ESP32‑S3 Dev Board

Getting started

From the box to your first upload

The board arrives ready to use — no soldering, no drivers. Steps 1–2 get the built-in demo online; steps 3–4 set you up to write your own code.

1. 1

   Plug it in

   Connect the board to any USB‑C charger or computer port. It powers up and starts the built-in Weather Clock on the OLED display.

2. 2

   Put it on your Wi‑Fi

   On first boot the board opens its own setup hotspot. Join it from your phone, and a setup page appears — pick your home network and enter its password. The board restarts and shows your local time and weather, with the RGB LED tinted by the temperature outside.

   The board uses 2.4 GHz Wi‑Fi. If your router broadcasts separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz names, choose the 2.4 GHz one.

3. 3

   Set up the Arduino IDE

   Install the free Arduino IDE, then open File → Preferences and paste this into Additional boards manager URLs:

   https://espressif.github.io/arduino-esp32/package_esp32_index.json

   Open Tools → Board → Boards Manager, search for esp32, and install esp32 by Espressif Systems. Then match these settings under Tools:

   Board	ESP32S3 Dev Module
   USB CDC On Boot	Enabled
   Flash Size	8MB (64Mb)
   Partition Scheme	8M with spiffs

   No driver install is needed — the board uses the ESP32‑S3’s native USB, which Windows 10/11, macOS, and Linux recognize out of the box.

4. 4

   Upload your first sketch

   Select the board’s port under Tools → Port, paste this in, and click Upload. The onboard LED cycles red, green, blue:

   #define RGB_PIN 48   // onboard RGB LED
   
   void setup() {}
   
   void loop() {
     neopixelWrite(RGB_PIN, 40, 0, 0);  delay(400);  // red
     neopixelWrite(RGB_PIN, 0, 40, 0);  delay(400);  // green
     neopixelWrite(RGB_PIN, 0, 0, 40);  delay(400);  // blue
   }

   If the port doesn’t appear or the upload won’t start: use a data-capable USB‑C cable, or hold the BOOT button while plugging the board in, then try again.

5. 5

   Keep going

   Take the board tour below, grab the pinout diagram and user guide, then build something from the example projects — including the full source of the Weather Clock your board shipped with.

Board tour

Know your board

Both sides, and what everything on them does. Renders show the bare board — the OLED display mounts on the front.

Front

• ESP32‑S3 module up top — the green area is the Wi‑Fi antenna; keep it clear of metal.
• EN (reset) and BOOT buttons, with the RGB status LED between them.
• USB‑C for power, charging, and programming.
• CHG and SYS ON indicator LEDs by the USB port.
• Qwiic / STEMMA QT connector (JST‑SH 4‑pin) for solder-free I²C sensors.

Back

• Every header pin labeled on the silkscreen — power (3V3, GND, 5V_IN), GPIO numbers, and TX/RX.
• 30‑pin ribbon connector for the OLED display.
• LiPo battery connector (JST‑XH) with polarity marked + / −.
• Board revision code printed along the edge — include it when you contact support.

70.1 × 25.4 mm (2.76″ × 1.00″) · ≈72.4 mm incl. antenna overhang · 0.1″ header pitch, breadboard friendly · Designing an enclosure? Download the 3D model (STEP)

At a glance

What’s on the board

Downloads

Documents & references

Missing something? Email us and we’ll send it over.

Example projects

Three ways to start building

Support

Stuck? We’ll help.