An open-source, pocket-sized speed reader built on ESP32.

Open the web companion  |  Releases  |  v0.0.9 notes  |  Discord

What is RSVP Nano?

RSVP Nano is a small standalone reader that presents text one word at a time using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation. It also supports page reading when you want surrounding context. Books, articles, settings, fonts, themes, languages, and reading progress live on a microSD card.

The project includes:

• Multi-board ESP32 firmware with RSVP and page reading.
• A responsive Compose Multiplatform web companion for setup, flashing, conversion, and management.
• Android and iOS companions built on shared Kotlin Multiplatform logic.
• A shared Kotlin conversion engine for EPUB, text, Markdown, HTML, XHTML, and RSVP files.
• Installable reader fonts, interface language packs, and color themes.

RSVP Nano is under active development. The current release line is 0.x, so back up important SD card content before testing new firmware.

Highlights

• Two reading modes: focused RSVP playback and paragraph-aware page reading.
• Multilingual text: bidirectional text, Arabic and Hebrew shaping, CJK fonts, and vertical CJK books.
• Personal appearance: installable RFont4 reader fonts, locale packs, downloadable themes, focus highlighting, tracking, guide geometry, and handed layouts.
• Companion management: library uploads, progress editing, settings, Wi-Fi, RSS feeds, focus timers, fonts, themes, locales, and firmware updates.
• Flexible connections: local-network sync, the Nano's direct Wi-Fi network, USB companion control, and USB mass-storage transfer on supported boards.
• Offline-friendly setup: an installable PWA shell, browser firmware installation, Improv Wi-Fi provisioning, and local file conversion without a server-side converter.
• Device utilities: OTA updates, SD diagnostics, configurable focus routines, and Life, Maze, Voronoi, and Reaction screensavers.

Get started

You need a supported RSVP Nano board, a USB-C data cable, and a FAT32 microSD card. An 8 GB to 32 GB card is the safest choice.

1. Open the web companion in a desktop browser.
2. Choose your board and install the latest firmware.
3. Follow setup to provision Wi-Fi and verify the reader.
4. Add an EPUB, RSVP, text, Markdown, HTML, or XHTML file from the Library screen.
5. Open the book on the Nano and start reading.

Chrome or Edge is required for browser flashing and USB companion access because those features use Web Serial. The site still supports local-network management in browsers that can reach the reader.

The web installer uses the firmware bundled with the latest published release. You can also choose a compatible full-image .bin file manually. Firmware already installed on a Nano can update through the device's OTA flow.

Supported hardware

Most LCD 3.49 readers use rev1. Try rev2 when the display works but backlight control does not.

For AMOLED 2.41, choose V2 only for a Rev2.0 PCB or V2 QC label. Reset/interrupt wiring is different; V1 and V2 firmware are not interchangeable. Both use the regular UI.

The following purchase links are affiliate links. A purchase may support RSVP Nano at no extra cost to you:

• Touch LCD 3.49
• Touch AMOLED 1.8
• Touch AMOLED 2.06
• Touch AMOLED 2.16
• Touch AMOLED 2.41
• ESP32-C6 Touch LCD 1.47

Companion apps

The companions share device models, API contracts, conversion, persistence formats, and workflows. Their layouts remain platform-specific.

To connect over Wi-Fi, open Companion Sync on the Nano. The apps prefer a reader discovered on the same local network and can fall back to the Nano's direct RSVP-Nano-xxxxxx network or a manual address. The web companion can also connect directly over USB on supported desktop browsers.

Library and SD card

The firmware creates its standard folders when writable storage is available. The main layout is:

/library/books
/library/articles
/config
/fonts
/locales
/themes

Older cards using /books are migrated to /library without overwriting existing files. The same repair and validation pass is available from the Nano's Device screen and from the web or mobile companion while connected.

Books and articles may be uploaded by a companion or copied directly to the card. The reader creates rebuildable .ridx and .rdat index files plus hidden .rstate.toml files for durable progress and per-book typography.

Always eject USB mass storage before disconnecting it. Run the on-device SD card check if the library is missing, read-only, or using an unexpected filesystem layout.

Configuration is stored as versionless TOML. See Configuration for settings, RSS, focus timers, themes, NVS mirroring, and recovery behavior.

Build from source

Clone submodules first:

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/ionutdecebal/rsvpnano.git
cd rsvpnano

Firmware

Install PlatformIO, then build one target:

pio run -e waveshare_esp32s3_touch_lcd_349_rev1

Upload to a connected board:

pio run -e waveshare_esp32s3_touch_lcd_349_rev1 -t upload

Run native firmware tests:

pio test -e native_test

Web and mobile companions

Companion builds require JDK 17. Android also requires the Android SDK; iOS requires macOS and Xcode.

# Browser tests and staged Pages distribution
./gradlew checkWeb

# Shared tests and Android release build
./gradlew checkAndroid

# Shared iOS compilation and simulator tests
./gradlew checkIos

The staged website is written to build/webSite. Detailed native setup is in the Android and iOS guides.

Repository layout

Documentation

• v0.0.9 release notes
• Companion API
• USB companion protocol
• Conversion format and behavior
• Configuration files
• Hardware architecture and bring-up notes
• Reader fonts
• Themes
• Locale packs

Contributing

Issues and focused pull requests are welcome. Before opening a change:

1. Build the affected firmware or companion target.
2. Run the smallest relevant test suite.
3. Keep board-specific behavior inside its platform directory.
4. Reuse shared companion and conversion logic instead of creating another platform implementation.
5. Include hardware validation details for changes that affect display, touch, power, storage, or USB.

For questions, hardware reports, and development discussion, join the RSVP Nano Discord.

License

RSVP Nano is distributed under the MIT license. Bundled fonts and third-party libraries retain their own licenses in their respective directories.