esp-generate

esp-generate is a project generation tool that assists users in creating a functional project with most of their desired configurations pre-applied.

Installation

To install esp-generate:

cargo install esp-generate --locked

You can also directly download pre-compiled release binaries or use cargo-binstall.

What esp-generate Сonfigures

esp-generate provides more than dependency selection: it applies a known set of crates and feature combinations corresponding to the chosen template options, reducing the amount of manual configuration required to produce a working project.

When options are selected for the template, esp-generate updates the generated Cargo.toml with the crates and Cargo features those choices require. The templates aim to keep that list as short as practical while still creating a skeleton of an applications that builds and runs for the selected profile, without the need to manually configure the dependencies for the first successful build.

The Ancillary Crates chapter describes how wireless, async, and networking choices map onto individual crates when that level of detail is needed.

Some options have coupled configurations. Logging is configured either via defmt or log with a corresponding frontend. Certain crates are also included as part of the standard baseline because they support common embedded workflows. For example, esp-bootloader-esp-idf includes additional support of 2nd stage bootloader, and critical-section is included because many embedded crates rely on it to implement interrupt-critical regions.

Tip

Each version of esp-generate targets a specific version of the ecosystem crates. Make sure to update esp-generate if you want to use the latest released versions.