flutter-101 (FastAPI client)

This is a fundamentals Flutter project that builds a simple frontend for the companion FastAPI project at /Users/mike/Projects/fastAPI-101.

What’s inside

• Flutter app: iPhone Simulator + macOS desktop targets
• Mock vs Live API: toggle in-app to develop UI without the backend running
• Example feature: Items list + detail + create + delete
  • Delete requires an API key header (x-api-key)

Prerequisites

• Flutter SDK installed (flutter doctor is clean)
• FastAPI backend available locally (see below)

Configuration

The app uses flutter_dotenv for configuration.

1. Copy .env.example to .env:

   cp .env.example .env

2. Edit .env to match your local setup (e.g., change BASE_URL for Android emulators).

Note: .env is excluded from source control to prevent leaking sensitive information.

Run the FastAPI backend

From the backend repo:

cd /Users/mike/Projects/fastAPI-101
uvicorn main:app --reload --port 8000

The API should be available at http://localhost:8000.

Run the Flutter app

List devices:

flutter devices

Android (emulator)

To run on Android you need the Android SDK installed (via Android Studio). If flutter doctor says it can’t find the SDK, install Android Studio and then install:

• Android SDK Platform
• Android SDK Build-Tools
• Android Emulator

Then create and start an emulator:

flutter emulators
flutter emulators --launch <emulator-id>

Run the app:

flutter run -d <emulator-id>

Important: on the Android emulator, your Mac’s localhost is 10.0.2.2. So if your FastAPI is running on http://localhost:8000 on your Mac, set the Flutter base URL to:

• http://10.0.2.2:8000

Run on iPhone 13 Simulator:

flutter run -d "iPhone 13"

Run on macOS desktop:

flutter run -d macos

In-app settings

Open Settings (top-right):

• Use mock data: ON uses local fake data, OFF calls FastAPI
• Base URL: http://localhost:8000
• API Key: default dev key is dev-key-123 (sent as x-api-key)

Tests

Flutter

flutter test

Integration tests (Android / iOS)

Run on iPhone Simulator:

flutter test integration_test -d "iPhone 13"

Run on Android emulator (replace with your emulator id from flutter devices):

flutter test integration_test -d <emulator-id>