Build the Project

Build the project by running:

idf.py build

This command compiles the application and all ESP-IDF components, then it generates the bootloader, partition table, and application binaries.

$ idf.py build
Running cmake in directory /path/to/hello_world/build
Executing "cmake -G Ninja --warn-uninitialized /path/to/hello_world"...
Warn about uninitialized values.
-- Found Git: /usr/bin/git (found version "2.17.0")
-- Building empty aws_iot component due to configuration
-- Component names: ...
-- Component paths: ...

... (more lines of build system output)

[527/527] Generating hello_world.bin
esptool.py v2.3.1

Project build complete. To flash, run this command:
../../../components/esptool_py/esptool/esptool.py -p (PORT) -b 921600 write_flash --flash_mode dio --flash_size detect --flash_freq 40m 0x10000 build/hello_world.bin  build 0x1000 build/bootloader/bootloader.bin 0x8000 build/partition_table/partition-table.bin
or run 'idf.py -p PORT flash'

If there are no errors, the build finishes by generating the firmware binary .bin files.

Flash onto the Device

To flash the binaries that you just built for the WILE ESP32 device in the previous step, you need to run the following command:

idf.py -p PORT flash

Replace PORT with your WILE ESP32 device board’s USB port name. If the PORT is not defined, the idf.py will try to connect automatically using the available USB ports.

For more information on idf.py arguments, see idf.py.

Note

The option flash automatically builds and flashes the project, so running idf.py build is not necessary.

Encountered Issues While Flashing? See the “Additional Tips” below. You can also refer to flashing-troubleshooting page or establish-serial-connection for more detailed information.

Normal Operation

When flashing, you will see the output log similar to the following:

If there are no issues by the end of the flash process, the board will reboot and start up the “hello_world” application.

If you would like to use the Eclipse or VS Code IDE instead of running idf.py, check out Eclipse Plugin, VSCode Extension.

Monitor the Output

To check if “hello_world” is indeed running, type idf.py -p PORT monitor (Do not forget to replace PORT with your serial port name).

This command launches the IDF Monitor application:

$ idf.py -p <PORT> monitor
Running idf_monitor in directory [...]/esp/hello_world/build
Executing "python [...]/esp-idf/tools/idf_monitor.py -b 115200 [...]/esp/hello_world/build/hello_world.elf"...
--- idf_monitor on <PORT> 115200 ---
--- Quit: Ctrl+] | Menu: Ctrl+T | Help: Ctrl+T followed by Ctrl+H ---
ets Jun  8 2016 00:22:57

rst:0x1 (POWERON_RESET),boot:0x13 (SPI_FAST_FLASH_BOOT)
ets Jun  8 2016 00:22:57
...

After startup and diagnostic logs scroll up, you should see “Hello world!” printed out by the application.

    ...
    Hello world!
    Restarting in 10 seconds...
    This is {IDF_TARGET_PATH_NAME} chip with {IDF_TARGET_SOC_CPU_CORES_NUM} CPU core(s), {IDF_TARGET_FEATURES}
Minimum free heap size: {IDF_TARGET_HEAP_SIZE} bytes
    Restarting in 9 seconds...
    Restarting in 8 seconds...
    Restarting in 7 seconds...

To exit IDF monitor use the shortcut Ctrl+].

Note

You can combine building, flashing and monitoring into one step by running:

idf.py -p PORT flash monitor

See also:

  • IDF Monitor for handy shortcuts and more details on using IDF monitor.

  • idf.py for a full reference of idf.py commands and options.

That is all that you need to get started with |IDF_TARGET_NAME| !

Now you are ready to try some other :idf:`examples`, or go straight to developing your own applications.

Important

Some of examples do not support WILE ESP32 device because required hardware is not included in WILE ESP32 device so it cannot be supported.

If building an example, please check the README file for the Supported Targets table. If this is present including WILE ESP32 device target, or the table does not exist at all, the example will work on WILE ESP32 device.

Additional Tips

Permission Denied Issue

With some Linux distributions, you may get the error message similar to Could not open port <PORT>: Permission denied: '<PORT>' when flashing the WILE ESP32 device. This can be solved by adding the current user to the specific group, such as dialout or uucp group.

Python Compatibility

ESP-IDF supports Python 3.8 or newer. It is recommended to upgrade your operating system to a recent version satisfying this requirement. Other options include the installation of Python from sources or the use of a Python version management system such as pyenv.

Flash Erase

Erasing the flash is also possible. To erase the entire flash memory you can run the following command:

idf.py -p PORT erase-flash

For erasing the OTA data, if present, you can run this command:

idf.py -p PORT erase-otadata

The flash erase command can take a while to be done. Do not disconnect your device while the flash erasing is in progress.