The terminal is for commands you want to run yourself. Setup & Diagnostics is for understanding whether Embedr's managed tooling is ready.
Project terminal
Open the Terminal tab in the bottom panel. It starts in the project context, so commands run against the current project folder.
Use it for:
- Git commands,
- quick file inspection,
- running
embedrCLI commands, - checking PlatformIO state,
- invoking vendor tools,
- following instructions from a library README.
Do not run destructive commands unless you know what they will delete. When in doubt, ask the agent to explain the command first.
Multiple sessions
The terminal manager supports multiple sessions. Use separate sessions for long-running output and quick one-off commands.
For example:
- session 1: monitor or build logs,
- session 2: Git status and file inspection.
Add terminal output to chat
Select text in the terminal and add it to chat when you want the agent to reason from exact output.
This is better than paraphrasing:
It says some Python thing failed.
Send the actual error instead.
Managed Embedr runtime
Packaged builds include a managed Embedr CLI runtime. It contains the Python entry point and PlatformIO integration needed for common firmware commands.
The app resolves the runtime automatically. In development builds, the runtime may come from a local resources/embedr-runtime folder or from EMBEDR_CLI_BIN if you override it.
PCB runtime
PCB and schematic workflows use a separate managed pcb runtime when available. It is resolved similarly and exposed through the app and CLI.
If PCB features show unavailable runtime status, check Setup & Diagnostics and the PCB workspace status panel.
Setup & Diagnostics
Open it with the wrench icon when a target, device, or runtime does not look right. It shows the practical state needed to debug setup:
- active toolchain id and name,
- runtime command path,
- runtime root,
- launcher path,
- PlatformIO version,
- connected devices,
- target defaults,
- context-aware troubleshooting hints.
Use Copy Diagnostics when another engineer needs the exact setup context.
Common setup signals
| Signal | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Toolchain ready | The managed CLI resolved and basic probes passed. |
| Targets unavailable | Board registry or CLI target listing failed. |
| No devices detected | No serial-capable device is visible to the runtime. |
| Runtime root missing | The packaged runtime was not found where the app expected it. |
| PlatformIO unknown | The runtime is present but the version probe did not return a normal version. |
Useful CLI checks
Run these in Terminal:
embedr --version
embedr boards --limit 10
embedr devices
embedr compile
If these work in Terminal but the toolbar fails, the issue is likely UI selection or project state. If they fail in Terminal too, the issue is likely toolchain, project config, or environment.
When not to use the terminal
Use app controls when you want the app to preserve state:
- select Target in the toolbar,
- select Device in the toolbar,
- use Project Dependencies for libraries,
- use Version Control for reviewable diff workflows.
Use terminal commands when you need lower-level control or a command the UI does not expose yet.