Requirements for Installing MPLAB® X IDE

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

System Requirements for MPLAB® X IDE

These are the minimum and recommended system requirements for installing the latest version of the MPLAB® X Integrated Development Environment (IDE).  We have endeavored to include the requirements for each operating system currently supported by MPLAB X IDE.

Note: MPLAB X IDE v5.40 (and later) are 64-bit applications so 64-bit operating systems are required for using MPLAB X IDE.

To Find the Installation Requirements for the Latest Version

Installation requirements, as well as other installation issues, are specified in the “Release Notes for MPLAB X IDE.”  To view this file before installation, go to the MPLAB X IDE webpage and download “MPLAB X IDE Release Notes”.

To view this file after installation, either:

  • Go to the docs folder of the MPLAB X IDE install. 
  • Launch the IDE and select Help > Release Notes

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Minimum Configuration (64-bit)

PlatformProcessorMemoryDisk Space*
Windows® 10 ProfessionalIntel® Core™ i5 or equivalent4 GB10 GB
Ubuntu® 16.04Intel Core i5 or equivalent4 GB10 GB
macOS® 10.11 El CapitanIntel Core Duo or Intel Core 2 Duo4 GB10 GB

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Recommended Configuration (64-bit)

PlatformProcessorMemoryDisk Space*
Microsoft Windows 10 ProfessionalIntel Core i7 or equivalent8 GB10 GB
Ubuntu 18.04Intel Core i5 or equivalent4 GB10 GB
macOS 10.15 CatalinaIntel Core Duo or Intel Core 2 Duo4 GB10 GB

* This is for a full install. Less space would be required if only selecting 8-, 16- or 32-bit MCU architectures.

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Other Configurations

MPLAB X IDE may run on various other Linux® distributions.

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Unsupported Configurations

  • MPLAB X IDE does not support Virtual Machines
  • Remote USB plug-in using Virtual Machines is not supported
  • Apple® Arm® Core

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Change in Toolchain Install

The MPASM™ assembler toolchain will no longer be installed with MPLAB X IDE, starting with v5.40. This means the toolchain will not be available by default when the IDE is installed for the first time. Therefore, you will see a message on opening the IDE that there is not a toolchain installed.

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Supported Compilers and Assemblers

CompilerToolchainEarliest Compatible Version
MPLAB XC8XC81.0 and later
MPLAB XC16XC161.0 and later
MPLAB XC32XC321.0 and later
PIC® Assembler1XC81.0 and later

1. See "MPASM™ to MPLAB® XC8 PIC® Assembler Migration Guide".

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Oracle® Java Platform and Operating System Information

Attention

OpenJDK is now being used for MPLAB X IDE 5.40 and later.

In order to align with industry standards and to continue to provide you with the best experience when using MPLAB X IDE, we will be making the following changes to the IDE:

  • A license-free version of Java will be distributed with MPLAB X IDE starting in version 5.40. MPLAB X IDE versions up to and including 5.35 will use the last free Java Run-Time Environment (JRE) version 8 from Oracle®.

Note:  No Oracle JRE license will be required to use any version of MPLAB X IDE.

  • Operating system support for Windows, macOS, and Linux will move to 64-bit only starting with MPLAB X IDE version 5.40. Product support releases will be delivered independently from MPLAB X IDE starting in version 5.00 by moving to a Device File Pack (DFP) system. A DFP can be applied to MPLAB X IDE version 5.30 or 5.35 to extend the life of the IDE for 32-bit operating systems. Not all new devices added by a DFP are guaranteed to work in these versions of the IDE.
  • For more information on Device File Packs please refer to section 6.1 of the MPLAB X IDE User's Guide.

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