Information about the ESP32-C3 Super Mini

I've just bought an ESP32-C3 Super Mini. There seems to be some confusion out in webland as to how to use this with the Arduino IDE v2.x. This page pulls together what I've found out.

Board Manager

The old ESP32 board manager does not contain information about the newer ESP32 C3 and S3. So you need to install an up to date board manager.

To do that, open the preferences dialogue box (File | Preferences menu option). On the Settings tab look for the Additional boards manager URLs edit box. Add https://dl.espressif.com/dl/package_esp32_index.json to the list of board managers. Click OK to close the dialogue box. You may need to restart the IDE for the new board manager to be recognised.

Choose A Board

There is no dedicated board manager for the Super Mini but I've found that the ESP32C3 Dev Module board works, so select that from the board drop down list. The default options seem to work.

Blinky

It's best to test the board with a blinky sketch. Load the standard Arduino Example Blink sketch.

Although this script will compile and upload it won't work as-is. This is because the built-in LED of the Super Mini is different to that defined for the ESP32C3 Dev Module.

The Super Mini's built in LED is on pin 8. Simply redefining LED_BUILTIN suffices. Here is the code of the revised sketch:

#define LED_BUILTIN 8

// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board
void setup() {
    // initialize digital pin LED_BUILTIN as an output.
    pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
    digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH);  // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
    delay(1000);                      // wait for a second
    digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW);   // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
    delay(1000);                      // wait for a second
}

This script should now compile and upload.

Pinout

There's a lot of confusion about the pinout of the Super Mini. There are two resources with conflicting advice:

1. The ESP32-C3 Super Mini manual (PDF).
2. The Arduino forum post: "ESP32 C3 Supermini Pinout".