IDE hangs on startup: "Unexpected non-whitespace character after JSON"

Development Tools IDE 2.x
1 
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PS C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE> .\Arduino IDE
.\Arduino : The term '.\Arduino' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable
program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:1
+ .\Arduino IDE
+ ~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (.\Arduino:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

PS C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE> Arduino IDE 2.3.0
Arduino : The term 'Arduino' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.
Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:1
+ Arduino IDE 2.3.0
+ ~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (Arduino:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

PS C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE> Arduino IDE 2.3.2
Arduino : The term 'Arduino' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.
Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:1
+ Arduino IDE 2.3.2
+ ~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (Arduino:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

PS C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE> Arduino IDE
Arduino : The term 'Arduino' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.
Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:1
+ Arduino IDE
+ ~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (Arduino:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

PS C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE> Arduino IDE
Arduino : The term 'Arduino' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.
Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:1
+ Arduino IDE
+ ~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (Arduino:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

PS C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE> & ".\Arduino IDE"
PS C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE>
Failed to start the electron application.
SyntaxError: Unexpected non-whitespace character after JSON at position 1 (line 1 column 2)
    at JSON.parse (<anonymous>)
    at P._deserialize (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:2:1201664)
    at get store [as store] (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:2:1205142)
    at new P (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:2:1202911)
    at new e.exports (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:8:49127)
    at new x (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:2:1043350)
    at new M (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:2:60378)
    at Te (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:8:616615)
    at Ee (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:8:616564)
    at C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:8:620554
                                                    > Arduino IDE 2.3.2
Arduino : The term 'Arduino' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.
Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:1
+ Arduino IDE 2.3.2
+ ~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (Arduino:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

PS C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE> & ".\Arduino IDE"
PS C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE>
Failed to start the electron application.
SyntaxError: Unexpected non-whitespace character after JSON at position 1 (line 1 column 2)
    at JSON.parse (<anonymous>)
    at P._deserialize (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:2:1201664)
    at get store [as store] (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:2:1205142)
    at new P (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:2:1202911)
    at new e.exports (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:8:49127)
    at new x (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:2:1043350)
    at new M (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:2:60378)
    at Te (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:8:616615)
    at Ee (C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:8:616564)
    at C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Local\Programs\Arduino IDE\resources\app\lib\backend\electron-main.js:8:620554
2

Hi @priyansh7. It looks like one of the data files used internally by the IDE was somehow corrupted. It should be possible to fix the problem by deleting the folder where the IDE stores these files. This will force the IDE to automatically regenerate the files on the next startup.

This folder is only used to store convenience data such as which sketch you had open the last time you were using Arduino IDE so you can delete it without causing any real impact. Your sketches, libraries, and boards platforms are not stored in this folder so it won't affect your Arduino projects.

I'll provide instructions you can follow to recover the IDE from this broken state:

  1. Close all Arduino IDE windows if it is running.
  2. Delete the folder at the following path:
    C:\Users\kumar\AppData\Roaming\arduino-ide\
    :exclamation: If looking for it with your file manager or command line, note that the AppData folder is hidden by default. On Windows "File Explorer", you can make it visible by opening the "View" menu, then checking the box next to "☐ Hidden items".
    :warning: Please be careful when deleting things from your computer. When in doubt, back up!

Now try starting Arduino IDE again. Hopefully this time it will start up fully and work as expected.

Please let me know if you have any questions or problems while following those instructions.

3

Thanks now app is working fine

4

You are welcome. I'm glad it is working now.

Regards,
Per

5

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