Programming ESP32 with PlatformIO IDE and Atom Text Editor

To program the ESP32 development board, we recommend using the Arduino IDE in our ESP32 projects and tutorials. However, owing to permission issues, the Arduino IDE version, or multiple Arduino IDE installations, it might be a little tricky to install the ESP32 add-on on certain Windows computers using the Git GUI.

There’s also another popular method to program ESP32 development boards using the Atom text editor combined with PlatformIO IDE. With this method, you can still use the same programming language you use on Arduino IDE.

This next tutorial was tested on both a Windows 10 PC and a Mac OS X computer.

1. Installing Atom Text Editor

The first step is to go to the Atom.io website and download the free text editor.

Then, open and run the downloaded installation file. It's a pretty simple installation. To finish the Atom installation, follow the on-screen instructions.

2a. Installing Python 2.7.X on a Windows PC

Python 2.7.X must be installed on your PC to use PlatformIO IDE to program your ESP32 boards. Go to the Python downloads page and get the latest Python 2.7.X version for your OS (Operating System).

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Note: We've used Python 2.7.15 for this unit. Any other version of Python 2.7.X should also work.

To start the Python installation, open the downloaded file. Follow these instructions as you go to the next step:

• Scroll down through the “Customize Python 2.7.15” window.
• Open “Add python.exe to Path“.
• And select the option “Will be installed on local hard drive“.

To complete the installation, press “Next” after that. You need to open the “Command Prompt” after installing Python 2.7.X.

To check the Python and pip versions installed, run the next sequence of commands:

python --version
Python 2.7.15
pip --version
pip 9.0.3

Both commands should return output that is similar (the version may change slightly in your case). Check to see whether virtualenv is installed after that.

virtualenv --version

If it is already installed, go to the next stage. Otherwise, you'll need to use the following command to install it:

pip install virtualenv

Then, run this command again to check whether virtualenv was correctly installed:

virtualenv --version
16.0.0

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2b. Installing Python 2.7.X on Mac OS X

Python 2.7.X must be installed on your PC to use PlatformIO IDE to program your ESP32 boards. To install Python 2.7.X, do the next sequence of commands. After that, check to see that Python, pip, and virtualenv are installed:

$ brew install python2

$ python --version
Python 2.7.15

$ pip --version
pip 9.0.3

$ virtualenv --version

$ pip install virtualenv

3. Installing Clang for Code Completion

PlatformIO IDE uses Clang for intelligent code completion. Open the Terminal or Command Prompt and run: to check if Clang is installed on your system.

clang --version

If Clang is not already installed, follow the instructions for your operating system to install it:

• Windows: download Clang 3.9.1 for Windows. Select the “Add LLVM to the system PATH” option during the installation step shown in the image below.
  • Clang 3.9.1 for Windows (32-bit)
  • Clang 3.9.1 for Windows (64-bit)

Warning: Do not install CLANG 4.0; only CLANG 3.9 is supported at the moment.

• Mac OS X: Install the latest version of Xcode as well as the Command Line Tools. They are installed automatically the first time you run clang in Terminal, or manually by running:

xcode-select --install

• Linux: using package managers: apt-get install clang or yum install clang.
• Other systems: download the latest Clang for the other systems.

4. Installing PlatformIO IDE on Atom

Open Atom text editor and go to File > Settings after installing all PlatformIO IDE dependencies.

On the left menu, open the “Install” tab:

Search for “platformio” and press the Enter/Return key:

Install the “platformio-ide” option that is indicated in the preceding picture. For the modifications to take effect when the installation is complete, restart the Atom text editor.

5. PlatformIO IDE Overview

A new text editor window with the “Welcome to PlatformIO” screen should load now when you open Atom text:

Press the “New Project” button in the quick access menu:

A new window allows you to create a new project for your board. The next step is as follows:

• Name your project (example: Blink).
• Search for “ESP32” and select your ESP32 board (example: DOIT ESP32 DEVKIT V1).
• Select the Arduino framework.
• Press the “Finish” button.

You can navigate through files and folders once the new project has been created since you'll see the new folder on the left menu.

Double-click the main.cpp file in the src folder to open it. The file opens in a new window in Atom, where you may edit it:

Similar to your Blink.ino file used in the Arduino IDE is the main.cpp file You can write Arduino code, but you need to start with a file and include the Arduino framework. If you start the sketch with the following line, all Arduino sketches will essentially work with PlatformIO IDE:

#include <Arduino.h>

6. Testing PlataformIO IDE

To test PlatformIO IDE, let's try an example. We'll make GPIO 23's LED blink. The parts you need to follow this example are listed below:

• ESP32 development board
• 5mm LED
• 330 Ohm resistor
• Breadboard
• Jumper wires

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Follow the next schematic to assemble your circuit.

Here’s a sketch for testing purposes that blinks the LED:

#include <Arduino.h>

// ledPin refers to ESP32 GPIO 23
const int ledPin = 23;

// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board
void setup() {
    // initialize digital pin ledPin as an output.
    pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
    digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
    delay(1000);                  // wait for a second
    digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
    delay(1000);                  // wait for a second
}

For the next steps to upload the code to your ESP32 board, copy the code to the Atom text editor and complete them as follows:

1. Connect your ESP32 board to your computer.
2. Save the newly created sketch (File > Save).
3. Press the “Upload” button (highlighted in the next image).

Wait a few seconds while the sketch uploads to your board:

Your ESP32 ought to be blinking the LED attached to GPIO 23 once per second once you load the sketch.

I'm done now! You may now use PlatformIO to program your ESP32 board since PlatformIO was successfully installed.

7. PlatformIO IDE Additional Tips

We've only just scratched the surface of PlatformIO IDE's capabilities. Here's what each PlatformIO IDE button does/means:

1. PlatformIO Home
2. PlatformIO Build
3. PlatformIO Upload
4. Upload to a remote device
5. PlatformIO Clean
6. PlatformIO Test
7. PlatformIO Debug
8. Run other targets
9. Toggle Build Panel
10. Find in Project
11. Terminal
12. Serial Monitor (it’s like the Arduino IDE Serial Monitor)
13. Atom Settings

We've modified the Blink code previously used to include some Serial.println() commands to show how the Serial Monitor looks. You may open the Serial Monitor by clicking the following icon:

Your settings should be completed automatically by the PlatformIO software. Alternatively, select your ESP32's COM port and Baudrate. Then, press the “Start” button as follows:

You have a window that outputs all of the Serial.println() commands used in your code, much like the Arduino IDE Serial Monitor:

As you can see, it’s printing the messages “LED on” and “LED off“.

Conclusion

To explore the numerous features and functionalities that PlatformIO provides, we recommend using the following links as a resource:

• PlatformIO IDE official website
• PlatformIO IDE user guide
• PlatformIO IDE documentation
• PlatformIO IDE Espressif 32 (ESP32) boards

If you like ESP32, you may also like:

• Install ESP32 Board in Arduino IDE in less than 1 minute
• ESP32 Troubleshooting: A Complete Guide
• Getting Started with MicroPython on ESP32 and ESP8266
• How to Install ESP32 Boards in Arduino IDE 2.0

We hope you find this tutorial useful. Thanks for reading.