I understand I might be required to open up the unit and manually trigger download mode with a pin short somewhere.
it should “just work”.
This is what I see plugging into USB-C without opening up the unit…
➜ ~ esptool.py flash_id
esptool.py v4.2.1
Found 3 serial ports
Serial port /dev/cu.wlan-debug
/dev/cu.wlan-debug failed to connect: Could not open /dev/cu.wlan-debug, the port doesn't exist
Serial port /dev/cu.usbserial-10
Connecting......................................
/dev/cu.usbserial-10 failed to connect: Failed to connect to Espressif device: Wrong boot mode detected (0x13)! The chip needs to be in download mode.
For troubleshooting steps visit: https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esptool/en/latest/troubleshooting.html
Serial port /dev/cu.Bluetooth-Incoming-Port
Connecting......................................
/dev/cu.Bluetooth-Incoming-Port failed to connect: Failed to connect to Espressif device: No serial data received.
For troubleshooting steps visit: https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esptool/en/latest/troubleshooting.html
A fatal error occurred: Could not connect to an Espressif device on any of the 3 available serial ports.