How to upload nvs partition with wifi credentials (IDFGH-13678)

[ConDai]

Answers checklist.

• I have read the documentation ESP-IDF Programming Guide and the issue is not addressed there.
• I have updated my IDF branch (master or release) to the latest version and checked that the issue is present there.
• I have searched the issue tracker for a similar issue and not found a similar issue.

General issue report

I would like to generate a nvs partition containing wifi credentials and upload it to my ESP32.
I am generating the nvs partition from a CSV using the NVS Partition Generator

I want to set the wifi credentials in the CSV in a format compatible with the esp wifi component.
The esp wifi saves wifi credentials in NVS by default. If we read the partition after saving a credential I get the following

# Read the NVS parititon on ESP32
esptool.py --port /dev/ttyUSB0 read_flash 0x9000 0x5000 nvs.img

# Read the key values pairs for wifi sta
python3 /home/daigo/src/espressif/esp-idf/components/nvs_flash/nvs_partition_tool/nvs_tool.py nvs.img  -d minimal -f text | grep sta
 nvs.net80211:sta.rrm_e = 0
 nvs.net80211:sta.btm_e = 0
 nvs.net80211:sta.mbo_e = 0
 nvs.net80211:sta.bss_retry = 0
 nvs.net80211:sta.trans_d = 0
 nvs.net80211:sta.sae_h2e = 2
 nvs.net80211:sta.scan_method = 0
 nvs.net80211:sta.minauth = 3
 nvs.net80211:sta.ssid[0] = b'\x05\x00\x00\x00REDACTED_SSID\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00'
 nvs.net80211:sta.pswd[0] = b'REDACTED_PASSWORD\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00'
 nvs.net80211:sta.apsw[0] = b'\x05\x01'
 nvs.net80211:sta.chan = 6

I want to set the ssid and password using the following format

key,type,encoding,value
net80211 ,namespace,,
std.ssid,data,string,"SSID"
std.pswd,data,string,"PASSWORD"

However, the SSID is stored as a blob type instead of a string type and is prefixed by \x05\x00\x00\x00

Is there a way I can set the wifi credentials in NVS that is compatible with esp_wifi and is human-friendly?

I originally raised the question on the esp32 forum here but didn't get resolved.

[ConDai]

I understand the team is busy. When can I expect an update?

[yujonglee]

+1 for this.

[chegewara]

I am trying to help with this issue, but i see some other "problem", which is not actually an issue, just inconsistency.
I have NVS partition generated with espressif tools, it is working great, but decoding it shows that 4 pages are marked as full which according to docs means we cant add new keys to that page (why?):

Full
Flash storage is in a consistent state and is filled with key-value pairs. Writing new key-value pairs into this page is not possible. It is still possible to mark some key-value pairs as erased.

Page no. 0, Status: Full
 hardware:productCode = b'CC0407WB\x00'
 ...
more configs here

Page no. 1, Status: Full
// no data here
Page no. 2, Status: Full
// no data here
Page no. 3, Status: Full
// no data here
Page Empty

Another question, to help solving OP issue is

• is it possible to select page we want to write to? because i found that some espressif settings, like wifi and mqtt creds or phy data are stored on page 4

@ConDai @yujonglee
Is there any reason you cant prepare NVS partition the way its described in OP

key,type,encoding,value
net80211 ,namespace,,
std_ssid,data,string,"SSID"
std_pswd,data,string,"PASSWORD"

then read values in the code and to use values to connect AP?

It is how i am doing it in some commercial product right now and it is working.

 wifi:ssid = b'esp32\x00'
 wifi:password = b'espressif\x00'