Install Pi Pico in Arduino IDE

Installing the Arduino IDE software

If you still don’t have the Arduino IDE installed, you can refer to the first part of the tutorial for the ESP32.

The installation of the software itself is straightforward.

Add RP2040 support in the Arduino IDE.

To install the necessary tools of the Pi Pico, you should :

• Go to File> Preferences

  

  Arduino IDE Preferences Window

• Click on URL for additional board managers and add the following URL:

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

  

  URLs to manage additional boards (ESP32, Raspberry Pi Pico)

  Warning

  You should not remove existing URLs if you are also programming on ESP8266 / ESP32 from the Arduino IDE.

• Then you have to go to the board manager: Tools> Board type> Board manager . Scroll all the way down until you find Raspberry Pi Pico / RP2040 and click on install. The installation of the development tools is done automatically. You just have to wait.

  

  Click on the install button of the package Raspberry Pi Pico / RP2040 of Philhower

  Note

  The download may take a little while, depending on your internet connection.

You can change the board type when the installation is finished by choosing the Raspberry Pi Pico board.

Choice of the type of board based on the RP2040 (Here Raspberry Pi Pico)

Upload a program to the Pi Pico:

Uploading a program to the Pi Pico is different than Arduino and ESP32 boards: For the Pi Pico, to receive a new program, it must be in “USB” mode. If you already have MicroPython installed on the Pi Pico, you will need to manually put the board into BOOT mode by pressing down the BOOT/BOOTSEL button while connecting to the computer. You cannot directly download a program with MicroPython running on the Pi Pico.

Error while uploading the sketch: the Arduino IDE cannot access the USB mode of the Pi Pico.

Once you’ve manually put the Pi Pico into USB mode, you can verify that the Arduino sketch upload is working. You can take the example of the blink code accessible in Files> Examples> Basics> Blink , which makes the built-in LED of the board blink.

Open the Blink sketch from the Arduino IDE examples.

You can also directly copy the code below:

void setup() {
    pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
    digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
    delay(750);                        // wait for a second
    digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
    delay(750);                        // wait for a second
}

Then just click on the standard arrow to compile and upload the program. The first compilation takes a little time, but the following will be faster.

Uploading a program to the Pi Pico (Here, the COM10 serial port is used)

In future uploads, the Pi Pico will go directly into USB mode, so it will no longer be necessary to press the BOOTSEL button.

In fact, with every upload, the following things happen:

• The serial link via a COM port is stopped.

• The Pi Pico board goes into USB mode: it acts as a USB key.

• The Pi Pico board receives its new program compiled with the UF2 extension: it is copied into its memory.

• The Pi Pico restarts by executing the new program and activates its serial link again.

Well done, you can now use the Arduino code to program the Pi Pico. Therefore, you can take your programs made for an Arduino and possibly adjust it a little for the Pico.