ESP32-C3 Firmware Installation Guide

This guide will walk you through the process of installing the Chelonian Access firmware onto your ESP32-C3 SuperMini board using PlatformIO.

Prerequisites

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/dapperdivers/chelonian-access.git
cd chelonian-access

Open in VS Code with PlatformIO
- Open VS Code
- Click “Open Folder” and select the cloned chelonian-access directory
- PlatformIO will automatically detect the project configuration
Connect the ESP32-C3
- Connect your ESP32-C3 SuperMini to your computer via USB-C
- The board should appear as a serial port device
- Note: On Linux, you may need to add your user to the dialout group:
```
sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER
```
  (Log out and back in for changes to take effect)
Build and Upload
- Click the PlatformIO icon in the VS Code sidebar
- Under “Project Tasks” > “General”, click “Build” to compile
- Once successful, click “Upload” to flash the firmware
- The first upload may take longer as PlatformIO downloads required dependencies

Board Not Detected
- Check USB cable connection
- Verify the board appears in ls /dev/ttyUSB* or ls /dev/ttyACM*
- Try a different USB port or cable
Upload Failed
- Press and hold the BOOT button while starting the upload
- Release after upload begins
- If issues persist, try manually entering download mode:
  1. Press and hold BOOT
  2. Press RST briefly
  3. Release BOOT
  4. Start upload again
Build Errors
- Run pio run -t clean to clean the build
- Check that all dependencies are properly installed
- Verify your PlatformIO is up to date

After successful upload: