ESP32 - Getting Started with ESP-IDF using Visual Studio Code [Easiest Method]

How to easily install ESP-IDF and configure Visual Studio Code to develop and debug ESP32 applications directly from inside of it. This is the easiest and best method to work with ESP-IDF.
I will also show you 3 of my favourite Visual Studio Code extensions to make your life easy while programming.
This video is part of my upcoming "ESP32 How-to" video series, which will teach you how to program using Espressif's ESP-IDF.
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.
Don't forget to Subscribe and turn on the Notifications to know about my new ESP32 Series videos!
❗❗❗ UPDATE / FIX ❗❗❗
▶ Visual Studio Code is not accepting the IDF Terminal configuration inside the workspace anymore.
▶ Here is a video link with the fix: • QUICK FIX for IDF Term...
*********************************
*** LINKS From the Video ***
Download ESP-IDF from this link: bit.ly/3mlKrRP
Download Visual Studio Code from this link: code.visualstudio.com/
** Timestamps **
00:00 Introduction
00:30 Installing ESP-IDF
01:25 Building an example
02:05 Installing VS Code
02:24 Configuring VS Code for IDF
05:13 Building the application
05:48 Monitoring the Device
06:15 My 3 Favourite Extensions
09:28 Conclusion

[@YuriR]

Hi everyone! It has been a while! As many of you mentioned, the IDF Terminal configuration inside VS CODE is broken here, so I added a new video with the fix: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGqWg6mQr5uXe8U New videos are coming soon! And much more! Thanks for the support and yes, I'm still alive!🙂

[@thuyetmai9650]

Thank you so much!!

[@isharaudayangawimalaweera3642]

Thank you very much. Its very helpful and for me this was the only solution. Thank you very much 💗

[@garywilliams4214]

I ran across this video at the right time (almost)! I just spent two days setting up prerequisites for esp-idf and still wasn’t sure everything was right. And now I was facing setting up the idf with Visual Studio Code-and I can see, based on your video, that this would have been a painful process with lots of gotcha’s and a lot of things that I probably wouldn’t have figured out! I’ve watched all 3 of your videos, liked all 3 and subscribed! This is a HUGE help-THANK YOU! 😃 😃 😃

[@behnamghiaseddin7766]

I have never seen any video more useful than yours about ESP. you really directly guide to common problems everyone has!

[@YuriR]

Thank you so much for your comment! I'm glad the videos are helpful :)

[@boudebzabadra9749]

Thank youu for your tutorial, I've been struggling to set up the esp-idf extension for a week. your way is much better :). cannot wait to see your next video

[@YuriR]

Thanks for your comment! Glad to know it was useful! Next video in a few days :)

[@vogesdg]

You are an execent teacher, thank you. You made it so simple! been batling with VSCode and ESP for months now.

[@YuriR]

Thank you for your kind words! I try to keep it as simple as possible and add as much content in one video as I can :) I'm glad it helped!

[@erickanjosdelima9022]

Congratulations Yuri. This tutorial was perfect. unfortunately i had already learned this but it will certainly help many devs with this tutorial. Please do more tutorials like this

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the support! More tutorials coming soon :)

[@reddevilfan100]

This is a fantastic video! I tried installing ESP-IDF through VS code extensions and ran into a million problems, then was just running ESP-IDF through CMD and it worked, but wasn't a huge fan. This is exactly what I was looking for! Hope you continue to make videos like this!!

[@YuriR]

Thank you for the comment! I'm glad it helped you! New videos are coming soon, I hope you like them!

[@nikhilpen]

Thanks for the detailed walk thru. Great content and production. Looking forward to other ESP32 beginner content.

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the comment! New ESP32 videos coming soon!

[@tm_digita]

One of the best tutorial for the topic on ESP32 , Its easy to follow, precise,and a lot to learn in short video. Excellent tutorial

[@YuriR]

Thank you for your kind words! I try to add as much information as possible in one video :) I'm glad you liked. New ones coming soon!

[@CH33SER]

The quality of this tutorial is top notch. Definitely subscribing!

[@YuriR]

Thank you so much for the comment and support!

[@ramradhakrishnan9382]

Thank you, Yuri, for an excellent presentation. I particularly liked the even modulation and pace of delivery.

[@YuriR]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked!

[@clarissaargentirocha8537]

Very good! I'm anxious for the next video.

[@YuriR]

Thank you! New video coming this week :)

[@fadhilaasyam5895]

Just developed for Air Cond monitoring, your tutorial is very helpful.

[@roldanmarco1856]

Thank you! Please continue this series

[@YuriR]

Thank you! New videos coming soon! :)

[@vitaliyyvitaliyy1884]

Hello. This is the best video on this topic to date !!! Thank you very much!!!

[@YuriR]

Thank you for your kind words! I really appreciate it!

[@nafihahmd]

You deserve more subscribers. So I am in. +1 sub. Keep up the good work man.

[@YuriR]

Thank you for your kind words and support. New videos coming soon! :)

[@venkateshgovindaiah5826]

Yuti, appreciate all the hard work you put in to make these tutorials. They are amazing. Please make a tutorial on eSP-Now with IDF. Thank uou

[@YuriR]

Thank you so much! Will definitely do one!

[@kapdivyang]

Very Nice and informative video. I didn't find any video of this quality on the subject. Looking at the quality of the content I don't want to miss any future video, so I subscribed. Thank you very much for sharing.

[@YuriR]

Thank you for the kind words and subscription! New videos are coming soon this week!

[@mouradmkhakh8903]

Thanks for your time. Waiting for the next video. Good luck

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the comment! New video coming soon!

[@matthewfelgate]

Thanks for this video. It helped me understand how people get started with coding IDF.

[@YuriR]

Thanks Matthew! I'm glad you liked it! More IDF videos coming soon.

[@rejanerodrigues837]

Yuri R. Thankyou for sharing your experience with us. 💡✨

[@YuriR]

Thanks Rejane!

[@tingwang4133]

Very helpful! Thank you for sharing the video!

[@YuriR]

Thank you for the comment!

[@LeoHouseDrums]

Que massa meu! Excelente qualidade teu vídeo! Boa sorte nessa nova empreitada!!

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the comment! I really appreciate it!

[@JosepeFrancoGerent]

Congratulations man!!! Great video!

[@YuriR]

Thanks Josepe!

[@HopWorksET]

This is a very good video that helps setting up an environment for programming ESP devices in my favorite environment, VSCode. And being a hobbyist that has migrated from Adruino IDE to VSCODE, and using Platformio, this is refreshing. Now I just need to get my head around writing my code with ESP-IDF instead of the hand-holding the Arduino core gives me, but this tutorial certainly helps me to get my feet wet with that strategy. Thank you Yuri! I certainly appreciate your contribution!! [liked].[subscribed].[saved]

[@YuriR]

I'm glad it helped Gary! Thanks for all the comments and welcome to IDF :)

[@mark1463]

Thanks for the video, you really helped me, also as a good brazilian I noticed your accent!

[@harerudez4788]

Nice work! That worked for me! Thanks.

[@YuriR]

Great to hear!

[@jerrychan1471]

Excellent instructional video, thanks for your detailed explanations. Subscribed!

[@YuriR]

Thank you so much for the comment and support!

[@tmjromao]

Excellent ! Many thanks for sharing. Yes ESP mesh would be a good topic to explore.

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the comment! Yes, ESP Mesh is in the plans for the future videos :)

[@BrianCanning]

Great! You just explained in one video that I've been trying to get my head round in months, thanks. Not sure what your plans are for other topics, could I suggest the ESP mesh

[@YuriR]

Thank you so much for your comment! The idea is to pack as much information as possible in one video. And yes ESP Mesh is one of the topics coming in future videos!

[@isharaudayangawimalaweera3642]

Wonderful video. Very useful video tutorial. Thank you very much ❤

[@eyupdelikanl6436]

Hocam süpersin 👍👍👍 Aylardır Esp32 için yazmaya ve yüklemeye çalışıyorum fakat olmuyordu. Senin sayende esp serisi bir işlemciye geçiş yaptım ve vereceğin dersler doğrultusunda ilerlemeyi planlıyorum. Çok teşekkür ediyorum. 🙏🙏🙏

[@YuriR]

Glad you liked it! More videos coming soon :)

[@svarodzic]

Nice! Thanks, bro!

[@wretchedfibs4306]

Thanks for the vid. It really put some things together for me.

[@YuriR]

Thank you. Glad it helped!

[@vwarrier]

Thanks for this excellent tutorial

[@wei48221]

Thank you for this awesome tutorial. Very helpful..

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the comment, I'm glad it helped!

[@MicaCZ]

Great tutorial, thank you!

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the comment Mica!

[@TheIceCraftWhysomad]

Thank you for the video

[@manieshsh]

This was great. Please make more.

[@YuriR]

I'm glad you liked, new videos coming soon :)

[@manieshsh]

@@YuriR thanks yuri. Best of luck for the channel. 😊

[@nhatcomnhom]

Thank for your tutorial is help me so much in my project, It easy than esp-idf extension:)))))) nice work bro 😎 +1sub

[@YuriR]

Thank you! I'm glad it helped! New videos coming soon!

[@nhatcomnhom]

@@YuriR i hope it ‘s about gatt server library :)))

[@semihk09]

@@YuriR I'm still waiting for your new video.

[@marioortiz5482]

Thanks for your time sharing this excellent information.

[@ThanhDatzz]

It's is a great video tutorial. Thank you.

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the comment! I'm glad you liked it.

[@thomasseidel4647]

This is very Help full and cool

[@vidhyadhar64]

Very Good Videos.. Keep it up..

[@prutser67]

By far the best explanation I have seen. The only missing part is JTAG debugging.

[@YuriR]

Thank you for your kind words. Keep in tune for the next video coming in a few days 😁

[@SureshKumar-bp8xx]

Hi Yuri Great Video, made my life simpler Thanks Suresh

[@YuriR]

Thanks Suresh, I'm glad it helped!

[@sandeepkapare]

Have been using Arduino IDE for sometime now, & always wanted to use some other IDE like the ESP-IDF for advanced programming. Although this video is spot on - credit to the creator - have realised why many of them still prefer Arduino. Install - open example - connect the board - select COM port & hit upload.

[@kapdivyang]

Hi... Hope all well at your end...Waiting for your next video. Take care

[@YuriR]

Thank you for your comment and concern. Everything is ok :) I was just super busy with work. New videos are coming soon!

[@vandungnguyen5404]

thank you very much, from vietnamese with love

[@YuriR]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@nyquist7975]

Great! big thanks man

[@YuriR]

No problem, thank you!

[@Bianchi77]

Cool video, thanks :)

[@YuriR]

Thank you! :)

[@pramitchaudhury1821]

Great vedio Yuri keep going ❤️❤️❤️

[@YuriR]

Thank you so much! More videos coming soon!

[@TheJay6621]

Super Handy... Thanks a ton Brother..

[@YuriR]

No problem 👍:)

[@user-gc9hc1mf1r]

ありがとうございます！

[@montpierce424]

THANKS, after watching your video I'm ready to give it a 2nd try using your "Easy" approach. I had just given up trying to install ESP32 IDF Extension in vscode... BTW, I notice PlatformIO also has support for Espressif boards, but the last time I tried installing PlatformIO I ran out of disk space. It seems to want to install EVERYTHING up front even for boards I know I'll never use... uggh. Thanks again for a great video. I just signed up for your mailing list and am looking forward to watching your other videos. 👍👍

[@mohamedsiddik0]

Hi Yuri, its really rich content. Thanks for your tutorials. Please continue your esp-idf tutorial. And kindly create video for TFT display with LVGL related stuff. Thanks Advance.

[@ratibory4239]

Bro! Thanks so much!

[@YuriR]

No problem, thanks for the comment!

[@mathewsjacob]

Thank you, Yuri, for an wonderful presentation. Can you make a tutorial about Matter protocol in ESP32

[@mohamedyassinegarali8849]

i enjoy it 🎉❤

[@maikovisky]

Parabéns meu galo. Legal a ideia. Pena que foi um pouco tarde para mim, já tinha feito isso.

[@YuriR]

Thanks Maiko!

[@lancemarchetti8673]

Fantastic presentation

[@YuriR]

I am glad you liked it.

[@bflmpsvz870]

Amazing!

[@YuriR]

Thank you so much!

[@wogalwogal]

Great Video ty

[@YuriR]

Thank you!

[@yahmk3978]

Thank you!

[@YuriR]

No worries, thank you!

[@jucilenesiqueira6848]

thank you.

[@s.sivaneshwaran9479]

I like this tutorial. you explain more in this video.

[@YuriR]

Glad you liked it!

[@franky12]

Super video and first class introduction to the ESP toolchain! Unfortunately so far the first and last video on your channel... 😢😢😢

[@YuriR]

Thank you so much for the comments! I'm back :) more videos coming soon!

[@SpottedEagleOwls]

You are a genius

[@YuriR]

Thank you!😅 More videos coming soon!

[@olivierortigues4437]

Outdated content. The video is really good, clear and at a good pace. Unfortunatly the esp-idf has changed and it is way more integrated in VS now and easier to use. Anyway there is enough material for a new video to replace this one. Anyway thank you Yuri for your work.

[@josepedraza6686]

Thanks for explain and share you knowledge! I tried setup IDF with platformio without success.

[@YuriR]

Thank you for the comment and for liking the video!

[@arthur5073]

Bahh vlw meu grande, teu video me ajudou demais.

[@YuriR]

Glad it helped!

[@guilhermemaia3959]

Greetings from Brasil!

[@YuriR]

Thank you, hi Brazil!

[@nielspaulin2647]

excelleent!

[@YuriR]

Thank you!

[@JovemJulio]

Caraca, eu trabalhei contigo no CETA!!!!

[@user-dg3ut2mc6i]

Супер! Спасибо. Слушать можно на любом языке. Просто включаешь субтитры и переводишь на русский.

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the comment! Great to know!

[@Rita-xj4ot]

Thank you

[@YuriR]

No worries, Thank you!

[@jairofuentes8316]

Please do a series!

[@YuriR]

Coming soon! :)

[@MatteoCordray]

If you are having problems with Python 3.9 (I did), add an environment variable called PIP_EXTRA_INDEX_URL with the value "dl.espressif.com/pypi" (without the quotations). This fixed my build environment after installing

[@YuriR]

Thanks for sharing your solution!

[@deepstum]

Hi Yuri, Many thanks for this tutorial. It is very helpful. It would be great if you could share the commands used in "Configuring VS Code IDF" for VS code running on mac devices. Apparently these commands are not available for mac devices. Thank you :-)

[@xad.]

I use platformIO extension on vscode. this extension would manage most of the tasks with different type of boards.

[@rajbirsingh4879]

At "04.50" the two commands "terminal.integrated.shell.windows" and "terminal.integrated.shellArgs.windows"are now deprecated. What is the solution now?

[@butsukete1806]

Deprecated means it still works until some future version. The problem is the startup bat file not finding python. Tried using .espressif/idf_cmd_init.bat instead of esp-idf/export.bat (which gets called by idf_cmd_init), but that didn't work either. Guess it needs some hax to set *PATH correctly.

[@claasmeints6158]

I don't know why, but somehow this is how it works with the recommended shell profiles: "terminal.integrated.profiles.windows": { "Command Prompt": { "path": [ "${env:windir}\\Sysnative\\cmd.exe", "${env:windir}\\System32\\cmd.exe" ], "args": [ "/k", "C:/esp/esp-idf/export.bat && C:/esp/esp-idf/export.bat", ], "icon": "terminal-cmd" }, } } Somehow I need to run export.bat two times

[@YuriR]

Hi Rajbir, sorry for the delay. I made a quick video with the fix, you can check it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGqWg6mQr5uXe8U

[@ddummy1]

thank you

[@YuriR]

No worries, thank you!

[@byrondavison]

This is an excellent video, ditch the background music. Waiting for your next video, please show websockets!!

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the comment! Still checking what's the best way to have a good balance between background music to make it more dynamic and just the plain voiceover. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@oldazcat2503]

Yuri, this is an awesome tutorial! Could you possibly do a similar version for linux as well as the esp-idf extension?

[@YuriR]

Hi Oldazcat2, thank you so much! Will possibly do it in the future!

[@thomasbarnekow1281]

Nice tutorial. Did you also look at the VS Code ESP IDF extension? Or did that not exist when you produced this tutorial? It seems the extension makes it even easier.

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the comment! Indeed with the new updates on the extension, it looks a lot more reliable! Although I personally prefer having maximum control of the environment and everything regarding the project. But the extension is a good alternative.

[@sridharg5319]

Nice

[@YuriR]

Thank you!

[@andrikjustme2871]

Thanks a lot pal. As well it would be better to explait how to make it possible to debug the ESP32 project in the Visual Studio Code.

[@stevengreenberg7634]

Action buttons do not appear to work, perhaps because of the new terminal configuration. I should first mention that everything else in this video worked perfectly, thank you! The action buttons appear where they are supposed to and they open a terminal, which then runs the full IDF environment setup batch file. But by the time all that is done, the button command itself is lost and never runs. Note that I can successfully run any "idf .py" command in that terminal window that just opened from the button. But I could have done that in any regular terminal window. Edit: I should add that I've found that while it never works on the initial click, it *usually* works if you click it a second time in a row. So it's somewhat usable - weirdly flaky though.

[@joebelson7122]

Hi Yuri, Thank you for doing this! It is very helpful and you are kind to help us. Q: How can I setup VSCode so that the ESP-IDF terminal is persistent across any new folder? In video2 we create a new folder, but the Terminal (idf) does not work and hence when the action buttons are clicked they fail due to missing path updates & variable. Any links or simple instruction would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you! joe

[@avinashgupta7089]

THANK YOU..MAKE COMMUNITY

[@YuriR]

Thank you for the comment. What kind of community? :)

[@jorgerive7335]

Great video Yuri, thank you! Do you have any idea why the action buttons sometimes work and sometimes don't? I haven't been able to figure out under what conditions they work or not work. Sometimes, I have to hit Run twice before it works --very strange...Something has to be wrong with my installation, but I haven't figured out what. Could there be conflict between settings in the espressif-idf extenstion configuration and the VS action buttons ?

[@jatustudiobox3986]

Hi Yuri, this video is so great for me. :) Thank you very much. I have some question, can this installation and tools use with ESP8266?

[@YuriR]

Hi Jatu, thanks for the comment! Unfortunately it doesn't apply for the ESP8266 :(

[@sss22215]

Want to form a mesh using esp32 , expecting u r next video

[@YuriR]

Thank you for the comment. I will make a video about ESP32 Mesh in the future. New videos coming soon! :)

[@WaldoMantilla]

Great video the esp-idf extension fails a lot, I did the terminal configuration in "Preferences: User Settings" so I have not to save a new workspace for each time I open a file, works great!

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the comment! That was a great idea, since VS Code stopped supporting the configuration inside the workspace file, and now we should do like you did!

[@JRabba1995]

Hello Yuri. Thanks for doing this. I am able to upload the code and the serial monitoring is working but the majority of the header files are not being found by VScode so the led isnt blinking. How can I fix that? Thanks again man

[@PD-iu2sr]

Hello Yuri R pls make a tutorial on ESP 32 thanks for this video...

[@YuriR]

Hi Parth, thank you for the comment! New videos coming soon :)

[@kevincueva4419]

Yo no hablo ingles pero seguiré este curso

[@YuriR]

Thanks! You should be able to watch by enabling the subtitles in your language

[@waynehohman3040]

Thanks for the great video! Very helpful. I had one problem though in that at the terminal, my system still wants to run Python v2.7. Any idea why that is hanging on?

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the comment. Sorry for the delay in replying. Sounds like an environment variable issue. It's possible that your terminal is not loading the IDF variables (that contain the PATH to the correct python version). You could try the Quick Fix link that I've added in the description for the most recent IDF issue on VS Code and see how it goes.

[@FernandoEidPires]

Hello my friend! Excellent tutorial, worked well for me. May I add you to my likedIn? Take care!

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the comment! Yes feel free to add me.

[@FernandoEidPires]

@@YuriR I couldn't find you there, so I just sent you an email. Thanks and take care!

[@Factory400]

Excellent presentation! I am doing everything in my power to escape coding in C. Micropython has been allowing me to get the vast majority of applications up and running so much faster while still being able to use inline C or ASM when needed. Any chance you are able to engage Micropython for ESP32??

[@YuriR]

Thanks for the comment and support! Micropython is great for quick applications like you said and it's becoming more and more popular these days. However, my main focus in this channel for now is into C/C++ Firmware development, sorry! But maybe in the future🙂