CLI Configuration

The command-line interface supports multiple configuration methods with the following priority (highest to lowest):

1. Command line arguments
2. Environment variables
3. Configuration files
4. Default values

Command Structure

ESP-IDF Installation Manager (EIM) now uses a command-based structure with the following format:

eim [OPTIONS] [COMMAND] [COMMAND_OPTIONS]

For example:

# Install ESP-IDF with specific version
eim install -i v5.3.2

# Run the interactive wizard
eim wizard

# List installed versions
eim list

For a complete list of available commands and their options, see CLI Commands.

Command Line Arguments

View all available options with:

eim --help

For help with a specific command:

eim <command> --help

Environment Variables

Override any configuration setting using environment variables prefixed with ESP_. For example:

• ESP_TARGET: Set target platform
• ESP_PATH: Set installation path
• ESP_IDF_VERSION: Set IDF version

Example:

export ESP_PATH="/opt/esp-idf"
export ESP_IDF_VERSION="v5.3.2"
eim install

Configuration Files

Use TOML format configuration files for reproducible installations:

path = "/Users/testusername/.espressif"
idf_path = "/Users/testusername/.espressif/v5.5/esp-idf"
esp_idf_json_path = "/Users/testusername/.espressif/tools"
tool_download_folder_name = "/Users/testusername/.espressif/dist"
tool_install_folder_name = "/Users/testusername/.espressif/tools"
target = ["all"]
idf_versions = ["v5.5"]
tools_json_file = "tools/tools.json"
config_file_save_path = "eim_config.toml"
non_interactive = true
wizard_all_questions = false
mirror = "[https://github.com](https://github.com)"
idf_mirror = "[https://github.com](https://github.com)"
recurse_submodules = true
install_all_prerequisites = true
skip_prerequisites_check = false

Load a configuration file:

eim install --config path/to/config.toml

Headless Configuration

For automated installations, use the install command which runs in non-interactive mode by default:

# Basic headless installation
eim install

# Headless with specific version and path
eim install -i v5.3.2 -p /opt/esp-idf

# Headless with config file
eim install --config path/to/config.toml

# To run in interactive mode, explicitly set non-interactive to false
eim install -n false

See Headless Usage for more details about automated installations.