rive-app / rive-app/rive-flutter
rive_native: `runRiveNativeSetup` assumes `dart` is on PATH → Android build fails (`sh: dart: command not found`) with FVM / IDE-launched builds / CI
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Description
Submission checklist
- I have confirmed the issue is present in the latest version of the
riveFlutter package - I have searched the documentation and forums and could not find an answer
- I have searched existing issues and this is not a duplicate
Description
What happens
Building an Android app that depends on rive (which pulls in rive_native) fails during the :rive_native:runRiveNativeSetup Gradle task:
sh: dart: command not found
FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.
* What went wrong:
Execution failed for task ':rive_native:runRiveNativeSetup'.
> Process 'command 'sh'' finished with non-zero exit value 127
Error: Gradle task assembleDevDebug failed with exit code 1
Environment
rive: 0.14.9 (latest)rive_native: 0.1.9 (latest)- Flutter: 3.44.6 (stable), managed via FVM (
.fvm/flutter_sdksymlink) - Host: macOS (Apple Silicon)
- Trigger: build launched from an IDE (VS Code / Android Studio) and/or via FVM, where the pinned
dartis not on the processPATH.
Root cause
rive_native/android/build.gradle (runRiveNativeSetup) shells out to bare dart and relies on it being on the inherited PATH:
// Use shell to find and execute dart (shell has access to PATH)
if (isWindows) {
executable "cmd"
args "/C", "dart", "run", "rive_native:setup", "--verbose", "-p", "android"
} else {
executable "sh"
args "-c", "dart run rive_native:setup --verbose -p android"
}
That assumption breaks in common setups:
- macOS GUI-launched IDEs (VS Code/Android Studio opened from Dock/Finder) spawn build processes with a minimal
PATHthat omitsdartentirely. - FVM / asdf / mise / puro — the correct
dart(matching the SDK driving the build) isn't the one onPATH, if any is. - CI —
dartfrequently isn't onPATH.
It "works on my machine" only when a terminal with dart on PATH happens to spawn the build — and even then it may silently use a different Dart version than the one building the app.
Expected behavior
runRiveNativeSetup should invoke the Dart that ships with the Flutter SDK actually driving the build, not a PATH lookup. Flutter already hands the SDK path to Gradle — the same source of truth Flutter's
own Gradle plugin uses:
flutter.sdkin<app>/android/local.properties(canonical), and- the
FLUTTER_ROOTenvironment variable (fallback).
(In flutter_tools/gradle, FlutterPlugin.kt reads FLUTTER_ROOT and flutter.sdk, erroring with "Define location with flutter.sdk in the local.properties file or with a FLUTTER_ROOT environment variable"
— exactly the resolution rive_native should reuse.)
Suggested fix
Resolve the Flutter SDK and call its dart directly instead of shelling out to bare dart:
def flutterRoot = {
def props = new Properties()
def lp = new File(project.rootProject.projectDir, "local.properties")
if (lp.exists()) lp.withInputStream { props.load(it) }
return props.getProperty("flutter.sdk") ?: System.getenv("FLUTTER_ROOT")
}()
def dartExe = isWindows ? "${flutterRoot}\\bin\\dart.bat" : "${flutterRoot}/bin/dart"
executable dartExe
args "run", "rive_native:setup", "--verbose", "-p", "android"
This works for FVM/asdf/mise, CI, and every IDE, removes the PATH dependency, and guarantees the setup runs on the same Dart version as the build.
Current workaround
Prepend the SDK's bin to PATH for the build. For VS Code we add it to each launch.json config:
"env": { "PATH": "${workspaceFolder}/.fvm/flutter_sdk/bin:${env:PATH}" },
"windows": { "env": { "PATH": "${workspaceFolder}/.fvm/flutter_sdk/bin;${env:PATH}" } }
This shouldn't be necessary, the plugin has enough information to find the right dart itself.
Reproduction steps / code
- Make sure you don't have dart or flutter in your PATH
- Install fvm via
brew install fvm - Open your app project that has the
rive: ^0.14.9dependency - Run
fvm use 3.44.6 - In Vscode set the launch.json settings like so:
{
"name": "Dev",
"program": "lib/main.dart",
"request": "launch",
"type": "dart",
"args": [
"--flavor",
"dev"
],
},
- Then launch the app on an Android device/emulator
Upload your reproduction files / stack trace
No response
Source .riv / .rev file
No response
Screenshots / video
Screenshot 2026-07-20 at 10.30.35.png
Rive Flutter package version
0.14.9
Flutter version
No flutter path so no flutter --version
Device
Android Emulator
OS version
Android 16
Additional context
No response
Contributor guide
No contributing guide indexed for this repository
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start in rive_native/android/build.gradle at the runRiveNativeSetup task and review how Flutter's SDK path is resolved from local.properties or FLUTTER_ROOT. Verify the task invokes the SDK's Dart executable rather than a bare PATH command, then reproduce an Android build from an IDE or FVM-managed setup without Dart on PATH.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- android, dart
- Domain
- build-system, mobile-dev
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Active
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 76/100