If you haven't assembled your Metro or Metro Express, Half-Sized Breadboard and Mounting Plate yet, click here for instructions
You'll need an Adafruit Metro or Metro Express.
If you did not purchase the Metro Experimenter's Kit, you might want to purchase a Half-size Breadboard and the Plastic mounting plate for the breadboard. It holds everything you need to experiment with small circuits nicely and keeps everything organized.
USB Micro Cable
I can't stress it enough. Make sure you have a good USB cable. Naughty USB cables will really ruin your day, like a stone in your shoe. Throw out bad cables and replace them with a good one - they are designed to be disposable!
If you have a Metro, these next steps will get you set up with the Arduino environment. If you're not sure what board you have, click here.
Connect your USB Micro cable to the USB Port of the Metro. The On LED should turn a solid green and remain on.
Next you'll want to check if your Metro is programmed with the Arduino bootloader, which is required for use.
While plugged into power (make sure the On LED is turned on), quickly press the Reset button. You'll see it quickly flash three times. It happens really fast so don't worry if you can't see all three flashes.
This is the free application you'll use to write programs and talk to your Metro. There are instructions below for installation in most operating systems (and browser for Chromebook users running CodeBender!).
Click the button above to go to the official software page (https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software) and you'll see a box that looks like this:
