Prerequisites
Before the academy starts, you should finish the prerequisites so you are ready to jump straight into the first day.
Backend related prerequisites
Get your machine ready before Day 1 of the backend half. The whole setup takes under an hour, but the videos are the most important part - they will save you a lot of head-scratching once we start building.
1. Install the Supabase CLI
Follow the official Supabase CLI installation guide for your operating system. We'll use the CLI throughout the academy to manage migrations and run Supabase locally.
After installing, confirm it works by running:
supabase --version2. Create a Supabase project
Sign up (or log in) at supabase.com and create a new project. During setup you'll be asked to set a database password - generate a strong one and save it somewhere safe (a password manager is ideal). You will need it later to connect to the database.
The database password is shown only once at project creation. If you lose it you can reset it from the project's database settings, but it's much easier to just save it the first time.
3. Watch the intro videos
These two videos cover the Postgres and Supabase fundamentals we'll build on top of. Watch them before Day 1 - we won't re-explain the basics from scratch during the live sessions.
- Supabase + Next.js SDK overview - what Supabase is and how the SDK fits into a typical app.
- Supabase database deep-dive - tables, views, functions, triggers, and Row Level Security.
Frontend related prerequisites
Get your local environment ready before Day 1. The steps below take a couple of hours end-to-end (most of it is downloads), so don't leave them for the morning of the academy.
1. Install VS Code and the required extensions
Install Visual Studio Code, then add the following extensions from the Marketplace:
- Flutter - Dart/Flutter language support, debugging, and the simulator/device dropdown.
- FlutterFlow: Custom Code Editor - lets you edit FlutterFlow custom code locally. After installing, follow the in-extension setup and paste your API key when prompted.
- Awesome Flutter Snippets - a big collection of stateless/stateful widget snippets that we'll use throughout the week.
FlutterFlow API key: ask your mentor for the academy API key for the FlutterFlow: Custom Code Editor extension. You'll paste it during the extension's first-run setup.
2. Watch the intro videos
Skim through these before Day 1 - they cover the Flutter basics we'll build on top of:
3. Install the Flutter SDK and run a sample app
Follow the official Create a new Flutter app guide to install the Flutter SDK and run the starter counter app on a simulator or a physical device.
Pick the platform setup that matches your machine and target device:
- Android users -> Android setup
- iOS users -> iOS setup
When you are done, flutter doctor should report no issues for the platforms you plan to target, and you should be able to launch the default Flutter counter app on at least one simulator or device.
Hitting an issue with flutter doctor, Xcode licenses, Android SDK paths, or simulators? Drop a message in the academy channel before Day 1 - it's much faster to fix this together than to debug it during the first session.