Adding Custom Boards to Arduino IDE

Version 1.6.4 of Arduino IDE introduced official support for adding third party arduino compatible boards to the Arduino Board Manager. This support of addition is a great news, because it allows users to quickly add custom boards with just one click.

Thanks to the hard work of Federico Fissore and the Arduino developer community, we can now add new boards just as easily using officially supported methods. Let's get started

Step 1: Arduino IDE Setup

The first thing you will need to do is to download the latest version of the Arduino IDE. You will need version 1.8 or higher for this guide

ARDUINO IDE SETUP

After you have downloaded and installed the latest version of Arduino IDE, you will need to start the IDE.

Step 2: Adding JSON Url

When ever you want to add any third party arduino compatible boards to arduino IDE. you will be given a JSON url just copy paste that url to Arduino prefrences. In this guide i am using JSON for Surilli boards (made by Silverback)

Start Arduino and open the Preferences window (File > Preferences).Now copy and paste the following URL into the 'Additional Boards Manager URLs' input field

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mumair1k992/Silverback_Boards/master/package_surilli.io_index.json

If there is already a URL from another manufacturer in that field, click the button at the right end of the field. This will open an editing window allowing you to paste the above URL onto a new line.

Step 3: Installing Boards

AVR and ESP Installation Instructions

Open the Boards Manager window by selecting Tools > Board, scroll to the top of the board list, and select Boards Manager.

If you type "surilli" (without quotes) into the search field, you will see options to install Surilli AVR and ESP board files. Click the "Install" button that appears. Once installed, the boards will appear at the bottom of the board list.

SAMD Installation Instructions

When installing SAMD boards, you will need to first install Arduino SAMD support, then Surilli SAMD boards. Open the Boards Manager window by selecting Tools > Board, scroll to the top of the board list, and select Boards Manager. Now type "samd" (without quotes) into the search field at the top of the window. Two entries should show up, one for Arduino SAMD boards, and one for Surilli SAMD boards. We'll install both of these, starting with Arduino SAMD boards. Click anywhere in the "Arduino SAMD Boards" and click "Install". This is a large installation and will take a while.

Now click anywhere in the "Surilli SAMD Boards" and click "Install". This is a small installation and will happen much faster.

You're now ready to use Surlli SAMD boards. They will appear at the bottom of the board list.