Introduction

As a complete novice in IoT development, after several days of online research, I learned that:

• ESP32https://www.espressif.com/zh-hans/products/socs/esp32 is the king of cost-performance (built-in WiFi + Bluetooth)
• Raspberry Pi Pico is beginner-friendly and easy to blink LEDs

• To balance both cost-performance and ease of use, I bought both boards
• Both have official Taobao stores linked from their official websites: Raspberry Pi Espressif Systems
• Both boards cost around 20-30 RMB

Windows Environment Variables

• Right-click Computer (or open any folder and right-click “This PC”) -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Environment Variables -> Double-click PATH (System variables) -> Add new paths as needed

Go Installation

• Download from https://golang.google.cn/dl/
• Select the appropriate version, e.g., Windows 64-bit: https://golang.google.cn/dl/go1.17.8.windows-amd64.zip
• Add C:\go\bin to system PATH after extraction
• Verify in new CMD:

go version
go version go1.17.8 windows/amd64

TinyGo Setup

• Follow official installation guide
• Download Windows 64-bit version: https://github.com/tinygo-org/tinygo/releases/download/v0.22.0/tinygo0.22.0.windows-amd64.zip
• Add c:\tinygo\bin to system PATH after extraction
• Verify in new CMD:

tinygo version
tinygo version 0.22.0 windows/amd64 (using go version go1.17.5 and LLVM version 13.0.0)

Raspberry Pi Pico

• Recommended to get an expansion board for easier pin access
• Pre-soldered headers save time - simply plug the dev board into the expansion board

• First project: LED blinking. Pico is remarkably simple compared to ESP32 - no extra toolchain needed

• Directly connect to PC via USB and flash code

• To enter bootloader mode:

  • Hold BOOTSEL button
  • Connect USB cable
  • Release BOOTSEL
  • Flash new code

ESP32 Setup

Prerequisites

• Requires make command - use MSYS2 on Windows
• Official setup guide: https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-idf/en/release-v3.0/get-started/windows-setup.html

Installation Steps

• Install MINGW32 (recommend C:\msys32)
  • Download: https://dl.espressif.com/dl/esp32_win32_msys2_environment_and_toolchain-20180110.zip
  • Run C:\msys32\mingw32.exe for MINGW32 terminal
• Get ESP-IDF

  • mkdir -p ~/esp && cd ~/esp
    git clone -b release/v3.0 --recursive https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf.git
    

• Set IDF_PATH

  • echo "export IDF_PATH=\"C:/msys32/home/your-username/esp/esp-idf\"" > /etc/profile.d/export_idf_path.sh
    

  • Restart MINGW32 and verify:

    printenv IDF_PATH
    

• Create Project

  • cd ~/esp
    cp -r $IDF_PATH/examples/get-started/hello_world .
    cd hello_world
    make menuconfig
    

  • Configure serial port under Serial flasher config -> Default serial port

• Find COM port in Windows Device Manager

• Set correct COM port (e.g., COM3) and save

• Flash Firmware

  • make flash
    

Install esptool

• pip install esptool
  

• Will update Raspberry Pi Pico section next time. Stay tuned!

Common Errors

Error 1

Makefile:8: C:/msys32/home/user-name/esp/esp-idf/make/project.mk: No such file or directory 
make: *** No rule to make target 'C:/msys32/home/user-name/esp/esp-idf/make/project.m'. Stop.

• Fix: Verify IDF_PATH in /etc/profile.d/export_idf_path.sh uses correct username

Error 2

make flash: could not open port '/dev/ttyUSB0

• Fix: Ensure correct COM port is set in make menuconfig configuration