A board core (or just board for short) is a collection of files needed to compile and upload sketches for a board. Cores are contained in packages and can be installed using the Board Manager.

In this article:

• Add a board with the Boards Manager
• Add additional packages to the Boards Manager
• Install a board manually

Add a board with the Boards Manager

Official Arduino cores can be conveniently installed with the Boards Manager tool.

1. In the menu bar, select Tools > Board > Boards Manager… ,or click on the button in the sidebar.

2. Either search for the package name (e.g. “megaAVR”), or the board (e.g. “Uno”, “MKR1000”, or “Portenta”), by typing in the search field.

3. Find the package that includes your board.

4. Click Install (the latest version is selected by default).

   Note

   If the package is already installed, you will instead have the option of installing a different version.

5. Wait for the installation to complete.

   

You can now select boards from the installed packages in the Tools > Board menu:

Add additional packages to the Boards Manager

See Add or remove third-party boards in Boards Manager.

Install a board manually

Cores can also be added directly to the file system. See Find sketches, libraries, board cores, and other files on your computer.

Further reading

Uninstall boards using the Boards Manager