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The ESP32 is a popular WiFi and Bluetooth-enabled microcontroller, widely used for IoT Projects. Wokwi simulates the ESP32, ESP32-C3, ESP32-S2, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C5 (alpha), ESP32-C6, ESP32-H2, and ESP32-P4 (beta).

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ESP32 boards

You can contribute additional boards by sending a pull request to wokwi-boards.

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Getting Started

You can use the ESP32 simulator to run different kinds of applications:
  1. ESP32 Arduino Core projects (including ESP-IDF projects)
  2. MicroPython and CircuitPython projects (examples at https://wokwi.com/micropython)
  3. Rust projects (see https://wokwi.com/rust)
  4. Custom application firmware files (e.g. applications built using the ESP-IDF)

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Arduino Core

Start from the Arduino-ESP32 Project Template, or from the ESP32 Blink Example.
If you want to use third-party Arduino libraries, add a libraries.txt file with the list of libraries that you use.

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MicroPython

Start from the MicroPython ESP32 Project Template, or from the MicroPython ESP32 Blink Example.
While the simulation is running, press Ctrl+C inside the Serial Terminal to get into the MicroPython REPL. Alternatively, you can edit the Blink Example code and remove the while loop. For more information, check out the MicroPython Guide.

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Custom Application Firmware

1

Open template

Open the ESP32 custom application project template.
2

Upload firmware

Press “F1” in the code editor. Then choose “Upload Firmware and Start Simulation…”. Choose any .bin, .elf or .uf2 file from your computer and the simulation will start.
When uploading a custom firmware, it’s recommended to create a single .bin file that contains the bootloader, partition table, and application. You can use the esptool merge_bin command to create such file.For ESP-IDF projects, you can also build a single UF2 file using the command: idf.py uf2. The file will be located in build/uf2.bin, and can be uploaded to the simulator.

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Simulator Examples

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Arduino Examples

Blink

Simple LED blinking

Seven segment counter

Count on a 7-segment display

FastLED NeoPixel Blink

Control NeoPixels with FastLED

WiFi Scanning

Scan for WiFi networks

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MicroPython Examples

SSD1306 Example

OLED display with MicroPython

NeoPixels

Control NeoPixels

AES256 Encryption

Hardware-accelerated encryption

WiFi Scanning

Scan for WiFi networks

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ESP-IDF Examples

The following examples use the ESP-IDF functions. They are compiled using Arduino ESP32 Core:

Blink using FreeRTOS API

FreeRTOS task example

Binary LED counter using FreeRTOS tasks

Multiple FreeRTOS tasks

GPIO button input + interrupts

Handle button interrupts

WiFi Example

Connect to WiFi with ESP-IDF

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Sming Framework

Sming Framework Guide

Follow this guide to simulate Sming Framework projects

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Simulation Features

Legend:
✔️ Simulated
🟡 Partial implementation/work in progress
❌ Not implemented (but if you need it, please open a feature request)
— Not available on this chip * The amount of SRAM can be customized using the “psramSize” attribute.

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WiFi Simulation

See the ESP32 WiFi Guide.

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Advanced Usage

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Flash and memory size

You can customize the size of flash and PSRAM by adding the following attributes to the chip: | Attribute | Description | Default | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------------|---------|| | flashSize | Flash size in MB. Valid values: “2”, “4”, “8”, “16”, “32”. | “4” | | psramSize | PSRAM size in MB. Valid values: “2”, “4”, “8”. | “4” | | psramType | PSRAM type. Valid values: “quad”, “octal”. | “quad” |

ESP32 Custom flash size example

See how to configure custom flash size

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USB CDC (Serial over USB) support

Some chips have a built-in USB CDC (Serial over USB) + JTAG peripheral. These chips include the ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3/C5/C6, and ESP32-H2. You can configure USB CDC support in Wokwi by adding the following attribute to the chip:
You also need to remove any connections to the $serialMonitor pins from the connections section in your diagram.json file.

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Custom Partition Table

You can specify a custom partition table by adding a “partitions.csv” file to your project. Check out the ESP32 Partition Table Guide for the exact format of this file.

ESP32 Custom partition table code example

See how to use custom partition tables

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Custom firmware offset

When loading a custom firmware, you can specify the offset of the firmware in the flash memory. By default, Wokwi will look at the firmware binary and try to figure out the offset automatically, based on the presence of the bootloader and the type of the chip. If Wokwi can’t figure out the offset, it will assume that your firmware is an application firmware and load it at offset 0x10000. You can specify the offset manually by adding the following attribute to the chip: | Attribute | Description | Default | |----------------|-------------------------------------------------------|---------|| | firmwareOffset | Offset of the firmware in the flash memory, in bytes. | "" |

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Changing the MAC address

You can change the MAC address of the WiFi interface by adding the following attribute to the chip:

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Choosing a different chip revision

For the ESP32-P4, you can choose between different chip revisions by adding the following attribute to the chip: | Attribute | Description | Default | |---------------|----------------------------------------------|---------|| | chipRevision | Chip revision. Valid values: “1.0” or “3.1” | “3.1” |
Code built for a specific chip revision may not work on other revisions.

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CPU frequency limit

In order to achieve a higher simulation speed, Wokwi automatically limits the maximum simulated CPU frequency. In most cases, this doesn’t affect the behavior of the simulated program and allows you to run the simulation considerably faster. The CPU frequency limit does not affect the timing of the peripherals, only the speed instructions are executed. To override the maximum CPU frequency, you can set the “cpuFrequency” attribute to a specific frequency (e.g. “16” for 16 MHz) or “max” to run the CPU at the maximum frequency (not recommended - it will make the simulation much slower). The default value is “auto”, which means that Wokwi will automatically cap the CPU frequency to about 8 MHz. | Attribute | Description | Default | |--------------|-----------------------------------------------------|---------|| | cpuFrequency | Maximum simulated CPU frequency, e.g. “16” or “max” | “auto” |