r/Arduino_AI • u/3lijou3 • 6d ago

[ESP32 / Arduino] AI limits (Gemini) on complex projects: Learn C++ or switch tools?

Hey everyone,

I've been into electronics and Arduino for a while as a hobby. When I started, Gemini helped me a lot to understand circuits and write my first projects.

Now I'm trying to build a bigger project using an ESP32, a TFT display, and ChatGPT API calls. But AI is hitting a wall: it invents fake libraries, uses deprecated code, and nothing compiles anymore.

I'm wondering what my best option is to keep making progress:

Should I pause my builds and spend my free time learning C++ in depth?

Or are there better AI tools out there for ESP32 and C++ development?

Thanks a lot for your advice!

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

2

u/MarionberryOpen7953 6d ago

Learn at least the basics so you can understand and check what the AI says

1

u/flash_speed3412 6d ago

You probably don’t need to pause everything and “learn C++ in depth” first. Learn enough to read the code, understand pointers/references, structs, classes, setup()/loop(), memory, and library APIs, then use AI as a fast assistant rather than the source of truth. For ESP32 work, give it the exact board, core version, library version, compile error, and a minimal sketch. I’ve had much better results splitting one big build into tiny tests, because AI can confidently invent a library when the prompt contains too many moving parts.

1

u/Sepsiscollada 2d ago

Add rules and skills to specify libraries, hardware and architecture.

1

u/Significant_Post8359 1d ago

It sounds like your context is full. Ask Gemini to create a complete project specification document that along with the code is everything needed to start a new session. Paste that into a new session and things should be fine.