There are a variety of development environments that can be used to program the ESP8266. The ESP8266 community created an add-on for the Arduino IDE that allows you to program the ESP8266 using the Arduino IDE and its programming language.
Before continue reading this tutorial, please read the following blog post to learn more about this WiFi module: How to get started with the ESP8266.
If you like the ESP and you want to do more projects you can read my eBook Home Automation using ESP8266 here.
Let’s get started!
Downloading Arduino IDE
First download the Arduino IDE to ensure that you have the latest software version (some older versions won’t work), visit the following URL: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software.
Then select your operating system and download the latest software release of the Arduino IDE.
Installing Arduino IDE
Grab the file that you have just downloaded and open the Arduino IDE application file (see Figure below).
When the Arduino IDE first opens, this is what you should see:
Installing the ESP8266 Board
To install the ESP8266 board in your Arduino IDE, follow these next instructions:
1) Open the preferences window from the Arduino IDE. Go to File > Preferences
2) Enter http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json into Additional Board Manager URLs field and click the “OK” button
3) Open boards manager. Go to Tools > Board > Boards Manager…
4) Scroll down, select the ESP8266 board menu and install “esp8266 platform”
5) Choose your ESP8266 board from Tools > Board > Generic ESP8266 Module
6) Finally, re-open your Arduino IDE
Testing the Installation
To test the ESP8266 add-on installation, let’s see if we can blink an LED with the ESP8266 using the Arduino programming language.
Parts List:
Here’s the hardware that you need to complete this project:
Click the image above, to see on ebay.
Uploading Code
To upload code to your ESP follow these schematics:
Then upload the sketch below to your ESP using the Arduino IDE. You should see “Done Uploading” after a few seconds.
Note: You have to select your FTDI’s port number under the Tools > Port menu of the Arduino IDE.
Demonstration
Now assemble this simple circuit and add an LED to your ESP. Your LED should be blinking every 1 second.
Do you have any questions? Leave a comment down below!
Thanks for reading. If you like this post probably you might like my next ones, so please support me by subscribing my blog and my Facebook Page.
