FRC Programming Environment

Joseph Jackson

The official FIRST documentation for installing the FRC programming tools is a bit convoluted and time-consuming. I’ve created a streamlined process for Girls of Steel by:

  • downloading and unpacking all the files ahead of time,
  • focusing only on Java and the third-party libraries we rely on,
  • writing scripts to automate many of the steps on the Mac, and
  • adding steps for using GitHub to share code.
  1. Obtain a USB drive with all the installers
    • See Joe or the Programming Lead to borrow one. The contents of the drive are documented on the [[Software installers kept on USB Drive]] page.
  2. Follow the steps specific to your platform of choice
    1. macOS (the red pill)
      1. Open the Mac folder on the USB drive
        • There’s no need to make a copy of the folder unless others are waiting for a flash drive
      2. Drag Visual Studio Code to your Applications folder
        • As a shortcut, you can drop it on the Applications alias found in the Mac folder
        • If prompted, choose to Replace any older version
      3. Drag GRIP to your Applications folder, same as above
      4. Launch (double-click) the WPILib-Installer.command script
        • A Terminal window will open to show the progress as the script runs
        • Confirm there aren’t any error messages; If so, show them to Joe
        • Close the Terminal window after you see the [Process completed] message
        • If you see an error “cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified”, take these steps:
          • Open System Preferences from the Apple menu
          • Go to the Security & Privacy preference pane
          • Switch to the General tab
          • Click the Open Anyway button, if present
          • Back in the error dialog, click Cancel
          • Let the installer script finish, but be sure to run it again to complete any canceled steps
      5. Launch (double-click) the CTRE-Installer.command script
        • A Terminal window will open to show the progress as the script runs
        • Confirm there aren’t any error messages; If so, show them to Joe
        • Close the Terminal window after you see the [Process completed] message
    2. Windows (the blue pill)
      1. Open the Windows folder on the USB drive
        • There’s no need to make a copy of the folder unless others are waiting for a flash drive
      2. Run (double-click) the WPI library installer: WPILibInstaller_Windows64-*.exe
        • It is recommended to install for All Users when prompted
        • In the main installer window, click on Select/Download VS Code, then Select Existing Download
        • Select the OfflineVsCodeFiles-*.zip from the Windows folder of the USB drive
        • Make sure the checkbox for Visual Studio Code is checked
        • Click Execute Install and wait for the installer to finish
      3. Run the National Instruments FRC Game Tools installer
        • Open the ni-frc-2020-game folder found in the Windows folder of the USB drive
        • Run install.exe to begin the installation
        • Review and accept the license agreements to continue
        • Take all the default installation options by clicking Next buttons
        • When prompted to log into your NI User Account, use the Create account link, if necessary
        • NOTE: When the NI Licensing Wizard prompts you to activate the Vision Development Module, use the X button in the upper right to cancel out of the window
        • Reboot when the installer offers the Reboot Now option
      4. Run the FRC Radio Configuration installer: FRC_Radio_Configuration-*.exe
        • Accept any default installation options
        • You will be prompted to install a network packet utility as subtask of this installer
        • Be sure to choose I want to reboot later, as instructed by the installer
      5. Run the Git installer: Git-*.exe
        • There are many, many pages of options presented to customize your Git environment
        • Just accept all defaults and click through the pages to complete the installation
      6. Run the GRIP installer: GRIP-*.exe
        • Accept any default installation options
        • Note that the GRIP tool is automatically launched after installation
        • Quit out of GRIP before continuing
      7. Run the CTRE Phoenix installer: CTRE Phoenix Framework *.exe
        • De-select the Hero C# and LabView options, leaving the others enabled
        • This provides support for the Talon SRX motor controllers
      8. Run the Spark Max installer: spark-max-client-setup-*.exe
        • Includes a utility and libraries for the Spark Max motor controller
      9. (Optional) Install the Limelight firmware flashing tools
        • You can skip this for personal laptops (unless you work with the Limelight often and want it)
        • All team laptops should have this installed
        • Run the USB Flash Driver installer (it’s for the embedded Raspberry Pi): rpiboot_setup.exe
        • Copy the Balena Etcher imaging tool to the laptop: balenaEtcher-Portable-*.exe
          • You can leave it in your Downloads folder or create a new folder such as: C:\Program Files\Limelight Image Tool\
          • Right-click on your copy of the balenaEtcher* file and create a shortcut to it on your Desktop
        • Copy the latest image file to the same location on your laptop as the imaging tool: LL_*_RELEASE.zip
  3. [Mac & Windows] Essential VS Code settings
    1. Start Visual Studio Code if it’s not already running
      • On the Mac, it is in Applications
      • On Windows, you must use the desktop icon FRC VS Code 2020 to start the correct version of VS Code
    2. Bring up the Command Palette by pressing:
      • On the Mac, Command-Shift-P
      • On Windows, Control-Shift-P
    3. In the palette, enter the command WPILib: Set VS Code Java to FRC Home and press return or select from the list of matching commands
  4. First-time import (clone) of projects from GitHub
    1. Run through this process once per season to establish access to this year’s GitHub code repository
      • If you’ve done this during the preseason, there’s no need to do it again
    2. Start Visual Studio Code if it’s not already running
      • On the Mac, it is in Applications
      • On Windows, you must use the desktop icon FRC VS Code 2019 to start the correct version of VS Code
    3. Bring up the Command Palette by pressing:
      • On the Mac, Command-Shift-P
      • On Windows, Control-Shift-P
    4. In the palette, enter the command Git: Clone and press return or select from the list of matching commands
    5. Enter in the URL for this year’s GitHub repository:
      • https://github.com/GirlsOfSteelRobotics/2020GirlsofSteel.git
      • (Adjust the URL above for the current season, if necessary)
    6. Select a location to create a new folder for the repository
      • Your Documents folder is a reasonable place to put it
    7. If prompted to open the repository, cancel out with the X button
      • Only open individual VS Code projects found inside the repo instead of opening the entire repo!
    8. To open a project, use the Open Folder option from the VS Code Welcome page or from the File menu
  5. Create a personal GitHub account
    • http://github.com/
    • If you already have one for school, there’s no need to create another
    • Ask Joe or the Programming Lead to invite your GitHub account to the Contributors team for Girls of Steel
    • See your e-mail to accept the invitation
    • When finished, you can push changes to GitHub to share them with the rest of the team
    • VS Code will prompt you for your GitHub username and password the first time you push code
  6. Installing Third-Party Libraries When using third-party hardware on the robot, the project needs to have the associated libraries installed.