New to embedded? Read the free lessons at https://boardpilot.agentflowbind.com/learn/ (microcontrollers, GPIO, I2C/UART/SPI, ADC, timers, RTOS), the embedded glossary and use the free calculators (LED resistor, voltage divider, I2C pull-up, UART baud rate, PWM timer). Or try the app in your browser, no install.
Why BoardPilot
Most "my sensor does not work" problems are wiring: SDA and SCL swapped, a missing ground, a 5 V module on a 3.3 V pin, an LED on an input-only GPIO, a strapping pin that stops the board from booting. BoardPilot measures the real pins through a small diagnostic firmware, shows the result on a 3D model of your board, and explains the cause in plain words, with the evidence and the datasheet section behind every claim.
- Look before asking. It detects the board, chip, flash and USB bridge by itself, and asks only for what it cannot see.
- Safe by default. Read-only unless you confirm; your firmware is backed up before the first write and comes back with one click.
- Honest AI. The optional assistant only states what it measured, labels guesses as suggestions and cites sources.
Supported boards
| Family | Boards | Flashing |
|---|
| ESP32 | ESP32 DevKit (30 pins), ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1, ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1 | esptool |
| Raspberry Pi | Pico, Pico W (RP2040), Pico 2 (RP2350) | picotool / UF2 |
| Arduino (AVR) | Uno R3, Nano, Mega 2560 | avrdude |
| STM32 | NUCLEO-F401RE, Black Pill F411CE | STM32CubeProgrammer, stlink or dfu-util |
| Nordic | nRF52840 DK | nrfjprog |
| Teensy | Teensy 4.1 | Teensy Loader |
Boards are data files in boards/ (pins with positions, flags and sources, default buses, toolchain, USB ids); validate them with node scripts/check-boards.mjs. Pinout pages: https://boardpilot.agentflowbind.com/boards/.
Features
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| Debug wizard Pull-ups, I2C scan, SDA/SCL swap test, chip ID (tells a BMP280 from a BME280), brownout and baud-rate detection. | Test hardware I2C address grid, bus diagram, bit-level decoded transactions, GPIO and ADC tests. |
| Monitor Serial console, live plots colored by pin, CSV recording, heap and stack. | Parts library Add, move, rotate and wire parts in 3D; wiring rules flag mistakes as you build. |
Also: connect and identify (esptool v4/v5), safe flashing with automatic backup, new-project pin assignment with a starter sketch, reports as Markdown and PDF, English and Italian UI, 30-day free trial.
The new workspace (next release)
An IDE-like project page: the 3D board in the middle, the assistant on the right, Code and Log at the bottom, several projects in tabs, and a warnings banner with one-click fixes. Details in CHANGELOG.md.
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| New project: Blank, Read from port or Template Read from port finds the board on USB, identifies the chip and looks for what is connected (I2C scan with the swap test, chip IDs, analog pins); anything guessed is for you to confirm. Or describe the project and get parts, wiring and code. | Export PDF The electrical design as a drawing set: schematic (IEC or ANSI symbols), wiring diagram and pin map, bill of materials, checks, power budget and measurements, with a title block, on A3, A4, Letter or Tabloid. |
- Code panel with syntax colouring, the code checker's findings on their lines and one-click fixes, "Suggest code", and a debugger view that runs templates in the simulator with the running line highlighted.
- The assistant does what the app does: "back up my board", "flash my code, then open the monitor", with each step shown and "Show me where it is". ⌘K finds any action, even without AI.
- Better 3D: Light (Studio, Bench, High contrast) and Detail (Simple, Full, Labels): chips with legs by package, small parts, traces, the power LED lit on USB, glowing pins and wires.
New in 0.6.0
Everything below is in the 0.6.0 release; details in CHANGELOG.md.
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| Wiring diagram and schematic A flat wiring view and a real schematic from your 3D drawing, with net labels, power symbols and the pull-ups the rules suggest drawn dashed. Both export as SVG and go into the report. | Timing view Logic-analyser rows for every streamed pin with the decoded I2C transaction under SDA/SCL, cursors, and period, frequency and duty with their uncertainty. Labelled "sampled", with the real sample rate. |
| Embedded lessons 11 visual lessons from zero to senior, with interactive demos, "Show on the 3D board" previews, hands-on labs checked on your board, and an interview coach. | Code vs wiring checker Compares your Arduino sketch with the drawing: swapped Wire.begin pins, outputs on input-only pins, the LED on another pin, the wrong baud rate. |
This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗
