VSCode + ESP-IDF
Recommended for most users. Full access to all ESP32-P4 peripherals, FreeRTOS, and Espressif’s component ecosystem. Required for WiFi 6 and advanced features.
Prerequisites
Before you begin developing with the ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DEV-KIT, gather the required hardware and choose a development environment that fits your workflow.
What you need
Section titled “What you need”Hardware
Section titled “Hardware”| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| ESP32-P4-WIFI6-DEV-KIT | The Waveshare development board (product page) |
| USB cable | Type-A to Type-C (included with most boards) |
| Computer | Windows 10+, Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+ recommended), or macOS 12+ |
| Display (optional) | Any supported MIPI-DSI screen (5”, 7”, 8”, or 10.1”) |
| microSD card (optional) | For storage demos — any standard SDHC/SDXC card |
Choose your development path
Section titled “Choose your development path”The ESP32-P4 supports three mainstream development environments. Pick the one that matches your experience and project needs.
Arduino IDE
Fastest path to a blinking LED. Familiar Arduino APIs with ESP32 board support. Some advanced ESP32-P4 features may not yet have Arduino wrappers.
Quick comparison
Section titled “Quick comparison”| Feature | ESP-IDF (VSCode) | Arduino IDE |
|---|---|---|
| Full peripheral access | Yes | Partial |
| WiFi 6 / BLE 5 | Yes | Limited |
| LVGL display support | Yes | Yes |
| MIPI-CSI camera | Yes | Limited |
| FreeRTOS control | Full | Abstracted |
| Beginner friendly | Moderate | High |
| Build system | CMake + Ninja | Arduino CLI |
| Typical build time | 1—3 min (first), seconds (incremental) | 2—5 min |
What to do next
Section titled “What to do next”-
Set up your chosen development environment:
- ESP-IDF Setup (recommended)
- Arduino Setup
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Follow the First Flash tutorial to verify everything works.
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Explore the Guides section to start using displays, cameras, audio, WiFi, and more.