Development Environment Configuration

The following development system is Windows by default.

ESP-IDF

It is recommended to develop with the VSC plug-in.

Develop with VSCode

Install VSCode

1. Open the download page of the official VSCode website, and select the corresponding system and system bit to download.

2. After running the installation package, the rest can be installed by default, but here for the subsequent experience is recommended, it is recommended to check boxes 1, 2, and 3 here.

- After the first two items are enabled, you can open VSCode directly by right-clicking files or directories, which can improve the subsequent user experience.
- After the third item is enabled, you can select VSCode directly when you choose how to open it.

Install Espressif IDF Plug-in

Note: The latest version of the current plug-in is V1.6.0, for a consistent experience, users can choose the same version as us.

1. Open VSCode and use the shortcut key Shift + Ctrl + X to enter the plugin manager.

2. In the search bar, type Espressif IDF, select the corresponding plug-in, and click install.

3. Press F1 to enter:

esp-idf: configure esp-idf extension

4. Choose express (This tutorial is for users who install it for the first time, so only the first general installation tutorial is covered.)

5. Open and display this screen.

6. Choose a server to download.

7. Select the ESP-IDF version you want now, we choose the latest V5.0.1 (note that ESP-IDF started to support ESP32-S3 only after V4.4).

8. The following two are the ESP-IDF directory installation address and the ESP-IDF required tools installation address respectively.

- Note: If you have installed ESP-IDF before, or if it has failed, please make sure to delete the file completely or create a new path.

9. Once the configuration is finished, click "install" to download.

10. Enter the download page, it will automatically install the corresponding tools and environment, just wait a moment.

11. After the installation is completed, it will enter the following screen, indicating that the installation is finished.

Official Demo Usage

Creating a Demo

1. Using the shortcut F1, type:

esp-idf:show examples projects

2. Choose your current IDF version:

3. Take "Hello World" as an example:

4. ① Choose the corresponding demo.

5. ② The readme file will explain which chip the demo is suitable for (the following section will introduce how to use the demo and its file structure, which is omitted here).

6. ③ Click to create the demo.

7. Choose the path to place the demo and ensure that there is no folder with the same name as the demo.

Modify COM Port

1. The corresponding COM port is displayed here, click on it to modify.

2. The COM port of our CH343 is COM5, so we choose COM5, please choose the COM port according to your CH343.

3. Choose the project and demo.

4. Then the COM port is modified.

Modify the Driver

1. Here shows the driver used, click here to modify the corresponding driver:

2. Choose the project or demo:

3. Wait for a few seconds after clicking.

4. Choose the driver we need, that is, the main chip ESP32S3.

5. Choose the openocd path, we can just choose one as it doesn't matter.

The Rest of the Status Bar Introduction

① SDK configuration editor: many functions and configurations of ESP-IDF can be modified within it.
② Clean up everything and delete all compiled files.
③ Compile.
④ Current download method, default is UART.
⑤ Program the current firmware, please do it after compiling.
⑥ Open the serial monitor to view serial information.
⑦ Combined button for compiling, programming, and opening the serial monitor (most commonly used during debugging).

Compile, Program, and Serial Port Monitoring

1. Click on the Compile, Program, and Open Serial Monitor buttons we described earlier.

2. It may take a long time to compile, especially for the first time.

During this process, ESP-IDF may take up a lot of CPU resources and therefore may cause system lag.

3. Because we use CH343 as the USB to serial chip, and the onboard auto-download circuit, it can download automatically without manual operation.

4. After successful download, it will automatically enter the serial monitor, you can see the corresponding information output from the chip and prompt to reboot after 10s.

Arduino

Install Arduino

1. Open the official software download webpage, and choose the corresponding system and system bits to download.

2. You can choose "Just Download", or "Contribute & Download".

3. Run to install the program and install it all by default.

Install arduino-esp32

1. Open Preferences.

2. Add the corresponding board manager URLs and click it.

3. Add the following content in the blank.

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/gh-pages/package_esp32_index.json

4. Save the setting.

5. Open the board manager and enter ESP32 in the search bar.

6. Wait for downloading.

7. arduino-esp32 is downloaded.

Use Arduino Demo

1. Select the demo, here we choose the demo to get the chip ID.

2. Select the board as ESP32S3 Dev Module.

3. Choose the COM5 port of CH343.

4. Click the download button, then it compiles and downloads automatically.

5. Finish.

6. Open the Serial Port Monitor.

7. See the chip ID of the loop output.

MicroPython

Flash Firmware

1. For ESP32-S3-Pico, please download firmware: Click here to download the burner and firmware.
For ESP32-S3-DEV-KIT-N8R8, please download firmware: ESP32-S3-DEV-KIT-N8R8-micropython-firmware.zip

2. Unzip the package downloaded before and enter.

3. Enter flash_download_tool_3.9.4 folder and open flash_download_tool_3.9.4.exe.

4. Choose the corresponding chip, choose ESP32-S3.

5. Choose the corresponding COM port, we have configured it and you just click Start to download.

- ①Choose the COM port.
- ②Download key.

Install Thonny

1. Open official Thonny website.

2. Select the corresponding system and version, here I choose "Windows", and the mouse has to move to Windows, only then will the corresponding information be displayed.