Quick start guide for SimulIDE as an Arduino simulator

The idea behind this tutorial is to show how to install SimulIDE to run codes for an Arduino Uno board. Screenshots below were taken from a Windows machine. It will be the same thing for Unix-based systems (tested on Ubuntu). Some comments for the Mac port at the end (but it works!)

Downloading tools

• SimulIDE : Last Stable Version (0.4.15). For Linux, please prefer the Linux64 archive.
• Arduino. Legacy IDE (1.8.X). Download the Windows ZIP file or the Linux 64 bits archive.

Note : for Ubuntu/Debian derivatives, you should install a few libraries to make SimulIDE working:

1

sudo apt-get install libqt5core5a libqt5gui5 libqt5xml5 libqt5svg5 libqt5widgets5 libqt5concurrent5 libqt5multimedia5 libqt5multimedia5-plugins libqt5serialport5 libqt5script5 libelf1

Extract softwares in a directory. You should get something similar to this:

Example: blinking LEDs on an Arduino Uno

In order to execute SimulIDE, run the executable at: <simulide_dir>/bin (on Windows)

Here is the main interface :

Schematic settings (red rectangle)

Code editor settings (blue rectangle)

Open the LED fadding example (<simulide_dir>/share/simulide/examples/Arduino/ledFadding)

• .simu file for the schematic.
• .ino file for the code.

Compiler configuration

Right click on the ledFadding.ino and click Set Compiler Path. Select the directory where you have the Arduino executable (./simul_ide/arduino-1.8.12 in the screenshot below).

Now you should be able to compile and upload your code!

Now, just click on the red button in the upper left toolbar:

Hint: if you need a serial monitor, right click on the Arduino and select Open Serial Monitor.

Hint: if you need something like a real-time monitor, right click on the Arduino and select Open MCU Monitor. You’ll be able to check register contents in real-time when the simulation is running !

Alternative compiler configuration

Sometimes, compiler settings are a bit painful. It may be easier to compile the binary in the default Arduino IDE and export the HEX file to be loaded in the simulator.

• Compile the binary in the Arduino editor. Then click on Sketch => Export compiled binary.
• Then, right click on the Arduino in SimulIDE and select Load firmware and look for the *.hex file just compiled close to the Arduino project file.