Board Selection
Choose a concrete board target from requirements rather than a marketing family name. This skill produces a decision record that downstream skills can consume.
Boundary With Board Support
Use board-support when the user has named a board and needs its exact profile,
capabilities, pin hazards, source status, or framework compatibility. Use this
skill when the user is choosing, replacing, or comparing boards against project
requirements. Consume the board-support profile instead of repeating or
guessing its facts.
Intake
Capture required voltage and rails, inputs/outputs, PWM/ADC/timers, buses and protocols, memory/flash/PSRAM, radio/USB, timing, power source and peak load, physical constraints, production quantity, toolchain, library constraints, security/update needs, and recovery access.
Read ../../references/boards/README.md and use ../board-support/SKILL.md for
the relevant exact profile. If the board is not covered, use the vendor product
page, MCU/module datasheet, board schematic, and selected framework variant
source. Label inferred values.
Process
- Turn requirements into hard constraints and preferences.
- Eliminate candidates that fail voltage, pin direction, peripheral, memory, power, or recovery constraints.
- Compare remaining boards across exact SKU, framework/core, toolchain, library architecture, upload path, security/update support, availability, and maintenance horizon.
- Record the selected board, rejected alternatives, reasons, open risks, and the exact build identifier/FQBN/environment.
- Hand the board profile to
pin-assignment,wiring-safety-check,library-selection,memory-budgeting, andhardware-tddas applicable.
Output
Return a compact table with requirement, constraint, candidate result,
source, and verification status, followed by the decision and open risks.
Do not present a board-family fact as a board-revision guarantee.
Anti-rationalization
| Shortcut | Response |
|---|---|
| "ESP32" is precise enough. | Ask for module suffix, DevKit revision, flash/PSRAM, and USB use. |
| "The board has enough memory." | Separate nominal memory, application memory, heap/stack, filesystem, and OTA partitions. |
| "USB power will run it." | Check rail voltage, regulator headroom, startup peaks, and external loads. |
| "Any Arduino library will work." | Check architecture, framework, version, API, and dependency compatibility. |
| "It compiles, so it is the right board." | Keep electrical, hardware, system, and deployment proof open. |
Verification
- The exact board/revision, MCU/module, framework, toolchain, and version are recorded.
- Every chosen value has a primary source or is marked
to verify. - A compile-only or dry-run path exists for the selected target.
- Rejected alternatives and unresolved risks remain visible.
Shared output contract
Use the shared Arduino skill contract: state assumptions, required tools and versions, implementation steps, tests/evidence by proof stage, known limitations, and recovery/security notes.