Frequently Asked Questions

AidaIDE is a remote SSH/SFTP IDE for IoT, embedded, and industrial device development. AidaIDE Full runs on your PC (Windows, macOS, Linux) and deploys lightweight agents to your devices.

AidaIDE Lite runs on Linux SBCs — Raspberry Pi, NVIDIA Jetson, BeagleBone, Orange Pi, and any generic Linux board. AidaIDE Micro runs on ESP32 / ESP8266 microcontrollers. You edit, sync files, and run code from your PC without juggling SSH sessions.

Stable: Raspberry Pi (all models), NVIDIA Jetson (Nano, Xavier, Orin), BeagleBone, Orange Pi, any Linux SBC, and ESP32.
Beta: ESP8266.

The Lite agent runs on anything with Python 3.7+ and network connectivity. The Micro agent runs on MicroPython firmware.

Three things: a valid AidaIDE subscription, AidaIDE Full installed on your PC, and at least one IoT device on your network or connected via USB. The Lite web interface runs on port 5050.

Open AidaIDE Full → Tools → Deploy Lite. Enter the Pi's IP address, username (pi), and password (raspberry by default — change it!). Click Deploy. AidaIDE installs dependencies, configures the agent, and starts the service.

Access the web IDE at http://<pi-ip>:5050. CLI deploy also works: python lite_deployer.py deploy --host 192.168.1.50 --user pi --password raspberry.

ESP devices use AidaIDE Micro. Prerequisites: MicroPython flashed on the ESP32 (not Arduino firmware) and a USB cable that supports data (many charge-only cables don't).

In AidaIDE Full → Tools → Deploy Micro, pick the serial port (COM3 on Windows, /dev/ttyUSB0 on Linux/macOS), and click Deploy. If detection fails, hold the BOOT button while plugging in USB.

Walk through these in order:

1. Device reachable? ping 192.168.1.50 should respond.
2. SSH running? sudo systemctl status ssh; start with sudo systemctl start ssh if it's down.
3. Right IP? DHCP can shuffle addresses; confirm with hostname -I on the device.
4. Firewall? sudo ufw allow 22 (SSH) and sudo ufw allow 5050 (AidaIDE Lite web UI).

The device's SSH identity changed — usually after an OS reinstall or a different device taking the same IP. Remove the stale key, then reconnect:

ssh-keygen -R 192.168.1.50

Replace the IP with your device's. Your next SSH attempt will accept the new key.

Auto-discovery uses mDNS, which needs both devices on the same subnet. Confirm it's working:

avahi-browse -a on Linux
dns-sd -B _aidaide._tcp on macOS

If your network blocks mDNS (common on corporate / segmented networks), fall back to manual IP entry — everything else works the same.

1. Python version? Requires 3.7+. Check with python3 --version.
2. Missing deps? pip3 install flask flask-socketio psutil.
3. Port 5050 in use? sudo lsof -i :5050; kill the holding process.
4. Run manually to see the error: cd ~/AidaIDE/aida-lite && python3 server.py.

Open AidaIDE Full → Help → Activate License. Paste the key from your purchase confirmation email. AidaIDE stores it locally, verifies with the license server on launch, and keeps a 7-day offline grace period if the server is unreachable.

Yes. A single-user license installs on multiple personal PCs but only one active instance at a time. Teams and enterprise licenses support multiple concurrent users — contact us for details.

AidaIDE checks for updates automatically. When one is available you'll see a notification — click Update Now, or go to Help → Check for Updates manually. AidaIDE downloads the new version, verifies a SHA-256 hash, swaps the files via its built-in updater, and restarts.