6.200 Arduino/RP2040 Install Instructions

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Several assignments in 6.200 (both in the lab and as part of the homeworks) will involve using a microcontroller called a XIAO RP2040, which we'll program using the Arduino IDE. This page will talk through the process of installing the Arduino IDE and using it to flash code to the XIAO RP2040. The steps vary a little bit depending on your particular setup (what operating system you're using, etc), but we'll outline them here.

Regardless of your choice of operating system, there are quite a few steps to follow, so please do them carefully and in order.

Install Arduino (if you already have it from, e.g., 6.310, you can probably skip this step)
- Windows: Download and install arduino-ide_2.3.4_Windows_64bit.msi
- Mac (Intel processor): Download and install arduino-ide_2.3.4_macOS_64bit.dmg
- Mac (Apple silicon): Download and install arduino-ide_2.3.4_macOS_arm64.dmg
- GNU/Linux: Download arduino-ide_2.3.4_Linux_64bit.zip and unzip its contents somewhere (remember where you put them!)
Add the RP2040 boards to Arduino

Open up Arduino, and open the preferences window ("File -> Preferences" from the top menu in Windows or Linux, or "Arduino IDE -> Settings" on MacOS). Find the box labeled "Additional boards manager URLs" and paste the following into that box:

https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico/releases/download/global/package_rp2040_index.json

Then click the "boards manager" icon from the left side (it's one of the little grey icons on the left, hover over them until you find the right one) and search for "XIAO RP2040" in the menu that pops up. You should get a result there with a package made by Earle F. Philhower, III, and a greenish button that says "Install." Click that button and wait for it to finish.
Close out of Arduino for now.
Clear Arduino's Cache (Windows Only)

Before re-opening Arduino, look for a folder on your hard drive called C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\arduino-ide. Delete that arduino-ide folder. Afterward, you can open Arduino from the start menu as normal.
Select the board in Arduino Before flashing code to the XIAO RP2040, you need to select the board in the Arduino IDE. To select the board: Under Tools -> Board -> Raspberry Pi Pico/RP2040/RP2350 select Seeed XIAO RP2040