Boards Manager doesn't use configured proxy

[nivhg]

Describe the problem

The proxy settings configured in the Arduino IDE preferences are not being used for certain operations.

In our environment, proxy is mandatory for HTTPS connection. Our firewall replaces certificates with a false certificate when the proxy is not used.

🐛 Arduino IDE is not using the firewall for installations of boards platforms. This causes the installation to fail.

To reproduce

1. Install Arduino IDE on a environment where proxy is mandatory.
2. Use Boards Manager to install any boards platform (e.g., "Arduino megaAVR Boards").

🐛 The installation fails.

Expected behavior

Packages needed by the board are successfully downloaded.

Arduino IDE version

2.3.7-nightly-20250911

Operating system

Windows

Operating system version

11 24H2

Additional context

I have this proxy configuration in %USERPROFILE%\.arduinoIDE\arduino-cli.yaml:

network:
  proxy: http://172.21.178.254:3128/
  user_agent_ext: daemon

The complete file:

arduino-cli.yaml

---

I see certificate errors in the logs:

2025-09-11 10:54:17 Checking for update
2025-09-11 10:54:17 Error: Error: net::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID
    at SimpleURLLoaderWrapper.<anonymous> (node:electron/js2c/browser_init:2:114352)
    at SimpleURLLoaderWrapper.emit (node:events:519:28)
2025-09-11 10:54:17 2025-09-11T08:54:17.703Z root INFO [hosted-plugin: 4656] PLUGIN_HOST(4656): PluginManagerExtImpl/loadPlugin(C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Programs\arduino-ide\resources\app\plugins\vscode-builtin-json-language-features\extension\client\dist\node\jsonClientMain)
2025-09-11 10:54:17 2025-09-11T08:54:17.938Z root INFO [hosted-plugin: 4656] PLUGIN_HOST(4656): PluginManagerExtImpl/loadPlugin(C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Programs\arduino-ide\resources\app\plugins\vscode-arduino-api\extension\dist\extension.js)
2025-09-11 10:54:17 2025-09-11T08:54:17.947Z root INFO [hosted-plugin: 4656] calling activation function on Arduino IDE API for VS Code extensions
2025-09-11 10:54:17 2025-09-11T08:54:17.983Z root INFO [43dd9994-0848-4fb6-b9cc-d97597fb5de0] Starting plugins.
2025-09-11 10:54:18 2025-09-11T08:54:18.340Z root INFO [hosted-plugin: 4656] PLUGIN_HOST(4656): PluginManagerExtImpl/loadPlugin(C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Programs\arduino-ide\resources\app\plugins\cortex-debug\extension\dist\extension.js)
2025-09-11 10:54:18 2025-09-11T08:54:18.429Z root INFO [hosted-plugin: 4656] Debug configuration provider has been registered: cortex-debug, trigger: 1
2025-09-11 10:54:18 2025-09-11T08:54:18.430Z root INFO [hosted-plugin: 4656] calling activation function on Cortex-Debug
2025-09-11 10:54:18 2025-09-11T08:54:18.441Z root INFO [hosted-plugin: 4656] GDB server console created
2025-09-11 10:54:18 2025-09-11T08:54:18.478Z root INFO [43dd9994-0848-4fb6-b9cc-d97597fb5de0] Start of 23 plugins: 2196.2 ms [Finished 8.555 s after frontend start]
2025-09-11 10:54:18 2025-09-11T08:54:18.941Z root ERROR ---- !!!SLOW!!! DURATION: search took 1472.752 ms. Args: [{"type":"Updatable"}] ----
2025-09-11 10:54:18 2025-09-11T08:54:18.942Z fwuploader ERROR Error: Process exited with exit code: 1
    at ChildProcess.<anonymous> (C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Programs\arduino-ide\resources\app\lib\backend\main.js:2:1104768)
    at ChildProcess.emit (node:events:519:28)
    at ChildProcess._handle.onexit (node:internal/child_process:294:12)
2025-09-11 10:54:18 2025-09-11T08:54:18.943Z fwuploader ERROR Error: Process exited with exit code: 1
    at ChildProcess.<anonymous> (C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Programs\arduino-ide\resources\app\lib\backend\main.js:2:1104768)
    at ChildProcess.emit (node:events:519:28)
    at ChildProcess._handle.onexit (node:internal/child_process:294:12)

Full logs:

2025-09-11_log.log

---

When using Arduino IDE 2.1.0, Arduino IDE says that Arduino CLI is offline, but it does manage to install the boards platforms.

Additional reports

• https://forum.arduino.cc/t/rant-about-ide-2-x-proxy-issues-on-windows-but-also-on-linux-and-macos/1406669

Related

• IDE updater doesn't use the configured proxy #2232

Issue checklist

• I searched for previous reports in the issue tracker
• I verified the problem still occurs when using the latest nightly build
• My report contains all necessary details

[per1234]

Thanks for your report @nivhg. The logs you shared don't show any error related to a failed Boards Manager installation.

I see an error when Arduino IDE attempted to download the "channel file" used to check for an update of the IDE (this bug is already tracked at #2232), and another when the Arduino Firmware Updater component attempted to download the latest firmwares from the Internet (the fact that Arduino Firmware Updater doesn't use the proxy is something that should be tracked). However, neither of those errors will impact Boards Manager.

Did you attempt to install a boards platform during the session that generated the logs you shared?

If not, please provide the logs that are generated when the platform installation fails.

If you did attempt a platform installation during that session, it might be that the error is not logged. In this case, please provide the full and exact text of the messages shown in the Arduino IDE GUI when the installation fails. It will probably be printed in the "Output" panel at the bottom of the Arduino IDE window.

[nivhg]

I don't think I have tried to install a board with the first log.

Here is a log and a screenshot when I tried to install a board :

[2025-09-12_log.log](https://github.com/user-attachments/files/22291582/2025-09-12_log.log)

[per1234]

Thanks for the clarification. The platform installation is actually performed for Arduino IDE by a helper tool named Arduino CLI. I see that this is caused by a bug in Arduino CLI: arduino/arduino-cli#2888. That bug has already been fixed, but the fix was made after the time of the Arduino CLI 1.2.0 release currently in use by Arduino IDE, so this is why Arduino IDE users are still affected by the bug.

So the bug will be fixed by the next update of Arduino IDE's Arduino CLI dependency. Until then, the workaround will be to use Arduino CLI directly to install boards platforms. Arduino IDE will recognize any installations of boards platforms, even if they were installed by Arduino CLI. You can learn how to install Arduino CLI from the documentation here:

https://arduino.github.io/arduino-cli/latest/installation/

and how to use it from this documentation:

https://arduino.github.io/arduino-cli/latest/getting-started/

and about the arduino-cli core install command used to install Arduino boards platforms here:

https://arduino.github.io/arduino-cli/latest/commands/arduino-cli_core_install/

If you have any questions or problems using Arduino CLI just post on Arduino Forum and we'll help you out there:

https://forum.arduino.cc/c/development-tools/arduino-cli/89

[nivhg]

Thanks for the reply. Indeed, using the lasted arduino-cli, I can download boards.

For the IDE updater bug, do you know when it will be corrected ? it was opened in 2023 and there is no milestone assigned.
And is there any workaround for this bug on the updater ?