First ESP32 project in PlatformIO

As a first project, the classic flashing of an LED. We are therefore going to make the blue LED flash every 500ms.

Create the project

After launching VSCode:

1. Click on PlatformIO
2. Click Home
3. Click on New Project

In the new window:

1. Name your project
2. Select the board you are using (me is the MUST ESP32 )
3. Click Finish

PlatformIO will load the required libraries, which might take a long time the first time.

Opening the main.cpp file

After launching VSCode:

1. Open the src area, where your project sources are located
2. Click on main.cpp, which will open the file in the edit box on the right.

Editing the main.cpp file

As in Arduino IDE, there are 2 functions:

1. setup() which is called at launch
2. loop() which is called perpetually

The following code configures the GPIO2 pin as an output in the setup() function, then it alternately writes a high (3.3V) then low (0V) level to the GPIO2 pin.

#define LED 2
void setup()
{
  pinMode(LED, OUTPUT);
}

void loop()
{
  digitalWrite(LED, 1); 
  delay(500);          
  digitalWrite(LED, 0); 
  delay(500);
} 

Compilation of the project

The easiest way is to press the Build (hook) button in the blue toolbar at the bottom of the screen.

It is also possible to use the following key combinations:

ctrl+alt+b / cmd-shift-b / ctrl-shift-b

Key combinations can be changed. Read this: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/getstarted/keybindings

4 – Download in the ESP32

Make sure your ESP32 is well connected and detected. The ESP32 is not USB native so you should see another IC listed. The DOIT Devkit V1 uses the CP2102.

To download, click on the arrow next to the hook in the blue toolbar at the bottom of the screen.

You may need to press the BOOT button when you see connecting….. in the terminal

The BOOT button is located next to the USB connector. It is called FLASH on other ESP32 boards.

Normally you should see the blue LED flashing after this step. 

Here is a video of the steps. 

Installation de PlatformIO sous Visual Studio Code (YouTube)