Blinky with ESPHome ESP32-C3

Updated on 13 November 2023

dev board ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1

chip ESP32-C3-MINI-1-N4

features esphome esp32c3 blinky

This tutorial is more than 1 year old. If the steps below do not work, then please check the latest versions and the documentations of the individual tools used.

Before starting

Dependancies

Ensure the following dependancies are downloaded and available:

ESPHome

Buy the components

ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1

Code

Download config blinky-esphome-esp32c3.yaml

esphome:
  name: blinky
  platformio_options:
    board_build.flash_mode: dio

esp32:
  board: esp32-c3-devkitm-1
  variant: ESP32C3
  framework:
    type: esp-idf

logger:
  level: VERBOSE
  baud_rate: 115200
  deassert_rts_dtr: true

switch:
  - platform: gpio
    pin:
      number: 3 # on-board LED GPIO8 does not work, so GPIO3 is used
      mode: output
    id: led

interval:
  - interval: 2s
    then:
      - switch.toggle: led
      - logger.log: "LED toggling"

Makefile

YAML_FILE=blinky-esphome-esp32c3.yaml
PORT?=/dev/cu.usbserial-*

.PHONY: default compile upload log clean

default: clean compile upload log

help: ## Show help message
	@awk 'BEGIN {FS = ":.*##"; printf "\nUsage:\n  make \033[36m\033[0m\n"} /^[$$()% 0-9a-zA-Z_-]+:.*?##/ { printf "  \033[36m%-15s\033[0m %s\n", $$1, $$2 } /^##@/ { printf "\n\033[1m%s\033[0m\n", substr($$0, 5) } ' $(MAKEFILE_LIST)

compile: ## Compile esphome
	esphome compile $(YAML_FILE)

upload: ## Upload the firmware to the board
	esphome upload --device $(PORT) $(YAML_FILE)

log: ## Start the logs
	esphome logs --device $(PORT) $(YAML_FILE)

clean: ## Remove all build files
	rm -rf .esphome

Prototype

A photo of the actual setup.

Schematic

Wire up the hardware accordingly

Serial console

Serial output from the firmware.

Description

LED

The default RGB LED on-board which is GPIO8 does on work. So, wire up a simple LED to GPIO3 with a 1k resistor to the ground.

Compile and upload

Compile firmware for this board

 esphome compile blinky-esphome-esp32c3.yaml

Plug into the USB port of the board and check the port address

 $ ls /dev/cu.*
 /dev/cu.Bluetooth-Incoming-Port  /dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART  /dev/cu.usbserial-1410

Upload the firmware

 esphome upload --device /dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART blinky-esphome-esp32c3.yaml

Access logs

Plug into the USB port of the board

Check the new port address

 $ ls /dev/cu.*
 /dev/cu.Bluetooth-Incoming-Port  /dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART  /dev/cu.usbserial-1410

Access the logs

 esphome logs --device /dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART blinky-esphome-esp32c3.yaml