Required Tools for Development
To program an FRC Robot and follow along with this website, you need WPILib tools, Git, and a GitHub account.
WPILib tools
Section titled “ tools”The first tool that needs to be installed is the WPILib tool package. WPILib’s tool package includes a version of VSCode that allows teams to write code and deploy it to their robot.
This website requires using the alpha release of WPILib for the 2027 season. You can find the download link here.
Keep in mind that instructions to set up WPILib tools walk you through setting up the 2026 WPILib tools. You can follow the instructions as the set up is the same for 2027 and 2026. Make sure you are setting up 2027 WPILib tools and not 2026 WPILib tools.
Once you have downloaded the 2027 WPILib tools, you can follow the instructions on how to set up the WPILib tools here here.
The WPILib tool package also includes different programs that are useful for data logging, simulation, dashboards, and more. We will use some of these tools in later stages.
Driver Station
Section titled “Driver Station”If you intend to control a physical robot, you may also need to install the game tools. This installs the Driver Station, a program that connects to the robot for controlling it. Instructions can be found here, but this is not necessary to complete the course.
The next tool is Git. Git is a version control system that is used in FRC because it allows teams to keep track of changes made to the robot’s code throughout the build and competition season. It can also help teams manage their robot code through the various features that GitHub has such as Pull Requests, Issues, and Project boards. Git can be installed using the instructions located here.
Creating a GitHub account
Section titled “Creating a account”GitHub is a website that hosts Git repositories and allows people to collaborate on code. It’s commonly used in FRC because it’s free and easily accessible, in addition to being an industry standard.
For many of the lessons on this website, it will be necessary to have a GitHub account. One can be can be created here. It’s also recommended to sign up for the GitHub student developer pack, this will give you access to a variety of resources.