LilyGo T-Display-S3 Touch

Similar to the T-Display-S3 but with a touch-enabled 1.9-inch display, enhancing interactivity for user interfaces.

USB-C Native USB
LilyGo T-Display-S3 Touch board
62.5 × 25.4 mm
ESP32-S3
MCU
240MHz
clock
16MB
flash
512KB
SRAM
13· 10 ADC
GPIO
BLE 5.0+ WiFi
radio
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LilyGo T-Display-S3 Touch Pinout

20 pins · 2.54 mm pitch
LilyGo T-Display-S3 Touch pinout diagram
PinGPIOLabelsStatusCapabilitiesNotes
1-3V3power-Left header - 3.3V power output
21IO1TOUCH1ADC1_CH0safeadc · touchLeft header - ADC1_CH0, capacitive touch
32IO2TOUCH2ADC1_CH1safeadc · touchLeft header - ADC1_CH1, capacitive touch
43IO3TOUCH3ADC1_CH2strappingadc · touchLeft header - ADC1_CH2, capacitive touch; ESP32-S3 strapping pin
510IO10SPI_CSTOUCH10ADC1_CH9strappingadc · touch · spiLeft header - default SPI CS, ADC1_CH9, capacitive touch
611IO11SPI_DTOUCH11ADC2_CH0strappingadc · touch · spiLeft header - default SPI MOSI (SPI_D), ADC2_CH0, capacitive touch
712IO12SPI_CLKTOUCH12ADC2_CH1strappingadc · touch · spiLeft header - default SPI SCK (SPI_CLK), ADC2_CH1, capacitive touch
813IO13SPI_QTOUCH13ADC2_CH2strappingadc · touch · spiLeft header - default SPI MISO (SPI_Q), ADC2_CH2, capacitive touch
9-GNDground-Left header - ground
10-5Vpower-Left header - 5V input/output (USB VBUS)
11-GNDground-Right header - ground
12-GNDground-Right header - ground
1343IO43U0TXDCLK_OUT1uarti2c · uartRight header - also on Qwiic/STEMMA QT connector as I2C SDA; default UART0 TX (U0TXD)
1444IO44U0RXDCLK_OUT2uarti2c · uartRight header - also on Qwiic/STEMMA QT connector as I2C SCL; default UART0 RX (U0RXD)
1518IO18U1RXDADC2_CH7uartadc · i2c · uartRight header - I2C SDA shared with the CST816 touch controller; also ADC2_CH7 / U1RXD
1617IO17U1TXDADC2_CH6uartadc · i2c · uartRight header - I2C SCL shared with the CST816 touch controller; also ADC2_CH6 / U1TXD
1721IO21safe-Right header - CST816 touch reset (RST); free only if touch reset is not used
1816IO16ADC2_CH5safeadcRight header - CST816 touch interrupt (INT); also ADC2_CH5
19-GNDground-Right header - ground
20-3V3power-Right header - 3.3V power output
13 GPIOs broken out 6 free · 7 need care · 0 to avoid

Start with these

6 pins with no boot or system involvement
IO1IO2IO18IO17IO21IO16

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

Fine - with a little care

7 pins · 4 things to know
IO3 Bootstrapping pin (controls JTAG signal source) Strapping

Sampled at reset to select JTAG interface (USB Serial/JTAG controller vs. external pins). Improper use can disable external JTAG or alter debug interface.

IO10IO11IO12IO13 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 lists it as a priority-2 pin ("can be freely used without restrictions"), so it is only taken if your board wires flash, an SD card or a display to FSPI.

  • IO10General-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - chip select (FSPICS0)
  • IO11General-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - data in (FSPID)
  • IO12General-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - clock (FSPICLK)
  • IO13General-purpose SPI2 (FSPI) IO MUX pin - data out (FSPIQ)
IO43 UART0 transmit pin (U0TXD), default serial console TX UART

Used for bootloader output and UART console logs. If repurposed, you will lose the default serial output (and programming via UART0).

IO44 UART0 receive pin (U0RXD), default serial console RX UART

Used for bootloader input (download mode via serial). If repurposed, you cannot use the default UART0 download mode for programming the chip.

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 LilyGo T-Display-S3 Touch breaks out 20 pins in total: 13 GPIO for your project, with 3V3, GND and 5V handling power.

Beyond plain digital I/O you get 10 ADC-capable pins for sensors and battery monitoring and 7 capacitive-touch inputs.

7 of the exposed pins carry boot-time or system duties on the ESP32-S3 (IO3, IO10, IO11 and 4 more) - check the guidance above before wiring anything to them. IO1, IO2, IO18, IO17 and 2 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
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
GPIO1 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: "ESP32S3 Dev Module"▸
USB CDC On Boot: "Enabled"▸
Flash Size: "16MB (128Mb)"▸
Flash Mode: "DIO"▸
PSRAM: "OPI PSRAM"▸
Partition Scheme: "16M Flash (3MB APP/9.9MB FATFS)" (default)▸
Upload Speed: "921600"▸
▸ every other Tools option - leave at default
Board: ESP32S3 Dev Module
USB CDC On Boot: Enabled
Flash Size: 16MB (128Mb)
Flash Mode: DIO
PSRAM: OPI PSRAM
Partition Scheme: 16M Flash (3MB APP/9.9MB FATFS)
Upload Speed: 921600
Find it: Tools ▸ Board ▸ ESP32 Arduino ▸ ESP32S3 Dev Module
blink.ino Copy
// toggle GPIO1 - wire an LED and resistor to it
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:lilygo_t_display_s3_touch]
platform = espressif32
board = esp32-s3-devkitc-1
framework = arduino
monitor_speed = 115200
upload_speed = 921600
board_build.arduino.memory_type = qio_opi
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: esp32s3
  framework:
    type: esp-idf
psram:
  mode: octal
  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 3145728 B · data 327680 B · DIO

Specifications

ESP32-S3 · 62.5 × 25.4 mm · vs other ESP32 chips →
Compute
MCU
ESP32-S3
Clock
240 MHz
SRAM · Flash
512 KB · 16MB · 8MB (OPI) PSRAM
Radio
Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
5.0 LE
Antenna
PCB
I/O
GPIO · ADC
13 · 10
UART · I²C · SPI
3 · 2 · 2
PWM
8 channels
Power
USB
USB-C
Serial
Native (CDC)
Boot address
0x0
Electrical
Input
5V USB · 3.7V LiPo
Consumption
-
Regulator
-
Display
Screen
LCD · 1.9" · 170x320
Driver
ST7789V
Touch
CST816
Flashing
Upload · OTA
esptool_py · esp_ota
Flash · Boot mode
DIO · QIO
Sketch · Data
3 MB · 320 KB

Dimensions

25.4 mm62.5 mm
62.5 × 25.4 mm · pin pitch 2.54 mm
The LilyGo T-Display-S3 Touch 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 3 MB with 320 KB available for data.

About this board

Inside sits the ESP32-S3 - a dual-core Xtensa with vector extensions suited to AI workloads.

At $35.00 it's on the expensive side for an ESP32-S3 board - most land around $29.

Only 13 GPIO are broken out, where most ESP32-S3 boards manage about 23 - worth checking the pinout covers what you need.

Around the module: 8MB (OPI) PSRAM, an LCD 1.9" 170x320 display with touch, a Qwiic connector, battery charging (TP4054) via JST-GH 1.25mm and Reset/Boot buttons.

It flashes over native USB - no serial-converter driver needed, which isn't a given among ESP32-S3 boards.


The LilyGo T-Display-S3 is a powerful development board featuring an ESP32-S3 chip with integrated WiFi and Bluetooth 5 capabilities. Equipped with a 1.9-inch LCD (170x320) driven by an ST7789V controller, it provides a vibrant display for embedded applications.

With WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 5 (LE), it offers seamless wireless connectivity for IoT projects. Its 8MB PSRAM and 16MB Flash memory ensure ample storage and performance.

Designed with multiple GPIOs, PWM, ADC, I2C, and SPI support, it is suitable for various applications, including sensor interfacing, graphical user interfaces, and wireless communication.

Where to buy

prices are typical street prices
LilyGo T-Display-S3 Touch
LilyGo T-Display-S3 Touch
$35.00per unit, typical
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Resources

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