💻 Laptop Setup Guide

School vs Personal Laptop

Everything you need to know about using school laptops for the competition team — and why getting your own laptop is one of the best investments you can make in your VRC career.

// Section 01
Using a School Laptop
The school laptops work for VRC programming — but there are important rules and limitations every team member needs to know before sitting down to code.
✅
What you'll have after this guide: VS Code installed, file backup configured, and a clear laptop setup protocol your whole team can follow from Day 1.
⭐
Use the competition team laptops only. The laptops marked for our competition team are set up for VRC and kept in better condition. Other classroom laptops are shared with all classes and may have software issues, slower performance, or missing tools.

Rule 1 — Log In With Your School Account First

School laptops require you to sign in with your school credentials before anything works. Without logging in, VS Code cannot save your settings or extensions properly.

⚠️
Always log in first — before opening VS Code or connecting the V5 Brain. If you skip this step, your work may not save and the PROS extension may not function correctly.
⚠️

Rule 2 — Use Only the Competition Team Laptops

Competition Team Laptops
Use These
✓Set up and maintained for VRC programming
✓VS Code available through Software Center
✓Kept clean and in good working order by team members
✓USB-A ports available for the V5 Brain cable
!VS Code must be installed via Software Center — see Section 2
Other Classroom Laptops
Avoid These
✗Shared with all classes — may have conflicting software
✗May be missing USB drivers for the V5 Brain
✗Other students may not maintain them carefully
✗Your settings and extensions may not carry over
✗Not configured for competitive robotics workflows

Rule 3 — Always Return the Laptop to the Locker

🔒
Always return school laptops to the storage locker at the end of every session. This protects them from theft and prevents accidental damage from being left on a table or knocked off a surface. A missing or damaged team laptop affects everyone.

Make it a habit: when you finish a session, plug the laptop in to charge, close it, and return it to its numbered slot. Your teammates depend on finding it ready to go next time.

What School Laptops Cannot Access

Because school laptops are managed by the district, certain websites are blocked by the network filter. This is a known limitation. Getting a personal laptop removes all of these restrictions.

Blocked
Discord
Blocked by school filter — cannot access the PROS community server for help
May Be Blocked
GitHub
Affects code sharing, version control, and EZ Template release downloads
May Be Filtered
Some VEX Resources
Third-party robotics community sites may be restricted by the network filter
Accessible
This Website
Bookmark it now — all async learning content is here
Usually Accessible
EZ Template Docs
ez-robotics.github.io — GitHub Pages are typically allowed
Usually Accessible
PROS Docs
pros.cs.purdue.edu — university domain, typically not filtered
📖
Bookmark this site right now. Press Ctrl + D (Windows) to bookmark this page. The async learning content here — setup guides, diagnostics, Mission Control — works on any device. Return to it between practice sessions to keep building your skills.
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// Section 03
Getting Your Own Laptop
A personal laptop is one of the best investments you can make in your VRC career. Here is what you can do with it that you simply cannot do on a school machine.
🏆
Serious competitors get their own laptops. Top VRC teams code at home, at competitions, and between classes. A school laptop stays at school. Your laptop goes everywhere you go — that flexibility is a real competitive advantage over the course of a season.

School Laptop vs Personal Laptop

Personal Laptop
Full Freedom
✓Access Discord — PROS community help any time
✓Access GitHub — version control, code sharing, EZ Template releases
✓Update VS Code, PROS, and extensions yourself instantly
✓Code at home, at competitions, on the bus to meets
✓Run OnShape for VEX CAD assemblies without restrictions
✓Install any VS Code extension without IT approval
✓Your project files, settings, and history persist across every session
School Laptop
Managed Environment
✗Discord blocked by school network filter
✗GitHub may be blocked or restricted
✗VS Code updates require an IT work order
✗Cannot take it home or to off-site competitions
!OnShape works but performance varies by machine
!Some extensions may require IT approval
!Files saved locally may not persist across logins

Setting Up VS Code on Your Personal Laptop

On your own machine the process is straightforward — no Software Center, no IT approval, no work orders.

1

Download VS Code directly

Go to code.visualstudio.com and download the installer for your OS (Windows, macOS, or Linux). Run the installer and accept all defaults.

2

Install the PROS extension and keep it updated

Open VS Code, go to Extensions, search PROS, and install it. On your personal laptop you can update it any time a new version releases — just click Update in the Extensions panel. No permission needed.

3

Create a GitHub account and bookmark key resources

Go to github.com and create a free account. This lets you store code online, share it with teammates, and download EZ Template releases directly. Also join the PROS Discord at discord.gg/vrc for community support.

4

Bookmark this website

Press Ctrl + D (Windows) or Cmd + D (macOS) to bookmark this site. All the async learning content — setup guides, diagnostics, Mission Control — is here and works on any device. Return between practice sessions to keep building your skills.

💡
File management tip: Create a dedicated folder for VRC projects — something like Documents/VRC/2026-27/. Back it up to GitHub or Google Drive after every practice session. Losing your code the week before a competition is a real and entirely preventable disaster.
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// Section 05
Setup Checklist
Work through the checklist for your laptop type. Your progress saves automatically. Check everything off before your first coding session.

School Laptop

Personal Laptop

Both Laptop Types

✅
All checked? You are ready to start coding. Head to the VS Code + PROS Setup Guide to create your first EZ Template project, or return to the main resource hub to choose your next guide.
⚙ STEM Highlight Technology: CPU Architecture & Performance Bottlenecks
VS Code + IntelliSense + OnShape puts three distinct workloads on your laptop simultaneously: IDE processing (text parsing, syntax highlighting, IntelliSense type checking), WebGL rendering (OnShape runs 3D CAD in the browser via GPU acceleration), and build toolchain (C++ compilation). Each has different bottlenecks: IntelliSense is RAM-intensive, WebGL is GPU-intensive, compilation is CPU-intensive. This is why a laptop that runs Word fine can struggle with robotics software — those workloads never stress GPU or RAM simultaneously.
🎤 Interview line: “Our laptop recommendations are based on understanding which workloads stress which hardware components. IntelliSense needs RAM; OnShape CAD needs GPU cores for WebGL; C++ compilation needs CPU frequency. A balanced specification prevents the bottleneck that slows the entire team down.”
🔬 Check for Understanding
OnShape becomes very slow when rotating a large robot assembly. The most likely bottleneck is:
Not enough RAM — more memory will fix it
Slow internet connection — OnShape is cloud-based
GPU performance — OnShape uses WebGL for 3D rendering, which relies on the laptop’s graphics processing capability
The processor is too slow to run a browser
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// Section 04
Installing VS Code on a School Laptop
On school laptops you cannot install software from the internet the normal way. Use the offline installer method below — it works on most district-managed devices.
⚠️
School laptops block standard installs. Do not try to install from the VS Code website directly — it will fail with a permissions error. Use the offline/ZIP method below which does not require admin rights on most district setups.

Method 1 — VS Code Portable (No Admin Required)

1
Download the ZIP version of VS Code
Go to code.visualstudio.com/Download on a device where you can access the internet freely. Download the .zip version for Windows (not the installer .exe). The ZIP is the portable edition.
2
Extract to your Documents folder
Copy the ZIP to the school laptop (USB drive or Google Drive). Extract the contents to C:\Users\[YourName]\Documents\VSCode or your Downloads folder. You do not need to "install" anything — extracted files run directly.
3
Run Code.exe directly
Open the extracted folder and double-click Code.exe. VS Code launches without installation. Pin it to your taskbar for easy access. This portable version stores all settings and extensions inside the same folder.
4
Install the PROS extension
In VS Code: open the Extensions panel (Ctrl+Shift+X), search PROS, install the official PROS extension from Purdue Sigbots. This adds the PROS build system, device management, and terminal integration.
If the extension marketplace is blocked: Download the .vsix file from the PROS GitHub releases page, then in VS Code: Extensions panel → ⋯ → Install from VSIX.

Method 2 — Ask Your IT Department

Many school districts will install VS Code on request if you explain it is for a robotics competition class. Write a short email to your IT department. Subject: Software Request — VS Code for Robotics Competition. Most districts approve this within a week.

💡
Backup your extensions list: In VS Code, open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and run Extensions: Show Installed Extensions. Screenshot the list so you can reinstall them if the laptop is reimaged.
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// Section 05
Saving & Backing Up Your Code
Losing your autonomous code the week before a competition is entirely preventable. Use at least two of these three methods throughout the season.
⚠️
Files saved only on a school laptop are at risk. If the laptop is reimaged by IT, fails, or your profile is reset, local files may be deleted. Always keep at least one off-device backup of your active project.

What to Back Up

A PROS EZ Template project is a regular folder. Back up the entire folder — not just the .cpp files. Key files to preserve:

MyRobotProject/
├── src/
│   ├── main.cpp        <-- your hook functions
│   └── autons.cpp       <-- your autonomous routines
├── include/
│   └── globals.hpp     <-- motor/sensor declarations
└── project.pros         <-- project settings

Method 1 — GitHub (Best)

Create a private GitHub repo for your robot project. Commit and push after every practice session. GitHub keeps your full version history — you can roll back to any previous version. See the GitHub Workflow guide for setup steps.

💡
Commit message discipline: "fixed auton" is useless. Write "fixed auton: corrected heading by +3 degrees at turn 2, added timeout to lift sequence." You will thank yourself when debugging three months later.

Method 2 — Google Drive Folder Sync

Install the Google Drive desktop app and set your project folder to sync automatically. Every time you save in VS Code, Drive backs it up. This is the easiest solution for teams that already use Google Workspace.

Method 3 — USB Drive Snapshot

At the end of every build session, copy your project folder to a USB drive. Name the folder with the date: MyProject-2026-01-15. Keep the last 5 snapshots. This is the offline fallback when wifi is unreliable at competitions.

⚠️
Pre-competition backup rule: The night before any competition, push to GitHub AND copy to a USB drive. Two independent backups. If your laptop dies in the queue, you have your code on your phone via GitHub.
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