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Getting Started​

From an unopened kit to a robot you drive across the water. This section is one path, walked in order: each step answers one question, and each step ends with something you can see working before you move on.

If you are coming back partway through — kit already built, laptop already set up — jump in at the step you need.

  • 1 · What is MARLIN?

    How the pieces fit together: your Python program, the VS Code extension, the Controller, and the robot.

  • 2 · Kit Intro

    Every part in the box, what it does, and the names the rest of the documentation uses for them.

  • 3 · Kit Build

    Assemble the starter boat: thruster floats, T Flipper, Robot Brain, and the frame that joins them.

  • 4 · Install the VSCode Extension and Python

    Set up your laptop: VS Code, Python, and the MARLIN extension that runs your programs.

  • 5 · Extension Walkthrough

    Tour the control station, connect the Controller over USB, and pair the robot brain.

  • 6 · Your First Program

    Write the smallest useful MARLIN program and watch your thruster respond to the stick.