Programming the ESP8266 with the Arduino IDE

The ESP8266 is a low-cost WiFi module built by Espressif Systems. Its popularity has been growing among the hardware community thanks to it's nice features and stability. It can even be easily programmed using your Arduino IDE.

In this post, we'll learn how to program your ESP8266 using an UARTbee or Arduino UNO, and the Arduino IDE.

Wire up!

First we'll need to identify the pinout of ESP8266. 

To set the ESP8266 in programming mode you need to connect its wires like this:

ESP8266 UARTbee Arduino UNO

• RXD TXD

• RX GPIO0

• GND GND

• GPIO2 -------

• ---------- GND

• GND GND

• VCC 3.3V

• 3.3V RST

• -------- -----------

• CH_PD 3.3V

• 3.3V TXD

• RXD TX

Note: If you are using an Arduino UNO you will need to set Arduino RST to GND. Please be careful with the VCC of the ESP8266, it works only with a 3.3V supply.

Setup the Arduino IDE

• Open you IDE and click on "File -> Preferences".

• In  "Aditional Boards Manager URLs" add this line and click on "OK": http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json

• Go to "Tools -> Board -> Boards Manager", type "ESP8266" and install it.

• Go again to "Tools -> Board" and select "Generic ESP8266 Module".

Flash your code!

Now  you're ready to use your ESP8266 as a stand-alone module without needing an external micro-controller. Check out more ESP8266 resources here to learn how to build IoT products and projects using this amazing module.