Picotool

Installation 

Install package and dependencies 

sudo apt update
sudo apt install cmake build-essential libusb-1.0-0-dev

CLone picotool from github 

git clone https://github.com/raspberrypi/picotool.git
cd picotool

Build pictotool 

mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)

Install system-wide 

sudo make install

Verification 

Plug pico board to laptop (hold BOOTSEL to enter USB mass storage mode), then invoke command

picotool info

If you install successfully, you will see information about the device.

Command detail 

make -j$(nproc)

Meaning
- make → the build program in Linux. It reads the Makefile to compile the project.
- -jN → tells make to run N jobs in parallel (compile multiple files at the same time).
- $(nproc) → a shell command that returns the number of CPU cores on the system.
Example
If your machine has 8 cores, then $(nproc) = 8. So the command expands to:
make -j8
This runs 8 parallel build processes, using all CPU cores to speed up the compilation.
Comparison
- make → only 1 job at a time.
- make -j4 → up to 4 jobs in parallel.
- make -j$(nproc) → automatically uses all available CPU cores (fastest).
Summary

make -j$(nproc) = compile using as many jobs as CPU cores → maximum build speed.

sudo make install 

When you build software from source (with cmake .. && make), the files are compiled but stay inside your build/ folder. They aren’t “installed” on the system yet:

make install → runs the install rules defined in the project's CMakeLists.txt or Makefile.

Typically copies binaries (picotool, my_program, …) into system folders like /usr/local/bin/.

May also copy libraries into /usr/local/lib/, headers into /usr/local/include/, etc:

sudo → needed because writing into /usr/local/bin or /usr/local/lib requires root permissions.

So for example, after:

cmake ..
make
sudo make install

You can run the program globally, e.g. just type:

picotool

from any folder, instead of having to run it from inside build/.

Note

If you don’t run sudo make install, you can still use the program, but you must call it with a relative path, e.g.:

./build/picotool

sudo make install is optional, but convenient if you want the tool to be available system-wide.

Common errors 

Wrong uf2 file for board 

You will see the error below

Family ID 'rp2040' cannot be downloaded anywhere
ERROR: This file cannot be loaded onto a device with no partition table

Your board shows up as RP2350 (Pico 2), but your .uf2 was built for RP2040. The UF2 header contains a family ID; RP2040 and RP2350 are different, so the bootloader refuses it.

To solve this problem, please follow the commands below:

rm -rf build
mkdir build
cd build
cmake -DPICO_PLATFORM=rp2350 -DPICO_BOARD=pico2 ..
make -j$(nproc)

Then you can load uf2 file to pico board

sudo picotool load <name_file>.uf2 -f\

If you see this error in Serial Monitor in VScode, this means the configuration of Serial Monitor is wrong. To fix it, you have to open Command Palette (Ctrl + Shift + P) -> enter Preferences: Open Settings (JSON)

Add or edit the configuration:

"C_Cpp.default.configurationProvider": "ms-vscode.cmake-tools",
"serialport.defaultBaudRate": 115200,
"serialport.enableRTSCTS": false,
"serialport.enableDTR": false