Settings

Click ⚙ settings in the top right corner, next to the light/dark switch, or press Ctrl+,. The settings page fills the window below the header; scroll it with the mouse wheel or the scrollbar on the right if it doesn't fit. ← back, the gear again or Esc (while no job runs) returns to the main view, with the log and the status line.

Every change applies right away; there's no save button. The flashing options (force, progress, skip verify, verify on Pico, used blocks only) stay in the main view, see Getting Started.

Hardware

Setting	What it does
sockets	How many sockets your board has. auto (the default) takes the count from the sockets the Pico detects as wired (see Socket count); otherwise is the count used when nothing is detected. detect again asks the Pico once more, for example after adding pull-up resistors. Picking a number (1 to 10) sets the count by hand instead. The note says where the count comes from: detected CS0–CS3, nothing detected (no pull-ups on CS) · using 4, the firmware can't detect (needs 1.2) · using 4 manual · CS0–CS5, or manual (no pull-ups found) after auto switched itself to manual because the Pico found no pull-up resistors (detect again switches back once they're there). The socket cards, targets, Alt shortcuts and the live scan change at once; not while jobs run or wait, or in production mode (a detected change then waits until they're done).
socket names	A name for each socket, up to 16 characters, for example BIOS or EC. The card shows the name as its title, with the CS number in the corner, and the log says CS1 EC wherever it means that socket. Leave a field empty for no name. The flash log keeps the plain CS number.
live scan	The scan that notices chips being inserted or removed (see Live scan): on or off, how often (every 0.5, 1, 2 or 5 s; 1 s is the default) and at which SPI clock (at 1M to 12M; 8M is the default). Lower the clock if chips seem to appear and disappear on their own, for example with long wires.
status LEDs	Whether the Pico's LEDs show the job state (see Status LEDs). Turning them off switches off the one that's lit.
flashprog	The flashprog or flashrom program HydraFlasher runs, with its version. change… picks another one, auto-detect looks for flashprog, then flashrom, on your PATH and in the usual folders. A program that doesn't answer like flashprog or flashrom is only used after you confirm.

Firmware

Row	Shows
on the Pico	The firmware the connected Pico runs, for example HydraFlasher 1.1 · 10 CS lines. Firmware from before version 1.1 shows as older firmware … · update recommended. Under sudo (no direct access to the port) it can't be read. not responding means the Pico on the port doesn't answer (other, older or hung firmware): hold BOOTSEL while plugging it in, then install. a Pico in bootloader mode means one is plugged in as the RPI-RP2 drive, ready for the install.
latest release	The newest firmware published on GitHub, with its date, and update available when it's newer than the Pico's. check again asks GitHub once more.

Updating the firmware

Install new firmware in one of three ways:

• latest (x.y): downloads the newest release from GitHub and installs it;
• from file…: installs a .uf2 file you pick;
• drop a .uf2 anywhere on the window. A .uf2 is never written to a flash chip, even when dropped on a socket card.

HydraFlasher first checks the file: it must be a UF2 image for the Pico's RP2040, and it should contain HydraFlasher firmware, whose version it reads from the file. You then confirm. HydraFlasher goes back to the main view, and the update runs as a job in the log:

1. Download (latest release only), into the firmware folder next to the flash log.
2. Restart the Pico into its bootloader. HydraFlasher sends the restart command, so you don't need to press anything. Firmware too old for that command, or a port that can't be opened, logs Hold the BOOTSEL button on the Pico while you plug it in again…; do that within two minutes.
3. Copy the firmware to the Pico's RPI-RP2 drive. On Linux the drive is mounted for you if your desktop doesn't do it.
4. Wait for the Pico to come back as a HydraFlasher serial port.
5. Check the new firmware: the version the Pico reports must match the file's.

The chips in the sockets aren't touched. Updating isn't possible while jobs run or wait, or in production mode. After updating from firmware older than 1.1, move the LEDs, see Updating from older firmware.

App

Setting	What it does
notifications	A desktop notification with the hydra icon when a job ends, only while the HydraFlasher window isn't focused (otherwise the result is in front of you). It closes by itself after 6 seconds. A probe only notifies when it fails. Independently of this setting, the HydraFlasher entry in the taskbar lights up when a job ends while you're in another window (on Linux until you switch back, on Windows it flashes). On Linux it needs notify-send (package libnotify-bin or libnotify), on Windows the optional plyer package (included in the downloads).
drag and drop	Shows whether drag and drop is available (it needs the optional tkinterdnd2 package).
chip IDs · forget	Forgets the chip types learned from probes (see Chip Detection). Inserted chips are identified again with a probe.
time estimates · reset	Forgets how long your jobs took, so the time left estimate starts over.
recent files · clear	Empties the recent files ▸ list.
version	The app's version, for example HydraFlasher 1.0.0 (newer versions: Releases). Also the git commit it was built from (git 15d0a93): for a packaged download the build's commit, from a git checkout the current one, with modified if files were changed locally. Mention it when you report a problem. The Pico's firmware has its own version, shown under firmware. licenses opens HydraFlasher's licence (GPL-3.0) and, in the downloadable packages, the licences of the software bundled with it.
files	Where the settings file and the data folder (flash log, downloaded firmware) are, see Files.

At the very bottom, Vibed by Waffelo and the repository link open the HydraFlasher repository in your browser.