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PlatformIO is a professional, IDE-agnostic development platform that offers dependency management, multi-environment builds, and a rich library ecosystem — making it a powerful alternative to Arduino IDE for larger or more complex Proton AI Core projects. This guide walks you through creating a project, configuring platformio.ini for the ESP32-S3, and uploading your first firmware.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following ready:
  • Visual Studio Code installed (code.visualstudio.com)
  • PlatformIO IDE extension installed in VS Code (search “PlatformIO IDE” in the Extensions panel)
  • USB driver installed for your operating system — see the Drivers page if you haven’t done this yet
  • A USB-C data cable (charge-only cables will not work)

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Setup Steps

1

Create a New Project

Open the PlatformIO Home tab in VS Code (click the PlatformIO icon in the Activity Bar, then select Home).Click New Project and fill in the following fields:
  • Name: Your project name
  • Board: Espressif ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 (the closest compatible target — see the note below)
  • Framework: Arduino
Click Finish. PlatformIO will scaffold the project and generate a platformio.ini file.
A dedicated Proton AI Core board definition is planned. For now, use the ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 board target as a compatible configuration.
2

Configure platformio.ini

Open the generated platformio.ini at the root of your project and replace its contents with the following:
platformio.ini
[env:proton_ai_core]
platform = espressif32
board = esp32-s3-devkitc-1
framework = arduino
upload_speed = 921600
monitor_speed = 115200
build_flags =
    -DARDUINO_USB_MODE=1
    -DARDUINO_USB_CDC_ON_BOOT=1
board_build.arduino.memory_type = qio_opi
These flags enable USB CDC on boot so that Serial.print() output is routed over the USB-C connection, and configure the memory type for OPI PSRAM.
3

Write Your Code

Open src/main.cpp and replace its contents with the following:
src/main.cpp
#include <Arduino.h>

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  Serial.println("Proton AI Core — PlatformIO ready!");
}

void loop() {
  Serial.println("Running...");
  delay(1000);
}
4

Build & Upload

Connect Proton AI Core to your computer with the USB-C data cable.To build and upload your firmware, use one of the following methods:
  • Click the Upload button (→) in the PlatformIO toolbar at the bottom of VS Code
  • Run the following command in a terminal at the project root: 
    pio run --target upload
PlatformIO will compile the code and flash it to the board automatically.
5

Open Serial Monitor

To see output from Serial.println(), open the Serial Monitor using one of the following methods:
  • Click the plug icon in the PlatformIO toolbar at the bottom of VS Code
  • Run the following command in a terminal: 
    pio device monitor
The monitor uses the monitor_speed value set in platformio.ini (115200 baud).

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Adding Libraries

PlatformIO manages library dependencies through the lib_deps key in platformio.ini. To add a library, specify it by its registry name and version — PlatformIO downloads and links it automatically at build time. For example, to add the esp32-camera library for camera support: 
lib_deps =
    espressif/esp32-camera @ ^2.0.0
You can find additional libraries on the PlatformIO Registry or specify a GitHub URL directly.
PlatformIO handles library dependencies automatically — no manual downloads needed.