A Docker image that provides a complete development environment for building Raspberry Pi Pico projects using both PicoSDK and PicoLibSDK. This container includes all necessary toolchains, libraries, and utilities required for Pico development without having to install anything locally (except Docker or Podman).

• Pre-installed Raspberry Pi Pico SDK (tag: 2.1.1)
• Pre-installed PicoLibSDK
• ARM GNU toolchain (13.2.Rel1)
• RISC-V toolchain for the second Pico RP2350 core (14)
• Build tools (cmake, make, ninja)
• Development utilities (git, vim, mc)
• Dev Container configuration for VS Code or CLion IDE
• Example projects for both PicoSDK and PicoLibSDK
• Supports both x86_64 and ARM64 architectures

• Docker or Podman installed on your system
• (Optional) Visual Studio Code with Dev Containers extension for using the devcontainer

Pull the image from Docker Hub:

docker pull ghcr.io/tvecera/picobuild:latest
# OR using Podman
podman pull ghcr.io/tvecera/picobuild:latest

Or build it locally:

docker build -t picobuild:latest .
# OR using Podman
podman build -t picobuild:latest .

The Dockerfile supports several build arguments that allow you to customize the image:

Example of building with custom arguments:

# Using Docker
docker build -t picobuild:latest \
  --build-arg PICO_SDK_TAG=2.1.1 \
  --build-arg USERNAME=developer \
  --build-arg USER_UID=1002 \
  --build-arg USER_GID=1002 \
  .
  
# Using Podman
podman build -t picobuild:latest \
  --build-arg PICO_SDK_TAG=2.1.1 \
  --build-arg USERNAME=developer \
  --build-arg USER_UID=1002 \
  --build-arg USER_GID=1002 \
  .  

The Dockerfile is optimized to support caching of the large toolchain downloads to speed up subsequent builds. To use this feature:

1. Create a toolchain-archives directory in the same location as your Dockerfile
2. Download the toolchain archives manually or let the first build download them
3. After the first successful build, the toolchain files will be available in the toolchain-archives directory
4. Subsequent builds will use these cached files instead of downloading them again

Supported toolchain files:

• ARM GCC Toolchain: arm-gnu-toolchain-13.2.rel1-x86_64-arm-none-eabi.tar.xz (for x86_64) or arm-gnu-toolchain-13.2.rel1-aarch64-arm-none-eabi.tar.xz (for ARM64)
• RISC-V Toolchain: riscv-toolchain-14-x86_64-lin.tar.gz (for x86_64) or riscv-toolchain-14-aarch64-lin.tar.gz (for ARM64)

This significantly speeds up build times and reduces bandwidth usage when working with multiple builds or CI/CD pipelines.

Using Docker:

docker run --rm --privileged \
  -v $(pwd)/example/picosdk:/workspaces/project -w /workspaces/project \
  ghcr.io/tvecera/picobuild:latest \
  sh -c "mkdir -p build && cd build && cmake .. && make clean && make -j4"

Using Podman:

podman run --rm --privileged \
  -v $(pwd)/example/picosdk:/workspaces/project -w /workspaces/project \
  ghcr.io/tvecera/picobuild:latest \
  sh -c "mkdir -p build && cd build && cmake .. && make clean && make -j4"

Using Docker:

docker run --rm --privileged \
  -v $(pwd)/example/picolibsdk:/workspaces/project -w /workspaces/project \
  ghcr.io/tvecera/picobuild:latest \
  sh -c "/workspaces/project/c.sh pico"

Using Podman:

podman run --rm --privileged \
  -v $(pwd)/example/picolibsdk:/workspaces/project -w /workspaces/project \
  ghcr.io/tvecera/picobuild:latest \
  sh -c "/workspaces/project/c.sh pico"

1. Install the "Remote - Containers" extension in VS Code
2. Clone this repository
3. Open the repository in VS Code
4. When prompted, click "Reopen in Container" or use the command palette and select "Remote-Containers: Reopen in Container"
5. VS Code will build the container and set up the development environment

.
├── .devcontainer/         # Dev Container configuration
├── example/
│   ├── picosdk/           # Example PicoSDK project
│   └── picolibsdk/        # Example PicoLibSDK project
├── toolchain-archives/    # Optional folder for caching toolchain downloads
├── Dockerfile             # Docker image definition
└── README.md              # This file

The Docker image provides the following components:

• PicoSDK Path: /opt/pico-sdk (version 2.1.1)
• PicoLibSDK Path: /opt/PicoLibSDK (version 2.07)
• ARM Toolchain: /opt/arm-gcc
  • For x86_64: arm-gnu-toolchain-13.2.rel1-x86_64-arm-none-eabi
  • For ARM64: arm-gnu-toolchain-13.2.rel1-aarch64-arm-none-eabi
• RISC-V Toolchain: /opt/riscv-gcc
  • For x86_64: riscv-toolchain-14-x86_64-lin
  • For ARM64: riscv-toolchain-14-aarch64-lin

The environment is pre-configured with all necessary environment variables, including PICO_SDK_PATH.

The following tools are included in the Docker image:

• CMake
• Make
• Ninja
• Git
• Vim
• Midnight Commander (mc)
• picotool
• elf2uf2
• LoaderCrc

You can modify the Dockerfile to customize the environment:

• Change SDK versions by modifying the ARG variables at the top
• Add additional development tools by extending the apt-get install section
• Install additional Python packages if needed

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

• Raspberry Pi Pico SDK
• PicoLibSDK