Resources
The best official and community resources for learning FTC programming.
FTC Programming Resources
No single resource contains everything you'll need to know about FTC programming. The best programmers learn from many different sources, including official documentation, community guides, YouTube tutorials, and open source projects. This page highlights some of the most valuable resources used by competitive FTC teams.
FTC Docs
Website: https://ftc-docs.firstinspires.org/
The official documentation for FIRST Tech Challenge. It covers Android Studio setup, the FTC SDK, hardware configuration, VisionPortal, AprilTags, TensorFlow, and much more. Whenever you're looking for how something works in the SDK, this should be your first stop.
FTC SDK GitHub
Website: https://github.com/FIRST-Tech-Challenge/FtcRobotController
The official FTC Robot Controller repository. It contains the latest SDK releases, sample OpModes, release notes, and source code. Every FTC team starts from this repository.
Game Manual 0 (GM0)
Website: https://gm0.org/
Game Manual 0 is the gold standard of community-written FTC documentation. It covers programming, hardware, localization, odometry, electrical systems, CAD, strategy, and much more. Even experienced teams frequently reference GM0.
Learn Java for FTC
Website: https://github.com/alan412/LearnJavaForFTC
A beginner-friendly Java guide written specifically for FTC students. If you're new to Java, this is an excellent place to start before diving into robot code.
CTRL ALT FTC
Website: https://www.ctrlaltftc.com/
One of the best resources for learning advanced software concepts. Topics include PID control, feedforward, localization, state machines, finite state machines, motion profiling, and controls engineering explained in an FTC context.
Learn Road Runner
Website: https://learnroadrunner.com/
Although made for roadrunner 0.5, it is still useful for understanding roadrunner 1.0. It explains localization, trajectory generation, tuning, motion profiling, and autonomous programming in a beginner-friendly way.
OpenCV Documentation
Website: https://docs.opencv.org/
The official OpenCV documentation. While not FTC-specific, it is an invaluable reference for teams building custom vision pipelines.
Communities
FTC Discord
Website: https://discord.com/invite/ftc
One of the largest FTC communities online where students can ask programming questions, troubleshoot issues, and discuss robot design.
r/FTC
Website: https://reddit.com/r/FTC
An active Reddit community covering programming, hardware, competitions, and team advice.
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