Portable Arduino IDE

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FYI

Portable Arduino IDE

Using arduino 2.1.1 as portable on usb drive or on some other computer

The problem installing 2.1.1 as portable is that it does not allow ‘portable’ directory as arduino 1.X.X allows.
Either one can use arduino-cli software to tweak or a simpler, cruder method as explained below.

  1. Extract the arduino 2.2.2 installation zip into a folder where you desire in your pc
  2. Now invoke the Arduino application. It will copy all the files in the folder and also create a “Arduino15” folder in your system’s Appdata folder at
    “C:\Users%username%\Appdata\Local” and create a .arduino folder in the “C:\Users%username%”
  3. Quit the application and cut the “C:\Users%username%\Appdata\Local\Arduino15” folder and paste it inside the folder where you have extracted the Arduino 2.1.1 zip.
  4. Now go to the C:\Users%username%.arduino folder and find the “arduino-cli-yaml” file which is the config file. Open it in notepad and then edit the following lines as below and save

directories:
builtin:
libraries: %Your portable folder path%\Arduino15\libraries
data: %Your portable folder path%\Arduino15
downloads: %Your portable folder path%\Arduino15\staging
user: Path where you want your sketchbook to reside. (You can change it at your will, later in preferences menu of the application)

  1. Save a copy of arduino-cli-yaml in the portable folder for reference.
  2. Now invoke the application from the portable folder. Hereafter it will now save all the libraries, packages, board info in the Arduino15 folder of the installed folder.
  3. Now we can copy the portable installation folder to a pen drive and take it to another system.
  4. On invoking the application in the new system with the portable drive, a new arduino-cli.yaml file will be created accordingly in .arduino folder in the “C:\Users%username%” of that system.
  5. Now close the application and edit the new arduino-cli.yaml with your new %Your portable folder path% as above

Of course, any usb port driver need be installed in the new system. (Eg.) Arduino board will install cp340 automatically on connecting the board. A Nodemcu board may require a CP2102 driver to be installed and so on depending on the board used.