Arduino Software (IDE)

The Arduino Integrated Development Environment - or Arduino

Software (IDE) - contains a text editor for writing code, a message
area, a text console, a toolbar with buttons for common functions
and a series of menus. It connects to the Arduino hardware to
upload programs and communicate with them.

Writing Sketches

Programs written using Arduino Software (IDE) are called sketches.

These sketches are written in the text editor and are saved with the
file extension .ino. The editor has features for cutting/pasting and
for searching/replacing text. The message area gives feedback
while saving and exporting and also displays errors. The console
displays text output by the Arduino Software (IDE), including
complete error messages and other information. The bottom
righthand corner of the window displays the configured board and
serial port. The toolbar buttons allow you to verify and upload
programs, create, open, and save sketches, and open the serial
monitor.

NB: Versions of the Arduino Software (IDE) prior to 1.0 saved sketches
with the extension .pde. It is possible to open these files with version
1.0, you will be prompted to save the sketch with the .ino extension on
save.

Verify Checks your code for errors compiling it.

Upload Compiles your code and uploads it to the configured board.

See uploading below for details.

Note: If you are using an external programmer with your board, you
can hold down the "shift" key on your computer when using this
icon. The text will change to "Upload using Programmer"
 New Creates a new sketch.

Open Presents a menu of all the sketches in your sketchbook.

Clicking one will open it within the current window overwriting its
content.

Note: due to a bug in Java, this menu doesn't scroll; if you need to
open a sketch late in the list, use the File | Sketchbook menu
instead.

Save Saves your sketch.

Serial Monitor Opens the serial monitor.

Additional commands are found within the five

menus: File, Edit, Sketch, Tools, Help. The menus are context
sensitive, which means only those items relevant to the work
currently being carried out are available.

File

 New Creates a new instance of the editor, with the bare minimum
structure of a sketch already in place.
 Open Allows to load a sketch file browsing through the computer
drives and folders.

 Open Recent Provides a short list of the most recent sketches, ready
to be opened.

 Sketchbook Shows the current sketches within the sketchbook folder

structure; clicking on any name opens the corresponding sketch in
a new editor instance.

 Examples Any example provided by the Arduino Software (IDE) or

library shows up in this menu item. All the examples are structured
in a tree that allows easy access by topic or library.

 Close Closes the instance of the Arduino Software from which it is

clicked.

 Save Saves the sketch with the current name. If the file hasn't been
named before, a name will be provided in a "Save as.." window.

 Save as... Allows to save the current sketch with a different name.

 Page Setup It shows the Page Setup window for printing.

 Print Sends the current sketch to the printer according to the

settings defined in Page Setup.

 Preferences Opens the Preferences window where some settings of

the IDE may be customized, as the language of the IDE interface.
 Quit Closes all IDE windows. The same sketches open when Quit
was chosen will be automatically reopened the next time you start
the IDE.

Edit

 Undo/Redo Goes back of one or more steps you did while editing;
when you go back, you may go forward with Redo.

 Cut Removes the selected text from the editor and places it into the
clipboard.

 Copy Duplicates the selected text in the editor and places it into the
clipboard.

 Copy for Forum Copies the code of your sketch to the clipboard in a
form suitable for posting to the forum, complete with syntax
coloring.

 Copy as HTML Copies the code of your sketch to the clipboard as

HTML, suitable for embedding in web pages.

 Paste Puts the contents of the clipboard at the cursor position, in

the editor.

 Select All Selects and highlights the whole content of the editor.

 Comment/Uncomment Puts or removes the // comment marker at the

beginning of each selected line.
 Increase/Decrease Indent Adds or subtracts a space at the beginning
of each selected line, moving the text one space on the right or
eliminating a space at the beginning.

 Find Opens the Find and Replace window where you can specify
text to search inside the current sketch according to several
options.

 Find Next Highlights the next occurrence - if any - of the string

specified as the search item in the Find window, relative to the
cursor position.

 Find Previous Highlights the previous occurrence - if any - of the

string specified as the search item in the Find window relative to
the cursor position.

Sketch

 Verify/Compile Checks your sketch for errors compiling it; it will

report memory usage for code and variables in the console area.

 Upload Compiles and loads the binary file onto the configured board
through the configured Port.

 Upload Using Programmer This will overwrite the bootloader on the

board; you will need to use Tools > Burn Bootloader to restore it
and be able to Upload to USB serial port again. However, it allows
you to use the full capacity of the Flash memory for your sketch.
Please note that this command will NOT burn the fuses. To do so
a Tools -> Burn Bootloader command must be executed.
 Export Compiled Binary Saves a .hex file that may be kept as archive
or sent to the board using other tools.

 Show Sketch Folder Opens the current sketch folder.

 Include Library Adds a library to your sketch by inserting #include

statements at the start of your code. For more details,
see libraries below. Additionally, from this menu item you can
access the Library Manager and import new libraries from .zip files.

 Add File... Adds a supplemental file to the sketch (it will be copied
from its current location). The file is saved to the data subfolder of
the sketch, which is intended for assets such as documentation.
The contents of the data folder are not compiled, so they do not
become part of the sketch program.

Tools

 Auto Format This formats your code nicely: i.e. indents it so that
opening and closing curly braces line up, and that the statements
inside curly braces are indented more.

 Archive Sketch Archives a copy of the current sketch in .zip format.

The archive is placed in the same directory as the sketch.

 Fix Encoding & Reload Fixes possible discrepancies between the

editor char map encoding and other operating systems char maps.

 Serial Monitor Opens the serial monitor window and initiates the
exchange of data with any connected board on the currently
 selected Port. This usually resets the board, if the board supports
Reset over serial port opening.

 Board Select the board that you're using. See below for descriptions
of the various boards .

 Port This menu contains all the serial devices (real or virtual) on
your machine. It should automatically refresh every time you open
the top-level tools menu.

 Programmer For selecting a harware programmer when

programming a board or chip and not using the onboard USB-serial
connection. Normally you won't need this, but if you're burning a
bootloader to a new microcontroller, you will use this.

 Burn Bootloader The items in this menu allow you to burn

a bootloader onto the microcontroller on an Arduino board. This is
not required for normal use of an Arduino board but is useful if you
purchase a new ATmega microcontroller (which normally come
without a bootloader). Ensure that you've selected the correct
board from the Boards menu before burning the bootloader on the
target board. This command also set the right fuses.

Help

Here you find easy access to a number of documents that come

with the Arduino Software (IDE). You have access to Getting
Started, Reference, this guide to the IDE and other documents
locally, without an internet connection. The documents are a local
copy of the online ones and may link back to our online website.
 Find in Reference This is the only interactive function of the Help menu: it
directly selects the relevant page in the local copy of the Reference for the
function or command under the cursor.

Sketchbook

The Arduino Software (IDE) uses the concept of a sketchbook: a

standard place to store your programs (or sketches). The sketches
in your sketchbook can be opened from the File > Sketchbook menu
or from the Open button on the toolbar. The first time you run the
Arduino software, it will automatically create a directory for your
sketchbook. You can view or change the location of the sketchbook
location from with the Preferences dialog.

Beginning with version 1.0, files are saved with a .ino file extension.
Previous versions use the .pde extension. You may still open .pde
named files in version 1.0 and later, the software will automatically
rename the extension to .ino.

Tabs, Multiple Files, and Compilation

Allows you to manage sketches with more than one file (each of
which appears in its own tab). These can be normal Arduino code
files (no visible extension), C files (.c extension), C++ files (.cpp),
or header files (.h).

Before compiling the sketch, all the normal Arduino code files of
the sketch (.ino, .pde) are concatenated into a single file following
the order the tabs are shown in. The other file types are left as is.

Uploading
Before uploading your sketch, you need to select the correct items
from the Tools > Board and Tools > Port menus. The boards are
described below. On the Mac, the serial port is probably something
like /dev/tty.usbmodem241 (for an Uno or Mega2560 or Leonardo)
or /dev/tty.usbserial-1B1 (for a Duemilanove or earlier USB board),
or /dev/tty.USA19QW1b1P1.1 (for a serial board connected with a
Keyspan USB-to-Serial adapter). On Windows, it's
probably COM1 or COM2 (for a serial board) or COM4, COM5, COM7,
or higher (for a USB board) - to find out, you look for USB serial
device in the ports section of the Windows Device Manager. On
Linux, it should be /dev/ttyACMx , /dev/ttyUSBx or similar. Once
you've selected the correct serial port and board, press the upload
button in the toolbar or select the Upload item from
the Sketch menu. Current Arduino boards will reset automatically
and begin the upload. With older boards (pre-Diecimila) that lack
auto-reset, you'll need to press the reset button on the board just
before starting the upload. On most boards, you'll see the RX and
TX LEDs blink as the sketch is uploaded. The Arduino Software
(IDE) will display a message when the upload is complete, or show
an error.

When you upload a sketch, you're using the Arduino bootloader, a

small program that has been loaded on to the microcontroller on
your board. It allows you to upload code without using any
additional hardware. The bootloader is active for a few seconds
when the board resets; then it starts whichever sketch was most
recently uploaded to the microcontroller. The bootloader will blink
the on-board (pin 13) LED when it starts (i.e. when the board
resets).

Libraries

Libraries provide extra functionality for use in sketches, e.g.

working with hardware or manipulating data. To use a library in a
sketch, select it from the Sketch > Import Library menu. This will
insert one or more #include statements at the top of the sketch and
compile the library with your sketch. Because libraries are
uploaded to the board with your sketch, they increase the amount
of space it takes up. If a sketch no longer needs a library, simply
delete its #include statements from the top of your code.

There is a list of libraries in the reference. Some libraries are

included with the Arduino software. Others can be downloaded
from a variety of sources or through the Library Manager. Starting
with version 1.0.5 of the IDE, you do can import a library from a zip
file and use it in an open sketch. See these instructions for
installing a third-party library .

To write your own library, see this tutorial.

Third-Party Hardware

Support for third-party hardware can be added to

the hardware directory of your sketchbook directory. Platforms
installed there may include board definitions (which appear in the
board menu), core libraries, bootloaders, and programmer
definitions. To install, create the hardware directory, then unzip the
third-party platform into its own sub-directory. (Don't use "arduino"
as the sub-directory name or you'll override the built-in Arduino
platform.) To uninstall, simply delete its directory.

For details on creating packages for third-party hardware, see

the Arduino Platform specification .

Serial Monitor

This displays serial sent from the Arduino board over USB or serial
connector. To send data to the board, enter text and click on the
"send" button or press enter. Choose the baud rate from the drop-
down menu that matches the rate passed to Serial.begin in your
sketch. Note that on Windows, Mac or Linux the board will reset (it
will rerun your sketch) when you connect with the serial monitor.
Please note that the Serial Monitor does not process control
characters; if your sketch needs a complete management of the
serial communication with control characters, you can use an
external terminal program and connect it to the COM port assigned
to your Arduino board.

You can also talk to the board from Processing, Flash, MaxMSP, etc
(see the interfacing page for details).

Preferences

Some preferences can be set in the preferences dialog (found

under the Arduino menu on the Mac, or File on Windows and Linux).
The rest can be found in the preferences file, whose location is
shown in the preference dialog.
Language Support

Since version 1.0.1 , the Arduino Software (IDE) has been

translated into 30+ different languages. By default, the IDE loads in
the language selected by your operating system. (Note: on
Windows and possibly Linux, this is determined by the locale
setting which controls currency and date formats, not by the
language the operating system is displayed in.)

If you would like to change the language manually, start the

Arduino Software (IDE) and open the Preferences window. Next to
the Editor Language there is a dropdown menu of currently
supported languages. Select your preferred language from the
menu, and restart the software to use the selected language. If
your operating system language is not supported, the Arduino
Software (IDE) will default to English.

You can return the software to its default setting of selecting its
language based on your operating system by selecting System
Default from the Editor Language drop-down. This setting will take
effect when you restart the Arduino Software (IDE). Similarly, after
changing your operating system's settings, you must restart the
Arduino Software (IDE) to update it to the new default language.

Boards

The board selection has two effects: it sets the parameters (e.g.
CPU speed and baud rate) used when compiling and uploading
sketches; and sets and the file and fuse settings used by the burn
bootloader command. Some of the board definitions differ only in
the latter, so even if you've been uploading successfully with a
particular selection you'll want to check it before burning the
bootloader. You can find a comparison table between the various
boards here.

Arduino Software (IDE) includes the built in support for the boards
in the following list, all based on the AVR Core. The Boards
Manager included in the standard installation allows to add support
for the growing number of new boards based on different cores like
Arduino Due, Arduino Zero, Edison, Galileo and so on.
 Arduino Yún An ATmega32u4 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset, 12
Analog In, 20 Digital I/O and 7 PWM.

 Arduino Uno An ATmega328P running at 16 MHz with auto-reset, 6

Analog In, 14 Digital I/O and 6 PWM.

 Arduino Diecimila or Duemilanove w/ ATmega168 An ATmega168

running at 16 MHz with auto-reset.

 Arduino Nano w/ ATmega328P An ATmega328P running at 16 MHz

with auto-reset. Has eight analog inputs.

 Arduino Mega 2560 An ATmega2560 running at 16 MHz with auto-

reset, 16 Analog In, 54 Digital I/O and 15 PWM.

 Arduino Mega An ATmega1280 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset,

16 Analog In, 54 Digital I/O and 15 PWM.

 Arduino Mega ADK An ATmega2560 running at 16 MHz with auto-

reset, 16 Analog In, 54 Digital I/O and 15 PWM.

 Arduino Leonardo An ATmega32u4 running at 16 MHz with auto-

reset, 12 Analog In, 20 Digital I/O and 7 PWM.

 Arduino Micro An ATmega32u4 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset, 12

Analog In, 20 Digital I/O and 7 PWM.

 Arduino Esplora An ATmega32u4 running at 16 MHz with auto-reset.

 Arduino Mini w/ ATmega328P An ATmega328P running at 16 MHz with

auto-reset, 8 Analog In, 14 Digital I/O and 6 PWM.
 Arduino Ethernet Equivalent to Arduino UNO with an Ethernet shield:
An ATmega328P running at 16 MHz with auto-reset, 6 Analog In, 14
Digital I/O and 6 PWM.

 Arduino Fio An ATmega328P running at 8 MHz with auto-reset.

Equivalent to Arduino Pro or Pro Mini (3.3V, 8 MHz) w/
ATmega328P, 6 Analog In, 14 Digital I/O and 6 PWM.

 Arduino BT w/ ATmega328P ATmega328P running at 16 MHz. The

bootloader burned (4 KB) includes codes to initialize the on-board
bluetooth module, 6 Analog In, 14 Digital I/O and 6 PWM..

 LilyPad Arduino USB An ATmega32u4 running at 8 MHz with auto-

reset, 4 Analog In, 9 Digital I/O and 4 PWM.

 LilyPad Arduino An ATmega168 or ATmega132 running at 8 MHz with

auto-reset, 6 Analog In, 14 Digital I/O and 6 PWM.

 Arduino Pro or Pro Mini (5V, 16 MHz) w/ ATmega328P An ATmega328P

running at 16 MHz with auto-reset. Equivalent to Arduino
Duemilanove or Nano w/ ATmega328P; 6 Analog In, 14 Digital I/O
and 6 PWM.

 Arduino NG or older w/ ATmega168 An ATmega168 running at 16

MHzwithout auto-reset. Compilation and upload is equivalent to
Arduino Diecimila or Duemilanove w/ ATmega168, but the
bootloader burned has a slower timeout (and blinks the pin 13 LED
three times on reset); 6 Analog In, 14 Digital I/O and 6 PWM.
 Arduino Robot Control An ATmega328P running at 16 MHz with auto-
reset.

 Arduino Robot Motor An ATmega328P running at 16 MHz with auto-

reset.

 Arduino Gemma An ATtiny85 running at 8 MHz with auto-reset, 1

Analog In, 3 Digital I/O and 2 PWM.