0. Setup#

Why it matters#

You can't learn to drive without a car. Before writing robot code, you need a working development environment, and the good news is it can simulate a robot on your laptop. You don't need a robot, a roboRIO, or even a controller to do most of this course.

By the end of this lesson you'll have:

• WPILib's tools installed
• a robot project created from the official template
• that project running in the simulator

Read this#

• Zero to Robot: Introduction
• WPILib Installation Guide
• Creating a Robot Program

Walkthrough#

What you're installing, and why#

The WPILib installer bundles everything an FRC programmer needs. It's worth knowing what each piece is, because you'll hear the names constantly:

Step 1: Install WPILib#

1. Go to the WPILib releases page and download the installer for this season for your operating system. The installation guide above has direct links.
2. Run it. On Windows, the file is an .iso: double-click to mount it, then run WPILibInstaller.exe.
3. Choose Everything and Install for this user.
4. When it asks about VS Code, choose Download for this computer only.
5. Wait. It's a large download (a few gigabytes).

Step 2: Install Git#

Download and install Git from git-scm.com. The default options are fine. You'll use it in Lesson 1.

Step 3: Create your first project#

1. Open WPILib VS Code (look for the WPILib logo).
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the command palette. You'll use this constantly. It's how you run every WPILib action.
3. Type WPILib: Create a new project and press Enter.
4. Fill in the form:
   • Project type: Template
   • Language: Java
   • Project base: Command Robot
   • Base folder: somewhere you'll find again, like a robotics folder in Documents
   • Project name: my-first-robot
   • Team number: 4674
5. Click Generate Project, then choose to open it in the current window.

The New Project Creator, filled in. From the WPILib docs, Creating a Robot Program (CC BY 4.0).

Step 4: Look around the project#

Expand the folders on the left. You don't need to understand all of this yet, but know where things are:

my-first-robot/
├── build.gradle              ← build settings (rarely edited)
├── gradlew, gradlew.bat      ← the build tool launcher (Lesson 2)
├── vendordeps/               ← vendor libraries like CTRE and REV
└── src/main/java/frc/robot/
    ├── Main.java             ← starts the program. Never edit.
    ├── Robot.java            ← the robot's main loop (Lesson 6)
    ├── RobotContainer.java   ← creates subsystems, binds buttons (Lesson 7)
    ├── Constants.java        ← numbers like ports and gear ratios (Lesson 8)
    ├── commands/             ← command classes
    └── subsystems/           ← subsystem classes

Step 5: Run it in simulation#

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P and run WPILib: Simulate Robot Code.
2. The first build takes a minute or two while Gradle downloads what it needs. Later builds are much faster.
3. When asked, check Sim GUI and click OK.
4. A window opens. In the Robot State box, click Teleoperated.

That's it. Your robot code is running, just on fake hardware.

A tour of the Sim GUI#

The Sim GUI, with each panel numbered. From the WPILib docs, Simulation Specific User Interface Elements (CC BY 4.0).

1. Robot State: the robot's current mode. Click a label to change modes, just like the real Driver Station.
2. Timing: the robot's timers. You can pause and step time here.
3. System Joysticks: the controllers and keyboards your computer can see.
4. FMS: pretends to be the competition field system.
5. NetworkTables: the values your code publishes to the dashboard.
6. Joysticks: the joysticks your robot code actually reads. Drag a device here from System Joysticks.
7. Other Devices: devices that don't fit the other panels, like some gyros.

More panels, like PWM outputs and DIO, can be opened from the Hardware menu.

Using a controller or the keyboard#

Drag a controller (or Keyboard 0) from System Joysticks into slot 0 of Joysticks. Your code's CommandXboxController(0) reads whatever is in slot 0.

Drag a device from System Joysticks into a Joysticks slot. From the WPILib docs, Simulation Specific User Interface Elements (CC BY 4.0).

When it doesn't work#

Try it#

• Install WPILib and Git
• Create my-first-robot from the Command Robot template
• Run it in simulation and switch to Teleoperated
• Drag a keyboard or controller into Joystick 0
• Take a screenshot and post it in the team channel

Check yourself#