Setup Your Local Machine 🖥️

The purpose of this guide is to help onboard new programmers by installing the necessary software on their local machine. By the end, you’ll have everything needed to build and deploy robot code, run devcontainers, and collaborate with the team.

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Prerequisites

• Windows 11 laptop
• Internet access
• Admin privileges
• Basic command line knowledge
• ~20 minutes

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1. Install IntelliJ IDEA

Why IntelliJ?

IntelliJ IDEA is a powerful IDE for JVM and cross-language development with first-class Gradle support, robust Git integration, and excellent debugging. Our team prefers IntelliJ for robot code development.

1. Download IntelliJ IDEA:

   • https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/
   • Choose Community (free) or Ultimate (if you have a license) → Windows x64.

2. Run the installer and follow the prompts. Accept defaults unless you have a personal preference.

3. After installation, open IntelliJ and install or enable these recommended plugins:

   • Docker (for interacting with containers)
   • Gradle (usually built-in)
   • FRC Plugin

4. Clone and open the repo:

   • Use IntelliJ’s VCS menu: VCS → Get from Version Control → paste (replace OUR_REPO with the repo name): https://github.com/BC-Robotics-4504/OUR_REPO
   • Or clone on the command line and open the folder in IntelliJ:

   git clone https://github.com/BC-Robotics-4504/bcr-docs
   cd bcr-docs

   • Open the project in IntelliJ (File → Open)
   • Press shift twice to open the command pallate, then search for “add build configurations” select it to add the build, simulate, run robot code build configs to your local copy.

Tip

If you prefer the exact Dev Container workflow (automatic environment provisioning), VS Code’s Dev Containers integration is more seamless. IntelliJ can still work with Docker/WSL via the Docker plugin and remote toolchains, but that requires extra configuration.

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2. Install NI Game Tools

These tools are required to communicate with the roboRIO.

1. Download the latest NI FRC Game Tools from the official FIRST link: 👉 NI Game Tools Download
2. Run the installer and accept defaults.
3. Restart your computer after installation.

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3. Install WPILib

WPILib is the core library and tooling for FRC robot programming.

1. Go to the official releases: 👉 WPILib GitHub Releases
2. Download the latest WPILib Installer for Windows.
3. Run the installer. It will:
   • Install VS Code FRC extensions
   • Install the RoboRIO imaging tool
   • Set up Gradle for robot builds

Important

Always use the team’s agreed WPILib version during build season. Different versions can cause build errors.

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4. Install OpenJDK 17

OpenJDK 17 (LTS) is the recommended Java runtime for our Gradle and robot builds.

1. Download Eclipse Temurin (OpenJDK 17) from Adoptium: 👉 https://adoptium.net/temurin/releases/?version=17

• Choose the Windows x64 MSI installer for an easy install.

2. Run the MSI installer and accept defaults.

• If the installer offers to set JAVA_HOME, enable that option.

3. If JAVA_HOME wasn’t set automatically, add it manually:

• Settings → System → About → Advanced system settings → Environment Variables
• Under System variables: New
  • Variable name: JAVA_HOME
  • Variable value: C:\Program Files\Eclipse Adoptium\jdk-17.x.x (adjust for the installed folder)
• Edit the System PATH and add: %JAVA_HOME%\bin

4. Restart any open terminals (or your PC) so environment changes take effect.

5. Verify the installation:

PowerShell:

javac --version

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5. Install Docker Desktop

Docker lets us run Dev Containers for a consistent environment across all machines.

1. Download from Docker Desktop for Windows.
2. Run the installer, accept defaults.
3. Enable WSL 2 backend when prompted.
4. Restart your computer.
5. Verify Docker is running from the system tray.

Check Docker works:

docker --version

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6. Install WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)

WSL provides a Linux environment on Windows. This is what Dev Containers use.

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator.
2. Run:

wsl --install

3. This installs Ubuntu by default. Restart when prompted.
4. After reboot, set a username/password for your Ubuntu environment.
5. Update Ubuntu packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

6. Verify:

wsl --list --verbose

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