# Adding Custom Boards to the Arduino v1.6.3 Board Manager ## Overview Danger: [Updated Guide for Arduino v1.6.4+](https://learn.adafruit.com/add-boards-arduino-v164) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/299/medium800/adafruit_products_Screen_Shot_2015-04-03_at_7.28.04_PM.png?1428326422) **UPDATE: ** This guide is here for posterity, and the latest guide for adding boards to version 1.6.4+ of the Arduino IDE [can be found here](../../../../add-boards-arduino-v164). If you have downloaded [v1.6.3 of the Arduino IDE](http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software), you may have noticed the addition of a feature called the _Board Manager_ that was added along with the [Library Manager](https://blog.adafruit.com/2015/04/01/adafruit-arduino-libraries-now-available-inside-arduino-1-6-2-ide/). We have been working hard on updating our boards to work with the new Manager, but the IDE doesn't currently support adding of custom boards to the list. We have a temporary workaround for that issue in the form of a [simple open source HTTP proxy](https://github.com/adafruit/adafruit-arduino-proxy) that adds the Trinket Pro and Flora boards to the _Board Manager_ list. We have also packaged other useful boards and added them to the proxy so they are easy for you to install. Here is the current list of packages: - **Adafruit AVR Boards** - Includes support for Flora & Trinket Pro. If you are looking for support for the Gemma or standard Trinket, then your best bet is to follow [this great guide by Tony DiCola](../../../../adafruit-arduino-ide-setup). We are working on adding support for the Trinket and Gemma to the Board Manager. - **ESP8266** - This adds one click install support for the [ESP8266 Arduino project](https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino) without having to download a separate copy of the Arduino IDE. - **Arduino Leonardo & Micro MIDI-USB** - This adds MIDI over USB support for the Micro and Leonardo using [the arcore project](https://github.com/rkistner/arcore). Next we'll look at how to setup your Arduino IDE to use the proxy. # Adding Custom Boards to the Arduino v1.6.3 Board Manager ## Adding the Proxy Danger: [Updated Guide for Arduino v1.6.4+](https://learn.adafruit.com/add-boards-arduino-v164) First you will need to download version 1.6.3 of the Arduino IDE. This method will only work with version 1.6.3, so please double check and make sure that is the version you are using. [Arduino v1.6.3 IDE Download](http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/OldSoftwareReleases#previous) To add the custom boards to your Arduino v1.6.3 IDE, you will need to make one change to your Arduino v1.6.3 IDE preferences. Add _apt.adafruit.com_ as the Server (HTTP) under Proxy Settings with a Port (HTTP) of _5050_ and save. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/300/medium800/adafruit_products_Screen_Shot_2015-04-03_at_8.04.54_PM.png?1428327441) Danger: You will then be able to open the _Boards Manager_ under the **Tools-\>Board** menu. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/301/medium800/adafruit_products_Screen_Shot_2015-04-03_at_8.10.22_PM.png?1428327507) Once you have opened the _Boards Manager_, you will be able to install the new packages. Select the package you wish to install, and click the _Install_ button to install it.  ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/302/medium800/adafruit_products_Screen_Shot_2015-04-03_at_8.11.50_PM.png?1428327601) Your new boards will now show up in the **Tools-\>Board** menu after installation has completed. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/303/medium800/adafruit_products_Screen_Shot_2015-04-03_at_8.13.31_PM.png?1428327679) Danger: That's it! Please let us know in the Adafruit Forums if you have any issues! # Adding Custom Boards to the Arduino v1.6.3 Board Manager ## How Does it Work? Danger: [Updated Guide for Arduino v1.6.4+](https://learn.adafruit.com/add-boards-arduino-v164) Some of you may be wondering why how this works, or why it is needed. The Arduino Board Manager makes a request to the arduino.cc servers for a file called _package\_list.json_ every time you load the Board Manager. This works very similar to the Arduino Library Manager, but unlike the Library Manager, there is currently no support for adding third party board packages. This is where [our proxy server](https://github.com/adafruit/adafruit-arduino-proxy) comes in. There is no need to download the proxy server unless you wish to server your own custom board packages. Pointing the Arduino IDE at the proxy server allows us to intercept any requests to the _package\_list.json_ file, and inject new boards into the JSON before serving it back to the IDE. This is known as a [man-in-the-middle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-in-the-middle_attack) attack. Generally man-in-the-middle attacks are used for malicious purposes, so let's refer to this as _"Adafruit-in-the-middle"_ since we are using it for friendly purposes. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/024/304/medium800/adafruit_products_proxy.jpg?1428329643) You can find our additions to the JSON file by visiting the [GitHub repo](https://github.com/adafruit/adafruit-arduino-proxy) and examining the files in the _boards_ and _packages_ directories. ## Featured Products ### Arduino - Skill badge, iron-on patch [Arduino - Skill badge, iron-on patch](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1300) Arduino! You learned how to program and use the Arduino Microcontroller board. Adafruit offers a fun and exciting "badges" of achievement for electronics, science and engineering. We believe everyone should be able to be rewarded for learning a useful skill, a badge is just one of... No Longer Stocked [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1300) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1300/guides) ### ESP8266 WiFi Module [ESP8266 WiFi Module](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2282) This interesting module is a lot of fun for hobbyists and students who are interested in experimenting with the ESP8266 WiFi chipset. We bought a bunch of these modules, updated the firmware to the much-easier-to-use v0.924 and wrote some Arduino code to grab a webpage. We do not... No Longer Stocked [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2282) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2282/guides) ## Related Guides - [Arduino Lesson 6. 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