On Windows the ESP-IDF Manager is not compatible with latest version of EIM (IEP-1758)

[Joonatanr]

Describe the bug
ESP-IDF Manager gives the error : Invalid eim_idf.json version Expected 1.0, but found 2.0
The IDF installed with the newest EIM does not appear in the IDF Manager table.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Fresh install on Windows
2. Download EIM either separately or through the IDE.
3. Go to ESP-IDF Manager-
4. Press "Manage ESP-IDF Versions"

Expected behavior
Should list the install directory of IDF after EIM is closed.

Screenshots

Bug Report
Please attach the bug report zip file generated. The file is generated in the workspace root directory.
Espressif > Generate Bug Report

bug_report_20260429_172208.zip

[github-actions]

Hi @Joonatanr! 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.

---

Thank you for reporting this issue. Based on the available Espressif-IDE documentation, here is what can be said:

ESP-IDF Manager Incompatibility with Latest EIM (eim_idf.json version mismatch)

The error message "Invalid eim_idf.json version: Expected 1.0, but found 2.0" indicates a version mismatch between the eim_idf.json configuration file format expected by your current Espressif-IDE and the format produced by the newer version of EIM you installed.

This is a known compatibility issue where the Espressif-IDE version you are using was built to work with an older EIM that produced eim_idf.json version 1.0, but the latest EIM now generates version 2.0 of that file.

Recommended Steps

1. Update Espressif-IDE to the latest version (v4.0.0 or newer), which was specifically released to integrate the latest ESP-IDF Installation Manager (EIM). [v4.0.0 release]

2. If you are migrating from an older workspace, follow the Old-to-New Workspace Migration steps:

   • Download and install EIM from https://dl.espressif.com/dl/eim/.
   • Place the EIM executable in the correct location for Windows: C:\Users\<username>\.espressif\eim_gui\eim.exe
   • Restart the Espressif-IDE. It will detect the EIM executable and prompt you to convert the old workspace configuration.
   • Click Yes to convert, then go to Espressif > ESP-IDF Manager to activate your ESP-IDF version. [workspace migration]

3. Once EIM is properly set up, use the ESP-IDF Manager inside the IDE (Espressif > ESP-IDF Manager) and click Manage ESP-IDF Versions to launch EIM and install/manage your ESP-IDF versions. After closing EIM, the manager will update with the available versions. [ESP-IDF tools installation]

Additional Support

If the issue persists after updating, you can:

• Check the Error Log in Eclipse: Window > Show View > Other > General > Error Log. [Espressif-IDE FAQ]
• Open a bug report on the EIM GitHub Issues page. [EIM support]

[Joonatanr]

The IDE is a freshly downloaded version of 4.2.0 and there is no old-to-new workspace migration. This issue happens with all software being the latest available.

EIM is opened by the IDF-Manager and the EIM does show a 6.0.1 version of IDF being installed on C:\esp
However the IDE does not recognize this.

[NightFury1337]

Yes, I have this problem too. I just installed espressif-ide version 4.2 and got the same error.

[Joonatanr]

Looks like a workaround was to download an older version of the EIM from github. I think I used something like 0.2. Then I copied it under C:\Users<myUser>.espressif\eim_gui and launched it through the IDE, by navigating to the IDF Manager tab.
Then I used it to install an additional IDF to another folder, closed it and then the IDE listed both IDF locations, the one installed with the newest EIM and the one with the old version.

[sigmaaa]

Hi @Joonatanr, @NightFury1337,

Thank you for reporting this issue, and sorry for the inconvenience. I’ve created a PR to address it, and the fix will be included in the next release.

As a temporary workaround, you can either use an earlier version of EIM or temporarily change the version field to 1.0 in the eim_idf.json file (by default located at C:\Espressif\tools). This change is only needed esp-idf activation in the esp-idf manager and after it's activated, you can revert the version field back to 2.0.

After applying this workaround, you should be able to activate ESP-IDF in the Espressif IDE.

[rolandougalde]

Hi, I got the same error with offline installation of v6.0. I found this file: C:\Espressif\toolseim_idf.json, just changed the from "version": "2.0" to "version": "1.0" at line 16.
Will compile something and see what happens.

[PurriKissa]

I’m seeing the same EIM mismatch issue on Linux with the following setup:

• Linux Mint 22.3
• ESP-IDF v6.0.1
• ESP-IDE 4.2.0

I installed everything using the standard EIM “easy install” flow.

As a temporary workaround, I edited the following file: (mentioned by rolandougalde)

~/.espressif/tools/eim_idf.json

and changed the version value from:

"version": "2.0"

to:

"version": "1.0"

After that, things started working again for me.