Getting started with the ESP-IDF running under WSL2

I'm really excited about this post, because it's the first post slightly related to Embedded Systems, and that's the topic I was expecting to write about when I started this blog. The second reason is because I love the ESP32, specially using the ESP IoT Development Framework. It's been a while since I worked with an ESP32 using the IDF (2019 actually), and the framework changed a lot since, so after all this time, I decided to get myself a dev board and explore the IDF again.

When I started working with the ESP32, I followed the excellent Neil Kolban's Book on ESP32, but I've heard it's slightly outdated now, so your best bet is definitely the also excelent IDF Documentation from Espressif.

As I wrote before, I've been using mostly Windows 10 with WSL2 for my development work, so setting up the IDF under WSL2 might be a little different to the average process you follow if running under an actual Linux distribution. This guide is a quick guide on how to start working with an ESP32 using WSL2.

1. Install the CP210x USB to UART Bridge VCP Drivers

Assuming you're using one of the very common ESP32 DevKit …

more ...