Labplus mPython

ESP32 dev board built for MicroPython education - features Grove support and simple sensor expansion.

Micro-USB
Labplus mPython board
ESP32
MCU
240MHz
clock
8MB
flash
520KB
SRAM
26· 16 ADC
GPIO
BLE 4.2+ WiFi
radio
On this page

Pinout

26 pins
View:
PinGPIOLabelsStatusCapabilitiesNotes
10A11T1P5BTN_Astrappingadc · touch
21TXPWMuartuart
32A12T2P11BTN_BPWMstrappingadc · touch
43RXPWMuartuart
54A10T0NPWMstrappingadc · touch
65SSP16PWMstrappingspi
712A15T5TPWMstrappingadc · touch
813A14T4HPWMstrappingadc · touch
914A16T6YPWMstrappingadc · touch
1015A13T3OPWMstrappingadc · touch
1116P6BUZZERPWMstrapping-
1217P7PWMstrapping-
1318SCKP13PWMsafespi
1419MISOP14PWMsafespi
1521P15PWMsafe-
1622SCLP19PWMsafei2c
1723SDAMOSIP20PWMsafespi · i2c
1825A18DAC1P9PWMsafeadc · dac
1926A19DAC2P8PWMsafeadc · dac
2027A17T7PPWMsafeadc · touch
2132A4T9P1PWMsafeadc · touch
2233A5T8P0PWMsafeadc · touch
2334A6P3strappingadc
2435A7P2strappingadc
2536A0P10SOUNDstrappingadc
2639A3P4LIGHTstrappingadc

Start with these

10 pins with no boot or system involvement
SCKP13MISOP14P15PWMSCLP19SDAMOSIA18DAC1A19DAC2A17T7A4T9A5T8

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
SSGPIO5Must 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
P6GPIO16Connected to internal PSRAM on PSRAM-enabled modules; not usable as GPIO on those modules.Flash
P7GPIO17Connected to internal PSRAM on PSRAM-enabled modules; not usable as GPIO on those modules.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 All 26 pins on the Labplus mPython are usable GPIO. Peripheral wiring is straightforward: I²C is mapped to SDA on GPIO23 and SCL on GPIO22; the SPI bus ( MOSI…

All 26 pins on the Labplus mPython are usable GPIO.

Peripheral wiring is straightforward: I²C is mapped to SDA on GPIO23 and SCL on GPIO22; 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. SCK, MISO, P15, SCL 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 CP2104 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 Dev Module"
Flash Size: "8MB (64Mb)"
Flash Mode: "DIO"
Partition Scheme: "8M with spiffs (3MB APP / 1.5MB SPIFFS)" (default)
Upload Speed: "921600"
▸ every other Tools option — leave at default
Board: ESP32 Dev Module
Flash Size: 8MB (64Mb)
Flash Mode: DIO
Partition Scheme: 8M with spiffs (3MB APP / 1.5MB SPIFFS)
Upload Speed: 921600
Find it: Tools ▸ Board ▸ ESP32 Arduino ▸ ESP32 Dev 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:mPython]
platform = espressif32
board = esp32dev
framework = arduino
monitor_speed = 115200
upload_speed = 921600
Find it: PlatformIO Home ▸ Boards, search esp32dev — or type it after board =.
board to selectesp32dev⧉ copy
device.yaml Copy
esp32:
  board: esp32dev
  variant: mpython
  framework:
    type: esp-idf

# 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 1310720 B · data 327680 B · DIO

Specifications

ESP32
Compute
MCU
ESP32
Clock
240 MHz
SRAM · Flash
520 KB · 8MB
Radio
Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
4.2 LE
Antenna
PCB
I/O
GPIO · ADC
26 · 16
UART · I²C · SPI
3 · 2 · 4
PWM
16 channels
Power
USB
Micro-USB
Serial
CP2104
Boot address
0x1000
Display
Screen
OLED · 1.3" · 128x64
Driver
-
Touch
No
Flashing
Upload · OTA
esptool_py · esp_ota
Flash · Boot mode
DIO · DIO
Sketch · Data
1.25 MB · 320 KB
The Labplus mPython 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 1.25 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: an OLED 1.3" 128x64 display, a microphone, an addressable RGB LED (GPIO17), a buzzer, a motion sensor (MSA300), an ambient-light sensor and A/B/Reset buttons.

  • Geomagnetic compass sensor (MMC5983MA)
  • 6 capacitive touch pads on gold-finger edge connector
  • micro:bit-style gold-finger edge connector

Resources

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