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0.2 Setting up the Arduino environment

Before you can upload anything to the board, your computer needs three things: the Arduino IDE, support for the NULA Mini ESP32-C6 inside it, and the libraries the later examples use. This page sets all three up once. You will not have to repeat any of it.

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By the end of this page you will have:

  • The Arduino IDE installed
  • The ESP32 boards package installed, with the NULA Mini selected
  • The board showing up as a port your computer can talk to
  • All three Soldered libraries installed
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Work through the steps in order. Each one depends on the one before it.

1. Install the Arduino IDE​

Download the Arduino IDE

Official download page. Pick version 2.x for your operating system.

Download it, run the installer and accept the defaults. If you already have the Arduino IDE, you can skip ahead.

2. Add the ESP32 boards package​

Out of the box the Arduino IDE only knows about Arduino's own boards. The NULA Mini uses an ESP32-C6 chip, so the IDE needs Espressif's boards package added before it can see it.

  1. Open File → Preferences.
  2. Find the field named Additional boards manager URLs and paste in this address:
https://espressif.github.io/arduino-esp32/package_esp32_index.json
  1. Click OK.
  2. Open Tools → Board → Boards Manager.
  3. Search for esp32 and install esp32 by Espressif Systems.
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This download is large and can take several minutes. Let it finish before moving on.

3. Select the NULA Mini​

The NULA Mini is part of Espressif's official package, so once the download above has finished it is already in the board list. You do not need to add anything else.

Go to Tools → Board → esp32 and pick Soldered NULA Mini ESP32C6.

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The list is long and alphabetical. Typing nula into the board selector at the top of the IDE window is faster than scrolling.

Leave every other setting in the Tools menu at its default. The defaults are correct for this board, and the examples in this documentation are written against them.

NULA Mini ESP32-C6 pinout
NULA Mini ESP32-C6 pinout
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The board has two buttons, marked RST and USER on the board itself. RST resets the board; USER is a free button your own code can read. A couple of the steps below ask you to press one of them.

4. Connect the board and find its port​

Connect the NULA Mini to your computer with a USB-C cable, then open Tools → Port.

If a new port appeared when you plugged the board in, select it and move on to the next step.

If no new port appeared, your computer is missing the driver for the board's USB chip. This is the single most common thing to get stuck on, and it is not a fault with the board.

CH340 drivers

Installing the driver on Windows, macOS and Linux, and what to do when the board still is not detected.
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Some USB-C cables carry power but no data. If the board lights up but never appears as a port even after installing the driver, try a different cable before assuming anything is broken.

5. Install the libraries​

Some of the later examples talk to the three Qwiic modules in the kit: the LCD, the distance sensor and the temperature sensor. Each one needs its library installed. Sections 1, 2 and 6 need none of these, so if you only want to get started you can come back to this step later.

Open Tools → Manage Libraries, then search for and install each of these. All three are published by Soldered Electronics:

LibraryNeeded byProvides
Soldered LCD4.1, 4.2, 7.1, 7.7LCD-SOLDERED.h
SHTC3 Soldered Library5.1, 7.1SHTC3-SOLDERED.h
Soldered Ultrasonic Distance Sensor Arduino library3.1, 3.2, 7.3Ultrasonic-distance-sensor-easyC-SOLDERED.h
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Watch out for the LCD library. The Library Manager also lists a separate library called 16x2 LCD Library, which drives the same display but uses a different header name and a different constructor. The examples here use Soldered LCD. If you ever see the error fatal error: LCD-SOLDERED.h: No such file or directory, you have installed the other one.

6. Check that it all works​

The quickest way to confirm the whole chain is working is to upload something tiny and watch it report back.

  1. Open File → New Sketch and replace its contents with:
void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  Serial.println("Hello from the NULA Mini!");
}

void loop() {
}
  1. Click the Upload button (the arrow in the toolbar).
  2. Open Tools → Serial Monitor.
  3. Set the baud rate dropdown at the top right of the Serial Monitor to 115200.
  4. Press the RST button on the board.

You should see Hello from the NULA Mini! appear. Every example in this documentation uses 115200, so you can leave that dropdown alone from now on.

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Nothing appears, or you see garbled characters? The baud rate is almost certainly not set to 115200. Serial output only makes sense when both ends agree on the speed.

If the upload fails​

Work through these in order. The first two account for nearly every failure:

SymptomWhat to check
No port to select in Tools → PortThe CH340 driver, then the USB cable. See step 4.
Upload starts but fails partwayClose any other program using the port, including a Serial Monitor in another window.
A fatal error occurred: Failed to connectHold USER, tap RST, then release USER. That puts the board into download mode; upload again.
Wrong board name in the error textGo back to step 3 and confirm Soldered NULA Mini ESP32C6 is the selected board.

Next​

With the environment set up, you are ready for the first example.

1.1 Hello World

Print your first message from the board to your computer.