Flutter “command not found”: add the SDK to your PATH
Add flutter/bin to PATH in your shell's env file and restart the terminal.
Add the SDK's bin folder to PATH: export PATH="$HOME/development/flutter/bin:$PATH" in ~/.zshenv on macOS (zsh), then restart the terminal. On Windows, add <sdk>\bin via Edit environment variables. Verify with flutter --version.
Try these fixes in order
Locate the SDK's bin folder
Find where you extracted the SDK; the bin subfolder contains the flutter executable.
ls ~/development/flutter/bin/flutterAdd it to PATH
Zsh reads ~/.zshenv for environment variables. Adjust the path if you extracted the SDK elsewhere.
export PATH="$HOME/development/flutter/bin:$PATH"Restart the terminal
Environment changes only apply to new sessions; old terminals keep the old PATH. Replace the shell with a fresh login shell, or close and reopen the terminal.
exec $SHELL -lVerify flutter resolves
This should print the Flutter version. If it still fails, echo $PATH and check the entry is present.
flutter --versionInterpret what you see
Fresh SDK download, flutter never worked
What it suggests: The shell cannot find the flutter executable because its bin directory is not on PATH.
Next check: Add export PATH="$HOME/development/flutter/bin:$PATH" to ~/.zshenv (zsh) or the equivalent for your shell.
flutter works in some terminals but not others
What it suggests: The export was added to the wrong file (for example .zshrc settings read only by interactive shells, or a bash file while using zsh).
Next check: Put PATH exports in ~/.zshenv for zsh, then restart every terminal.
You just edited the PATH file
What it suggests: The terminal session started before the PATH change and still has the old environment.
Next check: Close and reopen the terminal, then run which flutter.
Why this happens
- The flutter/bin directory was never added to PATH after extracting the SDK.
- The PATH change was added to the wrong shell file or the terminal was not restarted.
Still not working?
Do not move the extracted SDK into a path with spaces (like ~/Library/Mobile Documents) or into iCloud-synced folders; Flutter misbehaves there. Keep it in a short plain path like ~/development/flutter.
Official sources
These steps are based on the linked documentation and general diagnostics. BugMedic has not independently tested every product and system configuration. Review commands before running them.