NAME

       arduino - Integrated development environment for Arduino boards

SYNOPSIS

       arduino [FILE.ino...]

       arduino [--verify|--upload] [--board package:arch:board[:parameters]] [--port portname] [--pref
       name=value] [-v|--verbose] [--preserve-temp-files] [FILE.ino]

       arduino [--get-pref [preference]]

       arduino [--install-boards package name:platform architecture[:version]]

       arduino [--install-library library name[:version][,library name[:version],library name[:version]]

       arduino [--version]

DESCRIPTION

       The arduino integrated development environment allows editing, compiling and uploading sketches
       (programs) for Arduino (and compatible) microcontroller boards.

       Normally, running the arduino command starts the IDE, optionally loading any .ino files specified on the
       commandline.

       Alternatively, if any of the following command line options is given, no graphical interface will be
       shown and instead a one-off verify (compile) or upload will be done. A single .ino file should be given.
       If the sketch contains multiple .ino files, any one can be specified on the commandline, but the entire
       sketch will be compiled.

       When running in a one-off mode, it might be useful to set the build.path preference to allow keeping
       intermediate build results between multiple runs and only recompile the files that changed.

       Note that on MacOS X, the main executable is Arduino.app/Contents/MacOS/Arduino instead of arduino.

       Note that on Windows, due to the diffence between GUI and console apps, that the arduino_debug.exe is the
       appropriate executable to use if you want to use the majority of these command line options. The
       arduino.exe GUI version of the launcher may perform some of the functions described below, but will not
       output any messages to the console, meaning it is pretty useless if you want any feedback or to be able
       to keep log files for automated testing, etc.

       ACTIONS

       --verify
           Build the sketch.

       --upload
           Build and upload the sketch.

       --get-pref [preference]
           Prints the value of the given preference to the standard output stream. When the value does not
           exist, nothing is printed and the exit status is set (see EXIT STATUS below). If no preference is
           given as parameter, it prints all preferences.

       --install-boards package name:platform architecture[:version]
           Fetches available board support (platform) list and install the specified one, along with its related
           tools. If version is omitted, the latest is installed. If a platform with the same version is already
           installed, nothing is installed and program exits with exit code 1. If a platform with a different
           version is already installed, it’s replaced.

       --install-library library name[:version]
           Fetches available libraries list and install the specified one. If version is omitted, the latest is
           installed. If a library with the same version is already installed, nothing is installed and program
           exits with exit code 1. If a library with a different version is already installed, it’s replaced.
           Multiple libraries can be specified, separated by a comma.

       --version
           Print the version information and exit.

OPTIONS

       --board package:arch:board[:parameters]
           Select the board to compile for.

           •   package is the identifier of the vendor (the first level folders inside the hardware directory).
               Default arduino boards use arduino.

           •   architecture is the architecture of the board (second level folders inside the hardware
               directory). Default arduino boards use either arduino:avr for all AVR-based boards (like Uno,
               Mega or Leonardo) or arduino:sam for 32bit SAM-based boards (like Arduino Due).

           •   board is the actual board to use, as defined in boards.txt contained in the architecture folder
               selected. For example, arduino:avr:uno for the Arduino Uno, arduino:avr:diecimila for the Arduino
               Duemilanove or Diecimila, or arduino:avr:mega for the Arduino Mega.

           •   parameters is a comma-separated list of boards specific parameters that are normally shown under
               submenus of the "Tools" menu. For example arduino:avr:nano:cpu=atmega168 to Select the mega168
               variant of the Arduino Nano board.

           If this option is not passed, the value from the current preferences is used (e.g., the last board
           selected in the IDE).

       --port portname
           Select the serial port to perform upload of the sketch. On linux and MacOS X, this should be the path
           to a device file (e.g., /dev/ttyACM0). On Windows, this should be the name of the serial port (e.g.,
           COM3).

           If this option is not passed, the value from the current preferences is used (e.g., the last port
           selected in the IDE).

       --verbose-build
           Enable verbose mode during build. If this option is not given, verbose mode during build is disabled
           regardless of the current preferences.

       --preserve-temp-files
           Keep temporary files (preprocessed sketch, object files...) after termination. If omitted, temporary
           files are deleted.

           This option is only valid together with --verify or --upload.

       --useprogrammer
           Upload using a programmer. Set if you’re using an external programmer, or using the Arduino as ISP.

       --verbose-upload
           Enable verbose mode during upload. If this option is not given, verbose mode during upload is
           disabled regardless of the current preferences.

           This option is only valid together with --verify or --upload.

       -v, --verbose
           Enable verbose mode during build and upload. This option has the same effect of using both
           --verbose-build and --verbose-upload.

           This option is only valid together with --verify or --upload.

       --preferences-file filename
           Read and store preferences from the specified filename instead of the default one.

       --pref name=value
           Sets the preference name to the given value.

           Note that the preferences you set with this option are not validated: Invalid names will be set but
           never used, invalid values might lead to an error later on.

       --save-prefs
           Save any (changed) preferences to preferences.txt. In particular --board, --port, --pref, --verbose,
           --verbose-build and --verbose-upload may alter the current preferences.

PREFERENCES

       Arduino keeps a list of preferences, as simple name and value pairs. Below, a few of them are documented
       but a lot more are available.

       sketchbook.path
           The path where sketches are (usually) stored. This path can also contain some special subdirectories
           (see FILES below).

       update.check
           When set to true, the IDE checks for a new version on startup.

       editor.external
           When set to true, use an external editor (the IDE does not allow editing and reloads each file before
           verifying).

       build.path
           The path to use for building. This is where things like the preprocessed .cpp file, compiled .o files
           and the final .hex file go.

           If set, this directory should already exist before running the arduino command.

           If this preference is not set (which is normally the case), a new temporary build folder is created
           on every run and deleted again when the application is closed.

EXIT STATUS

       0
           Success

       1
           Build failed or upload failed

       2
           Sketch not found

       3
           Invalid (argument for) commandline option

       4
           Preference passed to --get-pref does not exist

FILES

       %LOCALAPPDATA%/Arduino15/preferences.txt (Windows), ~/Library/Arduino15/preferences.txt (Max OS X),
       ~/.arduino15/preferences.txt (Linux)
           This file stores the preferences used for the IDE, building and uploading sketches.

       My Documents/Arduino/ (Windows), ~/Documents/Arduino/ (Mac OS X), ~/Arduino/ (Linux)
           This directory is referred to as the "Sketchbook" and contains the user’s sketches. The path can be
           changed through the sketchbook.path preference.

           Apart from sketches, three special directories can be inside the sketchbook:

           libraries
               Libraries can be put inside this directory, one library per subdirectory.

           hardware
               Support for third-party hardware can be added through this directory.

           tools
               External code-processing tools (that can be run through the Tools menu of the IDE) can be added
               here.

EXAMPLES

       Start the Arduino IDE, with two files open:

           arduino /path/to/sketch/sketch.ino /path/to/sketch/extra.ino

       Compile and upload a sketch using the last selected board and serial port

           arduino --upload /path/to/sketch/sketch.ino

       Compile and upload a sketch to an Arduino Nano, with an Atmega168 CPU, connected on port /dev/ttyACM0:

           arduino --board arduino:avr:nano:cpu=atmega168 --port /dev/ttyACM0 --upload /path/to/sketch/sketch.ino

       Compile a sketch, put the build results in the build directory an re-use any previous build results in
       that directory.

           arduino --pref build.path=/path/to/sketch/build --verify /path/to/sketch/sketch.ino

       Change the selected board and build path and do nothing else.

           arduino --pref build.path=/path/to/sketch/build --board arduino:avr:uno --save-prefs

       Install latest SAM board support

           arduino --install-boards "arduino:sam"

       Install AVR board support, 1.6.2

           arduino --install-boards "arduino:avr:1.6.2"

       Install Bridge library version 1.0.0

           arduino --install-library "Bridge:1.0.0"

       Install Bridge and Servo libraries

           arduino --install-library "Bridge:1.0.0,Servo:1.2.0"

HISTORY

       1.5.2
           Added initial commandline support. This introduced --verify, --upload, --board, --port, --verbose and
           -v.

       1.5.5
           Added support for board-specific parameters to --board.

           Sketch filenames are now interpreted relative to the current directory instead of the location of the
           arduino command itself.

       1.5.6
           Introduced --pref, --preferences-file, --verbose-build and --verbose-upload.

           Preferences set through --pref are remembered, preferences set through --board, --port or the
           --verbose options are not.

           When running with --verify or --upload, the full GUI is no longer shown. Error messages still use a
           graphical popup and on Windows, the splash screen is still shown.

       1.5.8
           Introduced --save-prefs.

       1.6.2
           Main executable in MacOS X changed from Arduino.app/Contents/MacOS/JavaApplicationStub to
           Arduino.app/Contents/MacOS/Arduino.

       1.6.4
           Introduced --install-boards and --install-library.

           --pref options are now not saved to the preferences file, just like --board and --port, unless
           --save-prefs is specified.

           A path passed to --preferences-file, or set in the build.path, preferences.path or settings.path is
           now interpreted relative to the current directory instead of the location of the arduino command
           itself.

RESOURCES

       Web site: http://www.arduino.cc/

       Help on projects and programming: http://forum.arduino.cc/

       Report bugs: http://github.com/arduino/Arduino/issues

       IDE and framework development mailing list:
       https://groups.google.com/a/arduino.cc/forum/#!forum/developers

                                                   04/09/2025                                         ARDUINO(1)