Never put software on a device before?
Then this page is for you.
Everything here works the same way: you buy a finished device in a shop, plug it into a computer, press Install on the page of the system you want and pick the device from the list your browser shows. A few minutes later it works without the computer. No account and nothing to solder. Some computers need a small driver the first time; below I show where to get it.
What an ESP32 is, in a minute
A chip about the size of a fingernail, most often with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth already inside. It costs a couple of euros and is built into countless things nobody would call a computer: smart plugs, sensors, toys, weather stations. A finished device with a screen and a case costs more.
A device is that chip in a case, usually with a screen and a battery, sold finished in a shop. This site calls such devices boxes, whatever their shape. A system is what I write: the part that makes the box do one job well. You install the system yourself, once, and it stays until you change it.
For the curious · ESP32 is a family, not one chip
The name covers several chip families. The original ESP32 has two Xtensa cores; the C series is cheaper and uses RISC-V; the S series is faster with more memory; the P series is more powerful and made for screens, but has no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth of its own. They are not interchangeable: a system built for one will not run on another. The boxes page lists which chip each box uses.
Pick by what you want, not by the chip
Each row is one thing a box can do for you, labelled with how far along it is and its version number. Where there is nothing to install yet, there is no button.
-
I want radio in the kitchen
works today · 0.4.2A box that plays Polish radio stations and, when the internet drops, white noise instead of silence.
-
I want to reach someone where there is no phone signal
works today · 0.9.2Two small radios that pass short messages to each other over LoRa, a long-range radio link that needs no SIM card. Your phone, linked over the radio's own Wi-Fi, is the screen. Neither radio has a battery; each runs from a USB charger or a power bank. The radios use 868 MHz, licence-free in Europe; elsewhere, check local rules first.
-
I want a calm poster with today's weather
works today · 0.5.2Weather and air quality on electronic paper. Between refreshes the picture stays on screen without using power; the device itself still needs charging.
-
I want to see how busy the airwaves are here
in testing · 0.1.0-rc15The same box as the kitchen radio, this time counting the Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices around it. Installing this system removes the radio; reinstall the radio whenever you want it back.
-
I want old adventure games on a five-inch screen
in the workshopNineties point-and-click games, played from a memory card, no internet needed.
nothing to install yet -
I already have a device and a file of my own
works today · 0.3.2The installer writes your own file the same way it writes mine.
Not sure which box to buy?
Which box is which, what runs on each and what it costs. Useful whether you already own one or are buying your first.
How installing works, and what can go wrong
Three steps, the same for everything here. Then the five things that actually trip people up — all of them fixable, and none of them break the device.
A box from a shop
It comes assembled in a closed case, with nothing to solder.
A few clicks in your browser
Connect the device to a computer with a USB cable, open the install page of the system you want and press Install. Your browser then lists what is plugged in: pick the device and confirm. No account; some computers need a small driver the first time.
It works
A few minutes later the device does its job without the computer. If it needs your Wi-Fi, it asks once, at first start. It never reports back to me.
from a computer with a USB cable · Chrome, Edge or Opera (Firefox from 151, untested)
Five things that trip people up
The cable only charges
Plenty of USB-C cables carry power and no data: the device lights up, the browser sees nothing. Use a cable you know carries data, such as the one that came with an external drive. This is the most common reason a first try does nothing at all.
The computer needs a driver
Some computers cannot see the device until you install a small driver; you only do this once. Windows and macOS need it more often than Linux. The radio's install page walks you through it and links to the file: how to install the driver.
Another program is using the device
The Arduino IDE, a serial monitor, another browser tab with an installer open — only one program at a time can talk to the device. Close the other one and press Install again.
The browser cannot do it
Installing needs Web Serial, the part of a browser that talks to a device over a cable. Chrome, Edge and Opera on a computer have it; Safari does not, and no browser on an iPhone or iPad does. Firefox has it from version 151 and Chrome on Android from 148, but I have tested neither. The browser is at fault here, not your device.
Installing stopped halfway
Nothing is broken. A half-written system simply does not start, and the device may look dead until you finish. You cannot damage it this way: unplug it, plug it back in, press Install again.
Still stuck? Write to me — one person answers, so give it a day.
For the curious · what the installer actually checks
Before it writes anything: the size and the SHA-256 of every file, that the addresses do not overlap, that nothing runs past the end of the memory, and that the chip named in the image header is the chip that answered on the cable.
After writing: the chip reports an MD5 (another fingerprint) of what actually landed in its memory, and the page compares it with the MD5 of what it sent. If the two do not agree, the page says so instead of telling you it went fine.
Twelve words you will meet
No definitions from a dictionary — just what each one means here.
- ESP32
- The family of chips inside all these devices; most have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built in.
- System, or firmware
- The program that runs the whole device. One at a time — a second one replaces the first.
- Installing, or flashing
- Writing that program into the device over a cable. A few minutes, repeatable any number of times.
- Data cable
- A USB cable that carries data, not only power. It looks exactly like a charge-only cable, which catches everyone out at least once.
- Web Serial
- The part of a browser that talks to a device over the cable. Chrome, Edge and Opera on a computer have it; Firefox 151 or later, untested here.
- Driver
- A small program that lets your computer recognise the device on the cable. Some computers need it, once.
- Checksum, or SHA-256
- A fingerprint of a file. Same fingerprint, same file — that is how the installer knows nothing was swapped.
- Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz
- The older band that reaches further through walls. These chips use only this one, even those with Wi-Fi 6, the newer standard.
- Bluetooth
- Two things share the name: the older kind carries sound; the newer one (BLE) carries only small messages.
- LoRa and mesh
- A radio that sends very little data very far, with no SIM. Mesh: every device passes on what it hears.
- E-paper
- A screen that holds its picture with no power and needs light to be read, like paper.
- Open source, GPL, MIT
- The recipe comes with the dish. MIT lets you do almost anything with it; GPL adds one condition: pass that freedom on.
Four rules for every system on this site
They apply to every system I have released and every one I will release.
No account, ever
Not at install time, not later.
Nothing updates itself
A new version arrives only when you install it yourself. No overnight surprises.
Your device sends me nothing
The device connects only to what it needs for its job, such as the stations you play, the weather service or the other radio in your Biper pair. No usage reports, nothing sent to me.
The recipe comes with it
The source of every system is yours to read, change and rebuild: next to the download, or on written request where the licence says so.
Where to go now
If you would rather read first, the front page lists everything I publish and how far along each one is.