diff --git a/components/cxx/test_apps/exception/CMakeLists.txt b/components/cxx/test_apps/exception/CMakeLists.txt
index 236f0449e6..b29acb36de 100644
--- a/components/cxx/test_apps/exception/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/components/cxx/test_apps/exception/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 # This is the project CMakeLists.txt file for the test subproject
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5)
 
-set(EXTRA_COMPONENT_DIRS "$ENV{IDF_PATH}/tools/unit-test-app/components")
 set(COMPONENTS main)
 
 include($ENV{IDF_PATH}/tools/cmake/project.cmake)
diff --git a/components/cxx/test_apps/exception/main/CMakeLists.txt b/components/cxx/test_apps/exception/main/CMakeLists.txt
index dd12b0365f..526e9b5439 100644
--- a/components/cxx/test_apps/exception/main/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/components/cxx/test_apps/exception/main/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,2 @@
 idf_component_register(SRCS "test_exception.cpp"
-                       REQUIRES test_utils
                        PRIV_REQUIRES unity driver)
diff --git a/components/cxx/test_apps/exception/main/test_exception.cpp b/components/cxx/test_apps/exception/main/test_exception.cpp
index 69f7102f07..ee77e0afcb 100644
--- a/components/cxx/test_apps/exception/main/test_exception.cpp
+++ b/components/cxx/test_apps/exception/main/test_exception.cpp
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  */
 #include <stdexcept>
 #include "unity.h"
-#include "memory_checks.h"
+#include "unity_test_utils.h"
 
 /* Note: When first exception (in system) is thrown this test produces memory leaks report (~300 bytes):
    - 8 bytes are allocated by __cxa_get_globals() to keep __cxa_eh_globals
@@ -25,12 +25,12 @@
 
 extern "C" void setUp()
 {
-    test_utils_record_free_mem();
+    unity_utils_record_free_mem();
 }
 
 extern "C" void tearDown()
 {
-    test_utils_finish_and_evaluate_leaks(LEAKS, LEAKS);
+    unity_utils_evaluate_leaks_direct(LEAKS);
 }
 
 TEST_CASE("c++ exceptions work", "[cxx] [exceptions]")
diff --git a/components/cxx/test_apps/exception_no_except/CMakeLists.txt b/components/cxx/test_apps/exception_no_except/CMakeLists.txt
index 236f0449e6..b29acb36de 100644
--- a/components/cxx/test_apps/exception_no_except/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/components/cxx/test_apps/exception_no_except/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 # This is the project CMakeLists.txt file for the test subproject
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5)
 
-set(EXTRA_COMPONENT_DIRS "$ENV{IDF_PATH}/tools/unit-test-app/components")
 set(COMPONENTS main)
 
 include($ENV{IDF_PATH}/tools/cmake/project.cmake)
diff --git a/components/cxx/test_apps/exception_no_except/main/CMakeLists.txt b/components/cxx/test_apps/exception_no_except/main/CMakeLists.txt
index aa767eafcd..fd5da60266 100644
--- a/components/cxx/test_apps/exception_no_except/main/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/components/cxx/test_apps/exception_no_except/main/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,2 @@
 idf_component_register(SRCS "test_exception_no_except.cpp"
-                       REQUIRES test_utils
                        PRIV_REQUIRES unity driver)
diff --git a/components/cxx/test_apps/exception_no_except/main/test_exception_no_except.cpp b/components/cxx/test_apps/exception_no_except/main/test_exception_no_except.cpp
index a3942613e6..e89e685455 100644
--- a/components/cxx/test_apps/exception_no_except/main/test_exception_no_except.cpp
+++ b/components/cxx/test_apps/exception_no_except/main/test_exception_no_except.cpp
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 #include <stdexcept>
 #include <vector>
 #include "unity.h"
-#include "memory_checks.h"
 
 extern "C" void setUp()
 {
diff --git a/components/cxx/test_apps/general/CMakeLists.txt b/components/cxx/test_apps/general/CMakeLists.txt
index d37fad99f0..5d1506c5e8 100644
--- a/components/cxx/test_apps/general/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/components/cxx/test_apps/general/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 # This is the project CMakeLists.txt file for the test subproject
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5)
 
-set(EXTRA_COMPONENT_DIRS "$ENV{IDF_PATH}/tools/unit-test-app/components")
 set(COMPONENTS main)
 
 include($ENV{IDF_PATH}/tools/cmake/project.cmake)
diff --git a/components/cxx/test_apps/general/main/CMakeLists.txt b/components/cxx/test_apps/general/main/CMakeLists.txt
index 271a3dd092..d66ec8e1b3 100644
--- a/components/cxx/test_apps/general/main/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/components/cxx/test_apps/general/main/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 idf_component_register(SRCS "test_cxx_general.cpp"
-                       PRIV_REQUIRES unity test_utils driver)
+                       PRIV_REQUIRES unity driver)
diff --git a/components/cxx/test_apps/general/main/test_cxx_general.cpp b/components/cxx/test_apps/general/main/test_cxx_general.cpp
index 006ea56a46..6fb8f8fb13 100644
--- a/components/cxx/test_apps/general/main/test_cxx_general.cpp
+++ b/components/cxx/test_apps/general/main/test_cxx_general.cpp
@@ -11,18 +11,17 @@
 #include "freertos/semphr.h"
 #include "esp_log.h"
 #include "unity.h"
-#include "memory_checks.h"
+#include "unity_test_utils.h"
 
 extern "C" void setUp()
 {
-    test_utils_set_leak_level(0, ESP_LEAK_TYPE_CRITICAL, ESP_COMP_LEAK_GENERAL);
-    test_utils_record_free_mem();
+    unity_utils_set_leak_level(0);
+    unity_utils_record_free_mem();
 }
 
 extern "C" void tearDown()
 {
-    size_t leak_level = test_utils_get_leak_level(ESP_LEAK_TYPE_CRITICAL, ESP_COMP_LEAK_GENERAL);
-    test_utils_finish_and_evaluate_leaks(leak_level, leak_level);
+    unity_utils_evaluate_leaks();
 }
 
 static const char* TAG = "cxx";
@@ -45,7 +44,7 @@ static int non_pod_test_helper(int new_val)
 // Will fail if run twice
 TEST_CASE("can use static initializers for non-POD types", "[restart_init]")
 {
-    test_utils_set_leak_level(300, ESP_LEAK_TYPE_CRITICAL, ESP_COMP_LEAK_GENERAL);
+    unity_utils_set_leak_level(300);
     TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(42, non_pod_test_helper(1));
     TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(1, non_pod_test_helper(0));
 }
@@ -99,7 +98,7 @@ static int start_slow_init_task(int id, int affinity)
 
 TEST_CASE("static initialization guards work as expected", "[misc]")
 {
-    test_utils_set_leak_level(300, ESP_LEAK_TYPE_CRITICAL, ESP_COMP_LEAK_GENERAL);
+    unity_utils_set_leak_level(300);
     s_slow_init_sem = xSemaphoreCreateCounting(10, 0);
     TEST_ASSERT_NOT_NULL(s_slow_init_sem);
     int task_count = 0;
diff --git a/components/cxx/test_apps/rtti/CMakeLists.txt b/components/cxx/test_apps/rtti/CMakeLists.txt
index f8b0144caf..289b1c9e21 100644
--- a/components/cxx/test_apps/rtti/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/components/cxx/test_apps/rtti/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 # This is the project CMakeLists.txt file for the test subproject
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5)
 
-set(EXTRA_COMPONENT_DIRS "$ENV{IDF_PATH}/tools/unit-test-app/components")
 set(COMPONENTS main)
 
 include($ENV{IDF_PATH}/tools/cmake/project.cmake)
diff --git a/components/cxx/test_apps/rtti/main/CMakeLists.txt b/components/cxx/test_apps/rtti/main/CMakeLists.txt
index 74d9dc9108..fef050f7a7 100644
--- a/components/cxx/test_apps/rtti/main/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/components/cxx/test_apps/rtti/main/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,2 @@
 idf_component_register(SRCS "test_rtti.cpp"
-                       REQUIRES test_utils
                        PRIV_REQUIRES unity driver)
diff --git a/components/cxx/test_apps/rtti/main/test_rtti.cpp b/components/cxx/test_apps/rtti/main/test_rtti.cpp
index 1490b8dc6c..06ae473376 100644
--- a/components/cxx/test_apps/rtti/main/test_rtti.cpp
+++ b/components/cxx/test_apps/rtti/main/test_rtti.cpp
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 #include <stdexcept>
 #include <typeinfo>
 #include "unity.h"
-#include "memory_checks.h"
+#include "unity_test_utils.h"
 
 /* Note: When first exception (in system) is thrown this test produces memory leaks report (~300 bytes):
    - 8 bytes are allocated by __cxa_get_globals() to keep __cxa_eh_globals
@@ -26,14 +26,13 @@
 
 extern "C" void setUp()
 {
-    test_utils_set_leak_level(0, ESP_LEAK_TYPE_CRITICAL, ESP_COMP_LEAK_GENERAL);
-    test_utils_record_free_mem();
+    unity_utils_set_leak_level(0);
+    unity_utils_record_free_mem();
 }
 
 extern "C" void tearDown()
 {
-    size_t leak_level = test_utils_get_leak_level(ESP_LEAK_TYPE_CRITICAL, ESP_COMP_LEAK_GENERAL);
-    test_utils_finish_and_evaluate_leaks(leak_level, leak_level);
+    unity_utils_evaluate_leaks();
 }
 
 using namespace std;
@@ -97,7 +96,7 @@ TEST_CASE("typeid of function works", "[cxx]")
 
 TEST_CASE("unsuccessful dynamic cast on reference throws exception", "[cxx]")
 {
-    test_utils_set_leak_level(LEAKS, ESP_LEAK_TYPE_CRITICAL, ESP_COMP_LEAK_GENERAL);
+    unity_utils_set_leak_level(LEAKS);
     bool thrown = false;
     DerivedA derived_a;
     Base &base = derived_a;
diff --git a/components/unity/CMakeLists.txt b/components/unity/CMakeLists.txt
index 14a33632cd..bc8818b32e 100644
--- a/components/unity/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/components/unity/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -15,7 +15,10 @@ endif()
 
 if(CONFIG_UNITY_ENABLE_IDF_TEST_RUNNER)
     list(APPEND srcs "unity_runner.c")
+    # Note the following files are not compatible with the Linux target.
+    # On Linux, these are masked because we also don't use the IDF test runner there
     list(APPEND srcs "unity_utils_freertos.c")
+    list(APPEND requires "freertos")
 endif()
 
 if(CONFIG_UNITY_ENABLE_FIXTURE)
@@ -23,8 +26,13 @@ if(CONFIG_UNITY_ENABLE_FIXTURE)
     list(APPEND includes "unity/extras/fixture/src")
 endif()
 
+list(APPEND srcs "unity_utils_memory.c")
+
 if(NOT "${target}" STREQUAL "linux")
     list(APPEND srcs "unity_port_esp32.c")
+    list(APPEND srcs "port/esp/unity_utils_memory_esp.c")
+else()
+    list(APPEND srcs "port/linux/unity_utils_memory_linux.c")
 endif()
 
 idf_component_register(SRCS "${srcs}"
diff --git a/components/unity/include/unity_test_utils.h b/components/unity/include/unity_test_utils.h
index f508ecaa5f..c9f38613e7 100644
--- a/components/unity/include/unity_test_utils.h
+++ b/components/unity/include/unity_test_utils.h
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include <stdint.h>
 #include "freertos/FreeRTOS.h"
 #include "freertos/task.h"
+#include "unity_test_utils_memory.h"
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 extern "C" {
diff --git a/components/unity/include/unity_test_utils_memory.h b/components/unity/include/unity_test_utils_memory.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5327523d28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/unity/include/unity_test_utils_memory.h
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+/*
+ * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2022 Espressif Systems (Shanghai) CO LTD
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <stddef.h>
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
+/**
+ * @brief Adjust the allowed memory leak thresholds for unit tests.
+ *
+ * Usually, unit tests will check if memory is leaked. Some functionality used by unit tests may unavoidably
+ * leak memory. This function allows to adjust that memory leak threshold.
+ *
+ * @param leak_level Maximum allowed memory leak which will not trigger a unit test failure.
+ */
+void unity_utils_set_leak_level(size_t leak_level);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Start/Restart memory leak checking.
+ *
+ * Records the current free memory values at time of calling. After the test case, it may be checked with
+ * \c unity_utils_finish_and_evaluate_leaks.
+ *
+ * If this function is called repeatedly, only the free memory values at the last time of calling will prevail
+ * as reference.
+ */
+void unity_utils_record_free_mem(void);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Calculate leaks and check they are below against a threshold
+ *
+ * This function is for internal use, users shouldn't have a reason to call this.
+ *
+ * Calculates the leak from \c before_free and \c after_free and checks that the difference does not exceed
+ * \c threshold. It uses a unity assert to to the check and report in case of failure.
+ * A summary of the leaked data will be printed in all cases.
+ */
+void unity_utils_check_leak(unsigned int before_free,
+        unsigned int after_free,
+        const char *type,
+        unsigned int threshold);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Evaluate memory leak checking according to the provided thresholds.
+ *
+ * If the current memory leak level (counted from the last time calling \c unity_utils_record_free_mem() ) exceeds
+ * \c threshold, a unit test failure will be triggered.
+ */
+void unity_utils_evaluate_leaks_direct(size_t threshold);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Evaluate memory leaks.
+ *
+ * If the current memory leak level (counted from the last time calling \c unity_utils_record_free_mem() ) exceeds
+ * the threshold set before via \c unity_utils_set_leak_level(), a unit test failure will be triggered.
+ *
+ * @note The user MUST set the allowed leak threshold before via \c unity_utils_set_leak_level(), otherwise the
+ *       allowed leak threshold is undefined.
+ */
+void unity_utils_evaluate_leaks(void);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Helper function to setup and initialize heap tracing.
+ *
+ * @param num_heap_records the size of the heap record butter,
+ *        counted in number of heap record elements (heap_trace_record_t).
+ *        Use a default value of 80 if no special requirements need to be met.
+ */
+void unity_utils_setup_heap_record(size_t num_heap_records);
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+}
+#endif
diff --git a/components/unity/port/esp/unity_utils_memory_esp.c b/components/unity/port/esp/unity_utils_memory_esp.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9edf9d0e8d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/unity/port/esp/unity_utils_memory_esp.c
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+/*
+ * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2015-2021 Espressif Systems (Shanghai) CO LTD
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+#include "esp_heap_caps.h"
+#include "unity_test_utils.h"
+#ifdef CONFIG_HEAP_TRACING
+#include "esp_heap_trace.h"
+#endif
+
+static size_t s_before_free_8bit;
+static size_t s_before_free_32bit;
+
+void unity_utils_record_free_mem(void)
+{
+    s_before_free_8bit = heap_caps_get_free_size(MALLOC_CAP_8BIT);
+    s_before_free_32bit = heap_caps_get_free_size(MALLOC_CAP_32BIT);
+}
+
+void unity_utils_setup_heap_record(size_t num_heap_records)
+{
+#ifdef CONFIG_HEAP_TRACING
+    static heap_trace_record_t *record_buffer;
+    if (!record_buffer) {
+        record_buffer = malloc(sizeof(heap_trace_record_t) * num_heap_records);
+        assert(record_buffer);
+        heap_trace_init_standalone(record_buffer, num_heap_records);
+    }
+#endif
+}
+
+void unity_utils_evaluate_leaks_direct(size_t threshold)
+{
+    size_t after_free_8bit = heap_caps_get_free_size(MALLOC_CAP_8BIT);
+    size_t after_free_32bit = heap_caps_get_free_size(MALLOC_CAP_32BIT);
+    unity_utils_check_leak(s_before_free_8bit, after_free_8bit, "8BIT", threshold);
+    unity_utils_check_leak(s_before_free_32bit, after_free_32bit, "32BIT", threshold);
+}
diff --git a/components/unity/port/linux/unity_utils_memory_linux.c b/components/unity/port/linux/unity_utils_memory_linux.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9562abab21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/unity/port/linux/unity_utils_memory_linux.c
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+/*
+ * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2015-2021 Espressif Systems (Shanghai) CO LTD
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+#include "unity_test_utils.h"
+
+void unity_utils_record_free_mem(void) { }
+
+void unity_utils_setup_heap_record(size_t num_heap_records) { }
+
+void unity_utils_evaluate_leaks_direct(size_t threshold) { }
diff --git a/components/unity/unity_utils_memory.c b/components/unity/unity_utils_memory.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..dd2b3bcaa3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/unity/unity_utils_memory.c
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+/*
+ * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2015-2021 Espressif Systems (Shanghai) CO LTD
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include "unity.h"
+#include "unity_test_utils.h"
+
+static size_t s_allowed_leak_level;
+
+void unity_utils_set_leak_level(size_t leak_level)
+{
+    s_allowed_leak_level = leak_level;
+}
+
+void unity_utils_check_leak(unsigned int before_free,
+        unsigned int after_free,
+        const char *type,
+        unsigned int threshold)
+{
+    int free_delta = (int)after_free - (int)before_free;
+    printf("MALLOC_CAP_%s usage: Free memory delta: %d Leak threshold: -%u \n",
+           type,
+           free_delta,
+           threshold);
+
+    if (free_delta > 0) {
+        return; // free memory went up somehow
+    }
+
+    unsigned int leaked = (size_t)(free_delta * -1);
+
+    printf("MALLOC_CAP_%s %s leak: Before %u bytes free, After %u bytes free (delta %u)\n",
+           type,
+           leaked <= threshold ? "potential" : "critical",
+           before_free, after_free, leaked);
+    fflush(stdout);
+    TEST_ASSERT_MESSAGE(leaked <= threshold, "The test leaked too much memory");
+}
+
+void unity_utils_evaluate_leaks(void)
+{
+    unity_utils_evaluate_leaks_direct(s_allowed_leak_level);
+}