FWIW, this isn’t the only option when working with ESP32’s (or ESP8266’s etc.), but I figured I was more comfortable with this framework than others. I’ve been playing around with some ESP32’s recently and using the Arduino toolset to work with them. The modern C++ stuff (11 and up) is still something I haven’t really integrated into my workflow. I did most of my C++ in the bad old days (early 90’s). That said, if you notice any bad C++ below, PLEASE feel free to comment on that. IDE’s ultimately save me time, and if you’re cool working in (admittedly powerful) text editors, more power to you. If your gut instinct response is “vi/emacs is my IDE!!11!oneoneone”, please don’t bother responding with that (and starting a flame war between the two camps if nothing else ). I really don’t have a hidden agenda pimping Visual Studio Code, I just happen to like the IDE. A Gitter account is also available to let you join discussions with other developers and IoT enthusiasts to improve the latest development.Full disclosure, I don’t work for Microsoft (or M$ if you insist) or own any MSFT. You can access the Visual Studio Code Extension code for Arduino from its GitHub repository. Further, the extension is fully loaded with a built-in board, example list, serial monitor, snippets for sketches and library manager. You can easily upload and verify your Arduino sketches in the Visual Studio Code. The extension is fully compatible with the official Arduino IDE, and there are missing advance features like IntelliSense, Auto code completion and on-device debugging.

The simple extension of Visual Studio Code developed by Microsoft looks similar to the official Arduino IDE. Arduino developers have been demanding for some tool to simplify the required development efforts while working on Arduino projects. The availability of tools for micro-controller and sensor is very limited.

While there is a number of tools for cloud, interactive devices and gateway. Keep open source and open platform in mind, we started the work to add an extension on Visual Code Studio,” said Zhidi Shang, R&D and Product Development, Microsoft. “In particular in MCU domain, there are millions of Arduino developers demanding advanced features to make their development with device easier.

Visual studio code arduino