DPU ESP32

ESP32 dev platform built for deep integration with sensors and actuators - suitable for edge computing.

USB-C
DPU ESP32 board
ESP32
MCU
240MHz
clock
8MB
flash
520KB
SRAM
24· 16 ADC
GPIO
BLE 4.2+ WiFi
radio
On this page

Pinout

24 pins
View:
PinGPIOLabelsStatusCapabilitiesNotes
10A11T1strappingadc · touch
21TXPWMuartuart
32A12T2PWMstrappingadc · touch
43RXPWMuartuart
54A10T0SDAPWMstrappingadc · touch · i2c
65SCLPWMstrappingi2c
712A15T5MISOPWMstrappingadc · touch · spi
813A14T4MOSIPWMstrappingadc · touch · spi
914A16T6SCKPWMstrappingadc · touch · spi
1015A13T3SSTFT_CSPWMstrappingadc · touch · spi
1118TFT_BLPWMsafe-
1219TP_INTPWMsafe-
1321TP_RSTPWMsafe-
1422SD_CDPWMsafe-
1523SD_CSPWMsafe-
1625A18DAC1PWMsafeadc · dac
1726A19DAC2PWMsafeadc · dac
1827A17T7TFT_DCPWMsafeadc · touch
1932A4T9TFT_RSTPWMsafeadc · touch
2033A5T8PWMsafeadc · touch
2134A6strappingadc
2235A7strappingadc
2336A0strappingadc
2439A3strappingadc

Start with these

10 pins with no boot or system involvement
TFT_BLPWMTP_INTPWMTP_RSTPWMSD_CDPWMSD_CSPWMA18DAC1A19DAC2A17T7A4T9A5T8

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
A11GPIO0Must be HIGH during boot for normal startup; if held LOW on reset, forces flash programming mode.Strapping
A12GPIO2If driven HIGH on reset (while IO0 is LOW), selects an unsupported SDIO boot mode, causing boot failure.Strapping
A10GPIO4Sampled at reset for boot config; should not be driven at boot (affects boot mode timing).Strapping
SCLGPIO5Must be HIGH during boot; if pulled LOW at reset, alters SDIO slave timing and may prevent normal boot.Strapping
A15MTDI (GPIO12)Keep LOW during boot (internal PD); pulling HIGH at reset selects 1.8V flash mode, causing flash brownout if 3.3V flash is used.Strapping
A14MTCK (GPIO13)Used for JTAG debugging (TCK); avoid using as GPIO if JTAG is needed.Other
A16MTMS (GPIO14)Used for JTAG debugging (TMS); driving it as GPIO may interfere with JTAG or produce spurious signals at boot.Other
A13MTDO (GPIO15)Keep HIGH during boot (internal PU); if LOW on reset, bootloader log is silenced and boot mode may change.Strapping
A6GPIO34Cannot be used as output (no drive capability); only suitable for analog/digital input.Other
A7GPIO35Cannot be used as output; only suitable for input.Other
A0GPIO36 (SENSOR_VP)Cannot be used as output; only suitable for input (e.g., analog read).Other
A3GPIO39 (SENSOR_VN)Cannot be used as output; only suitable for input.Other

Only if you know the tricks

wired to flash or USB - expect a fight
PinLabelWhat to knowRole
TXU0TXD (GPIO1)Connected to on-board USB-UART for uploading and logs; drives serial output at boot, so using as GPIO can disrupt programming or console.USB
RXU0RXD (GPIO3)Used for receiving data from USB-UART (programming); also pulled HIGH at boot for console communication, so using as GPIO can disrupt uploads.USB
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 All 24 pins on the DPU ESP32 are usable GPIO. Peripheral wiring is straightforward: I²C is mapped to SDA on GPIO4 and SCL on GPIO5; the SPI bus ( MOSI , MISO ,…

All 24 pins on the DPU ESP32 are usable GPIO.

Peripheral wiring is straightforward: I²C is mapped to SDA on GPIO4 and SCL on GPIO5; the SPI bus (MOSI, MISO, SCK, SS) is broken out in full; TX/RX on GPIO1 and GPIO3 cover serial logging and flashing.

Beyond plain digital I/O you get 16 ADC-capable pins for sensors and battery monitoring, 10 capacitive-touch inputs and 2 true DAC outputs.

12 of the exposed pins carry boot-time or system duties on the ESP32 (A11, A12, A10 and 9 more) - check the guidance above before wiring anything to them. TFT_BL, TP_INT, TP_RST, SD_CD and 6 more are free of any such role - the safest first picks.

Getting started

flash your first firmware in ~2 minutes
Tool:
1
Connect over USB
Uses a CP2102 bridge - install the CP210x driver if no port appears. 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 GPIO18 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: "ESP32 Wrover Module"
Flash Size: "8MB (64Mb)"
Flash Mode: "DIO"
PSRAM: "QSPI PSRAM"
Partition Scheme: "8M with spiffs (3MB APP / 1.5MB SPIFFS)" (default)
Upload Speed: "921600"
▸ every other Tools option — leave at default
Board: ESP32 Wrover Module
Flash Size: 8MB (64Mb)
Flash Mode: DIO
PSRAM: QSPI PSRAM
Partition Scheme: 8M with spiffs (3MB APP / 1.5MB SPIFFS)
Upload Speed: 921600
Find it: Tools ▸ Board ▸ ESP32 Arduino ▸ ESP32 Wrover Module
blink.ino Copy
// blink the onboard LED
void setup() {
  pinMode(18, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
  digitalWrite(18, HIGH); delay(500);
  digitalWrite(18, LOW);  delay(500);
}
board to selectesp32dev⧉ copy
platformio.ini Copy
[env:dpu_esp32]
platform = espressif32
board = esp32dev
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 esp32dev — or type it after board =.
board to selectesp32dev⧉ copy
device.yaml Copy
esp32:
  board: esp32dev
  variant: dpu_esp32
  framework:
    type: esp-idf
psram:
  mode: quad
  speed: 80MHz

# blink - GPIO18
output:
  - platform: gpio
    pin: 18
    id: led_out
light:
  - platform: binary
    name: "LED"
    output: led_out
Find it: search ESPHome's board list for esp32dev (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 esp32 --port /dev/ttyACM0 \
  --baud 921600 write_flash 0x0 firmware.bin
--port = your /dev/tty* (macOS/Linux) or COMx (Windows).
Build details: sketch space 3342336 B · data 327680 B · DIO

Specifications

ESP32
Compute
MCU
ESP32
Clock
240 MHz
SRAM · Flash
520 KB · 8MB · 8MB (QSPI) PSRAM
Radio
Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
4.2 LE
Antenna
PCB
I/O
GPIO · ADC
24 · 16
UART · I²C · SPI
3 · 2 · 4
PWM
16 channels
Power
USB
USB-C
Serial
CP2102
Boot address
0x1000
Display
Screen
IPS LCD · 2.8" · 320x240
Driver
ST7789V
Touch
GT911
Flashing
Upload · OTA
esptool_py · esp_ota
Flash · Boot mode
DIO · DIO
Sketch · Data
3.19 MB · 320 KB
The DPU ESP32 uses esptool_py for firmware uploads, esp_ota for over-the-air (OTA) updates. Flash mode is DIO with DIO boot mode. The maximum sketch size is 3.19 MB with 320 KB available for data.

About this board

Inside sits the ESP32 - a dual-core Xtensa with both Bluetooth Classic and BLE.

Around the module: 8MB (QSPI) PSRAM, an IPS LCD 2.8" 320x240 display with touch, a microSD slot, a Qwiic connector, battery charging (LTC4054) via JST-PH 2.0 and Reset/IO0 buttons.

Resources

Similar boards