Workstation setup for new developers

Last verified on 2026-04-28.

What you need to install

Tool	Purpose	Installation
Flutter (3.44.0 or as pinned in .github/workflows/pr_branch_tests.yml)	Build BioFlow + run Dart tests	https://docs.flutter.dev/get-started/install/windows
Visual Studio 2022 (Desktop development with C++)	Required toolchain for flutter build windows	https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/
Inno Setup 6.6.0	Build the Windows installer	https://jrsoftware.org/isdl.php
Python ≥ 3.11 + uv	StrictDoc, post-processor, auto-stamp, VisionTrace	https://docs.astral.sh/uv/
Node ≥ 20 + npm	Allure CLI (allure-commandline global install)	https://nodejs.org/en/download
Allure CLI	Render the Allure dashboard locally	npm install -g allure-commandline
GitHub CLI (gh)	Required by the auto-stamp script for live PR queries; useful for gh run / gh pr operations	https://cli.github.com/
Git for Windows	Standard	https://git-scm.com/download/win

For VisionTrace local recording (only required if you’ll be authoring new ST tests), you also need:

• A clone of the VisionTrace repo — git clone https://github.com/Corona-Project-Life/VisionTrace.git
• The VisionTrace package installed in your project’s venv: uv pip install -e <path-to-VisionTrace>[dev]
• An ANTHROPIC_API_KEY exported in your shell

After installing, verify each piece

From the repo root:

# Flutter
flutter doctor

# Python tooling
uv sync                                                    # installs StrictDoc + post-processor deps
uv run strictdoc --help                                    # confirms StrictDoc is on path
uv run python -m tools.post_processor.rtm --help           # post-processor CLI
uv run python -m tools.auto_stamp.main --help              # auto-stamp CLI

# Allure
allure --version

# GitHub CLI
gh --version
gh auth status

# Test the full local chain (no GitHub API needed)
uv run pytest tools/auto_stamp/tests/ -p no:visiontrace

The auto-stamp tests should all pass in a few seconds.

Test the chain end-to-end against the real regulatory-docs/

Once everything’s installed, run the post-processor + a dry-run auto-stamp:

# 1. Export StrictDoc to HTML
uv run strictdoc export regulatory-docs/ --output-dir regulatory-docs/output

# 2. Run the post-processor (renders RTM with badges + Allure dashboard)
uv run python -m tools.post_processor.rtm

# 3. Browse the result locally
uv run python tools/post_processor/serve.py --dir regulatory-docs/output/html
# Then open http://localhost:8000

# 4. Try a dry-run auto-stamp (no files modified)
#    Substitute any regulatory-docs/*.sdoc file (system / srs / architecture / tests/*) you have locally.
uv run python -m tools.auto_stamp.main \
  --pr 1 \
  --mock-approver "@DougYoungberg" \
  --mock-changed-files regulatory-docs/11_srs.sdoc \
  --dry-run

If all four commands succeed, your workstation is fully operational.

Common issues

Symptom	Fix
flutter pub get fails on zsig_plugin clone	You don’t have access to the private bioflow_binaries repo. Get an access token from a repo admin (or use gh auth setup-git once you have access)
uv run strictdoc export fails with grammar errors	Likely a .sdoc file was edited outside the regulated flow. Run git status and git diff to see what’s different from main
uv run pytest tools/auto_stamp/tests/ fails on import	The tools/__init__.py file is missing or pyproject.toml’s pytest config doesn’t include the repo root. Pull from main.
VisionTrace tests can’t find bioflow.exe	Set APP_EXE_PATH=C:\Program Files\BioFlow Pro\bioflow.exe in your shell, or install BioFlow first
allure serve opens but stays blank	You’re opening index.html from the filesystem (file://). Use serve.py or allure serve to host over HTTP

For more on operating individual tools, see the tooling reference.