Find sketches, libraries, board cores, and other files on your computer

Learn where sketches, libraries, board platforms, and other files used by Arduino IDE are stored on your computer.

Sketches

Sketches are saved inside the Sketchbook folder by default.
Sketches have the .ino file extension.
When saving a sketch, the IDE suggests a name based on the date, such as sketch_nov17b.ino.
For Example sketches, see Examples.

Preferences

Examples

Example sketches can be found in the File > Examples menu.

Arduino IDE File menu with Examples section selected

Built-in Examples: Examples packaged with Arduino IDE. They are located inside the application folder.
- In Arduino IDE 2 they are stored in the resources/app/node_modules/arduino-ide-extension/Examples subfolder.
- In Arduino IDE 1.x they are stored in the libraries subfolder for Windows and Linux, and Contents/Java/libraries on macOS.
Examples for <board name>: Stored inside the board platform’s libraries subfolder, e.g. Arduino15/packages/arduino/hardware/avr/1.8.4/libraries/Wire. These are only accessible by Arduino IDE when one of the boards from that package is selected from the Tools > Board menu.
Examples from Custom Libraries: Installed with the Library Manager or the Sketch > Include Library > Add. ZIP Library dialog.
Examples for any board: Installed with the Library Manager or the Sketch > Include Library > Add. ZIP Library dialog.

When an Example is open, you can select Sketch > Show Sketch Folder to reveal the location in your system’s file manager.

Libraries

Libraries installed with the Library Manager are stored inside a Sketchbook subfolder:

Open the Sketchbook folder.
- Windows: C:\Users\{username}\Documents\Arduino
- macOS: /Users/{username}/Documents/Arduino
- Linux: /home/{username}/Arduino
For detailed instructions, see Open the Sketchbook.
Open the libraries subfolder.

The files for each library are stored within a folder with the library name:

Arduino
└── libraries
     └── ArduinoBLE
         ├── CHANGELOG
         ├── LICENSE
         ├── README.md
         ├── examples
         ├── extras
         ├── keywords.txt
         ├── library.properties
         └── src

Libraries included in board packages are stored within the board package folder’s libraries subfolder, see Board platforms and cores.

An easy way to find a library with examples:

Open File > Examples in the menu bar.

Put your cursor over the name of the library you want to find.

Select any of the library examples.

Select Sketch > Show Sketch Folder from the menu bar.

Board platforms and cores

Board platforms installed with the Board Manager are stored inside the Arduino15 folder.

Open the Arduino15 folder.
- Windows: C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Arduino15
- macOS: /Users/{username}/Library/Arduino15
- Linux: /home/{username}/.arduino15
For detailed instructions, see Open the Arduino15 folder.
Open the packages folder.
Open the package vendor subfolder, e.g. arduino.
Open the hardware subfolder.

The files for each package is contained in a folder with the package name. Most packages keep the files inside a folder with the version number, although if using the Board Manager only one will be installed at a time. For example, these are the contents of the Arduino AVR Boards package:

Arduino15
└── packages
    └── arduino
        └── hardware
            └── avr
                └── 1.8.4
                    ├── README.md
                    ├── boards.txt
                    ├── bootloaders
                    ├── cores
                    ├── extras
                    ├── firmwares
                    ├── installed.json
                    ├── libraries
                    ├── platform.txt
                    ├── programmers.txt
                    └── variants

Application files

The application folder contains the executable files used when running Arduino. The location and structure of these files depend on the system.

The default installations paths are:

Windows (IDE 2): C:\Program Files\Arduino IDE
Windows (IDE 1.x): C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino
Windows (Microsoft Store): C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\ArduinoLLC.ArduinoIDE_<VERSION>
macOS (IDE 2): /Applications/Arduino IDE.app/Contents
macOS (IDE 1.x): /Applications/Arduino.app/Contents/Java
Linux: See Open the Arduino IDE installation folder.

Generally, the contents of this folder should not be changed.

Configuration folder (.arduinoIDE)

The .arduinoIDE folder contains configuration files like settings.json and arduino-cli.yaml.

Default location:

Windows: C:\Users\{username}\.arduinoIDE (hidden)
macOS: /Users/{username}/.arduinoIDE (hidden)
Linux: /home/{username}/.arduinoIDE (hidden)

This folder is only used by Arduino IDE 2.

User data folder (arduino-ide)

The arduino-ide folder contains various temporary files. Removing this folder can sometimes resolve problems with Arduino IDE.