Arduino is one of the most accessible ways to start exploring electronics and programming. In this guide we'll walk through choosing your first board, installing the IDE, and running your very first sketch.

What you'll need

• An Arduino Uno (or a compatible clone)
• A USB cable
• A few LEDs and resistors
• A breadboard and jumper wires

Your first blink

The classic "Hello World" of hardware is blinking an LED. Upload the built-in Blink example and watch the on-board LED pulse every second. Congratulations — you're now an embedded developer!

Tip: start small. A blinking LED teaches you the whole upload-compile-run loop.