ESPHome 2026.9.0: Faster builds and encrypted OTA
ESPHome 2026.9.0 parallelizes PlatformIO installs, lays the groundwork for a native ESP8266 toolchain, adds Noise-encrypted OTA updates, and frees ESP8266 RAM.
Jesse Hills
33 posts by Jesse Hills
ESPHome 2026.8.0: Bluetooth on more chips than ever
ESPHome 2026.8.0 brings Bluetooth to more chips, dramatically faster builds, Ethernet and WiFi together, a major Modbus overhaul, and more.
Simplify your ESPHome setup with the new desktop app
Download the new ESPHome Device Builder desktop app for macOS, Windows, or Linux, and start building your own custom smart home devices in minutes.
ESPHome 2026.7.0: Native toolchains by default
ESPHome 2026.7.0 makes native toolchains the default on ESP32 and nRF52, adds EN18031 security groundwork, and overhauls Modbus.
Unbox your creativity with the ESPHome Device Builder
Discover a more approachable way to bring your smart home ideas to life: the new visual Device Builder in the latest ESPHome release.
ESPHome 2026.6.0: Meet the new Device Builder
ESPHome 2026.6.0 retires the legacy dashboard for ESPHome Device Builder 1.0.0, raises ESP8266 WiFi security to WPA2, and modernizes the audio stack.
ESPHome 2026.5.0: Device Builder enters public beta
ESPHome 2026.5.0 launches the public beta of the new ESPHome Device Builder, reworks the main loop and watchdog, and modernizes the audio decoder pipeline.
ESPHome 2026.4.0: Faster ESP32 defaults and signed OTA
ESPHome 2026.4.0 raises ESP32 CPU frequency by default, adds signed OTA and an ESP8266 crash handler, and speeds up state logging and config loading.
ESPHome 2026.3.0: Performance overhaul and first-class RP2040
ESPHome 2026.3.0 delivers deep performance work across the main loop, lights and API, first-class RP2040/RP2350 support, and a new media player architecture.
ESPHome 2026.2.0: Faster builds, leaner runtime
ESPHome 2026.2.0 is a performance and stability release: faster ESP32 builds, smaller firmware, lower CPU usage, three new components, and security hardening.
ESPHome 2026.1.0: Automatic WiFi roaming and ESP-IDF by default
ESPHome 2026.1.0 adds automatic WiFi roaming, makes ESP-IDF the default on ESP32, requires API encryption and SHA256 OTA, and lands broad performance work.
ESPHome 2025.12.0: API action responses and HUB75 matrix displays
ESPHome 2025.12.0 introduces API action responses, conditional package inclusion, and HUB75 LED matrix display support, along with memory optimizations and eight new components.
ESPHome 2025.11.0: WiFi overhaul and ultra-low latency events
ESPHome 2025.11.0 overhauls WiFi connection handling, cuts event processing latency across BLE, USB, MQTT and ESP-NOW, frees several KB of RAM and flash, and adds seven new components.
ESPHome 2025.10.0: Z-Wave Proxy and Arduino as an IDF component
ESPHome 2025.10.0 adds the Z-Wave Proxy component, rebuilds ESP32 Arduino builds on top of ESP-IDF, introduces a unified SPI ePaper component, and hardens OTA and API security.
ESPHome 2025.9.0: MIPI RGB displays and a camera JPEG encoder
ESPHome 2025.9.0 adds MIPI RGB display support, a camera JPEG encoder, DFU support for nRF52, and ESPHome Builder improvements, along with extensive memory optimizations.
ESPHome 2025.8.0: nRF52 support and ESP-NOW mesh communication
ESPHome 2025.8.0 introduces the Nordic nRF52 platform built on Zephyr, ESP-NOW device-to-device communication, and MIPI DSI display support, and now requires Python 3.11 or newer.
ESPHome 2025.7.0: Web server OTA, LoRa, and sub-devices
ESPHome 2025.7.0 moves web server OTA to its own platform, removes ESP-IDF 4.x support, adds sub-device support and Jinja2 template expressions, and introduces LoRa hardware support.
ESPHome 2025.6.0: ESP-IDF 5.3.2, OpenThread, and new ESP32 variants
ESPHome 2025.6.0 updates ESP-IDF to 5.3.2, adds official support for the ESP32-C6, ESP32-H2 and ESP32-P4, introduces basic OpenThread support, and now requires Python 3.10 or newer.
ESPHome 2025.5.0: Voice assistant updates and packet transport
ESPHome 2025.5.0 brings the Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition feature set to the voice assistant component, easier microphone configuration, and the new Packet Transport component for device-to-device communication.
ESPHome 2025.4.0: A small release with the MCP4461
A small release, adding the MCP4461 digital potentiometer output component.
ESPHome 2025.3.0: The LD2450 mmWave sensor arrives
A smaller release while the team is short-staffed, adding the long-awaited LD2450 mmWave sensor along with a handful of other new components.
ESPHome 2025.2.0: New audio components and old code removed
ESPHome 2025.2.0 adds a range of new audio components and speaker platforms, and removes old-style platform configuration, custom components, and armv7 support.
ESPHome 2024.12.0: ESP-IDF 5.1.5 for ESP32
ESPHome 2024.12.0 updates the ESP32 code to ESP-IDF 5.1.5 using the pioarduino platform fork, bringing broader chip support including the ESP32-C6.
ESPHome 2024.11.0: OpenTherm and the ESPHome Device Compiler
ESPHome 2024.11.0 adds OpenTherm support, lets you ignore discovered devices in the dashboard, and renames the Home Assistant add-on to ESPHome Device Compiler.
ESPHome 2024.10.0: Web server entity grouping
ESPHome 2024.10.0 adds custom entity grouping to web server version 3, support for custom MAC addresses stored in ESP32 eFuses, and a new audio DAC component.
ESPHome 2024.9.0: UDP and StatsD components
ESPHome 2024.9.0 adds a UDP component for direct communication between ESPHome devices and a StatsD component for sending sensor data to a monitoring server.
ESPHome 2024.8.0: LVGL graphics arrive in ESPHome
ESPHome 2024.8.0 adds the LVGL graphics library, an online_image component for downloading images at runtime, and Home Assistant switch and number platforms.
ESPHome 2024.7.0: microWakeWord version 2
ESPHome 2024.7.0 updates the micro_wake_word component to version 2, adding support for multiple models per device and a voice activity detection model.
ESPHome 2024.6.0: Update entities and OTA platforms
ESPHome 2024.6.0 introduces update entities, splits OTA into platforms, replaces the dallas sensor platform with a new 1-Wire component, and rewrites http_request.
ESPHome 2024.5.0: Valves, events and more entity types
ESPHome 2024.5.0 adds valve and event entities, extends the datetime component with DateTime and Time types, and changes ESP32 ADC attenuation and remote receiver tolerance.
ESPHome 2024.4.0: Time entities and voice assistant audio over the API
ESPHome 2024.4.0 adds time entities that can be set from the frontend, and support for sending voice assistant audio over the ESPHome API instead of a UDP socket.
ESPHome 2024.3.0: Date entities and IPv6
ESPHome 2024.3.0 adds date entities that can be set from the frontend, dual-stack IPv6 networking, and a large batch of new sensor, display and touchscreen platforms.
ESPHome 2024.2.0: On-device wake word detection
ESPHome 2024.2.0 adds on-device wake word detection with micro Wake Word, BME280 support over SPI, and a new combination sensor platform.