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Before you can build Marlin for your machine you'll need a configuration for your specific hardware. Upon request, your vendor will be happy to provide you with the complete source code and configurations for your machine, but you'll need to get updated configuration files if you want to install a newer version of Marlin. Fortunately, Marlin users have contributed dozens of tested configurations to get you started. Visit the [MarlinFirmware/Configurations](https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Configurations) repository to find the right configuration for your hardware.
- The free [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/download) using the [Auto Build Marlin](https://marlinfw.org/docs/basics/auto_build_marlin.html) extension.
- The free [Arduino IDE](https://www.arduino.cc/en/main/software) : See [Building Marlin with Arduino](https://marlinfw.org/docs/basics/install_arduino.html)
Marlin is optimized to build with the **PlatformIO IDE** extension for **Visual Studio Code**. You can still build Marlin with **Arduino IDE**, and we hope to improve the Arduino build experience, but at this time PlatformIO is the better choice.
Marlin includes an abstraction layer to provide a common API for all the platforms it targets. This allows Marlin code to address the details of motion and user interface tasks at the lowest and highest levels with no system overhead, tying all events directly to the hardware clock.
Every new HAL opens up a world of hardware. At this time we need HALs for RP2040 and the Duet3D family of boards. A HAL that wraps an RTOS is an interesting concept we would can explore. Did you know that Marlin includes a Simulator that can run on Windows, macOS, and Linux? Join the Discord to help move these sub-projects forward!
## 8-Bit AVR Boards
A core tenet of this project is to keep supporting 8-bit AVR boards while also maintaining a single codebase that applies equally to all machines. We want casual hobbyists to benefit from the community's innovations as much as possible just as much as those with fancier machines. Plus, those old AVR-based machines are often the best for your testing and feedback!
Proposed patches should be submitted as a Pull Request against the ([bugfix-2.1.x](https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/tree/bugfix-2.1.x)) branch.
- Follow the [Coding Standards](https://marlinfw.org/docs/development/coding_standards.html) to gain points with the maintainers.
- Please submit Feature Requests and Bug Reports to the [Issue Queue](https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/issues/new/choose). Support resources are also listed there.
- Whenever you add new features, be sure to add tests to `buildroot/tests` and then run your tests locally, if possible.
- It's optional: Running allthe tests on Windows might take a long time, and they will run anyway on GitHub.
- If you're running the tests on Linux (or on WSL with the code on a Linux volume) the speed is much faster.
- You can use `make tests-all-local` or `make tests-single-local TEST_TARGET=...`.
- If you prefer Docker you can use `make tests-all-local-docker` or `make tests-all-local-docker TEST_TARGET=...`.
The Issue Queue is reserved for Bug Reports and Feature Requests. To get help with configuration and troubleshooting, please use the following resources:
Marlin is constantly improving thanks to a huge number of contributors from all over the world bringing their specialties and talents. Huge thanks are due to [all the contributors](https://github.com/MarlinFirmware/Marlin/graphs/contributors) who regularly patch up bugs, help direct traffic, and basically keep Marlin from falling apart. Marlin's continued existence would not be possible without them.
Regular users can open and close their own issues, but only the administrators can do project-related things like add labels, merge changes, set milestones, and kick trolls. The current Marlin admin team consists of:
Marlin is published under the [GPL license](/LICENSE) because we believe in open development. The GPL comes with both rights and obligations. Whether you use Marlin firmware as the driver for your open or closed-source product, you must keep Marlin open, and you must provide your compatible Marlin source code to end users upon request. The most straightforward way to comply with the Marlin license is to make a fork of Marlin on Github, perform your modifications, and direct users to your modified fork.
While we can't prevent the use of this code in products (3D printers, CNC, etc.) that are closed source or crippled by a patent, we would prefer that you choose another firmware or, better yet, make your own.
