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Get up and running with Dart quickly by writing and running your first program.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, install the Dart SDK on your system.

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Your first Dart program

1

Create a Dart file

Create a new file called hello.dart:
hello.dart
void main() {
  print('Hello, World!');
}
2

Run the program

Execute your Dart program using the dart command:
dart hello.dart
You’ll see the output:
Hello, World!

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Working with arguments

Dart makes it easy to work with command-line arguments:
greet.dart
void main(List<String> arguments) {
  if (arguments.isEmpty) {
    print('Usage: dart greet.dart <name>');
    return;
  }
  
  final name = arguments.first;
  print('Hello, $name!');
}
Run it with: 
dart greet.dart Alice
# Output: Hello, Alice!

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Language basics

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Variables and types

Dart is strongly typed with type inference and null safety: 
void main() {
  // Type inference
  var name = 'Alice';
  var age = 30;
  
  // Explicit types
  String city = 'New York';
  int? nullableAge;  // Can be null
  
  // Null safety
  print(nullableAge ?? 0);  // Use 0 if null
}

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Collections

Work with lists, sets, and maps: 
void main() {
  // Lists
  var numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
  numbers.add(6);
  
  // Sets
  var uniqueNames = {'Alice', 'Bob', 'Alice'};  // Only 2 items
  
  // Maps
  var person = {
    'name': 'Alice',
    'age': 30,
    'city': 'New York',
  };
  
  print(person['name']);  // Alice
}

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Functions

Dart supports multiple function styles: 
// Regular function
int add(int a, int b) {
  return a + b;
}

// Arrow function
int multiply(int a, int b) => a * b;

// Named parameters
void greet({required String name, String greeting = 'Hello'}) {
  print('$greeting, $name!');
}

void main() {
  print(add(2, 3));        // 5
  print(multiply(4, 5));   // 20
  greet(name: 'Alice');    // Hello, Alice!
}

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Control flow

Use modern control flow with pattern matching: 
void main() {
  var score = 85;
  
  // if-else
  if (score >= 90) {
    print('A');
  } else if (score >= 80) {
    print('B');
  } else {
    print('C');
  }
  
  // Switch expressions
  var grade = switch (score) {
    >= 90 => 'A',
    >= 80 => 'B',
    >= 70 => 'C',
    _ => 'F'
  };
  print(grade);  // B
}

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Asynchronous programming

Dart has first-class support for async/await: 
import 'dart:async';

Future<String> fetchUserData() async {
  // Simulate network delay
  await Future.delayed(Duration(seconds: 1));
  return 'User data loaded';
}

void main() async {
  print('Fetching user data...');
  var data = await fetchUserData();
  print(data);  // User data loaded (after 1 second)
}

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Working with Streams

Handle multiple asynchronous values: 
Stream<int> countStream(int max) async* {
  for (int i = 1; i <= max; i++) {
    await Future.delayed(Duration(milliseconds: 100));
    yield i;
  }
}

void main() async {
  await for (var number in countStream(5)) {
    print(number);  // Prints 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 with delays
  }
}

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Creating a project

Use dart create to set up a new project: 
dart create -t console my_app
cd my_app
dart run

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Compiling to native code

Compile your Dart code to a standalone executable: 
dart compile exe hello.dart -o hello
./hello  # Run the native binary
Native executables start instantly and don’t require the Dart SDK to run.

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Next steps

Core Libraries

Explore dart:core, dart:async, dart:io and more

Language Tour

Learn all Dart language features in depth

Compilers

Understand JIT, AOT, dart2js, and dart2wasm

Tools & CLI

Master the dart command and SDK tools

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Useful commands

dart analyze

Static analysis of your code

dart format

Format code to style guide

dart test

Run your unit tests

dart pub

Manage package dependencies

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