[Bug Report]: Flashing through WSL1 environment not working since v0.6.0 (VSC-549)

Pre Bug Report Checklist Before reporting any bug please make sure of these points.

• Make sure you have searched for existing bugs and features request before you post an issue.
• This is a bug report for the ESP-IDF Visual Studio Code extension and not an ESP-IDF bug report.
• I’ve read the docs and found no information that could have helped solving the issue.

Describe the bug Since updating to v0.6.0 the extension (that is installed in WSL debian and runs in VSC installed on Win 10) is fetching serial ports from Windows 10 instead of WSL1. . On version v.0.5.1 it shows /dev/ttySx ports correctly from WSL environment. Since v0.6.0 I get COMx from Windows environment.

When I try to flash the project, it runs the flash process via powershell.exe which does not exist in WSL Linux environment. (I have also tried manually overriding idf.port in settings.json to "idf.port": "/dev/ttyS4" instead of COM4 that was provided via UI serial port selector with the same result)

Executing task: powershell.exe -Command "python \\\\wsl$\\Debian\\home\\username\\esp\\esp-idf\\components\\esptool_py\\esptool\\esptool.py -p /dev/ttyS4 -b 460800 --after hard_reset write_flash --flash_mode dio --flash_freq 40m --flash_size detect 0x8000 partition_table\partition-table.bin 0x1000 bootloader\bootloader.bin 0x10000 app.bin"

As I don’t have python in Windows environment installed, this will end up in message

Python was not found; run without arguments to install from the Microsoft Store,
 or disable this shortcut from Settings > Manage App Execution Aliases.

I’m able to build project via WSL environment, so this applies only for selecting serial port and flashing.

To Reproduce

1. Have WSL1 installed
2. Run VSC project in Remote-WSL environment
3. Build project
4. Select serial port of ESP32 connected via USB Expected behavior: it will give you Linux /dev/ttySx serial ports to choose from Actual behavior: it will give Windows COMs instead
5. Flash project via USB Expected behavior: it will run python directly from WSL environment Actual behavior: it will run powershell.exe in WSL environment

Expected behavior ESP-IDF extension should use Linux environment only tools if it’s running inside Remote-WSL environment in VSC.

Screenshots Not needed. I can provide some if demanded.

Environment (please complete the following information):

• OS Name & Version: Windows 10 1909
• VSCode Version: 1.52.1 (installed on WSL Debian)
• ESP-IDF Version: 4.1
• Python Version: 3.5
• WSL - WSL1 Debian
• Remote-WSL - remote-wsl-0.52.0

Logs If applicable, please share the log file which can be obtained from

{"message":"Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n","stack":"Error: Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:7658\n\tat ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:286:7)\n\tat ChildProcess.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)\n\tat Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:283:5)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T10:31:22.025Z"}
{"message":"ESP-IDF Terminal process ended with exit code 1.","stack":"Error: ESP-IDF Terminal process ended with exit code 1.\n\tat ChildProcess.<anonymous> (/home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:258814)\n\tat ChildProcess.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:272:12)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T10:31:47.799Z"}
{"message":"Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n","stack":"Error: Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:7658\n\tat ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:286:7)\n\tat ChildProcess.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)\n\tat Socket.<anonymous> (internal/child_process.js:430:11)\n\tat Socket.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat Pipe.<anonymous> (net.js:664:12)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T10:32:24.142Z"}
{"message":"Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n","stack":"Error: Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:7658\n\tat ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:286:7)\n\tat ChildProcess.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)\n\tat Socket.<anonymous> (internal/child_process.js:430:11)\n\tat Socket.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat Pipe.<anonymous> (net.js:664:12)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T10:37:59.130Z"}
{"message":"Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n","stack":"Error: Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:7658\n\tat ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:286:7)\n\tat ChildProcess.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)\n\tat Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:283:5)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T10:40:41.486Z"}
{"message":"Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n","stack":"Error: Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:7658\n\tat ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:286:7)\n\tat ChildProcess.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)\n\tat Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:283:5)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T10:40:42.552Z"}
{"message":"Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n","stack":"Error: Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:7658\n\tat ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:286:7)\n\tat ChildProcess.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)\n\tat Socket.<anonymous> (internal/child_process.js:430:11)\n\tat Socket.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat Pipe.<anonymous> (net.js:664:12)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T10:49:34.094Z"}
{"message":"Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n","stack":"Error: Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:7658\n\tat ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:286:7)\n\tat ChildProcess.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)\n\tat Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:283:5)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T10:49:35.695Z"}
{"message":"Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n","stack":"Error: Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:7658\n\tat ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:286:7)\n\tat ChildProcess.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)\n\tat Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:283:5)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T10:51:25.678Z"}
{"user":true,"message":"Failed to flash because of some unusual error","stack":"Error: Task ESP-IDF Flash exited with code 1\n\tat Function.<anonymous> (/home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:47342)\n\tat Generator.next (<anonymous>)\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:45946\n\tat new Promise (<anonymous>)\n\tat o (/home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:45691)\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:47206\n\tat l.fire (/home/username/.vscode-server/bin/ea3859d4ba2f3e577a159bc91e3074c5d85c0523/out/vs/server/remoteExtensionHostProcess.js:46:801)\n\tat _.$onDidEndTaskProcess (/home/username/.vscode-server/bin/ea3859d4ba2f3e577a159bc91e3074c5d85c0523/out/vs/server/remoteExtensionHostProcess.js:954:168)\n\tat processTicksAndRejections (internal/process/task_queues.js:94:5)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T10:51:28.926Z"}
{"message":"Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n","stack":"Error: Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:7658\n\tat ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:286:7)\n\tat ChildProcess.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)\n\tat Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:283:5)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T10:59:00.422Z"}
{"message":"Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n","stack":"Error: Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:7658\n\tat ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:286:7)\n\tat ChildProcess.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)\n\tat Socket.<anonymous> (internal/child_process.js:430:11)\n\tat Socket.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat Pipe.<anonymous> (net.js:664:12)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T11:00:18.723Z"}
{"message":"Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n","stack":"Error: Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:7658\n\tat ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:286:7)\n\tat ChildProcess.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)\n\tat Socket.<anonymous> (internal/child_process.js:430:11)\n\tat Socket.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat Pipe.<anonymous> (net.js:664:12)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T11:11:03.388Z"}
{"message":"Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n","stack":"Error: Open On-Chip Debugger  v0.10.0-esp32-20191114 (2019-11-14-14:15)\nLicensed under GNU GPL v2\nFor bug reports, read\n\thttp://openocd.org/doc/doxygen/bugs.html\n\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:7658\n\tat ChildProcess.exithandler (child_process.js:286:7)\n\tat ChildProcess.emit (events.js:223:5)\n\tat maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:1021:16)\n\tat Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:283:5)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T11:11:11.262Z"}
{"user":true,"message":"Failed to flash because of some unusual error","stack":"Error: Task ESP-IDF Flash exited with code 1\n\tat Function.<anonymous> (/home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:47342)\n\tat Generator.next (<anonymous>)\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:45946\n\tat new Promise (<anonymous>)\n\tat o (/home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:45691)\n\tat /home/username/.vscode-server/extensions/espressif.esp-idf-extension-0.6.0/dist/extension.js:1:47206\n\tat l.fire (/home/username/.vscode-server/bin/ea3859d4ba2f3e577a159bc91e3074c5d85c0523/out/vs/server/remoteExtensionHostProcess.js:46:801)\n\tat _.$onDidEndTaskProcess (/home/username/.vscode-server/bin/ea3859d4ba2f3e577a159bc91e3074c5d85c0523/out/vs/server/remoteExtensionHostProcess.js:954:168)\n\tat processTicksAndRejections (internal/process/task_queues.js:94:5)","level":"error","timestamp":"2021-01-16T11:11:13.776Z"}

Extension Configuration settings

{
    "idf.espIdfPath": "/home/username/esp/esp-idf",
    "idf.toolsPath": "/home/username/.espressif",
    "idf.pythonBinPath": "/home/username/.espressif/python_env/idf4.1_py3.5_env/bin/python",
    "idf.customExtraPaths": "/home/username/.espressif/python_env/idf4.1_py3.5_env/bin:/usr/bin:/home/username/.espressif/tools/xtensa-esp32-elf/esp-2020r2-8.2.0/xtensa-esp32-elf/bin:/home/username/.espressif/tools/xtensa-esp32s2-elf/esp-2020r2-8.2.0/xtensa-esp32s2-elf/bin:/home/username/.espressif/tools/esp32ulp-elf/2.28.51-esp-20191205/esp32ulp-elf-binutils/bin:/home/username/.espressif/tools/esp32s2ulp-elf/2.28.51-esp-20191205/esp32s2ulp-elf-binutils/bin:/home/username/.espressif/tools/openocd-esp32/v0.10.0-esp32-20191114/openocd-esp32/bin",
    "idf.customExtraVars": "{\"OPENOCD_SCRIPTS\":\"/home/username/.espressif/tools/openocd-esp32/v0.10.0-esp32-20191114/openocd-esp32/share/openocd/scripts\"}",
    "idf.port": "COM4",
    "idf.flashType": "UART"
}

Additional context Downgrading to v0.5.1 fixed the problem and I can flash again.

My guess is this is related to a PR https://github.com/espressif/vscode-esp-idf-extension/pull/224

[brianignacio5]

Thanks for reporting this. We tried to fix the issue in WSL 2 of serial ports are not available by using windows host python instead of Linux tools as explained in WSL doc. I can see how this affect WSL 1 behavior. Will fix soon to avoid using this method on WSL 1.

[brianignacio5]

I think I found the problem - in your PR #298 with the fix you didn’t include the condition in flash/flashTask.ts (block between lines 82 and 91) I’ve opened PR with a fix #331 331

Oh wow ! Thanks for looking into it @risinek and your PR 😄