Cannot debug ESP32-S3 due to gdb missing or config problem

Development Tools IDE 2.x
1

Running Arduino 2.2.1 on newly-installed Ubuntu 24.04 LTS desktop. I am working with an esp32-S3 Development board. I receive error /home/-user-/.arduino15/packages/esp32/tools/xtensa-esp-elf-gdb/packages/esp32/tools/14.2_20240403/bin/arm-none-eabi-gdb not found when I click the debug option arrow shown in the attached image. The very same problem appears here: Arduino IDE 2.X ESP32C3 Debug not found arm-none-eabi-gdb.exe Error - #11 by jhhm

That article seems to imply that the problem was resolved by the very version of Arduino IDE that I am running. Clearly it's not solved for me.

What I notice, is that that box next to the arrow (same image) has a dropdown that includes Arduino and nothing else. Seems to me that this is some sort of configuration issue, but I do not see a way to correct the configuration. something is causing the IDE to look for arm-none-eabi-gdb rather than the appropriate one (which I am guessing is extensa-esp32s3-elf-gdb in my case). The path is correct, but the named file is not in that path, and I don't think it belongs there. What causes the IDE to look for the arm* file rather than esp*?

Here is the launch.json for the only debug configuration currently defined:

{
  "version": "0.2.0",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "cwd": "${workspaceRoot}",
      "name": "Arduino",
      "request": "launch",
      "type": "cortex-debug",
      "executable": "/tmp/arduino/sketches/A16877B71BC761A1E0531D6555D2E7C4/06_LVGL_Widgets.ino.elf",
      "servertype": "openocd",
      "serverpath": "/home/-user-/.arduino15/packages/esp32/tools/openocd-esp32/v0.12.0-esp32-20241016/bin/openocd",
      "armToolchainPath": "/home/-user-/.arduino15/packages/esp32/tools/xtensa-esp-elf-gdb/14.2_20240403/bin/",
      "configFiles": [
        null
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Is it maybe the nvp called "executable" ? Is there an adjustment I can make in the config to make this work?

Screenshot from 2026-02-17 12-53-05
Screenshot from 2026-02-17 12-53-05441×380 20.9 KB

2

I’m using IDE 2.3.6 with ESP32 board package 3.3.2 on Linux mint 22.3 and it works OK.

You should see this:

image
image834×383 18.3 KB

What version of esp32 board package do you have installed?

3

Thanks, @jim-p . I am using esp32 by espressif, version 3.3.2. After 3.3.2, espressif broke compatibility with GFX libraries as described here and elsewhere. Unfortunately, I need those features.

I have also tried using Arduino 2.3.3, which unfortately does not resolve this issue. (It is still broken in current (3.3.7) version of the board.)

4

Why are you using old versions of he IDE?
I would try uninstalling and reinstalling the ESP package and updating the IDE.

5

Hi @jim-p See here

Believe me, i have uninstalled and reinstalled many times, clearing all traces of the old (except the source) each time. And rebooting.

To facilitate this, I have this purge-arduino script in my path:

#!/usr/bin/env ksh
cd ~
echo "Deleting arduino setup...."
rm -rf ~/Arduino/libraries/* \ 
         ~/.arduino* \
         ~/.config/Arduino* \
         ~/.config/arduino* \
         $(find ~/.cache -type d -iname "arduino*")
echo "Done."

And my /arduino- ide directory looks like this:

>  ls -l
-rwxr-xr-x 1 user user       197 Feb 18 14:09 arduino.desktop
lrwxrwxrwx 1 user user        38 Feb 18 14:00 arduino-ide -> arduino-ide_2.2.1_Linux_64bit.AppImage
-rwxrwxr-x 1 user user 183123134 Feb 17 08:48 arduino-ide_2.2.1_Linux_64bit.AppImage
-rwxrwxr-x 1 user user 190624130 Feb 18 14:20 arduino-ide_2.3.3_Linux_64bit.AppImage
-rwxrwxr-x 1 user user 201578934 Feb 14 11:46 arduino-ide_2.3.7_Linux_64bit.AppImage

(2.3.3 was because it works for you.) I have tried to enable debug with all the versions you see there. I have also tried various versions of the board -not so easy to document-. In short , with combinations and permutations, i have spent many hours on the quest for a working Arduino / esp32 / debug combination. Hence this post.

6

I'm not a Linux expert, and I don't have an S3 for testing, so can't offer much help. All I can offer is to show that it does work on my machine as described.
Can you compile and upload ESP programs?