Finding Nemo On Arduino, I Mean Finding .hex file of Arduino Compiled Program

Almost every time (close to 99%), Arduino user, after typing the code, press the upload button & the program is burned into the Arduino Board.
But in actual, the Arduino IDE generates a .hex file by compiling the code, and then use the internal Program burner to load it into Arduino's Memory.

The Arduino doesn't leave any trace about this file (.hex) anywhere. So its like Finding the Nemo, & here Nemo is the HEX file. But this file is important when sometimes we need .hex file for Simulation in software like Proteus or other.

This article is going to show you how to find hex file of your compiled program. You don't need any hex converter like you do in AVR Studio, or Keil softwares.


First of all "unhide"  all hidden folders from the folders option.
Then open the file location mentioning :
C:\\Users\\UserName\\AppData\\Local\\Temp
Here "C:" states your directory that is containing the Operating system, that may differ according to your system.
"UserName" will be your user name, that you have logged on into.
Then at last perform the file search with keyword ".hex"[without quotes] or select the file type search and type ".hex"[without quotes].

Your desired file will be in front of you in the results.

NOTE: If you quit the Arduino IDE, chances are there that .hex file thus generated is automatically get deleted, depending on the option enabled by you. So search for this '.hex' file while the Arduino IDE is still in the memory i.e., open.
Or even a simpler way to that, just Force The Verbose Mode in the Arduino IDE. To do that, goto File->Preferences & Enable Verbose Mode, by setting "Show Verbose During Compilation or Uploading". You will get all the locations of the files that Arduino IDE creates or accesse. That will also include the .hex file, .elf file, etc.