GPIO¶
Best pins to use on ESP8266¶
Most board do not have made all pins available. The NodeMCU boards have almost all usable pins made available and some which need special attention.
GPIO |
Input |
Output |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
5 (D1) |
OK |
OK |
Often used for I2C |
4 (D2) |
OK |
OK |
Often used for I2C |
14 (D5) |
OK |
OK |
|
12 (D6) |
OK |
OK |
|
13 (D7) |
OK |
OK |
|
0 (D3) |
pulled up |
OK |
Boot fail if pulled low |
2 (D4) |
pulled up |
OK |
Boot fail if pulled low |
15 (D8) |
pulled to GND |
OK |
Boot fail if pulled high |
16 (D0) |
High at boot, pull down to GNDno interrupt |
no I2C support |
Used to wake up from deep sleep |
9 (SD2) |
High at boot |
See notes |
|
10 (SD3) |
High at boot |
See notes |
|
3 (RX) |
High at boot |
is RX |
RX channel of serial0 |
1 (TX) |
is TX |
debug output at boot |
Boot fail if pulled low |
The labels used in the tabel above are the labels on NodeMCU boards.
Sources used:
Special notes on GPIO 6 - 11¶
Almost any ESP8266 board has a flash chip connected to some or all of GPIO6-GPIO11.
GPIO 9 & 10 can be used on ESP8285, since that chip has 1 MB flash embedded and is not using those pins. One or both of pins may sometimes also be available on ESP8266 boards, depending on the flash used and the flash operation mode.
Quad IO (QIO) uses 4 lines for data (6 pins total)
Dual IO (DIO) uses 2 lines for data (4 pins total)
Standard uses a single line for data (3 pins total)
It is best not to use any of the GPIO pins 6 - 11.
Special notes on GPIO 16¶
GPIO-16 is a special pin. The RTC will send a short (low) pulse when the sleep timer does send a wake-up signal.
In order to wake from deep sleep, GPIO-16 has to be connected to the RST pin. If connected, this pin should not be used as GPIO pin, or else the module will reboot.
Other limitations are:
GPIO16 has a built-in pull-down resistor (all others have built-in pull-up)
To enable the pull-down resistor for GPIO16, you have to use
INPUT_PULLDOWN_16
Best pins to use on ESP32¶
There is also a NodeMCU version using the ESP32. Fortunately the designers used the GPIO numbers as labels on the board.
N.B. This table does NOT describe the pins of other ESP32 variants like the ESP32-S2.
GPIO |
Input |
Output |
ADC |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
39 |
OK |
ADC1_CH3 |
input only See Notes |
|
38 |
OK |
ADC1_CH2 |
input only |
|
37 |
OK |
ADC1_CH1 |
input only |
|
36 |
OK |
ADC1_CH0 |
input only See Notes |
|
35 |
OK |
ADC1_CH7 |
input only |
|
34 |
OK |
ADC1_CH6 |
input only |
|
33 |
OK |
OK |
ADC1_CH5 |
|
32 |
OK |
OK |
ADC1_CH4 |
|
27 |
OK |
OK |
ADC2_CH7 |
|
26 |
OK |
OK |
ADC2_CH9 |
|
25 |
OK |
OK |
ADC2_CH8 |
|
23 |
OK |
OK |
||
22 |
OK |
OK |
||
21 |
OK |
OK |
||
19 |
OK |
OK |
||
18 |
OK |
OK |
||
17 |
OK |
OK |
See notes |
|
16 |
OK |
OK |
See notes |
|
15 |
OK |
OK |
ADC2_CH3 |
output PWM signal at boot, internal pull-up Silences boot messages when pulled low at boot. |
14 |
OK |
OK |
ADC2_CH6 |
output PWM signal at boot |
13 |
OK |
OK |
ADC2_CH4 |
|
12 |
OK |
ADC2_CH5 |
Boot fail if pulled high May damage flash if low at boot on 1.8V flash chips |
|
9, 10, 11 |
High at boot |
See notes |
||
6, 7, 8 |
See notes |
|||
5 |
OK |
OK |
output PWM signal at boot, internal pull-up |
|
4 |
OK |
OK |
ADC2_CH0 |
Internal pull-down |
3 (RX) |
High at boot |
is RX |
RX channel of serial0 |
|
2 |
OK |
OK |
ADC2_CH2 |
Often connected to LED, Internal pull-down |
1 (TX) |
is TX |
debug output at boot |
TX channel of serial0 |
|
0 |
pulled up |
OK |
ADC2_CH1 |
Boot fail if pulled low & output PWM signal at boot |
Source used:
The Hook Up - How To: Pick the right pins on the NodeMCU ESP8266 and ESP32
Random Nerd Tutorials - ESP32 Pinout Reference: Which GPIO pins should you use?
Special notes on GPIO 6 - 11 & 16, 17¶
Almost any ESP32 board has a flash chip connected to some or all of GPIO6-GPIO11.
It is best not to use any of the GPIO pins 6 - 11.
GPIO 6, 7 & 8 may output some PWM signals at boot. GPIO 9, 10 & 11 output high at boot and may fail to boot of pulled either high or low.
GPIO 16 & 17 are usually connected to the SPI flash and PSRAM. These do show some activity during boot to detect the presence of PSRAM. For example GPIO 17 may still show some high frequency signal until it is specifically set to a high or low output state. When PSRAM is present, these pins should not be used.
Special notes on GPIO 34-39¶
GPIO 34-39 can only be set as input mode and do not have software-enabled pullup or pulldown functions.
GPIO 36 & 39 should not be used for interrupts when also using ADC or WiFi and Bluetooth. These pins are on some boards labelled as:
VP
: GPIO 36 (ADC1_CH0)VN
: GPIO 39 (ADC1_CH3)
The internal Hall sensor in the ESP32 is connected to these two pins.
The Hall Sensor uses channels 0 and 3 of ADC1. Do not configure these channels for use as ADC channels when also reading from the Hall sensor.
Typical uses in ESPEasy where an interrupt of a GPIO pin is used are:
Switch input
Monitoring of a pin in rules
Pulse Count plugin
RX pin of a serial port
Pins used for RMII Ethernet PHY¶
The following PHY connections are required for RMII PHY data connections:
GPIO |
RMII Signal |
ESP32 EMAC Function |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|
0 / 16 / 17 |
REF_CLK |
EMAC_TX_CLK |
See desciption about the clock |
18 |
MDIO |
EMAC_MDIO |
In theory user configurable, but almost always used as MDIO pin |
23 |
MDC |
EMAC_MDC |
In theory user configurable, but almost always used as MDC pin |
21 |
TX_EN |
EMAC_TX_EN |
|
19 |
TX0 |
EMAC_TXD0 |
|
22 |
TX1 |
EMAC_TXD1 |
|
25 |
RX0 |
EMAC_RXD0 |
|
26 |
RX1 |
EMAC_RXD1 |
|
27 |
CRS_DV |
EMAC_RX_DRV |
See ESP32 datasheet
Best pins to use on ESP32-C3¶
Almost all pins on ESP32-C3 can be used, with just a few exceptions.
ESP32-C3 UART0¶
UART-0 may show boot messages and/or can be connected to an USB to UART chip for programming.
GPIO-21: TX0
GPIO-20: RX0
ESP32-C3 USB¶
The ESP32-S2 can emulate some devices via USB, like a serial port.
These pins should not be used when wired to a USB connector:
GPIO-18: USB D-
GPIO-19: USB D+
ESP32-C3 Strapping Pins¶
GPIO-9: “Select Bootloader Mode” pin
GPIO-8: Enable or disable ROM messages printing
GPIO-2: Must be high at boot. (both for normal mode as download/flash mode)
The strapping combination of GPIO-8 = 0 and GPIO-9 = 0 is invalid and will trigger unexpected behavior.
ESP32-C3 SPI flash pins¶
Pins connected to flash or PSRAM should not be used for anything else.
GPIO-11: Flash voltage selector
GPIO-12 … -17: Connected to flash
Note
By default VDD_SPI is the power supply pin for embedded flash or external flash. It can only be used as GPIO-11 only when the chip is connected to an external flash, and this flash is powered by an external power supply.
Best pins to use on ESP32-S2¶
Almost all pins on ESP32-S2 can be used, with just a few exceptions.
GPIO-46 is input-only.
ESP32-S2 UART0¶
UART-0 may show boot messages and/or can be connected to an USB to UART chip for programming.
GPIO-1: TX0
GPIO-3: RX0
ESP32-S2 USB¶
The ESP32-S2 can emulate some devices via USB, like a serial port.
These pins should not be used when wired to a USB connector:
GPIO-19: USB D-
GPIO-20: USB D+
ESP32-S2 Strapping Pins¶
GPIO-0 and GPIO-45 are the most important ones to keep in mind as their state during boot may either prevent the unit from booting or in case of GPIO-45, it may damage the flash chip.
GPIO-0: “Select Bootloader Mode” pin
GPIO-45: Control the voltage of VDD_SPI
GPIO-46: Enable or disable ROM messages printing
The strapping combination of GPIO-0 = 0 and GPIO-46 = 1 is not supported and will trigger unexpected behavior.
ESP32-S2 SPI flash pins¶
Pins connected to flash or PSRAM should not be used for anything else.
GPIO-22 … -25: SPI flash and PSRAM
GPIO-26: CS for PSRAM, thus only unuable when PSRAM is present
GPIO-27 … -32: SPI 8 line mode (OPI) pins for flash or PSRAM (e.g. ESP32-S2FH2 and ESP32-S2FH4)
Best pins to use on ESP32-S3¶
Almost all pins on ESP32-S3 can be used, with just a few exceptions.
ESP32-S3 UART0¶
UART-0 may show boot messages and/or can be connected to an USB to UART chip for programming.
GPIO-43: TX0
GPIO-44: RX0
ESP32-S3 USB¶
The ESP32-S3 can emulate some devices via USB, like a serial port.
These pins should not be used when wired to a USB connector:
GPIO-19: USB D-
GPIO-20: USB D+
ESP32-S3 Strapping Pins¶
GPIO-0 and GPIO-45 are the most important ones to keep in mind as their state during boot may either prevent the unit from booting or in case of GPIO-45, it may damage the flash chip.
GPIO-0: “Select Bootloader Mode” pin
GPIO-3: Enable or disable ROM messages printing
GPIO-45: Control the voltage of VDD_SPI
GPIO-46: Control the source of JTAG signals, must be low during flashing.
The strapping combination of GPIO-0 = 0 and GPIO-46 = 1 is not supported and will trigger unexpected behavior.
ESP32-S3 SPI flash pins¶
Pins connected to flash or PSRAM should not be used for anything else.
GPIO-26 … -32: SPI flash and PSRAM
GPIO-33 … -37: SPI 8 line mode (OPI) pins for flash or PSRAM, like ESP32-S3R8 / ESP32-S3R8V.
Special notes on ADC pins¶
This applies to all ESP32-series modules with 2 ADCs.
ADC2: ADC2 pins cannot be used when Wi-Fi is used. So, if you are having trouble getting the value from an ADC2 GPIO while using Wi-Fi, you may consider using an ADC1 GPIO instead, which should solve your problem.
Some ADC pins are strapped to a pull-up or pull-down resistor to set the ESP in a specific state during boot. This requires special attention when applying some voltage to these pins which may be present at boot.
Boot Strapping Pins¶
The logic state of some pins during boot determines how the Espressif chips will boot and into what mode.
These strapping pins differ per chip model. (e.g. ESP8266 / ESP32 / ESP32-S2, -S3, C3)
All have a strapping pin to select the bootloader mode:
GPIO-0: ESP8266 / ESP32 / ESP32-S2 / ESP32-S3
GPIO-9: ESP32-C3 (ESP8685) / ESP32-C2 (ESP8684) / ESP32-C6 / ESP32-H2
The “Select Bootloader Mode” pin has an internal pullup resistor, so if it is left unconnected then it will pull high.
Many boards use a button marked “Flash” (or “BOOT” on some Espressif development boards) that pulls this pin low when pressed.
Low/GND: ROM serial bootloader for esptool
High/VCC: Normal execution mode
ESP8266 (ESP8285)¶
GPIO-0: “Select Bootloader Mode” pin
GPIO-2: Must be high in order to boot the sketch.
GPIO-15: Must be low in order to boot the sketch.
Since the ESP8266 can’t report on the boot state of pins (it either boots or won’t), no System#BootMode
event is generated.
ESP32 (classic)¶
The ESP32 chip has the following strapping pins:
GPIO-0: “Select Bootloader Mode” pin
GPIO-2: Must also be either left unconnected/floating, or driven Low, in order to enter the serial bootloader. In normal boot mode (GPIO0 high), GPIO2 is ignored.
GPIO-4: Internal pull-down
GPIO-5: Internal pull-up
GPIO-12: If driven High, flash voltage (VDD_SDIO) is 1.8V not default 3.3V. Has internal pull-down, so unconnected = Low = 3.3V. May prevent flashing and/or booting if 3.3V flash is used and this pin is pulled high, causing the flash to brownout. See the ESP32 datasheet for more details.
GPIO-15: If driven Low, silences boot messages printed by the ROM bootloader. Has an internal pull-up, so unconnected = High = normal output.
There is a number of pins that will be read at boot and their value is displayed in the “boot” value:
ets Jun 8 2016 00:22:57
rst:0x1 (POWERON_RESET),boot:0x3 (DOWNLOAD_BOOT(UART0/UART1/SDIO_REI_REO_V2))
boot:0xNN (DESCRIPTION)
is the hex value of the strapping pins, as represented in the GPIO_STRAP register. The individual bit values are as follows:
0x01
- GPIO50x02
- MTDO (GPIO15)0x04
- GPIO40x08
- GPIO20x10
- GPIO00x20
- MTDI (GPIO12)
See boot_mode.h for more information.
See System#BootMode
event to access the boot strap pin values.
ESP32-S2¶
ESP32-S2 has three strapping pins:
GPIO-0: “Select Bootloader Mode” pin
GPIO-45: Control the voltage of VDD_SPI
GPIO-46: Enable or disable ROM messages printing
The strapping combination of GPIO-0 = 0 and GPIO-46 = 1 is invalid and will trigger unexpected behavior.
VDD_SPI can work as the power supply for the external device at either:
3.3 V (when GPIO-45 is 0 and at default state during boot).
1.8 V (when GPIO-45 is 1 during boot)
Since ESP32-S2FH2, ESP32-S2FH4, ESP32-S2FN4R2, and ESP32-S2R2 come with both/either 3.3 V SPI flash and/or PSRAM, VDD_SPI must be configured to 3.3 V.
Note
If the flash or PSRAM is powered via VDD_SPI, then the boot state of GPIO-45 is crucial as it may cause damage to these chips or not boot at all if the chips need to run at 3V3.
ESP32-S3¶
ESP32-S3 has four strapping pins:
GPIO-0: “Select Bootloader Mode” pin
GPIO-3: Enable or disable ROM messages printing
GPIO-45: Control the voltage of VDD_SPI
GPIO-46: Control the source of JTAG signals, must be low during flashing.
The strapping combination of GPIO-0 = 0 and GPIO-46 = 1 is not supported and will trigger unexpected behavior.
VDD_SPI can work as the power supply for the external device at either:
3.3 V (when GPIO-45 is 0 and at default state during boot).
1.8 V (when GPIO-45 is 1 during boot)
Note
If the flash or PSRAM is powered via VDD_SPI, then the boot state of GPIO-45 is crucial as it may cause damage to these chips or not boot at all if the chips need to run at 3V3.
ESP32-C3 (ESP8685)¶
GPIO-9: “Select Bootloader Mode” pin
GPIO-8: Enable or disable ROM messages printing
GPIO-2: Must be high at boot. (both for normal mode as download/flash mode)
The strapping combination of GPIO-8 = 0 and GPIO-9 = 0 is invalid and will trigger unexpected behavior.
ESP32-C2 (ESP8684)¶
GPIO-9: “Select Bootloader Mode” pin
GPIO-8: Enable or disable ROM messages printing
The strapping combination of GPIO-8 = 0 and GPIO-9 = 0 is invalid and will trigger unexpected behavior.
ESP32-C6¶
GPIO-9: “Select Bootloader Mode” pin
GPIO-8: Enable or disable ROM messages printing
GPIO-15: JTAG signal source
GPIO-4: MTMS: SDIO sampling and driving clock edge
GPIO-5: MTDI: SDIO sampling and driving clock edge
The strapping combination of GPIO-8 = 0 and GPIO-9 = 0 is invalid and will trigger unexpected behavior.
ESP32-H2¶
GPIO-9: “Select Bootloader Mode” pin
GPIO-8: Enable or disable ROM messages printing
GPIO-25: JTAG signal source
The strapping combination of GPIO-8 = 0 and GPIO-9 = 0 is invalid and will trigger unexpected behavior.