espressif/esp-hosted

Hosted Solution (Linux/MCU) with ESP32 (Wi-Fi + BT + BLE)

Python

1,061

840 commits

updated Sep 9, 2026

See the code

README

ESP-Hosted

ESP-Hosted, an open-source connectivity solution, leverages Espressif SoCs as dedicated wireless co-processors for Linux systems and microcontrollers.

It offloads protocol management to the co-processor, providing the host with full Wi-Fi, Bluetooth/BLE, and Thread capabilities via standard peripheral buses (SDIO, SPI, or UART).

🔑 Key features

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth/BLE and 802.15.4 over a single wired link
Fully open source code — both co-processor and host
Broad host support: an MCU, or Linux
Several buses: SDIO, SPI, SPI-HD, UART, and combinations
Standard Wi-Fi security: Open, WPA, WPA2, WPA3
Classic Bluetooth, BLE, BTDM (4.2..6.0)
Shared networking: ESP and host can share the same IP address
Power efficient: low power modes for battery-powered use cases

🔗 High-Level Architecture

The host runs an application above a TCP/IP stack, a Bluetooth stack and an 802.15.4 stack, with the ESP-Hosted host driver and a bus driver below them. Over SDIO, SPI, SPI-HD or UART sits the ESP co-processor, whose ESP-Hosted firmware runs above the ESP-IDF Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 802.15.4 drivers.

💡 ESP-Hosted Solutions

🔹 esp-hosted-linux

FullMAC solution for Linux hosts:

Single step solution
Seamless, out-of-the-box connectivity
Native Wi-Fi interface (wlan0)
Linux cfg80211 integration
wpa_supplicant and NetworkManager support
Bluetooth using HCI
802.11 MAC runs on the ESP co-processor

🔹 esp-hosted-mcu

RPC-based solution for MCU and Linux hosts:

ESP-IDF way: fully-compatible ESP-IDF APIs, and event handlers usable at host
App controls everything. APIs translate into portable protobuf based RPC requests to co-processor
Host can use esp_event for co-processor events transparently
Users can send their custom frames between host and co-processor
802.3 Ethernet interface
Bluetooth using HCI
802.15.4 supports Thread and Zigbee
Host and ESP can share a single IP address while the ESP maintains connectivity during host sleep

🤔 Choosing the Right Solution

The first question is how the host wants to reach Wi-Fi.

Host	Host Wi-Fi interface	Solution
Linux	Linux networking stack: `wlan0`, `cfg80211`, `wpa_supplicant`, `NetworkManager`	esp-hosted-linux
Linux or MCU	ESP-IDF `esp_wifi_*()` APIs	esp-hosted-mcu

By use case:

Use case	Recommended
Standard Linux Wi-Fi config (`NetworkManager`, `wpa_supplicant`)	esp-hosted-linux
A native wireless interface, so existing tooling and scripts keep working	esp-hosted-linux
Linux with custom or proprietary control over Wi-Fi	esp-hosted-mcu
Embedded Linux boards (Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone)	either
ESP-IDF application code that should run unchanged on the host	esp-hosted-mcu
Wi-Fi in AP + station mode on Linux	esp-hosted-mcu
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth/BLE together	either
Classic Bluetooth	either
Connectivity kept up while the host sleeps	either

📊 Solution Comparison

ESP-Hosted-Linux — FullMAC	ESP-Hosted-MCU — custom solution

Seamless connectivity Out-of-the-box networking Existing Linux tooling and scripts keep working	Both Linux and MCU hosts use standard ESP-IDF APIs Single co-processor firmware for MCU and Linux hosts Same host app works on MPU and MCU

See the detailed comparison to understand how the two solutions differ.

🚀 Getting Started

Active development is currently taking place in these repositories:

Repository	Purpose	Support
esp-hosted-linux	Standard Linux Solution	Linux Issues
esp-hosted-mcu	Custom solution for MCU and Linux hosts	MCU Issues

🤝 Contributing and issues

Contributions are welcome — bug reports, fixes, new features and documentation. ESP-Hosted is developed in the open, and every change goes through review. For anything substantial, please open an issue first so the approach can be agreed before you write the code.

🕰️ Legacy implementations

Legacy implementation	Migrated to	Status	Code
ESP-Hosted-NG	esp-hosted-linux	Legacy	`legacy/fg-ng`
ESP-Hosted-FG	esp-hosted-mcu	Legacy	`legacy/fg-ng`

Significant stargazers

J. Nick Koston

2,199 followers · starred Jun 2025

Viktor Oreshkin

489 followers · starred Jun 2024

Julian Uy

178 followers · starred Jul 2026

LIU HANCHENG

79 followers · starred Jan 2026

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espressif/esp-hosted

Hosted Solution (Linux/MCU) with ESP32 (Wi-Fi + BT + BLE)

Python

1,061

840 commits

updated Sep 9, 2026

See the code

README

ESP-Hosted

ESP-Hosted, an open-source connectivity solution, leverages Espressif SoCs as dedicated wireless co-processors for Linux systems and microcontrollers.

It offloads protocol management to the co-processor, providing the host with full Wi-Fi, Bluetooth/BLE, and Thread capabilities via standard peripheral buses (SDIO, SPI, or UART).

🔑 Key features

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth/BLE and 802.15.4 over a single wired link
Fully open source code — both co-processor and host
Broad host support: an MCU, or Linux
Several buses: SDIO, SPI, SPI-HD, UART, and combinations
Standard Wi-Fi security: Open, WPA, WPA2, WPA3
Classic Bluetooth, BLE, BTDM (4.2..6.0)
Shared networking: ESP and host can share the same IP address
Power efficient: low power modes for battery-powered use cases

🔗 High-Level Architecture

💡 ESP-Hosted Solutions

🔹 esp-hosted-linux

FullMAC solution for Linux hosts:

Single step solution
Seamless, out-of-the-box connectivity
Native Wi-Fi interface (wlan0)
Linux cfg80211 integration
wpa_supplicant and NetworkManager support
Bluetooth using HCI
802.11 MAC runs on the ESP co-processor

🔹 esp-hosted-mcu

RPC-based solution for MCU and Linux hosts:

ESP-IDF way: fully-compatible ESP-IDF APIs, and event handlers usable at host
App controls everything. APIs translate into portable protobuf based RPC requests to co-processor
Host can use esp_event for co-processor events transparently
Users can send their custom frames between host and co-processor
802.3 Ethernet interface
Bluetooth using HCI
802.15.4 supports Thread and Zigbee
Host and ESP can share a single IP address while the ESP maintains connectivity during host sleep

🤔 Choosing the Right Solution

The first question is how the host wants to reach Wi-Fi.

Host	Host Wi-Fi interface	Solution
Linux	Linux networking stack: `wlan0`, `cfg80211`, `wpa_supplicant`, `NetworkManager`	esp-hosted-linux
Linux or MCU	ESP-IDF `esp_wifi_*()` APIs	esp-hosted-mcu

By use case:

Use case	Recommended
Standard Linux Wi-Fi config (`NetworkManager`, `wpa_supplicant`)	esp-hosted-linux
A native wireless interface, so existing tooling and scripts keep working	esp-hosted-linux
Linux with custom or proprietary control over Wi-Fi	esp-hosted-mcu
Embedded Linux boards (Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone)	either
ESP-IDF application code that should run unchanged on the host	esp-hosted-mcu
Wi-Fi in AP + station mode on Linux	esp-hosted-mcu
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth/BLE together	either
Classic Bluetooth	either
Connectivity kept up while the host sleeps	either

📊 Solution Comparison

ESP-Hosted-Linux — FullMAC	ESP-Hosted-MCU — custom solution

Seamless connectivity Out-of-the-box networking Existing Linux tooling and scripts keep working	Both Linux and MCU hosts use standard ESP-IDF APIs Single co-processor firmware for MCU and Linux hosts Same host app works on MPU and MCU

See the detailed comparison to understand how the two solutions differ.