Installation

Kog's entire toolchain installs through npm. You do not need ESP-IDF, CMake, a C compiler, Python, or Homebrew — not to develop, not to flash.

Requirements

• Node.js 20 or 22 (LTS). Kog pins to LTS lines so that prebuilt native bindings always exist for your platform. If you're on another version, kog doctor will tell you exactly what to install rather than degrading into a source compile.
• A USB data cable if you have a board (charge-only cables are the #1 support issue in embedded — they power the board but carry no data).
• No hardware? Skip straight to the simulator.

Create a project

npm create kog@latest my-app
cd my-app
npm run dev

create-kog scaffolds a complete TypeScript project (strict mode), asks which board you're targeting (or "decide later"), and downloads the desktop simulator for your OS — a few MB, prebuilt.

What gets installed

Piece	How it arrives
Compiler, CLI, component library	Ordinary npm packages
Desktop simulator	Prebuilt binary for your OS/arch, downloaded on install
Runtime firmware for your board	Prebuilt image, downloaded on first flash
Serial drivers	None needed for ESP32-S3/C3/C6 boards (native USB). Older CH340/CP210x boards need a one-time OS driver — the CLI detects this and links you.

Checking your setup

npx kog doctor

Verifies Node version, serial access, simulator binary, and (if a board is plugged in) that it can be seen. Every failure comes with the fix spelled out.