Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32S3

Verified

Checked on hardware (2026-10-10): this template on a XIAO ESP32S3 (ESP32-S3 rev 0.2). It boots, joins WiFi, scans, and the status LED works.

RecommendedTiny, external antenna. Needs a case.

Chip	ESP32-S3
Form factor	Module, 21 × 17.8 mm
Flash	8 MB + 8 MB PSRAM
Antenna	U.FL external antenna
USB	USB-C (native USB-CDC)
Install	Browser installer, esp32s3-cdc flavor
Stores	aliamz/us

GPIO

GPIO	Function	ESPresense setting
21	Orange user LED (active low)	LEDs
0	BOOT button	—

Template

Paste this into the Board Template box on the node's Templates page, then Preview and Apply (firmware v5.0.0b1 or later). It sets the board's pins (and Ethernet type, if it has one) in one go. The LED, input and output lists replace what was configured before, so the result doesn't depend on the node's old setup. See Templates.

{"name":"XIAO ESP32S3","chip":"esp32s3","settings":{"leds":[{"type":"pwm_inverted","pin":21,"count":1,"control":"status"}],"inputs":[],"outputs":[]}}

Copy

Formatted, with what each value means

{
  "name": "XIAO ESP32S3",
  "chip": "esp32s3",
  "settings": {
    "leds": [
      {
        "type": "pwm_inverted",
        "pin": 21,
        "count": 1,
        "control": "status"
      }
    ],
    "inputs": [],
    "outputs": []
  }
}

LED type: pwm, pwm_inverted, grb, grbw, rgb or rgbw (the last four are addressable). LED control: mqtt, status, motion, count, or output (follows the output numbered byoutput). Input type: pullup, pulldown or floating, with_inverted for active-low. Output type: output, output_inverted, or high/low for a pin that's just held at that level. An output's input is the 1-based input that controls it. power takes ESPHome's hlw8012 values (a cse7766 needs only rx); sel_inverted matches ESPHome's inverted on sel_pin. eth is the Ethernet Type's option number.

Notes

• Install the esp32s3-cdc flavor. It flashes over USB-C without pressing anything: the flasher resets it into the bootloader.
• If the flasher gets no response, plug straight into the computer, not through a USB hub. Still stuck? Hold BOOT while plugging in. BOOT is tiny, and a case may hide it.
• Opening the USB port resets the chip. A serial monitor that keeps reconnecting makes the board look like it’s boot-looping; close it and check again.
• The orange LED is the user LED and shows status. Without the template the generic build drives GPIO 2, which isn’t an LED here.
• The red LED is the battery-charge indicator and can’t be controlled. With no battery fitted it flickers or goes off; that doesn’t mean the board is dead.
• Nothing else is wired: no button or I2C. D0–D10 are free for your own inputs, outputs or I2C.
• The firmware uses the standard 4 MB flash layout; the extra flash and PSRAM go unused, which is fine.
• Buy the plain XIAO ESP32S3. Listings also sell the C3 and the S3 Sense (camera); pick the S3.