# espressif/esp-drone

Mini Drone/Quadcopter Firmware for ESP32 and ESP32-S Series SoCs.

Repository: https://github.com/espressif/esp-drone
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/espressif-esp-drone
Language: C
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: drone, quadcopter, esp32
Last push: 2026-08-10T17:23:32+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 76/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 97, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2263, "days_push": 23, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2123, forks 495 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:16.734367+00:00)

## What it is
ESP-Drone is open-source firmware for mini drones/quadcopters built on ESP32 and ESP32-S series chips, ported from the Crazyflie project. It enables Wi-Fi control of the drone via mobile apps, gamepads, or the Crazyflie cfclient, with stabilize, height-hold, and position-hold flight modes.

## Use cases
- build a mini quadcopter drone with ESP32
- control a drone over Wi-Fi from a phone app
- port Crazyflie firmware to ESP32 hardware
- STEAM education drone projects
- fly a drone with a gamepad or ESP-BOX3 joystick
- add height-hold and position-hold modes to a DIY drone

## When to choose
- you want an open-source, low-cost drone firmware on ESP32 hardware
- you need Wi-Fi control with companion iOS/Android apps
- you're using the project for education or experimentation with extensible code

## When to avoid
- you need GPS-based autonomous navigation or advanced flight controllers like ArduPilot/PX4
- you require long-term official support, since the project receives limited maintenance
- you're not using ESP32/ESP32-S series hardware

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: maintenance
- function: embedded, robotics, middleware
- domain: robotics, embedded-systems, hardware, education
- platform: embedded, iot
- tags: drone, quadcopter, esp32, crazyflie, wifi-control, firmware, steam-education

## Member repositories
- espressif/esp-drone (main) score 76

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:16.734367+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 2026-08-30T02:52:49.796884+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/espressif/esp-drone (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:16.734367+00:00, sha ee4c9d072b67)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.