- [Narrator] Are you trying
to set up your Arduino IDE to use an ESP8266, but you keep getting this
error downloading message. This can be pretty frustrating. Because after all, you just
wanna get started programming. In this lesson, we will show
you how to fix this error so that you can get up and running with your ESP8266, stay tuned. (upbeat music) Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get more videos like this. If you're interested in learning more about using the ESP8266, check our programming electronics academy. We have two courses on using ESP8266, one for data logging with ThingSpeak and another for building a
wireless meat thermometer. Members get access to these and all the other courses
that we currently offer. All right. So here's the deal. The Arduino IDE is pretty
awesome in many respects. Not only can you use it to program and load code onto Arduino boards but you can also use it to program and load code on completely
different boards and processors like the wildly popular
ESP8266 or the ESP32. Now in order for the Arduino IDE to be able to work with
these other boards, it needs what is called a core. Cores are necessary to make new
micro-controllers compatible with your Arduino software. The Arduino development team builds cores for its own boards but anyone can develop a
cord for their own boards. And that is what the ESP8266 community has generously done. They've developed and
currently maintain a core for boards that use the ESP8266. This means you can set up
your Arduino IDE to recognize and load code on any
boards that use an ESP8266. All you have to do is tell the Arduino IDE where to go to get the core and then use the boards manager
tool to download that core. The way you tell it is by pasting a URL into the Arduino IDE preferences, additional boards manager space, and the URL you paste
in is this right here. Now this comes right from
the ESP8266 GitHub page. This is a URL they tell you to use. Then you go to tools,
board, board manager, and wait you get an error. What's up? Error downloading Arduino ESP8266 stable package, ESP com
index json, what gives? Hey, so what's going on? Well, basically this is what's happened. The Arduino IDE went to this
URL to download the core. And when it got there, it
couldn't download the core. Why not? Well, it could be that the ESP8266 website
is currently down. Like sometimes that just happens. Websites go down from time to time. But geez, I mean, you
were hoping to build your wifi cat feeder this afternoon,
so you don't want to wait around until the ESP8266
website's back up. That's just a no-go. So
here's what you can do. Instead, go back to the Arduino
preferences and use this URL or better yet go to
this web page on GitHub. This is going to list all
of the versions available. The top one is going to
be the current version. Find whatever that version number is and replace it with the 2.7.4, then hit, okay, close
the IDE and restart it. Now, when you go to tools, board manager you shouldn't get that error
and you'll be able to search for and install the ESP8266 core. You'll be able to see the
different ESP8266 boards, and you'll be on your way to
building your IOT cat feeder. All right. So what's the
difference between these two URLs? Well, one is pointing
to the ESP8266 website and the other is pointing to GitHub. The first one will always have the most current stable version of the core. The second one points to a
specific version of the core. Like I mentioned sometimes the
ESP8266 website can be down which is why that first URL
may not have worked for you. Now, in my opinion, it makes sense that after
you've downloaded the core you should probably go
back to your preferences and update the additional
board manager URL to that first URL. This way at a later date if you
ever want to update the core when you go to the boards
manager, it's going to have the most current
version available for you. Well, Hey, I hope that solved your problem and I hope it was helpful. Like I said, if you want to learn more about programming things
like the ESP8266 and Arduino, check out the programming
electronics academy membership program have a great one and take it easy. Bye. (bell music)
