No. 4 of 51 ·Development Environment Managers

FVM

Windows · Mac · Linux · API

Freedom report

Three barsScore 6.6

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely3 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

FVM is ranked #4 of 51 in development environment managers on Freedom251. It runs on API, Linux, macOS, Windows. There is a free plan.

FVM plans and pricing

All plans

FVM Free Open-source Flutter SDK version management · macOS, Linux, and Windows fvm.app · 2 Oct 2026

Compared on development environment managers

Free plan: Yes
Supported scope: language_and_sdk
Project version pinning: Yes
Lockfile support: Yes
Shell integration: Yes
Operating systems: cross_platform
CI/CD usage: Yes

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The record

Purpose: FVM manages Flutter SDK versions per project so teams can maintain consistent app builds and switch versions without reinstalling Flutter.
Per-project versions: Each project can use a different Flutter SDK version through FVM configuration.
Fast switching: FVM changes SDK versions instantly without re-downloading them.
Team consistency: The `.fvmrc` file lets everyone use the same Flutter version for a project.
Cache management: FVM can show unreferenced SDKs, preview cleanup candidates and remove unused versions with `fvm cleanup`.
CI/CD: The documentation describes FVM as CI/CD friendly with commands suitable for automation.
Custom forks: FVM supports custom Flutter repositories through fork configuration.
Supported platforms: Standalone packages support macOS x64/arm64, Linux x64/arm64/riscv64 and Windows x64/arm64.
Install methods: FVM can be installed with its shell script, Homebrew, Chocolatey, Pub or standalone GitHub packages.
VS Code integration: FVM detects VS Code and updates `.vscode/settings.json` so the Dart Code extension uses the project’s FVM-managed Flutter SDK.
IDE limitation: FVM does not change Android Studio or IntelliJ settings, which must be configured to use the FVM SDK path.
JSON API: FVM provides JSON API commands for listing installed SDKs, releases, cleanup data, environment context and project configuration.
MCP integration: The Dart MCP server can be pointed at `.fvm/flutter_sdk` so AI assistants use the Flutter SDK pinned by FVM.
Local data handling: FVM stores known project roots in a machine-local `projects.json` file, never scans disks and stores absolute paths.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Development Environment Managers in 2026#4 of 51

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Sources

fvm.app/documentation/getting-started/overview· checked 1 Oct 2026
fvm.app/documentation/getting-started/installat· checked 1 Oct 2026
fvm.app/documentation/guides/vscode· checked 1 Oct 2026
fvm.app/documentation/guides/android-studio· checked 1 Oct 2026
fvm.app/documentation/advanced/json-api· checked 1 Oct 2026
fvm.app/documentation/guides/dart-mcp· checked 1 Oct 2026
fvm.app/documentation/getting-started/faq· checked 1 Oct 2026
github.com/leoafarias/fvm· checked 1 Oct 2026
fvm.app/documentation/getting-started/configura· checked 2 Oct 2026
fvm.app/documentation· checked 2 Oct 2026
fvm.app· checked 2 Oct 2026