Learn by doing
ESP32 Learning Guides
Start with Mission Journeys — fun step-by-step builds for kids and beginners. Reference Guides are here when you want extra background.
Mission Journeys
16 hands-on missions with stories, safety tips, wiring, code, and practical challenges — start here if you're new.
Blink an LED with ESP32
Your first real ESP32 project — one LED, a few wires, and code you write yourself. Let's make it blink!
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Button Controls LED with ESP32
Connect one side of a push button to ESP32 GPIO27 and the other side to GND, then use INPUT_PULLUP so released reads…
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Read Temperature with DHT22
Build a real ESP32 room sensor with the DHT22. You will wire power, ground, and one data pin, then read temperature a…
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Connect OLED Display with ESP32
Wire a four-pin SSD1306 I2C OLED to ESP32 using 3.3 V, GND, SDA on GPIO21, and SCL on GPIO22 in this site's examples,…
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Understanding Digital Inputs and Floating Pins
A floating ESP32 input is a GPIO with no clear path to 3.3 V or GND. This mission shows why that creates random HIGH…
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Pull-up vs Pull-down Resistors
Use a pull-up when an ESP32 input should rest HIGH, and a pull-down when it should rest LOW. This mission compares bo…
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Button Debouncing
ESP32 button debounce means waiting until a mechanical button input stays stable before counting it. This mission wir…
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Multiple Buttons & State Detection
To connect multiple buttons to an ESP32, give each button its own GPIO and wire the other side to GND with INPUT_PULL…
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PWM Fundamentals
Digital pins can switch fully ON or fully OFF. PWM teaches the ESP32 to create useful in-between effects such as dim…
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Analog Inputs
Buttons teach the ESP32 yes or no. Analog inputs teach it how much: how bright, how loud, how wet, how far, or where…
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Analog Inputs: Reading the Real World
Buttons teach the ESP32 yes or no. Analog inputs teach it how much: how bright, how loud, how wet, how far, or where…
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OLED Display with ESP32
This tutorial uses an SSD1306 I2C OLED display. Wire VCC to 3.3 V, GND to GND, SDA to GPIO21, and SCL to GPIO22, then…
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Reading Analog Sensors
A potentiometer is a dial you control by hand. Analog sensors use the same ADC idea, but the real world turns the dia…
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I2C Communication
I2C lets an ESP32 talk to displays and sensors over two shared signal wires: SDA for data and SCL for clock. This mis…
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Reading Environmental Sensors
Embedded systems become useful when they observe the physical world. In this mission, your ESP32 reads air conditions…
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Smart Environment Monitor
This final Foundation mission combines sensors, displays, buttons, GPIO, decisions, and debugging into one complete e…
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2 background articles for deeper reading after your first missions.
Reference GuideBeginnerWhat Is ESP32? Complete Beginner's Guide
ESP32 is a low-cost, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capable microcontroller that lets you build connected sensors, automation, and IoT devices without a separate comput…
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Reference GuideBeginnerInstalling Arduino IDE for ESP32: Complete Setup Guide
Before you wire sensors or publish Wi-Fi dashboards, your computer must recognize the ESP32 DevKit and compile firmware with the correct board package. This…
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