Arduino IDE (Ver 1.8.19) Board Manager not showing ESP32-CAM Board in the Drop-down Menu

Hi Bob @kontrol77x,

I only went through Bill (@dronebot-workshop)'s video + blog, a long time ago, and haven't looked at it since, but the preferences address he uses is:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/gh-pages/package_esp32_index.json

Furthermore, I have that in my 'preferences' list, with Arduino IDE 2.3.2, and I can see AI Thinker ESP32-CAM  in the list of available boards.

Sorry, if I am missing the point, but your URL addresses look a bit 'strange', compared to the one above. 

Maybe, have a look at Bill's videos + blogs. Those were made a while ago, but so far as I know, still relevant, e.g.

https://dronebotworkshop.com/esp32-intro/

https://dronebotworkshop.com/esp32-cam-intro/

---------

I would also respectfully suggest you move to Arduino IDE 2.3.2 (or later). It now seems a lot better than the 1.8.x used to be.

Best wishes, Dave

@kontrol77x Bob, switch to IDE2 ASAP, and also use the following in your board manager. I play with the ESP32-CAM module a lot so I know this works. The esp32 is from the official site at 

https://docs.espressif.com/projects/arduino-esp32/en/latest/installing.html

and for 8266 at https://arduino-esp8266.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installing.html

https://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json
https://espressif.github.io/arduino-esp32/package_esp32_index.json

@kontrol77x Bob, 

Here is a screen shot of what your esp32 boards should look like

@kontrol77x Bob,  Just to clarify for you

By loading an earlier version of one of the URLs (Espressif Systems V 1.0.1), I was finally able to get the pin definitions for "MODEL_AI_THINKER" to show up (which doesn't do me any good, but at least it is recognized).

Any thoughts on how to get to a URL that has the pin defs for the ESP32-CAM board (or is this just an obsolete board that is no longer supported)?

MODEL_AI_THINKER is the board you want. 

I gave you the OFFICIAL URL's for the boards manager earlier, and the ESP32-CAM is most definitly still supported.

Here is a screen grab.

@kontrol77x The board is easier to find using the IDE2 board search tool. Here is a sc reen grab.

@zander 

Thank you so much for the responses.

I did not realize how badly my pasted URLs (on my initial post) got "bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated" (and, if you understand that reference, you're as old as me!). 

They should have been displayed as:

https://dl.espressif.com/dl/package_esp32_index.json

https://espressif.github.io/arduino-esp32/package_esp32_dev_index.json

https://dl.espressif.com/dl/package_esp32_index.json

https://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json

Anyway, I had been studiously avoiding Arduino's IDE ver 2.0, b/c I thought their website indicated that it was for Win 10 and over;  I am using Win 7.

Based on responses I have been receiving, I guess I will give 2.0 a try, along with the your previously sent URL.

Thanks again - I will post later and say how that went.

Sincerely,

Bob

@kontrol77x 3 of those are esp32, 2 of which are identical. Here is the official

https://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json
https://espressif.github.io/arduino-esp32/package_esp32_index.json

with 2.0, you can use the search feature to find the esp32-cam. The board file is NOT in any kind of order for the esp32, IIRC, the esp88266 is tho.

FYI, I have attached pics of my complete Preferences and boards.

@kontrol77x As of Jan 10, 2023 Win 7 is no longer receiving security updates. You REALLY want to upgrade ASAP. Go straight to Win 11. If you don't, please remove any personal or banking info from that computer and do not use it to access exploitable sites like banking, government sites, amazon, paypal etc.

Good luck and all the best,

Ron (@zander)

@kontrol77x Just an FYI, here is screen grab showing where the esp32-cam is in my boards list. It is NOT in any known order.

BTW, the first time I 'played' with a computer was 1959. Joined IBM Jan 1966.

Hi @kontrol77x ,

 I tend to agree with Ron on replacing Win 7 or WIn 8, and from sometime next year (October perhaps?), Win 10 will be joining the obsolete gang.

Even if you don't have banking details, etc., you could still get caught in other scams. If I recall correctly, a lot of UK hospitals got caught with one of the encrypt/ransomeware scams, preventing them from using medical scan data, etc.

Of course, there are no guarantees that the 'latest and greatest' are totally secure, but software as old as Win 7 is like an open gate.

I do appreciate, this probably also means hardware replacement, and I feel guilty about mentioning it, but the world has some unpleasant people, and the Internet brings a touch of that unpleasantness to us all.

You might consider something like Ubuntu (Linux) as an alternate. Arduino IDE 2.x.x seems to run fine. And it's free. But it too likes to have enough processor power, memory, etc. to play nicely.  It is not usually as fussy as Win 11, although I have a laptop that is fine with both Win 10 and Win 11, but crashes intermittently with Ubuntu and its variants, so nothing is 100% reliable.

I hope this doesn't sound too much like we are ganging up on you ... that is the last thing I would want to do. With Win 10 going obsolete next year, there is going to a lot of us in an awkward postion.

Take care, good luck and best wishes, Dave

@davee 

Thanks for the thoughts on a Win update.  I know technology marches on, and I may have to give in and upgrade.

The Linux route also sounds interesting;  I have a Linux machine, but have not used it for any serious programming.

And, no, I don't think you are ganging up on me.  I'm looking for a solution, so I am glad for the responses!

Bob

@davee @kontrol77x October 14, 2025 unless you are a business and pay for the service.

I do have Win10 before and Win11 now on one of those $100 mini PC's since I have a couple pieces of Win only software and buying the Mini PC was cheaper than the VM annual fee.

Have a look at Zorin, it is *nix but can look like any of the later Windows GUI. The $48 Pro version offers even more.

@kontrol77x I just wanted to check back to see if your issue is resolved as I am going to be stepping away from the forum and want to close any outstanding issues.

@zander 

Thanks so much for all the advice and ideas.  At this time, I'm going to give up on the ESP32-CAM board.  The IDE just doesn't seem to be able to find it, and if I try any of the other "kind of sounds like this" boards (e.g., ESP32-CAM-LCD) I just get compiler errors.  Whatever I thought I might save in $$$, I certainly have lost through wasted time.

You can close this thread out.

Sincerely,

Bob