Starting your hardware project
Hey there! This page covers how to get started with your hardware project and some advice for working on it
Hardware support is currently in development on the platform, but you can get started right now by following these steps!
1. Coming up with an idea
First thing to do is to come up with an idea for your project!
A good source of inspiration is Adafruit Learn
Drawing sketches at this stage helps a ton! Here’s one I did for bitski, an LED keychain I’m working on:
I highly recommend watching the 2025 Open Sauce recap video to get an idea of what people usually make!
2. Setting up your project
Next step is creating your project!
You’ll need to create a GitHub repository. This is a place where you can store your project files online & manage the different versions! Here’s what it looks like:
You can find instructions on how to to make one here
Support for adding it to the Stardance platform will come soon! You won’t lose any progress if you start now.
3. Working on your design
Once you’ve got everything set up, start working away!
To track your time, you can use Lapse, our timelapsing tool.
here’s what lapse looks like!
If you’re having issues with lapse (i.e using Firefox, which is currently unsupported), you can write a markdown journal instead - you can find out more about that here
One resource you should definitely check out is the Hardware Codex - it’s a collection of design resources to help you along your journey making projects!
Make sure to ask tons of questions in #outpost - the best source of advice is from your fellow hardware hackers!
Once think you’ve finished your design, head on over to Hardware Shipping to get your project ready for shipping!