The ultra-small ESP32C3mini development board is recommended for beginners (verified).

Risk Warning:
No
project background
. The previous project I shared was a metering socket based on ESPhome (ESP8266). Recently, I modified an ESP32C3 to accept the Matter protocol, and also redesigned the original through-hole board (because I'm bad at soldering). I changed it to a 2.54mm pin header, which can accept both standard pin headers and bent pins, allowing the chip to stand upright!
Programming: Direct USB-C connection. The advantage is simple soldering; the disadvantage is that it can only program, not debug.
LED indicator: There is a 3.3V LED that lights up when powered on.
Pin header: 3.3V, 5V, GND, and 5 GPIOs are brought out. TXD and RXD are not brought out here; you can modify them if needed. Purpose:
I think this is quite beginner-friendly, allowing you to understand the basic routing design of ESP32C3. It also uses 0603 package resistors and capacitors, which are easy to solder. The only two difficult parts for beginners are soldering the Type-C and C3 connectors, but this is a necessary step, so just keep playing around with it.
PS1 There are some small ESD and surge protectors next to the USB port. I haven't investigated the specific principles, but everyone seems to have them (including those on LCSC's C3 development board).
PS2 My previous designs were largely based on LCSC's designs. This development board was designed according to my own needs. If you find it helpful, please give it a thumbs up! Here's a picture
of the finished product
alongside the official LCSC development board (left: ESP32C3, right: ESP32C2, top: my ESP32C3)
and a picture of my hand.
Cost estimate and purchase recommendations
: Main components are as follows:



Component Name
Reference Price
Purchase Channel
Link




PCB
/
LCSC
/


ESP32-C3-MINI-1-N4
12.2
Taobao (Shenzhen Youxin Electronics)
Search for


USB-TypeC (intercalation)
0.25
Taobao (Shenzhen Youxin Electronics)
Search for


USBBLC6-2SC6
0.42
Taobao (Shenzhen Youxin Electronics)
Search for


5V to 3.3V Linear Regulator LDO I bought
the 0.3
a bit too early. Everyone can search for SOT-223 packaged



capacitors, resistors, and other accessories on
Taobao
(Shenzhen Youxin Electronics). It's very cheap, right? You can get it for just over 13 yuan! Question: Does anyone have any other channels to recommend for the ESP32-C3-MINI? I think it's still a bit expensive. Hardware design/PCB design instructions are nothing special, simple and clear, right? Usage tutorials : My personal preferred methods are: ESPHome: Generally, you only need to flash it once, and then you can directly upload the firmware via OTA on the web page. Simple and easy to use. Tasmota: You can flash it by opening the web page. If the functions are not satisfactory, you can copy, modify, and compile. Actually, I haven't used Tasmota for a long time, but after researching it, I found that Tasmota can directly configure matter! (The ESP32C2 development board freezes after configuring matter, while the C3 is smoother and more reliable.) Open Source License: GPL 3.0 Project Name: Leize Intelligent_ESP32C3mini Development Board Copyright (C) 2024 Leize Intelligent This project is open source under the GPL 3.0 license, meaning you are free to use, modify, and distribute the source code of this project, but you must comply with the following conditions: When using, modifying, or distributing this project, you must clearly indicate the original author as "Leize Intelligent" and must not remove the original "Leize Intelligent" brand logo from the open source work. Use of this project is limited to the non-commercial domain. Commercial use requires additional authorization from the original author. You must also open source any modifications or derivative works based on this project under the GPL 3.0 license and retain the original author information. Please note that this project is provided "as is" without any express or implied warranties or conditions. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Leize Intelligent will not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential loss or damage. For more information, please refer to the GPL 3.0 license document. Contact information: WeChat ID: rez-ti