Keyboard shortcuts

Press ← or → to navigate between chapters

Press S or / to search in the book

Press ? to show this help

Press Esc to hide this help

Development Tools on Linux for FRC

This page covers core development tools used in a Linux environment for FRC: Git, lazygit, Bash, and SSH. It focuses on practical workflows you’ll use daily when building and deploying robot code.

Git: Version Control for Teams

Git helps you collaborate, review changes, and maintain a clean history.

Essential Setup

# Set your identity (one-time)
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

# Recommended: colored, helpful output
git config --global color.ui auto
git config --global init.defaultBranch main

# Optional: better logging alias
git config --global alias.lg "log --oneline --graph --decorate --all"

Daily Workflow

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/1757WestwoodRobotics/prog-docs

# Create a new feature branch
git checkout -b feature/robotpy-logging

# Stage and commit changes
git add src/tools/linux/*.md
git commit -m "docs(linux): add RoboRIO internals page"

# Rebase with latest main
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main

# Push your branch
git push -u origin feature/robotpy-logging

Reviewing Changes

# Inspect staged changes
git diff --staged

# See recent history
git lg

lazygit: TUI for Git

lazygit is a terminal UI that accelerates common Git tasks.

Installation (examples)

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S lazygit

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install lazygit

Usage

lazygit
  • Stage/unstage files, commit, rebase, resolve conflicts interactively
  • Quickly view diffs and logs without memorizing commands

Bash: Your Command-Line Companion

Bash lets you automate tasks and work efficiently.

Basics You’ll Use Often

# Navigate
pwd; ls -la; cd src/tools/linux

# Search in repository
grep -R "roborio" -n src

# Create directories & files
mkdir -p src/tools/linux
printf "# New Page\n" > src/tools/linux/new-page.md

# Permissions
chmod +x scripts/deploy.sh

Helpful Shortcuts

# Use aliases in ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
alias gs='git status'
alias gl='git lg'
alias ll='ls -alF'

SSH: Secure Remote Access

SSH connects you to the RoboRIO and other Linux machines.

Common RoboRIO Hosts

  • mDNS: roborio-TEAM-frc.local
  • USB: 172.22.11.2
  • Ethernet: 10.TE.AM.2

Useful Commands

# Open a shell on the RoboRIO
ssh [email protected]

# Copy files
scp ./robot.py [email protected]:/home/lvuser/

# Forward a local port to remote
ssh -L 8080:localhost:80 [email protected]

# Run a remote command
ssh [email protected] "systemctl status robot"

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"
ssh-copy-id [email protected]

Tips for Team Collaboration

  • Commit small, logical changes with clear messages
  • Use branches for features and fixes
  • Pull or rebase frequently to avoid large conflicts
  • Use code reviews (PRs) to maintain quality

These tools form the backbone of an efficient Linux-based FRC workflow.