PlatformIO Cheat Sheet

A professional embedded build system, usually used as a VS Code extension. Supports Arduino, ESP-IDF, STM32, RP2040 and more, with per-project library versions.

28 entries
6 sections
Updated 1 Oct 2026
Click a command to see all its options

F

28 entries

On this page

VS Code Shortcuts #

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + Alt + B`	Build
`Ctrl + Alt + U`	Upload
`Ctrl + Alt + S`	Serial monitor
PlatformIO icon (sidebar)	Project tasks, libraries, boards, PIO Home

CLI (`pio`) #

Command	Action
	New project in the current folder
	Build all environments
	Build one environment
	Build and upload
	Upload to a specific port
	Clean the build
	Upload the `data/` folder (LittleFS / SPIFFS)
	ESP-IDF configuration menu
	Connected serial ports
	Serial monitor (`Ctrl + C` to exit)
	Add a library to the project
	Update packages
	Installed packages
	Search board IDs
	Run unit tests
	Static code analysis
	Update PlatformIO itself

Project Layout #

project/
├── platformio.ini     # configuration
├── src/main.cpp       # your code
├── include/           # headers
├── lib/               # private libraries
├── data/              # files for the filesystem (uploadfs)
└── test/              # unit tests

platformio.ini Example #

[platformio]
default_envs = esp32dev

[env]                              ; shared by all environments
framework = arduino
monitor_speed = 115200
lib_deps =
    bblanchon/ArduinoJson@^7.0.0
    adafruit/Adafruit BME280 Library

[env:esp32dev]
platform = espressif32
board = esp32dev
board_build.filesystem = littlefs
build_flags = -DDEBUG=1

[env:esp32s3]
platform = espressif32
board = esp32-s3-devkitc-1
build_flags = -DARDUINO_USB_CDC_ON_BOOT=1
monitor_filters = esp32_exception_decoder, time

Useful ini Options #

Option	Use
`upload_port = COM5` / `/dev/ttyUSB0`	Fix the upload port
`upload_speed = 921600`	Faster uploads
`monitor_filters = esp32_exception_decoder`	Decode crash backtraces
`build_flags = -DVERSION=\"1.0\"`	Defines / compiler flags
`build_src_filter = +<*> -<old/>`	Exclude files
`board_build.partitions = huge_app.csv`	Custom partition table
`extends = env:esp32dev`	Inherit from another environment

Tips #

Commit platformio.ini and src/, ignore .pio/.
Arduino sketches: rename .ino to .cpp, add #include <Arduino.h> and declare functions before using them.
A "Library not found" error usually means it's missing from lib_deps.