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

Pinout

27 pins · 2.54 mm pitch
View:
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_NEOPIXELPWMstrapping-
1934NEOPIXEL_POWERPWMstrapping-
2035MOSIPWMstrappingspi
2136SCKPWMstrappingspi
2237MISOPWMstrappingspi
2339TFT_DCPWMstrapping-
2440TFT_RSTPWMstrapping-
2541SCLPWMstrappingi2c
2642SDAPWMstrappingi2c
2745TFT_BACKLITEPWMstrapping-

Start with these

9 pins with no boot or system involvement
NEOPIXEL_NUMTXRXT2T5PWMT6PWMTFT_CSSSA5T8A1DAC1A0DAC2TFT_I2C_POWERPWM

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

Fine - with a little care

sampled at boot or shared with debug/serial
PinLabelWhat to knowRole
A3XTAL_32K_PIf an external 32 kHz crystal is used for RTC, this pin is dedicated to the crystal and cannot be used as GPIO.Other
A2XTAL_32K_NIf using an external 32 kHz crystal, this pin is connected to the crystal and should not be used as general I/O.Other
TFT_DCMTCKUsed for JTAG debugging interface; using this pin for other purposes will disable JTAG clock input.Other
TFT_RSTMTDOPart of JTAG interface (TDO); should be avoided as GPIO if JTAG debugging is needed.Other
SCLMTDIPart of JTAG interface (TDI); avoid using as GPIO to retain ability for JTAG debug.Other
SDAMTMSJTAG TMS pin; should not be repurposed if JTAG debugging or programming via JTAG is required.Other
TFT_BACKLITEGPIO45Must be set correctly at boot (usually low for 3.3 V); improper level can cause boot failure or flash malfunction.Strapping

Only if you know the tricks

wired to flash or USB - expect a fight
PinLabelWhat to knowRole
T9FSPIHDTypically used as flash/PSRAM IO line in certain configurations; avoid using as GPIO if flash or PSRAM is present.Flash
T10FSPICS0Often used as flash chip select in some designs; not available for GPIO when controlling flash.Flash
T11FSPIDUsed for flash data transfer in certain configurations; should be avoided for general use if flash is connected.Flash
T12FSPICLKUsed as flash clock line in some boards; not free for GPIO if driving flash.Flash
LED_BUILTINFSPIQUsed for flash data output in certain configurations; avoid using as GPIO if connected to flash.Flash
A4FSPIWPUsed as flash write-protect/data line on some modules; not recommended for other usage.Flash
PIN_NEOPIXELSPIHDConnected to SPI flash (hold/data line); not available for general-purpose use.Flash
NEOPIXEL_POWERSPIWPConnected to SPI flash (write-protect/data line); not recommended for other use.Flash
MOSIFSPIDUsed by internal flash/PSRAM on some ESP32-S2 variants; avoid using as GPIO to prevent conflicts.Flash
SCKFSPICLKMay be connected to internal flash or used for high-speed SPI; not intended for general GPIO use.Flash
MISOFSPIQUsed for internal flash/PSRAM data in some models; should not be repurposed for GPIO.Flash
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.
Pinout notes 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…

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 5 more are free of any such role - the safest first picks. 7 of the exposed pins carry boot-time or system duties on the ESP32-S2 (A3, A2, TFT_DC and 4 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
The onboard LED on GPIO5 blinks - swap the pin if your board's LED differs.
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
// blink the onboard LED
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: adafruit_feather_esp32s2_tft
  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 0x0 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
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 · 1 · 4
PWM
8 channels
Power
USB
USB-C
Serial
Native (CDC)
Boot address
0x1000
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
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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