Adafruit Feather ESP32-S3 2MB PSRAM

A Feather-format board with 4MB Flash and 2MB PSRAM, featuring STEMMA QT connector and USB-C, suitable for low-power applications.

USB-C Native USB
Adafruit Feather ESP32-S3 2MB PSRAM board
52.3 × 22.7 mm
ESP32-S3
MCU
240MHz
clock
4MB
flash
512KB
SRAM
25· 15 ADC
GPIO
BLE 5.0+ WiFi
radio
On this page

Pinout

25 pins · 2.54 mm pitch
View:
Adafruit Feather ESP32-S3 2MB PSRAM pinout diagram
PinGPIOLabelsStatusCapabilitiesNotes
11NEOPIXEL_NUMPWMsafe-
23SDAA6T3PWMstrappingadc · touch · i2c
34SCLA7T4PWMsafeadc · touch · i2c
45A8T5PWMsafeadc · touch
56A9T6PWMsafeadc · touch
67I2C_POWERPIN_I2C_POWERPWMsafe-
78A5T8PWMsafeadc · touch
89A10T9PWMstrappingadc · touch
910A11T10PWMstrappingadc · touch
1011A12T11PWMstrappingadc · touch
1112A13T12PWMstrappingadc · touch
1213LED_BUILTINA14T13PWMstrappingadc · touch
1314A4T14PWMstrappingadc · touch
1415A3PWMsafeadc
1516A2PWMsafeadc
1617A1PWMsafeadc
1718A0PWMsafeadc
1821NEOPIXEL_POWERPWMsafe-
1933PIN_NEOPIXELPWMstrapping-
2035MOSIPWMstrappingspi
2136SCKPWMstrappingspi
2237MISOPWMstrappingspi
2338RXPWMstrappinguart
2439TXPWMstrappinguart
2542SSPWMstrappingspi

Start with these

11 pins with no boot or system involvement
NEOPIXEL_NUMPWMSCLA7A8T5A9T6I2C_POWERPIN_I2C_POWERA5T8A3PWMA2PWMA1PWMA0PWMNEOPIXEL_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
SDAGPIO3Sampled at reset to select JTAG interface (USB Serial/JTAG controller vs. external pins). Improper use can disable external JTAG or alter debug interface.Strapping
TXMTCK (GPIO39)Default JTAG debugging TCK pin. If JTAG is needed, this pin must be free; it may also be used internally for PSRAM chip select on certain modules, so avoid repurposing it.Other
SSMTMS (GPIO42)Default JTAG TMS signal for debugging. Using this pin for other purposes will disable the JTAG interface (unless JTAG is rerouted to USB).Other

Only if you know the tricks

wired to flash or USB - expect a fight
PinLabelWhat to knowRole
A10FSPIHDConnected to external flash (data/hold signal) on most modules. Not recommended for use as GPIO, since it must remain dedicated to flash communication.Flash
A11FSPICS0Used to select the external flash chip. It is required for flash access and cannot be repurposed without losing flash connectivityFlash
A12FSPIDUsed as a data line for flash (and in-package PSRAM). It should not be used as GPIO when the flash/PSRAM is in use.Flash
A13FSPICLKDrives the flash (and PSRAM) clock. This critical signal must be reserved for memory and not used as general GPIO.Flash
LED_BUILTINFSPIQUsed as a data line for flash/PSRAM transfers. Not available for other uses when flash/PSRAM is connected.Flash
A4FSPIWPConnected to external flash (data/write-protect signal). Not recommended as GPIO because it’s reserved for flash operations.Flash
PIN_NEOPIXELFSPIHDOn chips/modules with integrated flash, this IO is wired to the flash hold pin internally. It cannot be reassigned to GPIO without breaking flash access.Flash
MOSIFSPID / PSRAM_D0In modules with octal PSRAM, this pin is connected to the PSRAM data line. It is reserved for memory interface and not free for general GPIO when flash/PSRAM is present.Flash
SCKFSPICLK / PSRAM_CLKIn modules with octal PSRAM, this pin drives the PSRAM clock. It must be dedicated to the memory interface, not used as a regular GPIO when that interface is in use.Flash
MISOFSPIQ / PSRAM_DQSIn modules with octal PSRAM, this pin is connected to the PSRAM’s DQS signal. It cannot be repurposed without disrupting the PSRAM/flash communication.Flash
RXFSPIWPOn flash-equipped chips, this pin is tied to the flash’s WP# (or D3) line. It should be avoided for other use, as it’s needed for flash operations.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-S3 2MB PSRAM pinout brings out 25 GPIO pins at a 2.54 mm pitch - every one of them usable in your project. For peripherals, I²C is…

The Adafruit Feather ESP32-S3 2MB PSRAM pinout brings out 25 GPIO pins at a 2.54 mm pitch - every one of them usable in your project.

For peripherals, I²C is mapped to SDA on GPIO3 and SCL on GPIO4; the SPI bus (MOSI, MISO, SCK, SS) is broken out in full; TX/RX on GPIO39 and GPIO38 cover serial logging and flashing.

On the analog side there are 15 ADC-capable pins for sensors and battery monitoring and 11 capacitive-touch inputs.

If you want zero surprises, NEOPIXEL_NUM, SCL, A8, A9 and 7 more are free of any such role - the safest first picks. 3 of the exposed pins carry boot-time or system duties on the ESP32-S3 (SDA, TX and SS).

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 GPIO1 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: "ESP32S3 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: ESP32S3 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 ▸ ESP32S3 Dev Module
blink.ino Copy
// blink the onboard LED
void setup() {
  pinMode(1, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
  digitalWrite(1, HIGH); delay(500);
  digitalWrite(1, LOW);  delay(500);
}
board to selectesp32-s3-devkitc-1⧉ copy
platformio.ini Copy
[env:adafruit_feather_esp32s3]
platform = espressif32
board = esp32-s3-devkitc-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-s3-devkitc-1 — or type it after board =.
board to selectesp32-s3-devkitc-1⧉ copy
device.yaml Copy
esp32:
  board: esp32-s3-devkitc-1
  variant: adafruit_feather_esp32s3
  framework:
    type: esp-idf
psram:
  mode: quad
  speed: 80MHz

# blink - GPIO1
output:
  - platform: gpio
    pin: 1
    id: led_out
light:
  - platform: binary
    name: "LED"
    output: led_out
Find it: search ESPHome's board list for esp32-s3-devkitc-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 esp32s3 --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-S3 · 52.3 × 22.7 mm
Compute
MCU
ESP32-S3
Clock
240 MHz
SRAM · Flash
512 KB · 4MB · 2MB (QSPI) PSRAM
Radio
Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
5.0 LE
Antenna
PCB
I/O
GPIO · ADC
25 · 15
UART · I²C · SPI
3 · 2 · 4
PWM
8 channels
Power
USB
USB-C
Serial
Native (CDC)
Boot address
0x0
Flashing
Upload · OTA
esptool_py · esp_ota
Flash · Boot mode
DIO · QIO
Sketch · Data
1.25 MB · 320 KB
22.7 mm52.3 mm
52.3 × 22.7 mm · pin pitch 2.54 mm
The Adafruit Feather ESP32-S3 2MB PSRAM 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-S3 - a dual-core Xtensa with vector extensions suited to AI workloads.

Expect to pay about $17.50 - less than the ~$30 most ESP32-S3 boards go for.

Onboard you'll find 2MB (QSPI) PSRAM, a STEMMA QT connector, an addressable RGB LED (GPIO33), a battery fuel gauge (MAX17048), battery charging (MCP73831) 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-S3 boards.

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

Where to buy

prices are typical street prices
Adafruit Feather ESP32-S3 2MB PSRAM
Adafruit Feather ESP32-S3 2MB PSRAM
$17.50per unit, typical

Resources

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