Arduino IDE 2.0.0 avoid check For Updates

Hi, I'm using the new Arduino IDE 2.0.0
Version: 2.0.0-nightly-20220922
Date: 2022-09-22T03:51:53.395Z
CLI Version: 0.27.1 [a900cfb2]
I would like to use the IDE offline, i.e. without internet connection: someone could tell me if it is possible and possibly what to do to avoid connecting to the network for this type of IDE.

Hi @Pippo_75. There is a requirement that the IDE has access to the Internet on the first run after installation so that it can download additional assets:

However, after that is done the core functionality of the IDE should be usable even without an Internet connection. This leaves out the supplemental features such as "Boards Manager" and "Library Manager", which are inherently dependent on Internet access, as well as, perhaps not so intuitively, the "WiFi101 / WiFiNINA Firmware Updater" and "Upload SSL Root Certificates" features. But the essentials like editing sketches, compiling, and uploading should have no dependence on the Internet.

You mention the check for updates. This operation will fail, but it should not be a problem so long as you don't mind the lack of notifications of new versions of the IDE, boards platforms, and libraries. The failure notifications might be a bit annoying though, and suppressing these has been proposed here:

So if you like, you could just ignore the notifications. If you are annoyed by them, there is a way to disable the checks in the advanced settings. I'll provide instructions for that:

  1. Press the Ctrl+Shift+P keyboard shortcut (Command+Shift+P for macOS users) to open the "Command Palette".
  2. Select the "Preferences: Open Settings (UI)" command from the menu.
  3. A "Preferences" tab will now open. Type arduino.checkForUpdates in the "Search Settings" field.
  4. Uncheck the checkbox under the "Check For Updates" setting.
  5. Click the X icon on the "Preferences" tab to close the tab.

Please let me know if you have experienced any other problems caused by not having a connection to the Internet. I think it is important for the design of the IDE to allow for this use case. It is easy for us to make the assumption that Internet is always available, since that is likely the case in the environment the IDE is developed and tested in, but of course that will not always be so for the users.

Hi Ptillisch and thank you for your quick and comprehensive response.
Your instructions did the job: no more notifications (I'm using ESP32 so no problems with certificates ...)
Having said that, in my personal opinion I think it would be appropriate if in the future there was a button for "manual update" or "automatic updates" in the File -> Preferences menu, useful for use with "metered connections".
Thanks again and good day to all of you of the Arduino team.

There is an option to manually check for updates; it's however not in preferences. Follow step 1 above and type check for. You get two options, the first one for the IDE and the second one for libraries and boards.

image

There is a bug for the first one that has been logged by @ptillisch; see Arduino IDE 2.0.0 available for download! - #5 by sterretje

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