Frequently Asked Questions

ArduinoStudio is a browser-based visual programming app for Arduino. Build sequences with hardware blocks, by hand or by describing the project to the AI Builder, test supported behavior in the simulator, see the breadboard wiring, and design custom control panels. Dev mode shows the Arduino code your blocks make. Connect a supported board and complete its firmware setup to run the project on real hardware.

Not for every project. In Chrome, Edge, or on a Chromebook, USB direct (Web Serial) runs the Standard LED, Servo, Button, Photoresistor, Switch and Potentiometer blocks on a real board with nothing installed. Most other blocks, such as the RGB LED, DC motor, relay and several sensors, need the ArduinoStudio Bridge desktop app on a real board, and a few don’t work properly on a real board yet. Firefox and Safari always need the Bridge.

Arduino Uno R3, Uno R4 WiFi, Uno R4 Minima, Mega 2560, Nano, Micro, Leonardo, and ESP32 boards (the classic ESP32, ESP32-S2, ESP32-S3 and ESP32-C3). An ESP32 is set up once over USB and then runs over Wi-Fi with no cable. See the supported boards page in the docs for the full, current list.

Firmata is a protocol that lets software control an Arduino board step by step while it runs. The first time you connect an Uno, Nano or Mega over USB direct, the setup wizard uploads Firmata firmware straight from the browser, with no installer; a newer Nano with the Optiboot bootloader works too. The Bridge desktop app can flash it too. This replaces any existing sketch but can be overwritten by uploading from the Arduino IDE later.

At arduinostudio.com/tutorials: 11 narrated tutorials in learning order, from your first project to Wi-Fi, the phone app, the AI and the code, plus 21 one-minute feature videos. The steps are written under each video. In the app, the ? buttons open the matching tutorial with a Watch how (1 min) link, and Tutorials is in the profile menu and under Utilities.

Yes. Every sequence card starts with a blue play bubble (an infinity sign when Infinity Loop is on). Click it to run that sequence alone, in the preview or on a connected board, and click it again to stop. The bubble also leaves only that sequence ticked under Choose Sequences, so tick the others again before the toolbar Play runs them all side by side.

ArduinoStudio has a free plan and paid plans. The free plan includes the block editor, the simulator, the App builder, the AI Builder, Dev mode and cloning public projects, with a limit on the number of projects. You can also explore a working project in the live demo without an account. See the pricing page for current project limits, features, and prices.

Yes. Click Arduino code in the editor toolbar to open Dev mode: the Arduino C++ sketch your blocks make, updated on every change. On your own projects you can edit it too. Change a pin or a delay and the block follows; type a new line such as delay(500); and a block appears; delete a block’s lines and it is removed. Loops and Checks are still added on the canvas. Download .ino saves the sketch for the Arduino IDE.

EyeBuild checks your real breadboard with your camera. In the Wiring view, click Check my real board, point the camera at your board or upload a photo, and it compares what it sees with your project’s wiring diagram and names the one thing to fix. You need a free account. The free plan includes 30 checks a month; paid plans have unlimited checks. The picture is not stored.

The editor needs a laptop or desktop with a screen at least 768 pixels wide. On a phone-width screen, a project’s App panel opens in preview mode, without the editing tools.

When you press Play, the browser runs your sequence and sends each step to your Arduino over USB using Web Serial and the Firmata protocol. Sensor readings come back the same way. Connecting a board runs nothing by itself: in Logic, a prompt under Play offers Run on my board. The Bridge desktop app relays the same Firmata messages for Firefox and Safari, and for the blocks that run on a real board only through the Bridge. An ESP32 set up for Wi-Fi gets the same messages through the ArduinoStudio relay instead of a cable.

Yes, on ESP32 boards. Plug the board in once over USB in Chrome or Edge, install ArduinoStudio-FW and set up Wi-Fi; after that, Play runs your project over Wi-Fi through the ArduinoStudio relay, from any browser where you are signed in. The Standard LED, Servo, Button, Photoresistor, Switch and Potentiometer blocks run over Wi-Fi. The browser runs the program, so keep the page open, and the board needs a 2.4 GHz network with internet.

Yes. Each project has an app page with the buttons you design in the App stage, and you can save it to your phone’s home screen. With an ESP32 set up for Wi-Fi, sign in on the phone to the account that set the board up, and the buttons reach the board through the ArduinoStudio relay while the page is open. Editing needs a screen at least 768 pixels wide.

Yes — make your project public and share the link. The project starts running in the simulator as soon as the link opens. Others can view your sequences, wiring and control panel, run them on their own Arduino board, and clone the project into their own portfolio to change it.

The editor has 21 hardware blocks: DC Motor, Servo, Relay, Piezo, ESC, RGB LED, Standard LED, Photoresistor, Potentiometer, Button, IR Motion, Switch, Proximity, Joystick, Thermometer, Barometer, Hygrometer, Accelerometer, Gyro, IMU, and Compass. Not every block runs on every connection yet, and a few do not work yet. The Proximity block supports the two Sharp infrared sensors (GP2Y0A21YK and GP2Y0A02YK0F); the other controllers in its list are offered but not supported. The components page in the docs lists what each block does in the simulator, over USB direct, through the Bridge and over Wi-Fi.

Click the plug icon in the editor toolbar, choose Cable (COM port), then Add a board…, and pick the port in the browser dialog. If the board is not in the list, the app shows what to try: plug it in and wait a second; use a USB data cable, because charge-only cables never show up; close the Arduino IDE, its Serial Monitor or another ArduinoStudio tab, since only one program can hold the port; on Windows, install the CH340 driver (from WCH) once for a Nano or Uno clone. Then click Try again. On Linux, make sure your user is in the dialout group.

Yes — just open the Arduino IDE and upload any sketch normally, including the .ino file Dev mode downloads for your project. It will overwrite the Firmata firmware. You can always re-flash Firmata from ArduinoStudio later.

A small desktop app that relays between the browser and your board over USB. You need it in Firefox and Safari, which have no Web Serial, and on any browser for the blocks that run on a real board only through the Bridge (a few blocks don’t work properly on a real board yet, with or without it). On Chrome, Edge, and Chromebooks, projects that use only the Standard LED, Servo, Button, Photoresistor, Switch and Potentiometer blocks don't need it. On Windows and macOS it auto-updates; on Linux, download the latest .deb from the download page.

Yes — you can cancel anytime from your account settings. Your projects remain accessible on the free plan, but premium features will be locked.

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