Packs vs. DFPs

Last modified by Microchip on 2024/06/24 06:34

Types of Packs

There are three types of packs in MPLAB® X Integrated Development Environment (IDE):

  • Device Family Packs (DFPs) - Contains support files for microcontroller devices. Each DFP will contain the support files for a group of related devices known as a family and will bear the same name as that family. Provided by Microchip.
  • Tool Packs - Contains support files for development tools, such as ICD4 and MPLAB PICkit™ 4 In-Circuit Debugger/Programmer. Provided by Microchip.
  • CMSIS Packs - Contains support files for Arm® cores. Provided by Arm. For more information, visit the ARM-software/CMSIS_5 repository. 

Packs Manager

All three pack types should be installed in your MPLAB X Toolchain depending on what devices and tools you are using in your project. You can easily view and update these packs via the Pack Manager window (Tools > Packs).

packs manager open

The three pack types can all be inspected within the Pack Manager window:

Pack manager window