Export and import
Any project, ready-made or your own, can be exported as files for the real build. A project file can be imported again, on the same device or another one.
Export a project
Open the project.
Select the Export button at the top right (the share icon).
Choose what to export.
In a desktop app, a save dialog asks where to put the file, and the app then says Saved to and the path. In a browser, the file goes to your downloads folder and the app says Downloaded and the file name.
The menu exports what is in the editor now, including changes you have not run yet.
What each export holds
File names are made from the project's title. For a project called Night light:
| Menu item | File | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| Program (.ino) | night-light.ino | The sketch, ready for the Arduino IDE. For a Raspberry Pi 4 / 5 it is Program (.py), a Python script. |
| Circuit diagram (.svg) | night-light-circuit.svg | A drawing of the connections |
| Build sheet (.md) | night-light-build-sheet.md | Everything for the real build, in one Markdown file |
| Parts to order (.csv) | night-light-parts.csv | What you still need to buy for this project |
| Project file (.json) | night-light.circuitlab.json | The project, for Import |
| Copy the code | none | Puts the sketch on the clipboard |
The circuit diagram
The diagram shows the board on the left with the pins the project uses, each part on the right, and one coloured wire per signal. Beside each part it lists the power and ground connections it also needs, such as 220 Ω in series · GND for an LED. It is drawn on white, so it prints well.
The build sheet
The build sheet is a Markdown file with:
- the project's description, the board, its chip and logic voltage, and the program's file name;
- a Wiring table: from, to and notes;
- a Parts table: quantity, part, what to look for when buying, and a typical price;
- a rough budget if you own none of the parts;
- the full program;
- how to run it: open the
.inofile in the Arduino IDE, pick the board under Tools > Board, and upload. For a Raspberry Pi 4 / 5 it says to runpython3and the script's name on the Pi.
Parts to order
The .csv lists only the parts you have not ticked as owned on the Labs or Parts tab, with quantities, prices and tips. To make one list for several projects, use the Parts tab instead. See Parts and shopping list.
Prices are rough estimates for budgeting, not quotes, in the currency set in Settings.
The project file
The project file holds the project's title, description, board, parts with their pins and colours, code, and any ready-made serial commands. It does not hold a lab's guide: the wiring table is worked out again from the parts, and steps and challenges are not included.
Import a project file
Open the Projects tab.
Under Your projects, select Import.
Choose a Circuit Lab project file (
.json).
The project opens and is added to Your projects, where you can change it like any project of your own. Importing the same file twice gives two separate projects; nothing is overwritten.
If the file cannot be used, the app says why:
This is not a Circuit Lab project file.: the file is some other JSON file.This project is for a board this version does not know: the file was made for a board this version does not have.Could not read that file: the file could not be opened or is not valid JSON.
TIP
Your projects are saved only on the device you made them on. To move a project to another computer or browser, export its project file and import it there.
Upload an exported sketch yourself
You do not need Circuit Lab's Deploy to put a sketch on a board. Export the Program (.ino), open it in the Arduino IDE, choose your board under Tools > Board and the port it is plugged into, and upload. To see what it prints, open the IDE's Serial Monitor at 115200 baud.
Circuit Lab's serial monitor shows the simulation only; it does not read a real board.
Projects that use a servo include Servo.h, or ESP32Servo.h on ESP32 boards. Install that library in the Arduino IDE if it is not there.