eim-cli-windows-x64 custom folder -p usage (EIM-540)

[gubertoli]

Checklist

• Checked the issue tracker for similar issues to ensure this is not a duplicate
• Read the documentation to confirm the issue is not addressed there and your configuration is set correctly
• Tested with the latest version to ensure the issue hasn't been fixed

How often does this bug occurs?

always

Expected behavior

Hi,
I had been using the eim-cli v0.8.0 as replacement for eim-ui v0.8.0 to be capable to install in a custom folder of my corporate computer.

Actual behavior (suspected bug)
As suggested by #442 (comment), it might work through eim-cli. however, the eim-cli is giving a Error executing CLI: Access is denied. (os error 5)

The error is the same with or without a --use-local-archive.

Note: This issue was first opened espressif/idf-im-cli#99 (Idk if the repo is still maintained)

Actual behavior (suspected bug)

As suggested by #442 (comment), it might work through eim-cli. however, the eim-cli is giving a Error executing CLI: Access is denied. (os error 5)

The error is the same with or without a --use-local-archive.

Error logs or terminal output

PS C:\Temp\ESP-IDF> .\eim-cli-windows-x64.exe install -p C:\Users\Local\.espressif --use-local-archive .\archive_vv5.5.3_windows-x64.zst
2026-02-24 13:49:14 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Returned settings: Ok(Settings { path: Some("C:\\Users\\Local\\.espressif"), idf_path: None, esp_idf_json_path: Some("C:\\Espressif\\tools"), tool_download_folder_name: Some("C:\\Espressif\\dist"), tool_install_folder_name: Some("C:\\Espressif\\tools"), target: Some(["all"]), idf_versions: None, tools_json_file: Some("tools/tools.json"), config_file: None, config_file_save_path: Some("eim_config.toml"), non_interactive: Some(true), wizard_all_questions: Some(false), mirror: Some("https://github.com"), idf_mirror: Some("https://github.com"), pypi_mirror: Some("https://pypi.org/simple"), recurse_submodules: Some(true), install_all_prerequisites: Some(false), idf_features: None, idf_features_per_version: None, idf_tools: None, idf_tools_per_version: None, repo_stub: None, skip_prerequisites_check: Some(false), version_name: None, cleanup: Some(false), python_env_folder_name: Some("python"), use_local_archive: Some(".\\archive_vv5.5.3_windows-x64.zst"), activation_script_path_override: Some("C:\\Espressif\\tools"), python_version_override: Some("python313") })
2026-02-24 13:49:15 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Extracting archive: ".\\archive_vv5.5.3_windows-x64.zst" to: "C:\\Users\\Local\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\.tmpZs7lNi" with buffer size: 65536
2026-02-24 13:49:15 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Setting up zstd decoder with custom buffer size...
2026-02-24 13:49:15 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Extracting tar archive...
2026-02-24 13:50:46 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Archive extracted successfully to: "C:\\Users\\Local\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\.tmpZs7lNi"
2026-02-24 13:50:46 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Successfully extracted archive to: TempDir { path: "C:\\Users\\Local\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\.tmpZs7lNi" }
2026-02-24 13:50:50 -  1 - 02 - WARN - Failed to install Scoop: "Initializing offline installation...\r\nScoop is already installed. Run 'scoop update' to get the latest version.\r\nAbort.\r\n" | ""
2026-02-24 13:50:52 -  1 - 02 - INFO - 7zip manifest written to: C:\Users\Local\AppData\Local\Temp\.tmpZs7lNi\scoop\7zip.json
2026-02-24 13:50:52 -  1 - 02 - INFO - git manifest written to: C:\Users\Local\AppData\Local\Temp\.tmpZs7lNi\scoop\git.json
2026-02-24 13:50:52 -  1 - 02 - INFO - dark manifest written to: C:\Users\Local\AppData\Local\Temp\.tmpZs7lNi\scoop\dark.json
2026-02-24 13:50:52 -  1 - 02 - INFO - python manifest written to: C:\Users\Local\AppData\Local\Temp\.tmpZs7lNi\scoop\python.json
2026-02-24 13:50:52 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Installing 7zip (attempt 1/3)
2026-02-24 13:50:56 -  1 - 02 - INFO - 7zip installation completed.
2026-02-24 13:50:56 -  1 - 02 - INFO - 7zip installed and tested successfully.
2026-02-24 13:50:56 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Installing git (attempt 1/3)
2026-02-24 13:50:58 -  1 - 02 - INFO - git installation completed.
2026-02-24 13:51:02 -  1 - 02 - INFO - git installed and tested successfully.
2026-02-24 13:51:02 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Installing dark (attempt 1/3)
2026-02-24 13:51:05 -  1 - 02 - INFO - dark installation completed.
2026-02-24 13:51:05 -  1 - 02 - INFO - dark installed and tested successfully.
2026-02-24 13:51:05 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Installing python (attempt 1/3)
2026-02-24 13:51:08 -  1 - 02 - INFO - python installation completed.
2026-02-24 13:51:09 -  1 - 02 - INFO - python installed and tested successfully.
2026-02-24 13:51:09 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Successfully installed prerequisites from offline archive
2026-02-24 13:51:11 -  1 - 02 - INFO - All prerequisites are satisfied!
2026-02-24 13:51:11 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Running python sanity check
2026-02-24 13:51:17 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Your Python meets the requirements
2026-02-24 13:53:56 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Successfully copied content from offline archive to IDF path
2026-02-24 13:53:56 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Successfully merged requirements files to: C:\Users\Local\.espressif\v5.5.3\esp-idf\tools\requirements\requirements.merged.txt
2026-02-24 13:53:56 -  1 - 02 - INFO - Cloning ESP-IDF
Error executing CLI: Access is denied. (os error 5)

Steps to reproduce the behavior

1. Download eim-cli
2. Run it with the custom folder parameter -p

Project release version

v0.8.0

System architecture

Intel/AMD 64-bit (modern PC, older Mac)

Operating system

Windows

Operating system version

11

Shell

PowerShell

Additional context

No response

[Hahihula]

Hi,

Thanks for the detailed report.

To properly diagnose the Access is denied (os error 5) issue, we will need the full EIM logs. On Windows, you can find them here:

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\eim\logs

Please attach the complete log files from that folder so we can see exactly which operation is being blocked.

From your description, since you are working on a corporate machine with restricted permissions, it is very likely that changing only the -p (IDF path) parameter is not sufficient. You may also need to configure:

tool_install_folder_name

tool_download_folder_name

potentially other related paths

so that all installation directories point to locations where you have full write permissions (not just the IDF path).

When using the CLI, you can configure these paths as documented here:
https://docs.espressif.com/projects/idf-im-ui/en/latest/cli_configuration.html

Please review the CLI configuration options and ensure every relevant directory is set to a writable location.

⚠️ Important note:
If you change the location of the eim_idf.json configuration file, you may lose automatic IDE integration. Both VS Code and Espressif IDE expect this file to be in a known default location. Moving it elsewhere can prevent the IDE from detecting the installed ESP-IDF environment automatically.

Once we have the full logs, we can provide more precise guidance.

[gubertoli]

@Hahihula thank you for the mention to the other paths. I tried it differently now:

PS C:\temp\ESP-IDF> .\eim-cli-windows-x64.exe install `
                               --config .\config.toml `
                               --use-local-archive .\archive_vv5.5.3_windows-x64.zst

For reference the config.toml file based on the one available here:

path = "C:/Users/USERNAME/.espressif"
idf_path = "C:/Users/USERNAME/.espressif/v5.5.3/esp-idf"
esp_idf_json_path = "C:/Users/USERNAME/.espressif/tools"
tool_download_folder_name = "C:/Users/USERNAME/.espressif/dist"
tool_install_folder_name = "C:/Users/USERNAME/.espressif/tools"
python_env_folder_name = "python_env"
cleanup = true
target = ["all"]
idf_versions = ["v5.5.3"]
tools_json_file = "tools/tools.json"
config_file_save_path = "eim_config.toml"
non_interactive = true
wizard_all_questions = false
mirror = "https://github.com"
idf_mirror = "https://github.com"
pypi_mirror = "https://pypi.org/simple"
recurse_submodules = true
install_all_prerequisites = true
skip_prerequisites_check = false
idf_features = ["ci", "docs"]

However, the issue persisted (slightly different now):

thread 'main' (21116) panicked at src\lib\mod.rs:624:31:
Unable to create directory: Os { code: 5, kind: PermissionDenied, message: "Access is denied." }
note: run with `RUST_BACKTRACE=1` environment variable to display a backtrace

⚠️ Checking the eim.log, I saw that the following path was not documented in the cli_configuration page: activation_script_path_override: Some("C:\\Espressif\\tools")
🏗️ Note: I submitted PR #483

I finally added activation_script_path_override to the config.toml too:

activation_script_path_override = "C:/Users/USERNAME/.espressif/tools"

Then the first CLI command resulted in:

Configuration saved successfully to config.toml
You have successfully installed ESP-IDF
the installer placed shortcuts for PowerShell terminal with activated ESP-IDF environment to your desktop
2026-02-25 17:46:31 -  5 - 02 - INFO - Wizard result: Ok
2026-02-25 17:46:31 -  5 - 02 - INFO - Successfully installed IDF
2026-02-25 17:46:31 -  5 - 02 - INFO - Now you can start using IDF tools

Finally, to conclude (PowerShell):

cd C:\Users\USERNAME\.espressif\v5.5.3\esp-idf\
.\install.ps1
.\export.ps1