#1140414 ITP: dart - Dart SDK (Dart VM, dart2js and tools)

Package:
wnpp
Source:
wnpp
Submitter:
Juan M. Méndez Rey
Date:
2026-06-20 14:13:01 UTC
Severity:
normal
#1140414#5
Date:
2026-06-20 01:00:25 UTC
From:
To:
* Package name : dart
Version : 3.13.x
Upstream Authors : The Dart project authors (Google LLC)
* URL : https://dart.dev
Source : https://github.com/dart-lang/sdk
* License : BSD-3-Clause (plus bundled third-party trees, each under
its own DFSG-compatible license; see debian/copyright)
Programming Lang: Dart, C++
Description : Dart SDK (Dart VM, dart2js and tools)

The Dart SDK provides the Dart VM, the AOT/native compilers, the
dart-to-JavaScript compiler (dart2js), the analyzer and the dart command-line
developer tools. It is the reference toolchain for the Dart language.

Why this matters for Debian: several requested packages are blocked solely
because Dart is not in the archive:
- #998024 RFP: Dart Sass -- the reference Sass compiler, built with dart2js
- #931793 RFP: fluttersdk -- Flutter, which is built on the Dart SDK
- #1051470 ITP: esbuild-sass-plugin (depends on the above)

Packaging note (the one unusual point, expanded on debian-devel):
Dart is self-hosting (its front-end is written in Dart), so building it needs a
previously-built Dart, exactly like ghc, gnat (Ada) and ocaml. The package
Build-Depends on a previous dart for that bootstrap; the source tarball contains
NO prebuilt binary. A working proof of concept that builds the Dart SDK FROM
SOURCE, offline, in sbuild --chroot-mode=unshare, with the Debian system
toolchain (gn, ninja, clang, lld) and de-vendored zlib/double-conversion, is at:
https://salsa.debian.org/mendezr/dart

I intend to maintain this within a suitable team (home-assistant/js)

#1140414#10
Date:
2026-06-20 10:09:31 UTC
From:
To:
Hi Juan,

Le 20/06/2026 à 03:00, Juan M. Méndez Rey a écrit :
https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/dart

It is a library for robotics and computer animation.

You should look for another name (dart-sdk maybe?), and also be wary
that the binary packages have names different from the ones of the
current src:dart package in the archive.

Best regards,

#1140414#17
Date:
2026-06-20 12:40:36 UTC
From:
To:
Forgot to add that the (proof-of-concept that builds the Dart SDK from source, in sbuild is at https://salsa.debian.org/mendezr/dart-sdk, in case anyone wants to look.
#1140414#22
Date:
2026-06-20 12:37:53 UTC
From:
To:
El sábado, 20 de junio de 2026 a las 12:11, Pierre Gruet <pgt@debian.org> escribió:

CC'ing Edward, since this package grew directly out during the review of node-material-web: that package needs Dart Sass, which can only be built from source with dart2js from the Dart SDK: hence this ITP.

CC'ing also #998024, since this will unblock that one.

Having dart-sdk finally unblocks the long-standing RFP #998024 (Dart Sass) which could then be packaged and close it (also a prerequisite for #931793, Flutter). The proof of concept already builds the Dart SDK from source, offline, in sbuild with the Debian toolchain (using system clang/gn/ninja) and a self-hosting bootstrap like ghc/gnat;

I'll need some guidance regarding the agreement on that bootstrap before any upload. I would appreciate anyone pitching in on this.

Best,

Juan

#1140414#29
Date:
2026-06-20 13:34:32 UTC
From:
To:
Le sam. 20 juin 2026 à 14:57, Juan M. Méndez Rey <juan.mendezr@proton.me> a
écrit :

Can you add debian/watch ?

The bootstrap without stage0 unfortunately makes Dart vulnerable to a
trojan horse attack on the compiler.
Much like many other compilers currently available in Debian, so I guess
that's a lost battle anyway.

#1140414#34
Date:
2026-06-20 14:11:42 UTC
From:
To:
El sábado, 20 de junio de 2026 a las 15:37, Jérémy Lal <kapouer@melix.org> escribió:


Thanks for having a look Jérémy. I agree, it's the same trusting situation that I see in other compilers like gcc/rustc/ghc already in Debian, so dart-sdk is the same. 

I documented the stage0 seed in README.source (provenance + the upstream-published zip sha256).

Best,
Juan