Creating and running programs
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Now that you've set up your computer and your EV3 brick, you're ready to start writing programs.

Programs are organized into *project folders*, as shown below. A project folder is a directory on your computer that contains the main program (**main.py**), and other optional scripts or files. This project folder and all of its contents will be copied to the EV3, where the main program will be run.

This page shows you how to create such a project and how to transfer it to the EV3.


.. figure:: images/projectstructure.png
   :width: 100 %
   :alt: alt
   :align: center

   A project contains a program called **main.py** and optional resources like sounds or Python modules.


Creating a new project
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To create a new project, open the Pybricks tab and click *create a new project*. Enter a project name in the text field that appears, and press *Enter*. When prompted, choose for a location for this program and confirm by clocking *choose folder*. This is summarized in the diagram below.

.. figure:: images/newproject.png
   :width: 100 %
   :alt: alt
   :align: center

   Creating a new project. This example is called *getting_started*, but you can choose any name.

When you create a new project, it already includes an example *main.py* file that you can modify and extend. To see its contents and to modify it, open it from the file browser as shown below.

If you are new to Python or MicroPython programming, we recommend that you keep the existing code in place, and write your own code below it.

.. figure:: images/projectoverview.png
   :width: 100 %
   :alt: alt
   :align: center

   Opening the default *main.py* program.



Setting up the connection
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You'll now learn how to transfer your project to the EV3 brick and run the main program. 

First, make sure that your EV3 is turned on and that it is connected to your computer. Then, follow the steps below to configure the connection.

.. figure:: images/connecting.png
   :width: 100 %
   :alt: alt
   :align: center

   Configuring the connection between the computer and the EV3

Downloading and running a program
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You can press the F5 key to run your program. Alternatively, you can start it manually by going to the *debug* tab, and clicking the green start arrow, as shown below.

When the program starts, a pop up toolbar allows you to stop the program if necessary. If your program produces any output, this is shown in the output window.

.. figure:: images/running.png
   :width: 100 %
   :alt: alt
   :align: center

   Running a program

Expanding the example program
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...


.. figure:: images/firstprogram.png
   :width: 100 %
   :alt: alt
   :align: center

   The EV3 brick with a Large Motor attached to port B.

.. literalinclude:: ../../examples/ev3/getting_started/main.py

...

.. _managefiles:

Managing files on the EV3
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...

Running a program without a computer
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After you've downloaded your project to your EV3 brick, you can restart it even when it is not connected to a computer. To do so, find the file using the *file browser* and use the *Enter* key to start the program.

.. figure:: images/manualrun.png
   :width: 100 %
   :alt: alt
   :align: center

   Starting a program using the buttons of the EV3 brick