Arduino IDE Setup

Glyph Platform is completely built to support new and upcoming innovative creators who love to explore the field of electronics. So, our boards are completely compatible with Arduino IDE. As of September 2024, our glyph boards are completely based on the Espressif ESP series of microcontroller. So, in this particular documentation we'll discuss how to setup the Arduino IDE core along with setting up the ESP Core.

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This page should covers setup for all the GLYPH Boards that released now and in the coming future.

Arduino IDE Download

The first thing you will need to do is to download the latest release of the Arduino IDE (preferably version 2.3 and above), Which you can do by following this link : Download.

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This process can vary based on the operating system you have, currently this documentation assumes you are using Windows 10 and above, In case if you using other operating system please refer to Arduino IDE documentation.

Once you have downloaded and installed the correct variant of teh Arduino IDE based on your operating system, open the Arduino IDE.

Adding the Espressif Board Manager URL

In the Arduino IDE, navigate to the Preferences window. You can access it through the menubar on the top : File > Preferences

In the Additional Boards Manager URLs field, you'll want to add a new URL. If this is the first time using arduino IDE, this field will most likely be empty. Here you can add the url given below. But if you already have some URL on this field, enter the URLs with comma as a separation. Here you will only have to add each URL once. This URLs point to index files that the Board Manager uses to build the list of available & installed boards.

Copy the following URL:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/gh-pages/package_esp32_index.json

Click OK to save and close Preferences.

Add Board Support Package

Now we need to install the board support package which will allow the user to use our glyph board on Arduino IDE platform. Click on Boards Manager Icon on the left panel. Here you can search for ESP32 and install the latest version of ESP32 core by Espressif Systems.

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Installing a new board package can take a 2-5 minutes based on your internet connectivity so don't click on cancel before the installation is complete.

Once the installation is complete, you can close the Boards Manager by clicking on the same Boards Manager Icon.

Choose Your Board

In the Tools > Boards, you should now see ESP32.

Navigate to the ESP32 Arduino Boards option and you will see the available boards that you can use with arduino IDE. Here you can Navigate to the ESP32 Arduino Boards menu and choose ESP version based on the glyph board you own.

GLYPHC3 - ESP32C3 DEV MODULE, GLYPHC6 - ESP32C6 DEV MODULE, GLYPHH2 - ESP32H2

Arduino Usage

Now that you've set up the Arduino IDE with the Espressif ESP32 Arduino core, you're ready to start using Arduino with your Glyph Boards!

Glyph Pinout

Currently we haven't pulled a request to offcial Espressif to include our boards on there core platform, but the glyph boards are still compatible with the esp32 core. Make sure to follow the pinmapping on the bottom of the glyph board until Espressif offically adds our boards. Therefore, the pin names on the top of the board are not currently used (ex : D1, D2, D3, SDA, SCL, etc...) instead we'll be using the the pin names which is mentioned below the board (ex : GPIO1, GPIO2, etc...) used for Arduino.

To find more detailed pin mapping for you board, check the pinout diagram of respective boards. Glyph ESP32-C3,Glyph ESP32-C6,Glyph ESP32-H2. Each GPIO pin in the diagram has a GPIOx pin name listed, where x is the pin number. So, As a example to use GPIO1 you would mention it as 1 in your arduino code.

Running Bare Minimum Code

The first and most basic program you can upload to your Board is the Bare Minimum sketch. This sketch doesn't do anything, but it's a great way to make sure everything is working and you're uploading your sketch to the right board and right configuration.

When all else fails, you can always come back to the Bare Minimum sketch!

Load the Bare Minimum Sketch

Begin by plugging in your board to your computer, and wait a moment for it to be recognized by the OS. It will create a COM/serial port that you can now select from the Tools > Port menu dropdown. (In case of ESP Glyph Series you would have the com port along with the name "ESP FAMILY" )

The bare minimum sketch(code) is already present within arduino IDE and you can open by File > Examples > 01.Basics > Bare Minimum.

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
}

This is the absolute bare minimum code required to run on your board. The setup() function runs once when the board is powered up or reset, and the loop() function runs continuously after setup() has completed.

OK now you can click the Verify button to convert the sketch into binary data to be uploaded to the board. On success you will see white text output and the message Done compiling. in the message area.

Once the code is verified/compiling cleanly you can upload it to your board. Click the Upload button.

The IDE will try to compile the sketch again for good measure, then it will try to connect to the board and upload the file.

Though it doesn't do anything visible. This is a great starting point for understanding the basics of getting code onto your board and making sure everything is working.

Hardware Not Detecting!

This is the most common error most beginners face :

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Port not detecting on arduino IDE

If you get into a state with the bootloader where you can no longer upload a sketch (port not found), or you have uploaded code that crashes and doesn't auto-reboot into the bootloader, you may have to manually enter the bootloader.

To enter the bootloader, hold down the BOOT button, and while continuing to hold it (don't let go!), press and release the reset button. Continue to hold the BOOT button until the board enters bootloader mode.

Once the board is in bootloader mode, you should see the COM port available under tools and your board should be ready accept new code!

More Problems More Solutions

This is a generalized checklist, some elements may not apply to your hardware. Please use this checklist as a guide based on the Glyph boards you have:

1. Install the very latest Arduino IDE for Desktop (not all boards are supported by the Arduino Web IDE / Arduino IDE version less than 2 so we don't recommend it).
2. Install the board support packages required for your hardware [in case of GLYPH ESP series, install ESP32 core by Espressif].
3. Get a Data/Sync USB cable for connecting your hardware. This is a problem faced by significant amount of people, so make sure to have cable that's capable of transferring the data.
4. Connect the board to your computer and upload Bare minium or Blink sketch to verify they work!

OK it was a journey but now we're here and you can enjoy having your basic sketch running. This sketch does nothing but provides a solid foundation for you to start building more complex projects. Check out the next section for more codes and examples for you glyph board!