Software Prerequisites

Before you can build the firmware or run the monitor application, you need to install several software tools. This page covers everything for both parts of the project. Install them in the order listed.

For the Firmware

PlatformIO

PlatformIO manages compilers, board support packages, and library dependencies for the ESP32 firmware. You can install it in one of two ways:

Option A: VS Code Extension (recommended)

1. Install Visual Studio Code.
2. Open the Extensions panel (click the square icon in the sidebar or press Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X).
3. Search for “PlatformIO IDE” and click Install.
4. Restart VS Code when prompted.

Option B: Command-line installation

pip install platformio

Verify the installation:

pio --version

Git

You need Git to clone the firmware repository. It is likely already installed on your system. Check with:

git --version

If not installed:

• macOS: xcode-select --install
• Windows: Download from git-scm.com
• Linux: sudo apt install git (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo dnf install git (Fedora)

For the Monitor Application

The monitor application has its own set of prerequisites. If you only want to build and run the firmware, you can skip this section and come back later.

Rust

Rust is the programming language used for the monitor’s backend. Install it with the official installer:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

After installation, restart your terminal and verify:

rustc --version

On Windows, download and run the installer from rustup.rs.

Bun

Bun is a JavaScript runtime and package manager used for the monitor’s frontend. It is similar to Node.js and npm but faster. Install it with:

curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash

Verify the installation:

bun --version

On Windows, use:

powershell -c "irm bun.sh/install.ps1|iex"

Tauri System Dependencies

Tauri requires platform-specific system libraries to build native desktop applications.

macOS:

xcode-select --install

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):

sudo apt update
sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev build-essential curl wget file \
  libxdo-dev libssl-dev libayatana-appindicator3-dev librsvg2-dev

Windows:

Install the Microsoft C++ Build Tools and ensure the “Desktop development with C++” workload is selected.

For detailed platform-specific instructions, refer to the official Tauri prerequisites guide.

Summary

Here is a quick checklist of what you need installed:

Tool	Needed For	Verify With
VS Code + PlatformIO (or pio CLI)	Firmware	pio --version
Git	Both	git --version
Rust (rustc, cargo)	Monitor app	rustc --version
Bun	Monitor app	bun --version
Tauri system dependencies	Monitor app	(platform-specific)

Next Step

With your tools installed, move on to the Hardware section to learn about the development board and sensors before assembling your nodes.