Failed to activate ESP-IDF Env on ESP-IDE (IEP-1800)

[Sebastien-AVT]

Describe the bug
On my computer I failed to enable ESP-IDF environement, with old or fresh installation (installed with ESP-IDF Installation Manager) of ESP-IDF

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Go to 'Espressif->ESP-IDF Manager.'
2. Click on 'Activate selected'
3. See error

Bug Report
bug_report_20260820_155042.zip

[github-actions]

Hi @Sebastien-AVT! This is an automated response.
If you don’t find the answer helpful, please check the ESP32 IDE forum (https://www.esp32.com/viewforum.php?f=40) or GitHub issues (https://github.com/espressif/idf-eclipse-plugin/issues) to see if the issue has already been discussed.

---

Based on the Espressif-IDE documentation, here are the recommended steps to resolve ESP-IDF activation issues in Espressif-IDE:

1. Verify the eim_idf.json Path
   The ESP-IDF Installation Manager (EIM) stores your installed ESP-IDF environments in a file named eim_idf.json. If you installed ESP-IDF or the tools to a custom location, the IDE might not find this file automatically:

   • Go to Window > Preferences > Espressif > ESP-IDF Installation Manager settings.
   • Under Path for eim_idf.json file, click Browse and point directly to the actual eim_idf.json file on your system (the default is C:\Espressif\tools\eim_idf.json on Windows or ~/.espressif/tools/eim_idf.json on Linux/macOS) [ESP-IDF and Tools Installation].

2. Refresh the Environment / Workspace Configuration

   • If migrating an older workspace, ensure it has been converted to the new EIM format when prompted [Old-to-New Workspace Migration].
   • In Espressif > ESP-IDF Manager, try clicking the refresh icon in the table or using Manage ESP-IDF Versions to re-sync the installed versions detected by EIM [ESP-IDF and Tools Installation].

3. Check the IDE Error Log
   To find the detailed error trace causing the activation failure:

   • Go to Window > Show View > Other... > General > Error Log to review the specific exceptions recorded during the activation attempt [FAQ].

[sigmaaa]

Hi @Sebastien-AVT,

Thanks for the report and the logs.

The failure is not in the ESP-IDF install itself. Espressif-IDE runs the EIM activation script (C:\Espressif\tools\Microsoft.5.3.1.PowerShell_profile.ps1), and PowerShell fails to parse it because your Windows PATH contains a quoted entry:

C:\Program Files\Meld;"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\18\Community\Common7\IDE"
PATH entries must not use quotes. The " after Meld; closes the PowerShell string, so the parser then reports Unexpected token 'C:\Program'.

To fix it try to do next thing:

Open Environment Variables and remove the quotes from that Visual Studio path (or remove the entry if you do not need it on PATH). Same for msvc_dev_env_path / msvc_dev_env_path_26 if their values include ".
Edit the already generated scripts and remove the same quotes from the $env:PATH = "..." line:

1. C:\Espressif\tools\Microsoft.5.3.1.PowerShell_profile.ps1
2. C:\Espressif\tools\Microsoft.v6.0.2.PowerShell_profile.ps1
3. Restart Espressif-IDE and try Activate Selected again.

Please let us know if that helps.

[Sebastien-AVT]

Thank you for your quick answer ! It solved the issue.
Thanks.