---
title: Prepare materials
description: Prepare hardware materials for the ESP32-S3 breadboard version of ESP-Claw.
---

import { LinkCard } from '@astrojs/starlight/components';

import ESP32S3DevKitC1Png from "@/assets/images/esp32-s3-devkitc-1-v1.1-isometric.png?url";
import ESP32S3DevKitC1WebP from "@/assets/images/esp32-s3-devkitc-1-v1.1-isometric.webp?url";
import BreadboardPng from "@/assets/images/breadboard-400.png?url";
import BreadboardWebP from "@/assets/images/breadboard-400.webp?url";
import Ws2812Png from "@/assets/images/ws2812.png?url";
import Ws2812WebP from "@/assets/images/ws2812.webp?url";

For the breadboard form of ESP-Claw, you need one ESP32-S3 dev board, one or more breadboards, and optional extension peripherals.

## Required hardware

### ESP32-S3 dev board

ESP32-S3 has multiple variants such as `N8R8` and `N4R2`. `N8` means 8 MB Flash, and `R2` means 2 MB PSRAM.
To run ESP-Claw, you need an ESP32-S3 with **at least 8 MB Flash and 8 MB PSRAM**.

<picture>
    <source srcset={ESP32S3DevKitC1WebP} type="image/webp" />
    <img src={ESP32S3DevKitC1Png} alt="ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1" width="50%" style="display: block; margin: 0 auto;" />
</picture>

**We recommend the official ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 board from Espressif**. It exposes more pins and is suitable for breadboard assembly.
You can buy it from Espressif official channels.

<LinkCard 
    title="Espressif sample purchase channels"
    href="https://www.espressif.com/en/contact-us/get-samples"
    description="Buy ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 through Espressif channels"
/>

<LinkCard 
    title="ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 on Espressif Taobao store"
    href="https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=653155344338"
    description="Select: 1-N8R8. Models marked with U are not recommended"
/>

### Breadboard

<picture>
    <source srcset={BreadboardWebP} type="image/webp" />
    <img src={BreadboardPng} alt="Breadboard" width="50%" style="display: block; margin: 0 auto;" />
</picture>

Prepare a breadboard with 400 tie points or more. It is recommended to reserve extra breadboards for optional peripherals.

### Wires and Dupont cables

Wires and Dupont jumper cables are needed for connections. Prepare enough quantity for wiring.

## Optional peripherals

ESP-Claw supports various extensions, including display, camera, microphone, and speaker.
These peripherals make interactions richer.

### Display

ESP-Claw supports external displays. The web flasher firmware supports an ST7789 SPI color display; you can buy the same model from the link below.

<LinkCard
    title="2.0-inch TFT ST7789 240x320 SPI display"
    href="https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=851909895424"
    description="Select: 2.0-inch, 8-pin blue board module, with header pins"
/>

If you choose another display, you may need software adaptation.

### Camera

ESP-Claw supports USB cameras for vision features. Even without a vision-capable model, captured images can still be sent to users.

For ESP32-S3, the USB camera should meet the requirements in the [USB Stream User Guide](https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-iot-solution/en/latest/usb/usb_host/usb_stream.html#id1).

<LinkCard
    title="USB camera from Espressif Taobao store"
    href="https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=848914354287"
    description="This camera meets the requirements above"
/>

If you buy the USB camera sample from Espressif, it is recommended to also buy an MX1.25 4-pin single-ended cable (male) for breadboard wiring later.

### Microphone & speaker

Besides USB-UVC (USB camera), ESP-Claw also supports USB-UAC (microphone and speaker).

If you use the USB camera sample from Espressif, you only need to buy a microphone and speaker and connect them to the reserved ports on the camera with MX1.25 2-pin terminals.

### WS2812 light strip/ring

<picture>
    <source srcset={Ws2812WebP} type="image/webp" />
    <img src={Ws2812Png} alt="WS2812" width="30%" style="display: block; margin: 0 auto;" />
</picture>

In addition to the built-in WS2812 LED on ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1, you can connect a WS2812 strip/ring to extend lighting effects.

Due to power limits, do not connect an overly long WS2812 strip/ring.
You can choose the WS2812 ring with the same model as the [demo image](https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=994762490273&skuId=6139364670619).

### Servo

ESP-Claw supports servos for mechanical motion.
You can choose a common servo, such as [this one](https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=1016474722460).

---

<LinkCard
    title="Next step: Assemble ESP-Claw"
    href="@lang/tutorial/assemble"
    description="After preparing hardware materials, you can start assembling ESP-Claw."
/>
