---
title: Web Flash & Get Started
description: Flash ESP-Claw firmware using the web flasher.
---

import { LinkCard, Steps, Aside, LinkButton } from '@astrojs/starlight/components';

## Prerequisites

At this point, you should already have assembled the ESP-Claw breadboard hardware, or prepared other ESP-Claw compatible hardware.
You can view the list of ESP-Claw compatible development boards in the [GitHub repository](https://github.com/espressif/esp-claw/tree/master/application/edge_agent/boards).
ESP-Claw requires at least 8 MB Flash and 8 MB PSRAM, currently supports ESP32-S3 and ESP32-P4.

Before flashing, prepare a computer with Chrome or Edge installed. Web flashing is not available in Firefox for now.

<Aside type="tip">
    **Advanced**: [Build from source and flash](@lang/reference-project/build-from-source).
</Aside>

## Web flash

<Steps>

1. **Connect the board with a data cable**

   Connect the board to your PC with a USB data cable. If you are using the breadboard form ESP-Claw, use the USB port labeled UART.

2. **Open the web flasher and connect serial**

   <LinkCard title="Web flash" href="@lang/flash" description="Open the web flasher to program ESP-Claw on ESP32" />

   Open the web flasher, click Connect, and select your board.

3. **Configure options**

   - Pick the firmware image for your board.
   - Configure Wi-Fi SSID and password (required).
   - Configure LLM: Supports GPT (OpenAI), Qwen (Alibaba Bailian), Claude (Anthropic), and DeepSeek (DeepSeek API). Generate an API Key as prompted and enter it.
      <Aside type="note" title="Please select a model with strong reasoning ability">
         ESP-Claw's self-programming, complex tool combination, and other advanced features rely on the ability of strong reasoning models.
         We recommend using GPT-5.4, Qwen3.6-plus, Claude4.6-sonnet, DeepSeek v4 Pro, or similar performance models to get the best experience.
      </Aside>
   - Configure chat apps to connect: currently supports Telegram, QQ Bot (OpenClaw), Feishu, and WeChat ClawBot. You can fill several at once.
     | Chat app | Setting | Help |
     | --- | --- | --- |
     | Telegram | Bot token | [Telegram Bot docs](https://core.telegram.org/bots#6-create-a-token) |
     | QQ Bot | ID and secret | [QQ Bot site](https://q.qq.com/qqbot/openclaw/) |
     | Feishu | App ID and secret | [Feishu doc](https://www.feishu.cn/content/article/7602519239445974205) |
     | WeChat ClawBot | Automatic configuration via WeChat QR scan | N/A |
   - Configure search engine:
      <Aside type="tip">
         After a search engine is configured, ESP-Claw can retrieve up-to-date information from the web. Weather queries also depend on search engine support.

         Tavily is recommended and provides a free quota.
      </Aside>
      Open [Tavily Dashboard](https://app.tavily.com/), sign up and sign in, copy an API Key, then paste it into the Tavily field in the web flasher.
   - Configure advanced settings (optional). See [Configuration](@lang/reference-project/configuration).

4. **Flash**

   Click Flash and wait for programming to finish.

5. **Start using it**

   After flashing, the device restarts automatically and is ready to use.

   <Aside type="note">
      If the Wi-Fi SSID or password is incorrect, ESP-Claw may fail to connect. In this case, connect to the SoftAP provided by ESP-Claw and update the config there. [➡️Web config](@lang/tutorial/web-config)
   </Aside>

</Steps>

## First interactions

<Aside type="tip">
   Boards with a display can show Wi-Fi status on screen. Headless boards can check Wi-Fi status through serial Console or the status display on the Web config page.
</Aside>

Telegram / QQ Bot / WeChat ClawBot are recommended for interacting with ESP-Claw.
- Send a message on a configured IM channel and ESP-Claw replies automatically.
- No reply? [➡️FAQ](@lang/tutorial/faq#messages-sent-via-im-get-no-response)
- Prefer serial Console? [➡️Console usage](@lang/reference-project/console-usage)

**Everyday Q&A**
- Hi, what capabilities do you currently have?
- Any AI news lately?
- At 12% annual interest, what will 10,000 become after 3 years?

**Hardware control** (requires supported hardware)
- Turn the light on / set the light to red
- Draw `Hello, ESP-Claw!` on the display
- Take a photo and send it to me
- Play a 1s 440Hz beep
- Draw a smiley face on the display

**Scheduled reminders**
- Remind me to drink water every day at 7am
- Remind me to sleep at 9pm every day
- Remind me to clean every Saturday at 8am

**Memory**
- Remember that I prefer concise answers
- Do you still remember my name?

## Next steps

<LinkButton href="@lang/reference-project/console-usage">Console usage</LinkButton>
<LinkButton href="@lang/reference-project/configuration" variant="secondary">Configuration</LinkButton>
