Espressif-IDE freezes when editing code if there are Errors or Warnings with type: 'Language Servers' (IEP-1531)

[Vincent-Dalstra]

Describe the bug
When the 'problem' view is open, and the list of 'Warnings' or 'Errors' is open, the application will freeze constantly.

I don't have much experience debugging eclipse, but I've tried to narrow down when exactly this will happen:

• The duration of the freeze is equal to approximately 0.25s per Warning/Error that has Type = Language Servers. Other types of errors/warnings have no effect.
• Any input while the application is frozen takes effect after the freeze ends.
• Freezes will not occur while the 'Errors' and 'Warnings' lists are collapsed, or if the 'Problems' view is not open.
  • If a list is collapsed, then immediately un-collapsed, no freeze occurs.
  • If a list is collapsed, and one of the actions below is taken, then attempting to un-collapse the list will cause a freeze.
• A freeze will occur within about 0.5s after:
  • Editing a C/C++ file in any way (e.g. undo/redo and copy-paste)
  • Opening a C/C++ file.
• This only happens when editing C/C++ files (.c, .h, .cpp, .hpp). Editing CMakelists.txt and KConfig.projbuild will NOT trigger freezes.

When I run espressif-ide from a terminal, I get the following output during a freeze. The number of lines is = 2x the number of Errors/Warnings with Type = Language Servers.

e.g 4 warnings with Type = Language Servers:

I[14:55:22.264] <-- textDocument/codeAction("19")
I[14:55:22.264] --> reply:textDocument/codeAction("19") 0 ms
I[14:55:22.524] <-- textDocument/codeAction("20")
I[14:55:22.524] --> reply:textDocument/codeAction("20") 0 ms
I[14:55:22.786] <-- textDocument/codeAction("21")
I[14:55:22.786] --> reply:textDocument/codeAction("21") 0 ms
I[14:55:23.048] <-- textDocument/codeAction("22")
I[14:55:23.048] --> reply:textDocument/codeAction("22") 0 ms

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Open and build a project that has a 'Warning' or 'Error' with Type = Language Servers.

2. Open a source file (this does not have to be the same file as the warning or error).

3. Open the 'Problems' view

4. Un-collapse 'Warnings' or 'Errors'.
   At this point, the IDE will freeze for a period of time, depending on how many errors / warnings there are (~0.25s x the number). Only after that will the list of errors/warnings be opened.

5. Type some text into a source file
   The freeze will occur again, for the same amount of time. Any letters typed

6. Collapse 'Warning' and 'Error'

7. Add or remove some text from the source file

8. No freeze will occur

Expected behavior
The application should not freeze when editing source files, simply because the list of Warnings or Errors is visible.

Screenshots
If applicable, add screenshots to help explain your problem.

Espressif-IDE Product Information:
Espressif > Product Information (Copy content from the console and attach as a file)
Espressif-IDE Product Information.txt

Espressif-IDE version:
https://dl.espressif.com/dl/idf-eclipse-plugin/ide/Espressif-IDE-3.4.0-linux.gtk.x86_64.tar.gz

Eclipse Error log:
Window > Show View > Other > Search for "Error Log" (Attach as a file)

Please attach the error log as described here https://github.com/espressif/idf-eclipse-plugin#error-log

[github-actions]

Hi @Vincent-Dalstra! This is an automated response.
If you don’t find the answer helpful, please check the ESP32 IDE forum (https://www.esp32.com/viewforum.php?f=40) or GitHub issues (https://github.com/espressif/idf-eclipse-plugin/issues) to see if the issue has already been discussed.

---

Thank you for reporting this issue with Espressif-IDE freezing when editing code with Language Servers errors/warnings visible. Based on the documentation, I can provide some troubleshooting guidance.

This appears to be related to the LSP C/C++ Editor functionality introduced in Espressif-IDE v3.0.0, which uses the clangd language server for code analysis. The freezing behavior you're experiencing when the Problems view is open with Language Servers errors/warnings visible is likely a performance issue with how the editor is processing code actions.

Here are some troubleshooting steps you can try:

1. Check your clangd configuration:
   Make sure your clangd configuration is properly set up as described in the LSP Support for C/C++ Editor documentation.

2. Disable CDT Indexer (if not already disabled):
   The documentation mentions that "With Espressif-IDE 3.0.0 (and higher), the CDT Indexer is disabled by default; instead, the LSP Indexer server will be used for code analysis." Verify this setting at Window > Preferences > C/C++ > Indexer.

3. Check Java heap memory:
   You might need to increase the heap memory for Java as mentioned in the FAQs. Locate the espressif-ide.ini file and increase the Xmx value under the -vmargs section (e.g., -Xmx2048m).

4. Report the issue with logs:
   Since you've already collected some logs, I recommend submitting this as an issue to the ESP-IDF Eclipse Plugin GitHub repository. Include:

   • The error log you've collected
   • The console output showing the textDocument/codeAction messages
   • The Espressif-IDE Product Information

5. Temporary workaround:
   As you've discovered, keeping the Warnings/Errors lists collapsed in the Problems view prevents the freezing. This could be a viable temporary workaround while the issue is being addressed.

For reporting this issue, please follow the guidance in the Troubleshooting documentation to ensure you include all relevant information.

[Vincent-Dalstra]

1. Disabled the CDT indexer. Problem persists.
2. Clangd configuration is correct: matches the referenced page with the only difference being newer versions:
   path = /home/vincent/.espressif/tools/esp-clang/esp-18.1.2_20240912/esp-clang/bin/clangd
   additional = --compile-commands-dir=/home/vincent/eclipse-workspace/room_audio_player/build
3. Already high: -Xmx4096m

[Vincent-Dalstra]

I'd like to investigate this further and try and find a solution, but don't really know how to debug eclipse or LSP's.

In particular, if anyone can provide some instructions on how to get more verbose output from the terminal running the IDE, that would be very much appreciated. Currently I can only see LOGI type messages. I expect that LOGD would have more detail about what is actually happening...

[kolipakakondal]

Hi @Vincent-Dalstra It seems that when opening the Problems view with errors and markers, the IDE is making multiple textDocument/publishDiagnostics and textDocument/codeAction calls, which may be contributing to the performance issues.

I don’t have access to a Linux environment at the moment, so I tried testing this quickly on macOS. I did notice some lag when expanding the Problems view, but it doesn’t appear to impact the overall IDE experience significantly.

Ok, will verify this behavior on Linux as well and see what we can do about it.

Regarding the enabling the verbose for LSP, you can enable "Log to console" option in the Editor(LSP) > Clangd preferences.

As a workaround, could you try closing the Problems view and see if that helps? If the items in the Problems view aren’t being refreshed constantly while you’re making changes, you might not experience the lag while working in the editor. You can reopen the view whenever needed.

[Vincent-Dalstra]

Yes, I'm working around the problem by compiling from the command line, and manually finding each error listed. It's a bit tedious compared to just clicking them, but not enough to make me downgrade the IDE.

I'll check the LSP log output and see if it has any clues...

Thank you for looking into this.