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#43: IDF v6.0 Released

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By Kevin Sidwar
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#43: IDF v6.0 Released

Espressif has released v6.0 as the latest stable release of IDF. It is officially recommended for new

https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/releases/tag/v6.0

This release will be supported through September 20, 2028. This is a major version bump of IDF and, according to Espressif, “is mostly compatible with apps written for ESP-IDF v5.x”. There are breaking changes and removal of deprecated functionality. They have provided a migration guide to assist in moving projects from 5.x to 6.0.

IDF Service Periods

Espressif has also announced that, as of this release, you can start to review release notes from the new ESP Release Notes site. It is a lot easier to navigate than the Github releases page. It also allows you to filter by breaking changes and do text search.

Notable Breaking Changes

  • Python 3.9 has been deprecated from the toolchain
  • idf.py now requires the port argument for eFuse commands. This may break some automation scripts you have.
  • Mbed TLS updated to 4.0 which introduces a wide range of breaking changes if you use the crypto functions directly. If you use the Espressif wrappers, you should be fine.
  • The wifi_provisioning component is moved out of IDF and is now an external component called network_provisioning
  • Legacy I2C driver (driver/i2c.h) is end-of-life
  • Legacy ADC and ADC calibration driver have been removed
  • esp_wifi_init returns ERROR if already initialized. This will break code that assumes it’s safe to call repeatedly and checks the return code. It will be especially problematic if the call is wrapped in ESP_ERROR_CHECK as many examples do.
  • The authentication modes WIFI_AUTH_WPA3_EXT_PSK and WIFI_AUTH_WPA3_EXT_PSK_MIXED_MODE have been removed. Use WIFI_AUTH_WPA3_PSK instead.
  • The move to MbedTLS 4.0 increases binary size by 37KB for code that uses esp_http_client.
  • cJSON was moved out of IDF and is now a managed component
  • Default libc is now Picolibc instead of Newlib. This is probably mostly fine but could case issues in rare cases.
  • esp_log_buffer_hex has been removed. Use ESP_LOG_BUFFER_HEX instead
  • Core dump now only supports ELF format. No longer supports binary format.

Should You Update?

If you are starting a new project the answer is absolutely. IDF v6.x is recommended by Espressif for all new development. If you are migrating from a 5.x version you should definitely get it on your roadmap but you have some time to fully evaluate and plan the migration. The maintenance period for v5.5 goes through January of 2028.

The number of fixes and improvements in IDF 6 are too many to mention in a single blog post. Use the IDF 6 Release Notes page to search for specific items that may affect your product.

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