Pico-Go

Quick Start

Make your Pico LED flash in under 5 minutes!

Requirements

You’ll need to be running Visual Studio Code on a PC, Mac or Linux computer. The following processor types are supported:

  • Windows - x64
  • Mac - x64 (Intel) or arm64 (Silicon)
  • Linux - x64 or arm64

Pico-Go also needs Python 3 to be installed.

Installing the extension

You can download the extension from VS Code’s Extensions panel by searching for Pico-Go. You can also download the extension manually from the Marketplace.

Start a new Pico project

Configure the project

Firstly, create an empty folder for your project files. Then open this folder in VS Code.

Access the Command Palette by typing ctrl+shift+i on Windows, ctrl+shift+alt+i on Linux, or command+shift+i on a Mac.

Alternatively, click All Commands on the Pico-Go status bar. Then choose Pico-Go > Configure project.

This will set up code auto-completion for you.

If you’re prompted to install any workspace recommended extensions or reload VS Code, make sure you do just that!

Make an LED flash

Create a file named flash.py, start typing and watch the auto-completion magic happen!

Here’s that code in full:

from machine import Pin
import time

pin = Pin(25, Pin.OUT)

while True:
    pin.toggle()
    time.sleep_ms(1000)

Now click the Run button on the Pico-Go status bar:

and bask in your Pico glory!

If you can’t seem to connect to your Pico, follow these troubleshooting steps.

Copying a file

We’re currently running your Python code on the Pico, however, what if we want the LED to flash automatically as soon as the Pico powers up? To do that, we need to transfer a .py file to the Pico!

Firstly, rename flash.py to main.py. Then choose the Upload button from the toolbar. You’ll see that main.py is transferred to the Pico and it will then reboot with the LED flashing!

Pin Map

If you need a quick refresher on which pins can do what on the Pico board, or even just need help locating a pin (it’s often not easy on a soldered board!), check out Pico-Go > Help > Show Pico Pin Map:

Managing files via FTP

Pico-Go includes a tiny FTP server that allows you to manage the files on your Pico board via an FTP client This might be your go-to file management application or a VS Code extension with an FTP capability.

You can start the FTP server via the Command Palette by choosing Pico-Go > Start FTP server. This will launch an FTP server on your local computer (127.0.0.1) on port 2121. The username is pico and the default password is also pico, however the password can be changed in the Global Settings by configuring the ftp_password value.

Tips, Tricks & Hints →