Setup Linux Toolchain from Scratch (CMake)

Note

This is documentation for the CMake-based build system which is currently in preview release. If you encounter any gaps or bugs, please report them in the Issues section of the ESP-IDF repository.

The CMake-based build system will become the default build system in ESP-IDF V4.0. The existing GNU Make based build system will be deprecated in ESP-IDF V5.0.

The following instructions are alternative to downloading binary toolchain from Espressif website. To quickly setup the binary toolchain, instead of compiling it yourself, backup and proceed to section Standard Setup of Toolchain for Linux (CMake).

Install Prerequisites

To compile with ESP-IDF you need to get the following packages:

• CentOS 7:

  sudo yum install git wget ncurses-devel flex bison gperf python pyserial cmake ninja-build ccache
  

• Ubuntu and Debian:

  sudo apt-get install git wget libncurses-dev flex bison gperf python python-pip python-setuptools python-serial python-cryptography python-future python-pyparsing cmake ninja-build ccache libffi-dev libssl-dev
  

• Arch:

  sudo pacman -S --needed gcc git make ncurses flex bison gperf python2-pyserial python2-cryptography python2-future python2-pyparsing cmake ninja ccache
  

Note

CMake version 3.5 or newer is required for use with ESP-IDF. Older Linux distributions may require updating, enabling of a “backports” repository, or installing of a “cmake3” package rather than “cmake”.

Compile the Toolchain from Source

• Install dependencies:

  • CentOS 7:

    sudo yum install gawk gperf grep gettext ncurses-devel python python-devel automake bison flex texinfo help2man libtool make
    

  • Ubuntu pre-16.04:

    sudo apt-get install gawk gperf grep gettext libncurses-dev python python-dev automake bison flex texinfo help2man libtool make
    

  • Ubuntu 16.04 or newer:

    sudo apt-get install gawk gperf grep gettext python python-dev automake bison flex texinfo help2man libtool libtool-bin make
    

  • Debian 9:

    sudo apt-get install gawk gperf grep gettext libncurses-dev python python-dev automake bison flex texinfo help2man libtool libtool-bin make
    

  • Arch:

    TODO
    

Create the working directory and go into it:

mkdir -p ~/esp
cd ~/esp

Download crosstool-NG and build it:

git clone -b xtensa-1.22.x https://github.com/espressif/crosstool-NG.git
cd crosstool-NG
./bootstrap && ./configure --enable-local && make install

Build the toolchain:

./ct-ng xtensa-esp32-elf
./ct-ng build
chmod -R u+w builds/xtensa-esp32-elf

Toolchain will be built in ~/esp/crosstool-NG/builds/xtensa-esp32-elf. Follow instructions for standard setup to add the toolchain to your PATH.

Next Steps

To carry on with development environment setup, proceed to section Get ESP-IDF.