Fixing ESDK configuration issues

If you are having problems getting your ESDK to display sensor readings on its screen, no mqtt data or issues with DesignSpark Cloud the chances are that there is a problem with your configuation file.

The file can be found in the Linux filesystem at: /boot/aq/aq.toml

It is written in a special format called TOML. You can edit the file by putting the SD card into a Windows / Mac / Linux PC and edit it there but make sure to use a plain text editor that doesn't introduce any hidden formatting characters.

The safest way to edit it, is to ssh into the ESDK, make a backup copy and use vi or nano editors:

ssh pi@airquality.local

sudo cp /boot/aq/aq.toml /boot/aq/aq.toml.bak

sudo vi /boot/aq/aq.toml

Or

sudo nano /boot/aq/aq.toml

You can validate the file to check for syntax errors etc by installing a TOML validator at the command prompt:

pip3 install toml-validator

You can then check the file with the following command:

toml-validator /boot/aq/aq.toml

Here is the output from my working aq.toml

If there is a problem it screams - open the editor again and fix the problem, then re-validate until there are no errors.

Detailed documentation about configuring the ESDK can be found here:

https://docs.designspark.io/projects/aq-device/en/latest/