ESP8266 Community Forum

Is there a guide how to build the firmware?

word on the street is that only the (dodgy?) xp virtual machine can compile this firmware, people have tried and failed using toolchains on linux and windows.

Further word suggests that the makefile is the problem - but I haven't dived in yet myself.

I hope someone can come in and post a guide because it would be really handy. Otherwise the open of open source is a bit notional = if no-one else can reproduce the build environment then that's effectively a sort of secret sauce isn't it?

Have you tried the instructions in this thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=820

I believe someone added some comments about nodemcu somewhere in there, I have been able to use this process to compile almost any code I have been able to find. (Since I found it I have been doing more native code so haven't tried nodemcu)

If you run into an issue I would post something in that thread and someone might help.

I have been reading that and most of the other main threads - I suppose I wasn't considering it seriously because of the windows tag. But I'm sure I can fire up a vm or something and use a free 30-day version to get started.

How open is the toolchain? Am I using some binary blobs that may have legitimacy concerns that may come back to bite me?

Either protected IP that has been infringed or GPL stuff that's been modified without supplying source is a risk to me - either way I want to know where I stand at least. Personally I love the just hack it mentality but if I'm wanting to do a kickstarter with the design, for example, then I guess Gongkai would play badly?