Reference Manual

Arduino® Portenta X8
14 / 20 Arduino® Portenta X8 Modified: 07/12/2022
16 Board Operation
16.1 Getting Started - IDE
If you want to program your Arduino® Portenta X8 while offline you need to install the Arduino® Desktop IDE [1] To connect the
Arduino® Portenta X8 control to your computer, you’ll need a Type-C® USB cable. This also provides power to the board, as
indicated by the LED.
16.2 Getting Started - Arduino Web Editor
All Arduino® boards, including this one, work out-of-the-box on the Arduino® Web Editor [2], by just installing a simple plugin.
The Arduino® Web Editor is hosted online, therefore it will always be up-to-date with the latest features and support for all
boards. Follow [3] to start coding on the browser and upload your sketches onto your board.
16.3 Getting Started - Arduino IoT Cloud
All Arduino® IoT enabled products are supported on Arduino® IoT Cloud which allows you to Log, graph and analyze sensor data,
trigger events, and automate your home or business.
16.4 Sample Sketches
Sample sketches for the Arduino® Portenta X8 can be found either in the “Examples” menu in the Arduino® IDE or in the
“Documentation” section of the Arduino Pro website [4]
16.5 Online Resources
Now that you have gone through the basics of what you can do with the board you can explore the endless possibilities it
provides by checking exciting projects on ProjectHub [5], the Arduino® Library Reference [6] and the online store [7] where you
will be able to complement your board with sensors, actuators and more.
16.6 Board Recovery
All Arduino boards have a built-in bootloader which allows flashing the board via USB. In case a sketch locks up the processor and
the board is not reachable anymore via USB it is possible to enter bootloader mode by configuring DIP switches.
Note: A compatible carrier board with DIP switches (e.g. Portenta Max Carrier or Portenta Breakout) is required to enable
bootloader mode. It cannot be enabled with the Portenta X8 alone.