RisalDash

Install

Arduino IDE — Library Manager → search "RisalDash".

PlatformIO — platformio.ini:

lib_deps =
    RisalDash
    esp32async/ESPAsyncWebServer
    esp32async/AsyncTCP        ; ESP32
  ; esp32async/ESPAsyncTCP    ; ESP8266

ESP-IDF (Arduino as a component) — from the Component Registry:

idf.py add-dependency "shaxzodahmedov/risaldash"

Fake sensors — build with no hardware

Prototype and debug the whole dashboard with nothing plugged in. #include <RisalFake.h> gives you realistic drifting readings — a slow trend + wobble + a little noise, not a flat sine — so the UI looks live while you iterate on layout and logic.

#include <RisalFake.h>
RisalFakeEnv env;                 // temperature / humidity / pressure / soil / air quality

void setup() { env.begin(); /* ...declare widgets bound to temp/hum/... ... */ }
void loop() {
  env.update();
  temp = env.temperature();       // °C   — later: aht.readTemperature()
  hum  = env.humidity();          // %
  pres = env.pressure();          // hPa
  dash.update();
}

Need one value of any other quantity? RisalFake(center, amp, noise):

RisalFake volts(12.4, 0.3, 0.05);   // 12.4 V, ±0.3 drift, a little jitter
voltage = volts.read();

When the real sensor arrives, swap the reads for your driver's — same variable names, the rest of the sketch is unchanged. Opt-in and Zero-Waste: nothing is compiled unless you include it. Works on ESP8266 and ESP32. The ESP32-C6-LCD-1.47 example ships with it.

Examples

- Minimal — a few widgets over an access point. - FirstBoot — captive-portal Wi-Fi provisioning (signal levels, timezone), then your network. - WifiSetup — the full provisioning circle, incl. dash.forgetWiFi() back to the portal. - Layouts — multi-page dashboard with the swipe-up page switcher + accent()/timezone(). - Tabs — switchable tab panels, with cards pinned above them. - AllWidgets — every widget type across five pages, from gauges to the robot face, map, 3D cube, terminal and thermal heatmap. - WidgetSizes — the cell grid: the same reading at RSIZE_S / RSIZE_M / RSIZE_L, compact gauges, and a sensor preset resized as a group. - FakeSensors — the whole <RisalFake.h> toolbox: drifting values, the day/night greenhouse, GPS route playback, a fake BLE scan and record-&-replay — no hardware attached. - SensorTemplates — dash.sensor("bme280", …) presets, tuned with .chart() / .size(). - LiveWeather — real conditions for any city from Open-Meteo (no key), fetched in a background task; the web City field re-geocodes as you type. <RisalWeather.h>, ESP32-only for live data. - UiKit — the interface skeleton: pages, groups, separators, sizes, icons, .gear(), chrome. - Multilingual — dash.translate(): the whole UI (your titles included) switches EN/RU/UZ/AR. - ESP32-C6-LCD-1.47 — the big showcase: web dashboard + a 13-slide LCD carousel, real BLE scan, live weather, robot eyes; split into display.h / led.h / i18n.h / sensors.h / weather.h / ble.h so the sketch stays readable. - ESP32-S3-DualCore — a heavy worker on core 0 while the dashboard stays smooth on core 1. - Wemos-D1-Mini — all-real-hardware ESP8266 showcase: onboard LED, A0, live heap/RSSI.

Live weather — no API key

#include <RisalWeather.h> pulls the current conditions from Open-Meteo (free, no key) and turns a city name into coordinates for you. Both calls block on an HTTPS request, so run them from a background FreeRTOS task — never loop(). ESP32-only (TLS); a graceful no-op elsewhere.

#include <RisalWeather.h>
RisalWeather wx;
float wxTemp; int wxCode; String city = "Tashkent";

// …inside a FreeRTOS task, off loop():
wx.geocode(city);                 // city name -> lat/lon (auto-detected)
if (wx.poll()) {                  // fetch current weather for that location
  wxTemp = wx.temperature();      // °C
  wxCode = wx.code();             // WMO code -> RisalWeather::codeText()
}

Bind the city to a text field and it re-geocodes whenever the user types a new one; the dash.weather("Sky", &wxCode) widget shows a matching sky icon next to a `dash.stat("Outside", &wxTemp, "C")`. The ESP32-C6-LCD-1.47 example wires the task, a persisted City field and an LCD slide end-to-end.

Integrations & control

dash.enableMCP("risal_pat_token");   // GET /api/mcp/manifest → AI tools (see tools/risal-mcp-bridge)
dash.enableOTA();                    // /update page + "Update firmware" button in Settings (OTA)
dash.mqtt("broker.local", 1883, "greenhouse");  // needs -D RISAL_ENABLE_MQTT + PubSubClient
dash.enableHomeAssistant("greenhouse");          // Home Assistant MQTT auto-discovery (after mqtt())

MCP — enableMCP(token) exposes GET /api/mcp/manifest, turning every widget into an AI tool (read sensors, drive controls). The companion risal-dash-mcp bridge connects a device to Claude Desktop / Claude Code. 📝 Walkthrough: Control your ESP32 from an AI agent.

OTA — enableOTA() serves /update and adds an "Update firmware" button to the Settings modal, so you flash a new .bin from the browser — no USB. It's opt-in on purpose: OTA needs a partition with a second app slot (Arduino's default "4MB with spiffs" and the ESP8266 4MB layouts have one; huge_app / single-app schemes do not), and /update lets anyone on the LAN flash the device — so turn it on for a trusted network. Every dashboard also has a built-in Reset Wi-Fi button in Settings (forgetWiFi() → back to the setup portal).

Home Assistant — after mqtt(), enableHomeAssistant() publishes MQTT discovery configs so HA auto-creates entities (sensors, switches, numbers, binary sensors, buttons), all grouped under one device. No YAML.

Wi-Fi: first boot vs. fixed credentials

dash.begin();                          // saved creds → STA; otherwise captive setup portal
dash.begin("ssid", "password");        // connect to this network (falls back to the portal)
dash.beginAP("Greenhouse", "12345678");// plain dashboard over its own access point
dash.apName("Greenhouse-Setup");       // name of the captive-portal AP (optional)

On first boot the device appears as a RisalDash-Setup Wi-Fi. Connect to it — the setup page opens automatically (captive portal). Pick your network, enter the password; the device reboots and serves the dashboard on your Wi-Fi.

How it compares

RisalDash isn't the only way to put a UI on an ESP — and the others are good tools. They optimize for different things; here's an honest read of where each fits.

_{¹ Blynk 2.0 is cloud-first; a legacy self-hosted server exists but is community-maintained.   ² Blynk's free plan allows up to 5 devices / 1 user; more needs a paid plan.}

Choose Blynk for a polished mobile app, push notifications and cloud fleet management, if depending on a hosted service is fine. Choose ESP-DASH for a fast, clean on-device dashboard (its Pro tier adds tabs and premium widgets). Choose ESPUI for a simple, proven, minimal UI. RisalDash leans into self-hosted + offline-first with a broad built-in widget/sensor set, i18n/RTL, AI (MCP) control and hardware-free prototyping — all MIT.

_{Sources: s00500/ESPUI · ayushsharma82/ESP-DASH, espdash.pro · blynk.io/pricing, docs.blynk.io limits. Facts checked 2026-07; correct anything that has since changed via a PR.}