Adding Attiny to Arduino IDE - attiny\variants\platform.txt file missing

Question

I followed this guide to program AtTiny using Arduino as ISP. The problem is that it has some file missing:

java.io.FileNotFoundException: C:\...\arduino-1.6.8\hardware\attiny\variants\platform.txt

The attiny directory is clone of this repository. How do I make it work?

Answer 1

• Open the "Preferences" dialog in the Arduino IDE.

• Click on the symbol next to "Additional Board Manager URLs"

  

• Paste the following into the box (possibly on a new line under any existing URLs), then click OK.

  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/damellis/attiny/ide-1.6.x-boards-manager/package_damellis_attiny_index.json
  

  

  Note that you can click on the circled link for a list of boards. This will open in your web browser. You may have to switch to your browser to notice it.

• Click OK to close the Preferences dialog box.

• In the Tools menu / Board select the Boards Manager:

  

• Scroll down until you see the Attiny entry (or the one for the board you want), click on it to select it, and then click "Install".

  

• Once done, close the Board Manager dialog box.

• You should now be able to select Attiny from the Boards menu:

  

• Now in the Tools menu you can select which Attiny you want to use:

  

• Notice you can also select the appropriate clock speed in an adjacent menu item.

• To program the Attiny you will need a suitable ISP (In System Programmer) such as the AVRISP programmer, or the USBtinyISP programmer.

Answer 2

The way of adding boards has changed in the newer version.

Try finding a tutorial for 1.6, or download the older 1.0 version.