How I got my Inkplate 6COLOR running on macOS:

  1. Install Python 3. (I already had that, you can check the command line which python 3 and if there is a result, you are good to go.)
  2. Install the CH340 driver. This driver basically is responsible for having macOS “see the device” through USB.
  3. Install the legacy Arduino IDE (version 1.8.x). Did I try the 2.0 version? Yes! Did it completely break wifi and networking until a restart? Also yes! The legacy version works flawlessly.
  4. Open Arduino IDE and go to settings. Paste the following URL into the ”Additional Boards Manager URL” field: https://github.com/e-radionicacom/Dasduino-Board-Definitions-for-Arduino-IDE/raw/master/package_Dasduino_Boards_index.json. This makes the instructions and libraries available to Arduino.
  5. Go to Tools → Board: “…” → Boards Manager… → Search for Inkplate → Install
  6. After installation is complete, run the following command on your command line: sed -i -e 's/=python /=python3 /g' ~/Library/Arduino15/packages/Inkplate_Boards/hardware/esp32/*/platform.txt. This basically replaces all calls to python with calls to the previously installed python3.
  7. Connect the display and press the button next to the USB-C port. Select the port of the display from the Tools → Port menu in Arduino IDE. Here it looks like /dev/cu.wchusbserial14310 – Note that the number behind the name can change when you change ports.
  8. Download the example files.
  9. Open an example in Arduino IDE 1.8 by selecting the .ino file in a folder. Press the checkmark to verify the code, and the right pointing arrow to deploy it to your display.
  10. Some examples might need additional Libraries, like the super useful ArduinoJson one. To install such a library go to Tools → Manage Libraries… → Search for the library you need and press install.
  11. Read the Manual. While I struggled to set it up so m computer was able to communicate and deploy Arduino programs to the display, once it was set up the different drawing and text output methods are pretty straight forward to understand. That said, it helps if you have seen C++ code in your life before as some descriptions use notations that are easier to understand that way.