You must have done File -> Preferences... -> Additional board manager URL -> OK, and clicked Tools -> Board -> Board manager... -> esp32 by Espressif Systems -> Install.

And that's like, I think installing VSCode itself can be more scary, so...

If youbuse PlatformIO everthing Just Works out of the box. Acquiring board files and such is handled behind the scenes

Yup, youre right I remember that