Installing & Setting Up Archipelago

What you'll learn

• Installing the Archipelago CLI from pub.dev
• Running archipelago doctor to verify your environment
• Authenticating with your Archipelago account
• Understanding the CLI output and common troubleshooting steps

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following installed:

• Flutter SDK (3.47.0 or later, generated projects require it)
• Dart SDK (3.13.0 or later for generated projects, and 3.12.0 or later for the CLI itself)
• Git

Step 1: Install the CLI

Install Archipelago globally via pub.dev:

dart pub global activate archipelago_cli

Verify the installation:

archipelago --version

Step 2: Run Doctor

The doctor command checks your environment for required tools and configurations:

archipelago doctor

This verifies:

• Dart SDK, Flutter SDK and Git
• Dart tools such as FVM, Mason CLI and Melos (run archipelago doctor --fix to install missing ones)
• Cached bricks
• API connectivity and your login status

Step 3: Authenticate

Log in to your Archipelago account to access your tier's bricks:

archipelago auth login

This asks you to paste an API token (input is hidden). Create one in the dashboard under CLI Tokens. To open the authorization page in your browser instead, run archipelago auth login --interactive and paste the token it shows. Your token is stored locally.

Step 4: Verify Setup

Run a quick check to confirm everything is working:

archipelago auth status

The output shows your account email, subscription tier and local brick cache details.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
command not found	Ensure ~/.pub-cache/bin is in your PATH
Doctor reports missing Mason	Run archipelago doctor --fix, or dart pub global activate mason_cli
Browser does not open for login	Use archipelago auth login (paste a token) or archipelago auth login --token <token>

Next Steps

Now that you have Archipelago installed, head to Creating Your First Project to scaffold a full monorepo.