# bluekitchen/btstack

Dual-mode Bluetooth stack, with small memory footprint.

Repository: https://github.com/bluekitchen/btstack
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/btstack
Homepage: http://bluekitchen-gmbh.com
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-08-26T09:39:05+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 77/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4177, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2130, forks 705 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:17.136093+00:00)

## What it is
BTstack is BlueKitchen's dual-mode Bluetooth stack (Classic + Low Energy) implemented in C with an ultra-small, highly configurable memory footprint. It targets resource-constrained embedded systems and can run bare-metal, under an RTOS, or on desktop systems with a USB Bluetooth dongle.

## Use cases
- add Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity to an embedded microcontroller project
- implement a BLE peripheral with GATT services on an ESP32 or other Bluetooth SoC
- build a dual-mode Bluetooth stack for Classic and LE on a resource-constrained device
- develop and debug Bluetooth applications on a desktop with a USB dongle before porting to embedded hardware
- implement Bluetooth audio profiles like A2DP and HFP on an embedded device
- run a Bluetooth stack without an RTOS on an 8 or 16-bit microcontroller
- implement Bluetooth mesh provisioning and proxy services
- scan for and connect to nearby Bluetooth devices from C code

## When to choose
- you need a Bluetooth stack in C for embedded or IoT hardware with tight memory constraints
- you need both Bluetooth Classic and Low Energy (dual-mode) support
- you want to prototype on desktop (Linux/macOS/Windows with a USB dongle) and deploy the same code to an embedded target
- you need a wide range of profiles and protocols (A2DP, HFP, HID, GATT, SPP, mesh) in one stack
- you want to run without an RTOS on small microcontrollers

## When to avoid
- you need a fully free license for commercial products - commercial use requires a paid license from BlueKitchen
- you want a high-level Bluetooth API in a managed language like Python or JavaScript
- you only need Bluetooth on Linux desktop where BlueZ is already built in
- you prefer a fully qualified, turnkey Bluetooth solution with vendor support rather than integrating source code yourself

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: embedded, networking, sdk
- domain: embedded-systems, iot, hardware, cross-platform
- platform: embedded, windows, cpp, c
- tags: bluetooth, bluetooth-low-energy, bluetooth-classic, hci, ble, dual-mode, microcontroller, rtos, gatt, le-audio, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- bluekitchen/btstack (main) score 77

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:17.136093+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:52:21.430421+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/bluekitchen/btstack (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:17.136093+00:00, sha 20040aa75090)
  - homepage: http://bluekitchen-gmbh.com (fetched 2026-08-29T10:32:14.066186+00:00, sha baf896401e3e)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.