Lander

Firmware for the lander and its ground station, targeting the ESP32 on ESP-IDF v6.0.2. This repo is a VS Code multi-root workspace with two independent ESP-IDF projects:

• lander/ — flight controller (IMU, Kalman filter, DShot motors, ESP-NOW telemetry)
• ground-station/ — ESP-NOW receiver + gui.py desktop GUI

First-time setup

1. Clone with submodules (the esp32_BNO08x IMU driver is a git submodule — the build fails with "does not contain a CMakeLists.txt" if it's missing):

   git clone --recurse-submodules <repo-url>
   # or, in an existing clone:
   git submodule update --init --recursive

2. Install ESP-IDF v6.0.2. Use the ESP-IDF Installation Manager (EIM) or the VS Code ESP-IDF extension's "Configure" flow. The default install location is ~/.espressif (%USERPROFILE%\.espressif on Windows).

3. Open the workspace, not a single folder: open workspace.code-workspace in VS Code and install the recommended extensions when prompted (ESP-IDF, clangd, Python).

4. Point the ESP-IDF extension at your local install. This is per-machine config and is intentionally not committed — set it locally via Command Palette → "ESP-IDF: Configure ESP-IDF Extension". (See Per-machine config below.)

Building

Linux

Via task (fastest):

Ctrl+Shift+B → "Build Select Project" → Lander or Ground Station

Via CLI:

source ~/.espressif/tools/activate_idf_v6.0.2.sh
idf.py -C lander build                    # or: -C ground-station

macOS

Via task (fastest):

Cmd+Shift+B → "Build Select Project" → Lander or Ground Station

(The task automatically sources ~/.espressif/tools/activate_idf_v6.0.2.sh.)

Via CLI:

source ~/.espressif/tools/activate_idf_v6.0.2.sh
idf.py -C lander build

Windows

Via ESP-IDF extension (recommended):

1. Open the workspace
2. Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) → "ESP-IDF: Pick a Workspace Folder" → select lander or ground-station
3. Click the Build button in the bottom status bar, or press Ctrl+E then B

Via CLI (PowerShell):

# Activate ESP-IDF v6.0.2 (installed via EIM or Windows installer)
& "${env:USERPROFILE}\.espressif\tools\idf-cmd-tools\cmdline_tools\bin\idf.cmd" -C lander build

All Platforms (Extension)

The ESP-IDF extension works on all platforms. Use the bottom-bar build/flash/monitor buttons:

1. Command Palette → "ESP-IDF: Pick a Workspace Folder" (select lander or ground-station)
2. Click Build (or Flash, Monitor)

Per-machine config

Machine-specific VS Code settings are not tracked — .vscode/settings.json is git-ignored (see .gitignore). The ESP-IDF extension writes values like idf.currentSetup, idf.port, and absolute toolchain paths there; committing them breaks other contributors. Configure them locally through the extension and they'll stay on your machine.

Shared, portable config is tracked: the workspace layout and build task in workspace.code-workspace and the recommended extensions in .vscode/extensions.json. The Microsoft CMake Tools extension is intentionally disabled for this workspace (it configures ESP-IDF projects with the host compiler and corrupts build/); build only through ESP-IDF.