About xiaozhi-esp32

XiaoZhi ESP32 is an open-source voice interaction entry point powered by large language models such as Qwen and DeepSeek. It utilizes the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to enable multi-terminal control, allowing the AI to interact with speakers, LEDs, servos, GPIO pins, and extend capabilities for smart home control, PC desktop operations, knowledge search, and email management. The system supports Wi-Fi and ML307 Cat.1 4G connectivity, featuring offline voice wake-up via ESP-SR, streaming ASR, LLM integration, and TTS. Audio is handled using the OPUS codec. The device includes speaker recognition through 3D Speaker technology, supports OLED and LCD displays with emojis, and features battery management. It is compatible with ESP32-C3, ESP32-S3, and ESP32-P4 chip platforms and offers multi-language support for Chinese, English, and Japanese. Users can customize wake words, fonts, emojis, and backgrounds via an online web-based editor. The firmware supports both Websocket and MQTT plus UDP communication protocols

7

Published by

78

Visit View Profile

README.md

View on GitHub

An MCP-based Chatbot

(English | 中文 | 日本語)

Introduction

👉 Human: Give AI a camera vs AI: Instantly finds out the owner hasn't washed hair for three days【bilibili】

👉 Handcraft your AI girlfriend, beginner's guide【bilibili】

As a voice interaction entry, the XiaoZhi AI chatbot leverages the AI capabilities of large models like Qwen / DeepSeek, and achieves multi-terminal control via the MCP protocol.

Version Notes

The current v2 version is incompatible with the v1 partition table, so it is not possible to upgrade from v1 to v2 via OTA. For partition table details, see partitions/v2/README.md.

All hardware running v1 can be upgraded to v2 by manually flashing the firmware.

The stable version of v1 is 1.9.2. You can switch to v1 by running git checkout v1. The v1 branch will be maintained until February 2026.

Features Implemented

Wi-Fi / ML307 Cat.1 4G
Offline voice wake-up ESP-SR
Supports two communication protocols (Websocket or MQTT+UDP)
Uses OPUS audio codec
Voice interaction based on streaming ASR + LLM + TTS architecture
Speaker recognition, identifies the current speaker 3D Speaker
OLED / LCD display, supports emoji display
Battery display and power management
Multi-language support (Chinese, English, Japanese)
Supports ESP32-C3, ESP32-S3, ESP32-P4 chip platforms
Device-side MCP for device control (Speaker, LED, Servo, GPIO, etc.)
Cloud-side MCP to extend large model capabilities (smart home control, PC desktop operation, knowledge search, email, etc.)
Customizable wake words, fonts, emojis, and chat backgrounds with online web-based editing (Custom Assets Generator)

Hardware

Breadboard DIY Practice

See the Feishu document tutorial:

👉 "XiaoZhi AI Chatbot Encyclopedia"

Breadboard demo:

Breadboard Demo

Supports 70+ Open Source Hardware (Partial List)

Software

Firmware Flashing

For beginners, it is recommended to use the firmware that can be flashed without setting up a development environment.

The firmware connects to the official xiaozhi.me server by default. Personal users can register an account to use the Qwen real-time model for free.

👉 Beginner's Firmware Flashing Guide

Development Environment

Cursor or VSCode
Install ESP-IDF plugin, select SDK version 5.4 or above
Linux is better than Windows for faster compilation and fewer driver issues
This project uses Google C++ code style, please ensure compliance when submitting code

Developer Documentation

Custom Board Guide - Learn how to create custom boards for XiaoZhi AI
MCP Protocol IoT Control Usage - Learn how to control IoT devices via MCP protocol
MCP Protocol Interaction Flow - Device-side MCP protocol implementation
MQTT + UDP Hybrid Communication Protocol Document
A detailed WebSocket communication protocol document

Large Model Configuration

If you already have a XiaoZhi AI chatbot device and have connected to the official server, you can log in to the xiaozhi.me console for configuration.

👉 Backend Operation Video Tutorial (Old Interface)

Related Open Source Projects

For server deployment on personal computers, refer to the following open-source projects:

xinnan-tech/xiaozhi-esp32-server Python server
joey-zhou/xiaozhi-esp32-server-java Java server
AnimeAIChat/xiaozhi-server-go Golang server
hackers365/xiaozhi-esp32-server-golang Golang server

Other client projects using the XiaoZhi communication protocol:

huangjunsen0406/py-xiaozhi Python client
TOM88812/xiaozhi-android-client Android client
100askTeam/xiaozhi-linux Linux client by 100ask
78/xiaozhi-sf32 Bluetooth chip firmware by Sichuan
QuecPython/solution-xiaozhiAI QuecPython firmware by Quectel

Custom Assets Tools:

78/xiaozhi-assets-generator Custom Assets Generator (Wake words, fonts, emojis, backgrounds)

About the Project

This is an open-source ESP32 project, released under the MIT license, allowing anyone to use it for free, including for commercial purposes.

We hope this project helps everyone understand AI hardware development and apply rapidly evolving large language models to real hardware devices.

If you have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to raise Issues or join our Discord or QQ group: 994694848

xiaozhi-esp32