---
id: dev-setup
title: Development Setup
---
## IDE
When developing Flipper plugins, the following IDEs are recommended:
* TypeScript (for Flipper Desktop (plugins)): Visual Studio Code
* Install the "ESLint" (dbaeumer.vscode-eslint) extension from marketplace to enable linting.
* Install the "Prettier" (esbenp.prettier-vscode) extension to enable automatic code-formatting.
* If for some reason it is not working, the builtin TypeScript extension might be disabled. To enable it, to go to extensions, search for “@builtin typescript” and enable it.
* Android Studio (for Android plugins).
* XCode (for iOS plugins).
### TypeScript
Flipper Desktop is written in TypeScript.
Use of the internal 'VSCode @ FB' as your 'go to' IDE is strongly recommended (`code-fb`).
Make sure to install and enable extensions `[FB-Internal] ESLint Diagnostics` and `[FB-Internal] Prettier`. If it's not working, the builtin TypeScript extension might be disabled. To enable it, go to extensions, search for “@builtin typescript”, and enable it.
### Android (Java)
IntelliJ is the recommended platform. Focussing on a flipper-enabled app should include the flipper modules as expected.
If you don't have an fbsource checkout (such as Whatsapp Team), you can open Android Studio and import project: `fbsource/xplat/sonar`
If you're having gradle (or other) problems, make sure you're on the latest Android Studio version.
## Running Flipper from source (recommended)
When developing Flipper plugins, it's strongly recommended to run from Flipper itself from source as well, as this yields the following benefits:
* Automatic transpilation and bundling of loaded plugins: ES6, TypeScript, JSX.
* Automatic refresh after code changes.
* React and Redux Dev Tools.
* [Debugging](debugging.mdx) using Chrome Dev Tools or Visual Studio Code.
* Additional debug information like React warnings and performance metrics.
Prerequisites for a Flipper development build:
* node ≥ 14
* yarn ≥ 1.5
* git
* watchman
To run Flipper Desktop from source:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/facebook/flipper.git
cd flipper/desktop
yarn
yarn start
```
:::note Tip
Start with `yarn start --fast-refresh` for experimental fast refreash.
:::
:::note
All these steps must be run on a local machine (such as a laptop) and development cannot be done on a Dev Server or OnDemand as Flipper is a desktop application.
:::
```bash
fbclone fbsource --sparse tools/scm/sparse/xplat/flipper-js
cd ~/fbsource/xplat/sonar/desktop
yarn
yarn start
```
### A note on sparse profiles
There is a minimal profile for working with the Flipper JavaScript files in `fbsource` for plugin Developers. This will drastically reduce the size of your checkout, but
won't include the files necessary to, for instance, build and work on mobile apps.
If you have an existing sparse checkout, you can add the Flipper profile with the following:
```sh
hg sparse enable tools/scm/sparse/xplat/flipper-js
```
:::note Tips
* Start with `yarn start --fast-refresh` for an experimental fast refresh.
* Start with `yarn start --public-build` to preview changes for public builds.
:::
Use VSCode to hack on Flipper.
To make sure ESLint and Prettier are applied correctly, make sure to open either `sonar` or `sonar/desktop` as workspace folder in VSCode: `code-fb ~/fbsource/xplat/sonar`.
### Startup options
You can use several options to customise development build instance. They can be provided as command-line args or environment variables.
You can check all of them by executing `yarn start --help`:
```bash
yarn start [args]
Options:
--embedded-plugins Enables embedding of plugins into Flipper bundle. If it
disabled then only installed plugins are loaded. The
flag is enabled by default. Env var
FLIPPER_NO_EMBEDDED_PLUGINS is equivalent to the
command-line option "--no-embedded-plugins". [Boolean]
--fast-refresh Enable Fast Refresh - quick reload of UI component
changes without restarting Flipper. The flag is disabled
by default. Env var FLIPPER_FAST_REFRESH is equivalent
to the command-line option "--fast-refresh". [Boolean]
--plugin-auto-update [FB-internal only] Enable plugin auto-updates. The flag
is disabled by default in dev mode. Env var
FLIPPER_NO_PLUGIN_AUTO_UPDATE is equivalent to the
command-line option "--no-plugin-auto-update" [Boolean]
--enabled-plugins Load only specified plugins and skip loading rest. This
is useful when you are developing only one or few
plugins. Plugins to load can be specified as a
comma-separated list with either plugin id or name used
as identifier, e.g. "--enabled-plugins
network,inspector". The flag is not provided by default
which means that all plugins loaded. [array]
--open-dev-tools Open Dev Tools window on startup. The flag is disabled
by default. Env var FLIPPER_OPEN_DEV_TOOLS is equivalent
to the command-line option "--open-dev-tools". If
"FLIPPER_UPDATE_DEV_TOOLS=true" is set additionally,
Flipper will try to update the dev tools from the play
store. [Boolean]
--dev-server-port Dev server port. 3000 by default. Env var "PORT=3001" is
equivalent to the command-line option "--dev-server-port
3001". [number] [default: 3000]
--version Show version number [Boolean]
--help Show help [Boolean]
```
You can also create an `.env` file in the `desktop` subfolder and specify any environment variables to load them automatically on `yarn start` so you don't need to pass command-line args every time:
```bash
FLIPPER_FAST_REFRESH=true
FLIPPER_OPEN_DEV_TOOLS=true
FLIPPER_ENABLED_PLUGINS=flipper-messages,network,inspector
```
To start Flipper against a specific OnDemand instance, set FB_ONDEMAND flag. for example, `FB_ONDEMAND=34435.od yarn start`
## Guidelines for writing TypeScript
* Install 3rd party type definitions as dev dependency (for example, `yarn add @types/lodash --dev`)
## Submitting a diff / PR
Make sure your new functionality is covered with tests and run `yarn test` or `yarn test --watch` in the `desktop/` directory to verify that they pass.
See the [testing](testing.mdx) page for more details on writing and running tests.
To ensure you don't get any lint/formatting errors, run `yarn lint` before submitting your diff. Some errors (especially formatting errors) can be auto-fixed by running `yarn fix`