Adafruit Feather ESP32-S2 TFT

Feather-format ESP32-S2 board with TFT screen - great for UI-driven, low-power devices.

USB-C Native USB
Adafruit Feather ESP32-S2 TFT board
52.4 × 22.8 mm
ESP32-S2
MCU
240MHz
clock
4MB
flash
320KB
SRAM
27· 6 ADC
GPIO
Wi-Fi
radio
On this page

Adafruit Feather ESP32-S2 TFT Pinout

27 pins · 2.54 mm pitch
Adafruit Feather ESP32-S2 TFT pinout diagram
PinGPIOLabelsStatusCapabilitiesNotes
11NEOPIXEL_NUMTXT1PWMuarttouch · uart
22RXT2PWMuarttouch · uart
35T5PWMsafetouch
46T6PWMsafetouch
57TFT_CSSSPWMsafespi
68A5T8PWMsafeadc · touch
79T9PWMstrappingtouch
810T10PWMstrappingtouch
911T11PWMstrappingtouch
1012T12PWMstrappingtouch
1113LED_BUILTINT13PWMstrappingtouch
1214A4T14PWMstrappingadc · touch
1315A3PWMstrappingadc
1416A2PWMstrappingadc
1517A1DAC1PWMsafeadc · dac
1618A0DAC2PWMsafeadc · dac
1721TFT_I2C_POWERPWMsafe-
1833PIN_NEOPIXELPWMsafe-
1934NEOPIXEL_POWERPWMsafe-
2035MOSIPWMsafespi
2136SCKPWMsafespi
2237MISOPWMsafespi
2339TFT_DCPWMstrapping-
2440TFT_RSTPWMstrapping-
2541SCLPWMstrappingi2c
2642SDAPWMstrappingi2c
2745TFT_BACKLITEPWMstrapping-
27 GPIOs broken out 14 free · 13 need care · 0 to avoid

Start with these

14 pins with no boot or system involvement
NEOPIXEL_NUMGPIO1RXGPIO2T5GPIO5T6GPIO6TFT_CSGPIO7A5GPIO8A1GPIO17A0GPIO18TFT_I2C_POWERGPIO21PIN_NEOPIXELGPIO33NEOPIXEL_POWERGPIO34MOSIGPIO35SCKGPIO36MISOGPIO37

Freely assignable - no strapping, flash, USB or JTAG duties. Ideal first picks for buttons, sensors and LEDs.

Fine - with a little care

13 pins · 8 things to know
T9GPIO9T10GPIO10T11GPIO11T12GPIO12LED_BUILTINGPIO13A4GPIO14 General-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pins Other

IO MUX pin of the general-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) bus, not of the in-package flash - that sits on GPIO26-32. The datasheet does not restrict it, so it is only taken if your board wires flash, an SD card or a display to FSPI.

  • T9General-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - hold/data line (FSPIHD)
  • T10General-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - chip select (FSPICS0)
  • T11General-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - data in (FSPID)
  • T12General-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - clock (FSPICLK)
  • LED_BUILTINGeneral-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - data out (FSPIQ)
  • A4General-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - write-protect/data line (FSPIWP)
A3GPIO15 32.768 kHz RTC crystal oscillator positive input (XTAL_32K_P); also functions as GPIO15 (U0RTS, ADC2_CH4). Other

If an external 32 kHz crystal is used for RTC, this pin is dedicated to the crystal and cannot be used as GPIO.

A2GPIO16 32.768 kHz RTC crystal negative input (XTAL_32K_N); also GPIO16 (U0CTS, ADC2_CH5). Other

If using an external 32 kHz crystal, this pin is connected to the crystal and should not be used as general I/O.

TFT_DCGPIO39 JTAG test clock pin (MTCK); also usable as GPIO39 or as a clock output (CLK_OUT3). JTAG

Used for JTAG debugging interface; using this pin for other purposes will disable JTAG clock input.

TFT_RSTGPIO40 JTAG test data-out pin (MTDO); also GPIO40, supports CLK_OUT2. JTAG

Part of JTAG interface (TDO); should be avoided as GPIO if JTAG debugging is needed.

SCLGPIO41 JTAG test data-in pin (MTDI); also GPIO41, supports CLK_OUT1. JTAG

Part of JTAG interface (TDI); avoid using as GPIO to retain ability for JTAG debug.

SDAGPIO42 JTAG test mode select pin (MTMS); also GPIO42. JTAG

JTAG TMS pin; should not be repurposed if JTAG debugging or programming via JTAG is required.

TFT_BACKLITEGPIO45 Bootstrapping pin; selects flash supply voltage (VDD_SPI) (0 = 3.3 V, 1 = 1.8 V). Strapping

Must be set correctly at boot (usually low for 3.3 V); improper level can cause boot failure or flash malfunction.

These are recommendations, not hard rules - with the right pull-ups, timing and boot-state awareness most pins can be made to work. When in doubt, start green.

The Adafruit Feather ESP32-S2 TFT pinout brings out 27 GPIO pins at a 2.54 mm pitch - every one of them usable in your project.

For peripherals, I²C is mapped to SDA on GPIO42 and SCL on GPIO41; the SPI bus (MOSI, MISO, SCK, SS) is broken out in full; TX/RX on GPIO1 and GPIO2 cover serial logging and flashing.

On the analog side there are 6 ADC-capable pins for sensors and battery monitoring, 11 capacitive-touch inputs and 2 true DAC outputs.

If you want zero surprises, NEOPIXEL_NUM, RX, T5, T6 and 10 more are free of any such role - the safest first picks. 13 of the exposed pins carry boot-time or system duties on the ESP32-S2 (T9, T10, T11 and 10 more).

Getting started

flash your first firmware in ~2 minutes
Tool:
1
Connect over USB
Native USB - shows up as a port right away, no driver needed. Not detected? Hold BOOT while plugging in.
2
Match & flash
Set the Tools options shown, then click Upload.
3
Verify it runs
GPIO5 toggles - wire an LED and resistor to it, or change the pin to your board's own LED.
Set these in Tools · leave everything else at default
Arduino IDE 2.x - Tools Copy
Board: "ESP32S2 Dev Module"▸
USB CDC On Boot: "Enabled"▸
Flash Size: "4MB (32Mb)"▸
Flash Mode: "DIO"▸
PSRAM: "QSPI PSRAM"▸
Partition Scheme: "Default 4MB with spiffs (1.2MB APP/1.5MB SPIFFS)" (default)▸
Upload Speed: "921600"▸
▸ every other Tools option - leave at default
Board: ESP32S2 Dev Module
USB CDC On Boot: Enabled
Flash Size: 4MB (32Mb)
Flash Mode: DIO
PSRAM: QSPI PSRAM
Partition Scheme: Default 4MB with spiffs (1.2MB APP/1.5MB SPIFFS)
Upload Speed: 921600
Find it: Tools ▸ Board ▸ ESP32 Arduino ▸ ESP32S2 Dev Module
blink.ino Copy
// toggle GPIO5 - wire an LED and resistor to it
void setup() {
  pinMode(5, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
  digitalWrite(5, HIGH); delay(500);
  digitalWrite(5, LOW);  delay(500);
}
board to selectesp32-s2-saola-1⧉ copy
platformio.ini Copy
[env:adafruit_feather_esp32s2_tft]
platform = espressif32
board = esp32-s2-saola-1
framework = arduino
monitor_speed = 115200
upload_speed = 921600
board_build.arduino.memory_type = qio_qspi
build_flags = -DBOARD_HAS_PSRAM
Find it: PlatformIO Home ▸ Boards, search esp32-s2-saola-1 - or type it after board =.
board to selectesp32-s2-saola-1⧉ copy
device.yaml Copy
esp32:
  board: esp32-s2-saola-1
  variant: esp32s2
  framework:
    type: esp-idf
psram:
  mode: quad
  speed: 80MHz

# blink - GPIO5
output:
  - platform: gpio
    pin: 5
    id: led_out
light:
  - platform: binary
    name: "LED"
    output: led_out
Find it: search ESPHome's board list for esp32-s2-saola-1 (same ids as PlatformIO).
esptool doesn't pick board settings - a prebuilt .bin already has them baked in. This is just the raw flash command.
terminal Copy
esptool.py --chip esp32s2 --port /dev/ttyACM0 \
  --baud 921600 write_flash 0x1000 firmware.bin
--port = your /dev/tty* (macOS/Linux) or COMx (Windows).
Build details: sketch space 1310720 B · data 327680 B · DIO

Specifications

ESP32-S2 · 52.4 × 22.8 mm · vs other ESP32 chips →
Compute
MCU
ESP32-S2
Clock
240 MHz
SRAM · Flash
320 KB · 4MB · 2MB PSRAM
Radio
Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz
Bluetooth
-
Antenna
PCB
I/O
GPIO · ADC
27 · 6
UART · I²C · SPI
2 · 2 · 2
PWM
8 channels
Power
USB
USB-C
Serial
Native (CDC)
Boot address
0x1000
Electrical
Input
5V USB · 3.7V LiPo
Consumption
~80µA sleep
Regulator
AP2112K-3.3
Display
Screen
TFT · 1.14" · 240x135
Driver
ST7789
Touch
No
Flashing
Upload · OTA
esptool_py · esp_ota
Flash · Boot mode
DIO · QIO
Sketch · Data
1.25 MB · 320 KB

Dimensions

22.8 mm52.4 mm
52.4 × 22.8 mm · pin pitch 2.54 mm
The Adafruit Feather ESP32-S2 TFT uses esptool_py for firmware uploads, esp_ota for over-the-air (OTA) updates. Flash mode is DIO with QIO boot mode. The maximum sketch size is 1.25 MB with 320 KB available for data.

About this board

At its core is the ESP32-S2 - a single-core Xtensa with native USB-OTG and no Bluetooth.

Expect to pay about $24.95 - above the ~$20 typical for ESP32-S2 boards.

Onboard you'll find 2MB PSRAM, a TFT 1.14" 240x135 display, a STEMMA QT connector, an addressable RGB LED (GPIO33), a battery fuel gauge (LC709203), battery charging via JST-PH 2.0, status LEDs (On, Charge, User (D13)) and Reset/DFU (BOOT0) buttons.

It flashes over native USB - no serial-converter driver needed, which isn't a given among ESP32-S2 boards.

  • Early units shipped with an LC709203F fuel gauge instead of the MAX17048

Where to buy

prices are typical street prices
Adafruit Feather ESP32-S2 TFT
Adafruit Feather ESP32-S2 TFT
$24.95per unit, typical

Resources

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