not a fatal issue, but it does decrease user comfort.

Sorry for that wall of text, let me know if you need more infos or if this is a duplicate (I couldn't find an issue for this) or really anything.

Thank you!

Expected fix

I think the first step shouldn't be downloading the tar.xz archive, but rather opening a terminal and running git clone [...].

Additional context

I use Firefox 133.0.3 and am following the installation tutorial for flutter android app development.

I would like to fix this problem.

• I will try and fix this problem on docs.flutter.dev.

[sfshaza2]

@antfitch, would you mind taking a look at this?

[antfitch]

Absolutely.

…

On Sun, Dec 15, 2024 at 1:06 PM Shams Zakhour (ignore Sfshaza) < ***@***.***> wrote: @antfitch <https://github.com/antfitch>, would you mind taking a look at this? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#11498 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AEMN2EYHGW7R7H3EKDAVSKT2FXVMLAVCNFSM6AAAAABTUCOQXSVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDKNBUGA3DKOJVGE> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: <flutter/website/issues/11498/2544065951 ***@***.***>

[antfitch]

My hunch is that a developer should not have to clone flutter/flutter to build a Flutter Android app. I suspect that a developer should clone this repository only if they feel like making their own changes to the Flutter project or taking a sneak peak at upcoming features.

@craiglabenz is this something you can chime in on? @ArrODevv when you were getting those error messages, had you ever cloned flutter/flutter on the machine you were using before?

[ArrODevv]

No, it was my first time installing flutter. I did everything according to the guide. At first I thought there was a good reason it needed a git clone?

A bit after posting this issue, I also installed flutter on my windows machine and there was a git clone in the zip file.

Thanks for your time so far!

[antfitch]

@khanhnwin sending this one your way for triaging. Has @ArrODevv uncovered an installation issue? In summary, should a developer have to clone flutter/flutter to build a Flutter Android app?

[domesticmouse]

The download zip file for macOS also includes a git repository, and it is included to enable the developer to change Flutter version, which happens every couple of weeks or so. So yeah, I'd say that a git clone, either via the git tool directly, or by downloading a fully populated git tree (which is what the downloads are supposed to be) is required.

If the linux download build workflow is not properly populating the git tree in the download file, then we have an issue with the workflow for constructing the linux download.

[antfitch]

Okay great! I'll add a note in the docs about what to expect with .tar.xz.

Actually, I'm going to raise an issue with the dev team. This looks like there is an issue with the linux download.

Created an issue here: flutter/flutter#162096

Leaving this open until we hear back from the dev team.

[antfitch]

Tentatively closing because I think this was an issue with a specific .tar.xz file. Glad we were able to capture this through the docs steps not working as expected.