Building and flashing code

Building

To build your code, simply use the Tasks: Run Build Task (Ctrl+Shift+B) command in VS Code and select the robot type you are building for. An integrated terminal window will open where you can see the output of this process. Keep an eye out for any warnings or errors. If everything succeeds and you feel good about your code, you may proceed with flashing to a robot for testing.

Flashing

Flashing is the process of sending your built code to a robot's MCU for execution. Note that doing so overwrites any previously flashed firmware, so you may need to re-flash a previous version onto the robot again if something isn't working right.

In order to connect to the robots, you will need an ssh.config file in the base of the repository; this file contains connection information for each robot. If you are a Stampede member, head to the #firmware channel in Discord and check the pinned messages for one titled SSH Config.

Before flashing:

• Review the safety notice and be sure you understand the potential risks.
• Ensure the robot is powered on and connected to the network.
• Build your code for the type of robot you intend to work with.

To flash your code, run the Debug Hardware launch configuration in VS Code, then select which robot you want to connect to (this should match the one you built for). If all goes well, an SSH connection will be established, and the debugger will begin flashing to the robot.