Software Arsenal
The official and community tools every maker uses — Imager, Connect, raspi-config, rpicam-apps, Picamera2, gpiozero, Thonny, MicroPython, Pico SDK, Node-RED, Docker and more, with commands and videos.
Setup & access
Raspberry Pi Imager
The official tool to write an operating system to a microSD card or SSD, with Wi-Fi, user and SSH set up before first boot.
▶ Windows · macOS · Linux →Raspberry Pi Connect
Free official service to reach your Pi's desktop or a remote shell from any web browser, without port forwarding.
▶ Raspberry Pi OS →raspi-config
The built-in configuration menu: enable I2C, SPI, serial, SSH and the camera, set boot options, locale and more.
Raspberry Pi OS →Hardware & camera
rpicam-apps
The official command-line camera tools for Camera Module 3, HQ Camera and more: previews, photos, video and time-lapse.
Raspberry Pi OS →Picamera2
The official Python library for Raspberry Pi cameras — capture frames for OpenCV, AI and custom apps.
Raspberry Pi OS →gpiozero
The friendliest way to control LEDs, buttons, motors, sensors and robots from Python. Pre-installed on Raspberry Pi OS.
Raspberry Pi OS →pinctrl & vcgencmd
Built-in diagnostic commands: read and set GPIO pins from the terminal, check temperature, clocks and power problems.
Raspberry Pi OS →Coding
Thonny
Beginner-friendly Python editor with a debugger and one-click MicroPython support for the Pico. Pre-installed on the desktop.
Windows · macOS · Linux →VS Code + Remote SSH
Edit files and run code on your Pi from the comfort of your laptop's editor, with a terminal and debugger.
Windows · macOS · Linux →Git & GitHub
Version control: save every working version of your project, undo mistakes and back up code to GitHub.
All →Microcontrollers
MicroPython + mpremote
Python for microcontrollers. mpremote copies files, opens a REPL and runs scripts on a Pico or ESP32 from the terminal.
All →CircuitPython + circup
Adafruit's beginner-friendly Python for microcontrollers: the board appears as a USB drive and code reloads on save.
All →Arduino IDE 2
Program Arduino boards, the Raspberry Pi Pico and ESP32 in C++ with thousands of libraries.
Windows · macOS · Linux →Pico SDK + VS Code extension
The official C/C++ toolkit for Pico and Pico 2. The Raspberry Pi Pico extension for VS Code installs the SDK and toolchain for you.
Windows · macOS · Linux →Debug Probe + OpenOCD
Step through Pico firmware line by line with breakpoints using the official Debug Probe over SWD.
Windows · macOS · Linux →Servers & automation
Node-RED
Visual programming for IoT: drag and connect blocks to wire sensors, MQTT, APIs and dashboards without much code.
Raspberry Pi OS →Docker + Portainer
Run self-hosted apps in containers and manage them from a web interface.
Raspberry Pi OS →Pi-Apps
A community app store for Raspberry Pi OS with one-click installs for hundreds of apps that are tricky to set up by hand.
Raspberry Pi OS →