esp_cli component code calls incorrect functions (IEC-457)

[michaesc]

Answers checklist.

• I have read the component documentation ESP-IDF Components and the issue is not addressed there.
• I am using target and esp-idf version as defined in component's idf_component.yml
• I have searched the issue tracker for a similar issue and not found any related issue.

Which component are you using? If you choose Other, provide details in More Information.

esp_cli

ESP-IDF version.

5.5.1 (stable)

Development Kit.

ESP32C3 devkit

Used Component version.

0.1.0 (latest)

More Information.

Problem description

The example code for the esp_cli component calls esp_linenoise_create and esp_cli_commands_create without any parameters. These functions either do not exist or do not exist in the form called. A compiler error occurs and the component is mostly useless without rewriting or correcting.

user@host:~/espcliexample$ idf.py build
espcliexample/main/espcliexample.c:36:61: error: implicit declaration of function 'esp_cli_commands_create'; did you mean 'esp_cli_commands_execute'? [-Wimplicit-function-declaration]
   36 |     esp_cli_command_set_handle_t esp_cli_commands_cmd_set = esp_cli_commands_create();                   
      |                                                             ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                                                         
      |                                                             esp_cli_commands_execute
espcliexample/main/espcliexample.c:36:61: error: initialization of 'esp_cli_command_set_handle_t' {aka 'struct esp_cli_command_sets *'} from 'int' makes pointer from integer without a cast [-Wint-conversion]

Expected outcome

The example code would work correctly after installing idf.py add-dependency espressif/esp_cli.

Actual outcome

Compiler error (see above.)

[SoucheSouche]

@michaesc thanks for reporting this issue. I must have forgot to update the README before merging the component. I will work on updating it today.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

[SoucheSouche]

I created a PR to fix the example code: #644

[michaesc]

Good work @SoucheSouche , after merging your correction the example code in the README file builds correctly!

Should we now close this bug report, or wait until the changeset is merged into the Git repository trunk?

This correction allows runtime testing, so now I can see that accessing the esp_cli console is not possible in my case.

#error This example works with default UART as an IO

Because my board only connects to USB for console input and output, I can only assume that the esp_cli component works as intended now. If I try to access the ESP32-C3 device with USB I get this on the console output:

Your terminal application does not support escape sequences.

Line editing and history features are disabled.

On Windows, try using Windows Terminal or Putty instead.

I (11283) repl_example: esp_cli instance task exiting
I (11283) repl_example: esp_cli exited
I (11283) repl_example: esp_cli example finished
sk: Returned from app_main()

If anyone has advice for this, please share! Thank you.

[SoucheSouche]

@michaesc, I only added support for UART but it should work just the same with usb serial jtag or usb cdc. I can add the IO init for those too.

[SoucheSouche]

@michaesc, I updated the README example to work for uart, usb serial jtag and usb cdc. Could you please try it again?

[michaesc]

Yes @SoucheSouche good work again, and thanks. I can see you are trying to resolve problems with terminal emulation.

Your terminal application does not support escape sequences.
Line editing and history features are disabled.
On Windows, try using Windows Terminal or Putty instead.

...and include usb_serial_jtag_vfs_set(r|t)x_line_endings_ invokations to correct.

Compile Problem

The line endings calls require inclusion of new header files, here is the correction to make your README code compile.

--- main/iec-457.c.orig	2025-12-17 15:44:47.823237830 +0100
+++ main/iec-457.c.new1	2025-12-17 15:41:44.312159402 +0100
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@
 #include "esp_log.h"
 #include "esp_cli.h"
 #include "esp_cli_commands.h"
+#if defined(CONFIG_ESP_CONSOLE_USB_SERIAL_JTAG) || defined(CONFIG_ESP_CONSOLE_USB_CDC)
+#include "driver/usb_serial_jtag.h"
+#include "driver/usb_serial_jtag_vfs.h"
+#endif
 #include "freertos/FreeRTOS.h"
 #include "freertos/task.h

Test Failure

While the new code compiles and runs on the USB terminal correctly, unfortunately the line endings calls do not solve the problem. The USB driver still claims:

Your terminal application does not support escape sequences.
Line editing and history features are disabled.
On Windows, try using Windows Terminal or Putty instead.

Failed Attempt

I tried correcting the line endings problem with the following code, but it did not work.

--- main/iec-457.c.orig	2025-12-17 15:54:01.876049033 +0100
+++ main/iec-457.c.new2	2025-12-17 15:54:12.274686821 +0100
@@ -116,6 +116,11 @@
     /* Move the caret to the beginning of the next line on '\n' */
     esp_vfs_dev_cdcacm_set_tx_line_endings(ESP_LINE_ENDINGS_CRLF);
 
+    /* Spritetm's suggested modification to solve console edition code */
+    const usb_serial_jtag_driver_config_t cfg = USB_SERIAL_JTAG_DRIVER_CONFIG_DEFAULT();
+    usb_serial_jtag_driver_install(&cfg);
+    esp_vfs_usb_serial_jtag_use_driver();
+
     /* Enable blocking mode on stdin and stdout */
     fcntl(fileno(stdout), F_SETFL, 0);
     fcntl(fileno(stdin), F_SETFL, 0);
@@ -126,6 +131,9 @@
     /* Move the caret to the beginning of the next line on '\n' */
     usb_serial_jtag_vfs_set_tx_line_endings(ESP_LINE_ENDINGS_CRLF);
 
+    /* Spritetm's suggested modification to solve console edition code */
+    usb_serial_jtag_driver_config_t cfg = USB_SERIAL_JTAG_DRIVER_CONFIG_DEFAULT();
+
     /* Enable blocking mode on stdin and stdout */
     fcntl(fileno(stdout), F_SETFL, 0);
     fcntl(fileno(stdin), F_SETFL, 0);

I removed the above (new2) code from my project, after determining that the console edition problem still exists.

[SoucheSouche]

Concerning the terminal not handling escape sequences, can it simply be that the terminal connected to the board on the host size does not handle escape sequences ?

Can you tell me more about what you are using on host size to interface the board ?

[michaesc]

Computing Environment

user@host:~$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 25.04
Release:	25.04
Codename:	plucky

user@host:~$ uname -a
Linux Hostname 6.14.0-37-generic #37-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Fri Nov 14 22:10:32 UTC 2025 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

user@host:~$ ls -ld `which screen`
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 592152 Jun 12  2025 /usr/bin/screen

user@host:~$ screen -v
Screen version 4.09.01 (GNU) 20-Aug-23
user@host:~$ screen /dev/ttyACM0 115200
Your terminal application does not support escape sequences.

Line editing and history features are disabled.

On Windows, try using Windows Terminal or Putty instead.
I (1178) repl_example: Starting esp_cli...
>

Other Environments

I have not tried using other computer hardware, operating systems, console applications, terminal emulations, so this could be an unrelated problem. If you are confident that the new README source code works in most environments, then we should ignore the problems with console edition that I found.