What do I need to do to get this to work? Is there a way I can just compile the openocd-esp32 and put it in wherever the Arduino IDE is looking for it?
Upgrade to a 64 bit version of Linux I have encountered the same problem for a variety of board packages (ESP32 is not the only one) but as I only actively use AVR boards it's a non-issue for me.
Just compiling openOCD is not going to do the job. I'm not sure of the exact mechanism behind the installation of the board package and how it checks for the versions.
Further openOCD might just be the first symptom; once you have managed to take that hurdle the board manager might complain about the compiler.
The last version of the ESP32 board package that can be installed on a 32 bit Linux system is version 2.0.6 but that version is missing support for your board as far as I can see.
You can try to install that older version and next find the newest boards.txt and platform.txt as well as the variant files and replace the existing ones. There might be more involved but it's worth a try.
We have to accept that the world is going 64 bit and that we dinosaurs eventually have to adapt.
I still have the option to install a 64-bit version of the OS because my laptop has a 64 bit processor; the choice of a 32 bit OS was based on the 1 GB memory of my laptop.
It's not possible to install a 64-bit OS on a 32-bit laptop, is it? What program or tool specifically seems to require the 64-bit platform? All I want to do is try out the ANSI terminal emulator example from the FabGL libraries examples; is there a way to do that without the Arduino IDE perhaps from the command line?
Unless your laptop is old enough to vote, it has a 64-bit CPU. (OK, maybe old enough to drive.) The only reason not to install a 64-bit OS is if it only has 1GB of RAM, and in that case, you have bigger problems.
Because 32-bit software is far in the past -- with at least one notable exception: what we do here -- the issue is that no one is maintaining 32-bit "desktop" OSes and software. So even the simplest stuff that "doesn't need" 64 bits is still compiled that way; not even as a default option, but as the only option. What variation there is (for a given OS) is with CPU: x64, ARM, etc.
It isn't really worth the work it would take to set up for a Boards Manager installation with your own tool, but you can do that with a manual installation of the platform. You can follow the instructions provided here to do that:
I have encountered the same problem for a variety of board packages (ESP32 is not the only one) but as I only actively use AVR boards it's a non-issue for me.