# NodeMCU

Lua based interactive firmware for ESP8266, ESP8285 and ESP32

Repository: https://github.com/nodemcu/nodemcu-firmware
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/nodemcu
Homepage: https://nodemcu.readthedocs.io
Language: C
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: nodemcu, lua, espressif, spiffs, esp8266, esp32, esp8285, firmware
Last push: 2026-06-07T14:37:16+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 62/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 86, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4304, "days_push": 87, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 7943, forks 3102 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:10.103352+00:00)

## What it is
NodeMCU is an open-source Lua-based interactive firmware for the ESP8266, ESP8285, and ESP32 WiFi SoCs, implemented in C on top of the Espressif SDK. It provides an asynchronous, event-driven programming model with over 70 built-in C modules, a SPIFFS flash file system, and Lua Flash Store (LFS) support for running large Lua applications directly from flash.

## Use cases
- program esp8266 with lua
- build iot wifi node or access point
- flash firmware onto esp32 board
- run lua scripts on microcontroller
- create simple http server on esp8266
- prototype embedded wifi projects quickly

## When to choose
- you want to script ESP8266/ESP32 behavior in Lua without a C toolchain
- you need rapid prototyping of WiFi-connected IoT devices
- you prefer an asynchronous, event-driven model like Node.js on embedded hardware
- you want many built-in hardware modules (GPIO, net, file system) out of the box

## When to avoid
- you need maximum performance or precise real-time control - use the native Espressif SDK or ESP-IDF in C
- you prefer MicroPython or Arduino tooling instead of Lua
- you need the full Lua standard library - debug, io, os, and most math modules are omitted
- your project targets non-Espressif microcontrollers

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: embedded, interpreter, file-system, http-server, networking
- domain: iot, embedded-systems, hardware
- platform: embedded, iot, lua, c
- tags: esp8266, esp32, esp8285, lua-firmware, spiffs, espressif, wifi, iot-firmware, event-driven, lfs, automation

## Member repositories
- nodemcu/nodemcu-firmware (main) score 62
- nodemcu/nodemcu-flasher (plugin) score 32
- nodemcu/nodemcu-devkit-v1.0 (infra) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:10.103352+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 2026-08-29T17:33:13.106757+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/nodemcu/nodemcu-firmware (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:10.103352+00:00, sha af885ad014e8)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.