There are plenty of good tutorials about working with LED’s out there, but here are the notes I commonly refer to:
![](https://xengineering.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ledds.png)
An Arduino digital output cannot drive more than 2 typical (20mA) LED’s in parallel, due to current constraints.
LED’s need current limiting resistors (in series) to protect them. The resistor can go before or after the LED, doesn’t matter.
![](https://xengineering.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/calcualtor.png)
The appropriate Forward Voltage to drive LED’s varies by color.
![](https://xengineering.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ledvoltage.png)