NodeMCU version unknown

Question

I'm new with NodeMCU firmware use. I have a Amica ESP-12E (v2?) dev kit connected to a DHT22 which I program using the Arduino IDE. All is setup and working fine. My problem came when I wanted to update NodeMCU firmware. Since I don't really know what came pre installed from China, I downloaded ESPlorer to try to determine NodeMCU version. I get the following "error" when I reset the dev board:

Communication with MCU..Got answer! Communication with MCU established. AutoDetect firmware...
Can't autodetect firmware, because proper answer not received (may be unknown firmware). Please, reset module or continue.
{{a long string of weird characters that I can't copy and paste appear here}}

At this point I'm totally clueless about what version of firmware I have. Is there a way to obtain NodeMCU firmware version by software via Arduino IDE code, ESPlorer GUI or something similar?

On the other hand, is there a really easy way to compile/download latest NodeMCU firmware BIN file? Even one with all the modules active will be fine for me now, I'm just trying to understand and test things.

Answer 1

You seem to be confusing two very different platforms. I leave out some details as not to confuse you any further.

• Arduino: you use Arduino programming in the Arduino IDE then build and install a binary to your device whenever the application changes. No NodeMCU firmware needed!
• NodeMCU: you flash the NodeMCU firmware once (e.g. using esptool.py) and then upload Lua code (e.g. using ESPlorer) whenever the application changes. This is more lightweight than the Arduino platform.

On the other hand, is there a really easy way to compile/download latest NodeMCU firmware BIN file?

Yes, have a look at the NodeMCU documentation at http://nodemcu.readthedocs.io/en/latest/en/build/. The easiest is to use the cloud builder at https://nodemcu-build.com/. I currently suggest to build from the dev branch because flashing is easier with it.