pico-project-generator

This is a command line or GUI tool, written in Python, to automatically generate a Pico C SDK Project.

The tool will generate all required CMake files, program files and VSCode IDE files for the set of features requested.

It will also add example code for any features and optionally for some standard library functions.

Command line

Running ./pico_project --help will give a list of the available command line parameters

usage: pico_project.py [-h] [-o OUTPUT] [-x] [-l] [-c] [-f FEATURE] [-over] [-b] [-g] [-p PROJECT] [-r] [-uart] [-usb] [name]

Pico Project generator

positional arguments:
  name                  Name of the project

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -o OUTPUT, --output OUTPUT
                        Set an alternative CMakeList.txt filename
  -x, --examples        Add example code for the Pico standard library
  -l, --list            List available features
  -c, --configs         List available project configuration items
  -f FEATURE, --feature FEATURE
                        Add feature to generated project
  -over, --overwrite    Overwrite any existing project AND files
  -b, --build           Build after project created
  -g, --gui             Run a GUI version of the project generator
  -p PROJECT, --project PROJECT
                        Generate projects files for IDE. Options are: vscode
  -r, --runFromRAM      Run the program from RAM rather than flash
  -uart, --uart         Console output to UART (default)
  -usb, --usb           Console output to USB (disables other USB functionality)

You can list the features supported by the tools by using ./pico_project --list. These features can be added to the project using the --feature options, this can be used multiple times.

GUI version

The GUI version of the tool, run by adding --gui to the command line, uses tkinter to provide a platform agnostic script that will run on Linux, Mac and Windows. All the options from the command line tool are also supported in the GUI.

You can add specific features to your project by selecting them from the check boxes on the GUI. This will ensure the build system adds the appropriate code to the build, and also adds simple example code to the project showing how to use the feature. There are a number of options available, which provide the following functionality.

Console Options	Description
Console over UART	Enable a serial console over the UART. This is the default.
Console over USB	Enable a console over the USB. The device will act as a USB serial port. This can be used in addition to or instead of the UART option, but note that when enabled other USB functionality is not possible.

Code Options	Description
Add examples for Pico library	Example code will be generated for some of the standard library features that by default are in the build, for example, UART support and HW dividers.
Run from RAM	Usually, the build creates a binary that will be installed to the flash memory. This forces the binary to work directly from RAM.
Advanced	Brings up a table allowing selection of specific board build options. These options alter the way the features work, and should be used with caution.

Build Options	Description
Run Build	Once the project has been created, build it. This will produce files ready for download to the Raspberry Pi Pico.
Overwrite Project	If a project already exists in the specified folder, overwrite it with the new project. This will overwrite any changes you may have made.
Create VSCode Project	As well as the CMake files, also create the appropriate Visual Studio Code project files.