IDF Docker image (``espressif/idf``) is intended for building applications and libraries with specific versions of ESP-IDF when doing automated builds.
- A copy of a specific version of ESP-IDF. See below for information about versions. ``IDF_PATH`` environment variable is set and points to the ESP-IDF location in the container.
- All the build tools required for the specific version of ESP-IDF: CMake, Ninja, cross-compiler toolchains, etc.
The image ``ENTRYPOINT`` sets up the ``PATH`` environment variable to point to the correct version of tools, and activates the Python virtual environment. As a result, the environment is ready to use the ESP-IDF build system.
The image can also be used as a base for custom images, if additional utilities are required.
Tags
====
Multiple tags of this image are maintained:
-``latest``: tracks ``master`` branch of ESP-IDF
-``vX.Y``: corresponds to ESP-IDF release ``vX.Y``
-``release-vX.Y``: tracks ``release/vX.Y`` branch of ESP-IDF
..note::
Versions of ESP-IDF released before this feature was introduced do not have corresponding Docker image versions. You can check the up-to-date list of available tags at https://hub.docker.com/r/espressif/idf/tags.
Usage
=====
Setting up Docker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before using the ``espressif/idf`` Docker image locally, make sure you have Docker installed. Follow the instructions at https://docs.docker.com/install/, if it is not installed yet.
-``espressif/idf``: uses Docker image ``espressif/idf`` with tag ``latest``. The ``latest`` tag is implicitly added by Docker when no tag is specified.
-``idf.py build``: runs this command inside the container.
When the mounted directory, ``/project``, contains a git repository owned by a different user (``UID``) than the one running the Docker container, git commands executed within ``/project`` might fail, displaying an error message ``fatal: detected dubious ownership in repository at '/project'``. To resolve this issue, you can designate the ``/project`` directory as safe by setting the IDF_GIT_SAFE_DIR environment variable during the Docker container startup. For instance, you can achieve this by including ``-e IDF_GIT_SAFE_DIR='/project'`` as a parameter. Additionally, multiple directories can be specified by using a ``:`` separator. To entirely disable this git security check, ``*`` can be used.
Commands which communicate with the development board, such as ``idf.py flash`` and ``idf.py monitor`` does not work in the container, unless the serial port is passed through into the container. This can be done with Docker for Linux with the `device option`_. However, currently, this is not possible with Docker for Windows (https://github.com/docker/for-win/issues/1018) and Docker for Mac (https://github.com/docker/for-mac/issues/900). This limitation may be overcome by using `remote serial ports`_. An example of how to do this can be found in the following `using remote serial port`_ section.
The `RFC2217`_ (Telnet) protocol can be used to remotely connect to a serial port. For more information please see the `remote serial ports`_ documentation in the ESP tool project. This method can also be used to access the serial port inside a Docker container if it cannot be accessed directly. Following is an example of how to use the Flash command from within a Docker container.
* On Windows, the package is available as a one-file bundled executable created by ``pyinstaller`` and it can be downloaded from the `esptool releases`_ page in a ZIP archive along with other ESP tool utilities:
Please make sure that ``<host_path>`` is properly set to your project path on the host, and ``<container_path>`` is set as a working directory inside the container with the ``-w`` option. The ``host.docker.internal`` is a special Docker DNS name to access the host. This can be replaced with a host IP if necessary.
The Docker file in ESP-IDF repository provides several build arguments which can be used to customize the Docker image:
-``IDF_CLONE_URL``: URL of the repository to clone ESP-IDF from. Can be set to a custom URL when working with a fork of ESP-IDF. The default is ``https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf.git``.
-``IDF_CLONE_BRANCH_OR_TAG``: Name of a git branch or tag used when cloning ESP-IDF. This value is passed to the ``git clone`` command using the ``--branch`` argument. The default is ``master``.
-``IDF_CHECKOUT_REF``: If this argument is set to a non-empty value, ``git checkout $IDF_CHECKOUT_REF`` command performs after cloning. This argument can be set to the SHA of the specific commit to check out, for example, if some specific commit on a release branch is desired.
-``IDF_CLONE_SHALLOW``: If this argument is set to a non-empty value, ``--depth=1 --shallow-submodules`` arguments are be used when performing ``git clone``. This significantly reduces the amount of data downloaded and the size of the resulting Docker image. However, if switching to a different branch in such a "shallow" repository is necessary, an additional ``git fetch origin <branch>`` command must be executed first.
-``IDF_INSTALL_TARGETS``: Comma-separated list of ESP-IDF targets to install toolchains for, or ``all`` to install toolchains for all targets. Selecting specific targets reduces the amount of data downloaded and the size of the resulting Docker image. The default is ``all``.
To use these arguments, pass them via the ``--build-arg`` command line option. For example, the following command builds a Docker image with a shallow clone of ESP-IDF v4.4.1 and tools for ESP32-C3 only:
