Command Line Installation

The command line interface (CLI) of ESP-IDF Installation Manager provides a flexible way to install ESP-IDF, especially useful for automation and headless environments.

Getting Started

Windows

Run EIM from PowerShell (do not use x86 version). Navigate to the EIM directory and run:

.\eim --help

macOS & Linux

After downloading and extracting EIM, make it executable:

chmod +x ./eim
./eim --help

Installation Methods

Interactive Wizard

Running eim wizard starts an interactive wizard that guides you through the installation:

1. Prerequisites check
2. Platform selection
3. ESP-IDF version selection
4. Mirror selection
5. Installation path configuration

Command Line Arguments

For automated installations, use command line arguments:

# Install specific version
eim install -i v5.3.2

# Install with custom path
eim install -p /opt/esp-idf

# Non-interactive installation
eim install -n true

Important Note on Installation Path and Version:

If the path provided for installation (e.g., via -p or in the interactive wizard) is a valid, existing ESP-IDF Git repository, EIM will use that repository directly and will not overwrite its contents. In such a scenario, any ESP-IDF version specified through other parameters (e.g., -ifor a specific version) will be ignored, as the installer will work with the version already present in the existing repository.

See CLI Configuration for all available options.

Offline Installation

The CLI provides a way to install ESP-IDF in an offline environment. This is done by using a pre-downloaded archive that contains all the necessary components.

To run an offline installation, you need to:

1. Download the correct offline installer artifact for your system from the GitHub releases or Espressif’s download portal.
2. Extract the downloaded zip file.
3. Run the install command with the --use-local-archive option, pointing to the .zst archive file.

eim install --use-local-archive path/to/your/archive.zst

Important:

• Do not unpack the .zst archive file; the installer uses it directly.
• The offline installation currently only supports Python 3.11.
• On macOS and Linux, you must install all prerequisites manually before running the installer.

For a complete guide, please see the Offline Installation page.