This article is intended to help answer frequently asked questions about using Maker Toolkit!

What is the Maker Toolkit?

Maker Toolkit is an add-on on top of App Lab, our block-to-text app development environment. Maker Toolkit provides a special set of commands that allow student apps to communicate with external hardware. Maker Toolkit is currently optimized to work with the Adafruit Circuit Playground and the BBC micro:bit. The CS Discoveries Physical Computing unit and the Creating Apps with Devices unit both involve the use of these boards.

What is the Adafruit Circuit Playground?

The Circuit Playground is a small microcontroller board based on the popular Arduino platform, with LEDs, buttons, and sensors built in. You can read more about it on our Circuit Playground page here.

What is the BBC micro:bit?

The micro:bit is a circuit board designed by the BBC with various sensors (such as an accelerometer) and components, including a five-by-five array of programmable LEDs. You can learn more about it on our micro:bit page here.

Both of these boards enable students to get up and running quickly with physical computing without many of the traditional barriers to entry.

What are the software requirements for Maker Toolkit?

Note: The Maker App is now deprecated and no longer supported. Boards now connect directly through the browser, so no app is needed to access the Maker Toolkit. Click here to learn more.

Maker Toolkit connects to Circuit Playground or micro:bit directly through the browser, so no software needs to be installed. All versions of Google Chrome (for PC, Mac, and Chromebooks) and Microsoft Edge released since March 2021 directly support the connection to boards.

How do I set up Maker Toolkit on my computer?

When you click “Run” in a level that uses a board, it will prompt you to select a board to connect to. Pick the board you want to connect to from the list and click “Connect”. This will show a small icon in the title tab to indicate you are connected.

 

How do I enable Maker Toolkit in App Lab?

Maker Toolkit should already be enabled on relevant Code.org lessons. To enable it within a standalone App Lab project, follow these steps:

1. Go to the App Lab project you want to use or create a new one.
2. Click on the settings gear icon on the purple Toolbox header:
   
3. Click "Enable Maker Toolkit."
   
4. Click "Enable" in the warning dialog that pops up:
    

If you decide that you want to disable Maker Toolkit, follow steps 2-3 above (except that the menu will say "Disable Maker Toolkit" instead).

Troubleshooting

For information regarding common issues with the micro:bit, please visit this article on installing micro:bit software.

Many issues connecting the Circuit Playground can be solved by updating the firmware - instructions are available at https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-circuit-playground-express/code-org-csd

If you’re having trouble connecting to a board or you’re not being prompted to select a board when you click the “Run” button, follow these steps to get more in-depth information on the board connection:

1. Navigate to https://studio.code.org/maker/setup
2. Click the “Connect to Board” button, select the board you want to connect, and click Connect.

The page will then run a test of connection tests. If any of them fail, it should provide you with guidance on how to remedy the problem. If you’re not sure what to do, please contact support@code.org with a screenshot of the error messages you encountered.

One issue may be that your browser’s security settings are blocking connections to serial devices like the Circuit Playground. 

For Google Chrome

1. Click on the vertical dot menu in the upper righthand corner to open Chrome Settings
2. Select the “Privacy and Security” section on the left, scroll to the bottom and select the “Site Settings” page.
3. Under the “Additional permissions” section and click on the “Serial ports” option. 
4. Ensure that the “Sites can ask to connect to serial ports” option is selected. You may need to contact your IT administrator to enable this option.

Once you have successfully connected a board to App Lab, a “Circuit Playground” or "micro:bit"  section will appear on this page, with an entry for “https://studio.code.org”, indicating that Google Chrome has successfully granted access to App Lab to connect to the board.

For Microsoft Edge

1. Click on the horizontal dot menu in the upper righthand corner to open Edge Settings
2. Select the “Cookies and site permissions” section on the left, scroll to the bottom and click on the “Serial ports” option. 
3. Ensure that the “Ask when a site wants to access serial ports” option is selected. You may need to contact your IT administrator to enable this option.

Once you have successfully connected a board to App Lab, a “Circuit Playground” or "micro:bit" section will appear on this page, with an entry for “https://studio.code.org”, indicating that Google Chrome has successfully granted access to App Lab to connect to the board.

 

You can find the streamlined instructions to set up Maker Toolkit for your browser on the Maker Toolkit setup page. We have also provided the instructions below.

Windows / Mac OS Using Chrome or Edge Browsers:

The Circuit Playground can connect directly to computers using Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge browsers released after 2021.

1. Connect your circuit playground to your computer
2. Press the “Connect to Board” button below
3. A window should pop up with a row that says “Circuit Playground” or "micro:bit". Select that row, then click Connect.
4. The circuit playground should beep and you should see several green checkmarks below

If you have any issues, please refer to our WebSerial Support Article.

Chrome OS v90 and above on Chromebooks:

The Circuit Playground can connect directly to these Chromebooks without any additional software.

1. Connect your circuit playground to your computer
2. Press the “Connect to Board” button below
3. A window should pop up with a row that says “Circuit Playground” or "micro:bit". Select that row, then click Connect.
4. The circuit playground should beep and you should see several green checkmarks below

If you have any issues, please refer to our WebSerial Support Article.

Debugging common issues

If something seems to not be working on the App Lab webpage, try the following steps to work around issues that come up:

1. Try refreshing the App Lab webpage.
2. Try un-plugging and re-plugging the board, and refreshing the webpage.
3. Double check that you followed all of the computer setup steps.
4. Visit the Maker Toolkit setup page and make sure all the steps are lighting up as green (e.g. your board is showing up as connectable).
5. Try updating the board firmware. Instructions for the Circuit Playground are at https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-circuit-playground-express/code-org-csd. Instructions for the micro:bit can be found on our support article on installing micro:bit software.
6. Check the list of common mistakes below.

Here are a list of common mistakes that lead to issues with connecting to Maker Toolkit:

1. Having trouble connecting or having your board detected in the Maker App? Revisit the maker Setup page, and the 4-step connection test process (with up to 4 possible green checkmarks vs. red X's) 
   
   • If the first checkmark is green, but “Board plugged in” is red: they have a connection issue between the board and their computer. Try a different USB port, different USB cable, or different Circuit Playground board, or all of the above if possible.
   • If the first two checkmarks are green, but “Board connectable” is red: we’re able to identify the board, but the board isn’t responding. You will need update the board’s firmware.
     • If you have a Circuit Playground board and the back of the board says “express” anywhere, or if the CPU is clocked at 48MHz, it’s an Circuit Playground Express board. The instructions for installing firmware on an Express board are here: https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-circuit-playground-express/code-org-csd
     • If you have a Circuit Playground board, and the board does not say “express”, or otherwise mentions "Classic" or "Developer", the instructions for installing firmware on a Classic board are here: https://learn.adafruit.com/introducing-circuit-playground/set-up-test-arduino
     • If you have a micro:bit board, instructions for updating the micro:bit firmware can be found on our support article on installing micro:bit software.

If Prompted to Connect to a Serial Port

If you see this popup, it's prompting you to select a board to connect to. If you select a board from the list and click “Connect”, that browser tab will be connected to the board.

If you are still running into problems, email us at support@code.org!