Skip to content
Robot On-Ramp
Start

Install WPILib

This is the real toolchain: the one that builds code for an actual robot. You need it from week 4 onward.

You do not need this to start

On-Ramp runs in your browser — the missions, the compiler and the simulator all work with nothing installed. Do this on a laptop, before the week 4 session, when you have half an hour and decent wifi.
WPILib downloadsOfficial install guide
  1. 1

    Check your laptop is supported

    WPILib supports 64-bit Windows 11, recent macOS (Intel or Apple silicon), and 64-bit Ubuntu or Debian. The exact versions change every season, so check the list on the installation page before you download anything.

  2. 2

    Download the installer

    It comes from the WPILib releases page on GitHub. Scroll to Downloads and pick the file for your operating system. It is a big download — start it before the session, not during it.

  3. 3

    Open the file

    Windows: right-click the .iso and choose Mount, then run WPILibInstaller.exe. macOS: double-click the .dmg, then open WPILibInstaller. Linux: extract the .tar.gz and run it from a terminal, because the file explorer will not launch it.

    Linux only
    tar -xf WPILib_Linux-<version>.tar.gzcd WPILib_Linux-<version>/./WPILibInstaller
  4. 4

    Press Start, then choose Everything

    Everything installs VS Code, the extensions, the JDK and the tools. Tools Only skips the part you need. Then pick Install for this User — it does not need an administrator password.

  5. 5

    Let it download VS Code

    Choose Download for this computer only. It is about 300MB, so on school wifi this is the slow step. WPILib installs its own copy of VS Code on purpose; it does not touch one you already have.

  6. 6

    Finish, then find the right VS Code

    On macOS, drag the WPILib VS Code to your dock and eject the installer image. Launch the copy with the year in its name — WPILib VS Code 2026, for example — not your normal VS Code. Only that one has the WPILib commands.

  7. 7

    Check it worked

    Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS) and type WPILib. If you see WPILib: Create a new project, you are done.

When it goes wrong

“Windows protected your PC”
Click More info, then Run anyway. Windows says this about any installer it has not seen before.
macOS says the app was downloaded from the internet
Choose Open. If you installed WPILib before, eject the old WPILibInstaller image from your desktop first — the new one will not mount over it.
The WPILib commands are missing from the command palette
You opened the wrong VS Code. Quit it and launch the one with the year in its name.
Nothing happens when you double-click the Linux installer
Ubuntu treats it as a shared library rather than a program. Run ./WPILibInstaller from a terminal instead.
You already have last year's WPILib
Leave it. Each season installs into its own folder and they do not collide, so there is nothing to uninstall first.

Still stuck after two tries? Post in the team channel with: what you were trying to do, what you expected, what actually happened, and what you already tried. That is a good question, and it gets answered fast.