This document explains how to connect your Uno board to the computer and upload your first sketch. The Arduino Uno is programmed using the Arduino Software (IDE), our Integrated Development Environment common to all our boards and running both online and offline. For more information on how to get started with the Arduino Software visit the Getting Started page.
All Arduino boards, including this one, work out-of-the-box on the Arduino Web Editor, you only need to install Arduino Create Agent to get started.
The Arduino Web Editor is hosted online, therefore it will always be up-to-date with the latest features and support for all boards. Follow this simple guide to start coding on the browser and upload your sketches onto your board.
If you want to program your Arduino Uno while offline you need to install the Arduino Desktop IDE The Uno is programmed using the Arduino Software (IDE), our Integrated Development Environment common to all our boards. Before you can move on, you must have installed the Arduino Software (IDE) on your PC, as explained in the home page of our Getting Started.
Connect your Uno board with an A B USB cable; sometimes this cable is called a USB printer cable
The USB connection with the PC is necessary to program the board and not just to power it up. The Uno automatically draw power from either the USB or an external power supply. Connect the board to your computer using the USB cable. The green power LED (labelled PWR) should go on.
If you used the Installer, Windows - from XP up to 10 - will install drivers automatically as soon as you connect your board.
If you downloaded and expanded the Zip package or, for some reason, the board wasn't properly recognized, please follow the procedure below.
Open the LED blink example sketch: File > Examples >01.Basics > Blink.
You'll need to select the entry in the Tools > Board menu that corresponds to your Arduino board.
Select the serial device of the board from the Tools | Serial Port menu. This is likely to be COM3 or higher (COM1 and COM2 are usually reserved for hardware serial ports). To find out, you can disconnect your board and re-open the menu; the entry that disappears should be the Arduino board. Reconnect the board and select that serial port.
Now, simply click the "Upload" button in the environment. Wait a few seconds - you should see the RX and TX leds on the board flashing. If the upload is successful, the message "Done uploading." will appear in the status bar.
A few seconds after the upload finishes, you should see the pin 13 (L) LED on the board start to blink (in orange). If it does, congratulations! You've gotten Arduino up-and-running. If you have problems, please see the troubleshooting suggestions.
See this tutorial for a generic guide on the Arduino IDE with a few more infos on the Preferences, the Board Manager, and the Library Manager.
Now that you have set up and programmed your Uno board, you may find inspiration in our Project Hub tutorial platform
or have a look to the tutorial pages that explain how to use the various features of your board.
