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ESPHome 2026.9.0: Faster builds and encrypted OTA

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

NOTE

This is a beta release. Details on this page may change before the stable release is published.

D01

Particulate

SFA40

Formaldehyde & Temperature & Humidity

DS1603L

Acoustic distance

Mk2PVRouter

Surplus Energy Diverter

Snapshot

Template Climate

Release Overview

ESPHome 2026.9.0 focuses on foundational build system and platform work: the scaffolding for an ESP8266 native toolchain lands across five infrastructure PRs, PlatformIO installs are parallelized end to end (the package phase drops from 36% of build time to 25% on CI benchmarks, and the docker image preinstall from ~100s to ~46s), and a sweep across 60 files pushes 211 conditional log string literals off ESP8266 RAM into flash.

Beyond the platform work, this release adds Noise (ChaCha20-Poly1305) encryption for OTA updates, brings Improv provisioning to Ethernet-only boards, teaches WiFi provisioning to shut down the AP and captive portal when the window closes, and rewrites IR transmission on Beken and Realtek chips to run from a hardware timer interrupt instead of a busy-wait. The multi-release modbus overhaul continues with a heap-free write path, a consolidated range-join option, and continuous polling. Six new components (ds1603l, d01, sfa40, mk2pvrouter, snapshot, noise) and roughly a dozen feature additions to existing components round out the release. The bundled Device Builder masks credentials in the YAML diff view, boots ESP32-C6 boards after a browser flash, and lets paired build servers recover from an address change on their own.

Upgrade Checklist

If you have a device with a custom MAC burned into the ESP32 eFuses and use Ethernet, Bluetooth, or 802.15.4, expect a new MAC on those interfaces after upgrading; update DHCP reservations, ACLs and Bluetooth pairings
If you use modbus_controller with custom_command:, rename it to custom_pdu: and drop the leading device address byte from the payload
If you use modbus_controller with register_count: or force_new_range:, migrate to reuse_previous_range: and re-verify any FP32 packed as register_count: 1 + response_size: 4
If you use modbus_controller skip_updates: on a sensor, split the slow registers onto a second modbus_controller with the same address: and a slower update_interval:
If you use modbus_controller switch or output with a non-zero offset: on holding registers, re-verify the target register (writes now land at address + offset/2 instead of address + offset)
If you have a modbus_controller switch write_lambda that inverts the returned bool to flip the displayed state, publish the state explicitly or invert in the read lambda instead
If you use homeassistant.event variables: with lambda source, tag the value with !lambda to silence the new deprecation warning
If you use esp32_hosted, remove any pinned ESP-IDF version below 5.3 or bump the pin to 5.3 or newer
If you use one of the affected UART components (cm1106, daly_bms, hrxl_maxsonar_wr, hydreon_rgxx, mhz19, pylontech, teleinfo, vbus, wl_134, cse7761) with non-default UART settings, expect a configuration error and adjust the UART bus to the component’s required baud rate and parity
If you use API user-defined actions with long variable names or descriptions on ESP8266, keep each action’s total name and metadata text under 384 bytes or split into smaller actions
If you have lambdas calling modbus_controller ModbusCommandItem factories or queue_command(), migrate to the entity write helpers or modbus_client actions before the 2027.3.0 removal

ESP8266 Native Toolchain Foundation

Led by @bdraco, this release lays the entire scaffolding for building ESP8266 firmware without PlatformIO. ESPHome now has a shared registry and download layer (#18570), a linker-script surgery module and per-board build metadata ported from platform-espressif8266 4.2.1 (#18555), a toolchain seam that validates a --toolchain choice on every platform (#18556), a resumable, sha256-verified installer for the Arduino ESP8266 core 3.1.2 and xtensa gcc 10.3 (#18557), and a native library backend that resolves cg.add_library() entries against the framework tree (#18558). The infrastructure is standalone in this release (nothing user reachable calls it yet), but it is the plumbing an ESP8266 build without PlatformIO needs. About 40% of ESPHome installs still run on ESP8266, so this is the setup work for a substantially faster build path for those users.

Build System Parallelization

The install phase of a PlatformIO build was serial from top to bottom, which showed up most sharply on Raspberry Pi class hardware and inside the Home Assistant App. This release parallelizes it end to end. @bdraco added a shared batch download runner with one combined progress bar (#18662), a prefetch subprocess that resolves and downloads PlatformIO packages in parallel into PlatformIO’s own cache (#18769), and a parallel-extraction install pass that drives PlatformIO’s own _install with one worker per usable core (#18775). CI benchmarks on the esp8266-arduino leg show the package phase drop from 17.1s to 10.3s (36% of the build to 25% of the build) and 296 serial progress frames collapse to a single combined bar. The docker image build’s own PlatformIO library preinstall got the same treatment (#18777), cutting a ~100s step to ~46s on every arch leg, and the CI compile-test image now compresses with multithreaded zstd instead of gzip (#18812), taking another 40s off the pipeline. ESP-IDF native builds also now cache the discovered component list inside the extracted framework directory (#18752), skipping a full CMake configure pass on every rebuild after an sdkconfig change (~2.2s on desktop, several times more on SBCs).

ESP8266 RAM Savings

A concerted sweep across the codebase pushes conditional log string literals off ESP8266 RAM and into flash, where the rest of the log format string already lives. @bdraco scanned every ESP_LOG* call site and converted 211 bare literals across 113 lines in 60 files, wrapping each in LOG_STR_LITERAL so ESP8266 keeps them in flash while other platforms see a no-op (#18907, #18906). A d1_mini with dht, adc, resistance, wifi and wireguard drops 80 bytes of RAM from this alone. In the same vein, str_contains_ignore_case now keeps its needle in flash on ESP8266 via a PSTR wrapper and an _P-family implementation (#18574), and the 65-byte base64 alphabet table is gone entirely, replaced by arithmetic range mapping that saves 64 bytes of RAM and doubles decode speed on host (#18454). Every ESP8266 device with API encryption benefits from the base64 change automatically.

Framework Memory And Build Efficiency

Two coordinated efforts trim per-instance overhead and unused sources across the tree. @bharvey88 and @bdraco drove a series of over 30 PRs moving trivial one-line accessors from .cpp files into headers so the compiler can inline them, covering WiFi, Ethernet, logger, light, select, sensor, text sensor, climate, cover, fan, switch, valve, text, datetime, thermostat, sprinkler, MQTT, WireGuard, display, safe_mode and more (representative measurements: 32 bytes saved on ESP8266 for wifi scan result accessors, 48 bytes for the remaining wifi accessors, similar per-component savings across the tree). Separately, @bdraco extended the FILTER_SOURCE_FILES pattern so binary_sensor click/multi-click sources, all three sensor filter files, and esp32/gpio.cpp are only copied and compiled when the config actually uses them (#18602), and picked up other unused sources across light/JSON schemas, i2s_audio SPDIF, MQTT entity types, uart debug, esp32_ble advertising, time posix TZ and uptime timestamps (#18675, #18676, #18677, #18678, #18679, #18680, #18746, #18750). A few one-off wins round it out: APINoiseFrameHelper is 104 bytes smaller per open encrypted connection (#18420), the camera image reader is created lazily instead of per connection (#18421), and API message-type storage widened to uint16_t without adding per-connection RAM (#18526).

ESPHome Device Builder

This is a smaller cycle for the bundled ESPHome Device Builder, and most of it already reached you through the 2026.8.x patch releases; this section covers everything since the 2026.8.0 release notes.

The YAML diff view used to render credentials in plain text the moment you flipped the diff toggle. It now masks the same sensitive values the editor does, with a reveal toggle (frontend#1664). A WiFi password containing # made every WiFi write append a second wifi_password: line to secrets.yaml; the writer now handles quoted values, heals an already duplicated file, and reports a broken secrets.yaml as your file to fix rather than an internal error (#2624, frontend#1673).

On ESPHome Web, flashing an ESP32-C6, H2 or P4 left the chip in the ROM bootloader instead of booting the new firmware, so Improv never answered. The reset after flashing now boots the firmware (frontend#1679), and Prepare for first use gained an Erase the device first option so a board that ran other firmware does not come up with stale WiFi credentials (frontend#1680).

A paired build server that moves to a new IP on another subnet used to be reachable again only by editing the endpoint by hand. After five minutes of silence it now dials back to announce its new address, so the pairing heals itself (#2650).

In the editor, dot-prefixed top-level keys, the documented way to park YAML anchors, no longer render as bogus cards or get deleted when you edit the section above them through the structured form (frontend#1689, #2652), and the add-component form stops demanding pins and dimensions that the selected display model already predefines (#2648). @Daniel085 brought the device comment back to the tile card (frontend#1671).

Under the hood, out-of-band edit detection uses a versioned whole-file fingerprint, so a future algorithm change can never again trigger a fleet-wide regeneration on upgrade (#2617), the Docker container reaps orphaned processes when running as PID 1 (#2636), and version history ignores the fake executable bit Samba puts on files edited from Windows (#2646).

Encrypted OTA Updates

@bdraco adds Noise (ChaCha20-Poly1305) encryption to the esphome OTA platform (#18489), using the same protocol the native API already uses. Until now the firmware image travelled over the network in plaintext, so a passive listener on the LAN could capture the WiFi credentials and API encryption key embedded in the image; the SHA256 password only authenticated the client, it did not make the transfer confidential. A device with an api encryption key now offers OTA encryption with that key and the CLI uses it whenever the device offers, so once a device runs this release, enabling encryption is an ordinary update; the update that brings older firmware to this release still travels in plaintext (#18979). An encryption: block on the OTA platform is what makes the device require it: both the device and the CLI then fail closed so an attacker cannot strip encryption and force a plaintext upload. A bare encryption: inherits the api encryption key, and a password and encryption are mutually exclusive because the key already authenticates the uploader. This work sits on top of a new shared noise component (#18490) that lifts the noise-c dependency, HWRNG binding, error strings, PSK context, encryption key validation and the handshake responder out of the api component so both api and ota can share them; there is no user configuration for noise itself.

Improv Serial Beyond WiFi

@kbx81 makes improv_serial aware of the whole network stack instead of only WiFi, so it now works on Ethernet-only boards and other WiFi-less devices (#17598). The component depends on network instead of wifi, gates every WiFi call behind #ifdef USE_WIFI, and implements the new Improv Get Network State RPC (0x07) that reports which interfaces are up and the web server URL for each one. The Improv state machine still uses WiFi provisioning where WiFi exists; on WiFi-less builds it reports STOPPED so clients do not offer a WiFi form that cannot succeed. @bdraco additionally adds an optional uart_id: so Improv can run on a dedicated UART bus separate from the logger’s serial port (#18794), which also makes the protocol end-to-end testable via the new host integration test.

Provisioning Shuts Down When The Window Closes

Also from @kbx81: the WiFi access point and captive portal are now torn down when the provisioning window closes, matching the treatment BLE Improv already had (#17466). An unprovisioned device that times out is now fully unprovisionable until it is power-cycled - BLE Improv stops, the captive portal stops, the access point disappears, and new API clients are turned away. Because a device whose access point is its only network connection becomes unreachable when the window closes, provisioning: now warns at config time when WiFi is configured with an access point and no station credentials.

ISR-Driven IR Transmission On LibreTiny

@kbx81 rewrites remote_transmitter on Beken BK7231N/BK7238 and Realtek RTL8720C to pace the IR envelope with a hardware timer interrupt chain instead of a priority-boosted busy-wait (#18648, #18660). Interrupts stay enabled throughout, so WiFi and lwIP tasks run normally during long transmissions and remote_receiver decodes the device’s own frames off the air during a send. non_blocking: is now supported on both families (previously ESP32-RMT only): the send returns immediately after arming the chain and on_complete fires from loop(). Bench measurements on an RM4 Pro (RTL8720CF) show 25.01-25.09ms repeat gaps for a configured 25ms (tighter than the busy-wait’s 25.02-25.05ms) and 27 captured transmissions all bit-perfect; an FK UFO-R4 (BK7238) measured 16-30us duty-apply latency and 39/39 bit-perfect NEC envelopes.

Modbus Controller Overhaul

The long-running modbus refactor from @exciton continues with a large batch of improvements. Writer entities (switch, number, output, select) become their own persistent hub devices with a heap-free write path that allocates nothing after setup(), and write_lambda gets full access to the underlying device so a coil switch can drive a holding-register write (#18082). Range polling moves onto the same PollingDevice architecture (#18071), saving 1,756 bytes of flash on the ESP8266 test config with byte-identical RAM. The register_count and force_new_range keys are consolidated into a single tri-state reuse_previous_range option (#18085) that says how a sensor relates to the range built just before it (auto/true/false), and custom_command is renamed to custom_pdu with auto-migration when the leading byte matches the controller address (#18652). A new continuous: option on both the client actions (#18542) and the controller (#18080) makes reads stream back-to-back to fill idle bus time. Two write-path bug fixes ship as breaking changes: the switch/output write offset is now byte-accurate (previously doubled) (#18787) and a switch write_lambda return value now only changes the value written to the device rather than the displayed state (#18788), so an active-low relay finally displays the requested state instead of the inverted one. Users of custom_command, register_count, force_new_range or skip_updates should review their configs.

New Components And Hardware Support

Six new components join the tree:

ds1603l by @JakeLC15 - a UART ultrasonic liquid-level sensor with configurable min/max level and volume mapping (#13133)
d01 by @ch604 - a PM2.5 particulate sensor that broadcasts its own packets every 1.4 seconds (#17788)
sfa40 by @NoQuarrel - the Sensirion SFA40 formaldehyde sensor with temperature and humidity readings (#17815)
mk2pvrouter by @FredM67 - Mk2PVRouter telemetry over UART, modelled on the TeleInfo component (#8487)
snapshot by @clydebarrow - a display platform that draws into memory and writes BMP files, works anywhere the host platform runs, and pairs with a new headless: option on the SDL display for documentation captures and CI golden-image tests (#17917)
noise by @bdraco - a shared internal Noise primitives component that api and the new encrypted OTA both consume; no user configuration (#18490)

New Features In Existing Components

zigbee time platform by @luar123 adds a Zigbee-sourced time provider on ESP32 (#18656)
tuya water_heater by @iago-veiga exposes a Tuya-MCU electric water heater as a single water_heater entity, collapsing the previous template-plus-lambda pattern into one block (#17323)
template climate by @rsre builds a full climate entity out of ESPHome primitives, with per-field set actions, an on_control trigger, an optimistic mode that applies commands locally, and a climate.template.publish action for reporting the device’s own state (#14455)
lvgl list widget by @clydebarrow adds a scrollable container designed to be filled at runtime, with add_text, add, remove and clear actions plus on_add/on_remove triggers (#18018)
lvgl table widget also by @clydebarrow adds a lightweight grid of text elements (#18422) and support for LVGL 9.5’s radial and conical gradients (#18818)
online_image auto-detection by @guillempages picks up the image format from the server’s Content-Type header (#16337), plus QOI format support in runtime_image (#16945) and a decoder that stays allocated between images of the same format (#18488)
ethernet spi_id by @jesserockz lets a SPI ethernet chip (W5500, DM9051, ENC28J60, CH390) attach to an existing spi: bus so it can share pins with other SPI peripherals like a display on boards such as the M5Stack CoreS3 (#18530)
network tcp_send_buffer by @bdraco exposes lwIP’s per-socket send buffer size on ESP-IDF, giving Bluetooth proxies a way to raise the TCP buffer without paying the RAM cost of enable_high_performance (#18610)
epaper_spi UC8179 by @jesserockz adds a monochrome UC8179 driver with three refresh modes and registers models for the Waveshare 7.5in v2 panel and the Seeed reTerminal E1001 (#17568)
api user-defined action metadata by @bharvey88 adds optional description and example fields on API actions and variables so Home Assistant renders a proper form; ESP8266 configs with unusually long action metadata may need trimming to fit the 384-byte-per-action limit (#18881)
sen6x algorithm tuning by @bharvey88 exposes Sensirion’s VOC/NOx tuning parameters (#18779)
emontx AP and F tags by @FredM67 adds apparent power and frequency sensor tags with correct defaults (#18586)
climate_ir_lg advanced commands by @ireun adds an advanced_commands_support flag that fixes heat/cool temperature setting, decodes JET mode, adds swing settings and rejects previously misdecoded frames (#10875)
mitsubishi_cn105 Fahrenheit by @crnjan implements the non-linear Fahrenheit mapping the Mitsubishi A/C hardware actually uses (#15488)
hoermann_hcp buttons by @zweckj adds venting and half-open buttons (#18544)
audio_http persistent buffer by @n-IA-hane keeps the HTTP decoder ring buffer allocated between playback sessions to avoid heap fragmentation on memory-tight devices (#18708)
rp2_ble_tracker automation by @Bl00d-B0b wires the shared BLE automation surface onto the RP2 tracker (#18717)

Networking And Diagnostics

Several targeted changes for network-heavy devices. Bluetooth proxy congestion warnings now fire once per transaction and once per connection instead of on every drop cycle, ending the log flood a bulk transfer to opendisplay-style screens produced (#18605). esp32_ble_tracker now warns at config time when the scan window exceeds 600ms while WiFi is configured, because holding the shared radio for over a second at a time starves WiFi and causes disconnects (#18725). espota2 now logs the erase-prepare window separately from the upload window and reports total OTA time (#18582), so users see why there is a silent pause after the handshake instead of interpreting it as a stall.

ESP32 Custom eFuse MAC Applied Consistently

@kbx81 fixes an inconsistency where a custom MAC burned into the ESP32’s eFuses was only applied to WiFi (#18452). The apply now runs in app_main() before any component sets up, so Ethernet, Bluetooth and 802.15.4 all derive their addresses from the custom base MAC. Only devices with a burned custom eFuse MAC AND Ethernet/Bluetooth/802.15.4 are affected; on those devices Ethernet, Bluetooth and Thread/Zigbee will change on-wire MAC addresses on upgrade, so DHCP reservations, MAC filters and BLE pairings may need updating (set ignore_efuse_custom_mac: true under esp32.advanced to keep the old behaviour).

Codebase Type Annotations

Led by @jesserockz, a repo-wide sweep in eleven parts added parameter and return type annotations to every mid-sized component’s Python code (over 130 components in this batch, plus a smaller follow-up in #18697), landing across PRs #18338 through #18348. Because component modules do not use from __future__ import annotations, every annotation is evaluated at import time, so the sweep also had to add every missing import for the names it introduced; an all-modules import check pins that. No behaviour changes.

Thank You, Contributors

This release includes 275 pull requests from over 30 contributors. A huge thank you to everyone who made 2026.9.0 possible:

@exciton - 25 PRs including the multi-release Modbus overhaul: PollingDevice-based controller polling, continuous polling, heap-free writer entities, a compile-time register decoder, and the switch to typed address-based read callbacks across sdm_meter, growatt_solar, havells_solar, kuntze, pzemac, pzemdc, and selec_meter
@jesserockz - 20 PRs including the 12-part sweep adding Python type annotations across the component tree, the FINAL_VALIDATE_SCHEMA return-type migration, the uart check_uart_settings move to final validation, the new UC8179 e-paper driver, and the ethernet spi_id option
@clydebarrow - 15 PRs including the new SDL snapshot and headless display mode, LVGL list and table widgets, LVGL radial and conical gradients, ESP32-S31 support in mipi_rgb, and CodSpeed benchmark reliability fixes
@kbx81 - 9 PRs including the provisioning window shutdown behavior, improv_serial support for Ethernet and non-WiFi interfaces, the ESP32 custom eFuse base-MAC fix, and ISR-driven remote_transmitter on RTL8720C and BK7231N/BK7238
@guillempages - 8 PRs including runtime_image format auto-detection, QOI decoding, MIME types, decoder retention, and BMP dimension validation, plus the portable str_contains_ignore_case helper
@bharvey88 - 6 PRs including the WiFi scan list dedupe helper shared with improv_serial, sen6x VOC/NOx algorithm tuning, description and example metadata on user-defined API actions, and BK72xx deep_sleep wakeup validation
@swoboda1337 - 6 PRs including CI diff-size fallback and max-parallel removal, external_components override logging, and ESP32-S31 ADC and GPIO support
@FredM67 - 4 PRs including the new mk2pvrouter component and emontx apparent power and frequency sensor support
@p1ngb4ck - 4 PRs including the USBUartChannelBase extraction, moving CONF_SLOT and CONF_LABEL into the shared const module, and uncovering a silent safe_mode error
@crnjan - 3 PRs including mitsubishi_cn105 Fahrenheit support, deferred status requests, and marking configurable classes as final
@rwrozelle - 2 PRs including the IntervalSyncer PollingComponent refactor and an openthread shutdown fix
@n-IA-hane - 2 PRs including SPI PSRAM DMA for external buffers and an audio_http persistent ring buffer option
@Bl00d-B0b - 2 PRs including rp2_ble_tracker automation triggers and scan actions plus a LibreTiny WiFi STA state reset on synchronous connect failure
@JakeLC15 - the new DS1603L ultrasonic liquid-level sensor component
@ch604 - the new D01 PM2.5 sensor component
@NoQuarrel - the new SFA40 formaldehyde sensor component

Also thank you to @bdraco, @ireun, @iago-veiga, @leodrivera, @JoppyFurr, @DavidvtWout, @alaraun, @zweckj, @kahrendt, @luar123, @Gafielt, @MakerYuichi, @mfishma, and @Zebble for their contributions, and to everyone who reported issues, tested pre-releases, and helped in the community.

Breaking Changes

Component Changes

Modbus Controller: custom_command renamed to custom_pdu and now takes the PDU only (function code + data), not a full frame. The controller’s address: and CRC are appended automatically. Configs whose first byte matched the controller’s address: are auto-migrated with a deprecation warning until 2027.3.0; frames targeting a different unit address must be moved to a sensor on the correct controller. #18652
Modbus Controller: address: 0 (Modbus broadcast) is now rejected with a validation error. A broadcast is never answered, so it could never be polled. #18652
Modbus Controller: The per-sensor skip_updates option is retired and has no effect. It logs a deprecation warning at configuration time (removed in 2027.3.0). To poll some registers less often, add a second modbus_controller with the same address: and a slower update_interval:, and attach the slow sensors to it. offline_skip_updates (controller-level) is unaffected. #18652
Modbus Controller: register_count and force_new_range are replaced by a new tri-state reuse_previous_range option (auto/true/false). force_new_range: true migrates automatically to reuse_previous_range: false with a deprecation warning (removed in 2027.3.0). A register_count matching the derived width warns as redundant; a divergent one now fails validation with migration instructions. The old vendor pattern of register_count: 1 + response_size: 4 for an FP32 no longer validates. Range splitting is now strictly address-ordered, so where isolated items were previously sorted first the range may now split at their position. A RAW value or text sensor with a response_size now spans ceil(response_size / 2) registers, one more than before for odd values. #18085
Modbus Controller: Holding-register switch and output platforms now apply a non-zero offset/byte_offset byte-accurately (address + offset/2) instead of doubling it. Configs with a non-zero write offset on these platforms must re-verify the target register. Odd offsets on these two platforms are now rejected at validation, as a 16-bit register write cannot target half a register. The number platform’s odd offsets are unchanged. #18787
Modbus Controller: A switch write_lambda returning a bool different from x now only changes the value written to the device; the switch reports the requested state. Lambdas that relied on the return value flipping the displayed state should publish explicitly or invert in the read lambda instead. The lambda’s payload parameter changes type from std::vector to a fixed-capacity RegisterValues / PduBuffer; push_back, clear, assign and indexing still work, but resize, reserve, insert and passing to std::vector& helpers no longer compile. A lambda that fills payload and returns {} now sends the buffer (as documented); previously that combination sent nothing. #18788, #18082
Modbus Controller: For a custom_pdu poll, the address argument delivered to on_command_sent, on_online and on_offline triggers is now -1 (no decodable address) instead of the sensor’s synthesized address. Automations filtering on a custom sensor’s synthetic address must test for -1 instead. The function_code argument for a custom_pdu whose first byte has the 0x80 bit set is now reported with that bit masked (0x83 reports as 0x03). #18071
Runtime Image: The image decoder is now kept allocated between decodes to avoid memory churn when decoding multiple images of the same format. This adds a small persistent memory overhead for the decoder object; on memory-constrained devices, reducing runtime image usage or restarting less frequently may be needed. #18488
API: homeassistant.event variables are now compiled as lambdas when they use !lambda or look like lambda source; a plain string that looks like lambda source now logs a deprecation warning and will be treated as static text in 2027.3.0. Tag lambda values with !lambda explicitly. homeassistant.action now accepts plain static strings (previously rejected) and sends them as text. A cv.returning_lambda value whose only return sits inside a comment, or only matches as a substring like the_return_value, now fails validation instead of failing at C++ compile. #18759
API: User-defined actions now accept optional description and per-variable description and example metadata using a new mapping form for variables:. On ESP8266 only, each action’s action name, variable names, description and example text must total at most 384 bytes; configs that exceed this fail validation with a message identifying the action and its size. Other platforms have no limit. #18881
API: The legacy media player supports_pause field is no longer sent. Clients on API 1.11 or newer already use feature_flags, so current Home Assistant is unaffected; only very old clients that never learned feature_flags would lose pause capability. #18801
Preferences: IntervalSyncer is now a PollingComponent, so its interval can be suspended and resumed with component.suspend and component.resume. No YAML changes are required; the previous flash_write_interval: 0 loop-every-iteration special case was already dead code (coerced to 1ms by the validator). Lambdas that called the old set_write_interval() still compile via a deprecated shim that forwards to set_update_interval(), removed in 2027.3.0. #14370

Platform Changes

ESP32: When a custom MAC address is burned into the eFuses, ESPHome now applies it as the system base MAC before any component runs, so every interface (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, 802.15.4) derives its address from it. Previously only Wi-Fi did. Devices with a custom eFuse MAC and Ethernet, Bluetooth, or 802.15.4 will appear on the network with a new MAC after upgrading: DHCP reservations, ACLs and Bluetooth bonds keyed to the old MAC need to be updated, and 802.15.4 (Thread/Zigbee) nodes may need to be re-commissioned. Devices without a custom eFuse MAC (the vast majority) are unaffected; setting ignore_efuse_custom_mac: true under esp32: advanced: disables the behavior. #18452
ESP32 Hosted: Now requires ESP-IDF 5.3 or newer. The legacy fallback to esp_hosted 2.0.11 (which had a known double-free crash on ESP32-P4 + C6) has been removed and older ESP-IDF versions now fail validation with a clear error. Configs that pin an ESP-IDF version below 5.3 alongside esp32_hosted must remove the pin or bump it to 5.3 or newer. #18417
UART: UART settings validation (baud_rate, parity, data_bits, stop_bits) for components that require specific values now happens at configuration time instead of only being logged at runtime. Nine previously unchecked components (cm1106, daly_bms, hrxl_maxsonar_wr, hydreon_rgxx, mhz19, pylontech, teleinfo, vbus, wl_134) and twelve components with incomplete checks now enforce their required UART parameters. Users with non-default UART settings that a component never supported will now get a configuration error instead of a runtime log error. #18940

Undocumented API Changes

Advanced users with lambdas that touch component internals should note the following C++ changes. These APIs are not covered by the formal breaking-change policy (they are undocumented public methods), but lambdas often depend on them:

Preferences: IntervalSyncer::set_write_interval() is deprecated in favour of set_update_interval() (the new PollingComponent base’s method) and will be removed in 2027.3.0. Existing lambdas calling set_write_interval() continue to compile via a forwarding shim. #14370
Modbus: New compile-time helpers registers_to_value<VALUE_TYPE>() and registers_to_uint32() are available in modbus_helpers.h for lambdas that know the value type at compile time. The runtime registers_to_number() is unchanged. Prefer the templated form when the type is known, as it inlines to a handful of instructions and returns the value’s natural type instead of int64_t. #18863
Modbus Controller: ModbusCommandItem, its factories (create_read_command, create_write_single_command, create_custom_command and friends), queue_command(), unqueue_command(), on_write_register_response() and the FunctionCode::CUSTOM alias are deprecated and removed in 2027.3.0. Migrate one-shot writes to the entity write helpers exposed through WriterDevice (available as item-> inside a write_lambda), or to the modbus_client write actions. Use FunctionCode::INVALID for the sentinel value formerly named FunctionCode::CUSTOM. #18071
Modbus Controller: write_lambda has a stronger item pointer now. item is the entity’s own persistent modbus device (not a throwaway command object), and the write helpers plus item->queue_pdu() are the entire API. A lambda can drive any register, coil, or custom-PDU write through it, regardless of the entity’s own register type. Before/after for a coil switch writing a holding register:
```
// Before: throwaway ModbusCommandItem
auto cmd = ModbusCommandItem::create_write_single_command(parent_, 0x30, x ? 1 : 0);
parent_->queue_command(cmd);
return {};

// After: entity's own device
item->write_single_register(0x30, x ? 0x0001 : 0x0000);
return {};
```
The payload parameter’s type also changes from std::vector<uint16_t> to a fixed-capacity RegisterValues (writes) or PduBuffer (custom PDUs). push_back, clear, assign and indexing keep working; resize, reserve, insert and passing to std::vector& helpers no longer compile. Filling payload and returning {} now sends the buffer (as the docs have always described); previously that combination sent nothing. #18082
Modbus Controller: SensorItem::register_count and SensorItem::force_new_range are removed. Lambdas that read a sensor item’s register span should call entity_count() instead; the join behaviour previously encoded in force_new_range is now expressed by the tri-state reuse_previous_range option on the following sensor. #18085
Time: RealTimeClock::set_timezone() (the C++ string-argument overload) and the on-device POSIX TZ string parser (parse_posix_tz() and helpers) are removed. There is no string-based C++ replacement: set timezone: in YAML, or let Home Assistant push a pre-parsed timezone over the API. Home Assistant 2026.3.0 and newer send the pre-parsed struct; older clients keep the codegen timezone. #18383

Breaking Changes for Developers

Core: Deprecated EntityBase::get_device_class_ref(), get_device_class(), get_unit_of_measurement(), get_icon_ref() and get_icon() removed. Use get_device_class_to(), get_unit_of_measurement_ref() and get_icon_to(). #18375
Core: Deprecated free functions gamma_correct() and gamma_uncorrect() removed. Use LightState::gamma_correct_lut() and LightState::gamma_uncorrect_lut(). #18376
Core: Deprecated esp_log_vprintf_() __FlashStringHelper overload removed; the const char* overload is unchanged. #18377
Core: make_name_with_suffix() std::string overloads removed (hard removal, no deprecation cycle). Use make_name_with_suffix_to() with a stack buffer sized via MAX_NAME_WITH_SUFFIX_SIZE from helpers.h. #18828
WiFi: Deprecated WiFiComponent::wifi_ssid() removed. Use the heap-free wifi_ssid_to(). #18378
Ethernet: Deprecated EthernetComponent::get_eth_mac_address_pretty() removed. Use get_eth_mac_address_pretty_into_buffer(). #18379
Modbus: Deprecated ModbusDevice::waiting_for_response() removed. Use ready_for_immediate_send(). #18381
Modbus: queue_pdu() refuses PDUs with the exception bit (0x80) set; receive parsers treat every 0x80-set response as the 2-byte spec exception shape; the “no device accepted broadcast” warning is removed; management codes 0x07/0x0B/0x0C/0x11 may now be broadcast. #18847
Modbus: New compile-time register decoder registers_to_value<VALUE_TYPE>() and registers_to_uint32() in modbus_helpers.h; registers_to_number() unchanged. #18863
Modbus Controller: ModbusCommandItem, its factories, queue_command(), unqueue_command(), on_write_register_response() and FunctionCode::CUSTOM are deprecated (removed in 2027.3.0). Migrate one-shot writes to the entity write helpers (WriterDevice) or the modbus_client actions. #18071
Modbus Controller: SensorItem::register_count and SensorItem::force_new_range are removed; every platform constructor loses its register_count / force_new_range parameters (replaced by entity_count() and reuse_previous_range). #18085
Web Server IDF: Deprecated AsyncWebServerRequest::url() removed. Use url_to(). #18382
Time: On-device POSIX TZ string parser removed; set_timezone() overloads and RealTimeClock::apply_timezone_() are gone. The GetTimeResponse.timezone proto field is marked deprecated and is no longer decoded. Set timezone: in YAML or let Home Assistant push the pre-parsed timezone. #18383
UART: UARTDevice::check_uart_settings() is deprecated (removed in 2027.3.0). Use uart.final_validate_device_schema() in your component’s Python FINAL_VALIDATE_SCHEMA instead. #18940
USB UART: USBUartChannel is now a final concrete type deriving from a new USBUartChannelBase; subclass the base if you need to extend channel behaviour. #17472
Mitsubishi CN105: All leaf configurable classes and actions (MitsubishiCN105Component, MitsubishiCN105Climate, MitsubishiCN105VerticalVaneDirectionSelect, SetRemoteTemperatureAction, ClearRemoteTemperatureAction, VaneControlAction, LegacySetRemoteTemperatureAction, LegacyClearRemoteTemperatureAction) are marked final and can no longer be subclassed. #18272
ESP32 IDF: The default IDF component exclusion list grew significantly. External components that include headers from app_trace, console, esp-tls, esp_driver_cam, esp_driver_gptimer, esp_driver_i2c, esp_driver_ledc, esp_driver_sdio, esp_driver_sdm, esp_driver_sdmmc, esp_driver_sdspi, json, protobuf-c, rt, sdmmc, tcp_transport, bt, esp_coex, esp_hal_ieee802154, esp_phy, esp_wifi, ieee802154, wpa_supplicant, esp_gdbstub, esp_http_server or nvs_sec_provider must call esp32.include_builtin_idf_component("<name>") in to_code (or users can add them under esp32: framework: advanced: include_builtin_idf_components:). #18536, #18599, #18604, #18748
ESP32 IDF: The mbedTLS root certificate bundle is no longer built unless a component asks for it. External components that call esp_crt_bundle_attach() must call esp32.require_certificate_bundle() in to_code (or guard the call with #if CONFIG_MBEDTLS_CERTIFICATE_BUNDLE). #18747

For detailed migration guides and API documentation, see the ESPHome Developers Documentation.

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2026.9.0 changelog.

ESPHome 2026.8.0: Bluetooth on more chips than ever

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The ESPHome Starter Kit Is Here

Before we get to what’s new in this release: the ESPHome Starter Kit is now available. It’s the easiest way to start building your own smart home devices, with no soldering, breadboarding, or coding required. Read the announcement post for the full story, or head to the Starter Kit page to see what’s in the box and to get yours.

Release Overview

ESPHome 2026.8.0 brings Bluetooth to more chips than ever: a new platform-neutral BLE layer moves all 39 BLE sensor platforms off their ESP32-only foundation and powers new BLE trackers, and Bluetooth Proxy, on the Raspberry Pi Pico W, BK72xx and LN882H. Builds get dramatically faster with ccache support on ESP8266, LibreTiny, RP2040 and host, ESP-IDF toolchain installs shrink by roughly half, and ESP32 crash reports now capture the faulting address. The release also delivers multi-interface networking with Ethernet and WiFi in one config, a major Modbus overhaul with the new modbus_client component, multi-key OTA signature verification, and runtime wake word management, alongside new components including the LD6002B 60 GHz presence radar and Hörmann garage door support. The bundled Device Builder brings faster startup, parallel uploads, and one-click config migration. The beta cycle also fixed ESP32 BLE trackers and proxies missing advertisements alongside WiFi on ESP-IDF 5.5.5, and encrypted API connections and OTA uploads on ESP8266 that stalled for seconds now complete in well under one second.

Upgrade Checklist

If you set esp32_ble_id explicitly on any BLE sensor platform, rename it to ble_hub_id (the old key warns until 2027.2.0)
If you use voc or nox sensor keys on sgp4x, sen5x or sen6x, rename them to voc_index and nox_index
If you use command_throttle on modbus_controller, move the setting to turnaround_time on the modbus component; allow_duplicate_commands no longer has any effect
If you use modbus_server with address: 0, assign a unique address from 1-247 instead
If you use modbus_controller sensors with custom_command: [0x17, ...], subtract one from their offset:
If you write modbus_controller lambdas, note data is now std::span and payload_to_number() returns an optional, so add .value_or(0) or a check
If you use the aqi sensor, expect readings above the previous caps (301 US AQI, 101 CAQI) to report real interpolated values during heavy pollution
If you use an rc522_i2c reader that relied on the old default address, set address: 0x2C explicitly
If you use LVGL animations with ease_in/ease_out weights greater than 1.0, remove them; they are now rejected at validation
If you have a custom web server frontend or integration, update it for the new id format and the alarm_control_panel domain spelling
If you use pin: TEMPERATURE on the adc sensor for the RP2 on-die sensor, migrate to the internal_temperature component
If your automations relied on non-iBeacon Apple manufacturer payloads being parsed as iBeacons, note these no longer match
If you use rgb_order, is_rgbw or is_wrgb on esp32_rmt_led_strip, beken_spi_led_strip or rp2040_pio_led_strip, switch to the single channel_colors key (the old keys warn until 2027.3.0)
If you set inverted: true or allow_other_uses: true on an interrupt_pin for pcf8574, pca9554, tca9555, pca6416a, pi4ioe5v6408 or mcp23016, remove them; both are now rejected at validation

Bluetooth on More Chips: Platform-Neutral BLE

Led by @Bl00d-B0b across dozens of PRs, this release completes a major architectural effort: the shared BLE advertisement layer moved out of esp32_ble_tracker into a new platform-neutral ble_device_base component (#17150), and every one of the 39 advertisement-based BLE sensor platforms was migrated onto it in a 13-batch series (#17716 through #18183). BLE sensors like ble_rssi, atc_mithermometer, BTHome, Mopeka, RuuviTag and the entire Xiaomi family are no longer tied to ESP32; they work on any chip with a BLE tracker.

New BLE trackers this release:

Raspberry Pi Pico W / Pico 2 W - the new rp2_ble_tracker scans passively and actively while WiFi holds an API connection
BK72xx (Beken) - bk72xx_ble_tracker by @Bl00d-B0b brings BLE 5.x scanning to the chips inside many Tuya-based wall switches, thermostats and smart plugs, validated in production on a 20-device fleet
LN882H - ln882h_ble_tracker by @Bl00d-B0b adds BLE 5.1 scanning with scan-response merging on LibreTiny LN882H devices

Bluetooth Proxy beyond ESP32: bluetooth_proxy now consumes the neutral layer (#17880), so more chips can feed advertisements to Home Assistant. The Pico W goes further: it supports full active connections (#18132) and now offers 3 connection slots with ESP32 parity (#18247), so Home Assistant can read, write and subscribe to BLE devices through a Pico W proxy. BK72xx gained active scanning by packing the vendor SDK’s start command (#18169), which admitted it to Bluetooth Proxy as well.

One config note: on migrated sensor platforms the auto-generated tracker reference key esp32_ble_id: is now ble_hub_id:. Most configs never set it explicitly; those that do keep validating with a warning until 2027.2.0. See the Breaking Changes section for details.

ESP32 scan window with WiFi: ESP-IDF 5.5.5 fixed a coexistence bug that made BLE scans run far longer than the configured window, and the default 30 ms window in a 320 ms interval had been relying on it; with the fix the scanner listened only 9.4% of the time and trackers and proxies missed most advertisements alongside WiFi from 2026.7.1 on. With WiFi coexistence on ESP-IDF 5.5.5 or newer the esp32_ble_tracker window now defaults to the interval, as Espressif recommends; an explicit window is never changed (#18356). bk72xx_ble also stops code generation with a clear message on Beken chips without a BLE 5.x stack (BK7231T, BK7251, BK7231Q) instead of failing minutes into the build (#18406).

ESPHome Device Builder

This section covers everything that changed in the bundled ESPHome Device Builder since the 2026.7.0 release notes. Device Builder updates also ship in ESPHome patch releases for as long as the changes remain safe to include, so some of what follows already reached you during the 2026.7.x cycle; the rest is new with this release.

Faster Startup

On a small host with a lot of devices, the dashboard used to finish scanning every configuration before it would serve its first page. It now serves immediately from a shallow device scan and fills in the details in the background (#2514), and work not needed to serve that first page, from preferences loading to MQTT broker discovery, moved off the startup critical path or got cheaper (#2500, #2501, #2503). The validated-config cache is also read in the new JSON format ESPHome 2026.8 writes, so upgrading does not throw the cache away (#2517).

More Updates at Once

Updates used to upload to one device at a time. Uploads now run in parallel: four at a time, and up to nine when the Device Builder is running ESPHome 2026.8 or newer, whose leaner CLI fast paths keep that many upload subprocesses cheap (#2206, #2515, #2518). Queued offline updates benefit the most: a batch of deep sleep devices waking around the same time collect their queued updates concurrently instead of queueing behind one another (#2192), a freshly flashed deep-sleep device gets its new version read in a quick burst before it goes back to sleep (#2146), and the install dialog follows the flash that happens when the device wakes, so you can watch a queued update land (frontend#1616).

One-Click Config Migration

ESPHome renames configuration keys from time to time, and keeping up has been a manual chore. The Device Builder can now migrate a configuration for you: when a config contains something with a known migration, the editor offers to apply it, and the offer is backed by a backend dry run so it only appears when the migration will actually succeed (#2432, frontend#1538, frontend#1550). The rules are discovered from the live ESPHome schema rather than hand-maintained, covering renamed keys and component aliases (#2444, #2462), the rp2040 to rp2 platform rename (#2460, #2463, frontend#1567), and the legacy api services spelling, which is read on load and respelled to the canonical form on write (#2420, frontend#1534). Newest of all, a device whose config has a pending migration shows a dot on its card and table row, and clicking it opens the editor to apply the migration (#2563, frontend#1652, frontend#1653). The offer now names each change it will make and shows a preview (frontend#1662), only proposes migrations the installed ESPHome supports (#2602), and covers the LED strip channel_colors rename introduced in this release (#2585, #2596, #2600).

The Structured Editor Rounds Out

The structured editor spent this cycle learning to leave your file alone. Editing through the forms now preserves the comments and flow style of the YAML it touches (frontend#1377, frontend#1380, frontend#1383, frontend#1386, frontend#1387), and ${substitution} references render and stay editable in pin and numeric fields instead of being clobbered by the widget (frontend#1342, frontend#1344, frontend#1347, frontend#1511). Lambdas on templatable fields are no longer flagged as invalid (frontend#1529), and an automation using an action the catalog does not know stays editable, rendering that one action read-only in place instead of locking you out of the whole automation (#2351, frontend#1513).

The pin field gained guided wiring presets that show where to connect the part (frontend#1412), and boards whose hardware fixes a pin lock the GPIO select to it (frontend#1419). The add-component dialog handles dependency chains as a stack of detours, so adding a component that needs a bus walks you through creating the bus and returns you to where you were (frontend#1586), detours to a new uart when no existing bus can host the component (frontend#1554), and prefills entity names and unique IDs (frontend#1552, frontend#1553). The YAML hints from 2026.7.0 grew new one-click fixes: an empty or commented-out block behind expected a dictionary is named and fixed for you (frontend#1314, frontend#1316), and a stray top-level key that belongs to the section above it is offered an indent fix (frontend#1319).

Troubleshooting and Crash Reporting

The status badges on a device now open a connectivity troubleshooting dialog, which runs an on-demand probe from the Device Builder to the device and reports what worked and what did not (#2485, frontend#1597). Reporting problems got easier too: the bug report flow gained an optional device picker that attaches the selected device’s configuration with credentials masked (frontend#1595, frontend#1591), crash reports are titled by where the crash happened (frontend#1584), and the log viewer gained a crash report button (frontend#1250). Crashes captured over Web Serial have their backtraces decoded (#2105), including firmware compiled by a build server, through a hosted decoder (#2140), and Web Serial installs surface esptool-js connect diagnostics in the install log (frontend#1651).

Status You Can Trust

A run of work went into making Online, Offline, and the deployed version mean what they say. mDNS ownership now requires live evidence and honors goodbye packets, so a stale record can no longer keep a dead device Online or attach one device’s identity to another (#2376, #2386, #2393, #2395), stale addresses are dropped when a device is retargeted (#2488), and the device table’s Version column only shows a version the Device Builder can actually trust (frontend#1283). Renaming or cloning a device retargets its generated fallback-AP SSID (#2247), and MQTT device discovery now supports TLS brokers (#2256).

Windows

The Windows Device Builder had a round of hardening: the ESP-IDF toolchain is shared at a short path so deep build trees fit inside MAX_PATH (#2281), the compile subprocess tree runs in UTF-8 mode (#2283), cancelling a build actually stops the running compile (#2554), and toolchain subprocesses can no longer pop blocking “Bad Image” error dialogs (#2569).

Remote Builds and Home Assistant

Build servers now advertise a friendly name, which shows up across the UI and in the pairing handshake (frontend#1252, #2526), and while remote building is off the dashboard shows a neutral Disabled badge with a turn-on action instead of hiding the feature (frontend#1392). Imported bundles upload over HTTP instead of the WebSocket, with a much higher size cap and an actionable error when a bundle still does not fit (#2340, #2320, #2324), and a dialog following a job reattaches after a connection loss instead of failing (frontend#1570). Home Assistant adoption gained an encryption-key handoff with adoption key reuse (#2496), and a device broadcasting its factory name is adopted under that name with the rename flow started for you (frontend#1533).

Beyond the headlines: configuration files are written atomically, so a crash mid-write can no longer leave a partial file (#2188, #2190), and a secrets.yaml with operator-set permissions keeps them across rewrites (#2202). First-time installs are guided to USB instead of a queued OTA that could never arrive (frontend#1282), and the device card’s action buttons and indicator icons gained tooltips (frontend#1280). @stvncode moved toasts to the bottom-right corner (frontend#1366) and refined the quickstart tour and desktop setup flow (frontend#1334, frontend#1337), @rwalker777 labels compile-only jobs for offline devices as Offline Compile (frontend#1266), @jesserockz made ESPHome Web a standalone build target of the frontend (frontend#1139), @elcaptain put the official monochrome ESPHome logomarks in the header and navigation (frontend#1141), and @breti kept the UI copy honest across the release (frontend#1409, frontend#1428, frontend#1521).

Faster Builds and Smaller Toolchain Installs

Compilation now runs through ccache when it is installed on ESP8266, LibreTiny, RP2040 and host builds (#17722, #17726, #17727, #17728), matching what ESP-IDF builds already did. The cache is shared across devices and projects, so a fleet of similar devices compiles almost entirely from cache: in testing, six Sonoff S31 devices built in 15 seconds for the first and 4 to 5 seconds for each of the rest. Set ESPHOME_CCACHE_ENABLE=0 to opt out; esphome clean-all removes the cache. A ccache on PATH that does not run (a stale shim or a .bat wrapper on Windows) is now detected and skipped instead of failing every compile step (#18407), the wrapper path is made safe for cmd.exe so the ccache bundled with ESPHome Desktop works (#18495), and framework downloads retry transient network errors with a short backoff (#18330).

ESP-IDF installs also slimmed down considerably:

Only the toolchains for the variants you build are installed (#17688), roughly halving a fresh install; the RISC-V toolchain alone is a 292 MB download and 2.0 GB on disk
The gdb and ULP toolchains ESPHome never runs are skipped (#17687)
Tool download caches are pruned after install (#17661)

Leaner and More Responsive CLI

A long series of changes trimmed the esphome upload and esphome logs fast paths, which matters because the device builder runs several of these subprocesses concurrently. Imports the fast path never uses are now deferred (#18093, #18105), and the validated-config cache is stored as JSON so a cache hit never loads the YAML stack (#18106); cache parsing dropped from 1-2 ms to 0.05 ms and the upload subprocess uses measurably less RAM.

Log and build output streaming also improved: output flushes live instead of buffering (#18261, #18264), complete lines are no longer held back behind an unfinished one (#18279), and an out-of-flash build now shows the helpful tip instead of crashing (#18280).

esphome logs can now also tail a device over the web_server event stream (#17110), so a device with web_server: but no api: can finally be followed from the CLI. The native API is still preferred, then MQTT, then the web server.

The beta cycle also removed some stalls. esphome logs no longer blocks for up to 25 seconds on MQTT IP discovery when it already has a usable address; the lookup runs concurrently and feeds any address it finds into the running client (#18313). esphome upload retries network-level OTA failures such as a connect timeout or the device closing the connection mid-handshake, while device-reported errors still fail immediately (#18332). The component alias map is read from a generated registry instead of scanning all 744 component directories on every CLI start, the source of a startup regression on slow hosts like the HA Green (#18335), and PYTHONPATH no longer leaks into build subprocesses (#18360).

Better ESP32 Crash Reports

The esp32 crash handler now captures the faulting memory address (EXCVADDR on Xtensa, MTVAL on RISC-V) and the raw exception cause, so heap corruption and pointer bugs leave a usable trail in the post-reboot report (#17769). Crash records are also stamped with the build they were captured by (#17770): a record left over from a previous firmware is flagged instead of being decoded against the wrong ELF, which used to produce convincing but meaningless backtraces. The addr2line hint is now one line per core, so decoders no longer merge two unrelated stacks into one impossible call chain (#18418).

Ethernet and WiFi Together: Multi-Interface Networking

Built by @rwalker777 and @kbx81, ESP32 devices can now configure both ethernet: and wifi: in the same YAML. A new network: priority: list declares which interface the device prefers (#14255), and the default route is arbitrated at runtime from that list (#17797): the first connected interface in your priority order carries the traffic, DNS follows the active interface, and failover plus failback happen automatically within milliseconds of a link change. Verified on hardware with cable pulls, VLAN changes and runtime enable/disable cycles. See network for configuration.

ESP8266 Networking and Stability

Encrypted API connections took 2.5 to 3.3 seconds to establish on ESP8266, against about 63 ms on ESP32. WiFi and lwIP run in a cooperative context that only executes when the sketch yields, so a busy main loop let the WiFi RX queue overflow and TCP stalled on retransmission. Rate-limited yields in the raw TCP read and write paths (#18455) and inside the handshake crypto (#18473) took a device that stalled on every attempt to 0 stalls in 24 attempts, with a 357 ms median. OTA uses the same paths and benefits equally. The noise-c library behind the encrypted API was also bumped from 0.1.11 to 0.1.21 along the way, freeing about 670 bytes of heap per encrypted connection and making message encryption and decryption 13 to 31% faster in benchmarks (#18451, #18482, #18484).

Three crash classes are gone as well: a LoadProhibited in cnx_node_search after a WiFi disconnect, seen on ratgdo and Athom devices, fixed by taking the STA interface down before lwIP can transmit into the freed driver (#18333); watchdog resets from the software serial RX interrupt posting a main loop wake for every byte, now only when no wake is pending (#18416); and a reboot when the captive portal shut down after WiFi connected, because deleting the web server also deleted the captive portal mid-teardown, which broke Improv serial provisioning on the esphome-web ESP8266 image and applies to every ESPAsyncWebServer platform (ESP8266, RP2040, LibreTiny, LN882x) (#18324).

Performance Optimizations

Several components stopped doing busy-work on every loop iteration:

espnow no longer polls the WiFi driver every loop and disables its loop entirely while idle (#18027); it was one of the most expensive idle components at 0.056 ms per iteration, and its idle cost is now zero
script components with queued mode stop polling while the queue is empty (#18121)
improv_serial reduced its per-loop overhead (#16019)
The blocking-warning log time no longer cascades into false warnings for subsequent components (#17710)

Modbus Overhaul Continues

Led by @exciton, the multi-release Modbus rework reached a milestone. The modbus_controller message handling was rebuilt (#11781): commands from all controllers now share the hub’s queue fairly (previously some controllers could starve), responses are routed straight back to the command that sent them so a reply can no longer be applied to the wrong sensor, offline devices are tracked per device instead of per command, and the common command path is heap-free. Two controllers may now even share one device address to poll at different intervals.

A new modbus_client component (#17676) enables ad-hoc Modbus transactions straight from YAML automations, with typed read/write actions (#18078), a plain device handle for lambdas (#18146), and read/write multiple registers in one transaction (#18215).

Server mode grew too, with contributions from @zweckj and @marpi82: coil and discrete-input support (#17464), read/write multiple registers (function code 0x17, #17357), spec-compliant broadcast writes (#17387) and byte-swapped word types (#17829).

Note that command_throttle and allow_duplicate_commands on modbus_controller are deprecated and no longer have any effect; use turnaround_time on the modbus hub instead. See Breaking Changes for migration details.

Multi-Key OTA Signature Verification

For externally signed firmware, @kbx81 added ESPHome-side OTA signature verification with a compiled-in trusted key list (#17981). An update is accepted if any of up to three signature blocks matches a trusted key, which enables signing key rotation (dual-sign a bridge release with old and new keys) and independent backup keys across signing providers. Bootloader updates are now signature-checked as well, closing a path where they previously installed unverified. See the Signed OTA Verification documentation for setup.

Voice and Media

@kahrendt landed the groundwork for wake words that are not baked into firmware: micro_wake_word can now add and remove wake word models at runtime (#17927). Models load into PSRAM with validation, the models option is now optional, and a follow-up voice assistant integration will download models advertised by Home Assistant.

The sendspin media player gained an image platform for album and artist artwork (#17937): artwork decodes into double-buffered frames a display or LVGL can draw, with optional cross-fade transitions.

New Components

ld6002b by @hepter, built across 5 PRs (#17819 onward): the Hi-Link HLK-LD6002B 60 GHz 3D presence radar, with per-target position tracking, configurable detection zones, interference areas, sensitivity and power management
hoermann_hcp by @zweckj: controls Hörmann garage door motors over the HCP bus, with cover control (#17355), garage light (#18190) and a connectivity sensor (#18189)
ds248x by @tomwellnitz: DS2482-100/-101/-800 and DS2484 I²C-to-1-Wire bridges as a one_wire platform, so Dallas temperature sensors can hang off up to 8 bridged channels (#12717)
zephyr_pwm by @wiomoc: PWM outputs on nRF52 (#16483)
modbus_client by @exciton, covered in the Modbus section above

New Hardware Support

CH390 SPI Ethernet by @ptr727: the WCH CH390 single-chip 10/100 MAC and PHY joins the ethernet component, verified at 100 Mbps full duplex (#18226)
Displays: the JC8012P4A1-V2 panel revision for mipi_dsi by @rayz90 (#17457), the Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-3.5B (#17513) and the ST77916-based ESP-VoCat round display by @rggammon (#17679) for mipi_spi, the Guition JC8012P4A1 touchscreen for gsl3670 by @mpoettgen (#17843), and the 7-color Soldered Inkplate 6COLOR e-paper by @franFodor (#17717)
OpenThread diagnostics by @Ardumine: 13 new numeric sensors exposing MAC and MLE counters plus parent link quality and RSSI (#17276)
Addressable LED channel order by @peterkeen and @jesserockz: esp32_rmt_led_strip, beken_spi_led_strip and rp2040_pio_led_strip now describe their channel layout with a single channel_colors key, any permutation of R, G and B with an optional W anywhere (GRBW, WRGB, RWGB), replacing rgb_order, is_rgbw and is_wrgb; the RP2040 strip gains white-channel positioning as a result, and the old keys keep working with a warning naming the replacement until 2027.3.0 (#18028, #18474)
Haier short IR messages for remote_transmitter and remote_receiver by @ssieb (#17826), and configurable I2S PDM microphone downsampling by @egormanga (#17751)

Other Notable Features

Deep sleep wake automations by @jesserockz: the new on_wake trigger on deep_sleep fires when the device wakes with the wake cause, and each esp32_ext1_wakeup pin can carry its own on_wake so different wake buttons perform different actions (#17569)
Mitsubishi CN105 vane control by @crnjan: the component gained a top-level hub, a vertical vane direction select, a vane state trigger and a vane.control action (#16987, #16723, #16727, #16737)
LVGL by @clydebarrow: runtime theme updates via lvgl.theme.update (#17678), widget stacking control via lvgl.widget.set_z_index (#17993), and a pause option for round_trip animations (#17574)
AQI over-range handling by @jasstrong: hazardous air quality now interpolates correctly across 301-500 instead of pinning at 301, with a new extended_range option to extrapolate beyond 500 (#17570)
Zigbee improvements by @luar123 and @TesseractTimmee: an on_start automation, automatic rejoin after network failure, leave-on-factory-reset, sensor resolution attributes and more units (#18009, #18008, #17973); esp-zigbee-sdk is bumped to 2.0.4, which lets the coordinator remove an end device that is not its direct child and has routers send an explicit rejoin request (#18415)
CC1101 tuning options by @hn: frequency offset compensation and bit synchronization registers are now configurable from YAML for narrowband protocols like wM-Bus (#17577)
Modbus garage doors and more covered in the Modbus section above

Notable Bug Fixes

ESP32-P4: variant: esp32p4 without a board: built the pre-v3 bootloader layout since 2026.7.0 and bootlooped on production (v3.x) silicon; the production layout is now the default, with engineering_sample still available for pre-release chips (#18500)
image: defaults: and files: work again on image: platform entries (file, animation, online_image) to share options across several images, not only through the legacy format migration (#18032)
ld2420: An unknown command error from the radar indexed past a three-entry message table and caused a boot loop (#18322), and the component no longer shares the UART bus setup priority, which could run its setup before the bus was ready and leave the bus dead on ESP-IDF (#18428)
Modbus custom commands: Responses with a function code outside the user-defined ranges (65-72 and 100-110), such as the 0x49 used by Sofar inverters, were dropped as parse failures since 2026.7 because only user-defined codes fell back to the CRC scan for the frame end. Every function code of unknown length is now CRC-scanned, and a server hub answers such a request with ILLEGAL_FUNCTION instead of silence (#18483)
Sensor delta filter: NaN passes through again, so a timeout: filter followed by delta: marks the sensor unavailable instead of holding the last valid reading forever; this had been lost in 2026.2.0 (#18400)
Entity keys: The beta hashed API entity keys from the raw name, which made Home Assistant recreate every entity on first connect and drop helpers tied to them. Keys are back to the sanitized object ID hash for this release; the config-time duplicate check is kept (#18361)
rotary_encoder: The reset pin now sets min_value instead of 0 when the minimum is above zero (#18197)
esp32_ble: The LOCAL_IR and LOCAL_ER GAP events the stack raises on first boot after a flash no longer log an “unexpected GAP event” warning (#18359)
cv.parse_esphome_version: Restored as a deprecated helper after its removal broke external components that call it; it warns and points at cv.require_esphome_version, and goes away in 2027.2.0 (#18366)
sendspin: sendspin-cpp 0.7.2 fixes the artwork image’s on_clear never firing (#18316)

Thank You, Contributors

This release includes 348 pull requests from over 40 contributors. A huge thank you to everyone who made 2026.8.0 possible:

@Bl00d-B0b - 42 PRs including the platform-neutral ble_device_base layer, the new BK72xx and LN882H BLE trackers, and the 13-batch migration of every BLE sensor platform
@jesserockz - 29 PRs including deep_sleep on_wake triggers, RP2 platform cleanups and internal temperature fixes, and CI improvements
@swoboda1337 - 27 PRs including clang-tidy coverage for RP2 and LibreTiny, vendor SDK compatibility fixes, and security hardening
@exciton - 25 PRs including the modbus_controller refactor and the new modbus_client component with typed actions
@kbx81 - 10 PRs including multi-key OTA signature verification, network default-route arbitration, and the veml3235 auto-gain overhaul
@kahrendt - 7 PRs including runtime wake word model management and the sendspin artwork image platform
@zweckj - 6 PRs including the new hoermann_hcp garage door component and Modbus server broadcast and 0x17 support
@bharvey88 - 6 PRs including the Sensirion voc_index/nox_index renames and cv.rename_key improvements
@hepter - 6 PRs including the new ld6002b 60GHz presence radar component
@crnjan - 5 PRs including the mitsubishi_cn105 hub extraction and vertical vane control
@clydebarrow - 5 PRs including new LVGL actions and display models
@tomaszduda23 - 4 PRs including nRF52 OTA support for the Adafruit bootloader and Zigbee radio stats
@marpi82 - 3 PRs including byte-swapped Modbus word types with tests
@luar123 - 3 PRs including Zigbee network handling improvements and the on_start automation
@p1ngb4ck - 2 PRs including mcp4461 persistence and wiper actions
@hn - 2 PRs including CC1101 frequency offset compensation options
@jeroen85 - 2 PRs including OpenTherm and blocking-warning log fixes
@egormanga - 2 PRs including I2S PDM microphone DSR selection
@ximex - 2 PRs including unit capitalization fixes
@ssieb - 2 PRs including Haier short IR message support
@ptr727 - 2 PRs including CH390 SPI Ethernet support
@TesseractTimmee - 2 PRs including Zigbee sensor resolution and units
@tomwellnitz - the new ds248x I²C-to-1-Wire bridge component
@rwalker777 - network priority for multi-interface support
@wiomoc - the new zephyr_pwm platform for nRF52

Also thank you to @bdraco, @ShaTie, @Eelviny, @stas-sl, @jhenkens, @Rocco83, @matt123p, @rwrozelle, @jptrsn, @Ardumine, @rayz90, @lsellens, @ljungqvist, @jasstrong, @rggammon, @zerafachris, @franFodor, @mpoettgen, @kobihikri, @peterkeen, @youkorr for their contributions, and to everyone who reported issues, tested pre-releases, and helped in the community.

Breaking Changes

BLE Sensor Platforms

All BLE sensor platforms: The auto-generated tracker reference key esp32_ble_id is renamed to ble_hub_id on every advertisement-based BLE platform (ble_presence, ble_rssi, ble_scanner, the mi-thermometer, BTHome, Mopeka, Ruuvi, Airthings, Inkbird, RadonEye, ThermoPro and Xiaomi families, and b_parasite, exposure_notifications). Most configurations never set this key explicitly; those that do keep validating with a warning until 2027.2.0, when the old key is removed #17716 #17950 #17951 #18161 #18165 #18168 #18170 #18171 #18172 #18174 #18178 #18180 #18183
iBeacon parsing: A 23-byte Apple manufacturer payload must now carry the 0x02/0x15 iBeacon sub-type prefix to be treated as an iBeacon. Automations that matched spurious beacons with garbage UUIDs stop firing, which is the fix #18081

Component Changes

SGP4x / SEN5x / SEN6x: The voc and nox sensor keys are renamed to voc_index and nox_index to reflect that they publish Sensirion’s unitless gas index, not a concentration. Old keys warn and auto-migrate until removal in 2027.2.0 #17723 #17724 #17725
AQI: Over-range readings are no longer pinned to a flat value. US AQI readings above the top breakpoint now interpolate correctly across 301-500 (and beyond with the new extended_range option), and CAQI is unbounded past 100 per the CITEAIR spec, so values reported during heavy pollution will change #17570
LVGL: Animation weights greater than 1.0 in ease_in/ease_out timing are now rejected at validation (they previously produced out-of-range progress values), and the default ease timing changes slightly, which may be visible as a cosmetic difference #17574
RC522 I²C: The default I²C address changed from 0x2C to 0x28 to match the documentation and typical board wiring. If your reader relied on the old default, set address: 0x2C explicitly #17566
Addressable LED strips: rgb_order, is_rgbw and is_wrgb on esp32_rmt_led_strip, beken_spi_led_strip and rp2040_pio_led_strip are deprecated in favour of channel_colors; they migrate automatically with a warning until removal in 2027.3.0 #18474
GPIO expanders: inverted: true and allow_other_uses: true on interrupt_pin are now validation errors for pcf8574, pca9554, tca9555, pca6416a, pi4ioe5v6408 and mcp23016; an inverted pin caused an endless I²C read loop and a shared pin never delivered interrupts #18472

Modbus

modbus_controller: command_throttle and allow_duplicate_commands no longer have any effect. They are still accepted with a validation warning and will be removed in 2027.2.0; use turnaround_time on the modbus component instead of command_throttle #11781
modbus_controller: When several sensors share a range’s start address, the polled range is now widened to cover the widest sensor. Devices that reject reads touching unmapped registers may return an exception where a shorter, registration-order-dependent read happened to succeed before #17677
modbus_controller: Sensors polled with custom_command: [0x17, ...] (read/write multiple registers) no longer receive the leading byte-count byte in the payload; subtract one from the offset: of any such sensor #18215
modbus_server: Devices can no longer use address: 0, which is the Modbus broadcast address. Broadcast writes are now correctly delivered to all server devices with no response; assign each server a unique address from 1-247 #17387

Web Server

Entity IDs: The id field in the web server JSON now carries the {domain}/{device?}/{name} format and the transitional name_id field is removed, completing the migration announced in 2026.1. Current frontends handle this automatically; only pinned pre-2026.1.3 bundles or custom frontends keyed off the old id are affected #17586
Alarm control panel domain: The JSON domain field now reports alarm_control_panel (underscores) instead of the previously advertised alarm-control-panel, matching the only route the server ever accepted #17594

Undocumented API Changes

Advanced users with lambdas and external component maintainers should note the following internal C++ API changes. These are not covered by the formal breaking change policy, but lambdas sometimes depend on them.

Modbus: The hub call send_pdu() is renamed to queue_pdu() to reflect that it queues a request rather than putting a frame on the wire; send_pdu() remains as a deprecated alias for the deprecation window, and a succeeded() helper replaces ad-hoc exception checks #18196
Modbus server: Read lambdas can now decline a read by returning an empty optional, answering the request with SERVICE_DEVICE_FAILURE. A register lambda that literally wrote return {}; previously produced 0 and now declines the read; ServerRegister::set_read_lambda<T>() widens its signature to optional<T> #17464
VEML3235: gain: AUTO is removed from the schema (it never compiled; automatic mode remains the separate auto_gain option, enabled by default), and the non-functional set_power_on()/shutdown code path is removed #17551
Zigbee: is_connected is renamed to is_joined(), and the joined, started and factory_new members are now protected; use is_joined() and is_started() in lambdas instead #18007 #18008
Web server base: The credential setters on WebServerBase now take const char * instead of std::string, and on non-ESP32 basic-auth builds set_auth_username/set_auth_password are replaced by set_auth_basic_hash (part of the fix for basic auth failing with long credentials) #18237

Breaking Changes for Developers

ModbusController API: Handler signatures for on_data_func, create_read_command() and create_custom_command() now take std::span<const uint8_t> instead of const std::vector<uint8_t>&; on_register_data(), send_raw(), get_command_queue_length() and the 4-argument create_read_command() overload are removed; ModbusCommandItem data members are now protected (use the accessors); and ModbusController no longer derives from modbus::ModbusClientDevice #11781
ModbusController sensor dispatch: SensorItem::parse_and_publish() takes std::span<const uint8_t>; external platforms must set addresses via set_address() / set_offset_from_start_address() instead of assigning start_address / offset directly, and payload_to_float() gains an explicit offset parameter #17677
ESPBTDevice::address_str() deprecated: Use the buffer-based address_str_to(); the old method is removed in 2027.2.0 #18092

For detailed migration guides and API documentation, see the ESPHome Developers Documentation.

Release 2026.8.1 - August 24

[wifi] Take the lwIP core lock around sntp_servermode_dhcp() esphome#18511 by @SoundGoof
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.12.1 esphome#18541 by @esphome[bot]
[nrf52] Rebuild the Python env when its interpreter symlink dangles esphome#18540 by @bdraco
[core] Keep templated !include filenames as strings so Windows path normalization cannot corrupt them esphome#18549 by @bdraco
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.12.2 esphome#18573 by @esphome[bot]
[espnow] Fix dump_config crash when enable_on_boot is false esphome#18572 by @bdraco
[emontx] Fix sensor state_class defaults not being applied correctly esphome#17610 by @FredM67
[esp32_hosted] Fire on_update_available trigger when update is detected esphome#18591 by @swoboda1337
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.12.3 esphome#18601 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.12.4 esphome#18651 by @esphome[bot]
[bk72xx_ble] Block BK7238 until the LibreTiny bonding partition fix lands esphome#18649 by @bdraco
[esp32_ble] Log connection parameter update results esphome#18607 by @bdraco
[esp8266] Don’t report stale crash state after hardware WDT resets esphome#18597 by @bdraco
[core] Dump the main.cpp config comment with sorted keys esphome#18653 by @bdraco
[esp32] Report abort and task watchdog panics correctly in crash handler esphome#18575 by @bdraco
[core] Retry transient network errors when downloading external files esphome#18538 by @bdraco
[api] Fix loop stall that triggers the task watchdog when entity list sends block esphome#18577 by @bdraco
[esp32_ble_tracker] Scan at the default window while a GATT connection is active esphome#18609 by @bdraco

Release 2026.8.2 - August 31

[espidf] Always reconfigure after component discovery esphome#18730 by @bdraco
[gpio] Fix one_wire reset busy-waiting with interrupts off when delay wraps esphome#18733 by @bdraco
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.13.0 esphome#18743 by @esphome[bot]
[lvgl] Fix on_value/on_update triggers for LVGL select entities esphome#18778 by @clydebarrow
[http_request] Default watchdog_timeout from timeout on ESP32 esphome#18732 by @bdraco
[mipi_spi] Fix dimensions for jc3636518v2 esphome#18786 by @clydebarrow
[mdns] Skip MDNS.update() while the ESP8266 radio cannot transmit esphome#18785 by @bdraco
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.13.1 esphome#18807 by @esphome[bot]

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2026.8.0 changelog.

Community Day 2026: Save the date!

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

You’ve been asking all year, and the wait is over… Mark your calendars, because Community Day 2026 will be held on Saturday, November 7! 🎉

Get ready to start building: The ESPHome Starter Kit is here!

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Back in April during State of the Open Home 2026, we gave you a sneak peek of ESPHome’s very first official product… And after months of hard work alongside the community, the ESPHome Starter Kit is here! 🎉

Designed and produced by Apollo Automation, the Open Home Foundation’s second commercial partner, the kit is the easiest way to start building your own smart home devices. Affordable and packed with all the components you need, the Starter Kit invites everyone, not just seasoned tinkerers, to begin building.

A tiny house for big ideas.

Time to start creating

Ever wanted to build your own smart home device, but didn’t know where to begin? Between chips, pins, soldering irons, and breadboards – sourcing the right hardware can stop a project getting off the ground. Not to mention time spent ensuring the parts are compatible, and working out how to wire them together.

That’s where the Starter Kit comes in. With no soldering, breadboarding, or coding experience needed, the kit equips you with all you need to stop just using smart home tech, and start creating it.

Buy now

What’s in the box?

A box packed with possibilities.

The ESPHome Starter Kit arrives with four modules to build with:

Motion sensor – to detect movement, making a perfect first automation
Temperature and humidity sensor – to reliably track a room’s comfort level
Notification module – to provide alerts via a buzzer and ten individually controllable RGB LEDs that glow through the ESPHome logo
Button module – to trigger any automation you like

Powering it all is an ESP32-C6 microcontroller, which, for anyone new to electronics, is the programmable chip that acts as the “brain” of your project. ESPHome builds the software that runs on this chip, letting it control the four modules and talk to Home Assistant or any other smart home platform that supports it.

You’ll also find everything you need to put it all together: the flat ribbon cables that connect each module to the board (with a spare in the box, so you’re covered if one goes astray), and a stand to show off the notification module and its glowing ESPHome logo. It runs on a standard USB-C cable, and uses the same open standards as the rest of your smart home, so there’s nothing special to buy before you get started: it works with your existing Home Assistant setup straight out of the box.

Snap into action

The kit arrives with a snap-apart panel, with each module attached by small breakaway tabs. Instead of soldering joints and wiring breadboards, you simply snap a module off the panel and connect it to the main board via the flat ribbon cable.

The kit’s pieces (left) and how they come together.

And because every module connects the same way, they’re completely interchangeable: pop one off, snap the next one on, install new software on your ESP microcontroller, and you’ve got a different device.

This kit is designed to be experimented with. You can reconfigure it as your ideas grow, and adapt it as you learn, so the same hardware carries you from your very first project to your tenth. Each build works as a standalone device right away, and if you find yourself ready to explore more complex automations, it drops straight into Home Assistant.

A kit for keeps

Most learning kits end up the same way: forgotten in a drawer. But Apollo Automation co-founders Trevor Schirmer and Justin Bunton had other ideas: they wanted to create something sustainable that helped more people experience the joy of building, and left them with devices that remained useful long after the basics had clicked.

That’s why every module in the ESPHome Starter Kit becomes a custom, working smart home device: the kind you can’t buy off the shelf. Shaped by you to fit your home and habits, each device becomes yours in every sense – run locally with no cloud dependency, so your data stays in your home instead of on someone else’s server. And it’s easier than you might think…

One of the core requirements for the kit was that you had something useful at the end. One of the foundation’s principles is sustainability. So, this isn’t something that you just buy, learn, and then put in a drawer or the trash never to be seen again. You can make real usable products out of this at the end. … For example, you could use the motion module to turn on the lights when somebody walks into your room, or you could use the ESPHome-shaped LEDs to turn red when you’re in a meeting, letting others in your home know…

— Trevor Schirmer, Co-Founder of Apollo Automation

Your trusty guide…

The Starter Kit comes with two tools that guide you every step of the way, from your very first setup to your most ambitious projects.

The first is the Learning Wiki: more than assembly instructions, it explains the why behind each step, showing how your components connect to the code that runs them. This means you’re not just following a recipe – you’re picking up the fundamentals of electronics and device building, one project at a time. By the end, you’ll have the skills and the confidence to take on bigger builds of your own.

…and a revamped visual builder

The second is our ESPHome Device Builder, recently updated to help make ESPHome more approachable for all – no matter if you’ve been with us for years or if this is the first time you hear about ESPHome. Its intuitive interface lets you configure everything without writing a line of code, though the YAML’s always there underneath, should you want it.

Best of all, it runs right on your desktop through our app, so you can start building with whatever you already have. And once you’ve nailed the basics, you can still use the Device Builder to help you go further – whatever you decide to build next.

Three things to try with the ESPHome Starter Kit

As its name suggests, the Starter Kit is just the beginning. Once you’ve made your modules, you can connect them to just about any automation you like – for example:

Set your button to close the blinds: Press the button and your blinds glide shut, no hunting for a remote. Perfect for movie nights or shutting out the afternoon glare.
Set your motion sensor to detect visitors: Place it by the front door or driveway and be notified the moment it senses movement, so you’re never caught off guard.
Set your temperature monitor to manage the heating: Choose your ideal range and let the sensor keep watch, adjusting automatically if a room gets too warm or cool.

The possibilities are almost endless, with plenty more to discover as your ideas grow, and a community of experienced ESPHome users to talk to for inspiration.

Join the community

On the subject of community, half the fun of building something is sharing it with others. When you start using the kit, you join thousands of other makers using ESPHome. Come say hello on the ESPHome Discord server to swap ideas and show off what you’ve built, or drop into our ESPHome forum to ask questions and find your feet. And if you have thoughts about what Apollo Automation should build next, you can share them on the Apollo Automation Discord server!

Ready, set, start

Keen to get your kit? Head to the ESPHome Starter Kit site to grab your gear today. The majority of profit from every kit goes straight to the Open Home Foundation, meaning every purchase helps fund the future of ESPHome, Home Assistant, and Music Assistant, and the other projects working to make smart home tech accessible to all. We can’t wait to see what you create!

Simplify your ESPHome setup with the new desktop app

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Last month, we introduced the ESPHome Device Builder: a more visual and intuitive tool for configuring your smart home devices without having to write any code, unless you want to! Now we’ve taken a further step in our efforts to make ESPHome more approachable, by bringing the Device Builder to your desktop in a quick and easy way.

Say hello to the ESPHome Device Builder desktop app, available now for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

The final hurdle for beginners

If you’ve already tried the Device Builder, you’ll know how much friction it removes from configuring a device. But for a lot of newcomers, there was still a hurdle to clear before getting started: the technical tasks of installing Python and typing commands in a terminal. Not that hard if you’ve done it before… but if you haven’t, it’s a process that could turn a Saturday afternoon project into a weekend of troubleshooting.

The desktop app removes that hurdle, and is designed to be simple to set up.

All you need to do

Download the app for your platform, run the installer… and that’s it. On first launch:

The app quietly sets everything up in the background: no technical steps required.
It opens the Device Builder automatically in your browser.
A small icon appears in your system tray, giving you access to reopen the Device Builder, check for updates, or quit: no digging through tabs or task managers.

That tray icon stays there for as long as you use ESPHome: it’s your quick way back in, every time, not just on day one. And because the app is designed to run locally, on your own computer, there’s no login or password to set up, so it’s ready to use the moment it opens.

Why this matters for beginners…

Think back to the workshop metaphor from our last post: the Device Builder itself is the well-organized bench where the creative work happens. The desktop app is what makes it easy – and low stakes – to walk in and start that work. So if you’re faced with your first microcontroller (the imminent ESPHome Starter Kit perhaps 👀), there’s no technical setup standing between unboxing and beginning your build: just download the app, and away you go.

It’s not just the start-up that’s easy. Every time you want to tweak a device or add a new one, it’s the same simple open-and-go experience, with no need to remember any previous commands.

When you start slightly more advanced projects, the desktop app can help with other elements of your setup. For example if you run ESPHome on a lower-powered device, like a Raspberry Pi, you can have it send the heavy lifting of compiling firmware over to the app instead, then send the finished result back. It’s a handy way to speed up builds without changing how or where you actually flash your devices.

The app is also useful for anyone helping a less technical friend or family member get started. “Download this app and open it” is an instruction anyone can follow. “Install Python, then pip install this, then run this command” is not.

…and for experienced users

Don’t mistake the beginner focus for a lack of depth. If you’re setting up ESPHome on a new machine, spinning up a build environment for a demo, or just tired of manually checking the latest Device Builder version, the desktop app handles all that for you. Update checks live right in your system tray: no more remembering to consult the changelog yourself.

What’s more, nothing about your existing workflow changes. If you’re already running ESPHome through pip, Docker, or the Home Assistant add-on, you’re unaffected: the desktop app is simply another door into the same Device Builder, for people who’d rather not open a terminal at all.

Try it this weekend

Ready to give it a go? Here’s how to get started in three simple steps:

Download the app: For macOS, Windows, or Linux from esphome.io/install.
Open it and let it work: ESPHome sets itself up in the background, no configuration needed.
Start your first project: Dive straight into the Device Builder that opens automatically, and explore the Component Catalog we introduced last month.

Reminder for returning users

If you’re already comfortable with pip, Docker, or the Home Assistant App, there’s nothing you need to change. The desktop app is an additional on-ramp, not a replacement for how you already work… it’s there for the next person who’s about to start exploring the wonderful world of ESPHome!

Making our web analytics open source with Plausible

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Open Home Foundation fights for privacy, choice, and sustainability. These principles are at the heart of everything we do, including how we handle website analytics. Our position is clear: we reject tools that track individuals across the web to monetize their data. Instead, we want aggregated, anonymized analytics that show how our websites are performing overall — without identifying who our visitors are, or compromising their privacy.

ESPHome 2026.7.0: Native toolchains by default

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

UFM-01 Flow Meter

Flow & Temperature

Waveshare CH32V003 IO Expander

IT8951

QMI8658

Accelerometer & Gyroscope

Release Overview

ESPHome 2026.7.0 flips the default ESP32 and nRF52 toolchains to native builds (ESP-IDF and the nRF Connect SDK) and lands the first coordinated wave of security infrastructure targeting EN18031 compliance: NVS encryption, OTA downgrade protection, and a new transport-agnostic provisioning component. Broad performance and memory work runs through the release, including a tree-wide single-precision float sweep across roughly 50 components, focused ESP8266 DRAM savings, ccache on by default for ESP-IDF, and shared machine-global toolchain caches.

On the feature side, the release brings a major Modbus overhaul with a rewritten parser and heap-free send path, substantial LVGL expansion (animations, dynamic rotation, boot pausing), gigabit Ethernet on the new ESP32-S31, ESP-NOW v2 payloads, RTC-backed preferences on ESP32, 11 new components covering touch controllers, e-paper panels, IMUs, and the Divoom Pixoo 64, and Zigbee endpoint merging on the new 2.0.2 SDK. The legacy Tornado web dashboard is retired in favor of the external Device Builder, and Python 3.11 support is dropped.

Upgrade Checklist

If you have an ESP32 config without an explicit toolchain: setting, it now compiles with native ESP-IDF; add toolchain: platformio to keep the previous behavior
If you have an nRF52 config without an explicit toolchain: setting, it now builds with the native nRF Connect SDK; add toolchain: platformio to keep the previous behavior
If you install ESPHome with pip on Python 3.11, upgrade to Python 3.12 or newer
If you install ESPHome with pip and use the built-in esphome dashboard command, install and run esphome-device-builder instead
If you have ESP32 Zigbee devices, you must re-join, re-interview, and re-configure each device after upgrading
If you set enabled or coordinator under Zigbee reporting:, remove those keys
If you use web_server: version: 1, plan to migrate to v2 or v3 before 2027.1.0
If you address web_server URLs by object ID, switch to the entity name
If a browser page hosted elsewhere calls your web_server endpoints, add its origin to web_server: allowed_origins:
If you relied on web_server Private Network Access being on by default, set enable_private_network_access: true and add the calling origins to allowed_origins:
If you use packages: !include mypackage.yaml, wrap the include in a list: packages: [!include mypackage.yaml]
If you use FOUR_SCAN_16PX_HIGH, FOUR_SCAN_32PX_HIGH, or FOUR_SCAN_64PX_HIGH for hub75 scan_wiring, rename to SCAN_1_4_16PX_HIGH, SCAN_1_8_32PX_HIGH, or SCAN_1_8_64PX_HIGH
If you set disable_crc under modbus:, remove it
If you set send_wait_time or turnaround_time on a modbus: server, remove those keys
If you rely on modbus client timing, note that defaults changed to send_wait_time: 2000ms and turnaround_time: 600ms
If you use the generic-ln882hki board, switch to generic-ln882h or generic-ln882h-tuya depending on factory firmware
If you use the LN882H wb02a board with D1, D7, D8, D9, or default I2C pin aliases, update your pin numbers to match the new mapping
If you have lambdas or automations that set light brightness to 0, note that the value is now preserved instead of being clamped to 1.0
If two Home Assistant instances share the same bluetooth_proxy, the newest subscriber now wins instead of the oldest
If you build for nRF52 boards without a DCDC regulator, DCDC settings are no longer forced and generated code changes slightly
If your lambdas call value_accuracy_to_string() or MideaData::to_string(), migrate to the buffer variants (value_accuracy_to_buf() and to_str(buffer))

Native Toolchains Are Now the Default on ESP32 and nRF52

The default toolchain for the esp32 platform switches from PlatformIO to native ESP-IDF (#16910). Configurations that do not set an explicit toolchain: option will be compiled with ESP-IDF from this release forward. The framework migration notice that had been shown since 2026.1.0 has also been removed now that the default has landed (#17023).

The toolchain selects the build backend, not the framework: both the Arduino and ESP-IDF frameworks build on either toolchain, with the native toolchain pulling in Arduino as an ESP-IDF component. Configurations that explicitly set toolchain: platformio continue to build exactly as they did before, while new configurations generated by the wizard or from packages will pick up the native ESP-IDF toolchain automatically. ESP-IDF is now the recommended choice for both the toolchain and the framework.

The nrf52 platform makes the same move: native nRF Connect SDK builds, added earlier this cycle by @tomaszduda23 (#16898), are now the default toolchain (#17319). Configurations without an explicit toolchain: option build against nRF Connect SDK 2.9.2, installed into the new shared toolchain cache described below, and toolchain: platformio remains available as an opt-out here as well.

ESPHome Device Builder

The bundled ESPHome Device Builder has been updated, and most of the work this cycle went into the remote build server.

Compiling firmware is the slowest thing the Device Builder does, and on a small host such as a Home Assistant Green or a Raspberry Pi a single build can take several minutes. A remote build server lets that dashboard hand the compile to a faster machine on your network, such as a desktop or laptop running ESPHome Desktop, which builds the firmware and sends it back to be installed as usual. Your devices, configurations, and dashboard all stay where they are; only the build moves.

Pairing With a Build Server Is Much Easier

A machine that builds for other dashboards now says so on its own dashboard (frontend#1240). A Build server section appears above the device list once another dashboard is paired with it, or once remote building is turned on, and it walks you through pairing in three steps instead of leaving you to find the pieces in Settings.

From there you can open the pairing window and watch its countdown, copy the address to enter on the sending dashboard (#2075), and compare the identity fingerprint against the one the sender shows. Once peers are paired the section lists them with their connection state and the build queue, and any pairing request waiting on you appears at the top. Settings gained a matching explainer, and the old Only use this for remote compute switch is now Remote compute dashboard, which decides which section opens first rather than hiding anything.

Remote builds are steadier once they are running, too. If a receiver restarts, the sender now reconnects as soon as it reappears on mDNS instead of waiting out its backoff (#2084). Receivers can now also provision beta versions of ESPHome, so a build server running a different version to a sender on the beta channel no longer quietly falls back to building locally (#2082). The first build for a version installs ESPHome from PyPI and can take a few minutes, which the job log now says out loud instead of sitting silent (#2083).

If you have never tried this, the terminal now shows a build timer, and a local compile that runs longer than five minutes on a dashboard with no build server paired suggests sending your builds to a faster machine (frontend#1183).

Offline and Deep Sleep Updates

Updating a device that is not awake has always been a matter of timing. An OTA aimed at a device that is asleep or otherwise unreachable simply fails, which is a familiar problem if you run anything on deep sleep.

Queued offline updates, contributed by @rwalker777, fix that (#1430, frontend#911). If a device is offline when you install to it, the Device Builder compiles the firmware, queues the update, and flashes it when the device next appears on the network, with no need for you to be watching at the time.

The groundwork for this landed in 2026.6.0, and it is ready for production use now. It works across a whole fleet: select any number of devices and hit update, and the ones that are unreachable are compiled once and queued for their next appearance rather than failing (#1929). A device that drops offline between hitting install and the build finishing is queued as well, instead of failing at the last step (#1964), and a queued update reopens as an install, carrying its queued message, when you come back to it (frontend#1181).

Quickstart Tour

Getting from a fresh install to a working device has always been the hardest part of ESPHome, and this release takes a real run at it. Setup now ends by offering you a guided tour, and the tour teaches the Device Builder by using it rather than by describing it.

It spotlights one real control at a time, explains what it is for, and on the steps that matter it waits for you to click it rather than moving on without you. Over eleven steps it walks you through creating your first device, picking a board, naming it, entering your WiFi details, finding your way around the device navigator and the editor, watching the YAML pane stay in sync as you go, and how installing to your board works, finishing on your new device sitting on the dashboard. It takes about five minutes, it leaves you with a real device rather than a throwaway, you can close it and pick it up where you left off, and it is always available afterwards from the menu in the top right.

The tour was a team effort from @Erioldoesdesign, @stvncode, and @marcelveldt, across design, wireframes, and build (frontend#1045, frontend#1232). The setup flow around it was rebuilt at the same time: a new welcome screen, an experience question that lets beginners take the recommended path with a single click, and a closing screen that hands you to the tour. If you set up the desktop app while another Device Builder is already running on your network, setup now points that out and explains how to pair the two, so you can put the new machine to work building for the dashboard you already have (frontend#1235).

YAML Errors Explained and Auto-Fixed

A number of issues reported against ESPHome turn out not to be bugs at all, but a small mistake made while editing YAML. This release goes after that whole class of problem.

Getting a space wrong used to earn you the raw parser output, mapping values are not allowed here or could not find expected ':', and only if you thought to hover over the squiggle. The line it pointed at was usually where the parser gave up rather than where you made the mistake, which is little help if you are not already fluent in YAML.

The editor now reads the error and tells you what is actually wrong, in a banner that stays put, naming the line you need to change and what to do to it: “Indentation mismatch: line 12 - platform is indented less than its properties. Indent line 12 by 2 spaces so - platform lines up with them.” Next to it is a Try auto-fix button that makes exactly that change for you. It is a best-effort guess rather than magic, so it is validated against your config before it is applied, it tells you if other errors remain, and it lands as a normal edit you can undo (frontend#1121, frontend#1147, frontend#1148).

Indentation is not the only thing it explains. Tabs used where YAML wants spaces, a value starting with @, %, or * that needs quotes, an unterminated quote, a duplicate key, and an unclosed bracket or brace all get the same plain-language treatment. A list marker missing its space, -platform: gpio, is offered a one-click repair to - platform: gpio (frontend#1149). So is a key that has drifted out of the block it belongs to, such as an encryption key left sitting directly under api:, in either direction; the Device Builder checks its component catalog first to confirm where the key really belongs, and offers nothing rather than a wrong guess if it cannot tell (frontend#1164).

Device log lines now link to the documentation that explains them (frontend#1116, frontend#1118). Ten common warnings and errors get a curated explanation, including took a long time for an operation, WiFi reconnect loops, repeated resets, OTA rollbacks, and running out of Bluetooth proxy connection slots, and any other line tagged with a component links straight to that component’s page.

Headless Build Servers

@jesserockz added --remote-build-only, which runs Device Builder as a dedicated build box with no web interface at all (#1861):

esphome-device-builder --remote-build-only /var/lib/esphome-builder

It serves only the peer link, so there is no interface for anyone to click Accept in. Instead it opens a pairing window on first start and prints its identity fingerprint and a one-time key to the console. You pair from the sending dashboard, check that the fingerprint matches the console, and type in the key, which the pair dialog knows to ask for up front (#1881, frontend#1120). That window pairs exactly one dashboard and then closes.

If you would rather keep the web interface but still dedicate the machine to building, turn on Remote compute dashboard in Settings and a Hide the Device builder option appears beneath it, leaving only the Build server view (#2077, frontend#1244). Device Builder can also listen on a UNIX socket with --socket for reverse-proxy setups, contributed by @vexofp (#1862).

Builds

Starting a build no longer greys out the buttons that would take you back to it. Update and Install now open the running job, and Edit stays clickable so you can read your YAML while it compiles (frontend#1191, frontend#1193, frontend#1197). Download and Retry now wait for a running build to finish instead of cancelling and restarting it, which also means Download can no longer hand you a half-written binary (frontend#1199, frontend#1201, frontend#1204).

A bulk Compile only action lets you check a change across many devices before deploying any of it (frontend#1176). ESP-IDF builds now show compile progress, which is read from the ninja build counters rather than the percentage that ESP-IDF never prints (#1880).

Special thanks to @breti, whose QA testing and detailed issue reports ran through this whole release and do not show up in any pull request count.

Security and Provisioning Groundwork for EN18031

This release lands three coordinated pieces of security infrastructure, led by @kbx81, that together move ESPHome toward EN18031 compliance for network-connected consumer devices.

NVS Encryption on ESP32 (#17004)

Opt-in encryption for Non-Volatile Storage using the HMAC peripheral. Keys are derived at runtime from an HMAC key in a user-selected eFuse block, so flash encryption is not required. Supported on the ESP32 variants that ship the HMAC peripheral: S2, S3, C3, C5, C6, H2, and P4. Burning the HMAC key to an eFuse block is a permanent, irreversible operation, so users should read the esp32 documentation carefully before enabling this.

OTA Downgrade Protection (#17315)

Software anti-rollback for signed ESP-IDF OTAs. The version baked into the staged image (from project: version:) is compared against the running version before the boot partition is switched. Covers all OTA sources: native, http_request.ota, and web_server. Requires a signed OTA to be effective.

Provisioning Component (#17152)

A new transport-agnostic provisioning component that manages a provisioning window for devices shipping unprovisioned. Sources such as api and esp32_improv register with the component, and the window is closed on timeout, at which point any provisioning-related API clients are disconnected with DISCONNECT_REASON_PROVISIONING_CLOSED.

Performance: Single-Precision Float Math

Led by @swoboda1337, a tree-wide sweep replaces silent double-promotion patterns with single-precision equivalents across roughly 50 components (#17252, #17253, #17254, #17255, #17256, #17260).

The issue was invisible on ESP32 because ESP-IDF does not enable -Wdouble-promotion: literals like 2.0 and functions like fmod, round, and fabs were quietly promoting single-precision values to double, running the result through the soft-double library on chips without hardware doubles, then narrowing back to float.

Measured Impact:

hsv_to_rgb code size: 108 bytes → 69 bytes (-36%) on ESP32
Soft-double helper calls eliminated: roughly 8 per call site
Components touched: displays, lights, climate, most sensor drivers, openthread, mqtt, speaker, graph, and many more

The final straggler pass (#17260) also rewrites hot expressions such as std::pow(2, sf) in sx126x to a constexpr bit shift, and switches a few call sites to std::numbers::pi_v<float>.

Memory: ESP8266 DRAM Savings

Every byte of RAM matters on ESP8266, and three focused changes by @bdraco reclaim a useful chunk of DRAM without changing runtime behavior.

libstdc++ throw message strings (#17341) — Overrides std::__throw_* helpers so the never-read message arguments are dropped. Saves roughly 96 bytes of RAM on a ratgdo build. Crash behavior is unchanged.
lwIP glue DHCP stub strings (#17395) — Silent equivalents for dhcp_cleanup() and dhcp_release() stubs. Frees 48 bytes of RAM and 88 bytes of flash, and removes the noisy STUB: dhcp_cleanup log on every WiFi disconnect.
dashboard_import package URL (#17127) — Moves the mDNS TXT package_import_url string from .rodata (DRAM) to flash. It was the last mDNS TXT value pinned in RAM.

Build System: ccache and Shared Toolchain Caches

Led by @swoboda1337, the ESP-IDF and nRF SDK toolchains gain both compiler-level caching and installation-level sharing.

ccache is now on by default for ESP-IDF builds (#17163, #17136) when the ccache binary is present, using depend mode (depfile hashing instead of preprocessing) and a cache directory under the IDF tools path. Opt out with IDF_CCACHE_ENABLE=0. On the 23-batch CI matrix, summed runner time dropped from 543 to 504 minutes (~7%) and wall time from 154 to 139 minutes.

Toolchains now install into a machine-global cache directory (#17306, #17353). ESP-IDF installs to ~/.cache/esphome/idf and the nRF Connect SDK installs to ~/.cache/esphome/sdk-nrf, so multi-gigabyte toolchain installs are shared across every project on the machine instead of being duplicated per config. Docker and Home Assistant add-on users pin these to persistent volumes, and existing installs re-download once after upgrade.

Config validation got faster too, thanks to import deferral by @frenck: aioesphomeapi.posix_tz deferral cuts esphome config median wall time by roughly 33% on a host config from 445 ms to 297 ms (#17214), and deferring requests imports shaves another ~70 ms (~16%) (#17215).

Component Alias Infrastructure

A new core mechanism (#16826) lets components be renamed without breaking existing YAML configurations. Components declare ALIASES = [...] (and an optional ALIAS_REMOVAL_VERSION), and a pre-pass in config validation rewrites legacy keys while a sys.meta_path finder resolves Python imports for esphome.components.<oldname>. Aliases are discovered by an AST scan so components do not need to be imported to enumerate them.

The first user of the new infrastructure is the rp2 rename (#17145) by @jesserockz, which renames the rp2040 platform to rp2 to reflect its coverage of both RP2040 and RP2350. The legacy rp2040: YAML key and esphome.components.rp2040 imports continue to work as deprecated aliases and will be removed in 2027.7.0. New rp2_2040 and rp2_2350 variant kwargs are added to SplitDefault and require_framework_version, mirroring the ESP32 pattern.

Modbus Overhaul

@exciton landed a major rework of the modbus component across multiple PRs.

Client and server split (#11969) — Modbus is split into ModbusClientHub and ModbusServerHub, retiring the role enum entirely. Client components move to ModbusClientDevice (#11987), and the core API surface was renamed and settled before the release (#17434, #17378). External components need to update against the new API now, and further client-mode API cleanup is planned for the next release.

Rewritten parser — Byte-by-byte parsing is replaced with a buffer-based, frame-length-aware parser that handles peer server responses, unsupported function codes, and custom function codes correctly. Response tracking uses std::optional<ModbusDeviceCommand>, enabling address+function-code matching, multiple devices per address, and two new callbacks: on_modbus_no_response() and on_modbus_not_sent().

Heap-free send path — A new SmallInlineBuffer<8> and StaticVector<uint8_t, MAX_PDU_SIZE> mean that 8-byte Modbus frames (the common case for reads and single-register writes) live inline in the deque node with zero per-frame heap activity (#17282).

Server improvements (#17205) — Multi-register values now match by full span, a new allow_partial_read option is available, overlapping registers are rejected, and the obsolete RAW value type has been removed from server mode.

Default send_wait_time moves from 250ms to 2000ms and turnaround_time from 100ms to 600ms. If you were overriding these to compensate for the old parser, review whether the overrides are still needed.

LVGL: Animations, Rotation, and Runtime Updates

@clydebarrow drove a substantial expansion of the lvgl component this release.

Animations (#16796) — Full LVGL animation support with from/to interpolation, timing functions (gravity and friends), duration, looping, and auto_start.
Dynamic rotation (#16773) — Templated lvgl.display.set_rotation in degrees, new on_landscape and on_portrait triggers, and layout option updates in lvgl.update.
Direct mapping syntax (#15863) — Cleaner LVGL text and image src updates using a mapping directly.
Boot pausing (#16973) — A new paused config option suppresses LVGL updates on boot. Especially useful for e-paper displays that should not render invalid state before the API connects.
Continued activity while display busy (#17374) — When update_when_display_idle is used (typical for e-paper), LVGL now still processes user input and runs timers while the display refresh is in progress. The LVGL refresh interval, previously fixed at 16 ms, is now configurable.

Networking and Connectivity

Gigabit Ethernet on ESP32-S31 (#17277) — Adds type: GENERIC and type: YT8531 PHYs for the new RGMII-capable ESP32-S31 variant, which requires ESP-IDF 6.1. The YT8531 handler covers auto-negotiation re-enable and RGMII Tx/Rx delays. New power_pin and phy_registers options are available on the ethernet component.

ESP-NOW v2 payloads (#17360) — The espnow component gains a max_payload_size option that accepts frames up to 1470 bytes (previously capped at 250). The default stays at 250; going to 1470 costs roughly 44 KB of RAM versus about 8 KB at the default. Requires ESP-IDF ≥ 5.4 or Arduino ≥ 3.2.

LN882X MQTT support (#17297) — LN882H boards can finally use the mqtt component. LN882X was previously blocked despite sharing the LibreTiny backend.

Data whitening for SX126x (#17102) — Configurable FSK data whitening (CCITT algorithm) via new whitening_enable and whitening_initial options.

Bluetooth proxy subscriber semantics (#17423) — A later subscriber now takes over the single subscriber slot from a stale one instead of being silently rejected. This fixes the “connected but no advertisements” state that could occur after a Home Assistant restart within the ~150 second keepalive window. Users don’t need to change configs, but the observed behavior does change.

OpenThread on Zephyr/nRF52 and MTD Polling Control

Basic Zephyr/nRF52 support (#16854) — First-cut openthread support on the nRF52 Zephyr platform, by @Ardumine. Handles the “join network” flow.

Runtime poll period control (#11766) — A new set_poll_period action lets a Minimal Thread Device (Sleepy End Device) temporarily switch to radio-always-on for OTA. http_request.ota becomes roughly 10x faster on MTDs, and esphome.ota starts working at all.

RTC-Backed Preferences on ESP32

@bootc taught the ESP32 preferences backend to honor the in_flash=false flag of make_preference() (#17073), adding RTC-memory-backed preferences in the same way ESP8266 already had them. The shared word-buffer plus checksum format is extracted into preferences_rtc.h.

New configuration surface:

safe_mode: storage: rtc or flash
wifi: fast_connect: dict form with enabled and storage sub-options
preferences: rtc_storage: true

The ESP32-C2 and ESP32-C61 have no RTC RAM and fall back gracefully. This is groundwork for a planned DHCP-lease cache and was validated across ESP32 PICO, S3, C3, and C6 hardware.

New Displays, Touch Controllers, and Peripherals

The release adds broad support for new display and touch hardware, largely on M5Stack, Waveshare, and Seeed reTerminal families.

Touch controllers — cst328 by @latonita (#8011), st7123 integrated display-touch driver for the M5Stack Tab5 by @miniskipper (#12075), gsl3670 for Seeed reTerminal D1001 by @clydebarrow (#16285), and cst9220 covering CST9220 and CST9217 by @clydebarrow (#16888).

E-paper displays — The epaper_spi component picks up several new panels: Waveshare 7.5” V2 BWR 800×480 by @twisterss (#15719), Seeed reTerminal E1004 13.3” 6-color (T133A01, dual-CS SPI) by @limengdu (#16706), Waveshare 2.13” V4 BWR (SSD1683) by @profplump (#16828), Soldered Inkplate 2 by @arunderwood (#16856), and Seeed reTerminal-sticky by @clydebarrow (#16950). The it8951 e-paper controller for M5Paper and Seeed reTerminal E1003/EE03 (up to 1872×1404, 16-level grayscale) arrives as a new component by @Passific (#15346).

MIPI-SPI displays — M5STACK ATOM3SR by @clydebarrow (#17344) and the Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-AMOLED-1.64 (SH8601) by @crimike (#17386).

Divoom Pixoo 64 — A new pixoo component by @jesserockz (#16974) drives the 64×64 RGB LED matrix over SPI and exposes a light platform for panel brightness alongside the image API.

Sensors and peripherals — A ufm01 ScioSense UFM-01 ultrasonic flow meter by @ljungqvist (#16582) reports accumulated flow, flow rate, water temperature, and four diagnostic binary sensors over UART. A qmi8658 6-axis IMU by @clydebarrow (#16889) adds accelerometer, gyroscope, and on-chip temperature sensing with a motion platform. The waveshare_io_ch32v003 I/O expander by @latonita (#10071) covers the CH32V003-based expander shipped on Waveshare’s newer S3 boards, providing EXIO GPIO, PWM backlight control, an ADC battery voltage sensor, and RTC interrupt status.

Audio — The pcm5122 component grows analog gain (0/-6 dB), channel mixing (stereo/left/right/swapped), configurable volume range, a standby/powerdown switch, and an XSMT enable pin, along with a fix for a clock register page bug that had been silently corrupting clock setup (#17313) by @remcom. The i2s_audio speaker now accepts wider streams (e.g. 24-bit into a 16-bit device) and narrows them in place using esp-audio-libs’ pcm_convert::copy_frames (#16821).

Image Component Becomes a Platform

@jesserockz restructured image: into a platform component (#17416). The new form uses platform: file, platform: animation, and platform: online_image, with animation becoming a proper sub-component of the new file platform. The legacy top-level image:, animation:, and online_image: keys continue to work through 2027.1.0 with copy-paste migration warnings shown at validation time.

Zigbee: SDK 2.0.2 and Endpoint Merging

@luar123 bumped the zigbee component on ESP32 to the new esp-zigbee-sdk 2.0.2 for better ESP-IDF compatibility and picked up ESP32-H4, H21, and S31 variants (#16869). The dedicated Zigbee storage partition has been retired in favor of the default NVS, and reporting configuration is simplified: the enabled/coordinator distinction is gone.

A follow-up (#17402) merges endpoints of components on ESP32 and lets users manually combine them. This enables single-endpoint devices with multiple sensors, matching Zigbee standard expectations. Both PRs require existing Zigbee devices to be re-joined, re-interviewed, and reconfigured after upgrading.

YAML Merge Warnings

@clydebarrow added a warning when a YAML merge (<<:) silently drops a key (#17246). Two top-level api: blocks combined via <<: would previously drop one without any indication; ESPHome now prints the source location, explains that a merge is happening, and suggests packages: for a deep merge instead. Toggle with esphome: merge_warnings: false.

Other Notable Features

Legacy web dashboard removed (#17124) — The built-in Tornado-based dashboard is gone in favor of the external ESPHome Device Builder. The dashboard CLI command remains but is hidden and prints a migration hint. Docker and Home Assistant add-on users are unaffected: they already route to Device Builder.
Python 3.11 support dropped (#17280) — Minimum Python version is now 3.12. Home Assistant add-on and Docker images are already on 3.12.
BK7238 and Tuya T1 board support (#17288) — The LibreTiny 1.13.0 update adds BK7238 boards to the bk72xx platform: generic-bk7238, generic-bk7238-tuya, and the Tuya T1 module family (t1-2s, t1-3s, t1-m, t1-u), which is becoming common in devices on the market.
PSRAM for ESP32-S31 and H4 (#17192) — Both new variants gain PSRAM wiring: S31 octal at 40/100/200/250 MHz and H4 quad at 32/64 MHz. Values come from the esp_psram Kconfig on ESP-IDF release/v6.1, and octal-mode validation is now data-driven rather than hardcoded to S3.
Host platform preferences directory (#11160) — A new ESPHOME_PREFDIR environment variable overrides where the host platform stores preferences, useful when running ESPHome as a system service where HOME may not be set.
Web server SSE optimization (#17400) — Logger’s known message length is now threaded through the SSE send path, avoiding strlen and strchr rescans on every log event. No wire changes.
Web server HTTP digest authentication (#17541) — web_server auth: gains a new type: option to select basic or digest. Digest keeps the password off the network (only hashes are sent) instead of the trivially reversible Base64 that Basic uses; both look identical in the browser. The scheme is fixed at build time so the unused code path is compiled out. The default stays basic for now to avoid breaking non-browser REST clients and will change to digest in 2027.1.0; set type: basic explicitly to keep the current behavior after that release.
WiFi roaming scan suppression (#17012) — A new internal API lets components request that post-connect roaming scans be paused. First user is sendspin, which now suppresses roaming scans while playing to prevent audible hiccups (#17133).
Runtime UART reconfiguration (#16990) — Baud rate, parity, and other UART settings can now be changed at runtime on open channels without reconnecting. Landed for both the standard uart and usb_uart components.
Light brightness on turn-off preservation (#17103) — Setting brightness to 0 no longer silently clamps to 1.0. If a subsequent turn-on has no explicit brightness and the current brightness is 0, brightness is set to 1.0 at turn-on time instead.
coex/sdkconfig reconciler (#17008) — A single reconciler now handles WiFi/Ethernet/BLE coexistence sdkconfig flags on ESP32, killing conflicting values (for example ethernet versus esp32_ble_tracker on CONFIG_SW_COEXIST_ENABLE). Behavior is preserved and internal helpers gain semantic names such as request_wifi, request_ethernet, and request_software_coexistence.
Visual editor visibility hints (#17449) — Build-system and framework internals are now marked with cv.Visibility so the Device Builder visual editor can hide them from users who edit YAML from the browser.

Thank You, Contributors

This release includes 217 pull requests from over 30 contributors. A huge thank you to everyone who made 2026.7.0 possible:

@swoboda1337 - 45 PRs including making ESP-IDF the default esp32 toolchain, the tree-wide single-precision float math sweep, wiring up ESP32-S31/H4/H21 support, ccache and shared toolchain caches, gigabit ethernet, ESP-NOW v2 payloads, and dropping Python 3.11
@jesserockz - 45 PRs including the generic component alias infrastructure, the final class sweep across 21 batches, the [pixoo] Divoom Pixoo display component, the [rp2] platform rename, the [image] platform restructure, and removing the legacy web dashboard
@clydebarrow - 17 PRs including LVGL animations, dynamic rotation, boot pausing and continued-activity-while-display-busy, the new [gsl3670] and [cst9220] touchscreens, the [qmi8658] IMU motion platform, the [mipi_spi] M5STACK ATOM3SR, YAML merge-drop warnings, and preserving light brightness on turn-off
@exciton - 9 PRs including the major [modbus] parser rewrite and client/server hub split, heap-free send path, register-range fixes with partial reads, and the finalized API surface
@tomaszduda23 - 8 PRs building out native nRF52 builds: native SDK support, upload flow, config-input rebuild triggers, non-nRF52840 board support, libc selection, and OTA error reporting
@kahrendt - 6 PRs including WiFi roaming-scan suppression, the [sendspin] playback integration, [i2s_audio] stream narrowing, and microMP3 bumps
@Ardumine - 5 PRs extending nRF52/Zephyr networking: BSD socket support, basic OpenThread, mDNS, [api] support, and enlarged Zephyr net buffers
@kbx81 - 4 PRs including ESP32 NVS encryption, OTA downgrade protection, the new [provisioning] component, and the ESP32 network/coexistence sdkconfig reconciler
@p1ngb4ck - 4 PRs including [usb_uart] per-device baud caps, FTDI RX stability fixes, and a vector pop_back helper
@luar123 - 3 PRs including the [zigbee] SDK 2.0.2 bump and endpoint merging on esp32
@frenck - 3 PRs deferring aioesphomeapi and requests imports to speed up config validation, and refining ESP32-S3 PSRAM pin warnings
@latonita - 2 PRs including the new [cst328] touchscreen and the [waveshare_io_ch32v003] I/O expander
@rwrozelle - 2 PRs including the [openthread] set_poll_period action for MTDs and a [socket] wake-request gate fix
@anunayk - 2 PRs including Zephyr GPIO interrupts and [ble_nus] atomic log framing
@remcom - 2 PRs including the [pcm5122] analog gain, channel mixing, and standby/powerdown work, plus [audio_file] MP3 detection fixes
@miniskipper - the new [st7123] touch controller component for the M5Stack Tab5
@Passific - the new [it8951] e-paper controller component
@ljungqvist - the new [ufm01] ultrasonic flow meter component
@bootc - RTC-backed preferences on ESP32, honoring the in_flash flag

Also thank you to @bdraco, @haku, @Eelviny, @twisterss, @ddrown, @limengdu, @profplump, @arunderwood, @kyvaith, @jspiros, @guillempages, @zeroflow, @mikelawrence, @jclehner, @berikv, @Bl00d-B0b, and @crimike for their contributions, and to everyone who reported issues, tested pre-releases, and helped in the community.

Breaking Changes

Platform Changes

ESP32: ESP-IDF is now the default toolchain when no explicit toolchain: is set. Add toolchain: platformio to your esp32: block to keep building with PlatformIO #16910
Python: Minimum supported Python bumped to 3.12. Home Assistant add-on and Docker are unaffected; only direct pip installs on 3.11 need to upgrade #17280
nRF52: The native nRF Connect SDK toolchain is now the default when no explicit toolchain: is set. Add toolchain: platformio to your nrf52: block to keep building with PlatformIO #17319
nRF52: The Zephyr DCDC settings are no longer forced by ESPHome, which slightly changes generated code depending on board settings and allows building for boards without DCDC #17373

Dashboard

Legacy Dashboard: The built-in Tornado web dashboard has been removed. Users installing via pip should install and run esphome-device-builder instead. Docker and Home Assistant add-on users are unaffected #17124

Component Changes

Bluetooth Proxy: The newest advertisement subscriber now takes over the single subscriber slot from a stale one instead of being rejected. Fixes “connected but no advertisements” after a Home Assistant restart within the ~150 second keepalive window #17423
Hub75: The deprecated scan_wiring names FOUR_SCAN_16PX_HIGH, FOUR_SCAN_32PX_HIGH, and FOUR_SCAN_64PX_HIGH have been removed. Use SCAN_1_4_16PX_HIGH, SCAN_1_8_32PX_HIGH, and SCAN_1_8_64PX_HIGH instead #17118
Light: Setting brightness to 0 no longer silently clamps to 1.0. If a subsequent turn-on has no explicit brightness and the current brightness is 0, brightness is restored to 1.0 at turn-on time instead #17103
LibreTiny (LN882H): generic-ln882hki board removed; use generic-ln882h or generic-ln882h-tuya depending on factory firmware. Default LN882H log UART is now UART1. LN882H partition layouts changed (on-device OTA migration handled by LibreTiny). On the wb02a board, pin aliases shifted (D1 → GPIO6, D7 → GPIO5, D8 → GPIO9, D9 → GPIO24, new D10 → GPIO25) and default I2C pin order changed #17288
Modbus: The disable_crc option has been removed, along with send_wait_time and turnaround_time from server mode. Client-mode defaults were raised: send_wait_time 250ms → 2000ms, turnaround_time 100ms → 600ms #11969
Packages: The single-package !include form is removed. Wrap the include in a list: packages: [!include mypackage.yaml] #17119
Web Server: The deprecated object ID URL matching fallback has been removed. URLs are matched by entity name only #17113
Web Server: Version 1 is deprecated. A configuration warning is emitted when version: 1 is set; removal is targeted for 2027.1.0. Migrate to v2 (the default) or v3 #17109
Web Server: Cross-origin browser requests carrying an Origin header are now rejected unless the origin matches the request Host (same-origin) or is listed in the new allowed_origins: option. Requests with no Origin header (curl, native API, other non-browser clients) are always allowed, so this is defense-in-depth against the browser confused-deputy/CSRF case, not an authentication boundary. Private Network Access is now off by default (previously on) and, when enabled, reuses allowed_origins: to authorize preflights; enabling PNA without any allowed origins is rejected at config validation #17530
Zigbee: The Zigbee SDK bump to 2.0.2 changes the storage layout, so ESP32 devices must be re-joined and reconfigured after upgrading. The reporting: config values enabled and coordinator are no longer valid #16869
Zigbee: on ESP32 endpoint merging now combines endpoints of components by default and lets users manually combine them. Existing configurations require re-joining, re-interviewing, and re-configuring #17402
Display Components: The MIPI family of display drivers (mipi_spi, mipi_dsi and mipi_rgb) now enforce configuration of mandatory components such as PSRAM and I/O expanders where required. This applies only to those display models that identify integrated boards with known hardware assignments. #17405

Undocumented API Changes

Users with lambdas that call internal string-formatting helpers should note the following removals. Both methods were deprecated 6 months ago in favor of buffer-based variants that avoid std::string allocation.

Core: value_accuracy_to_string() has been removed. Use value_accuracy_to_buf(), which writes into a caller-provided buffer of VALUE_ACCURACY_MAX_LEN bytes. #17116

Before:
```
std::string s = value_accuracy_to_string(value, accuracy);
```
After:
```
char buf[VALUE_ACCURACY_MAX_LEN];
value_accuracy_to_buf(buf, value, accuracy);
```
Remote Base (Midea): MideaData::to_string() has been removed. Use to_str(buffer) instead, which formats into a caller-provided buffer. #17117

Before:
```
std::string s = data.to_string();
```
After:
```
char buf[32];
data.to_str(buf);
```
Dashboard Import (ESP8266): package_import_url is now stored as a PROGMEM flash literal (ProgmemStr) rather than a plain const char * in DRAM. Existing consumers already read it as a flash pointer (mDNS via MDNS_STR_ARG, MQTT via ArduinoJson’s __FlashStringHelper overload), so this is a transparent change on ESP8266 and a no-op on other platforms. Lambdas that read package_import_url on ESP8266 should not dereference it as a plain const char *. #17127

Breaking Changes for Developers

Modbus API split: Modbus is split into ModbusClientHub and ModbusServerHub; ModbusDevice::set_parent() now takes ModbusClientHub *; Modbus::register_device() removed (#11969, #11987, #12376)
Modbus API naming: Core public API surface renamed and settled before release; further client-mode API cleanup is planned for the next release (#17378, #17434)
Modbus function code comparisons: Ordering operators (<, <=, >, >=) between ModbusFunctionCode and uint8_t removed. Cast explicitly or use helpers::is_function_code_*() #11969
Select state member removed: Use current_option() or active_index() instead #17027
Scheduler std::string overloads removed: App.scheduler.set_timeout(std::string, ...) and related std::string-name overloads are gone; pass const char * names #17111
get_object_id() and get_compilation_time() removed: Previously deprecated core helpers deleted #17112
GPIOPin::dump_summary() returning std::string removed: Overrides must return via the buffer form #17115
UART load_settings(bool) is now pure virtual: All UARTComponent subclasses must implement runtime settings updates #16990
API pre-1.14 object_id backward-compat removed: Old client fallback path deleted #17108
Preferences RTC helpers moved: Word-buffer + checksum format extracted to preferences_rtc.h and shared between ESP32/ESP8266 #17073
Network use_address logging changes: Runtime MAC-suffix expansion moved into the network component #17432
Configurable classes marked final: Roughly 20 batches of components add final to their runtime-instantiated concrete classes to allow devirtualization (#16952-#16972, #17129, #17130, #17147)
rp2040 component renamed to rp2: Python imports esphome.components.rp2040 and the rp2040: YAML key continue to work as deprecated aliases through 2027.7.0 via the new alias infrastructure (#17145, #16826)
mipi_ display driver model config changes: Use of swap_xy=cv.UNDEFINED in a model definition is deprecated. #17405

For detailed migration guides and API documentation, see the ESPHome Developers Documentation.

Release 2026.7.1 - July 21

[emc2101] Fix negative external temperatures reported as large positives esphome#17494 by @swoboda1337
[haier] Fix outdoor defrost temperature reporting the coil temperature esphome#17492 by @swoboda1337
[zephyr] implement ISRInternalGPIOPin::digital_write esphome#17601 by @quantum5
[as3935_i2c] Use repeated start when reading registers esphome#17584 by @swoboda1337
[micro_wake_word] Include the local model file in bundles esphome#17604 by @bdraco
[core] Improve framework mirror selection, download errors, and version parsing esphome#17615 by @swoboda1337
[http_request] Fix use-after-return of header collection state in IDF backend esphome#17627 by @swoboda1337
[web_server_idf] Use core format_hex_to helper for digest auth (fixes Arduino build) esphome#17608 by @swoboda1337
[nrf52] Set ZEPHYR_SDK_INSTALL_DIR for Zephyr SDK discovery esphome#17633 by @jesserockz
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.6.2 esphome#17640 by @esphome[bot]
Bump aioesphomeapi from 45.6.0 to 45.6.1 esphome#17653 by @dependabot[bot]
Bump aioesphomeapi from 45.6.1 to 45.6.2 esphome#17654 by @dependabot[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.6.3 esphome#17651 by @esphome[bot]
[espidf] Suggest installing missing system libraries when the tools install fails esphome#17619 by @swoboda1337
[core] Fix srcFilter exclusions being silently ignored on Windows esphome#17648 by @bharvey88
Pin cryptography to 48.0.1 on Intel macOS esphome#17658 by @bdraco
Ship component requirements.txt files in the sdist and wheel esphome#17660 by @bdraco
[logs] Cap the logs reconnect backoff for deep-sleep devices esphome#17656 by @bdraco
[nrf52] Install PlatformIO toolchain Python packages into a dedicated venv esphome#17635 by @jesserockz
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.6.4 esphome#17662 by @esphome[bot]
[esp32] Bump recommended ESP-IDF to 5.5.5 and Arduino to 3.3.10 esphome#17669 by @swoboda1337
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.6.5 esphome#17675 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.6.6 esphome#17681 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.6.7 esphome#17696 by @esphome[bot]
Split multi-token build.flags entries when generating ESP-IDF component CMakeLists esphome#17649 by @bharvey88
[ssd1306] Fix offset_x being ignored on SH1106/SH1107 displays esphome#17700 by @jesserockz
[micro_wake_word] Download models in parallel esphome#17701 by @bdraco
[platformio] Accept git URLs passed as the library name esphome#17697 by @bdraco
[git] Detect interrupted clones and re-clone automatically esphome#17690 by @bdraco
[espidf] Make openocd-esp32 optional so its libusb check cannot break installs esphome#17686 by @bdraco
[light] Fix pulse and other effects esphome#17645 by @clydebarrow
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.6.8 esphome#17708 by @esphome[bot]
[core] Auto-clean the PlatformIO build environment when the Python version changes esphome#17671 by @bdraco
[platformio] Re-download library when cached copy is missing its manifest esphome#17691 by @bdraco
[http_request] Fix usage of http response body esphome#17713 by @kamaradclimber
[platformio] Include cache path in invalid library error esphome#17692 by @bdraco
[espidf] Resume interrupted toolchain downloads instead of restarting esphome#17706 by @bdraco
[wireguard] Mark private keys sensitive, stop redacting public keys esphome#17736 by @bdraco
[esp8266] Fail fast when Rosetta 2 is missing on Apple Silicon Macs esphome#17737 by @bdraco

Release 2026.7.2 - July 23

Bump aioesphomeapi from 45.6.2 to 45.7.0 esphome#17768 by @dependabot[bot]
[sen5x] Add model option to override autodetection esphome#17764 by @bharvey88
[sendspin] Bump sendspin-cpp to v0.7.0 esphome#17781 by @kahrendt
[mipi_spi] fix partial update bug esphome#17747 by @Flautz
[bundle] Remap absolute file paths when compiling an extracted bundle esphome#17765 by @bdraco
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.6.9 esphome#17793 by @esphome[bot]

Release 2026.7.3 - July 28

Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.6.10 esphome#17801 by @esphome[bot]
[esp32_ble] Forward ESP_GAP_BLE_SCAN_RSP_DATA_RAW_SET_COMPLETE_EVT to GAP handlers esphome#17833 by @mvoss96
[espidf] Honor compile_process_limit in native ESP-IDF builds esphome#17857 by @swoboda1337
[espidf] Include .cc, .cxx and .c++ sources in the app source glob esphome#17754 by @ruimarinho
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.7.0 esphome#17871 by @esphome[bot]
[wifi] Lock scan results shared with the captive portal web task esphome#17850 by @bdraco
[git] Fix submodule update failure when cloning libraries on the esp-idf toolchain esphome#17862 by @bdraco
[captive_portal] Escape SSID when building config JSON esphome#17872 by @jesserockz
[ethernet] Set SPI CS hold time for ENC28J60 esphome#17885 by @swoboda1337 (breaking-change)
[light] Ensure binary light is off with brightness 0 esphome#17893 by @clydebarrow
Update webserver local assets to 20260728-053845 esphome#17899 by @esphome[bot]

Release 2026.7.4 - August 5

Bump filelock from 3.29.0 to 3.32.0 esphome#17759 by @dependabot[bot]
Bump platformdirs from 4.10.0 to 4.11.0 esphome#17756 by @dependabot[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.8.0 esphome#17953 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.8.1 esphome#17964 by @esphome[bot]
[epaper_spi] Default init sequence to empty not None esphome#17966 by @clydebarrow
[git] Fix device adoption failing on first attempt: lock the clone cache against concurrent resolutions esphome#17923 by @bdraco
[espidf] Use forward slashes in generated component CMakeLists esphome#17965 by @swoboda1337
[esp32] Restrict toolchain validation to supported values esphome#17972 by @jesserockz
[api] Fix double free when overflow buffer drain is re-entered esphome#17969 by @bdraco
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.8.2 esphome#17995 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.9.0 esphome#18017 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.9.1 esphome#18025 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.9.2 esphome#18051 by @esphome[bot]
[esp32] explicitly disable BLE 5.0 esphome#18047 by @ssieb

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2026.7.0 changelog.

Unbox your creativity with the ESPHome Device Builder

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The ESPHome blog is a new space for us – and you! We usually share our updates through raw, engineering-focused changelogs. While that technical documentation isn’t going anywhere, we want to make our milestone releases more digestible for everyone in the community – regardless of your experience with creating custom smart home devices.

This new way of sharing information goes hand-in-hand with all the work we’ve been doing to make ESPHome (and all Open Home Foundation projects) more accessible. It’s also why the latest release of ESPHome is focused on lowering the barrier to entry: a shift especially relevant with the highly anticipated release of the ESPHome Starter Kit around the corner.

By moving towards intuitive visual interfaces and optimizing how our microcontrollers manage processing power, we’re making the ecosystem more approachable for complete beginners without sacrificing the depth, control, and granular flexibility our more experienced users love.

Think of this update as a thorough organizing of a communal workshop, ensuring your local devices run faster, utilize less memory, and stand ready as durable components of a private, sustainable smart home.

Making ESPHome more accessible

With this in mind, let’s look at the updates designed to make your life easier. Part of the satisfaction of creating your own smart home gear is the process itself: embracing the sometimes chaotic, but joyful, mess of wires and components scattered across your desk. We want to enhance that creative, hands-on experience, while stripping away the unnecessary technical frustrations that can block a good project from getting off the ground.

Explore with the new ESPHome Device Builder

To do this, we’ve officially retired the old text-heavy dashboard and replaced it with a visual workspace designed to remove the guesswork and get your project up and running without headaches. Think of it like baking a cake from scratch. The pleasure comes from mixing the ingredients yourself, but you still want a recipe that’s easy to follow and promises a tasty result: in this sense the new Device Builder 1.0.0 is what you need!

Rather than serving as a blank text editor, the new builder is a tool for creative discovery. It features an interactive component catalog that suggests ideas and layout configurations as you build, transforming a technical task into an exploration of what’s possible.

And don’t worry, if you enjoy editing the YAML directly, you still can!

View your configurations as simple steps, or as code, as you prefer.

That same flexibility applies to setting up your hardware. For example, the Device Builder can tell you which pins are available on each board so you don’t need to go on a treasure hunt for datasheets of each development to find out for yourself. Combined with inline help and guidance right inside the workspace, you no longer need twenty different browser tabs open just to debug a stray wire.

What’s more, you don’t have to wait for one device to finish installing before moving to the next. The builder introduces background multitasking, letting you queue compilation, installation, or clean-up tasks across multiple hardware nodes without freezing up your browser tab.

What this means for advanced users

Don’t let this beginner-friendly focus fool you: this workspace is a massive productivity upgrade for advanced users too. By replacing manual datasheet cross-referencing with an integrated pin list, you lose the mental fatigue of tracking complex wiring layouts.

Combined with the background multitasking, you can now manage, compile, and push updates to an entire fleet of hardware nodes back-to-back, transforming what used to be a tedious afternoon of sequential flashing into a fast, parallel workflow.

Under the hood: Faster, leaner, and more capable

While the new visual interface changes how you interact with ESPHome, we’ve also overhauled how it runs on your devices. By optimizing data flows so they respond faster, you have plenty of room for growth as you add more features. Key highlights from this release include:

Reclaimed memory: If you build a battery-powered sensor that turns off its WiFi to save energy, the system now “reclaims” that dormant network memory. This frees up crucial space on the chip, helping to keep your device running smoothly.
Smoother screens and sound: Fans of custom touchscreens or media players will find that layout validation is now up to 4.5 times faster, and audio flows through a direct pipeline to cut sound stuttering and voice lag.
Next-gen hardware support: We’ve baked native support for popular hardware right into the core. This includes everything from high-fidelity audio chips and industrial pressure sensors to next-gen mmWave micro-radars that can pinpoint the positioning of multiple people in a room at once.

🛠️ Looking for the full changelog? This is just a high-level look at the biggest upgrades. If you want to dive into the complete, line-by-line list of every single bug fix, supported chip version, and technical milestone in this release, check out the full 2026.6.0 release notes.

Three things to try this weekend

With the new tools live, now’s a great time to clear your desk, grab a microcontroller, and dive in! Here’s some inspiration for your next project:

Match your hardware: Start a project quickly and easily by picking your board from our new Board Catalog. From there you can load the correct settings automatically and get building straightaway. We’ve even integrated community-submitted hardware configurations directly from devices.esphome.io.
Browse the components: Once your board is set, take a tour of the Component Catalog to discover what else is possible. This massive list of supported sensors, lights, and switches shows how easy it is to drop them into your project without typing a single line of code.
Get ready for the Starter Kit: If you don’t have any components yet and don’t know where to begin, help is coming! Stay tuned to our ESPHome social channels and our website: the official ESPHome Starter Kit, made by Apollo Automation, will be shipping soon… and we have more updates on the way!

Quick note for returning users

Are you an advanced user updating an existing fleet of smart devices? While this blog highlights our new beginner-friendly features, this release does include a few syntax modernizations for legacy configurations. Be sure to check out the Upgrade Checklist over on our official technical release notes before deploying your updates.

ESPHome 2026.6.0: Meet the new Device Builder

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Motion (IMU)

BMI270

Accelerometer & Gyroscope

LSM6DS

Accelerometer & Gyroscope

Release Overview

ESPHome 2026.6.0 retires the legacy in-tree dashboard, replacing it with the new ESPHome Device Builder, which reached 1.0.0 this release. The release also raises the default WiFi security mode on ESP8266 to WPA2 and finally makes WiFi and ethernet enable_on_boot: false reclaim the 15–30 KB and 3–8 KB of internal SRAM they were always supposed to, and delivers up to 4.5× faster LVGL config validation. A wide audio-stack modernization brings zero-copy ring buffers, any-bit-depth mixing, and a new router speaker, while a multi-PR effort prepares the codebase for ESP-IDF 6 and native RISC-V clang-tidy. It also adds a new motion IMU framework with BMI270 and LSM6DS drivers, two USB-serial drivers, a PCM5122 audio DAC, YAML frontmatter, and a top-level build_flags option that finally works on native IDF.

Upgrade Checklist

If you use an ESP8266 on a legacy WPA-only (TKIP) router, pin min_auth_mode: WPA under wifi: or the device will stop associating
If you use the dsmr electricity_switch_position sensor, move it from sensor: to text_sensor:
If you use the nextion display with dump_device_info: true, remove that option (device info is always logged now)
If you still load components from a custom_components/ folder, migrate them to external_components:
If your time: component uses platform: homeassistant with an explicit timezone:, note that Home Assistant will no longer override your configured zone
If you use the dlms_meter component with the provider: option, expect a deprecation warning; the option is now ignored and will be removed in 2026.11.0
If you maintain external components calling mark_failed("...") or status_set_error("..."), switch to mark_failed(LOG_STR("...")) / status_set_error(LOG_STR("..."))
If you maintain external components using cv.only_with_esp_idf or CORE.using_esp_idf, replace them with cv.only_on_esp32 / CORE.is_esp32
If you have lambdas calling text_sensor->raw_state, switch to text_sensor->get_raw_state()
If you have lambdas referencing the mipi_dsi::MIPI_DSI C++ type, rename it to mipi_dsi::MipiDsi

ESPHome Device Builder Replaces the Legacy Dashboard

The new ESPHome Device Builder, shipped as an opt-in public beta in 2026.5.0, reached 1.0.0 this release and replaces the legacy in-tree dashboard, which is being retired. The Device Builder lives in two repos, device-builder (Python backend) and device-builder-frontend (web UI), and as of 2026.6.0 it is the dashboard bundled by default in the official Home Assistant ESPHome add-on.

What it brings over the legacy dashboard:

Visual component and automation builder alongside a CodeMirror YAML editor, with a left-sidebar device navigator. The legacy dashboard was a plain text editor over a .yaml file.
Component catalog with dependency resolution and a per-board pin info viewer that maps GPIO capabilities and shows which component is using each pin.
Firmware job queue with progress, history, and cancel for compile / install / clean, replacing the legacy one-operation-at-a-time model.
Remote builder: one Device Builder instance can offload OTA builds to another over a peer-paired link (mDNS discovery, out-of-band fingerprint confirmation, identity rotation, per-peer auto-route).
Labels, areas, an editable friendly name, device cloning, and multi-select bulk actions (update, delete, archive, and label across an arbitrary set of devices).
Out-of-sync detection: an encryption-state mismatch badge on every device, plus version and config-hash in-sync diagnostics in the device drawer.
YAML diff view, cross-config YAML search with surrounding context, and a command palette (⌘K / Ctrl-K).
Card and table views with configurable columns and faceted filters (platform / status / area / labels).
Real settings UI with light / dark / system theme and localization underway across multiple languages.
First-run WiFi onboarding and an expanded install-method dialog: Web Serial flashing, server-side USB (relabeled for the Home Assistant host when running as the add-on), web.esphome.io download, and manual .bin download.

The 2026.5.0 Use new Device Builder Preview opt-in toggle is gone; the Device Builder is simply the dashboard now.

ESP8266 Default WiFi Security Raised to WPA2

ESP8266 now defaults to min_auth_mode: WPA2, matching the ESP32 default that has shipped for years. ESPHome has been printing a deprecation warning on every ESP8266 config without an explicit min_auth_mode since 2026.1, calling out exactly this flip. With ~40% of ESPHome installs running on ESP8266 hardware, this is the broadest platform-wide change in the release (#16682 by @swoboda1337).

Configurations connecting to modern WPA2/WPA3 access points need no change. Devices on legacy WPA-only (TKIP) routers must pin the old behavior explicitly:

wifi:
  min_auth_mode: WPA

WiFi and Ethernet Now Truly Free Their Memory When Disabled at Boot

enable_on_boot: false on wifi: and ethernet: previously skipped only the start() call, leaving the entire driver resident in DMA-capable internal SRAM. Two PRs by @kbx81 split the heavy allocation work into a lazy-init path that only runs when the interface is actually enabled, so a dormant interface now costs zero internal RAM.

Reclaimed memory on ESP32:

WiFi: roughly 15–30 KB of DMA-capable internal SRAM freed when enable_on_boot: false (#16606). Field-tested on ESP32-S3 with W5500 SPI ethernet
- I2S audio + bluetooth_proxy: free internal SRAM under peak load went from ~14 KB to ~32 KB, with min-free measurements reaching 78 KB in some configurations.
Ethernet: roughly 3–8 KB freed when enable_on_boot: false, matching parity with the WiFi lifecycle (#16607). Brings ethernet.enable / ethernet.disable actions and ethernet.connected / ethernet.enabled conditions, mirroring the WiFi automation surface.

This is groundwork for running WiFi and ethernet side by side in a single configuration: each interface can now be brought up on demand without paying for the one that is not in use.

The W5500 SPI driver also got a CPU win in #16596 by @kahrendt: large frame transfers now go through an interrupt-driven DMA path instead of busy-waiting the CPU. Measured streaming 48 kHz 24-bit FLAC over W5500, ethernet task CPU usage dropped from ~5% to ~3.8%, roughly a quarter lower.

LVGL Configuration Validation Up to 4.5× Faster

The new device builder UI revalidates configurations on every save, which made esphome config latency a direct UX cost. LVGL configs were the worst offender. A five-PR series by @bdraco attacks the hot path in LVGL schema construction:

Memoize and lazily build container_schema (#16567) - repeated validation median dropped from 210 ms to 17 ms on a representative LVGL config.
Build widget update action schemas lazily (#16569) - saves roughly 200 ms at lvgl import time.
Merge dict-extend chains (#16614) - 2.81× speed-up on read_config (0.246 s → 0.087 s on the lvtest host.yaml).
Memoize obj_schema by widget type (#16615) - 2.14× speed-up stacked on top.
Build automation_schema event validators lazily (#16633)
- 4.5× reduction in per-call cost (281 ms → 63 ms across 29 widget types in a microbench).

The user-visible effect: every save in the device builder is noticeably snappier, especially on configurations with large LVGL screens.

Audio Stack Modernization

@kahrendt led a wide-ranging audio rework this cycle, replacing the allocate-and-copy AudioSourceTransferBuffer pattern with a zero-copy RingBufferAudioSource across the critical audio paths.

Zero-copy ring-buffer rollout eliminates one allocation and one extra copy per chunk of audio processing:

resampler (#16560)
AudioDecoder for the speaker media player (#16564)
micro_wake_word (#16595)
voice_assistant (#16597) - also drops two 1024-byte send buffers in favor of reading directly from the ring buffer

Mixer supports any bit depth (#16524). The mixer speaker now accepts 8, 16, 24, or 32 bits per sample, lifting the last remaining 16-bit-only restriction from the audio stack. Backed by esp-audio-libs v3.1.0 / v3.2.0, with the upstream library using template specializations to keep the new code paths as fast as the old 16-bit-only version.

Resampler bit-depth pass-through (#16892). Now that the mixer handles any bit depth, the resampler defaults to passing the input audio’s bit depth through unchanged rather than auto-converting to match the output speaker. This avoids burning CPU cycles in the resampler when the downstream mixer would do a faster conversion anyway.

New router speaker component (#16592) for switching between output speakers at runtime via the router.speaker.switch_output action. A typical use case is switching between SPDIF and analog I2S outputs live from a select entity, with audio staying in sync after the switch. See router for details.

micro_wake_word task stack can live in PSRAM (#16632), saving roughly 3 KB of internal SRAM on the ESP32-S3 with no measurable performance impact. Set task_stack_in_psram: true.

PSRAM task-stack handling consolidated (#16628) so audio_file, audio_http, mixer, resampler, sendspin, and speaker.media_player all share the same validation pattern, with a bug fix for task_stack_in_psram: false on the speaker media player.

ESP-IDF 6 and Native RISC-V clang-tidy

A multi-PR effort by @swoboda1337 makes static analysis substantially better at catching real-firmware bugs:

script/clang-tidy now supports RISC-V targets natively (#16809)
- clang’s upstream RISC-V backend can now analyze ESP32-C3/C6/H2/P4 builds instead of falling back to the 32-bit x86 stand-in that was used for the Xtensa path.
Native ESP-IDF clang-tidy is now the comprehensive pass (#16823). The arduino toolchain has a blind spot where its headers pull std:: float math overloads into the global namespace, hiding performance-type-promotion-in-math-fn findings. The IDF toolchain catches them.
Float-to-double promotion fixed across the codebase (#16812) - display, daikin_arc, nau7802, sgp4x, thermopro_ble, tuya all switched from C <math.h> to the float-typed std:: overloads, keeping math in float on 32-bit MCUs instead of needlessly promoting to double.
clang-tidy passes on ESP-IDF 6 (#16850) - sdkconfig pinned to newlib, GCC-only flags stripped, ledc HAL guard added under static analysis. This is the foundation for upcoming ESP-IDF 6 support.
arduino-esp32 stub for managed IDF components (#16695)
- on PlatformIO, components like FastLED that declare REQUIRES arduino-esp32 now resolve to a stub that re-exports the framework via CMake INTERFACE, instead of the IDF Component Manager trying to download a duplicate.
100% patch coverage gating (#16827 by @jesserockz) - new PRs must cover every changed line. The project-level coverage stays informational so contributors are not penalized for pre-existing untested code.

New Components and Hardware Support

@clydebarrow landed a coordinated IMU stack: a generic motion hub component that provides acceleration, angular rate, and derived pitch/roll values, plus actions for automatic pitch/roll calibration (#16226). Two concrete drivers ride on top:

Bosch BMI270 (#16202) - used in M5Stack Tab5 and Espressif’s EchoEar
STMicro LSM6DS3TR-C (#16232) - used in the Seeed ReTerminal D1001

New sensors and DACs:

PCM5122 audio DAC by @remcom (#15709) - the Texas Instruments stereo I2S DAC popular in Raspberry Pi HATs, with mute, digital volume, and four configurable GPIO pins exposed through the standard pin schema.
XDB401 pressure sensor by @RT530 (#15108) - I2C pressure and temperature from the XIDIBEI XDB401.

USB-serial drivers by @p1ngb4ck:

FTDI FT23XX family (#14587) - covers FT232R, FT2232C, FT2232H, FT4232H, FT232H, FT230X, and AM/BM variants; chip type auto-detected from the USB descriptor; multi-channel chips supported as separate channels.
Prolific PL2303 family (#16885) - covers the legacy PL2303H/HX through the modern G-series; baud rate encoding selected per chip type.

New display: WAVESHARE-ESP32-S3-TOUCH-AMOLED-2.16 added to the mipi_spi driver (#16887 by @clydebarrow).

DLMS Smart Meter Component Overhaul

@Tomer27cz refactored the dlms_meter component to use the external dlms_parser library (#15458), substantially broadening smart-meter support:

Dynamic OBIS code schema - define custom sensors, text sensors, or binary sensors by their OBIS code (e.g. "1-0:99.99.9") instead of being limited to the hardcoded property list.
Binary sensor support is new.
Decryption key now optional - meters that broadcast plaintext are supported directly.
Flexible UART baud rate - the 2400-baud requirement is gone; configure the UART to whatever your meter speaks.
New configuration variables - auth_key, custom_patterns, skip_crc, and receive_timeout for meters with non-standard behavior.

The legacy schema continues to work and the provider key is now ignored with a deprecation warning, slated for removal in 2026.11.0. Existing configurations should still validate without change.

The companion DSMR component also got a fix and feature pass (#16561 by @PolarGoose), including support for EON Hungary meters, custom auth keys, and automatic hex-string detection in equipment ID fields. Note that electricity_switch_position moved from sensor to text_sensor, which may need a YAML update.

Networking, Zephyr, and Platform Plumbing

Zephyr IPv6 networking on nRF52 (#16336 by @Ardumine) is the first step toward OpenThread support on the nRF52840 via Zephyr. Adds a Zephyr-specific IPAddress class backed by struct in6_addr, networking Kconfig, and three new nRF52 network test fixtures. IPv6 defaults to enabled on nRF52.

RP2350 / RP2040 variant config (#16602 by @jesserockz) brings the ESP32-style variant option to the rp2040 platform block, so the same platform can target the RP2040 or RP2350 and emits matching USE_RP2040_VARIANT_<VARIANT> build flags. The variant is auto-derived from the board’s MCU; specifying both must match.

esp32_hosted PSRAM transport buffers (#16627 by @swoboda1337) - new use_psram: true option moves the esp_hosted transport mempool out of DMA-capable internal RAM and into PSRAM, fixing boot-time sdio_mempool_create asserts on memory-tight ESP32-P4 + LVGL UI configurations.

Configuration and Tooling Improvements

YAML frontmatter (#16552 by @jesserockz) - a leading ----separated YAML document is now treated as opaque metadata, stripped before validation, and captured per-file on CORE.frontmatter. Future tooling (including the device builder) can consume arbitrary user metadata like author, version, labels:

author: Jesse Hills
version: 1.0.0
labels: [office, climate]
---
esphome:
  name: my-node

esphome.build_flags for IDF + PlatformIO (#16629 by @swoboda1337) - a top-level esphome.build_flags list now applies compiler flags on both backends. The existing platformio_options.build_flags was PlatformIO-only; users on native IDF (ESP32-P4, ESP32-H2) needed this.

esphome config --no-defaults (#16718 by @jesserockz) emits only the user-supplied configuration after substitutions and packages resolve, without the hundreds of injected schema defaults. Useful for diffing configs, sharing minimal reproductions in issues, and sanity-checking what was actually typed.

Codeberg short-form Git URLs (#16501 by @Eelviny) - codeberg://owner/repo/path/file.yaml is now a supported source for dashboard_import and short-form packages, alongside github:// and gitlab://.

github:// framework source (#16639 by @swoboda1337) - esp32.framework.source now accepts github://owner/repo@ref and https://github.com/owner/repo.git@ref, doing a git clone --depth=1 --recurse-submodules instead of downloading an archive. This is needed because GitHub archive URLs strip submodules, which ESP-IDF relies on heavily (mbedtls, openthread, tinyusb, …). Primary use case is testing against pre-release ESP-IDF before any tagged release ships a new chip.

Sensitive value redaction (#16690 by @bdraco) is now driven by cv.sensitive() markers in the schema rather than a post-dump regex. WiFi SSIDs are now marked sensitive, joining passwords. External components using the new marker get redaction automatically; the regex fallback stays as a deprecation bridge through 2026.12.0.

State reporting CLI control (#16746 by @clydebarrow) - the logs command gained a --states / --no-states flag and an environment variable for the default, restoring control over whether state changes appear in the log stream.

Light Component Enhancements

@jesserockz added two light improvements:

light.effect.next and light.effect.previous actions (#16491) cycle through a light’s configured effects without having to hardcode effect names. An include_none: true option lets the cycle pass through the un-effected state. The target light must have at least one effect, checked at config validation time.
Lambda light effects receive the light as it (#16815) - matches the existing behavior of addressable lambda effects, so simple lambdas can reference the light directly without id(my_light).

@clydebarrow also added a rounded property to LVGL meter arcs (#16669).

Other Notable Features

Display metadata for LVGL validation (#16702) - display drivers now register byte_order, rotation, draw_rounding, has_writer, and has_hardware_rotation metadata, so LVGL can pick byte_order automatically, reject mixed byte orders, and merge draw_rounding requirements from the attached display.
Mitsubishi CN105 swing modes (#15653 by @crnjan) - vertical / horizontal / both swing for the Mitsubishi CN105 climate component, with last non-swing vane positions tracked and restored when swing is disabled.
SDL display screen selection (#16363 by @clydebarrow) - the host-platform SDL display can now be centered on a specific display when multiple are attached.
homeassistant.time honors explicit timezones (#16583 by @clydebarrow) - a timezone: configured locally is no longer silently overridden by Home Assistant’s zone.
I2C host platform support (#14489 by @jesserockz) - basic I2C bus support when running ESPHome on a Linux host platform, useful for testing and host-side integrations.

Notable Bug Fixes

Nextion device info storage rewrite (#16059 by @edwardtfn) - the connect_info parser was replaced with fixed-size field extraction, eliminating all heap allocations from the comok response. Device info is now always logged in dump_config(); the old dump_device_info YAML option is gone.

Thank You, Contributors

This release includes 178 pull requests from over 20 contributors. A huge thank you to everyone who made 2026.6.0 possible:

@swoboda1337 - 57 PRs including the ESP-IDF 6 / native RISC-V clang-tidy infrastructure, the ESP8266 WPA2 default flip, removal of long-deprecated core APIs, and extensive ESP32 platform plumbing
@kahrendt - 19 PRs including the audio stack modernization (RingBufferAudioSource rollout, any-bit-depth mixer, resampler pass-through, new router speaker) and the W5500 ethernet SPI offload
@clydebarrow - 16 PRs including the new motion IMU hub with BMI270 and LSM6DS drivers, LVGL display-metadata validation, and the Home Assistant timezone fix
@jesserockz - 9 PRs including YAML frontmatter support, light.effect.next / light.effect.previous actions, the RP2040/RP2350 variant option, esphome config --no-defaults, and 100% patch-coverage enforcement
@kbx81 - 4 PRs including the WiFi and ethernet lazy-init RAM reclamation work
@p1ngb4ck - 2 PRs adding the FTDI FT23XX and Prolific PL2303 USB-serial drivers
@PolarGoose - 2 PRs on DSMR including EON Hungary meter support and the dsmr_parser library update
@tomaszduda23 - 2 PRs on the nRF52 native build and network IPv6 enforcement
@rtyle - 2 PRs fixing QMP6988 sensor I2C error handling
@Tomer27cz - the DLMS meter component overhaul using the external dlms_parser library
@Ardumine - Zephyr IPv6 networking support for nRF52
@remcom - the new PCM5122 audio DAC component
@RT530 - the new XDB401 pressure sensor component
@crnjan - swing support for the Mitsubishi CN105 climate component
@edwardtfn - the Nextion connect_info heap-allocation rewrite

Also thank you to @bdraco, @Rapsssito, @burundiocibu, @leodrivera, @SoCuul, @david-collett, @chemelli74, @Eelviny, @gnumpi, @GuzTech, @rwrozelle, @exciton, @i-am-no-magic, and @kpfleming for their contributions, and to everyone who reported issues, tested pre-releases, and helped in the community.

Breaking Changes

Platform Changes

WiFi (ESP8266): Default min_auth_mode flipped from WPA to WPA2, matching the ESP32 default. The 2026.1 deprecation warning has been calling this out at every config validation. Devices on legacy WPA-only (TKIP) routers must pin min_auth_mode: WPA explicitly under wifi: #16682

Component Changes

DSMR: electricity_switch_position moved from sensor: to text_sensor: because Hungarian meters emit it as a string (e.g. ON) rather than a number. Update existing configs to declare the entity under text_sensor: #16561
DLMS Meter: Refactored to use the external dlms_parser library, adding dynamic OBIS-code schema, binary sensor support, optional decryption keys, and a configurable UART baud rate (the 2400-baud requirement is gone). The legacy hardcoded property schema continues to work; the provider: option is now ignored with a deprecation warning and will be removed in 2026.11.0 #15458
Nextion: The dump_device_info YAML option has been removed. Device info is now always stored and logged in dump_config(). Remove dump_device_info: true from any display: Nextion configs #16059
Home Assistant Time: When a timezone: is explicitly configured on a time: component with platform: homeassistant, the zone reported by Home Assistant no longer overrides it. Configurations that relied on HA silently overriding a stale local timezone should remove the local timezone: entry #16583

Core Changes

custom_components/ folder removed: The deprecated custom_components/ directory auto-loader has been removed. Use external_components instead. The deprecation warning has been printing since 2025.6 #16679
Sensitive value redaction: cv.sensitive() now drives runtime redaction directly via a YAML representer instead of a post-dump regex. WiFi SSIDs are now marked sensitive and will be redacted alongside passwords in esphome config output. No YAML change needed; pass --show-secrets to bypass redaction as before #16690

Undocumented API Changes

Lambda users and external component authors who reference internal C++ types should note the following change. The type still behaves the same at runtime, but its name was updated to match the project’s identifier-naming convention:

MIPI DSI display class renamed: mipi_dsi::MIPI_DSI is now mipi_dsi::MipiDsi. Any lambda or external component that referenced the old type name must use the new spelling. No behavior change #16837
```
// Before
auto *display = static_cast<mipi_dsi::MIPI_DSI *>(...);

// After
auto *display = static_cast<mipi_dsi::MipiDsi *>(...);
```

Breaking Changes for Developers

Component::mark_failed / status_set_error const char * overloads removed: use the const LogString * overloads via LOG_STR("...") #16680
cv.only_with_esp_idf and CORE.using_esp_idf removed: migrate to cv.only_on_esp32 and CORE.is_esp32; use CORE.using_toolchain_esp_idf for the rare actual toolchain check #16681
text_sensor::TextSensor::raw_state public member removed: use get_raw_state() instead #16683
nfc::format_uid(span) / nfc::format_bytes(span) heap helpers removed: switch to the stack-buffer variants nfc::format_uid_to(buf, span) / nfc::format_bytes_to(buf, span) with FORMAT_UID_BUFFER_SIZE / FORMAT_BYTES_BUFFER_SIZE #16684
seq<> and gens<> tuple-unpack templates removed from core/automation.h: use std::index_sequence / std::index_sequence_for #16685
audio::scale_audio_samples deprecated: switch to esp_audio_libs::gain::apply from the bundled esp-audio-libs (Q31 scale factor, byte buffers, explicit bytes_per_sample). Scheduled for removal in 2026.12.0 #16831
cv.sensitive() schema marker: external component schemas should now wrap sensitive fields with cv.sensitive(...) for redaction in esphome config output. The old regex-based fallback stays as a deprecation bridge through 2026.12.0 #16690

For detailed migration guides and API documentation, see the ESPHome Developers Documentation.

Release 2026.6.1 - June 19

[core] Honor transferred address cache in has_resolvable_address esphome#17025 by @bdraco
[build] Skip target-platform deps when populating host unit-test config esphome#17039 by @swoboda1337
[uptime] Revert timestamp sensor device_class to timestamp esphome#17037 by @swoboda1337
[esp32] Support esphome idedata with the native ESP-IDF toolchain esphome#17040 by @swoboda1337
[esp32] Don’t overwrite PlatformIO’s factory.bin esphome#17042 by @swoboda1337
[logger] Hold recursion guard while draining the task log buffer esphome#17044 by @bdraco
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.10 esphome#17051 by @esphome[bot]

Release 2026.6.2 - June 20

[espidf] Resolve IDF tools path to avoid unnormalized path warning esphome#17055 by @swoboda1337
[fastled_base] Fix RMT5 intr_priority conflict esphome#17072 by @swoboda1337
[packet_transport] Mark encryption key as cv.sensitive esphome#17066 by @swoboda1337
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.11 esphome#17081 by @esphome[bot]
[ha-addon] Expose the device-builder public port only when port 6052 is mapped esphome#17076 by @bdraco
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.12 esphome#17091 by @esphome[bot]

Release 2026.6.3 - June 26

[core] Clarify resolve error when a device has no network log/OTA transport esphome#17107 by @bdraco
[audio] Fix mono channel MP3 playback esphome#17106 by @kahrendt
[mipi_rgb] Fix offsets for Wave 5 1024x600 esphome#17057 by @clydebarrow
[json] Bump ArduinoJson to 7.4.3 esphome#17126 by @bdraco
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.13 esphome#17132 by @esphome[bot]
Bump zeroconf from 0.149.16 to 0.150.0 esphome#17137 by @dependabot[bot]
[espidf] Don’t fail framework check on broken unrelated PATH tools esphome#17053 by @swoboda1337
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.14 esphome#17139 by @esphome[bot]
[esp32_ble_server] Fix set_value action with by-reference triggers esphome#17156 by @swoboda1337
[esp32] Use POSIX path for secure-boot signing/verification keys Fixes #17164 esphome#17166 by @mnewton25
[mipi_spi] Warn on MODE3 default for display without CS pin esphome#17153 by @clydebarrow
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.15 esphome#17170 by @esphome[bot]
[mipi_spi] Suppress sequence errors when page selection used esphome#17176 by @clydebarrow
[opentherm] Support power scaling disabled esphome#17183 by @GeoffreyFrogeye
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.16 esphome#17182 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.17 esphome#17199 by @esphome[bot]
[esp32] Accept ’#’ as ESP-IDF source ref separator esphome#17193 by @swoboda1337
[network] Set IPv4 type tag on all lwIP platforms, not just esp32 esphome#17200 by @swoboda1337
[wifi] Report STA IP, not SoftAP IP, in wifi_info on ESP8266 esphome#17185 by @swoboda1337
[mipi][mipi_spi] Swap native dimensions for swap_xy hardware transform esphome#17201 by @clydebarrow
[hbridge] Fix light stuck on one polarity esphome#17162 by @swoboda1337
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.18 esphome#17212 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.19 esphome#17217 by @esphome[bot]

Release 2026.6.4 - July 1

[adc] Only call cyw43_thread_enter/exit for VSYS when WiFi is active on RP2040 esphome#17203 by @jlunz
[config_validation] Fix multicast typo in error message esphome#17206 by @jesserockz
[es8388] Fix DAC unable to unmute once muted esphome#17221 by @frenck
[mipi_spi] Bug fixes esphome#17247 by @clydebarrow
[bluetooth_proxy] Fix -Wtype-limits warning with active: false esphome#17273 by @swoboda1337
[espnow] Drop oversized received frames to prevent buffer overflow esphome#17271 by @swoboda1337
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.23 esphome#17316 by @esphome[bot]

Release 2026.6.5 - July 9

Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.24 esphome#17332 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.25 esphome#17333 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.26 esphome#17369 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.27 esphome#17370 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.28 esphome#17382 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.0.29 esphome#17384 by @esphome[bot]
Bump bundled esphome-device-builder to 1.1.0 esphome#17412 by @esphome[bot]

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2026.6.0 changelog.

ESPHome 2026.5.0: Device Builder enters public beta

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Sendspin

Sendspin Media Source

Audio HTTP Media Source

Modbus Server

Release Overview

The headline change in ESPHome 2026.5.0 is the public beta of the new ESPHome Device Builder, a from-scratch web app that replaces the legacy in-tree dashboard with a real configuration editor, a firmware job queue, multi-select bulk actions, labels and areas, out-of-sync detection, cross-config search, distributed builds, and a proper settings UI. On the firmware side, a fundamental rework of the main loop, scheduler, and task watchdog recovers measurable CPU and power on every platform, alongside a broad set of measured optimizations across the API, audio, and helper hot paths. A native ESP-IDF toolchain ships next to PlatformIO with ESP-IDF v6.0.1 readiness work, and the audio decoder pipeline is modernized on top of the new microMP3 / microWAV / microFLAC streaming libraries. OTA gains its most expansive feature set in years with partition-table and bootloader updates, web-server OTA, and soft-brick recovery, while ESP32-based Zigbee, the new Sendspin multi-room audio component family, a fresh radio_frequency entity type, expanded nRF52 / Zephyr platform work, and a substantial codebase correctness sweep round out the release.

Upgrade Checklist

If you use modbus_controller in server mode, migrate to the new modbus_server component and rename server_registers to registers and server_courtesy_response to courtesy_response
If you rely on more than 5 concurrent API connections on esp32, bk72xx, rtl87xx, or ln882x, set api.max_connections explicitly (the default dropped from 8 to 5)
If you play WAV files only via YAML actions to arbitrary URLs (not embedded, not set as the preferred pipeline format), add audio: codecs: wav: so WAV decoding is still compiled in
If you use codec_support_enabled on the speaker media player, drop it and use the pipeline format: setting instead (format: NONE includes all codecs, format: WAV matches the old none/false mode)
If you embed audio files larger than 5 MB into your speaker media player via the files: block, compress them or pick a more efficient codec before upgrading
If you have multiple ota: - platform: esphome entries on different ports, consolidate to a single entry on one port
If you use throttle_average filters with a time_period longer than 24 hours, lower it (the new schema cap is 24 h)
If your lambdas call id(...).set_min_power(...), set_max_power(...), or set_zero_means_zero(...) on a FloatOutput, add min_power: 0% (or any of the scaling keys) to one of your output: entries so the runtime setters stay compiled in
If your external component implements ComponentIterator and doesn’t handle media players, add bool on_media_player(media_player::MediaPlayer *obj) override { return true; } guarded by #ifdef USE_MEDIA_PLAYER
If your external component or lambda calls OneWireBus::skip(), handle the new bool return value (false means the reset/presence pulse failed; bail out instead of writing to a dead bus)
If your external component constructs PollingComponent() with no argument and never calls set_update_interval(), pass an interval explicitly; the default constructor no longer polls at all
If your external component uses esphome::RingBuffer from esphome/core/ring_buffer.h, switch to esphome::ring_buffer::RingBuffer from esphome/components/ring_buffer/ring_buffer.h and add AUTO_LOAD = ["ring_buffer"]
If your external component uses heap-allocating helpers like str_lower_case, format_hex, format_mac_address_pretty, value_accuracy_to_string, or base64_encode, include esphome/core/alloc_helpers.h directly (the helpers.h re-export is temporary)
If you maintain an external climate platform, replace the deprecated set_supports_* / get_supports_* accessors with add_feature_flags() / has_feature_flags() (note two_point_target_temperature maps to CLIMATE_REQUIRES_TWO_POINT_TARGET_TEMPERATURE)
If you hold long-lived BLE connections via ble_client and notice WiFi throughput drops, this is the new esp32_ble_tracker coex behavior; open an issue with your config if it materially affects your workload
If your ektf2232 config still uses rts_pin, rename it to reset_pin (the friendly migration error has been removed)

Introducing the New ESPHome Device Builder (Beta)

The new ESPHome Device Builder, announced at State of the Open Home 2026 and now in public beta, is a from-scratch replacement for the legacy in-tree dashboard. It lives in two new repos, device-builder (Python backend) and device-builder-frontend (web UI), and consumes ESPHome through stable public interfaces instead of reaching into internal modules. The work is driven by the Open Home Foundation Ecosystems department, which expanded significantly last year so OHF could deliver more to the community, working alongside the existing maintainer community. Most of the rewrite goes toward dashboard capabilities the existing user base has been blocked on for years (job queue, multi-select bulk actions, labels/areas, out-of-sync detection, cross-config search, distributed builds, real settings UI). Visual editing and pairing with hardware like the Apollo Automation ESPHome Starter Kit (ESK-1) make the same app a reasonable starting point for newcomers as well.

Capabilities the legacy dashboard didn’t offer:

Visual component and automation builder alongside Monaco YAML, with a left-sidebar device navigator. Legacy was an Ace text editor over a .yaml file with no first-class component or automation objects.
Component catalog with dependency resolution and a per-board pin info viewer that maps GPIO capabilities and shows which component is using each pin.
Firmware job queue with progress, history, and cancel for compile / install / clean. Legacy ran one operation at a time with no concurrency or history.
Remote builder. One Device Builder instance can offload compile/install jobs to another over a peer-paired link (mDNS discovery, SHA-256 fingerprint confirmation, identity rotation, per-peer auto-route).
Labels (colored, searchable, filterable), areas as a first-class field, friendly name as a separate editable field, device cloning, and multi-select bulk actions (update / delete / archive on an arbitrary subset of devices). Legacy’s only bulk action was an all-or-nothing “update all”.
Out-of-sync detection with per-device badges for version, config-hash, and encryption-state mismatches. Legacy showed only “update available.”
YAML diff view, cross-config YAML search with surrounding context, and a command palette (⌘K / Ctrl-K).
Card and table views with configurable columns and faceted filters (platform / status / area / labels). Legacy was cards only.
Real settings UI with light/dark/system theme, English / Français / Nederlands localization, editor layout, and remote-builder controls. Legacy exposed almost nothing in-UI.
First-run Wi-Fi onboarding and USB-plug detection with a “set this up” prompt when a board is connected.

Existing features like Web Serial flashing and Take Control / Adopt carry over and are surfaced more prominently in the new install-method dialog, which adds server-side USB, Home Assistant host USB auto-detection, and web.esphome.io download as transports.

Supporting ESPHome-side plumbing landed in 2026.5.0: stable backend API surface (#16206) with documented helper contracts like write_file (#16290); stable WiFi capability helpers (#16300) and the new esphome.upload_targets module (#16346); the config-hash CLI command (#15548) plus an mDNS config_hash TXT record (#16145) that let Device Builder skip re-flash when the running config matches; schema visibility hints for the visual editor (#16267, #16276); tightened esphome rename (#16296); restored ProgressBar under --dashboard mode (#16357); downstream CI against PR Python code (#16214); and legacy-dashboard guardrails on contributor PRs (#16378).

The legacy dashboard remains the default in 2026.5.0. Home Assistant users can try Device Builder today by installing the ESPHome (beta) app (formerly add-on), where it is enabled by default. The stable and beta apps run side by side, or stable-app users can opt in via the Use new Device Builder Preview toggle in the add-on’s Configuration tab:

Feedback from beta testers shapes the next release, and we’re excited to already be seeing the first community pull requests landing on the device-builder and device-builder-frontend repos.

Main Loop and Watchdog Architecture Overhaul

This release lands one of the most consequential changes to ESPHome’s runtime in years: a fundamental rework of how the main loop, scheduler, and task watchdog interact. Led by @bdraco, with @rwrozelle contributing the configurable ESP32 watchdog timeout (#15908) that the new auto-scaling feed interval keys off and the OpenThread proof-of-concept that produced the 2.0 mA → 1.1 mA power-savings measurement, these changes recover meaningful CPU on every supported platform and finally make App.set_loop_interval() work the way the documentation has always described.

Main-loop cadence decoupled from the scheduler (#15792):

Every component’s loop() now actually runs at the configured loop_interval_ cadence (default ~62 Hz) instead of being silently pulled forward to ~128 Hz by unrelated scheduler activity.
Background-driven events (MQTT RX, USB RX, BLE, mWW, espnow, lwIP sockets, etc.) still wake their component within a single tick via wake_loop_threadsafe(), even with multi-second loop_interval_ values for deep power-save configurations.
App.set_loop_interval() now actually enables power savings. Independent testing on an OpenThread proof-of-concept measured average current drop from 2.0 mA to 1.1 mA on top of an earlier version of this work.

Watchdog feed rate corrected after a 1000x cost regression (#15846, #15984):

The 3 ms feed throttle dated to ESPHome’s 2019 C++ port, when feeding the watchdog cost a hundred nanoseconds. The 2021 switch to ESP-IDF made each feed cost ~10-12 µs without the constant being revisited. The bug only surfaced under raised loop_interval_, where 26% of CPU was being burned inside arch_feed_wdt().
The idle-tick feed interval is now per-platform instead of a universal 3 ms: 1000 ms by default on ESP32 (1/5 of the configured watchdog timeout, scaling automatically with the new esp32.watchdog_timeout knob from #15908), 100 ms on ESP8266, 2000 ms on LibreTiny BK72xx, and 300 ms on the remaining platforms. Real ESP32+BT proxy measurements show the wdt bucket dropping from 46.5 ms to 21.6 ms per 60 s window with no loss of safety margin.

Loop-when-idle gated everywhere it makes sense (#15636, #15642, #15884 and many more): the esphome OTA component, status_led, bl0906, and others now disable their own loop() when idle and rely on wake hooks (socket-event callbacks, ISR-safe wake flags, etc.) to come back to life only when there is real work to do. OTA in particular ran every tick forever just to check whether a client had connected; on Xtensa each idle tick pulled a memw plus a volatile load, paid for the entire lifetime of every ESPHome device that exists.

Scheduler self-keyed timer API (#16127) lets small action and filter classes drop Component inheritance entirely. Follow-ups across #16129, #16131, #16132, and #16191 migrate DelayAction and the binary_sensor / sensor filter family (DelayedOnFilter, DelayedOffFilter, DebounceFilter, HeartbeatFilter, SettleFilter, AutorepeatFilter, and others), saving ~8 bytes per instance baseline (and ~32 bytes more when runtime_stats: is enabled).

Performance Optimizations

Beyond the structural changes above, this release contains an unusual concentration of measured micro-optimizations across the codebase, particularly on the API and audio paths. Led by @bdraco and @kahrendt, with @swoboda1337 contributing the CallbackManager copy reduction (#16093) and a sweep of performance-unnecessary-copy-initialization fixes (#16101).

Cross-platform millis() overhaul. A coordinated rewrite hits every supported runtime. ESP8266 (#15662) drops from 3348 ns/call to 1077 ns/call (2.7x) by wrapping Arduino’s millis() at link time with a 32-bit accumulator, replacing four 64-bit multiplies routed through the LX106’s software __umulsidi3 helper. ESP32 (#15661) switches to xTaskGetTickCount() directly when the FreeRTOS tick rate is 1 kHz; LibreTiny (#15918) inlines the same xTaskGetTickCount() fast path; the host platform (#15994) replaces floating-point math with integer arithmetic; and Millis64Impl::compute() is force-inlined on single-threaded platforms (#15684). On a typical 10-component ESP8266 device, runtime stats showed main_loop active_total drop by 41 ms per minute of CPU, roughly 7% of the scheduler+overhead budget reclaimed for actual work.

BLE advertisement encode is 20-33% faster (#15988). A new (mac_address) proto field option unrolls the varint encoder for 48-bit MAC addresses into a 7-byte fast path. CodSpeed measured the CalculateSize_BLERawAdvs12 benchmark improving by 33% and the full CalcAndEncode_BLERawAdvs12 benchmark by 22.5%. On real ESP32 hardware, encode dropped 27.6% (11647 ns/op to 8430 ns/op) on a 12-advertisement batch.

API socket fast-path tightened (#15996, #15888, #15889). The Xtensa memw instruction in the per-socket ready check is now hoisted to once per main-loop iteration; api_is_connected() is inlined and reduced to a single byte load; the proxy message families (Z-Wave, IR/RF, serial) are now marked speed_optimized and have CodSpeed coverage (#16157, #16159).

Scheduler fast paths force-inlined (#15683, #15685, #15686, #15947). cleanup_(), process_to_add(), and process_defer_queue_() are inlined at the call site; the multi-threaded-no-atomics path now uses lock-free __atomic builtins.

Defer queue: don’t sleep while non-empty (#15968). The scheduler now skips its select/sleep when the defer queue still has items pending, eliminating a per-tick latency spike on action chains that defer between steps (script.execute, delay, etc.). Latency-sensitive automations no longer pay an extra select round-trip per deferred step.

HAL trivial dispatches inlined (#15977, #16111-#16116, #16183). The HAL split moves bodies into per-platform hal.cpp files and inlines the trivial wrappers (millis(), micros(), feed_wdt(), etc.) at the call site, removing a per-call function-call overhead that compounded across every component’s main-loop work.

zwave_proxy and bluetooth_proxy loop() fast paths inlined. On zwave_proxy (#15887) the response_handler_ and process_uart_ hot-path branches are now inlined at the loop() call site. On bluetooth_proxy, a partial revert of an earlier loop()→set_interval migration (#15992) restores tighter scheduling for proxy traffic, and a redundant remote_bda_ write in the connect handler (#16000) is gone. Bluetooth proxy is one of the most-deployed ESPHome configurations, so these compound across thousands of devices.

mDNS update polling event-driven on ESP8266 and RP2040 (#15961). MDNS.update() is now driven by IP-state events on ESP8266 and RP2040 instead of being polled every main-loop tick. Idle devices stop touching the mDNS state machine entirely.

i2s_audio software volume control is 45% cheaper (#16278). The new Q31 scaling factor uses Xtensa’s mulsh instruction (30 bits of precision) and a precomputed scalar generated only when volume changes. Speaker-task CPU usage at 48 kHz stereo drops from 7.8% to 4.3%.

value_accuracy_to_buf got a non-snprintf fast path (#15596). Sensor value formatting now uses a direct integer-to-decimal conversion for the common case (accuracy 0-3 with finite, in-range values), with snprintf kept as the fallback for NaN, infinity, larger accuracies, and out-of-range values. This is a major win for web_server, which formats every sensor state into JSON on each SSE push and on every REST request; high-update-rate dashboards and devices with many sensors see noticeably lower CPU per push, with the largest gains on ESP8266 where snprintf carries the most overhead.

Light, callback, and helper hot paths all saw improvements: LightCall flag accessors are force-inlined (#15729), format_hex_internal was rewritten to avoid snprintf (#15594), and CallbackManager call paths reduce copies (#16093).

Memory Footprint Reductions

A parallel effort by @bdraco and @kahrendt, with @schdro contributing the static loop-task allocation, focused on shrinking the per-instance and static-RAM cost of common components.

APIServer client list moved to a compile-time array (#15889) eliminates the persistent heap-held vector that grew via doubling reallocations. Measured -92 B flash on ESP32-S3, -152 B flash on ESP8266, plus zero heap fragmentation. At one client connected (the typical Home Assistant deployment), net RAM is -4 B. The new compile-time MAX_API_CONNECTIONS constant lets the array size and accept-time cap derive from one source.

FloatOutput power scaling gated (#15998) saves 12 bytes per output instance plus ~248 bytes flash, applied across every PWM channel, DAC channel, LEDC output, and dimmer-chip channel. On a 5-channel H801 RGBWW LED Controller this measured at -64 B static RAM and -248 B flash.

Per-instance action fields folded into stateless lambdas: every YAML automation that calls a light.control / light.toggle / light.dim_relative (#16037, #16038, #16039, #16118), climate.control (#16044), cover.control / cover.template.publish (#16046), fan.turn_on (#16122), or valve.control (#16123) action previously stored every optional parameter (transition lengths, RGB/brightness targets, modes, position, direction, etc.) as fields on the Action instance, costing 60-120 bytes of RAM per action instance depending on the action type. These are now packed into a single stateless lambda captured at compile time, so unused parameters cost nothing per action instance and every action drops to 20 bytes or less per instance. A config with 20 light.* automations reclaims well over a kilobyte of RAM, and configurations with many such automations see the largest savings.

ThrottleAverageFilter packed (#16169) drops from 28 B to 24 B per instance by packing the have_nan_ flag alongside the 31-bit n_ field in a single 32-bit word.

LD24xx sensors and template restorers inlined (#15676, #15883) eliminate heap allocations for small fixed-purpose objects.

Loop task uses static allocation (#15659): ~152 bytes of heap metadata reclaimed by moving the ESP32 loop task TCB and stack into .bss instead of being allocated at boot from the heap.

Ring buffer can target internal memory (#16187). A new memory-preference parameter on RingBuffer::create() allows audio paths to skip the slow ESP32 PSRAM cache when small buffers benefit from the faster internal SRAM.

Scheduler pool replaced with intrusive freelist (#16172). The previous std::vector-backed SchedulerItem pool grew via doubling reallocations and hung on to its peak capacity for the lifetime of the device. The replacement is an unbounded intrusive freelist that recycles freed items in O(1) without ever resizing or fragmenting an external container. Scheduler-heavy configurations stop carrying high-watermark vector capacity around as dead RAM.

safe_mode and rtttl callback storage gated (#16002, #16003). on_safe_mode callbacks now use a StaticCallbackManager, and rtttl’s on_finished_playback callback storage is gated behind a #define that only activates when the YAML actually subscribes. Both are tiny per-instance wins, but safe_mode is on essentially every device and rtttl is on every speaker setup that uses RTTTL playback.

light validate_ clamp shrunk (#15728). The unit-range clamp helper used by every light component dropped its branch count and code size, with the speed-up showing up across PWM, RGB, RGBW, RGBWW, monochromatic, and addressable light platforms.

dsmr no longer allocates during parsing (#15875). The DSMR rewrite eliminates dynamic allocations in the parse path entirely and decrypts in place, saving roughly 1500 bytes of runtime allocation per telegram. See Other Notable Features for the security-fix and OBIS-sensor side of the same PR.

Native ESP-IDF Toolchain Support

@diorcety delivered a substantial new build pathway in #14678: ESPHome can now build firmware directly with the native ESP-IDF toolchain via idf.py, alongside the existing PlatformIO build path. This is independent of framework.type, which still selects the runtime framework (arduino vs esp-idf); the new toolchain key selects the build system used to compile it.

Opt in by setting toolchain under the esp32: block:

esp32:
  board: esp32dev
  toolchain: esp-idf  # or 'platformio' (default)
  framework:
    type: esp-idf

The same selection is available on the command line and overrides the YAML value for one-off builds:

esphome --toolchain esp-idf compile my-device.yaml

Precedence is --toolchain (CLI), then esp32.toolchain (YAML), then platformio (default toolchain).

Key Benefits:

Automatic ESP-IDF installation on first run with toolchain: esp-idf, into <data_dir>/idf/ (or $ESPHOME_ESP_IDF_PREFIX when set). ESPHome downloads the matching ESP-IDF release plus its Python environment, then builds through idf.py directly.
Automatic conversion of PlatformIO library entries into ESP-IDF components (including the patches required), so projects that rely on lib_deps from the PlatformIO ecosystem keep working under the native toolchain.
CI workflow added to compile components against the native toolchain on every PR so the path stays building as the codebase evolves.

The default toolchain remains platformio in 2026.5.0, so existing projects keep building exactly as they did before. The native path is opt-in for power users and contributors who want to work against the unmodified upstream IDF.

ESP-IDF v6.0.1 readiness lands across a chain of supporting PRs, primarily by @swoboda1337 with @diorcety and @luar123 contributing the dependency bumps: a new ESP-IDF 6.0.1 platform entry (#16146), an esp_wireguard bump to 0.4.5 for v6 compatibility (#15804), newlib compatibility for the Zigbee SDK on IDF 6 (#16174) plus init-order and missing-field warning fixes on native ESP-IDF (#16389), relaxed -Werror=reorder and -Werror=maybe-uninitialized for managed components built under IDF 6 (#16392), and a PlatformIO-style RAM/Flash summary printed after native ESP-IDF builds for parity with the existing flow (#16394).

Audio Stack Modernization

@kahrendt led a comprehensive rewrite of the audio decoder pipeline across more than a dozen PRs, aligning ESPHome with a new family of streaming codec libraries published by the esphome-libs organization.

New microDecoder family of libraries:

microMP3 (#16236), microWAV (#16251), microFLAC (#16279) replace the older Helix/esp-audio-libs decoders. Every codec now either streams from its source or buffers internally, which eliminates a memmove operation on the transfer buffer that, for MP3, used more CPU than the decoding itself.
The unified microDecoder library (#15679, #16237) handles HTTP source reads, decoding, and threading internally. audio_file and the new audio_http media source (#15741) both build on it.
esp-audio-libs was bumped to v3.0.0 (#16263), keeping the resampler and optimized gain helpers but dropping the codec decoders to reduce compile time.

New audio_http media source (#15741) plays audio from arbitrary HTTP URLs and serves as a replacement for prior workarounds. 48 kHz stereo MP3 now decodes with ~40% less CPU on an ESP32-S3 thanks to the eliminated staging buffer and memmove.

Advanced codec configuration (#16166) exposes per-codec options under audio.codecs.* so users can pick memory locations (internal vs PSRAM), enable specific codecs additively, and tune options like Opus’s pseudostack size. Users of slower ESP32s (no fast PSRAM) can now configure decoder buffers to live in internal memory and reduce stuttering at the start of playback.

RingBuffer made a first-class component (#16298) by moving the core ring buffer into a dedicated ring_buffer helper component. External component authors can now iterate on it via external_components; the deprecation period for the old esphome/core/ring_buffer.h location is 6 months. A new RingBufferAudioSource (#16314, #16315, #16316) consolidates the speaker and mixer audio-source plumbing.

Users with audio files referenced only via YAML actions (rather than embedded or set as the preferred format) may need to add audio.codecs.wav: to keep WAV decoding compiled in; see the Breaking Changes section for migration details.

OTA Platform Enhancements

OTA gained the broadest set of capabilities it has had in any single release, led by @Mat931.

Partition table updates (#15780) make it possible to convert devices from other firmwares (such as Tasmota) to ESPHome over the air. The updater verifies the new partition table, runs sanity checks, and only commits if it can prove the device will boot. Setting allow_partition_access: true under ota: platform: esphome enables the workflow; the docs walk through the Tasmota conversion step by step.

Bootloader updates (#16238) build on the new extended OTA protocol (#16164) and let esphome upload --bootloader push a fresh bootloader image.

Soft-brick recovery via factory partition (#16339). When OTA is impossible because the alternate app partition is the wrong type but contains a valid app (for example, a Tasmota safeboot image), safe_mode can now boot into the factory partition so the device can be re-flashed instead of requiring a USB cable.

Web server OTA platform (#16207). A new --ota-platform {esphome,web_server} flag on esphome upload and esphome run lets users force the HTTP-based web_server OTA path, which is auto-selected when only platform: web_server is configured. The native API path remains the default because it uses challenge-response auth with hashed nonces (the OTA password is never on the wire), while web_server uses HTTP Basic auth.

Host platform OTA backend (#16304) implements working OTA for the host target via execv, unlocking integration-test coverage of one of the highest-risk regression surfaces in ESPHome. Tests can now exercise the full native OTA wire protocol (handshake, MD5, chunked transfer, automation triggers, reboot) on every CI run without needing real hardware.

Better OTA error messages (#16327) and the use of WatchdogManager during ESP32 OTA writes (#16138) round out the package.

Faster Configuration Validation and CLI Startup

Four related changes by @bdraco make esphome compile, esphome upload, and especially esphome logs noticeably faster on projects with remote dependencies, and shave wall-clock time off every CLI invocation.

Deferred heavy module-scope imports (#15955). esphome.__main__, esphome.loader, and esphome.config no longer pull voluptuous, codegen, and the component registry at import time; the heavy imports happen lazily inside the codepaths that actually need them. Every esphome CLI invocation, including esphome version, esphome config, and the dashboard’s per-request shells, starts faster, and the dashboard’s import-time regression is now guarded by CI.

Skip external file refresh on esphome logs (#16016). The skip_external_update flag is unified into a single CORE.skip_external_update source of truth and external_files.download_content() now honors it. For a Home Assistant Voice PE config (16+ remote audio files, several micro_wake_word models), the validation phase no longer spends ~20 sequential HTTP HEAD requests before logs can start streaming.

Parallel external_files downloads (#16021) fan out per-file checks across an 8-worker thread pool. Wall time drops from sum(latency) to roughly max(latency) when the cache is warm.

Cached validated configs (#16381). esphome compile now writes the fully validated config to disk; upload and logs reload it instead of re-running read_config() from scratch. The cache is regenerated by every compile, so a follow-up upload to a freshly compiled binary skips the entire validation pipeline. No flag, no opt-in.

Sendspin Synchronized Multi-Room Audio

@kahrendt built a complete new component family for Sendspin, a multi-room synchronized audio protocol, across a chain of PRs:

Hub component (#15924) provides the basic connection and group state distribution.
Controller role and switch action (#15929) lets devices move between active groups.
Group media player platform (#15948) controls playback for a whole group (volume, transport, repeat, shuffle) without producing audio itself.
Media source platform (#15950) plays synchronized audio, with fixed and runtime-tunable delay compensation for downstream DAC/amp latency.
Metadata text and numeric sensors (#15969, #15971) report title/artist/album plus a polling track-progress sensor designed to drive displays.
Stutter reduction via sendspin-cpp v0.4.0 (#16178) marks decoder paths hot, allows player buffers in internal memory, and raises the player task priority above the websocket server. Combined with the new audio codec configuration, this enables real-time stereo Opus playback on a plain ESP32.

Radio Frequency Entity Type

@kbx81 introduced a new top-level radio_frequency entity type (#15556) for representing RF transceivers in Home Assistant, alongside an ir_rf_proxy platform (#15744) that extends the existing infrared proxy with RF capability advertising (tunable frequency range, supported modulations).

A driver-agnostic on_control trigger (#16368) lets any RF front-end chip (CC1101, RFM69, SX127x, custom externals) integrate with radio_frequency entities through YAML triggers alone, with no custom C++ wiring required. Chip-state turnaround for transmit/receive is handled through remote_transmitter’s existing on_transmit / on_complete triggers, keeping radio_frequency itself driver-agnostic. The implementation shares wire messages with the IR proxy to conserve protobuf message IDs.

LVGL Improvements

@clydebarrow continued landing LVGL refinements throughout the release:

Flexible grid layouts (#16041) accept new shorthands like 3x (3 rows, columns auto-derived) and x4 (4 columns, rows derived from widget count). Either grid_rows or grid_columns can now be a single integer that expands to that many equal FR(1) cells.
Checked-state binary sensors (#16073) report toggle widget state directly, not just press state.
Percentage line points (#16209) make resolution-independent line widgets straightforward.
Touch coordinates in event lambdas (#16272). on_pressed, on_pressing, and on_release now receive an additional point parameter with object-relative coordinates.
on_update trigger and trigger: option (#16312) distinguish programmatic value changes from user interactions for numbers and sensors.

The standalone mapping component also gained default values and metadata for cross-component validation (#15861).

Zigbee Expanded to ESP32 H2 and C6

@luar123 brought ESP32-based Zigbee support to ESPHome in #11553, porting the standalone zigbee_esphome external component into core. The implementation runs on the radio-equipped ESP32-C6 and ESP32-H2 variants and publishes ESPHome binary_sensor entities as Zigbee binary_input clusters, recognized automatically by ZHA and zigbee2mqtt. Zigbee router and end devices are supported.

Follow-ups in this release expand the feature set:

Sensors over Zigbee (#16026) exposes ESPHome sensor entities through the analog Zigbee data model.
on_join trigger (#16060) fires when the device joins or rejoins the Zigbee network, with a bool indicating which case.
power_source option (#16062) lets devices advertise their power source (battery vs mains).

nRF52 and Zephyr Platform Improvements

@tomaszduda23 continued landing the work that turns nRF52/Zephyr into a first-class ESPHome target, with substantial follow-ups across deep sleep, Zigbee, OTA, and native builds:

Deep sleep with Zigbee wakeup (#13950) lets battery-powered nRF52 Zigbee devices sleep between events while still being woken by the radio.
nRF52 Zigbee router (#16034) extends the existing Zigbee end-device support to router devices.
Loop-wake primitives implemented (#16032): wake_loop_threadsafe() and wakeable_delay() now have real nRF52 implementations, so components that depend on these primitives (sockets, BLE, etc.) work the same way they do on ESP32.
Optional reset pin for DFU (#11684) makes the nRESET pin optional during DFU entry; less reliable, but feasible on boards that don’t break the pin out.
zephyr_ble_server numeric comparison pairing (#14400) adds the on_numeric_comparison_request trigger for secure BLE pairing flows.
Bootloader reserve area (#16204) carves out a dedicated flash region so bootloader updates don’t collide with app flash.
Crash logging on Zephyr (#16203, #16330) gives the logger a chance to print before reset, with a separate fix for a long-standing logger crash on Zephyr.
OTA-safe watchdog feeding (#16218) feeds the watchdog early during OTA so the device doesn’t roll back mid-update.
west update progress messaging (#16321) makes it clear when Zephyr is fetching modules rather than hanging.
Native build preparation (#16193) and run_compile hook for external components (#16179) set up the path for the nRF52/Zephyr toolchain to follow the same native build model as the new ESP-IDF pathway above.
CI coverage (#16188) adds nRF52 component tests so Zephyr-only changes actually get exercised in CI, and the Zephyr main loop drops a redundant yield() (#15694).

@rwrozelle landed two OpenThread fixes that ride along on the same platform pathway: a coroutine-with-priority COMMUNICATION profile (#16318) and removal of a stale freertos/portmacro.h include that broke builds against newer toolchains (#16338).

New Hardware and Display Support

ESP32-P4 USB High Speed (#14584) by @p1ngb4ck: a new max_packet_size option on usb_host lets ESP32-P4 use 512-byte USB transfers instead of being fragmented to 64-byte Full Speed packets.
Configurable ESP32 watchdog timeout (#15908) by @rwrozelle: esp32.watchdog_timeout accepts 5-60 seconds for power-managed configurations.
esp32_ble PSRAM allocation (#15644) by @edwardtfn: a use_psram: true option directs Bluedroid to allocate from SPIRAM, freeing approximately 40 kB of internal RAM on PSRAM-equipped ESP32 boards.
SPDIF speaker output (#8065) by @johnboiles: a new I2S-based SPDIF speaker platform sends digital audio to optical receivers via any GPIO pin.
modbus_server split (#15509) by @exciton: a new dedicated modbus_server component, with flash savings of roughly 60% over the old wedged-in server mode (1.8 KB vs 4.5 KB) and 40% off the client-mode modbus_controller (3.9 KB vs 6.4 KB).
New display variants: epaper SSD1683 + Goodisplay GDEY042T81 (#13910), Waveshare 3.97” e-paper (#15466), Waveshare ESP32-C6 LCD 1.47 (#15776), Sunton ESP32-2424S012 (#15812), Sunton 5”/7” mipi_rgb displays (#15858), Seeed reTerminal D1001 DSI display (#15867).
WiFi phy_mode for ESP8266 (#16055) lets users pin the radio to 11B, 11G, or 11N from YAML to work around routers that misbehave with ESP8266 802.11n associations.

BLE Reliability Fix for Bluetooth Proxies

@plazarre tracked down a long-standing status=0x85 (133) error class in #16036 that hit bluetooth_proxy users with sustained WiFi traffic, most visibly Yale/August lock owners. The fix tracks CONNECTED and ESTABLISHED clients (not just transient connecting states) and holds ESP_COEX_PREFER_BT for the lifetime of any active connection. Same lock, same firmware, before vs after the patch:

Heavy WiFi traffic: status=133 timeout after 19 s becomes status=0 success in 228 ms.
Production validation against a Yale BETA211123 lock with host BlueZ disabled: clean unlock via the patched proxy.

Other Notable Features

Voice assistant second audio channel (#16265) by @synesthesiam: a MULTI_CHANNEL_AUDIO feature flag and a second microphone source let voice-pipeline stages receive separately optimized audio.
config-hash CLI command (#15548) by @ccutrer: determines whether a re-flash is required by comparing a config hash to what is currently on the device.
round_to_significant_digits filter (#11157) by @gapple: useful for ambient-light style sensors that span six orders of magnitude.
AC dimmer zero-crossing interrupt type (#15862) by @aselafernando: user-configurable interrupt edge for zero-cross detection.
lock open states (#15120) by @egormanga: the lock entity gained OPENING and OPEN states.
SX126x cold sleep (#16144) by @swoboda1337: a new cold: option on the sleep action reaches ~0.6 µA (roughly 1000x lower than warm sleep) for ESP32-deep-sleep-paired use.
DSMR rewrite (#15875) by @PolarGoose removes the Crypto-no-arduino dependency, eliminates dynamic allocations during parsing, in-place decrypts (saving ~1500 bytes), fixes a potential event-loop hang, fixes a missing GCM tag verification (a security vulnerability), and adds several missing OBIS sensors.
Climate / water heater temperature unit API (#15815) by @jhenkens: protobuf-level support for native Fahrenheit operation; the C++ implementation is staged for a follow-up release.
Mitsubishi CN105 remote temperature API (#15558) by @crnjan: override the AC unit’s internal sensor with a value from an external sensor.
nRF52 optional reset pin (#11684) by @tomaszduda23: DFU entry without the nRESET pin (less reliable but feasible).

Codebase Correctness and Developer Tooling

A substantial sweep of correctness work landed alongside the features, led by @swoboda1337 (59 PRs this release) with help from @bdraco on the HAL split and CodSpeed coverage, @jpeletier on substitution error messages, and @Komzpa on reproducible builds.

clang-tidy 22.1 (#16078) replaces the years-old 18.1.8, surfacing latent issues across components.
Nested namespace concatenation (#16294-#16307) walks the entire component tree (a→c, d→h, i→m, n→r, s, t→z plus tests) collapsing namespace foo { namespace bar { ... } } into the modern namespace foo::bar { ... } and enabling the check to prevent regression.
bugprone-unchecked-optional-access fixes (#16102, #16103, #16107, #16121, #16124) eliminate a class of unchecked std::optional access bugs across sprinkler, pn532, feedback, time (CronTrigger), tormatic, and haier.
CodSpeed coverage expansion (#15593, #15688, #15696, #15995, #16157, #16402) adds benchmarks for hot helper functions, SubscribeLogsResponse encode, Z-Wave/IR/RF/serial proxy messages, and the compiled-config cache fast path. The benchmark target now matches firmware optimization level (-Os).
HAL split per platform (#15977, #15978, #16111-#16116, #16183) moves HAL bodies into per-platform files under components/<platform>/hal.cpp and inlines trivial dispatches.
Substitution error messages (#15874) by @jpeletier: undefined-variable errors now show a full include stack trace (Included from packages[3] in my_project.yaml 11:2) instead of a flat packages->3->packages->net->wifi->ssid path.
Reproducible ESP-IDF builds (#16008, #16053) make ESPHome builds bit-for-bit reproducible.

Thank You, Contributors

This release includes 395 pull requests from over 50 contributors. A huge thank you to everyone who made 2026.5.0 possible:

@swoboda1337 - 59 PRs including the seven-part nested-namespace clang-tidy sweep across the entire component tree, a clang-tidy 22 upgrade with the resulting correctness fixes, the SX126x cold sleep option, and substantial native ESP-IDF build polish
@kahrendt - 37 PRs including the audio stack rewrite on top of the new microMP3, microWAV, microFLAC, and microDecoder libraries, the ring_buffer helper component, the new audio_http media source, and the new Sendspin multi-room synchronized audio component family
@clydebarrow - 17 PRs including LVGL layout, gradient, percentage-line-point, touch-point, and on_update trigger improvements, new mipi_spi and mipi_dsi display models, and ESPNOW method-visibility cleanup
@jesserockz - 16 PRs including least-privilege workflow tokens, CI tooling tightening, and various build/release infrastructure improvements
@tomaszduda23 - 13 PRs including nRF52 + Zephyr native-build preparation, deep sleep with Zigbee wakeup, an nRF52 Zigbee router, and Zephyr OTA/watchdog/logger fixes
@Mat931 - 10 PRs including OTA partition-table and bootloader updates, the extended OTA protocol, safe_mode soft-brick recovery via the factory partition, and WatchdogManager fixes
@kbx81 - 7 PRs including the new experimental radio_frequency entity type, the ir_rf_proxy RF extension and driver-agnostic on_control trigger, and i2s_audio refactoring
@luar123 - 5 PRs expanding ESP32-based Zigbee support with binary sensors, sensors, the on_join trigger, and the power_source option
@crnjan - 5 PRs including mitsubishi_cn105 remote temperature API, half-degree setpoints, unified timeout handling, and vane / wide-vane support
@diorcety - 4 PRs including the native ESP-IDF toolchain support and ESP-IDF v6 readiness work
@rwrozelle - 3 PRs including the configurable ESP32 watchdog_timeout and OpenThread improvements
@Komzpa - 3 PRs making ESP-IDF and Arduino builds bit-for-bit reproducible
@egormanga - 2 PRs adding OPENING and OPEN states to the lock component and its API protocol
@guillempages - 2 PRs including the tm1637 brightness setter and Sunton mipi_rgb display definitions
@edwardtfn - 2 PRs including the esp32_ble use_psram option and a nextion TFT upload fix
@jpeletier - 2 PRs including the include-stack-trace substitution error messages and a remote-packages vars substitution fix
@PolarGoose - 2 PRs rewriting dsmr for performance, dropping the Crypto-no-arduino dependency, and adding missing sensors and a GCM tag verification fix
@johnboiles - the new SPDIF speaker output platform
@exciton - the new modbus_server component split out of modbus_controller
@plazarre - the esp32_ble_tracker coex fix that resolves long-standing status=133 GATT failures on bluetooth_proxy setups
@synesthesiam - the second audio channel for voice_assistant

Also thank you to @bdraco, @gapple, @lboue, @balloob, @Eelviny, @CircuitSetup, @ximex, @p1ngb4ck, @mikeytdisco, @angelnu, @puddly, @rwalker777, @TimoPtr, @Farmer-shin, @ccutrer, @SaVi456, @DidierA, @schdro, @rishabmehta7, @yvesf, @Bl00d-B0b, @jhenkens, @ruimarinho, @aselafernando, @dbl-0, @GelidusResearch, @oarcher, @RubenKelevra, @dmik, @ssieb, and @ggalt for their contributions, and to everyone who reported issues, tested pre-releases, and helped in the community.

Breaking Changes

Component Changes

Modbus: server mode has been split out of modbus_controller into a new modbus_server component. Move server_registers to registers and server_courtesy_response to courtesy_response under a top-level modbus_server: block #15509
API: default max_connections lowered from 8 to 5 on esp32, bk72xx, rtl87xx, and ln882x. Set api.max_connections explicitly if you need more than 5 concurrent API connections #15889
OTA (esphome platform): multiple ota: - platform: esphome entries with different port: values are now rejected at config time. Use a single entry on one port #15636
Output: FloatOutput runtime power scaling (min_power, max_power, zero_means_zero, output.set_min_power / output.set_max_power actions) is now gated behind a build flag. You are only affected if you call id(...).set_min_power(...) / set_max_power(...) / set_zero_means_zero(...) from a lambda without ever using the YAML keys or actions. Add min_power: 0% (or any of the other keys) to a single output: entry to re-enable the runtime setters; the build will emit a clear static_assert error with the fix when this applies #15998
Sensor: the throttle_average filter now rejects time_period values longer than 24 hours #16169

Audio Stack

Audio / Media Player / Speaker: WAV decoding is no longer always compiled in. WAV is still automatically enabled when you embed a WAV file, set format: WAV as the preferred pipeline format, or use the speaker media player with format: NONE. If you only ever play WAV from arbitrary URLs via YAML actions, add audio: codecs: wav: to your configuration #16244
Media Player / Speaker / Speaker Source: codec_support_enabled on the speaker media player is now inert and deprecated. Codec inclusion is determined from the pipeline format: setting (use format: NONE to include all codecs, equivalent to the old all mode; format: WAV is the closest equivalent to the old none/false mode) #14771
Speaker Media Player: files built into firmware via the files: block now have a 5 MB per-file size limit. Compress oversized files (or switch to a more efficient codec) before upgrading #16266

Behavior Changes

Core (main loop): every component’s loop() now actually runs at the configured loop_interval_ cadence (default ~62 Hz) instead of being pulled forward to ~128 Hz by unrelated scheduler activity. Background events (MQTT RX, USB RX, BLE, etc.) still wake their components within one tick. If your YAML implicitly depended on loop() being pulled forward by other scheduled work, components will now run less often; use HighFrequencyLoopRequester for fast wakes #15792
ESP32 BLE Tracker: ESP_COEX_PREFER_BT is now held for the full lifetime of any active BLE connection rather than reverting to balanced coex as soon as the handshake settles. This fixes status=0x85 / 133 GATT failures on bluetooth_proxy setups under heavy WiFi load (notably Yale/August locks). Configurations holding long-lived BLE connections (for example a ble_client persistent sensor) may see lower WiFi throughput while the connection is up #16036
One Wire: OneWireBus::skip() now performs a bus reset before issuing the SKIP ROM command, fixing a long-standing 1-Wire protocol violation that could cause unreliable readings (such as the DS18B20 power-on 25 °C / 85 °C values). External components or lambdas calling skip() must handle the new bool return value (false if reset/presence pulse failed) #14669

Undocumented API Changes

Breaking Changes for Developers

OneWireBus::skip() signature: now returns bool (true on successful presence pulse, false on reset/no-device); also performs a bus reset before the SKIP ROM command. Callers must handle the return value #14669
ComponentIterator::on_media_player is now pure virtual: subclasses that don’t handle media players must add an override { return true; } stub guarded by #ifdef USE_MEDIA_PLAYER #15618
Heap-allocating helpers moved to alloc_helpers.h/alloc_helpers.cpp: functions like str_lower_case, str_snprintf, format_hex, format_hex_pretty, format_mac_address_pretty, value_accuracy_to_string, base64_encode, base64_decode (vector overload), get_mac_address, get_mac_address_pretty and similar have been moved. helpers.h re-exports alloc_helpers.h for backward compatibility until 2026.11.0; update your includes before then #15623
PollingComponent() default constructor: now initializes to SCHEDULER_DONT_RUN (UINT32_MAX) instead of 1. External components that bypass codegen, call PollingComponent() with no argument, and never call set_update_interval() will stop polling. Pass an interval to the constructor or call set_update_interval() explicitly #15832
API clients_ storage: APIServer::clients_ changed from std::vector to compile-time std::array; the set_max_connections() runtime setter was removed and the cap is now the MAX_API_CONNECTIONS compile-time define populated from YAML #15889
FloatOutput power scaling members gated: min_power_, max_power_, zero_means_zero_ and the corresponding setters are now gated behind USE_OUTPUT_FLOAT_POWER_SCALING. Lambdas that call these setters require the YAML to opt in (see the user breaking-changes section); a compile-time static_assert documents the fix at the call site #15998
ESPNOW method visibility and naming: play() is now correctly protected (was public); some methods/properties have been renamed for consistency with the YAML triggers (e.g. broadcasted → broadcast). External components extending the ESPNOW classes will need to update method names and visibility expectations #16109
Climate ClimateTraits accessors removed: the 10 deprecated get/set_supports_* accessors (current_temperature, current_humidity, two_point_target_temperature, target_humidity, action) are gone after their 6-month window. Use add_feature_flags() / has_feature_flags() with the matching CLIMATE_* flag; note two_point_target_temperature maps to CLIMATE_REQUIRES_TWO_POINT_TARGET_TEMPERATURE #16289
EKTF2232 rts_pin migration shim removed: the schema-level rts_pin → reset_pin rename helper is gone; configs still using rts_pin get a generic schema rejection instead of the friendly renamed-to error #16289
Core ring buffer moved to ring_buffer helper component: include from esphome/components/ring_buffer/ring_buffer.h and use the esphome::ring_buffer::RingBuffer namespace instead of esphome::RingBuffer. The old esphome/core/ring_buffer.h location is deprecated with a 6-month removal window; add AUTO_LOAD = ["ring_buffer"] to your component’s codegen #16298

For detailed migration guides and API documentation, see the ESPHome Developers Documentation.

Release 2026.5.1 - May 25

Bump zeroconf from 0.149.12 to 0.149.13 esphome#16520 by @dependabot[bot]
Bump zeroconf from 0.149.13 to 0.149.16 esphome#16533 by @dependabot[bot]
[espidf] Filter noisy ‘git rev-parse’ errors when .git is stripped esphome#16521 by @swoboda1337
[espidf] Fix tarfile extract crashing on Python 3.11 with None mode esphome#16530 by @swoboda1337
[espidf] Write version.txt after extract so bootloader shows the real version esphome#16532 by @swoboda1337
[core] Persist & restore CORE.toolchain through StorageJSON esphome#16531 by @swoboda1337
[espidf] Backport ninja linux-arm64 entry into tools.json on aarch64 hosts esphome#16527 by @swoboda1337
[espidf] Default to remote HEAD when cg.add_library URL has no #ref esphome#16535 by @swoboda1337
[espidf] Honor the dict shorthand for library.json dependencies esphome#16537 by @swoboda1337
[esp32] Defer esp_panic_handler wrap so arduino-esp32 IDF component skips it esphome#16538 by @swoboda1337
[tuya] Restore null guard on status_pin lost in #16353 esphome#16539 by @swoboda1337
[api] Break api_connection/api_server include cycle to drop custom unique_ptr deleter esphome#16542 by @bdraco
[sx126x] Assert NSS before wait_busy so commands wake the chip from sleep esphome#16546 by @swoboda1337
[core] Refresh compiled config cache after upload/logs fallback esphome#16548 by @bdraco
[sendspin] Bump sendspin-cpp to v0.6.1 esphome#16553 by @kahrendt
[dashboard] Fix flaky test_websocket_refresh_command on Windows CI esphome#16565 by @bdraco
[libretiny] Fix LN882H IRAM_ATTR injection point in patch_linker.py esphome#16570 by @Bl00d-B0b
[esp8266] Use os_timer-based esp_delay() in delay() esphome#16563 by @bdraco
[uart] Wake main loop on ESP8266 software serial RX esphome#16562 by @bdraco
[esp32] Demote IDF #warning deprecations from error under ESP-IDF toolchain esphome#16584 by @swoboda1337
[bluetooth_proxy] Recover slot stuck in DISCONNECTING when CLOSE_EVT is dropped esphome#16588 by @bdraco
[esp32] Replace per-class -Wno-error=X demotes with blanket -Wno-error for ESP-IDF toolchain esphome#16599 by @swoboda1337
[esp32] Disable IDF’s COMPILER_DISABLE_DEFAULT_ERRORS so -Wno-error actually undoes -Werror esphome#16604 by @swoboda1337

Release 2026.5.2 - June 2

[writer] Mark storage_should_clean as public API for device-builder esphome#16443 by @bdraco
[esp32] Decode crash PCs via IDF toolchain on IDF builds esphome#16626 by @swoboda1337
[packages] Resolve git symlinks on Windows when materialized as text esphome#16657 by @jesserockz
[libretiny] Fix RTL8710B IRAM_ATTR section being dropped from flashed image esphome#16616 by @bdraco
[sx126x] fix a typo in image calibration on 863 - 870 Mhz frequency esphome#16731 by @Fyleo
[core] Persist esphome.area in StorageJSON esphome#16710 by @bdraco
[core] Clean build when the toolchain changes esphome#16744 by @swoboda1337
[api] Fix crash loop on VoiceAssistantConfigurationRequest esphome#16757 by @bdraco

Release 2026.5.3 - June 5

[remote_base] Fix RC5 decoding at either receive polarity esphome#16767 by @swoboda1337
[esp32][core] Restore ESP-IDF version on logs/upload fast path and clean build on framework change esphome#16770 by @swoboda1337
[rp2040] Fix lwipopts template load on Windows extended-length paths esphome#16783 by @swoboda1337
[esp32_ble_server] Fix duplicate Device Information Service with string UUIDs esphome#16784 by @swoboda1337

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2026.5.0 changelog.

ESPHome 2026.4.0: Faster ESP32 defaults and signed OTA

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

SPA06

Temperature & Pressure

BMP581

Temperature & Pressure

HDC2080

Temperature & Humidity

Mitsubishi CN105 Climate

EmonTx

Voltage & Current & Power & Energy & Temperature

Text component Text Sensor

Number Sensor

RP2040 Ethernet

nRF52 Internal Temperature

Temperature

Release Overview

ESPHome 2026.4.0 delivers major performance and reliability improvements across all platforms. ESP32 devices default to maximum CPU frequency (33% faster API operations), unlock 40KB extra IRAM, signed OTA verification, and custom partition tables. ESP8266 gets a crash handler matching ESP32/RP2040, and a new client-side state logging architecture achieves up to 46x faster sensor publishing by moving log formatting off the device. Bluetooth Proxy advertisement forwarding (the constant hot path) dropped to just ~1.8% of main loop time on ESP32-C3. 31 PRs prepare the codebase for ESP-IDF 6.0, and CodSpeed benchmarking infrastructure now catches performance regressions before they ship. The substitution system has been redesigned for up to 18x faster config loading with dynamic !include paths, Ethernet expands with 5 new chip types across ESP32 and RP2040, and GPIO expanders gain interrupt-driven operation cutting idle I2C traffic by 99.7%. This release also adds LVGL v9.5.0, native Mitsubishi CN105 climate control, 4 new sensor components, and a esphome bundle CLI command to assist with remote compilation.

Upgrade Checklist

If you use LVGL with rotation configured on the display component, move the rotation setting to the lvgl: block, and remove touchscreen transform:.
If you use the i2s_audio media player, migrate to the speaker media player component (the i2s_audio media player has been removed)
If you use use_legacy in your i2s_audio config, remove it (the legacy I2S driver has been removed)
If you have battery-powered ESP32/S2/S3/C5 devices, add cpu_frequency: 160MHZ to your config (the default is now 240MHz)
If you have two YAML keys that resolve to the same substituted name, note that the later key now takes precedence (“last writer wins”)
If you use sen5x with voc_baseline, remove it (it was dead code that never worked; use store_baseline: true instead)
If you use rp2040_pio_led_strip with chipset: CUSTOM, use explicit bit0_high/bit0_low/bit1_high/bit1_low timing parameters instead
If you use Nextion get_wave_chan_id() in lambdas, switch to get_wave_channel_id() (the old method is deprecated, removal in 2026.10.0)
If you use sensor.raw_state in lambdas, migrate to using filtered state or on_raw_value triggers (.raw_state is deprecated)
If you maintain external components that call TEMPLATABLE_VALUE macro-generated setters with raw C++ constants, route values through cg.templatable() in Python codegen
If you maintain external components using ButtonPressTrigger, SensorStateTrigger, or similar trigger classes, migrate to build_callback_automation()
If you maintain external components using FlushResult, rename to UARTFlushResult with UART_FLUSH_RESULT_ prefix

ESP32 Performance and Security Improvements

Several ESP32 platform changes improve performance, security, and flexibility.

Default CPU Frequency Raised to Maximum (#15143):

ESP32, ESP32-S2, ESP32-S3, and ESP32-C5 now default to 240MHz instead of 160MHz. This restores the performance level that Arduino users had before May 2025 and delivers ~34% faster CPU-bound operations:

API encryption handshake: 90ms to 64ms (29% faster)
Protobuf encoding (BLE proxy): 34% faster
Noise encryption: 33-34% faster across all payload sizes

Users on battery power or with thermal constraints can override with cpu_frequency: 160MHZ. This is a breaking change as it increases power consumption on affected variants.

ESP32 crash handler improvements: The existing crash handler now captures backtraces from both cores on dual-core ESP32 variants (#15559) and preserves crash data across OTA rollback reboots (#15578).

40KB extra IRAM on original ESP32 (#14874): A new option reclaims 40KB of previously reserved SRAM1 as IRAM, expanding the flash cache window and reducing cache misses for WiFi, BLE, and API operations, at no cost to heap. ESPHome will automatically detect your bootloader version at boot and suggest enabling this option only when it is safe to do so. Do not enable this option without the bootloader check confirming it is safe; enabling it with a pre-v5.1 bootloader will brick the device (requiring USB reflash to recover). See the ESP32 documentation for details.

Signed OTA verification (#15357): New signed_ota_verification option enables firmware signature verification during OTA updates without requiring hardware Secure Boot (eFuse burning). Two workflows are supported:

Private key mode (signing_key) - Firmware is automatically signed during build. Simplest setup.
Public key mode (verification_key) - Only the public key is embedded; binaries are signed externally (e.g., in CI/CD with the private key in a secure vault).

esp32:
  framework:
    type: esp-idf
    advanced:
      signed_ota_verification:
        signing_key: secure_boot_signing_key.pem
        signing_scheme: rsa3072

Custom partition tables (#7682): Components and YAML configs can now define custom data/app partitions that are appended to the flash layout. The partition table generation has been unified across Arduino and IDF, and NVS has been moved to the end of flash with increased size (20KB to 384KB on Arduino). See the ESP32 documentation for details.

ESP-IDF 5.5.4 and Arduino 3.3.8 (#15666, #15705): Platform bumped to pioarduino 55.03.38-1 with ESP-IDF 5.5.4 and Arduino 3.3.8. PlatformIO is now run in a subprocess to isolate its virtualenv from ESPHome, preventing import errors after build.

ADC crash fix (#15717): ADC oneshot control functions are now placed in IRAM for cache safety. Previously, ADC reads could crash when flash cache was disabled during background NVS writes by WiFi, BLE, Zigbee, Thread, or power management.

Web server OTA brick hazard fix (#15720): Fixed a long-standing brick hazard in the captive portal and web server OTA flow where an interrupted upload followed by a retry could write concatenated firmware to flash, producing an invalid image that soft-bricked the device and required a serial flash to recover. The OTA backend now resets on each new upload.

mDNS crash fix (#15670): Bumped espressif/mdns to 1.11.0, fixing heap corruption when processing sustained mDNS browse traffic that caused deterministic LoadProhibited crashes, and a null pointer exception in mdns_parse_packet.

ESP8266 Crash Handler, Without a Serial Cable

Completing the platform coverage started in 2026.3.0 (which added crash handlers for ESP32 and RP2040), ESP8266 devices now have the same post-mortem crash diagnostics (#15465). When a device crashes, the exception details and up to 16 stack-scanned backtrace addresses are saved to RTC memory and reported over the API on the next boot. No USB cable required; crash data appears in esphome logs (which automatically decodes addresses to source locations via addr2line) and the Home Assistant log viewer, entirely over WiFi.

[E][esp8266]: *** CRASH DETECTED ON PREVIOUS BOOT ***
[E][esp8266]:   Reason: Exception - StoreProhibit (exccause=29)
[E][esp8266]:   PC: 0x40212EC5
[E][esp8266]:   EXCVADDR: 0x00000000
[E][esp8266]:   BT0: 0x40212F5A
[E][esp8266]:   BT1: 0x40203B10

The PC is the program counter where the crash occurred, EXCVADDR is the memory address that caused the fault, and BT0/BT1/etc. are the stack backtrace showing the call chain leading to the crash. When using esphome logs, these addresses are automatically decoded to source file and line numbers via addr2line, so you see the actual function names instead of raw hex.

No configuration needed; it’s automatically enabled for all ESP8266 devices. Resource cost is minimal: 0 bytes RAM, 119 bytes IRAM, ~1KB flash.

Client-Side State Logging

State change logging has been fundamentally redesigned to eliminate the single biggest CPU bottleneck on every ESPHome device (#15155).

Every entity state change ('CO2' >> 420 ppm, 'Light' - Setting ON) previously ran vsnprintf on the device to format a log string and sent it over UART, even when nobody was watching the serial console (which is 99.9% of devices). CodSpeed benchmarks revealed this was consuming 95%+ of sensor publish time.

State change logs are now reconstructed on the client instead of the device. When esphome logs or the dashboard connects, it subscribes to compact protobuf state messages and formats them locally. The protobuf messages are a fraction of the size of formatted strings, and formatting happens on your computer instead of the microcontroller. This achieves up to 46x faster in the publish path, with flash savings of 1.4KB (ESP32-C3) to 2.2KB (ESP8266). State changes still appear in logs as [S] lines in bright cyan:

[18:03:14.677][S][sensor]: 'CO2' >> 420 ppm
[18:03:14.677][S][sensor]: 'Temperature' >> 35.63 °C
[18:03:51.747][S][light]: 'Light' >> ON

A new --no-states flag (#15160) lets users suppress state change lines entirely for the first time, useful for debugging when the log is flooded with sensor readings. Users who need the old device-side state logging can opt back in by setting logger: level: VERBOSE.

Preliminary ESP-IDF 6.0 Compatibility

This release includes 31 pull requests preparing ESPHome for ESP-IDF 6.0, which brings GCC 15, picolibc, and significant API changes from Espressif. Led by @swoboda1337, this effort touches cryptography, drivers, and toolchain compatibility across the entire codebase. While ESP-IDF 6.0 is not yet the default framework version, these changes ensure ESPHome is ready when it ships. All related PRs are tagged with the idf-6 label.

PSA Crypto API migration:

IDF 6.0 deprecates the legacy mbedTLS crypto APIs. All ESPHome cryptographic operations have been migrated to the new PSA Crypto API:

SHA-256 hashing (#14809)
HMAC-SHA256 (#14814)
BLE tracker PSA Crypto (#14811)
BTHome/Xiaomi BLE CCM decryption (#14816)
DLMS meter GCM decryption (#14817)

Driver and API compatibility fixes across 20+ components:

WiFi, ADC, LEDC, RMT (LED strips, remote transmitter/receiver), MIPI DSI, PSRAM, I2S audio, I2C, deep sleep, MQTT, USB host, OpenTherm timer, ethernet, debug, and camera components all updated for IDF 6.0 API changes

Toolchain compatibility:

PicoLibC std::isnan conflict resolved (#14768)
vfprintf printf stub fixed for picolibc (#15172)
Implicit int-to-gpio_num_t conversions fixed for GCC 15 (#14830)
Legacy I2S driver removed in preparation for IDF 6.0 where it no longer exists (#14932)

Substitution System Overhaul

Led by @jpeletier, the YAML configuration system receives two major improvements that make complex, multi-file configurations far more powerful and faster to load.

Substitutions in !include paths (#12213): You can now use substitution variables and Jinja expressions directly in !include filenames, enabling dynamic file selection:

substitutions:
  eth_model: LAN8720

packages:
  - !include network/${eth_model}/config.yaml

This works with command-line substitutions too, allowing the same YAML to target different hardware configurations without duplicating files.

18x faster config loading (#14918): The substitution engine has been redesigned to perform all variable substitutions in a single linear pass instead of the previous multi-pass approach. This achieves up to 18x faster config load times for large projects with many packages and includes. The rewrite also fixes several edge cases where cross-file variable references (${A * B} mixing local and root variables) were unreliable. Note that merge_config argument order for duplicate substituted keys has changed to “last writer wins.”

Ethernet Expansion

Building on RP2040/RP2350’s first-class platform support in 2026.3.0, this release dramatically expands Ethernet support across platforms, adding 5 new chip types and bringing SPI Ethernet to the RP2040 platform for the first time. RP2040 boards like the WIZnet EVB-Pico series can now be used as wired IoT controllers without WiFi.

New RP2040 Ethernet Support:

W5500 (#14820) - 100Mbps SPI Ethernet, stress tested with 344 successful API connections on a WIZnet W5500-EVB-Pico
W5100/W5100S (#15131) - 10/100Mbps SPI Ethernet for boards like the W5100S-EVB-Pico
W6100 and W6300 (#15543) - Next-generation WIZnet controllers with IPv6 support for boards like the W6300-EVB-Pico2

Cross-Platform Additions:

ENC28J60 (#14945) - Microchip’s widely-available 10BASE-T controller now supported on both ESP32 (IDF) and RP2040

ESP32 Improvements:

SPI interface selection (#10285) - New interface config variable lets ESP32 users select spi2 or spi3 host, resolving conflicts with display components on boards like the M5Stack CoreS3

GPIO Expander Interrupt Support

The PCF8574, PCA9554, MCP23008/MCP23017, MCP23S08/MCP23S17, PI4IOE5V6408, MCP23016, PCA6416A, and TCA9555 GPIO expander components now support an optional interrupt_pin that eliminates I2C/SPI polling entirely (#15444, #15445, #15616, #15614, #15613).

Supported Expanders:

PCF8574, PCA9554, PCA6416A, TCA9555 - I2C GPIO expanders
MCP23008, MCP23017, MCP23S08, MCP23S17, MCP23016 - I2C and SPI GPIO expander family
PI4IOE5V6408 - I2C GPIO expander

Measured Impact (ESP32-IDF, PCF8574 + 3 binary sensors):

Metric	Polling	Interrupt	Improvement
I2C reads/min (idle)	4100ms	12ms	99.7% reduction
Loop iterations per gate cycle	7477	16	468x fewer
Binary sensor read time	~0.6ms (I2C)	~0.002ms (cache)	300x faster

When configured, binary sensors return from cache (no bus reads) between interrupts, and the main loop is completely disabled until a pin change occurs. The MCP23x17 automatically enables the MIRROR bit so a single interrupt wire catches changes on all 16 pins.

pcf8574:
  id: my_pcf8574
  interrupt_pin: GPIO16

Performance Benchmarking with CodSpeed

This release introduces comprehensive C++ benchmarking infrastructure using CodSpeed, enabling continuous performance tracking and regression prevention. While initially added to protect the gains from 2026.3.0, the benchmarks quickly revealed remaining bottlenecks and drove a wave of targeted optimizations throughout this release cycle.

Benchmarks added:

Protobuf encoding/decoding (API messages, BLE advertisements, ListEntities)
Noise encryption handshakes and payload encryption
Sensor, binary sensor, light, cover, climate, fan, number, select, switch, text_sensor, and button publish/call paths
Scheduler interval and timeout operations
Plaintext and encrypted API frame writes

API layer optimizations (the native API is the primary communication path between ESPHome devices and Home Assistant). The goal was to make Bluetooth Proxy lightweight enough that every ESP32-C3 can run it without worrying about performance impact, and this release delivers: combined with changes from 2026.3.0, the API and BLE proxy advertisement forwarding (the constant hot path) now consume only ~1.8% of main loop runtime on ESP32-C3, down from ~3.3% in 2026.3.0 and a fraction of what it was a year ago:

Protobuf encoding: 17-20% faster with register-optimized write path (#15290)
Precomputed tag bytes: Varint and length-delimited field tags computed at compile time (#15067)
Frame write hot path: Peeled first write iteration, inlined socket writes, zero-gap batch encoding. Single sensor state writes 72% faster, batch writes 21% faster, stack frame reduced from 352 to 48 bytes (-86%) (#15063)
Varint encoding optimized: Plaintext varint encoding and write_protobuf_packet devirtualized (#14758)
Command dispatch devirtualized: Eliminates virtual call overhead on every incoming API message (#15044)
Protobuf decode non-virtual: ProtoDecodableMessage::decode() devirtualized (#15076)
Constant-size varint codegen: max_value proto option eliminates variable-length encoding for bounded fields (#15424)
Entity name/object_id optimized: max_data_length proto option for known-bounded string fields (#15426)
Fixed32 decode: Uses memcpy on little-endian platforms instead of byte-shifting (#15292)
Raw tag+value writes: Forced fixed32 key fields emit raw bytes (#15051)
Float zero checks: Integer comparison instead of floating-point (#15490)
Code size reduction: Buffer and nodelay optimizations (#14797)
Overflow buffer extracted: Frame helper buffer management simplified (#14871)
Noise encryption speedup: Continuing from the ChaCha20-Poly1305 optimization in 2026.3.0 (which achieved 8-32% faster encryption), this release enables HAVE_WEAK_SYMBOLS and HAVE_INLINE_ASM for libsodium, replacing a volatile byte-by-byte sodium_memzero() fallback with word-sized memset(). Small messages (the common case for sensor updates and service calls) see the biggest gains: 24% faster on ESP32, 11% on ESP8266, 10% on RP2040 (#15038)
Noise handshake: Split state_action_ to reduce stack pressure (#15464)
PSK update: Avoided heap allocation in timeout lambda (#14921)
Batch encoding: Simplified encode_to_buffer to single resize call, inlined DeferredBatch::add_item (#15355, #15353)
Enum auto-derivation: Auto-derive max_value for enum fields in protobuf codegen (#15469)
Sub-message inlining: New (inline_encode) proto option inlines small sub-messages directly into parent encoders, eliminating function pointer indirection. Applied to BluetoothLERawAdvertisement (encoded up to 12 times per BLE batch): 40-55% faster BLE advertisement encoding (#15599)
speed_optimized hot paths: New proto option emits __attribute__((optimize("O2"))) on specific encode paths so they remain inlined even under firmware’s default -Os flag. Applied to SensorStateResponse, BluetoothLERawAdvertisementsResponse, and SubscribeLogsResponse: BLE advertisement calculate_size is an additional 41% faster, with similar gains for sensor state and log encoding (#15691, #15698)

Core framework optimizations:

Scheduler: Integer math for interval offset calculation, reschedules fired intervals directly into the heap, early-exit cancel path, and inlined fast-path checks (#14755, #15516, #14902, #14905)
Main loop inlined: Application::loop() and calculate_looping_components_ inlined to eliminate stack frames (#15041, #14944)
std::bind eliminated: Replaced across 20+ components with lambdas to fit within small-buffer optimization (#14961 and related PRs)
Automation call chain collapsed: The Trigger::trigger() → Automation::trigger() → ActionList::play() forwarding chain is force-inlined, collapsing 3 stack frames into 1. Combined with ControllerRegistry dispatch inlining and call_loop_ removal, a button→lambda automation went from 16 stack frames to 10, significantly reducing stack overflow risk on devices with deep automation chains (#15042, #15173, #14931)
IfAction compile-time optimization: HasElse parameter eliminates the else-branch check at compile time when no else block is configured (#15134)
Logger: Reduced per-message overhead by inlining hot path helpers (#14851)
errno caching: Avoids duplicate __errno() calls across API, async_tcp, captive_portal, and web_server_idf (#14751)
Loop elimination: Many components were running their loop() every single main loop iteration just to check a condition or timestamp. These have been converted to event-driven patterns that only run when needed:
- web_server: Loop completely disabled when no SSE clients are connected; most devices have zero browser clients 99%+ of the time (#15428)
- total_daily_energy: Replaced loop() with a single timeout that fires at midnight (#15432)
- CronTrigger: Replaced loop() with set_interval (#15433)
- preferences: Loop compiled out entirely when flash_write_interval is non-zero (#14943)
- GPIO expanders (PCF8574, PCA9554, MCP23xxx, PI4IOE5V6408): Loop disabled when all pins are outputs (#15455, #15460)
- sx127x, cc1101, sx126x: Use GPIO interrupt to wake the loop instead of polling, with loop disabled entirely when packet mode is inactive (#15627, #15606)
- hbridge light: Loop only runs when both cold and warm white channels are active and multiplexing is needed; disabled for single-channel or off states (#15615)
Bluetooth Proxy: BLE event handler dispatch devirtualized, eliminating virtual call overhead on every BLE advertisement and GATT event (#15310). BLE is_active/is_running inlined and STL bloat removed (#14875). Advertisement flushing replaced loop() (which ran ~7,400 times/60s just to check a timestamp) with set_interval(100ms) so the flush logic only runs when needed (~600 times/60s), eliminating ~6,800 wasted iterations per minute (#15347)
Devirtualization: Preferences backend, PollingComponent::set_update_interval (#14825, #14938)
Light: Reciprocal multiply in normalize_color, pass LightTraits to avoid redundant virtual calls (#15401, #15403)

CodSpeed runs on every pull request and push to dev, providing a continuous baseline that catches regressions before they ship. It was CodSpeed’s benchmark visualization that revealed vsnprintf was consuming 95%+ of sensor publish time, leading to the client-side state logging change that achieved a 46x speedup on the sensor publish path. Visit codspeed.io/esphome/esphome to explore the benchmark results. Thank you to CodSpeed for providing their service free to open source projects.

Memory Optimizations

Driven by the increased visibility from benchmarking and memory analysis tooling, this release includes significant RAM and flash savings across the framework.

Component allocations moved from heap to BSS (#15079): This is a major architectural change; all component instances (new_Pvariable) are now allocated via placement new into statically-sized BSS storage instead of individual heap allocations. Previously, every component, sensor, automation, and filter was a separate new call, fragmenting the heap over time. Now these allocations are packed into a single contiguous BSS region, freeing heap space for WiFi, BLE, and network buffers that genuinely need dynamic allocation. This eliminates hundreds of small heap allocations per device and significantly reduces heap fragmentation on long-running devices.

ESPHome’s CI automatically runs a home-grown memory impact analysis on every pull request, showing contributors the exact flash and RAM impact of their changes before merging. Previously, component memory was invisible to this tooling because it was all allocated at runtime on the heap. Once the BSS change landed, every component’s memory became a statically-visible symbol that the CI could measure and attribute. The analyze-memory tool was extended to attribute placement new storage symbols back to their owning components (#15092), making it easy to spot which components still had room for improvement. This visibility drove the wave of targeted optimizations below.

Core framework savings:

Component base class: Shrunk from 12 to 8 bytes per instance, saving ~200-400 bytes across typical configs (#15103)
CallbackManager: Replaced std::function (16 bytes) with lightweight Callback (8 bytes) across all callback registrations. Small lambdas like [this] are now stored inline in the function pointer context with zero heap allocation, covering 96% of all callback registrations. Measured +488 bytes free heap on an ESP8266 config with MQTT + web_server + many entities (#14853). A follow-up replaced std::vector with a trivial-copy container, eliminating per-signature template instantiations of vector reallocation machinery and saving 996 bytes of flash on ESP8266 plus 4 bytes of RAM per CallbackManager instance (#15272)
Trigger trampolines eliminated across 23 components: Previously, every on_press, on_value, on_state, etc. automation instantiated a separate Trigger object just to forward a callback, a 4+ byte heap-allocated object that existed solely to hold a pointer. A new build_callback_automation() pattern collapses the trigger into a pointer-sized forwarder struct stored inline in the callback manager, eliminating the separate allocation entirely. The initial PR (#15174) migrated the core entity types (button, sensor, binary_sensor, switch, text_sensor, number, event) saving 88-208 bytes RAM, then 22 follow-up PRs migrated alarm_control_panel, lock, media_player, ld2450, rtttl, online_image, rotary_encoder, dfplayer, hlk_fm22x, pn532, pn7150/pn7160, sim800l, fingerprint_grow, ltr_als_ps, ltr501, nextion, ezo, haier, modbus_controller, rf_bridge, factory_reset, sml, and safe_mode
TemplatableValue → TemplatableFn: The function-pointer pattern was first proven on LightControlAction, shrinking each instance from 128 to 72 bytes (44% reduction, saving 616 bytes RAM on an ESP8266 light config with 11 actions) (#15132). This was then generalized codebase-wide: ~340 TEMPLATABLE_VALUE fields automatically dropped from 8 to 4 bytes each by storing function pointers instead of tagged unions (#15545)
ActionList: Removed actions_end_ pointer to save RAM per automation (#15283)

Entity and component savings:

Binary sensor: Removed redundant optional<bool> state, saving 8 bytes per instance (#15095)
Text sensor: raw_callback_ gated behind USE_TEXT_SENSOR_FILTER, saving 4 bytes per instance when unused (#15097)
Light: Reordered LightState fields to eliminate padding (#15112)
GPIO binary sensor: Packed fields and removed redundant last_state_ (#15113)
GPIO switch: Compiled out interlock fields when unused (#15111)
Climate/Fan: Custom mode vectors stored on entity directly, eliminating heap allocation (#15206, #15209)
WebServerBase: Reduced by 4 bytes (#15251)
Runtime stats: Stored inline on Component, eliminating std::map lookup (#15345)

Heap allocation elimination:

Sensor filters: OrFilter, CalibrateLinearFilter, CalibratePolynomialFilter, ValueList, FilterOut, ThrottleWithPriority migrated to std::array (#15262, #15263, #15264, #15265)
Text sensor filters: SubstituteFilter and MapFilter migrated to std::array (#15266, #15269)
Automation conditions: And, Or, Xor conditions migrated to std::array (#15282)
PID: Replaced std::deque with FixedRingBuffer (#14733)
Sensor sliding window: Replaced with FixedRingBuffer (#14736)

ESP8266 RAM savings:

API dump strings: Moved to PROGMEM (#14982)
Logger: Log level lookup tables and task log buffer moved to PROGMEM/BSS (#15003, #15153)

Config Bundle for Remote Compilation

The new esphome bundle CLI command packages a YAML config and all its local dependencies (fonts, images, certificates, local external_components, secrets) into a self-contained .esphomebundle.tar.gz archive (#13791). This is the foundation for remote compilation support, enabling devices like the Home Assistant Green to offload compilation to a remote build server.

Key Features:

Automatic dependency discovery - Finds all referenced files (YAML includes, fonts, images, animations, certificates, C++ includes, web assets)
Secrets filtering - Only includes secrets actually referenced by bundled YAML files
Deterministic archives - Sorted entries and zeroed timestamps for reproducibility
Incremental builds - Preserves PlatformIO build caches across re-extractions

esphome bundle my_device.yaml              # Create bundle
esphome bundle my_device.yaml --list-only  # Preview files
esphome compile my_device.esphomebundle.tar.gz  # Compile from bundle

LVGL v9 Upgrade

Led by @clydebarrow with 27 PRs, ESPHome’s LVGL integration has been upgraded from v8 to LVGL v9.5.0 (#12312). This is a major library migration that brings a new rendering pipeline, improved performance, and new widget capabilities. Existing configurations should compile and run, though some properties are deprecated.

Key changes:

Native rotation with hardware acceleration - Rotation is now handled directly by LVGL instead of the display driver, with runtime rotation changes via lvgl.display.set_rotation and automatic use of hardware rotation when available. On ESP32-P4, rotation uses the PPA (Pixel Processing Accelerator) for zero-CPU-cost transforms (#14955, #15453).
Automatic touchscreen rotation - Touch input is automatically rotated to match display orientation, eliminating the need for manual coordinate transforms in most cases. Users will need to move their rotation config from the display component to the lvgl: block, and remove or adjust the transform: block in the touchscreen component.
Built-in dark theme - A single dark_mode: true under theme: enables LVGL’s native dark default theme, replacing the tedious process of manually replicating dark theme properties (#15389)
All LVGL 9 events - Complete mapping of LVGL 9 events to ESPHome automation triggers (#15362)
Drop shadow support - New bitmap_mask_src style property and A8 image format for drop shadow effects (#15334)

New Sensors and Hardware Support

This release adds support for several new sensors and hardware platforms:

SPA06-003 by @danielkent-net - Goermicro digital pressure and temperature sensor with both I2C and SPI interfaces, available from Adafruit and Seeed Grove (#14521, #14522, #14523)
HDC2080 by @G-Pereira - Texas Instruments temperature and humidity sensor (#9331)
emonTx by @FredM67 - OpenEnergyMonitor emonTx/emonPi energy monitoring via UART serial bridge, with JSON triggers and command actions (#9027)
BMP581 SPI support by @danielkent-net - The BMP581 pressure sensor now supports SPI in addition to I2C (#13124)
BMP585 support by @nytaros - Adds the newer BMP585 ASIC ID to the BMP581 component (#15277)
ESP32-C61 PSRAM - Quad mode PSRAM support at 40MHz and 80MHz (#14795)
Internal temperature for nRF52 Zephyr by @Ardumine (#15297) and LN882H by @Bl00d-B0b (#15370)

Other Notable Features

Number-to-sensor and text-to-text_sensor bridges - New read-only sensor/text_sensor views of number/text components for use in automations and displays (#15125, #15090)
ESP32 Hosted SPI transport - SPI transport and 1-bit SDIO bus width support for the esp32_hosted WiFi offloading component (#15551)
Nextion custom protocol triggers - on_custom_switch, on_custom_sensor, on_custom_text_sensor, on_custom_binary_sensor triggers for event-driven Nextion workflows without entities (#13248)
MQTT alarm panel JSON payloads - Alarm control panel command topic now accepts JSON payloads with PIN codes, e.g. {"state": "DISARM", "code": "1234"} (#14731)
Media player enqueue action - New media_player.enqueue action for queueing media URLs from automations (#14775)
MIPI RGB optional sync pins - hsync_pin/vsync_pin now optional for displays like the BigTreeTech PandaTouch (#14870)
Brennenstuhl remote switches - New 433MHz rolling code protocol for Brennenstuhl comfort-line switches (#9407)
DSMR thermal MBUS id - New thermal_mbus_id option for Warmtelink heat meters (#7519)
VBus DeltaSol CS4 - Support for Citrin Solar 1.3 controller (#12477)
TM1637 buffer manipulation - set_buffer method for raw segment writes and custom glyphs (#13686)
HUB75 scan wiring - New SCAN_1_8_32PX_FULL wiring option (#15130)
*/N cron syntax - Time-based automations now support */5 style step expressions (#15434)
microFLAC audio decoding by @kahrendt - New FLAC decoder is 9% faster on ESP32-S3 with CRC validation re-enabled, plus true streaming support that eliminates unnecessary memory copies (#15372)

Mitsubishi CN105 Climate Component

Built by @crnjan across 5 PRs, the new mitsubishi_cn105 component brings native support for controlling Mitsubishi A/C units through the CN105 connector, one of the most requested climate integrations in ESPHome. The component implements the same CN105 protocol used by the popular SwiCago HeatPump project, ensuring compatibility with the same range of devices (#15315, #15358, #15437, #15462, #15483).

Key Features:

Full climate control - Power, mode, target temperature, and fan speed can be controlled directly from Home Assistant
Non-blocking protocol driver - Custom UART parser designed for performance and reliability
Smart temperature polling - The current_temperature_min_interval option rate-limits room temperature reads to prevent rapid oscillations near measurement boundaries while keeping a fast update_interval for responsive control
Broad platform support - Works on ESP32, ESP32 IDF, ESP8266, and RP2040/RP2350

climate:
  - platform: mitsubishi_cn105
    name: "Air Condition"
    uart_id: ac_uart
    update_interval: 1s
    current_temperature_min_interval: 60s

Codebase Correctness Sweep

Continuing the correctness sweep started in 2026.3.0, @swoboda1337 contributed another 99 bug fix and validation PRs in this release, addressing missing state_class and device_class on sensor schemas, incorrect config validation (wrong types, missing range checks, broken ensure_list usage), dead code removal, format specifier warnings, and codegen type mismatches across 100+ components. This sustained effort has significantly improved the reliability and correctness of the ESPHome codebase.

Thank You, Contributors

This release includes 507 pull requests from over 40 contributors. A huge thank you to everyone who made 2026.4.0 possible:

@swoboda1337 - 121 PRs including a correctness sweep across 100+ components, ESP-IDF 6.0 compatibility across dozens of components, and the ESP32 CPU frequency default change
@clydebarrow - 27 PRs including the LVGL v9.5.0 migration, native rotation support, and display component improvements
@edwardtfn - 14 PRs including Nextion custom protocol triggers, performance optimizations, and code quality improvements across the Nextion component
@jpeletier - 10 PRs including the substitution system redesign for 18x faster config loading and !include path substitution support
@kbx81 - 10 PRs including signed OTA verification without hardware secure boot, IR receiver frequency metadata, and sensor code cleanups
@kahrendt - 7 PRs including the media player enqueue action, microFLAC decoding, and audio pipeline improvements
@danielkent-net - 5 PRs including the new SPA06-003 pressure/temperature sensor (I2C and SPI) and BMP581 SPI support
@crnjan - 5 PRs building the new Mitsubishi CN105 climate component from scaffold to full read/write control
@exciton - 4 PRs including modbus helper refactoring and integration tests
@jesserockz - 4 PRs including CI improvements and unbounded percentage validators
@diorcety - 4 PRs including git subpath support and compiler compatibility fixes
@FredM67 - 2 PRs including the new emonTx energy monitoring component
@tomaszduda23 - 2 PRs including debug peripherals status and Zigbee logging improvements
@P4uLT - 2 PRs including PID FixedRingBuffer optimization
@Kamilcuk - 2 PRs including placement new allocation for Pvariables
@luar123 - custom ESP32 partition tables and partition table refactoring
@G-Pereira - the new HDC2080 temperature and humidity sensor

Also thank you to @bdraco, @thomwiggers, @aanban, @rtyle, @Szewcson, @Pernotto, @mike1703, @tuct, @CFlix, @heythisisnate, @warthog618, @FWeinb, @droscy, @intcreator, @szupi-ipuzs, @fblaese, @glmnet, @nytaros, @Ardumine, @rguca, @Bl00d-B0b, @RAR, @Passific, and @Tomer27cz for their contributions, and to everyone who reported issues, tested pre-releases, and helped in the community.

Breaking Changes

Platform Changes

ESP32 CPU frequency: Default CPU frequency changed to maximum supported per variant (ESP32/S2/S3/C5: 160MHz to 240MHz). This improves performance ~33% but increases power consumption. Battery-powered devices should add cpu_frequency: 160MHZ to their config. #15143
ESP32 partition table: Partition layout changed for both Arduino and IDF frameworks. NVS moved to end of flash with increased size (20KB to 384KB on Arduino). Existing devices will get the new partition table on next OTA update. NVS data is preserved since the library finds it by name, not position. #7682
ESP8266 RTC preferences: RTC preferences capacity reduced from 96 to 78 words to accommodate the new crash handler. Overflow goes to flash. Very unlikely to affect real configs. #15465

Component Changes

LVGL rotation: The rotation option must now be configured under lvgl: instead of the display component. LVGL now handles rotation for the display and touchscreen directly, with support for runtime rotation changes via lvgl.display.set_rotation. Users must move their rotation setting from the display config to the lvgl: block. #14955 and remove or adjust the transform: block in their touchscreen config if they have one.
I2S Audio: The legacy I2S driver (use_legacy option) has been removed. The new I2S driver is always used. The i2s_audio media player sub-component has been removed entirely; users should migrate to the speaker media player component. #14932
Binary Sensor multi_click: on_multi_click timing sequences are now limited to 255 entries (previously unlimited). No real config would approach this limit. #15267
Binary Sensor autorepeat: Autorepeat timing lists are now limited to 254 entries (previously unlimited). No real config would approach this limit. #15268

Configuration System Changes

Substitutions: When two YAML keys in the same dict resolve to the same substituted name, the later-appearing key’s value now takes precedence (“last writer wins”). Previously, the existing resolved value took precedence on dict merges. This only affects the edge case of duplicate substituted keys. #14918

Undocumented API Changes

Several internal C++ APIs have changed in this release. While these are not part of the public API, they may affect users who write lambdas or maintain external components.

Component and Preferences Infrastructure

Component: set_component_source(const LogString *) removed and replaced with protected set_component_source_(uint8_t). The warn_if_blocking_over_ field changed from uint16_t (milliseconds) to uint8_t (centiseconds). Component base class shrunk from 12 to 8 bytes. #15103
Preferences: ESPPreferenceBackend and ESPPreferences abstract base classes removed. They are now type aliases to concrete platform-specific final classes. All existing code using global_preferences or ESPPreferenceObject continues to work unchanged. #14825

Automation Trigger Changes

Trigger classes removed: ButtonPressTrigger, SensorStateTrigger, SensorRawStateTrigger, PressTrigger, ReleaseTrigger, StateTrigger, StateChangeTrigger, SwitchStateTrigger, SwitchTurnOnTrigger, SwitchTurnOffTrigger, TextSensorStateTrigger, TextSensorStateRawTrigger, NumberStateTrigger, and EventTrigger are no longer instantiated. Lambdas using trigger_id to access these objects will break. Use Script for action control instead. The Automation::trigger_ protected field was also removed. #15174

TemplatableValue Changes

TemplatableValue for non-string types: No longer accepts stateful lambdas (lambdas with captures). No external usage was found. If you need a stateful callable, use std::function<T(X...)> directly. The TEMPLATABLE_VALUE macro now uses TemplatableFn (4 bytes) for trivially copyable types. #15545

Component-Specific Changes

Nextion: get_wave_chan_id() deprecated in favor of get_wave_channel_id() (removal in 2026.10.0). Getter methods now return by const reference instead of by value. get_queue_type_string() returns const char * instead of std::string. Waveform-related methods are now gated behind USE_NEXTION_WAVEFORM and may not be available if no waveform sensors are configured. #15204, #15273
ATM90E32: get_phase_angle_() return type changed from uint16_t to float (fixes precision loss). last_periodic_millis member removed (was never used). #15238
AS5600: Dead angle_sensor_, raw_angle_sensor_, position_sensor_ members and their setters removed (were never wired to config schema). #15254
SEN5x: voc_baseline config option removed (was never wired to C++). Use store_baseline: true instead. #15391
Graph: legend config no longer accepts a list (only the first element was ever used). Single-value configs continue to work. #15522
Haier: control_method config no longer accepts a list. Single-value configs continue to work. #15523
RP2040 PIO LED Strip: CUSTOM removed from chipset enum (it crashed at compile time). Use explicit timing parameters (bit0_high, bit0_low, bit1_high, bit1_low) instead. #15537

Breaking Changes for Developers

CallbackManager: std::function replaced with lightweight Callback type. Existing code continues to work but external components should migrate callback registration methods from std::function parameters to templates for optimal performance (non-template methods fall back to a heap-allocation path). #14853
PollingComponent: set_update_interval() is now non-virtual. Subclasses overriding this method should use alternative patterns. #14938
UART FlushResult: FlushResult renamed to UARTFlushResult with UART_FLUSH_RESULT_ prefix for enum values. #15101
Sensor raw_state: .raw_state is deprecated. raw_callback_ is now gated behind USE_SENSOR_FILTER, saving RAM on every sensor instance when no filters are configured. #15094
Trigger trampolines eliminated: Trigger objects for common entity automations (button, sensor, binary_sensor, switch, text_sensor, number, event) are no longer instantiated. build_automation() and Trigger subclasses remain available. #15174
TemplatableFn: TEMPLATABLE_VALUE macro now uses 4-byte TemplatableFn for trivially copyable types. External components calling macro-generated setters with raw C++ constants instead of going through cg.templatable() will fail to compile. #15545
Climate/Fan custom modes: Custom mode/preset vectors are now stored on the entity instead of heap-allocated. Constructors for climate and fan traits have changed. #15206, #15209
Trigger migrations to callback automation: alarm_control_panel, lock, and media_player triggers now use callback automation pattern. #15198, #15199, #15200
BLE event dispatch: BLE event handler dispatch is devirtualized. #15310
wake_loop: Moved from socket component into core. #15446
Preferences devirtualized: ESPPreferenceBackend and ESPPreferences are now type aliases to concrete platform-specific classes (no virtual base). #14825
Component shrunk from 12 to 8 bytes: set_component_source(const LogString *) removed and replaced with set_component_source_(uint8_t) (protected). #15103
AS5600: Dead angle, raw_angle, and position sensor code removed. #15254
Modbus helpers: Shared helper functions refactored across modbus components. #15291, #14172

For detailed migration guides and API documentation, see the ESPHome Developers Documentation.

Release 2026.4.1 - April 20

[core] Fix app_state_ status bits clobbered for non-looping components esphome#15658 by @bdraco
[core] Inline feed_wdt hot path with out-of-line slow path esphome#15656 by @bdraco
[st7789v] Fix swapped offset_width/offset_height in model presets esphome#15755 by @swoboda1337
[sx126x][sx127x] Fix frequency precision loss from float32 codegen esphome#15753 by @swoboda1337
Bump aioesphomeapi from 44.15.0 to 44.16.0 esphome#15757 by @dependabot[bot]
[lvgl] Clean the build if lv_conf.h changes esphome#15777 by @clydebarrow
[mitsubishi_cn105] use HEAT_COOL mode to enable temperature slider esphome#15748 by @crnjan
[core] Diagnose missing cg.templatable in codegen for TEMPLATABLE_VALUE fields esphome#15758 by @bdraco
[time] Fix RTC is_valid() rejecting valid times after day_of_year cleanup esphome#15763 by @bdraco
[qmc5883l] Move per-update log line from DEBUG to VERBOSE esphome#15781 by @swoboda1337
[bundle] Force-resolve nested IncludeFile during file discovery esphome#15762 by @bdraco
[ili9xxx] Guard against null buffer in display_() when allocation fails esphome#15786 by @bdraco
[esp32] Accept unquoted minimum_chip_revision values esphome#15785 by @swoboda1337
[lvgl] Guard lv_image_set_src wrapper with LV_USE_IMAGE esphome#15789 by @swoboda1337
[mipi_spi] Drawing fixes for native display esphome#15802 by @clydebarrow
[image] Fix byte order handling esphome#15800 by @clydebarrow
[core] coerce set_interval(0) / update_interval: 0ms to 1ms esphome#15799 by @bdraco
[ethernet] Fix SPI3_HOST default breaking compile on variants without SPI3 esphome#15809 by @swoboda1337
[core] Fix DelayAction compile error with non-const reference args esphome#15814 by @bdraco
[esp32] Downgrade unneeded ignore_pin_validation_error to a warning esphome#15811 by @swoboda1337
[runtime_image] Fix RGB order esphome#15813 by @clydebarrow
[lvgl] Fix crash with snow on rotated display esphome#15822 by @clydebarrow
[core] Feed WDT unconditionally in main loop to fix empty-config panic esphome#15830 by @bdraco
Bump aioesphomeapi from 44.16.0 to 44.16.1 esphome#15836 by @dependabot[bot]
[core] Default PollingComponent() to 1ms when codegen is bypassed esphome#15831 by @bdraco
[substitutions] Fix substitutions: !include file.yaml regression esphome#15850 by @bdraco
[packages] Improve error messages with include stack and fix missing path propagation esphome#15844 by @jpeletier

Release 2026.4.2 - April 23

[lvgl] Fix format of hello world page esphome#15868 by @clydebarrow
[lvgl] Fix overloads for setting images on styles esphome#15864 by @clydebarrow
[lvgl] Fix update of textarea attached to keyboard esphome#15866 by @clydebarrow
[image] Fix rodata bloat for multi-frame RGB565+alpha animations esphome#15873 by @swoboda1337
[core] Fix Pvariable placement new losing subclass identity esphome#15881 by @swoboda1337
[ld2412] Fix null deref in set_basic_config when entities unconfigured esphome#15893 by @swoboda1337
[esp32] Add Secure Boot V1 ECDSA signing scheme for pre-rev-3.0 ESP32 esphome#15882 by @kbx81 (new-feature)
[io_expanders] Self-heal interrupt-driven expanders when INT stays asserted across the read esphome#15923 by @swoboda1337
[usb_uart] Derive TX output chunk count from buffer_size config esphome#15909 by @kbx81

Release 2026.4.3 - April 28

[lvgl] Triggers on tabview tabs fix esphome#15935 by @clydebarrow
[time] Handle Windows EINVAL when validating POSIX TZ strings esphome#15934 by @jesserockz
[deep_sleep] Fix sleep_duration codegen type to uint32_t esphome#15965 by @bdraco
[wifi] Fix stale wifi.connected after state transition esphome#15966 by @bdraco
[rotary_encoder][at581x] Fix templatable int field types esphome#16015 by @bdraco
[esp32][wifi] Fix bootloop and WiFi connection issue if nvs partition is missing or has non-default label esphome#16025 by @Mat931
[nextion] Unify TFT upload ack timeout to 5000ms esphome#15960 by @edwardtfn
[esp32_touch] Feed wdt esphome#16066 by @jesserockz
[image] Fix RGB565+alpha rendering for multi-frame animations esphome#16017 by @bdraco

Release 2026.4.4 - May 5

[automation] Fix codegen type for component.resume update_interval esphome#16069 by @bharvey88
[mcp23xxx_base] Reject unsupported interrupt_pin options (inverted, allow_other_uses) esphome#16149 by @bdraco
[core] Strip \?\ prefix from sys.executable for PlatformIO subprocess esphome#16158 by @jesserockz
[esp32] Replace 512B stack buffer in printf wraps with picolibc cookie FILE esphome#16170 by @bdraco
[lvgl] Clamp values for meter line indicators esphome#16180 by @clydebarrow
[esp32] Drop printf wrap on IDF 6.0+ (picolibc no longer needs it) esphome#16189 by @bdraco
[api] Fall back to owning types for service array args used after a delay esphome#16140 by @bdraco
[api] Use safe_print for log output and fix safe_print bytes-repr fallback esphome#16160 by @jesserockz

Release 2026.4.5 - May 7

[ha-addon] Add opt-in toggle for the new ESPHome Device Builder esphome#16247 by @jesserockz
[bundle] Include secrets.yaml when !secret keys are quoted esphome#16271 by @bdraco
[substitutions] Fix sibling references inside dict-valued substitutions esphome#16273 by @bdraco
[core] Fix WiFi connection in safe mode esphome#16269 by @Mat931
[nextion] Fix text sensor state not updated on string response esphome#16280 by @edwardtfn

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2026.4.0 changelog.

ESPHome 2026.3.0: Performance overhaul and first-class RP2040

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Serial Proxy

Media Source Core

Audio File Media Source

Audio File

HDC302x

Temperature & Humidity

SEN6x

Particulate & Temperature & Humidity & VOC & NOx & CO2

RP2040 BLE

Dew Point

Release Overview

ESPHome 2026.3.0 is a performance-focused release with deep optimizations across the entire stack. The main loop is up to 99x faster on socket polling, light gamma correction is 8-10x faster, API protobuf encoding is 6-12x faster, and millis() is 2.5x faster, all reducing CPU overhead and improving responsiveness, especially on single-core chips and Bluetooth proxy devices. Flash savings of 11-20KB+ are achieved through printf wrapping, scanf removal, timezone refactoring, and aggressive devirtualization.

Alongside the performance work, a redesigned media player architecture with pluggable sources, playlists, and Ogg Opus support ships together with RP2040/RP2350 reaching first-class platform support — pico-sdk 2.0, 143+ board definitions, BLE foundations, crash diagnostics, and captive portal. A long-standing LWIP use-after-free bug that caused heap corruption crashes on ESP8266 (and RP2040) has been fixed — both platforms now pass stress testing. An 86-fix codebase correctness sweep from @swoboda1337 addresses buffer overflows, millis() overflow bugs, uninitialized variables, and logic errors across 100+ components. ESP32 gains an automatic crash handler that captures backtraces across reboots and reports them over the API — no serial cable needed. ESP32-P4 and ESP32-C5 gain expanded hardware support, nRF52 gets BLE OTA, and new components include SEN6x, HDC302x, dew point, and serial proxy.

Upgrade Checklist

If you use opentherm with the opentherm_version config key, rename it to opentherm_version_controller
If you use speaker media player and stream audio via hardcoded URLs (not through Home Assistant), set codec_support_enabled: all to keep all codecs available
If you have an ESP32-P4 engineering sample (pre-rev3), add engineering_sample: true to your esp32: config
If you use sgp30 sensors, plan for up to 12 hours of recalibration after update as stored baselines will be invalidated by a serial number fix
If you use nextion TFT uploads over slow networks, set tft_upload_http_timeout to a higher value (default changed from 15s to 4.5s)
If you use time component and have lambdas calling ::mktime(), ::strftime(), setenv("TZ", ...), or tzset() directly, update them to use ESPHome’s ESPTime API
If you use on_multi_click, on_click, on_double_click, or count edges in on_press / on_release on a physical button wired to the gpio binary_sensor without a debounce filter, add a delayed_on_off: 20ms filter (or delayed_on / delayed_off) to that sensor’s filters: list. Most users already follow the documented guidance; this only affects configs that skipped it. The instant-ISR-wake change (#14383) means mechanical switch bounce now reaches downstream automations instead of being swallowed by the slow loop poll cadence. See debouncing values.

Main Loop Performance Overhaul

This release delivers a major performance overhaul to the core event loop, reducing CPU overhead and improving responsiveness across all platforms.

Socket Polling: Up to 99x Faster on ESP32

The lwip_select() system call has been replaced with direct LwIP socket reads and FreeRTOS task notifications on ESP32 (#14249). The old select() call cost ~133 us per loop iteration due to internal locking overhead. The new pre-sleep scan costs just ~1.3 us (99x faster), the active poll path costs ~7.5 us (17x faster), and the wake mechanism dropped from ~130 us to ~1.8 us (72x faster), freeing ~1.55% of total CPU time. On single-core chips (ESP32-C3, C6, H2), this directly improves BLE scan responsiveness by eliminating mutex contention with the WiFi/BLE stacks. The optimization was also extended to all LibreTiny platforms (bk72xx, rtl87xx, ln882x) (#14254), where real-world testing showed WiFi connection times dropping from up to 60s to under 30s.

Instant ISR Wake

GPIO binary sensors and touch sensors now wake the main loop immediately from interrupts instead of waiting up to ~16ms for the select timeout (#14383). UART wake-on-RX was also redesigned — replacing a FreeRTOS task + event queue (~3.9KB heap per UART) with a direct ISR callback at essentially zero cost (#14382). With the new near-zero-cost mechanism, wake-on-RX is now enabled by default on all ESP32 UARTs (#14391), and ESP8266 gained ISR wake support for GPIO binary sensors (#14392).

Native 64-bit Time and Faster millis()

A new millis_64() HAL function provides 64-bit uptime across all platforms, replacing the Scheduler’s rollover tracking (#14339). On ESP32, this reads esp_timer_get_time() directly (26 bytes, lock-free) instead of the 193-byte rollover reconstruction path. RP2040 uses time_us_64() from the hardware timer (#14356), and Host uses clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC) (#14340). ESP8266 and LibreTiny use a lightweight software rollover tracker. Components like uptime and web_server now call millis_64() directly from hal.h instead of going through App.scheduler.

The millis() function itself — called once per component per loop iteration — was also optimized with a Euclidean decomposition that eliminates the __udivdi3 software 64-bit division routine, achieving 2-2.5x speedup on every call (#14409).

Loop Call Overhead

The main loop now calls component->loop() directly instead of going through call() → call_loop_() → loop(), eliminating 2 unnecessary function frames per component per iteration (#14451). On a device with 120 looping components, that’s 240 function frames removed per loop cycle. Trivial component state accessors (get_component_state(), is_failed(), etc.) were moved to inline header definitions, eliminating function call overhead for what amounts to single-byte loads (#14425). The is_high_frequency() check, called every loop iteration, was also inlined (#14423).

Cached Connection Checks

WiFi is_connected() now caches connection state as a simple bool field, eliminating expensive SDK calls on every invocation (#14463). The network::is_connected() and EthernetComponent::is_connected() functions were moved to headers as inline (#14464). OpenThread connection state is now updated via callback instead of polling with a mutex lock on every loop (#14484). The API server’s is_connected() was split into an inline fast path for the common no-arg case and an out-of-line path for state subscription checks, important for the BLE proxy hot path (#14574).

RP2040/RP2350: First-Class Platform Support

The RP2040/RP2350 platform takes a major step toward first-class support in this release. The arduino-pico framework jumps from 3.9.4 to 5.5.0, bringing pico-sdk 2.0 and the GCC 14 toolchain (#14328). RP2350 (Pico 2 W) is now verified on real hardware with WiFi, debug sensors, and OTA all working, and the platform gains the same reliability, tooling, and developer experience that ESP32 users expect.

What the framework update brings:

RP2350 hardware verified - Pico 2 W tested with WiFi, debug sensors, and OTA all working (429KB free heap)
143+ board definitions (up from 3) auto-generated from the arduino-pico repository, including all RP2350 variants (#14528)
WiFi reliability fixes - Proper CYW43 link status detection, non-blocking WiFi join, and correct disconnect cleanup

New Capabilities:

BLE foundation - New rp2040_ble component initializes BTstack on Pico W/Pico 2 W boards, laying the groundwork for BLE scanning and Bluetooth proxy support with only ~17KB overhead (#14603)
BOOTSEL upload via picotool - esphome upload now detects RP2040 devices in BOOTSEL mode, uploads with real-time progress, and automatically starts log output after reboot (#14483)
HardFault crash handler - See the Crash Handlers section below for details (#14685, #14716)
Hardware UART with single pin - RP2040 now supports configuring a hardware UART with only TX or only RX, useful for one-way serial protocols (#14725)
ADC fix for RP2350 - Fixed a PICO_VSYS_PIN compile error on RP2350 boards when using the ADC component (#14724)
Socket wake support - The fast select optimization was ported to RP2040, enabling efficient socket polling without lwip_select() overhead (#14498)
WiFi AP and captive portal - WiFi AP mode and AP+STA fallback now work reliably on RP2040/RP2350, with 7 WiFi fixes in arduino-pico 5.5.1 (#14500). The captive portal component was also enabled for the platform (#14505)

Reliability:

LWIP PCB use-after-free fixed - A long-standing bug where tcp_close() left the PCB alive during the TCP close handshake, allowing LWIP recv/err callbacks to fire with dangling pointers after the socket object was destroyed, has been fixed (#14706). This caused umm_malloc_core heap corruption crashes that have plagued ESP8266 reliability for years, and also affected RP2040. Both platforms now pass the 500-iteration rapid connect/disconnect stress test with 4 concurrent clients.
TCP race condition fixed - A critical race between lwip IRQ callbacks and the main loop on Pico W was identified and fixed, preventing heap corruption under concurrent API connections (#14679)
Accept-in-IRQ heap corruption fixed - Socket accept callbacks on RP2040 no longer allocate memory in IRQ context, eliminating crashes under rapid connect/disconnect stress testing (#14687)
OTA timeout fixed - OTA updates on ESP8266 and RP2040 no longer time out under load; switched from polling to SO_RCVTIMEO for reliable socket reads (#14675)
mDNS restart after WiFi reconnect - mDNS on RP2040 now correctly restarts after WiFi reconnects, fixing service discovery failures (#14737)
I2C bus selection - Fixed RP2040 I2C bus selection to correctly choose the hardware I2C peripheral based on pin assignment (#14745)
Debug reset reason - The debug component now correctly reports the reset reason on RP2040/RP2350 (#14740)

Flash and Performance:

9.2KB flash savings from printf stub optimization (#14622)
Native millis_64() using the hardware timer, eliminating software rollover tracking (#14356)
Faster millis() via optimized 64-bit division, 2-2.5x faster on every call (#14409)

Note: The framework update is a breaking change for external components using old pico-sdk APIs (e.g., padsbank0_hw renamed to pads_bank0_hw, SerialPIO::NOPIN is now just NOPIN).

LibreTiny Platform Improvements

The LibreTiny platforms (BK72xx, RTL87xx, LN882x) received a significant reliability and performance overhaul this release.

lwIP Memory Tuning (~26KB freed on BK72xx):

The SDK-default lwIP buffer sizes were tuned for WiFi Alliance throughput certification, not IoT devices. TCP_SND_BUF at 10xMSS (14.6KB per chunk) caused OOM on BK7231N when ESPAsyncWebServer allocated response buffers. Switching to system heap allocation (MEM_LIBC_MALLOC=1, MEMP_MEM_MALLOC=1) and right-sizing buffers freed ~26.5KB on BK7231N and ~20.2KB on RTL87xx (#14186). This also fixes OTA slowness on BK72xx caused by dedicated heap fragmentation during MSS-sized pbuf allocations. Socket counts are now auto-calculated from component registrations instead of hardcoded.

BK72xx Loop Stalls Fixed:

The BK72xx main task ran at FreeRTOS priority 3, below all WiFi (4-5) and LwIP (4) tasks, causing ~100ms loop stalls whenever WiFi background processing ran. Raising the priority to 6 (matching RTL87xx’s effective priority) dropped loop times from ~110ms to ~14ms (#14420).

Other Improvements:

BK72xx -Os optimization - ESPHome source code now compiles with -Os on BK72xx while the SDK stays at -O1, improving flash usage without triggering SDK bugs (#14322)
Fast select optimization - The ESP32 socket polling optimization was ported to all LibreTiny platforms, with real-world WiFi connection times dropping from up to 60s to under 30s (#14254)
Direct SDK SSID retrieval - WiFi SSID queries now call vendor SDK functions directly instead of going through Arduino’s String-allocating WiFi.SSID() (#14349)

nRF52 Platform Improvements

The nRF52 platform gains critical OTA and debugging capabilities, thanks to @tomaszduda23.

BLE and Serial OTA:

The new zephyr_mcumgr component enables over-the-air updates via BLE or serial using the MCUmgr protocol (#11932). This is a major step forward for nRF52 devices which previously lacked wireless update support.

Crash Debugging:

Early boot debug messages are now available on nRF52, including boot reason logging and last crash PC/LR values stored in a no-init buffer (#11685). The logger waits up to 10 seconds for the CDC port to open, ensuring no early logs are lost.

BLE NUS UART:

The ble_nus component now supports bidirectional UART communication over Bluetooth, compatible with tools like ble-serial (#14320).

Scheduler Performance

The scheduler drives all timers, intervals, and deferred callbacks on every device. This release includes 7 targeted optimizations:

Defer queue lock halving - Lock acquisitions reduced from 2N+1 to N+1 for N deferred items, with the lock skipped entirely when the queue is empty (the common case) (#14107)
Relaxed memory ordering - Atomic reads under the scheduler lock now use relaxed ordering since the lock already provides the necessary memory barrier (#14140)
Atomic bool fix - GCC on Xtensa generated indirect function calls for std::atomic<bool>::load() instead of inlining it. Switching to std::atomic<uint8_t> eliminated 5 indirect calls on the hot path, saving 30 bytes (#14626)
Raw pointer lifecycle management - Replaced unique_ptr<SchedulerItem> with explicit lifecycle management, eliminating 608 bytes of STL template instantiations (__adjust_heap, _M_realloc_append, etc.) and adding debug leak detection (#14620)
De-templated helpers - Consolidated scheduler helper functions to reduce code duplication (#14164)
Rvalue std::function - Scheduler callbacks are now passed by rvalue reference, avoiding unnecessary copies (#14260)
millis_64 extracted - The 32-bit rollover tracking code was moved out of the Scheduler into its own module, removing the dependency on App.scheduler being initialized and allowing defer() items to skip the millis_64() call entirely (#14360)

API and Protobuf Performance

The native API communication layer received over 20 targeted optimizations this release, particularly benefiting Bluetooth proxy devices where protobuf encoding is the dominant CPU cost.

Encoding Pipeline:

Direct buffer writes - Protobuf encoding now writes through raw pointers to pre-sized buffers instead of push_back(), achieving 6-12x faster encoding in benchmarks (#14018)
Protobuf devirtualization - encode() and calculate_size() are resolved at compile time instead of through virtual dispatch, achieving 2x faster calculate_size() on sensor state messages and 2.5x less CPU time in the API component (#14449)
Single-pass BLE advertisement encoding - Eliminates 24 redundant calculate_size() calls per BLE proxy flush, reducing encode time by 28% (#14575)
Zero-fill elimination - A custom APIBuffer replaces std::vector<uint8_t> for protobuf buffers, skipping unnecessary zero-initialization before every message encode, reducing API component CPU time by 43% on BLE proxy devices (#14593)
Force proto fields - BLE advertisement fields known to be non-default skip zero checks, saving 13% on calculate_size() for BLE batches (#14610)

Parsing and Dispatch:

Varint 32/64-bit split - Varint parsing uses fast 32-bit arithmetic for the common case (1-4 byte values), with 64-bit only when BLE fields require it, 25-50% faster on common paths (#14039)
Varint fast paths inlined - Protobuf varint parsing and encoding hot paths were inlined for zero function-call overhead in tight loops (#14607, #14638)
Frame helper devirtualization - When only one API protocol is configured (plaintext-only or noise-only), virtual dispatch is eliminated for all frame operations (#14468)
Noise data path optimized - Redundant state machine checks eliminated from every packet read/write in the noise protocol path (#14629)
Keepalive ping outlined - The keepalive/disconnect cold path was extracted from APIConnection::loop(), reducing the hot loop body by 30% (374 to 263 bytes on Xtensa) since this code only fires once per minute (#14374)

Encryption:

ChaCha20-Poly1305 optimized for embedded - ESPHome-maintained patches to libsodium replace unaligned byte loads with aligned 32-bit loads in the poly1305 and chacha20 implementations (#14632). On Xtensa, each unaligned LOAD32_LE decomposed into 4 byte-load instructions plus shifts; the patched path uses direct aligned loads. Every encrypted API packet benefits: 8-32% faster across all platforms (32% on ESP32, 24% on ESP32-S3, 21% on ESP32-C3, 12% on RTL87xx, 10% on ESP8266/BK72xx, 8% on RP2040, measured with 1KB packets).

Network Layer:

Socket layer overhaul - The entire socket abstraction was devirtualized, converting the virtual base class to concrete per-platform types (BSDSocketImpl, LwIPSocketImpl, LWIPRawImpl) with zero virtual methods (#14398). The compiler now fully inlines hot-path socket methods (read, write, writev, ready) directly into API frame helpers and OTA chunk handlers, eliminating vtable loads on every packet. Saves ~3KB flash on ESP32. Socket pointer caching (#14408) further inlined the entire ready() chain to ~30 bytes with zero function calls.
Handshake timeout - 15-second timeout for completing API handshakes prevents connection slot exhaustion from stale half-open connections (#14050)
Inlined send buffer fast path - The try_to_clear_buffer() check on every send_buffer() call is now inlined, avoiding a function call when the TX buffer is already clear (#14630)
TCP_NODELAY fast path - Setting TCP_NODELAY now bypasses the expensive lwip_setsockopt overhead by writing directly to the PCB flags (#14693)

BLE Event Processing:

BLE event hot path optimized - Eliminated redundant operations in the ESP32 BLE event processing loop, including short-circuiting dropped-count checks (4 instructions instead of ~25 in the common case) and removing redundant event release calls (#14627)

Light Optimizations

Runtime powf() calls in light gamma correction have been replaced with pre-computed PROGMEM lookup tables generated at compile time (#14123). A 5-channel RGBWW light transition frame dropped from 349 us to 36 us on ESP32 (8-10x faster) and from 456 us to 58 us on ESP8266. Addressable lights also save 512 bytes of heap per instance - the RAM gamma tables are eliminated entirely. The powf math library (~2.3KB flash) is no longer pulled into the binary for lights.

Light color interpolation now uses a lightweight lerp_fast instead of std::lerp (#14238), and static effect names are resolved to integer indices at code generation time instead of runtime string matching, saving 632 bytes on ESP8266 (#14265).

The powf elimination extends beyond lights - a new pow10_int() helper replaces powf(10, exp) in sensor filters and accuracy normalization, achieving up to 22x faster computation on ESP8266 and saving 3.1KB flash (#14114).

Logger Optimizations

The logger received 7 targeted optimizations recovering wasted RAM and reducing per-log-call overhead:

UART heap waste eliminated - Removed the unused FreeRTOS event queue and oversized RX buffer from uart_driver_install() on ESP32, recovering ~595 bytes of heap (#14168)
TX buffer compile-time sized - The transmit buffer is now an inline array instead of a separate heap allocation, consolidating two allocations into one (#14205)
Loop disable fix - The logger’s no-op loop() was running ~114x/s on all ESP32-S2/S3/C3/C5/C6/H2/P4 variants due to a wrong preprocessor guard (USE_LOGGER_USB_CDC instead of USE_LOGGER_UART_SELECTION_USB_CDC) (#14158)
LogListener devirtualized - Replaced the LogListener abstract class with a lightweight LogCallback struct (function pointer + instance pointer), eliminating vtable overhead from every class that implemented it (#14084)
Logger and trigger marked final - Enables the compiler to devirtualize calls to loop(), dump_config(), and get_setup_priority() (#14291)
Faster line number formatting - Replaced division-based formatting with subtraction loops, 1.8x faster on ESP8266 (no hardware divider) and 1.44x faster on ESP32-C3 (#14219)
Hot path optimized - Eliminated null-check and call frame indirection from every log call, with early log detection in debug builds (#14538)

Memory and Flash Optimizations

Several significant optimizations reduce firmware size and RAM usage across all platforms.

Timezone Overhaul (~9.5KB flash on ESP32, ~2% RAM on ESP8266):

The entire libc timezone infrastructure has been replaced with a lightweight 32-byte struct parser (#13635). Previously, ESPHome pulled in libc’s scanf family (~9.8KB), environment variable infrastructure, and double-stored timezone data just to parse a string it already knew. The new implementation also provides consistent cross-platform timezone behavior with 126 unit tests, eliminating differences between newlib versions on different chips. Lambdas using ::mktime() or setenv("TZ", ...) directly may need to be updated.

Platform	Flash Savings	RAM Savings
ESP32-IDF	~9.5KB	136 bytes
ESP8266	~4.1KB	~850 bytes
LibreTiny	~4.7KB	148 bytes
RP2040	~3.7KB	148 bytes

printf/scanf Wrapping:

ESP32 printf wrapping saves ~11KB flash - printf(), vprintf(), and fprintf() are wrapped with lightweight stubs that redirect through vsnprintf(), eliminating newlib’s _vfprintf_r dead code (#14362)
ESP8266 scanf removal saves ~8KB flash - The forced -u _scanf_float linker flag has been removed, garbage-collecting the entire unused scanf family (#13678)
ESP8266 printf stubs save ~1.6KB flash (#14621)
RP2040 printf stubs save ~9.2KB flash (#14622)

JSON Serialization Without Heap Allocation:

JSON serialization for web_server, MQTT, and API responses now uses a stack-first SerializationBuffer that handles 99.9% of payloads (up to 640 bytes) without any heap allocation (#13625). Previously, every JSON response built a std::string on the heap. The new buffer falls back to heap only for unusually large payloads (40+ select options, extreme climate presets). User service string arguments also switched from std::string to StringRef (#13974).

Preferences Heap Churn Eliminated:

Most preference saves (switches, fans, covers, numbers, rotary encoders) now use a small inline buffer instead of heap-allocating for every save operation (#13259). A union-based SmallInlineBuffer<8> stores data inline when 8 bytes or smaller, eliminating heap fragmentation from repeated preference writes on long-running devices.

Entity String Packing:

Entity string properties (device_class, unit_of_measurement, icon) were packed into PROGMEM-indexed uint8_t fields stored in struct padding bytes, replacing per-entity const char* pointers (#14171). This saves 8-12 bytes per entity with zero extra memory cost since the indices fit in alignment padding. Measured: +3,084 bytes free heap on ESP32-S3 (large config), +369 bytes on ESP8266. Application name and friendly_name were also converted from std::string to StringRef, saving 416-2,508 bytes flash and +308 bytes free heap on ESP8266 (#14532).

ESP8266 PROGMEM Optimizations:

Icon strings moved to flash - Saves ~27 bytes per unique icon (~1KB for a config with 40 icons) (#14437)
Device class strings moved to flash - Same treatment applied to device class strings, with deduplicated handling across MQTT and API (#14443)
Static strings auto-wrapped in PROGMEM via TemplatableValue (#13885)
Entity setup calls consolidated - set_name + set_entity_strings merged into a single configure_entity_() call, saving 124 bytes flash on a ~30 entity config (#14444)
IRAM freed - Removed unnecessary IRAM_ATTR from yield(), delay(), feed_wdt(), and arch_feed_wdt(), freeing ~22 bytes IRAM on ESP8266 (#14063)

ESP-IDF 5.5.3:

ESP-IDF has been bumped to 5.5.3 (#14122), fixing long-standing BLE bugs from 5.5.1 and 5.5.2 where Bluetooth would stop working on ESP32 devices. Users who experienced BLE connectivity drops or Bluetooth proxy failures should see these resolved. A follow-up bump to 5.5.3.1 (#14147) fixed a Bluedroid compile error, allowing the workaround that unconditionally enabled GATTS to be reverted.

Framework and Core Optimizations:

Component devirtualization - call_loop(), mark_failed(), and call_dump_config() are now non-virtual, saving ~800+ bytes of flash from vtable elimination (#14083, #14355)
Compile-time loop detection - Components that don’t override loop() are now detected at compile time and excluded from the loop list, eliminating runtime vtable probing (#14405)
Conditional filter compilation - Sensor, text sensor, and binary sensor filter infrastructure is now compiled out entirely when no filters are configured, saving flash and RAM (#14213, #14214, #14215)
FLAC CRC validation disabled - Skipping internal CRC checks during FLAC decoding improves throughput by 15-20% (#14108)
Codebase-wide constexpr migration - Over 20 PRs converted static const to constexpr across core, API, BLE, NFC, MQTT, and display components, moving constants to flash and enabling compiler optimizations (#14071, #14127, #14129, and others)
esphome::optional replaced with std::optional - Eliminates a custom implementation in favor of the C++17 standard (#14368)

Crash Handlers Without a Serial Cable

ESP32:

A new crash handler for ESP32 devices using the ESP-IDF framework automatically captures backtraces when a crash occurs, stores them in .noinit memory (survives software reset), and logs the data on next boot (#14709). Crash data appears in esphome logs over the API — no serial cable needed — and in the Home Assistant log viewer when “Subscribe to logs” is enabled. The CLI automatically decodes addresses inline using addr2line.

The handler works on both Xtensa (ESP32, S2, S3) and RISC-V (C3, C6, H2, C2) architectures, capturing up to 16 backtrace frames with human-readable exception reasons. On RISC-V, stack-scanned entries are validated and labeled to distinguish from register-sourced frames. Memory cost is minimal: +92 bytes RAM, +1,092 bytes flash. No configuration needed — it’s automatically enabled for all ESP-IDF devices.

RP2040/RP2350:

A HardFault crash handler captures register state and stack backtrace when a crash occurs, stores it across reboot via watchdog scratch registers, and logs it on next boot (#14685). A follow-up fix (#14716) improved backtrace storage and logger integration. The CLI’s serial log viewer auto-decodes addresses using addr2line. Works on both RP2040 and RP2350.

ESP32-P4 and ESP32-C5 Improvements

ESP32-P4:

Touch pad support - The esp32_touch component has been migrated to ESP-IDF v5.5’s unified touch sensor driver, adding ESP32-P4 as a supported variant with 14 touch channels (GPIO 2-15) (#14033)
Production silicon default - The default board now targets rev3+ production chips instead of engineering samples. Users with pre-rev3 dev kits should set engineering_sample: true (#14139)
Execute from PSRAM - Code execution from PSRAM is now enabled for P4, expanding available instruction memory (#14329)
LDO channels 1 & 2 - The esp_ldo component now supports internal LDO channels with an explicit allow_internal_channel guard, useful for boards like the Waveshare ESP32-P4 where these channels power external peripherals (#14177)

ESP32-C5:

Dual-band WiFi configuration - New band_mode option for selecting 2.4GHz, 5GHz, or auto band selection on the ESP32-C5’s dual-band radio, thanks to @swoboda1337 (#14148)

New Sensor Components

This release adds support for several new sensor families.

SEN6x Environmental Sensor Node:

The new sen6x component supports Sensirion’s entire SEN6x product family (SEN62, SEN63C, SEN65, SEN66, SEN68, SEN69C) with up to 7 measurement channels: PM1.0/2.5/4.0/10, temperature, humidity, NOx, VOC, CO2, and formaldehyde (#12553). Each sensor variant automatically exposes only its available channels.

HDC302x Temperature & Humidity:

The new hdc302x component adds support for Texas Instruments’ high-precision HDC3020/3021/3022 sensors, including the IP67-rated HDC3022 with permanent PTFE dust and water protection (#10160).

Dew Point Calculator:

The new dew_point component calculates the dew point from any existing temperature and humidity sensors, without requiring additional hardware (#14441).

Serial Proxy (Experimental)

The new serial_proxy component proxies UART communication to Home Assistant API clients over the network (#13944). This experimental component enables remote access to serial devices connected to ESPHome nodes, similar to how zwave_proxy bridges Z-Wave modems. Configure a UART bus and expose it as a named serial port with a specified type (TTL, RS232, RS485).

Display Support Expansion

Several new display models are now supported out of the box:

Waveshare DSI touch panels - 5 new MIPI DSI models from 3.4” to 10.1” with touch support (#14023)
Waveshare 7.5” 4-color e-Paper (H) - 800x480 display with black/white/yellow/red colors (#13991)
WeAct 3-color e-paper - 2.13”, 2.9”, and 4.2” SSD1683-based displays with red/black/white (#13894)
Waveshare 1.83” v2 - MIPI SPI panel with updated init sequence for the Rev2 PCB (#13680)
Camera sensors without JPEG - The esp32_camera component now supports sensors like the GC0308 (m5stack AtomS3R-CAM) that output RGB565 instead of JPEG, with automatic software JPEG conversion (#9496)
8-bit BMP support - The runtime_image component now supports decoding 8-bit BMP images in addition to existing formats (#10733)

Codebase Correctness Sweep

@swoboda1337 contributed 86 bugfix PRs this release in a systematic audit of the codebase, fixing issues that had silently accumulated across 100+ components. The fixes span several categories:

Buffer overflows and bounds checks (16 PRs) - Fixed out-of-bounds reads and writes in components including ld2410, ld2420, remote_receiver, fingerprint_grow, pn532, NFC, shelly_dimmer, and multiple display drivers (#14297, #14458, #14459, #14493, #14511, and others)
millis() overflow bugs (11 PRs) - Fixed timeout and duration checks that would break after ~49 days of uptime in bl0942, shelly_dimmer, lcd_base, light transitions, BLE presence, pn532, mcp2515, nextion, and others (#14285, #14292, #14474, and others)
Uninitialized variables (5 PRs) - Added default initializers to member variables across deep_sleep, remote_transmitter, sim800l, sen5x, and many other components (#14556, #14636, #14659)
Logic and copy-paste bugs (9 PRs) - Fixed wrong operators, masks, and duplicated code in dfplayer, ads1115, alpha3, mpu6886, sht4x, and others (#14491, #14492, #14644)
Unsigned integer underflows (multiple PRs) - Fixed wrap-around bugs in esp32_improv, rf_bridge, display, pipsolar, and addressable light effects (#14466, #14546)
Division by zero guards - Added checks in tsl2561, bl0942, graph, combination sensor, and others (#14634)
Malformed external input hardening - Added bounds checks for BLE advertisements, Nextion responses, Modbus frames, and UART-based sensors to prevent crashes from unexpected data (#14643, #14651)

New Media Player Architecture (speaker_source)

The media player has been redesigned around a modular source-based architecture to support the upcoming Sendspin multi-room audio protocol, thanks to @kahrendt. The new speaker_source media player replaces the monolithic speaker media player with a flexible orchestrator that routes audio from pluggable media_source components.

Key Features:

Pluggable media sources - Audio sources are separate components that plug into the media player. This release includes the audio_file media source for embedded firmware files, with HTTP streams and Sendspin sources planned for future releases
Dual pipeline support - Separate media and announcement pipelines with independent speakers, formats, and sources, allowing announcements to play alongside music
Full playlist management - Enqueue, next/previous track navigation, repeat (off/one/all), and shuffle with Fisher-Yates algorithm
Volume persistence - Volume and mute state are saved across reboots with configurable min/max/increment
Expanded media player commands - New next, previous, repeat_all, shuffle, unshuffle, group_join, and clear_playlist actions (#12258)

The audio_file component lets you embed audio files (local or from URLs) directly into firmware for instant playback without network access. Files are decoded directly from flash, saving two buffer copies compared to the previous approach.

Audio Playback Improvements

Ogg Opus codec support - The new microOpus library enables decoding Ogg Opus files, completing the codec lineup alongside FLAC and MP3 (#13967)
Smarter codec builds - Only the codecs your configuration actually requires are built. The speaker_source media player does this automatically, while the speaker media player’s codec_support_enabled option now defaults to needed (users streaming arbitrary URLs should set codec_support_enabled: all)
Speaker media player on/off - The speaker media player now supports explicit on/off power control (#9295)

Other Notable Features

!extend/!remove on all list components - A long-awaited feature: !extend and !remove now work on any list-based config entry (like external_components) even when the component schema doesn’t declare an id field, thanks to @swoboda1337 (#14682)
BLE connection parameters API - Bluetooth proxies can now adjust connection intervals on connected BLE devices, allowing integrations like yalexs-ble to switch from fast intervals (~7.5ms) to slow ones (~1000ms) after connection, significantly reducing battery drain on “Always Connected” devices like Yale/August locks (#14577)
Safe mode explicit boot success - New safe_mode.mark_boot_ok action lets you explicitly notify safe mode that a boot is successful, solving the issue for deep sleep devices that boot and sleep within the safe mode timeout window (#14306)
CC1101 runtime configuration - New actions to change frequency, modulation type, symbol rate, filter bandwidth, and other CC1101 radio settings on the fly (#14141)
ESP32 BLE authentication - Configurable min_key_size, max_key_size, and auth_req_mode for BLE security (#7138)
Integration sensor set action - New set method to publish and save a specific value to an integration sensor (#13316)
LPS22DF pressure sensor - Support for the DF variant of the LPS22 pressure sensor family (#14397)
OpenThread TX power - Configurable transmit power for OpenThread radios (#14200)
HTTP request TLS buffer - Configurable TLS buffer size on ESP8266, required for modern web servers that send 16KB TLS records (#14009)
UART debug prefix - New debug_prefix option to distinguish multiple UARTs in log output (#14525)
UART flush result - The flush() method now returns a result indicating success/timeout, with configurable timeout via YAML (#14608)
Version text sensor hide_hash - Option to restore the pre-2026.1 version string format without the git hash (#14251)
GT911 interrupt via IO expander - Touch interrupt line can now be routed through an IO expander (#14358)
ESP32 hosted SDIO clock - Configurable SDIO clock frequency for esp32_hosted WiFi (#14319)
Nextion configurable HTTP parameters - New options for TFT upload timeout, follow redirects, and useragent (#14234)
UART mock integration tests - New integration test infrastructure enables automated testing of serial protocol components. The LD24xx family (LD2410, LD2412, LD2420, LD2450) and Modbus received comprehensive tests along with bug fixes (#14377, #14448, #14471, #14611, #14395)

Thank You, Contributors

This release includes 480 pull requests from over 50 contributors. A huge thank you to everyone who made 2026.3.0 possible:

@swoboda1337 - 101 PRs including an 86-fix correctness sweep across 100+ components, ESP32-C5 dual-band WiFi, and the !extend/!remove config enhancement
@kahrendt - 20 PRs building the new media player architecture, Ogg Opus codec support, audio file component, and speaker pipeline infrastructure
@tomaszduda23 - 11 PRs bringing the nRF52 platform forward with BLE OTA (zephyr_mcumgr), crash debugging, and USB CDC support
@schdro - 8 PRs improving the OpenThread stack with TX power configuration, connection caching, and build optimizations
@kbx81 - 8 PRs including the new serial proxy component, mixer speaker debounce, and UART flush improvements
@ximex - 7 PRs with code quality improvements across rtttl, ESP32 pin validation, and time handling
@clydebarrow - 6 PRs including the ESP32-P4 PSRAM execution, const cleanup, and USB UART fixes
@rwrozelle - 4 PRs improving OpenThread with connection state caching and code quality
@p1ngb4ck - 3 PRs adding UART debug prefix, ESP LDO channel support, and USB UART chip detection
@diorcety - 3 PRs with cross-compiler compatibility and ESP-IDF build fixes
@exciton - 2 PRs creating the Modbus integration test infrastructure and fixing timing bugs
@pgolawsk - 2 PRs adding WeAct 3-color e-paper support and safe_mode improvements
@edwardtfn - 2 PRs improving Nextion TFT upload error handling and configurable HTTP parameters
@AndreKR - 2 PRs improving ESP8266 TLS logging and configurable buffer sizes
@mikelawrence - 2 PRs refactoring Sensirion sensor library shared code
@CFlix - 2 PRs including the new dew point sensor component
@Rapsssito - 2 PRs for MQTT precision and BLE server testing
@mebner86 - the new SEN6x sensor component
@joshuasing - the new HDC302x sensor component
@mcassaniti - explicit boot success marking for safe mode
@rwagoner - climate preset, fan mode, and humidity support for web server

Also thank you to @ademuri, @anunayk, @bharvey88, @ccutrer, @corneliusludmann, @deirdreobyrne, @edenhaus, @Gnuspice, @gtjoseph, @jamesmyatt, @jesserockz, @JiriPrchal, @jpeletier, @LinoSchmidt, @lwratten, @lyubomirtraykov, @mahumpula, @mback2k, @melak, @nagyrobi, @netixx, @oarcher, @PedanticAvenger, @puddly, @RAR, @rsre, @sredman, @sxtfov, @Szpadel, @tuct, @tvogel, and @whitty for their contributions, and to everyone who reported issues, tested pre-releases, and helped in the community.

Breaking Changes

Most users can update without any configuration changes. The items below are grouped by whether you need to take action.

Action required (if you use these components)

OpenTherm: The deprecated opentherm_version config option has been removed. Use opentherm_version_controller instead #14103
ESP32-P4: The default board now targets production rev3+ silicon instead of engineering samples. If you have a pre-rev3 ESP32-P4 dev kit, add engineering_sample: true to your esp32: config #14139
Speaker Media Player: The codec_support_enabled option now defaults to needed instead of building all codecs. If you stream audio via hardcoded URLs (not through Home Assistant), set codec_support_enabled: all to restore the previous behavior #13967
SGP30: Fixed serial number truncation from 48-bit to 24-bit. This changes the preference hash, so existing stored baselines will no longer be found. Plan for up to 12 hours of recalibration #14478
Time: If you have lambdas calling ::mktime(), ::strftime(), setenv("TZ", ...), or tzset() directly, update them to use ESPHome’s ESPTime API. Most users are unaffected, and ::localtime() continues to work #13635
GPIO Binary Sensor implicit debounce gone: The main loop now wakes immediately from inside the GPIO ISR (#14383) instead of waiting out the select() timeout. Configs that already follow the debouncing values guidance and have a filter on their physical button are unaffected. Configs that skipped it were getting accidental debouncing from the slow loop poll cadence; mechanical switch bounce now reaches downstream automations, so timing-based triggers (on_multi_click, on_click, on_double_click, edge counters in on_press / on_release) on raw physical buttons may need an explicit delayed_on_off: 20ms filter (or delayed_on / delayed_off) added to the gpio binary_sensor’s filters: list. The matcher logic itself is unchanged. esphome#15323

Most users unaffected

RP2040: The arduino-pico framework has been updated from 3.9.4 to 5.5.0 (pico-sdk 2.0, GCC 14). Most user configs are unaffected, but external components targeting RP2040 may need updates #14328
ESP8266/RP2040: printf/vprintf/fprintf are now wrapped with lightweight stubs to save flash. External components that need full FILE*-based printf can set enable_full_printf: true under their platform config #14621, #14622
Nextion: The TFT upload HTTP timeout default changed from 15s to 4.5s to prevent watchdog resets. Users with slow connections can increase it via the new tft_upload_http_timeout option #14234
OpenThread: The log level is now statically set based on the esp32.framework.log_level setting instead of being dynamic #14456
Micronova: A command queue has been added for read and write requests. Write requests are now prioritized, and read requests are deduplicated. This fixes silently ignored write requests and incomplete sensor updates #12268
Time: The libc timezone infrastructure has been replaced with a lightweight custom parser, saving ~9.5KB flash on ESP32 and ~2% RAM on ESP8266. The dump_config() output now shows human-readable timezone info (e.g., UTC-6:00 (DST UTC-5:00)) instead of raw POSIX strings #13635
Icons (ESP8266): Icon strings are now stored in PROGMEM (flash), with a maximum length of 63 characters. All standard mdi:* icons are well under this limit #14437
Device Classes (ESP8266): Device class strings are similarly moved to PROGMEM #14443
Light: Lambdas calling set_effect(0) to disable effects by integer index will get an ambiguous overload error. Use set_effect(uint32_t{0}) or set_effect("None") instead #14732

Undocumented API Changes

These are changes to unstable, undocumented C++ APIs that may affect users who write lambdas or maintain external components. These APIs are not documented on esphome.io and are not part of the public API — they may change at any time without notice. Only APIs documented on esphome.io are considered stable. If you depend on these internals, you do so at your own risk. We list them here as a courtesy.

EntityBase: set_name(), set_icon(), set_device_class(), set_unit_of_measurement(), set_internal(), set_disabled_by_default(), and set_entity_category() have been removed and packed into the existing configure_entity_() call. set_device() is renamed to set_device_() and made protected. These were codegen-only setters — calling them at runtime was unsafe and could silently corrupt state or crash the device (undefined behavior). #14564, #14171, #14437, #14443
Time: The libc functions localtime() and localtime_r() are overridden on embedded platforms to use ESPHome’s custom timezone implementation. The setenv("TZ", ...)/tzset() path is no longer used internally. See the breaking changes section above for lambda migration guidance. #13635
API ProtoMessage: encode() and calculate_size() are no longer virtual. ProtoSize class converted from accumulator-object API to pure static methods. Lambdas calling calculate_size() should now call it directly on the message (returns uint32_t instead of populating a ProtoSize object). #14449
```
// Before
ProtoSize s;
msg.calculate_size(s);
uint32_t size = s.get_size();

// After
uint32_t size = msg.calculate_size();
```
APIServer: is_connected(bool state_subscription_only) overload removed. Use is_connected() (no args, inlined) for the common path, or is_connected_with_state_subscription() for the rare state-subscription-only check. #14574
OTA: The OTABackend abstract base class has been removed. Use auto for local variables from make_ota_backend(), and ota::OTABackendPtr for member variables. Include ota_backend_factory.h instead of ota_backend.h. #14473
OpenThread: The OT console (CONFIG_OPENTHREAD_CONSOLE_ENABLE) and OT diagnostics (CONFIG_OPENTHREAD_DIAG) are now disabled by default, saving up to ~22KB flash. Custom lambdas using the OT console or diagnostics C API will need to re-enable these via sdkconfig. #14390, #14399
ByteBuffer: put_uint24(value, offset) was writing 4 bytes instead of 3, corrupting the adjacent byte. Lambdas relying on the old (buggy) behavior may see different results. #14555

Breaking Changes for Developers

Devirtualization

Several core virtual interfaces have been replaced with compile-time dispatch for performance. External components that override or depend on the virtual dispatch may need updates:

Component: call_loop(), mark_failed(), and call_dump_config() devirtualized #14083, #14355
Logger: LogListener virtual interface replaced with LogCallback struct #14084
Socket: Socket abstraction layer devirtualized #14398
OTA backend: OTABackend abstract base class removed. Use ota::OTABackendPtr type alias and auto for make_ota_backend() return #14473
Protobuf API: encode() and calculate_size() are now non-virtual on ProtoMessage. ProtoSize converted to static methods. send_message() is now templated and deduces MESSAGE_TYPE #14449

Entity API changes

Entity icon/device class API: get_icon_ref(), get_icon(), get_device_class_ref(), and get_device_class() deprecated on non-ESP8266, static_assert error on ESP8266. Use get_icon_to(std::span<char, MAX_ICON_LENGTH>) and get_device_class_to(std::span<char, MAX_DEVICE_CLASS_LENGTH>) instead #14437, #14443
EntityBase setters: set_name(), set_icon(), set_device_class(), set_unit_of_measurement(), set_internal(), set_disabled_by_default(), set_entity_category() removed (now packed into configure_entity_()). set_device() renamed to set_device_() and made protected #14564, #14171, #14437, #14443
Entity string properties: Packed into PROGMEM-indexed uint8_t fields #14171

Type and container changes

esphome::optional: Replaced with std::optional #14368
Application name/friendly_name: Changed from std::string to StringRef #14532
http_request headers: std::map and std::list replaced with std::vector #14024, #14027
SerializationBuffer: New stack-first JSON serialization buffer #13625

Removed deprecated APIs

i2c: Deprecated stop parameter overloads and readv/writev methods removed #14106
ESP32 IDF components: Deprecated add_idf_component() parameters removed #14105

Platform and component changes

RP2040 framework: arduino-pico 3.9.4 → 5.5.0 with pico-sdk 2.0. Key API renames: padsbank0_hw → pads_bank0_hw, SerialPIO::NOPIN → NOPIN #14328
UART flush(): Return type changed from void to FlushResult. External components overriding flush() must update their signature #14608
runtime_image: ImageFormat enum moved from esphome::online_image to esphome::runtime_image. OnlineImage constructor signature changed #10212
Modbus: rx_full_threshold sentinel added to UARTComponent; timeout calculation changed for non-hardware UARTs. External modbus components may need update #14614

Registration and build changes

register_component: Now protected, runtime checks removed #14371
register_action: Now requires explicit synchronous= parameter #14606
build_info_data.h: Moved out of application.h to fix incremental rebuilds #14230
get_loop_priority: Conditionally compiled with USE_LOOP_PRIORITY #14210

For detailed migration guides and API documentation, see the ESPHome Developers Documentation.

Release 2026.3.1 - March 23

Bump aioesphomeapi from 44.5.2 to 44.6.0 esphome#14927 by @dependabot[bot]
[http_request] Prevent double update task launch esphome#14910 by @bdraco
[ble_client] Fix RSSI sensor reporting same value for all clients esphome#14939 by @swoboda1337
[openthread] Guard InstanceLock against uninitialized semaphore esphome#14940 by @swoboda1337
Bump aioesphomeapi from 44.6.0 to 44.6.1 esphome#14954 by @dependabot[bot]
[time] Fix lookup of top-level IANA timezone keys like UTC and GMT esphome#14952 by @bdraco
[logger] Fix ESP8266 crash with VERY_VERBOSE log level esphome#14980 by @bdraco
[sdl] Fix get_width()/height() when rotation used esphome#14950 by @clydebarrow
[uart] Fix UART0 default pin IOMUX loopback on ESP32 esphome#14978 by @bdraco
[ld2450] Fix zone target counts including untracked ghost targets esphome#15026 by @kroehre
Bump aioesphomeapi from 44.6.1 to 44.6.2 esphome#15027 by @dependabot[bot]
[api] Increase noise handshake timeout to 60s for slow WiFi environments esphome#15022 by @bdraco
[wifi] Fix ESP8266 power_save_mode mapping (LIGHT/HIGH were swapped) esphome#15029 by @bdraco (breaking-change)
[esp32_touch] Fix initial state never published when sensor untouched esphome#15032 by @swoboda1337
[web_server] Increase httpd task stack size to prevent stack overflow esphome#14997 by @bdraco
[core] Add copy() method to StringRef for std::string compatibility esphome#15028 by @bdraco
[time] Fix timezone_offset() and recalc_timestamp_local() always returning UTC esphome#14996 by @bdraco
[analog_threshhold] add missing header esphome#15058 by @ssieb
[mqtt] Rate-limit component resends to prevent task WDT on reconnect esphome#15061 by @bdraco
[light] Fix constant_brightness broken by gamma LUT refactor esphome#15048 by @bdraco
[sht4x] Fix heater causing measurement jitter esphome#15030 by @bdraco
[uart] Fix RTL87xx compilation failure due to SUCCESS macro collision esphome#15054 by @bdraco
[light] Fix gamma LUT quantizing small brightness to zero esphome#15060 by @bdraco
[ultrasonic] Fix ISR edge detection with debounce and trigger filtering esphome#15014 by @swoboda1337
[logger] Fix race condition in task log buffer initialization esphome#15071 by @bdraco
[pmsx003] Keep active-mode reads aligned esphome#14832 by @jkoelker

Release 2026.3.2 - April 1

[time] Point to valid IANA timezone list on validation failure esphome#15110 by @bdraco
[wifi] Fix roaming attempt counter reset on disconnect during scan esphome#15099 by @bdraco
[wifi] Reduce ESP8266 roaming scan dwell time to match ESP32 esphome#15127 by @bdraco
[sx127x] Fix FIFO read corruption esphome#15114 by @swoboda1337
[datetime] Fix state_as_esptime() returning invalid timestamp esphome#15128 by @bdraco
[wifi] Fix roaming counter reset from delayed disconnect and successful retry esphome#15126 by @bdraco
[wifi] Filter fast_connect by band_mode and use background scan for roaming esphome#15152 by @swoboda1337
[uart] Fix debug callback missing peeked byte and reading past end esphome#15169 by @swoboda1337
[sgp4x] Fix NOx index_offset default (should be 1, not 100) esphome#15212 by @swoboda1337
[esp32_ble_server] Fix set_value action with static data lists esphome#15285 by @bdraco
[esp8266] Add enable_scanf_float option esphome#15284 by @bdraco (new-feature)
[thermostat] Fix stale max_runtime_exceeded causing spurious supplemental heating/cooling esphome#15274 by @kbx81
[haier] Fix hOn half-degree temperature setting esphome#15312 by @swoboda1337
[tormatic] Fix UART stream desync on ESP32 esphome#15337 by @swoboda1337
[uart] fix baud rate not applied on load_settings() for ESP32 (IDF) esphome#15341 by @edwardtfn
[mixer] Fix memory leak in mixer task on stop/start cycles esphome#15185 by @kahrendt
[esp32_ble_tracker] Restart BLE scan after OTA failure esphome#15308 by @bdraco

Release 2026.3.3 - April 7

[nextion] Fix queue age check using inconsistent time sources esphome#15317 by @edwardtfn
[online_image] Clear LVGL dsc when image size changes. esphome#15360 by @clydebarrow
[esp32] Clean build when sdkconfig options change esphome#15439 by @clydebarrow

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2026.3.0 changelog.

ESPHome 2026.2.0: Faster builds, leaner runtime

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Release Overview

ESPHome 2026.2.0 is a performance and stability release. The focus is on making your devices compile faster, run leaner, and stay reliable over months of uptime.

Faster builds, smaller firmware. ESP32 Arduino builds compile 36% faster and produce 44% less flash and 50% less static RAM. ESP-IDF compiles are ~22% faster. A streamlined certificate bundle saves another 51KB of flash.

More stable, more responsive devices. CPU usage is down across the board: the BLE tracker loop uses ~85% less CPU, MQTT consolidation saves ~6.5% total device CPU, and the scheduler is 25% smaller. Unnecessary memory allocations have been eliminated from dozens of components, and ESP8266 devices recover significant RAM by moving strings to flash.

This release also introduces 3 new components (DLMS smart meter, CH423 I/O expander, SY6970 battery management), adds 7 new display models including ESP32-P4 Waveshare panels, expands the Zigbee platform, and hardens security with constant-time authentication and cryptographic random generation.

Upgrade Checklist

If you use bmp581, update your configuration to use bmp581_i2c as the platform
If you use on_open in cover automations, rename it to on_opened
If you have DSMR fw_core_version or fw_module_version under sensor:, move them to text_sensor:
If you call Arduino library APIs directly in lambdas (e.g., Preferences, WiFi), add them to esphome: libraries:
If you connect to HTTPS servers using uncommon CAs, add use_full_certificate_bundle: true under esp32: framework: advanced:
If you use BL0942 sensors, expect readings to change after recalibration to match corrected reference values

ESP32 Build Size and Compile Time Optimizations

ESP32 builds are faster and produce smaller firmware in this release, meaning shorter compile times and more room on your devices.

Improvement	Savings	Details
Arduino selective compilation (#13623)	36% faster builds, 44% less flash, 50% less static RAM	Unused Arduino libraries are no longer compiled or linked
ESP-IDF component exclusion (#13610, #13664)	~22% faster ESP-IDF compiles	Unused ESP-IDF components are excluded at build time instead of compiled and discarded by the linker
Streamlined certificate bundle (#13574)	~51KB flash saved	Default switched to Common CAs (~99% of websites); full bundle available via config
Skip precompiled Arduino libs (#13775)	~40% faster first build, ~2GB disk saved	Stub replaces the ~270MB precompiled library download that isn’t needed when building from source
sdkconfig defaults (#13611)	Additional flash savings	Unused ESP-IDF features (debug stubs, PKCS#7, FAT) disabled by default

Arduino numbers measured on an ESP32 Arduino build comparing before and after this release. ESP-IDF compile time measured across multiple optimization PRs. Actual savings depend on your configuration.

How it works: ESPHome now only compiles the parts of Arduino and ESP-IDF that your configuration actually uses. Built-in components automatically re-enable the libraries they need, so most users get these savings with zero configuration changes.

Who benefits most? Everyone on ESP32. If your firmware was close to flash limits, this may free enough space to add more components. If you were waiting on long compiles, expect noticeably faster builds. Users on ESP-IDF see the ~22% compile time improvement automatically. Arduino users see all three improvements.

External components that call cg.add_library() in their code generation work automatically. If you use external components or lambdas that rely on Arduino libraries without declaring them, you can add them to esphome: libraries:. See Breaking Changes for details.

Runtime Memory and Performance

Your devices should be more responsive and more stable after this update. Across all platforms, we’ve reduced CPU usage, freed up RAM, and eliminated sources of memory fragmentation that can cause crashes after weeks or months of uptime.

ESP8266 RAM Recovery

ESP8266 devices have only 80KB of RAM, so every byte matters. This release moves constant strings and lookup tables from RAM to flash across 19+ components, freeing up heap for actual device operation. Components updated include web_server (#13315), light (#13314), mqtt (#13546), wifi (#13349), debug (#13352), and 13 more via a new flash-based string table pattern (#13659) applied to uart (#13805), sprinkler (#13806), ssd1306 (#13814), and others.

Long-Term Stability

Devices that run for months can crash when repeated memory allocations fragment the heap. This release eliminates unnecessary runtime memory allocations across the codebase, including api (#13399), mqtt (#13434), thermostat (#13692), sprinkler (#13705), voice_assistant (#13689), and many others. On ESP8266, format strings are also moved to flash as part of these changes (#13258).

UART Batch Reads

16 UART-based components now read all available serial data at once instead of one byte per loop, reducing CPU overhead. Updated components include modbus (#13822), nextion (#13823), tuya (#13827), ld2410 (#13820), dsmr (#13826), and ld2450 (#13818).

CPU and Loop Optimizations

The esp32_ble_tracker loop uses ~85% less CPU thanks to state change tracking (#13337). Components like status (#13342) and globals (#13345) no longer run every loop iteration. The api (#13901) and core loop (#13900) were also tightened up, and mDNS polling was throttled on ESP8266 and RP2040 (#13917).

Scheduler Improvements

The scheduler runs on every device and drives all timers and intervals. This release makes it smaller and more efficient: the core timer code is 25% smaller (#13899), memory allocations were removed from cleanup operations (#13837), and flash usage was reduced (#13214). Timer IDs are now type-safe to prevent collisions between components (#13882), and the set_retry API was deprecated in favor of set_interval/set_timeout (#13845).

MQTT Optimizations

If you use MQTT, your devices will use noticeably less CPU and memory. Previously, every MQTT entity ran its own loop and rebuilt topic strings every iteration, causing thousands of unnecessary memory allocations per minute. This has been consolidated so entities are processed centrally (#13356), saving roughly 6.5% total device CPU with savings scaling with entity count.

Memory allocations were also removed from discovery messages (#13216), publish paths (#13372), topic building (#13434, #13812), and log forwarding (#13809).

Who benefits most? Users running MQTT instead of the native API, especially devices with many entities. The more entities you expose over MQTT, the bigger the improvement. If you’ve noticed high CPU usage or instability on MQTT devices, this update should help.

Security Hardening

Our first internal security audit in 2025.10.0 led to several deprecations, most of which were completed in 2026.1.0. This release started a new review cycle. No issues requiring deprecation were found, but we identified several additional hardening opportunities.

Constant-time authentication - The dashboard (#13865) and web server (#13868) now use constant-time string comparisons for Basic Auth credential checks, preventing timing-based side-channel attacks
Cryptographic random generation - The OTA component (#13863) and setup wizard (#13864) now use Python’s secrets module for generating authentication nonces and fallback AP passwords, replacing less secure random sources
Protobuf parsing hardening - The API protobuf parser now guards against overlong varint encodings (#13870)
Download path validation - The dashboard binary download handler now uses Path.resolve() and relative_to() for path validation instead of string replacement (#13867)
Auth header validation - The dashboard gracefully handles malformed Basic Auth headers instead of raising exceptions (#13866)

New Components

DLMS/COSEM Smart Meter

The new dlms_meter component adds support for smart meters using the DLMS/COSEM protocol, commonly used by European energy providers (#8009). The component connects via UART to an M-Bus adapter and supports encrypted communication with configurable decryption keys. Available sensors include voltage, current, and active power per phase, as well as energy totals and timestamps. Multiple provider-specific configurations are supported, including Netz NOE and EVN.

CH423 I/O Expander

The new ch423 component provides support for the CH423 I/O expander with 24 GPIO pins: 8 bidirectional I/O pins and 16 output-only pins (#13079). Based on the CH422G driver architecture, it communicates over I2C and can be used with standard GPIO binary sensors, switches, and outputs.

SY6970 Battery Management IC

The new sy6970 component supports the SY6970 battery management IC, commonly found in devices like the LilyGo T-Display S3 Pro (#13311). It provides:

Voltage sensors - VBUS, battery, and system voltage monitoring
Current sensors - Charge and precharge current measurement
Binary sensors - Charging status, VBUS connection, and charge completion
Text sensors - Bus status, charge status, and NTC temperature status
Configurable charging - Set charge voltage, current limits, and enable/disable charging

Expanded Display Support

This release adds support for 7 new display models across multiple display platforms, with a particular focus on ESP32-P4 displays.

MIPI DSI displays:

Waveshare ESP32-P4-WIFI6-TOUCH-LCD-7B - 7” touchscreen for the ESP32-P4 (#13608)
Waveshare ESP32-P4-WIFI6-TOUCH-LCD-3.4C - 800x800 circular display (#13840)
Waveshare ESP32-P4-WIFI6-TOUCH-LCD-4C - 720x720 circular display (#13840)
Guition JC8012P4A1 - An affordable display panel (#13241)
M5Stack Tab5 V2 - Updated revision using the ST7123 integrated display-touch driver (#12074)

MIPI SPI displays:

ESP32-2432S028 variants - Added support for ILI9342, ILI9342A, and ST7789V driver chip variants of the popular Sunton board (#13340)

HUB75 LED matrix:

Huidu HD-WF1 - Added pin configuration for the WF1 version of the Huidu board (#13341)

E-Paper:

Waveshare 1.54-G - 4-color e-paper display based on the JD79660 controller (#13758)

Zigbee and nRF52 Platform Enhancements

The Zigbee integration on nRF52 receives several important improvements in this release.

Time synchronization - Zigbee end devices can now synchronize their clocks from the Zigbee coordinator, enabling time-based automations on battery-powered devices (#12236)
Number component support - ESPHome number entities can now be exposed over Zigbee, expanding the set of entity types available for Zigbee-connected devices (#13581)
Custom vendor OUI - Configure the IEEE 802.15.4 Vendor Organizationally Unique Identifier to replace Nordic Semiconductor’s default company ID with your own, or use a random address during development (#13580)
Thread-safe task log buffer - A new TaskLogBuffer implementation for nRF52/Zephyr using Zephyr’s native mpsc_pbuf enables reliable multi-threaded logging, matching the capabilities already available on ESP32, Host, and LibreTiny (#13862)

LibreTiny Platform Update

LibreTiny has been updated from v1.10.x to v1.12.1 (#13512, #13851), bringing new board support (WBR3, generic RTL8720CM, CR3L), a refactored Serial library with dynamic RX/TX pin changes, static IP support for Realtek AMB WiFi, improved OTA for Realtek AMBZ2, Beken BDK 3.0.78 support, and several WiFi stability fixes including watchdog resets during connection attempts on BK72xx.

Cover Component: Operation-Based Triggers and Conditions

The cover component gains new triggers that fire based on movement state, making cover automations much more natural to write (#13471).

New triggers:

on_opening - Fires when the cover starts opening
on_closing - Fires when the cover starts closing
on_idle - Fires when the cover stops moving

New conditions:

cover.is_open - Check if a cover is fully open
cover.is_closed - Check if a cover is fully closed

The existing on_open trigger has been renamed to on_opened (the old name is deprecated until 2026.8.0). Additionally, on_opened and on_closed now only fire on transitions to the fully open/closed state, fixing unintended repeated trigger firing that occurred on every state update.

New Sensor Features and Hardware Support

New hardware support:

Plantower PMS1003, PMS3003, PMS9003M - Three additional particle sensor models are now supported by the pmsx003 component (#13640)
Resol DeltaSol BS/2 - The vbus component now supports this solar controller with temperature, pump speed, heat quantity, and error sensors (#13762)
BMP581 I2C/SPI split - The BMP581 pressure sensor has been split into bmp581_base and bmp581_i2c components, preparing the way for future SPI support. Existing users will need to update their platform from bmp581 to bmp581_i2c (#12485)

Sensor filter improvements:

max_delta filter - A new filter that rejects measurement differences exceeding a configurable threshold, effectively removing outliers from sensor readings (#12605)

Debug component:

min_free heap sensor - Reports the minimum free heap size since boot for ESP32 and LibreTiny platforms, useful for detecting memory high-water-mark usage (#13231)
fragmentation sensor - Now available on ESP32 in addition to ESP8266 (#13231)

Additional Component Enhancements

HTTP request custom CA certificates - ESP32 devices can now use ca_certificate_path to specify a PEM file for SSL verification, enabling HTTPS connections to servers with self-signed or custom CA certificates (#13552)
BTHome encrypted beacons - The bthome_mithermometer component now supports decrypting encrypted BTHome beacons from PVVX firmware using a bindkey, preventing spoofing with fake data over the air (#13428)
Ethernet on_connect/on_disconnect triggers - The ethernet component now supports connection triggers, matching the functionality already available for WiFi (#13677)
HeatpumpIR ESP-IDF support - The heatpumpir component now works with the ESP-IDF framework, not just Arduino (#13042)
Select condition - A new select.is condition allows checking the value of a select entity in automations (#13267)
MQTT cover JSON state payload - Covers can now publish position, tilt, and state as a single JSON payload on one topic, reducing MQTT message volume (#12639)
Key collector text sensor - The key_collector component now supports a text sensor platform and accepts multiple key input sources (#13617)
Template water heater improvements - Added target_temperature lambda (#13661) and On/Off and Away mode support (#13839)
Nextion configurable timeouts - The startup_override_ms and max_queue_age constants are now configurable via YAML, allowing users to tune timing for their specific displays (#11098)
Voice assistant timer optimization - Timer storage switched from unordered_map to vector, eliminating per-tick heap allocation and string copies for the hot path that runs every second (#13857)

Looking Ahead

This release continues the work that began in 2025.10.0 and accelerated in 2026.1.0: making ESPHome leaner and more reliable on every platform. Fewer heap allocations, smaller firmware, and lower CPU usage all contribute to devices that stay stable for months and years. That focus on memory discipline and long-term stability will continue in future releases as we extend these improvements to more components and platforms.

On the documentation side, esphome.io has migrated from Hugo to Starlight, bringing faster page loads, improved search, and a modern documentation framework that will make it easier to maintain and contribute to the docs going forward.

Breaking Changes

Most users can update without any configuration changes. The items below are grouped by whether you need to take action.

Action required (if you use these components)

BMP581: Update your platform from bmp581 to bmp581_i2c. The component has been split to prepare for future SPI support. #12485
Cover triggers: Rename on_open to on_opened in your cover automations (the old name is deprecated until 2026.8.0). Additionally, on_opened and on_closed now only fire on transitions to the fully open/closed state, not on every state update. Automations that relied on repeated firing will need to be adjusted. #13471
DSMR: Move fw_core_version and fw_module_version from sensor: to text_sensor:. The meter returns version strings (e.g., (ER11)), not numbers. #13780
Arduino library APIs in lambdas: If you directly call Arduino library APIs in lambdas (e.g., Preferences, WiFi, Wire), add them to your config. ESPHome’s built-in components handle this automatically, so this only affects custom lambda code. #13623
```
esphome:
  libraries:
    - Preferences  # Add any Arduino libraries you use directly
```
Voice Assistant timers: If you use lambdas that iterate timers with map pair semantics (.second), update them to access Timer fields directly. See the PR description for before/after examples. #13857

Most users unaffected

These changes improve correctness or save resources. They only require action if you depend on the previous behavior.

ESP32 certificate bundle: The default TLS bundle now includes only Common CAs (~99% of websites), saving ~51KB of flash. If you connect to HTTPS services using uncommon CAs, add use_full_certificate_bundle: true under esp32: framework: advanced:. #13574
BL0942: Calibration reference values have been corrected to match datasheet formulas. Sensor readings will change. Users with custom calibration may need to re-calibrate. #12867
Sensor clamp filter: The clamp filter now handles infinity and NaN instead of passing them through. #13457
Water Heater: On/Off and Away state control now requires both Home Assistant 2026.3.0 and ESPHome 2026.2.0. #13892

Breaking Changes for Developers

ESP32 Arduino selective compilation: Arduino libraries are now disabled by default. External components that use Arduino libraries must call cg.add_library("LibraryName", None) in their to_code() to enable them. #13623
Voice Assistant get_timers() return type: get_timers() now returns const std::vector<Timer> & instead of const std::unordered_map<std::string, Timer> &. Code using map pair semantics (.second) must be updated to iterate Timer directly. The on_timer_tick automation arg type is now const std::vector<Timer> &. #13857
Cover on_open renamed to on_opened: The CoverOpenTrigger now tracks transitions instead of firing on every state update. The old on_open name is deprecated until 2026.8.0. #13471
Water Heater API: WATER_HEATER_COMMAND_HAS_STATE is deprecated in favor of WATER_HEATER_COMMAND_HAS_ON_STATE and WATER_HEATER_COMMAND_HAS_AWAY_STATE for granular on/off and away control. #13892

For detailed migration guides and API documentation, see the ESPHome Developers Documentation.

Release 2026.2.1 - February 20

[esp32_ble_server] fix infinitely large characteristic value esphome#14011 by @Rapsssito
[udp] Register socket consumption for CONFIG_LWIP_MAX_SOCKETS esphome#14068 by @bdraco
[web_server] Double socket allocation to prevent connection exhaustion esphome#14067 by @bdraco
[pulse_counter] Fix compilation on ESP32-C6/C5/H2/P4 esphome#14070 by @bdraco
[web_server] Fix water_heater JSON key names and move traits to DETAIL_ALL esphome#14064 by @bdraco
[ld2420] Use constexpr for compile-time constants esphome#14079 by @bdraco
[e131] Fix E1.31 on ESP8266 and RP2040 by restoring WiFiUDP support esphome#14086 by @bdraco
[socket] Fix IPv6 compilation error on host platform esphome#14101 by @swoboda1337
[ethernet] Improve clk_mode deprecation warning with actionable YAML esphome#14104 by @swoboda1337
[pulse_counter] Fix build failure when use_pcnt is false esphome#14111 by @swoboda1337
[esp32_ble] Enable CONFIG_BT_RELEASE_IRAM on ESP32-C2 esphome#14109 by @bdraco
[safe_mode] Log brownout as reset reason on OTA rollback esphome#14113 by @swoboda1337
[wifi] Sync output_power with PHY max TX power to prevent brownout esphome#14118 by @swoboda1337
[uart] Always call pin setup for UART0 default pins on ESP-IDF esphome#14130 by @bdraco
[pulse_counter] Fix PCNT glitch filter calculation off by 1000x esphome#14132 by @swoboda1337
[ld2450] Add frame header synchronization to readline_() esphome#14135 by @swoboda1337
[ld2410] Add frame header synchronization to readline_() esphome#14136 by @swoboda1337
[ld2420] Increase MAX_LINE_LENGTH to allow footer-based resync esphome#14137 by @swoboda1337
[ld2410/ld2450] Replace header sync with buffer size increase for frame resync esphome#14138 by @swoboda1337

Release 2026.2.2 - February 26

[max7219digit] Fix typo in action names esphome#14162 by @swoboda1337
[mipi_dsi] Disallow swap_xy esphome#14124 by @clydebarrow
[dsmr] Add deprecated std::string overload for set_decryption_key esphome#14180 by @bdraco
[api] Fix build error when lambda returns StringRef in homeassistant.event data esphome#14187 by @bdraco
[haier] Fix uninitialized HonSettings causing API connection failures esphome#14188 by @bdraco
[bme68x_bsec2] Fix compilation on ESP32 Arduino esphome#14194 by @bdraco
[network] Improve IPAddress::str() deprecation warning with usage example esphome#14195 by @bdraco
[water_heater] Fix device_id missing from state responses esphome#14212 by @bdraco
[mipi_dsi] Allow transform disable; fix warnings esphome#14216 by @clydebarrow (new-feature)
[http_request.ota] Percent-encode credentials in URL esphome#14257 by @swoboda1337
Don’t get stuck forever on a failed component can_proceed esphome#14267 by @jesserockz
[pid] Fix deadband threshold conversion for Fahrenheit esphome#14268 by @swoboda1337
[ld2420] Fix sizeof vs value bug in register memcpy esphome#14286 by @swoboda1337
[rtttl] Fix speaker playback bugs esphome#14280 by @swoboda1337
[hmc5883l] Fix wrong gain for 88uT range esphome#14281 by @swoboda1337
[sensor] Fix delta filter percentage mode regression esphome#14302 by @swoboda1337

Release 2026.2.3 - March 3

[mqtt] Remove broken ESP8266 ssl_fingerprints option esphome#14182 by @bdraco (breaking-change)
[sprinkler] Fix millis overflow and underflow bugs esphome#14299 by @swoboda1337
[cc1101] Transition through IDLE in begin_tx/begin_rx for reliable state changes esphome#14321 by @swoboda1337
[zigbee] Fix codegen ordering for basic/identify attribute lists esphome#14343 by @swoboda1337
[uart] Revert UART0 default pin workarounds (fixed in ESP-IDF 5.5.2) esphome#14363 by @bdraco
[mipi_dsi] Fix Waveshare P4 7B board config esphome#14372 by @clydebarrow
[core] Defer entity automation codegen to prevent sibling ID deadlocks esphome#14381 by @swoboda1337
[improv_serial] Add missing USE_IMPROV_SERIAL define to fix WiFi scan filtering esphome#14359 by @bdraco
[uart] Fix flow_control_pin inverted flag ignored on ESP-IDF esphome#14410 by @swoboda1337

Release 2026.2.4 - March 3

[wifi] Revert cyw43_wifi_link_status change for RP2040 esphome#14424 by @bdraco

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2026.2.0 changelog.

ESPHome 2026.1.0: Automatic WiFi roaming and ESP-IDF by default

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

AQI

Water Heater Core

Template Water Heater

Release Overview

ESPHome 2026.1.0 delivers one of the most requested features: automatic WiFi roaming. Devices now switch to better access points after connecting, solving the problem of devices getting stuck on distant APs after power outages or AP reboots.

The web server now uses entity names directly in URLs with collision-free encoding, fixing issues that plagued non-ASCII configurations.

This release completes major security transitions: API password authentication has been removed and API encryption is now required, while OTA updates require SHA256 authentication. ESP-IDF is now the default for ESP32, ESP32-C3, ESP32-S2, and ESP32-S3, delivering up to 40% smaller binaries and faster compile times.

Months of performance optimization work culminates here: heap churn reduction plus allocator work enabled moving heap functions from IRAM to flash (saving ~6KB of IRAM on ESP32), removing object_id storage from RAM saves hundreds to thousands of bytes, zero-copy API support delivers ~42% more entities per packet, and ESP32 camera streaming improves by ~10% with lower latency. These optimizations translate directly into headroom for existing devices and reliability for years to come.

LibreTiny platforms (BK72xx, RTL87xx, LN882x) receive thread-safe WiFi, atomics support, and deep sleep that bring them closer to first-class status. New hardware support includes the RD-03D mmWave radar and BTHome v2 parsing for Xiaomi sensors, while Zigbee on nRF52 expands with sensor, binary sensor, and switch support.

Upgrade Checklist

If you used api: password:, replace it with api: encryption: key:
If you rely on Arduino-only components, explicitly set ESP32 framework to type: arduino
If you used web server URLs directly, note the new name-based URLs and the / restriction in entity names
If you have lambdas using Fan, Select, Climate, Event, or Light state methods, check the Lambda API Changes below

Building forward without leaving users behind

At the end of 2024, ESPHome completed the transition from ESP-IDF 4.x to ESP-IDF 5.x for ESP32. By early 2025, as we began addressing the higher baseline memory costs on ESP32, something important became clear. Users were telling us that their devices were running out of RAM, firmware builds were failing because flash limits were exceeded, and devices that had worked reliably for years were suddenly unstable or impossible to update.

ESPHome had grown powerful. It had also grown heavy.

That growth did not happen overnight. Since 2019, the ESPHome codebase has steadily expanded. New components, new platforms, and new capabilities were added year after year. The project kept moving forward because it had to. User demand, new hardware, and ecosystem changes did not wait.

What we did not have for a long time was enough capacity to do more than one hard thing at once.

As we started reducing memory usage on ESP32 in early 2025, the work exposed a broader pattern. ESP8266 does not use ESP-IDF, but the ESP32 transition helped us see something we had missed. As development increasingly focused on ESP32, ESP8266 became less sustainable by default. Not because users needed ESP32 features, but because that was where optimization, testing, and attention naturally concentrated. When configurations became tight or devices unstable, the path of least resistance was often to move to ESP32.

Over time, that behavior became normalized.

The ESP-IDF upgrade forced us to step back and examine why so many users had already migrated. The answer was uncomfortable but clear. ESP8266 was not failing because it could not meet user needs. It was failing because we were no longer treating it as a first class platform. By the time runtime heap on ESP8266 routinely dropped below 10k, the outcome was predictable. Even modest real world configurations became fragile, and we eventually had to advise users not to use ESP8266 at all.

That realization marked a real inflection point.

Not because the ESP32 transition was wrong, but because it revealed a dependency we had allowed to form. Progress had quietly become tied to hardware replacement. People were being left behind, not by design, but by momentum. With millions of ESP8266 devices already deployed and likely to remain in homes for years, that was not an acceptable outcome.

What changed was not direction. What changed was scale.

Increased support for the Open Home Foundation changed the equation. With more Home Assistant users supporting the ecosystem through hardware purchases and Home Assistant Cloud subscriptions, ESPHome now has two full time developers and a broader base of part time contributors. That made it possible to keep moving forward while also tackling long standing performance, memory, and sustainability work.

In the middle of 2025, pressure increased again when ESPHome upgraded from Arduino 2 to Arduino 3 for ESP32. The new Arduino core brought important long term improvements, but it also increased baseline RAM and flash usage. On top of the ESP-IDF 5 transition, the impact compounded. Rather than accepting that cost, we made a structural change and moved Arduino to run as an ESP-IDF component.

This gave us tighter control over integration, build behavior, and memory ownership, and allowed us to systematically reduce the overhead introduced by the transition.

Over the following months, work continued in parallel. New components kept landing. New platforms were supported. At the same time, we removed duplication between layers, tightened boundaries, and eliminated unused paths that had quietly accumulated over time. The goal was not just compatibility, but sustainability.

This work was guided by the principles of the Open Home Foundation. Privacy, choice, and sustainability are not abstract ideals. They show up in practical ways, in how long devices remain usable, how often hardware needs to be replaced, and whether users are forced to discard perfectly good devices just to keep their software up to date. We chose sustainability through efficiency.

By the start of 2026, these efforts converged. The ESP-IDF 5 transition, the Arduino 3 integration, and the memory reduction work across ESPHome all fell into place, producing a step change in performance, RAM availability, and flash usage across supported platforms.

The results were tangible.

On ESP8266, available heap increased from under 10k to over 30k in realistic configurations. On a platform that often only has about 45k of heap available when nearly nothing is configured, that shift fundamentally changes what is possible. Devices that were unstable became reliable, and devices that could not be updated regained headroom.

In parallel, we addressed long standing performance and latency issues on ESP32-C3. Bluetooth proxies on this platform were unreliable and frustrating, but through scheduler tuning, memory optimizations, and transport improvements, they are now viable. ESP32-S3 remains the better choice for heavy Bluetooth workloads, but C3 is no longer a dead end.

ESP8266 is no longer a platform we warn users away from. It can continue serving existing deployments well into the future, even as new projects naturally gravitate toward ESP32.

What changed in 2026 is not just memory numbers or latency graphs.

What changed is intent.

ESPHome continues to move forward with new hardware support, new components, and new features, while treating sustainability as a first class requirement rather than an afterthought.

In 2026, ESPHome is faster, leaner, and more durable. It respects the hardware it runs on and the users who already invested in it.

We learned how to move forward without leaving users behind.

WiFi Roaming Support

One of the most requested features for years: ESPHome devices now automatically switch to better access points after connecting (esphome#12809).

This addresses three scenarios where devices get stuck on suboptimal APs:

AP reboot - Device connects to a distant AP while the nearby one restarts, never switches back
Power outage - Devices connect to whichever AP recovers first, often the worst option
Improv provisioning - Bluetooth or serial setup may pick a suboptimal AP

For Bluetooth proxies or Z-Wave adapters, a poor WiFi connection cascades into widespread failures. Until now, the only fix was manually restarting each device.

Post-connect roaming is designed for stationary devices and is intentionally conservative. If you already configured 802.11k or 802.11v roaming, post-connect roaming disables itself automatically. Devices scan up to 3 times after connecting (every 5 minutes), skip scanning when signal is already excellent, and only roam when finding a meaningfully better signal. Users shouldn’t need to understand RSSI thresholds to get reliable WiFi behavior.

# Enabled by default, but can be disabled:
wifi:
  ssid: !secret wifi_ssid
  password: !secret wifi_password
  post_connect_roaming: false  # To disable

Web Server Improvements

The web server now uses entity names directly in URLs instead of sanitized object_id values (esphome#12627), fixing long-standing issues with URL collisions. This change is part of the broader effort to eliminate object_id collisions with non-ASCII characters - a key step toward proper UTF-8 support so users can use non-ASCII entity names in Home Assistant without collisions.

Problems Solved:

UTF-8 name collisions - Different UTF-8 names like "温度传感器" (temperature) and "湿度传感器" (humidity) previously both became "___", making them indistinguishable
Sub-device collisions - Multiple devices with entities named “Temperature” now have unique URLs like /sensor/Garage/Temperature

New URL Format:

# Main device entity
/sensor/Temperature

# Sub-device entity
/sensor/Garage/Temperature

# UTF-8 names work correctly
/sensor/温度

Old URLs using object_id format (e.g., /sensor/temperature_sensor) continue to work during a deprecation period until 2026.7.0.

SSE Entity IDs: A deprecation path was added for SSE event entity IDs. The payload now includes a temporary name_id field (new format like sensor/Temperature) alongside id (legacy format like sensor-temperature). Timeline: In 2026.8.0, name_id will be removed and id will switch to the new format. Third-party integrations should prefer name_id now, falling back to id for compatibility with older firmware. Integrations requiring the legacy format after 2026.8.0 must implement their own conversion logic.

Important restrictions:

Names may not include / because it is reserved as a URL path separator
Names used in URLs are limited to 120 characters

Brotli Compression for Web Assets

Web server and captive portal assets now use Brotli compression by default, saving significant flash space (esphome#12959):

captive_portal: 348 bytes saved (24%)
web_server v2: 1,210 bytes saved (10%)
web_server v3: 9,420 bytes saved (12%)

Security Enhancements

This release includes significant security improvements that complete long-standing deprecations:

API Password Authentication Removed

Password authentication has been removed from the API component after being deprecated since May 2022 (esphome#12819). Password authentication only verified identity while all data was still transmitted in plaintext. Noise-based encryption provides both authentication and a fully encrypted data stream.

If your configuration still has password:, it will fail to compile. Users must migrate to encryption:

api:
  encryption:
    key: !secret api_encryption_key
# Generate a key with: openssl rand -base64 32

OTA Authentication Upgraded

MD5 authentication support has been removed from OTA updates (esphome#12707). SHA256 is now mandatory, preventing protocol downgrade attacks.

NOTE

ESPHome versions before 2025.10.0 that use password authentication cannot OTA to devices running 2026.1.0 or later.

If you use multiple systems to install and/or update your ESPHome devices, be sure they’re all up-to-date! If you need to downgrade to a version before 2025.10.0, downgrade to 2025.12.x first, then OTA to an earlier version.

HMAC-SHA256 Support

A new hmac_sha256 component provides HMAC support using the more secure SHA256 algorithm (esphome#12437).

ESP-IDF Default Framework

This release completes the transition announced in ESPHome 2025.8.0: ESP-IDF is now the default framework for ESP32, ESP32-C3, ESP32-S2, and ESP32-S3 (esphome#12746). Users have been warned about this change for months.

Benefits:

Up to 40% smaller firmware binaries - More room for features
Up to 2-3x faster compile times - Quicker development cycles
Better performance - Improved runtime characteristics
Access to newer features - Full ESP-IDF capabilities

This release also bumps to ESP-IDF 5.5.2 (esphome#12681).

To continue using Arduino for components that require it (such as heatpumpir or midea), explicitly set type: arduino in your configuration. See the Arduino to ESP-IDF Migration Guide for details.

esp32:
  board: esp32dev
  framework:
    type: arduino  # Explicitly use Arduino if needed

Performance & Memory Optimizations

This release represents the culmination of months of work to reduce heap churn and memory usage throughout ESPHome, resulting in significant improvements across all platforms.

Heap Churn Reduction

Systematic elimination of unnecessary dynamic allocations means heap functions (malloc, free, realloc) are now primarily called during setup, not during normal operation. This enabled moving heap functions from IRAM to flash on ESP32, saving ~6KB of IRAM (esphome#12862).

Key optimizations include:

StaticVector and FixedVector replacing std::vector where sizes are known
const char* for static strings instead of std::string
Pre-allocated buffers instead of dynamic allocation in hot paths
Stack allocation where possible
Audio/video components using pre-allocated ring buffers

Object ID RAM Removal

The object_id field is no longer stored in RAM, saving significant memory especially on ESP8266 (esphome#12631):

ESP8266 (37 entities): ~886 bytes saved (~24 bytes/entity)
ESP32 (102 entities): ~497 bytes saved (~5 bytes/entity)
Large setups (800 entities): ~3,600 bytes saved

ESP8266 Memory Optimizations

ESP8266 receives additional memory optimizations:

Unused waveform code excluded - Saves 596 bytes RAM when esp8266_pwm is not used (esphome#12690)
Unused Serial objects excluded - Saves 32-64 bytes RAM (esphome#12736)

ESP-IDF 5.5.2 Compiler Improvements

The bump to ESP-IDF 5.5.2 includes compiler improvements that reduce flash usage by ~35KB (~4%) on typical ESP32 configurations (esphome#12681). The libc component alone shrank by ~15KB.

Logging Optimizations

Over 100 components received logging optimizations that combine consecutive log statements into single calls (esphome#12838, esphome#12860, esphome#12856, and many more). Each ESP_LOG* call involves formatting, memory allocation, serial output, and network packet transmission. Combining them significantly reduces event loop blocking and the number of network packets sent to connected clients.

Additional logging improvements:

Thread-safe logging on host platform - Consistent behavior across platforms (esphome#13010)
RAII guards for recursion protection - Optimized hot path performance (esphome#13194)
StaticVector for log listeners - Compile-time sizing eliminates heap allocation (esphome#13196)

Zero-Copy API Protocol

Zero-copy message handling is now complete and enabled by default for all protobuf messages (esphome#12816), eliminating unnecessary memory copies during API communication. Combined with removing object_id from the wire protocol (esphome#12818) and 33% smaller batch items (esphome#13199), this provides:

~42% more entities per packet (24 → 34)
Faster Home Assistant reconnects - especially noticeable for large setups
Reduced protocol overhead - no longer sending the name twice
Lower CPU usage - zero-copy eliminates buffer allocations during message processing
33% less RAM per queued message - batch items reduced from 12 to 8 bytes

ESP32 Network Latency Reduction

Socket operations on ESP32 now call lwip_read() and lwip_write() directly instead of going through ESP-IDF’s VFS layer (esphome#13179). This reduces latency for API connections, async TCP, and voice assistant components by eliminating unnecessary function pointer dispatches.

PSRAM Workaround Optimization

ESP32 r3.0+ users with PSRAM can now save ~10KB of IRAM by setting minimum_chip_revision: "3.0" (esphome#13074). This disables workarounds for silicon bugs that were fixed in newer chip revisions.

LibreTiny Platform Improvements

LibreTiny platforms (BK72xx, RTL87xx, LN882x) receive significant improvements that bring them closer to first-class platform status:

Thread-safe logging - Prevents buffer corruption and connection failures when non-main tasks log messages (esphome#13062)
Cortex-M4 atomics support - Enables proper atomic operations on RTL87xx and LN882x platforms (esphome#13191)
Thread-safe WiFi - Improved WiFi reliability in multi-threaded scenarios (esphome#13191)
Board regeneration - Updated board definitions with consolidated platform code (esphome#13191)
Deep sleep support - BK7231n and BK7231t chips now support deep sleep with configurable timer and GPIO wake-up (esphome#12267)
BLE stack disabled on BK7231N - Saves ~21KB RAM and ~225KB flash since ESPHome has no BLE support on LibreTiny (esphome#13131)
LibreTiny 1.9.2 - Fixes GPIO interrupt issues on LN882H that caused HLW8012/BL0937 power sensors to report zero (esphome#13077)

New Hardware Support

RD-03D mmWave Radar

The rd03d component adds support for the Ai-Thinker RD-03D 24GHz millimeter-wave radar module with multi-target trajectory tracking (esphome#12764).

Features:

Multi-target tracking - Tracks up to 3 simultaneous targets
Rich sensor data - X, Y coordinates, speed, distance, and angle for each target

BTHome MiThermometer

The bthome_mithermometer platform enables receiving data from Xiaomi Mijia BLE sensors running PVVX firmware with BTHome v2 format (esphome#12635). Starting with PVVX firmware version 6, BTHome v2 is the only supported format.

Air Quality Index Sensor

A new standalone aqi sensor computes Air Quality Index from particulate matter readings (esphome#12203, esphome#12958). It supports both EPA AQI (US) and CAQI (European) calculation methods.

sensor:
  - platform: pmsx003
    pm_2_5:
      id: pm25
    pm_10_0:
      id: pm10

  - platform: aqi
    name: "Air Quality Index"
    pm_2_5: pm25
    pm_10_0: pm10
    calculation_type: AQI  # or CAQI for European standard

Zigbee Support for nRF52

ESPHome now supports Zigbee on nRF52 platforms, bringing a new connectivity option alongside WiFi, Bluetooth, and Thread:

Binary sensor support - Expose GPIO states via Zigbee (esphome#11535)
Sensor support - Expose ESPHome sensors via Zigbee’s Analog Input cluster with automatic unit mapping (esphome#12187)
Switch support - Control ESPHome switches via Zigbee as binary output (esphome#13083)
wipe_on_boot: once - Wipe network settings only on first boot, preserving connections after OTA updates
Framework version support - Configure nRF-SDK version with experimental support for SDK 2.9.2 and 3.2.0 (esphome#12489)

OTA Rollback Support

ESP32 devices using ESP-IDF now support automatic OTA rollback (esphome#12460). When enabled (the default), the bootloader automatically rolls back to the previous firmware if the device crashes or resets before the boot is marked as successful.

This feature works with the safe_mode component - after a successful boot (determined by the safe_mode boot timer), the firmware is marked as valid. If the device crashes before that point, it automatically rolls back.

Note: Your bootloader must be compiled with the appropriate sdkconfig. If upgrading from an older bootloader, a serial flash may be required.

Platform & Component Improvements

AC Dimmer ESP-IDF Support

The ac_dimmer component now supports ESP-IDF framework in addition to Arduino (esphome#7072).

DSMR ESP-IDF Support

The dsmr component now supports ESP-IDF framework and fixes multiple bugs with the DSMR parsing (esphome#11036).

ESP32 Camera Performance

The esp32_camera component received significant performance improvements (esphome#12601):

~10% more frames delivered during streaming (510-523 vs 467-474 per 60 seconds)
~50% reduction in idle CPU usage by skipping work when no frames are pending
Lower latency through burst frame delivery and immediate wake signals instead of polling

Water Heater Component

ESPHome now includes a dedicated water_heater entity type for controlling water heaters, boilers, and similar hot water appliances (esphome#12498, esphome#12516, esphome#12511).

Template platform - Full control via automations and lambdas
Multiple operating modes - Support for eco, gas, and custom modes
Web server support - Control and monitor via the built-in web interface

NOTE

Home Assistant integration for water heater entities is not yet available. See home-assistant/core#159201 for progress.

water_heater:
  - platform: template
    name: "Boiler"
    supported_modes:
      - eco
      - gas
    visual:
      min_temperature: 10.0
      max_temperature: 85.0

Experimental: IR/RF Proxy Component

WARNING

This component is experimental and the API is likely to change in future releases.

The new ir_rf_proxy component provides an API-accessible interface for transmitting and receiving infrared and RF signals, bridging Home Assistant with ESPHome’s existing remote_receiver and remote_transmitter components (esphome#12985).

Key Features:

Home Assistant integration - IR/RF transmission and reception exposed through the native API
Flexible hardware support - Works with both infrared and RF configurations
Raw timing arrays - Maximum flexibility with minimal on-device processing
Bidirectional operation - Define multiple proxy instances for transmit and receive

This component is part of a broader effort to make IR & RF easier to use from within Home Assistant. A new experimental infrared entity platform (esphome#13129) provides the underlying infrastructure.

infrared:
  - platform: ir_rf_proxy
    name: IR Proxy Transmitter
    remote_transmitter_id: ir_tx
  - platform: ir_rf_proxy
    name: IR Proxy Receiver
    remote_receiver_id: ir_rx

Additional Features

UART event component - Trigger ESPHome events when receiving specific UART sequences (esphome#11765)
Templatable MQTT topics - Dynamic state and command topics via lambdas (esphome#12441)
Update check action - Trigger HTTP-based update checks from automations (esphome#12415)
SPI flexible data rates - Any achievable data rate within 5% can now be specified (esphome#12753)
Hub75 improvements - Rotation support, expanded bit depths (4-12), and brightness action (esphome#12674, esphome#12521)
ESP32 CAN listen-only mode - Passive bus monitoring without sending ACK signals (esphome#13084)
MMC5603 temperature compensation - Eliminates thermal variation in magnetometer readings (esphome#12556)
MHZ19 configurable detection range - Set detection range at setup or dynamically via action (esphome#12677)
ESP32 RMT LED strip inverted logic - Support for simple transistor-based level shifters (esphome#12825)
ESP32 Hosted HTTP updates - Fetch coprocessor firmware from remote manifests (esphome#13090)
Thermostat boolean heat_cool_mode - Simplified configuration without requiring automations (esphome#13069)

Breaking Changes

Platform Changes

ESP32: ESP-IDF is now the default framework for ESP32, ESP32-C3, ESP32-S2, and ESP32-S3. Users who relied on the implicit Arduino default must now explicitly specify type: arduino if they need Arduino-specific features or have components that don’t yet support ESP-IDF (such as heatpumpir, midea, or light with wled effect). esphome#12746
ESP8266: Unused Arduino Serial objects are now excluded from builds. Users who directly use Serial or Serial1 in lambdas must now explicitly enable them with enable_serial: true or enable_serial1: true under the esp8266: configuration. Most users are unaffected as Serial usage typically goes through the uart component. esphome#12736
ESP8266: Unused waveform code is now excluded from builds when esp8266_pwm is not used, saving 596 bytes of RAM. Users who directly use Arduino waveform functions in lambdas must add an esp8266_pwm component to their configuration. esphome#12690

Security Changes

API: Password authentication has been removed after being deprecated since May 2022. Configurations with password: will fail to build. Users must migrate to encryption: with a key generated via openssl rand -base64 32. esphome#12819
```
api:
  encryption:
    key: !secret api_encryption_key
```
OTA: ESPHome versions before 2025.10.0 cannot perform OTA updates to devices running this version. MD5 authentication support has been removed; SHA256 is now mandatory. esphome#12707

Component Changes

Sprinkler: Internal latching valve support has been removed. The configuration variables pump_pulse_duration, pump_off_switch_id, pump_on_switch_id, valve_pulse_duration, valve_off_switch_id, and valve_on_switch_id are no longer available. Users with latching valves must now use an H-Bridge switch with the standard valve_switch_id and/or pump_switch_id configuration. esphome#12603
Web Server: URLs now use entity names instead of sanitized object_id values. Old URLs (e.g., /sensor/temperature_sensor) still work but are deprecated and will be removed in 2026.7.0. Additionally, the / character is no longer allowed in entity, device, or area names (reserved as URL path separator), and names are limited to 120 characters maximum. esphome#12627
ESP32 Hosted: The update configuration now requires an explicit type: field. Existing embedded mode configurations must add type: embedded. A new type: http mode allows fetching firmware from remote manifests. esphome#13090
HM3301: The AQI sensor configuration has been refactored into a shared aqi component. Existing aqi: configurations under hm3301 continue to work but the implementation is now shared with pmsx003. esphome#12203
MMC5603: The auto_set_reset option is now enabled by default to eliminate temperature-related drift. This reduces maximum read frequency from 150Hz to 75Hz. Users requiring high-frequency reads can set auto_set_reset: false. esphome#12556
Ultrasonic: The timeout option is deprecated and will be removed in 2026.8.0. A fixed 80ms measurement timeout is now used to fix reliability issues with some SR04 sensors that have a 12.3ms delay before sending pulses. esphome#12897

Behavior Changes

API: The on_client_disconnected trigger now fires after the client is removed from the connection list, so api.connected correctly reflects the true connection state. Users who added delay: 1ms workarounds can remove them. Users who relied on the disconnecting client still being counted may need to adjust their logic. esphome#13088
Display Drivers: Multiple display drivers now correctly honor clipping for fill() and clear() operations. Code that relied on the previous (incorrect) behavior where fills ignored clipping regions may produce different results. esphome#12808
Build Info: The compilation_time field in the native API now correctly updates on every compile (previously only updated when main.cpp was rebuilt). The version text sensor format has changed to include config hash. esphome#12425

Deprecations

custom_components folder: The custom_components folder is deprecated and will be removed in 2026.6.0. Users should migrate to external_components instead. A warning appears if the folder exists and contains files. esphome#12552

Lambda API Changes

Users with lambdas that access component state should note the following changes. These methods now return StringRef instead of const char*, which is safer but requires minor syntax changes:

Fan: get_preset_mode() returns StringRef. Use .empty() instead of != nullptr checks, and == for string comparison instead of strcmp(). esphome#13092
Select: current_option() returns StringRef. Use .empty() instead of != nullptr checks. esphome#13095
Climate: get_custom_fan_mode() and get_custom_preset() return StringRef. Use has_custom_fan_mode() or .empty() instead of != nullptr checks. esphome#13103
Event: get_last_event_type() returns StringRef. Use has_event() or .empty() instead of != nullptr checks. esphome#13104
Light: get_effect_name() returns StringRef instead of std::string. esphome#13105

Breaking Changes for Developers

Application API: get_compilation_time() deprecated (removal 2026.7.0), get_compilation_time_ref() removed. Use get_build_time() (Unix timestamp), get_config_hash(), get_config_version_hash(), or get_build_time_string(buffer) instead. esphome#12425
Fan API: Fan::get_preset_mode() returns StringRef instead of const char*. Returns empty ref when no preset is set. Use has_preset_mode() or .empty() instead of nullptr checks. New apply_preset_mode_(call) helper for derived classes. esphome#13092
Select API: Select::current_option() returns StringRef instead of const char*. Returns empty ref when no state is set. esphome#13095
Climate API: Climate::get_custom_fan_mode() and Climate::get_custom_preset() return StringRef instead of const char*. New StringRef overloads for set_custom_fan_mode_() and set_custom_preset_() protected setters. esphome#13103
Event API: Event::get_last_event_type() returns StringRef instead of const char*. New has_event() method added. esphome#13104
Light API: LightEffect::get_name() returns StringRef instead of const char*. LightState::get_effect_name() returns StringRef instead of std::string. New str_equals_case_insensitive(StringRef, StringRef) helper in helpers.h. esphome#13105
ESP8266 Serial: External components using Arduino Serial or Serial1 directly must call enable_serial() or enable_serial1() from esphome.components.esp8266.const in their to_code() function. esphome#12736

For detailed migration guides and API documentation, see the ESPHome Developers Documentation.

Release 2026.1.1 - January 22

[wifi] Process scan results one at a time to avoid heap allocation esphome#13400 by @bdraco
[lvgl] Validate LVGL dropdown symbols require Unicode codepoint ≥ 0x100 esphome#13394 by @Copilot
[http_request] Fix verify_ssl: false not working on ESP32 esphome#13422 by @swoboda1337
[esp32] Add warning for experimental 400MHz on ESP32-P4 esphome#13433 by @swoboda1337
[wifi] Fix bk72xx manual_ip preventing API connection esphome#13426 by @bdraco
[spi] Fix display init failure by marking displays as write-only for half-duplex mode esphome#13431 by @bdraco
[http_request] Fix OTA failures on ESP8266/Arduino by making read semantics consistent esphome#13435 by @bdraco
[dht] Increase delay for DHT22 and RHT03 esphome#13446 by @rguca
[api] Limit Nagle batching for log messages to reduce LWIP buffer pressure esphome#13439 by @bdraco
[wifi] Fix stale error_from_callback_ causing immediate connection failures esphome#13450 by @bdraco
[fingerprint_grow] Use buffer-based dump_summary to fix deprecation warnings esphome#13447 by @swoboda1337
[aqi] Remove unit_of_measurement to fix Home Assistant warning esphome#13448 by @swoboda1337
[time] Always call time sync callbacks even when time unchanged esphome#13456 by @bdraco

Release 2026.1.2 - January 25

[st7701s] Fix dump_summary deprecation warning esphome#13462 by @bdraco
[mipi_rgb] Fix dump_summary deprecation warning esphome#13463 by @bdraco
[rpi_dpi_rgb] Fix dump_summary deprecation warning esphome#13461 by @bdraco
[ir_rf_proxy] Remove unnecessary headers, add tests esphome#13464 by @kbx81
[mipi_rgb] Add software reset command to st7701s init sequence esphome#13470 by @clydebarrow
[slow_pwm] Fix dump_summary deprecation warning esphome#13460 by @bdraco
[sen5x] Fix store baseline functionality esphome#13469 by @mikelawrence
[lvgl] Fix setting empty text esphome#13494 by @clydebarrow
[light] Fix cwww state restore esphome#13493 by @kbx81
[rd03d] Fix speed and resolution field order esphome#13495 by @jasstrong
[modbus_controller] Fix YAML serialization error with custom_command esphome#13482 by @swoboda1337
[i2c] Increase ESP-IDF I2C transaction timeout from 20ms to 100ms esphome#13483 by @swoboda1337
[wifi] Fix watchdog timeout on P4 WiFi scan esphome#13520 by @clydebarrow
[wifi] Fix scan flag race condition causing reconnect failure on ESP8266/LibreTiny esphome#13514 by @bdraco

Release 2026.1.3 - January 29

Update webserver local assets to 20260122-204614 esphome#13455 by @esphomebot
[mhz19] Fix Uninitialized var warning message esphome#13526 by @sebcaps
[ota] Improve error message when device closes connection without responding esphome#13562 by @bdraco
[socket] ESP8266: call delay(0) instead of esp_delay(0, cb) for zero timeout esphome#13530 by @bdraco
[web_server] Add name_id to SSE for entity ID format migration esphome#13535 by @bdraco
Update webserver local assets to 20260127-190637 esphome#13573 by @esphomebot
[ld2450] preserve precision of angle esphome#13600 by @ccutrer
[wifi] Fix ESP8266 yield panic when WiFi scan fails esphome#13603 by @bdraco
[http_request] Fix empty body for chunked transfer encoding responses esphome#13599 by @bdraco

Release 2026.1.4 - February 4

[mipi_spi] Fix log_pin() FlashStringHelper compatibility esphome#13624 by @J0k3r2k1
[max7219] Allocate buffer in constructor esphome#13660 by @swoboda1337
[mqtt] resolve warnings related to use of ip.str() esphome#13719 by @rwrozelle
[core] Add missing uint32_t ID overloads for defer() and cancel_defer() esphome#13720 by @bdraco
[http_request] Fix requests taking full timeout when response is already complete esphome#13649 by @bdraco
[cse7766] Fix power reading stuck when load switches off esphome#13734 by @bdraco
[wifi] Fix wifi.connected condition returning false in connect state listener automations esphome#13733 by @bdraco
[ultrasonic] adjust timeouts and bring the parameter back esphome#13738 by @ssieb

Release 2026.1.5 - February 11

[rd03d] Revert incorrect field order swap esphome#13769 by @jasstrong
[core] Add capacity check to register_component_ esphome#13778 by @swoboda1337
[ota] Fix CLI upload option shown when only http_request platform configured esphome#13784 by @swoboda1337
[dashboard] Close WebSocket after process exit to prevent zombie connections esphome#13834 by @bdraco
[nrf52,logger] fix printk esphome#13874 by @tomaszduda23
[lvgl] Fix crash with unconfigured top_layer esphome#13846 by @clydebarrow
[esp32] Set UV_CACHE_DIR inside data dir so Clean All clears it esphome#13888 by @swoboda1337
[aqi] Fix AQI calculation for specific pm2.5 or pm10 readings esphome#13770 by @xconverge

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2026.1.0 changelog.

ESPHome 2025.12.0: API action responses and HUB75 matrix displays

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Release Overview

ESPHome 2025.12.0 introduces API action responses for bidirectional communication with Home Assistant, conditional package inclusion for dynamic configurations, and HUB75 LED matrix display support. This release delivers significant memory optimizations saving up to 10KB of IRAM on ESP32 devices, eliminates per-packet heap allocations in API connections and socket latency on ESP8266, and adds 8 new components including the CC1101 sub-GHz transceiver and USB CDC-ACM support. LVGL receives multiple usability improvements, and the WiFi component has been refactored for instant callback-based updates across all platforms.

API Action Responses

The Native API now supports actions that send structured responses back to clients like Home Assistant, enabling true bidirectional communication where actions return success/error status and JSON data payloads (esphome#12136).

Key Features:

Status responses - Report success or failure with optional error messages
Data responses - Return structured JSON data from actions using ArduinoJson
Auto-detection - Response mode automatically detected based on api.respond usage
Three modes - none (fire and forget), status (success/error only), or optional/only (with data)

This unlocks new use cases like query-type actions that return device configuration, sensor readings, or diagnostic information directly to Home Assistant.

api:
  actions:
    - action: get_sensor_reading
      variables:
        sensor_name: string
      then:
        - api.respond:
            data: !lambda |-
              root["sensor"] = sensor_name;
              root["value"] = 42.5;
              root["unit"] = "°C";

Conditional Package Inclusion

The packages system now supports conditional inclusion, a long-awaited feature that enables dynamic configuration based on substitution variables (esphome#11605).

Key Features:

Conditional imports - Include packages based on boolean conditions using Jinja2 expressions
Package merging after substitutions - Packages are now merged after substitution resolution, enabling generated components to merge correctly with manually defined ones
LVGL extend support - The !extend and !remove directives now work with LVGL-style configurations (esphome#11534)

substitutions:
  network_package: !include network.yaml
  network_enabled: true

packages:
  - ${ network_enabled and network_package or {} }

This enables creating reusable configuration templates that adapt to different hardware variants or deployment scenarios.

HUB75 LED Matrix Display Support

The new hub75 component brings native support for HUB75 LED matrix panels, enabling large-format LED displays for information dashboards, signage, and creative projects (esphome#11153).

Key Features:

Multiple ESP32 variants - Supports ESP32 (I2S), ESP32-S3 (LCD CAM + GDMA), and ESP32-P4 (PARLIO)
Flexible configuration - Configurable panel dimensions, clock speed, and pin assignments
LVGL compatible - Works seamlessly with LVGL for rich graphical interfaces
Board presets - Pre-configured settings for popular boards like Apollo Automation M1

CC1101 Sub-1GHz Transceiver

The new cc1101 component adds support for the Texas Instruments CC1101 Sub-1GHz transceiver, enabling 433MHz remote control integration and other sub-GHz wireless applications (esphome#11849).

Key Features:

433.92MHz support - Perfect for integrating 433MHz remotes and sensors
ASK/OOK modulation - Works with common remote control protocols
Core integration - Designed to work with remote_receiver and remote_transmitter components
Robust initialization - Non-blocking state machine with proper chip reset handling

USB CDC-ACM Support

The new usb_cdc_acm component enables USB virtual serial port functionality on ESP32-S2 and ESP32-S3 devices (esphome#11687).

Key Features:

Multi-interface support - Up to 2 independent CDC-ACM interfaces per device
Configurable buffers - Adjustable RX/TX ring buffer sizes
Line state callbacks - Notifications for DTR, RTS, baud rate, and other line coding changes
Bridge-ready - Designed to connect USB serial interfaces to UART or other serial interfaces

WiFi Info Callback Architecture

The WiFi component has been refactored from polling-based updates to event-driven callbacks, significantly improving responsiveness (esphome#10748).

Key Features:

Immediate updates - WiFi info sensors now update instantly when state changes instead of waiting for poll intervals
Reduced overhead - Eliminates continuous polling in wifi_info sensors
Platform consistency - All platforms (ESP8266, ESP32, LibreTiny, Pico W) now use the same callback infrastructure
New power save mode sensor - Reports current WiFi power save mode (esphome#11480)
AP active condition - New wifi.ap_active condition for automation triggers (esphome#11852)

Low Latency UART Processing

The UART component now supports a wake_loop_on_rx flag that wakes the main loop immediately when data arrives, enabling near-real-time serial processing (esphome#12172).

Key Benefits:

Z-Wave Proxy performance - Reduces latency by ~10ms for WiFi-connected ZWA-2 devices, building on the USB-connected Ethernet/PoE optimizations from 2025.11.0 (esphome#12135)
Real-time serial applications - Any component requiring fast response to incoming serial data can now achieve sub-millisecond wake times by enabling this flag in their code
Automatic infrastructure - The socket wake infrastructure is automatically enabled when any UART requests RX wake

ESP8266 Socket Latency Elimination

ESP8266 previously had higher network latency than ESP32 and LibreTiny because it used polling for socket data, sleeping up to 16ms before discovering incoming data. This affected every API request and Home Assistant command. The loop now wakes within microseconds of data arriving using ESP8266’s esp_schedule() mechanism, bringing ESP8266 to near parity with ESP32 and LibreTiny. This is automatic for all ESP8266 devices with no configuration needed (esphome#12397).

Memory and IRAM Optimizations

This release includes substantial memory optimizations, particularly for ESP32 devices using ESP-IDF:

FreeRTOS and Ring Buffer Flash Placement:

~8KB IRAM savings - FreeRTOS functions moved to flash by default (esphome#12182)
~1.5KB additional IRAM savings - Ring buffer functions moved to flash (esphome#12184)
Escape hatches - Use freertos_in_iram: true or ringbuf_in_iram: true if issues occur

These changes prepare ESPHome for ESP-IDF 6.0 where flash placement becomes the default.

BLE Client Memory Reduction:

24-40 bytes per BLE client - Replaced std::string with fixed char[18] for MAC address storage (esphome#12070)

Text Sensor Optimization:

24-32 bytes per text sensor - Eliminated duplicate string storage when no filters configured (esphome#12205)

Dashboard Import Optimization:

Eliminates URL heap allocation:
- Package import URL is now stored as a pointer to .rodata instead of a heap-allocated std::string.
- On ESP32, .rodata resides in flash, providing RAM savings.
- On ESP8266, .rodata is in RAM, but this still avoids heap overhead.
- (esphome#11951)

API Connection Optimizations:

The API connection layer received significant optimizations to reduce heap fragmentation and memory churn:

Eliminated per-packet heap allocation - Previously every API packet received required a new heap allocation. The receive buffer is now reused across packets, with excess capacity released after initial sync completes. This reduces heap fragmentation on busy devices. For quiet devices, the initial sync memory spike is released rather than held for the lifetime of the connection. (Connections can last for months.) (esphome#12133)
Zero-copy API commands - Select and light effect commands now process strings directly from protobuf buffer without heap allocation (esphome#12329, esphome#12384)
Flash storage for device info - Device info strings stored in flash on ESP8266 (esphome#12173)
Flash storage for state subscriptions - Home Assistant state subscriptions stored in flash instead of heap (esphome#12008)
Reduced service call storage - Home Assistant service call strings use less heap (esphome#12151)
APINoiseContext optimization - Removed shared_ptr overhead (esphome#11981)
Loop-based reboot timeout - Avoids scheduler heap churn (esphome#12291)

Sensor Timeout Filter Optimization:

Eliminates scheduler heap churn - Timeout filters now use a loop-based implementation instead of scheduler timeouts. This is particularly important for LD2410/LD2420/LD2450 users with many timeout filters, where the old implementation caused ~70 heap operations/second and constant scheduler pool exhaustion when someone was in range of the sensor (esphome#11922)

New Hardware Support

This release adds support for 8 new components and numerous display models:

New Sensor Components:

hlw8032 - Single-phase power metering IC (esphome#7241)
stts22h - High-accuracy temperature sensor (esphome#11778)
thermopro_ble - ThermoPro BLE temperature/humidity sensors (esphome#11835)
hc8 - HC8 CO2 sensor (esphome#11872)

New Time Component:

bm8563 - BM8563 I2C RTC (esphome#11616)

New Display Models:

Waveshare 4.26” e-paper with SSD1677 controller (esphome#11887)
Waveshare S3 LCD 3.16” (esphome#12309)
Guition JC4827W543 480x272 display (esphome#12034)
Guition JC4880P443 480x800 MIPI DSI display (esphome#12068)
M5Stack Core2 display (esphome#12301)

Platform Enhancements:

ESP32-C5 PSRAM support with quad mode and speeds up to 120MHz (esphome#12215)
Seeed XIAO ESP32-C6 board definition (esphome#12307)
Remote transmitter/receiver support for RP2040 (esphome#12048)
nRF52 DC-DC converter settings (esphome#11841)

LVGL Improvements

Multiple enhancements improve the LVGL experience:

Direct button text - Set text: directly on buttons without nested label widgets (esphome#11964)
Auto row/column padding - pad_all now applies to inter-row/column spacing in flex layouts (esphome#11879)
Display sync option - New update_when_display_idle option syncs LVGL updates with display refresh (esphome#11896)
Enhanced arc widget - More arc parameters available in update actions (esphome#12066)
Scroll properties - Added missing scroll-related configuration options (esphome#11901)

Component Enhancements

Gree Climate:

New turbo, light, health, and xfan switches for supported models (esphome#12160)

Climate IR:

Optional humidity sensor support (esphome#9805)

SPS30 Particulate Sensor:

Idle mode functionality to extend sensor life and reduce power consumption (esphome#12255)

PCA9685 PWM:

Phase balancer option to fix LED flickering during animations (esphome#9792)

Prometheus:

Event and text component metrics support (esphome#10240)

MCP3204 ADC:

Differential mode measurement support (esphome#7436)

Developer Features

IDF Component Improvements:

Shorthand syntax for ESP-IDF components like espressif/esp_hosted^2.6.6 (esphome#12127)
YAML can now override component versions defined in code

API Enhancements:

state_subscription_only flag for reliable API connection detection without logger false positives (esphome#11906)
New measurement_angle state class for angle sensors (esphome#12085)

Breaking Changes

Component Changes

Micronova: Multiple configuration changes (esphome#12226, esphome#12318, esphome#12371):
- update_interval moved from hub to individual entities - remove from micronova: section and add to each sensor/text_sensor
- memory_location now restricted to read locations (0x00-0x79) - subtract 0x80 from values above 0x79
- memory_write_location removed from number entities (now calculated automatically)
- Custom button/sensor entities now require explicit memory_location and address configuration
Prometheus: Light color metrics (light_color_*) are now only generated if the light component supports those color modes. This reduces memory usage on ESP8266 but may affect monitoring setups that expected all metrics regardless of light capabilities. esphome#9530
Text Sensor: The public raw_state member has been removed. If you access .raw_state directly in a lambda, update to use .get_raw_state() instead. esphome#12205

Platform Changes

I2C on ESP32-C5/C6/P4: Fixed I2C port logic for chips with Low Power (LP) I2C ports. Users with multiple I2C buses on these chips may need to verify their port assignments. esphome#12063

Behavior Changes

WiFi Info: Text sensors now use callback-based updates instead of polling. Updates happen immediately when WiFi state changes rather than on fixed intervals. This improves responsiveness but may change timing behavior if your automations depended on the polling interval. esphome#10748

Breaking Changes for Developers

Component::mark_failed() and status_set_error(): The const char* overloads are deprecated and will be removed in 2026.6.0. Use LOG_STR() instead: this->mark_failed(LOG_STR("Error message")). This fixes dangling pointer bugs when passing temporary strings. esphome#12021
BLEClientBase::address_str(): Return type changed from const std::string& to const char*. Remove .c_str() calls: client->address_str() instead of client->address_str().c_str(). esphome#12070
TextSensor::raw_state: Changed from public member to protected raw_state_. Use get_raw_state() method instead of direct member access. esphome#12205
WiFi component callbacks: New callback architecture with wifi_connect_state_callback_, ip_state_callback_, and wifi_scan_state_callback_. Automation triggers moved to automation.h. esphome#10748
Micronova: MicroNovaFunctions enum removed - value interpretation now determined at compile time. The get_set_fan_speed_offset() public method removed from sensor entity. esphome#12363

For detailed migration guides and API documentation, see the ESPHome Developers Documentation.

Release 2025.12.1 - December 19

[cc1101] Fix default frequencies esphome#12539 by @anna-oake
[pm1006] Fix “never” update interval detection esphome#12529 by @jackwilsdon
[bme68x_bsec2_i2c] Add MULTI_CONF to fix multiple sensors esphome#12535 by @swoboda1337
[esp32_camera] Fix I2C driver conflict with other components esphome#12533 by @swoboda1337
[template.alarm_control_panel] Fix compile without binary_sensor esphome#12548 by @swoboda1337
[esp32_ble, esp32_ble_tracker] Fix crash, error messages when ble.disable called during boot esphome#12560 by @kbx81

Release 2025.12.2 - December 23

[pca9685,sx126x,sx127x] Use frequency/float_range check esphome#12490 by @ximex
[wifi] Fix for wifi_info when static IP is configured esphome#12576 by @kbx81
[display_menu_base] Call on_value_ after updating the select esphome#12584 by @ellull
[hub75] Bump esp-hub75 version to 0.1.7 esphome#12564 by @stuartparmenter
[syslog] send NIL (”-”) as timestamp if time source is not valid esphome#12588 by @leo-b
[cc1101] Fix option defaults and move them to YAML esphome#12608 by @anna-oake
[esp32_camera] Throttle frame logging to reduce overhead and improve throughput esphome#12586 by @bdraco
[cc1101] Fix packet mode RSSI/LQI esphome#12630 by @swoboda1337

Release 2025.12.3 - December 30

[lvgl] Fix lambdas in canvas actions called from outside LVGL context esphome#12671 by @bdraco
[core] Fix incremental build failures when adding components on ESP32-Arduino esphome#12745 by @bdraco

Release 2025.12.4 - December 31

[hub75] Add clipping check esphome#12762 by @stuartparmenter
[wifi] Fix ESP-IDF reporting connected before DHCP completes on reconnect esphome#12755 by @bdraco
[docker] Add build-essential to fix ruamel.yaml 0.19.0 compilation esphome#12769 by @bdraco

Release 2025.12.5 - January 6

[lvgl] Fix arc background angles esphome#12773 by @clydebarrow
[sn74hc595]: fix ‘Attempted read from write-only channel’ when using esp-idf framework esphome#12801 by @aanikei
[wts01] Fix negative values for WTS01 sensor esphome#12835 by @cnrd
[esp32_ble] Remove requirement for configured network esphome#12891 by @clydebarrow
[cc1101] Add PLL lock verification and retry support esphome#13006 by @swoboda1337

Release 2025.12.6 - January 13

[espnow] fix channel validation esphome#13057 by @ssieb
[seeed_mr24hpc1] Add ifdef guards for conditional entity types esphome#13147 by @swoboda1337
[ltr_als_ps] Remove incorrect device_class from count sensors esphome#13167 by @swoboda1337
[packet_transport] Fix packet size check to account for round4 padding esphome#13165 by @swoboda1337
[remote_transmitter] Fix ESP8266 timing by using busy loop esphome#13172 by @swoboda1337
[esphome] Fix OTA backend abort not being called on error esphome#13182 by @bdraco

Release 2025.12.7 - January 16

[i2s_audio] Bugfix: Buffer overflow in software volume control esphome#13190 by @kahrendt
[api] Use subtraction for protobuf bounds checking esphome#13306 by @bdraco

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2025.12.0 changelog.

ESPHome 2025.11.0: WiFi overhaul and ultra-low latency events

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT

HLK-FM22x Face Recognition Module

RX8130 RTC

Release Overview

ESPHome 2025.11.0 is a performance and reliability-focused release that makes your devices faster, more reliable, and more capable than ever before. WiFi connectivity gets a complete overhaul with intelligent mesh network handling, dramatically faster connection times, and enhanced security controls. Memory optimizations free up 2-31KB of RAM and 10KB+ of flash, giving even resource-constrained devices room to grow. A new infrastructure change slashes event processing latency by 600-1,300x—making BLE Proxy GATT operations rival local Bluetooth adapters, even over the network.

WiFi improvements address the most common connectivity pain points: devices no longer get stuck on failed access points in mesh networks, hidden network connections are 2-6 seconds faster, and the new min_auth_mode option provides security controls with WPA2 defaults. The redesigned connection strategy with intelligent AP selection and reliable reconnection logic delivers the rock-solid WiFi performance users expect.

Ultra-low latency event processing transforms responsiveness across BLE, USB, MQTT, ESP-NOW, and wake word detection—reducing latency from 0-16ms to just ~12 microseconds. Voice assistants respond faster to wake words, BLE devices pair quicker, and MQTT automations trigger with sub-millisecond precision. This zero-configuration optimization automatically benefits all affected components on ESP32 platforms.

Memory optimizations touch nearly every core component—WiFi scan management, select options, lights, climate controls, sensors, and the action framework. Sensor filter optimizations deliver the most dramatic gains, with sliding window filters saving up to 25KB of RAM on configurations that previously struggled with memory constraints. These improvements enable more complex configurations on the same hardware.

New hardware support expands ESPHome’s reach with 7 new components including the HDC2010 sensor, MCP3221 ADC, HLK-FM22X face recognition module, BH1900NUX sensor, RX8130 RTC, and TinyUSB foundation support for ESP32-S2/S3. Platform enhancements bring I2C and BLE logging to nRF52, while ESP32 gains hosted BLE for chips without native Bluetooth and ESP-NOW transport capabilities.

Enhanced WiFi Security and Reliability

Dramatically Improved WiFi Reliability and Connection Times (esphome#11805)

A major step forward in WiFi reliability addresses critical connectivity issues in mesh networks and multi-AP environments. Previously, devices would get stuck repeatedly trying the strongest signal even when that access point was rejecting connections—a bug introduced in 2025.8.2 that made the priority-based failover system ineffective.

The redesigned connection strategy delivers measurable improvements:

Intelligent AP selection: Connection failure history now takes precedence over signal strength, enabling automatic failover to working access points instead of getting stuck on failed BSSIDs
Faster initial connections: Explicit hidden network probing phase with smart skipping of visible networks reduces connection time by 2-6 seconds
Reliable reconnections: Two-attempt BSSID filtering eliminates false positives from normal WiFi stack transitions
Natural mesh handling: Simplified architecture removes 150+ lines of complex BSSID cycling logic—the priority degradation system now naturally handles mesh networks through scan-based retry cycles
Clearer diagnostics: State machine-based retry phases with improved logging make connection issues easier to troubleshoot
Memory efficiency: Automatic priority reset when all BSSIDs fail equally (saves up to 96 bytes)

This release restores and improves upon the reliable failover behavior users expect in multi-AP deployments, while reducing connection latency and memory overhead.

Configurable Minimum Authentication Mode (esphome#11814)

Added min_auth_mode configuration option to control WiFi authentication security:

Secure default: WPA2 minimum authentication mode protects against downgrade attacks
Explicit security control: Choose between WPA, WPA2, or WPA3 (ESP32 only)
Backward compatibility: Can be lowered to WPA for legacy routers

wifi:
  ssid: "MyNetwork"
  password: "password123"
  min_auth_mode: WPA2  # Recommended for security

Memory Optimizations for Resource-Constrained Devices

ESPHome 2025.11.0 delivers substantial memory improvements across the entire framework, with measured savings ranging from 2-7KB of RAM on typical devices and up to 31KB of RAM on sensor-heavy configurations. Flash savings reach 10KB+ on ESP32/ESP8266 platforms.

Sensor Filter Optimizations:

Sliding window filters (esphome#11282) - Saves 22-25KB RAM on large batch windows, 90% on sliding windows, 1,748 bytes flash on ESP8266. Prevents OOM crashes on ESP32 devices with multiple sensors
Filter value lists (esphome#11407) - Saves 444 bytes flash on ESP8266, 18-52% faster execution
Calibration/OR filters (esphome#11437) - Saves 464 bytes flash, 48 bytes RAM on ESP8266

Component Optimizations:

WiFi component (esphome#11205) - Saves 440-1,192 bytes RAM depending on network density
Select component (esphome#11514) - Saves 270-2,800 bytes per select depending on option count
Light component (esphome#11348) - Saves 1,756 bytes flash on ESP8266, ~108 bytes RAM per 6 lights
Climate component (esphome#11466, esphome#11621) - Saves ~440 bytes RAM per climate entity
Fan component (esphome#11483, esphome#11632) - Saves ~24 bytes per fan
Event component (esphome#11463, esphome#11767) - Saves 1,248 bytes flash
Global Controller Registry (esphome#11772) - Saves 388-6,148 bytes RAM depending on entity count
Action framework (esphome#11704) - Saves 356 bytes flash, eliminates RAM allocations in automations
Script component (esphome#11308) - Saves 1,592 bytes flash on ESP32
ESP32-IDF (esphome#10930, esphome#11441) - Saves ~10KB combined (1.3KB + 8.7KB)
Network component (esphome#11707) - Saves 32-72 bytes per network component
Light effects (esphome#11487) - Saves 24-32 bytes per effect
WiFi priority (esphome#11830) - Saves 3 bytes per network entry plus up to 96 bytes from auto-recovery

Note on Breaking Changes: These optimizations required API changes for external component developers. See Breaking Changes section for migration details. Standard YAML configurations remain fully compatible but custom code in lambdas may require updates.

Ultra-Low Latency Event Processing

Thread-Safe Loop Wake Mechanism (esphome#11681)

A new infrastructure change eliminates event processing delays across multiple components. Previously, events from background tasks (BLE, USB, MQTT, ESP-NOW, wake word detection) would queue and wait up to 16ms for the next select() timeout before processing. The new wake_loop_threadsafe() mechanism uses a UDP loopback socket to immediately wake the main event loop when events arrive.

Latency Improvements:

Before: 0-16ms average ~8ms
After: ~12 microseconds
Speedup: 600-1,300x faster event processing

Components with Ultra-Low Latency:

BLE operations (esphome#11663) - Bluetooth Proxy, BLE Client GATT operations, HomeKit pairing
USB Host (esphome#11683) - USB event processing over 1000x faster
MQTT (esphome#11695) - ESP32 only (ESP8266 already runs in main loop)
ESP-NOW (esphome#11696) - Packet reception and transmission completion
Micro Wake Word (esphome#11698) - Near-instant automation responses, all triggers fire within same millisecond

Real-World Impact:

BLE Proxy GATT operations now rival or exceed BlueZ local adapters in Home Assistant, even when operating over the network
Faster wake word detection response for voice assistants
Improved BLE connection and pairing times
Reduced MQTT automation trigger latency
Faster USB event handling (e.g., Z-Wave PoE proxies)

This optimization requires no configuration changes and automatically benefits all affected components on ESP32 platforms.

High-Performance Networking for Media Streaming

Automatic Network Performance Tuning (esphome#11812)

Introduced centralized high-performance networking system where components request optimized settings through network.require_high_performance_networking():

PSRAM-aware configuration: Aggressive settings (512KB TCP windows) when PSRAM guaranteed, conservative (65KB windows) otherwise
WiFi optimization: Automatically applies optimized WiFi driver settings when high-performance mode enabled
Automatic enablement: Speaker media player automatically enables high-performance networking (fixes streaming stuttering issues)
User control: New network.enable_high_performance option to explicitly enable/disable

This optimization is critical for ESP32-S3 devices running voice assistants and media streaming, eliminating audio stuttering caused by insufficient WiFi buffer sizes.

PSRAM Configuration Options (esphome#11411)

Added ignore_not_found option (default true) to allow disabling CONFIG_SPIRAM_IGNORE_NOTFOUND. When set to false on devices with guaranteed PSRAM, enables WiFi driver to configure larger buffers for optimal streaming performance. Also improves boot reliability by managing heap allocations before PSRAM initialization.

New Hardware Support

7 New Sensor/Device Components:

HDC2010 (esphome#6674) - Texas Instruments temperature and humidity sensor
MCP3221 (esphome#7764) - I2C A-D converter with configurable reference voltage
HLK-FM22X (esphome#8059) - Face recognition module family
BH1900NUX (esphome#8631) - Rohm Semiconductor temperature sensor
RX8130 (esphome#10511) - Epson RTC chip (used in M5Stack devices)
BLE NUS Logger (esphome#9846) - Logging over BLE for nRF52 platform
TinyUSB (esphome#11678) - USB device functionality foundation for ESP32-S2/S3

Extended Hardware Support:

GP8403 DAC now supports GP8413 (15-bit) model (esphome#7726) with higher precision
Toshiba climate supports RAS-2819T air conditioner (esphome#9490) with two-packet IR protocol
Dallas temperature sensors support index-based addressing (esphome#11346) for devices without programmable addresses
SX126x LoRa module pins now support GPIO port expanders (esphome#11782) for SeeedStudio SenseCAP Indicator
Mopeka Standard Check sensors support alternate ID 0x44 (esphome#10907)

Platform & Feature Expansions:

nRF52 platform - I2C support (esphome#8150), BLE NUS logging (esphome#9846, esphome#9861), GPIO voltage control (esphome#9858), GPIO input by switching to polling mode (esphome#11664), and Seeed XIAO BLE board improvements (esphome#10698)
ESP-NOW transport - Added ESP-NOW as a transport platform for packet_transport component (esphome#11025)
IR Remote protocols - Dyson AM07 fan support (esphome#10163), Symphony protocol (esphome#10777), Toshiba RAS-2819T AC (esphome#9490)

ESP32 Platform Enhancements

ESP-IDF 5.5.1 and Arduino 3.3.2 (esphome#9839)

Major framework updates bring the latest ESP-IDF 5.5.1 and Arduino 3.3.2 to ESPHome:

ESP-IDF 5.5.1: Latest features and bug fixes from Espressif
Arduino 3.3.2: Updated Arduino framework with improved stability
Memory improvements: Significant RAM gains (+3.1-3.3MB free RAM)
Platform version: Updated to 55.03.31-2

These updates are automatically applied when using the default framework versions.

Hosted BLE Support (esphome#11167)

ESP32 P4 and other chips without integrated Bluetooth now support BLE through external controllers using ESP-Hosted API. Enables Bluetooth Proxy functionality on previously unsupported ESP32 variants.

Hosted OTA Support (esphome#11562)

Firmware updates for ESP32 co-processors are now supported via ESP-Hosted API, enabling OTA functionality for hosted configurations.

Brownout Protection (esphome#11306)

ESP-IDF builds now automatically reduce PHY TX power during brownout conditions to prevent boot loops. This feature was previously only available in Arduino framework builds. Can be disabled if needed through sdkconfig options.

Configurable Main Loop Stack Size (esphome#10564)

ESP32 ESP-IDF configurations can now tune the main loop stack size for complex setups:

esp32:
  framework:
    type: esp-idf
    advanced:
      main_loop_stack_size: 16384  # Increase for deeply nested components

Framework Source Options (esphome#11125)

ESP32 framework configuration now accepts additional PlatformIO source schemes beyond HTTP, including symlink://, git://, and other repository protocols for local development.

OpenThread Improvements

Over-The-Air Updates (esphome#11095)

OpenThread devices (ESP32-H2) now support OTA updates via esphome run. The mDNS address is automatically populated as the device’s default address, eliminating the need to manually specify --device <address>.

Sleepy End Device Support (esphome#11374)

Added poll_period configuration for MTD (Minimal Thread Device) mode, enabling Sleep End Device (SED) behavior for battery-powered Thread devices:

openthread:
  device_type: MTD
  poll_period: 40s  # Radio turns off between polls

nRF52 Platform Expansion

The nRF52 (Zephyr) platform received extensive new functionality:

I2C Support (esphome#8150) - Full I2C bus support for sensors and peripherals
BLE Logging (esphome#9846, esphome#9861) - Log viewing via esphome logs --device BLE or MAC address
GPIO High Voltage Mode (esphome#9858) - Adjustable voltage levels for USB-powered operation
Xiao BLE Bootloader Fix (esphome#10698) - Corrected default bootloader, fixed upload, added runtime mismatch detection

LVGL Display Enhancements

Simplified Layout System (esphome#10149)

LVGL widgets now support shorthand layout methods for easier configuration:

lvgl:
  widgets:
    - container:
        layout: vertical  # Simple flex layout
        widgets:
          - label:
              text: "Item 1"
          - label:
              text: "Item 2"

    - container:
        layout: 3x2  # Simple grid layout

New container widget provides styling-free base with 100% default dimensions. Added stretch option for flex layouts and substantial speedup of config validation.

Rendering Triggers and NaN Substitution (esphome#11628, esphome#11712)

Added on_draw_start and on_draw_end triggers for coordinating e-paper display updates. Text formatting now supports NaN substitution for graceful handling of unavailable sensor values:

lvgl:
  widgets:
    - label:
        text:
          format: "%.1f°C"
          args: [id(temp_sensor)]
          if_nan: "--.-°C"  # Show when sensor unavailable

Display Component Improvements

E-Paper SPI Refactoring (esphome#11540)

Major improvements to e-paper displays:

Faster transfers: Larger data blocks for Spectra displays
Optimized state machine: Code-based sequence instead of linear queue saves memory
Board-specific configs: Pre-configured pin mappings (Seeed-reTerminal-E1002)
Improved timing: Internal delay handling instead of loop disabling
Fixed busy pin logic (esphome#11349): Corrected active-low detection

Component Idle Detection (esphome#11651)

New component.is_idle condition and is_idle() method for automations that need to wait for displays to finish updating before proceeding:

lvgl:
  on_draw_end:
    - component.update: epaper_display
    - wait_until:
        component.is_idle: epaper_display  # Wait for display ready
    - lvgl.resume:

Configuration and Developer Tools

Advanced Substitution Features (esphome#11203)

The !extend and !remove tags now support substitutions and Jinja templates:

substitutions:
  COMPONENT_TO_REMOVE: component3

packages:
  base:
    - id: !remove ${COMPONENT_TO_REMOVE}  # Conditional removal

Memory Analysis Command (esphome#11395)

New esphome analyze-memory <config.yaml> command provides detailed memory usage breakdown by component:

Compiles configuration (fast relink if cached)
Analyzes memory usage by component and external components
Displays comprehensive memory report
Helps identify optimization opportunities

Component-Specific Enhancements

Sensors

Dallas temperature sensors support index-based addressing (esphome#11346) for devices without programmable addresses
INA2xx reset control (esphome#10787): Preserve counters through ESP resets with reset_on_boot: false
XGZP68xx oversampling (esphome#10306): Configurable oversampling up to 32768x for improved accuracy

Improved Improv WiFi Provisioning (esphome#10757)

ESP32 Improv now supports next_url with template substitutions for post-provisioning redirection:

esp32_improv:
  next_url: "https://example.com/setup?device={{device_name}}&ip={{ip_address}}"

Sensor Heartbeat Filter Options (esphome#10993)

Heartbeat filter adds optimistic mode to forward new values immediately while still repeating periodically:

sensor:
  - platform: template
    filters:
      - heartbeat:
          period: 100ms
          optimistic: true  # Forward immediately + repeat

ESP-NOW Packet Transport (esphome#11025)

ESP-NOW now available as transport platform for packet_transport component, enabling direct ESP32-to-ESP32 wireless sensor data transmission.

Remote Transmitter Non-Blocking Mode (esphome#11524)

Remote transmitter operations no longer block the main loop by default, preventing “took a long time for an operation” warnings during long IR transmissions.

HTTP Request Trigger Variables (esphome#11464)

HTTP request actions now pass trigger variables correctly into on_response and on_error triggers.

Breaking Changes

User-Facing Breaking Changes

WiFi & Network

WiFi: WiFi and Ethernet components no longer block other components’ setup until connected. Components with setup priority > WIFI (802.3) now initialize immediately, even if network is disconnected. esphome#9823
WiFi min_auth_mode: ESP8266 default will change from WPA to WPA2 in 2026.6.0. Users with WPA-only routers must explicitly set min_auth_mode: WPA before then. esphome#11814
WiFi priority: The priority configuration option now only accepts integers (-128 to 127) instead of floats. Change priority: 5.5 to priority: 5. esphome#11830
.local addresses: .local addresses now require mDNS to be enabled for DNS resolution. Previously attempted DNS resolution could add 10+ second delays. esphome#11508
Network high performance: Speaker media player now always enables high performance networking mode (previously only with codec support). Users can override with enable_high_performance under the network component if needed. esphome#11812

ESP32 Platform

ESP32 brownout protection: ESP-IDF now reduces PHY TX power during brownout to prevent boot loops. Can be disabled with sdkconfig_options: CONFIG_ESP_PHY_REDUCE_TX_POWER: n if needed. esphome#11306
ESP32 PSRAM: PSRAM is no longer auto-loaded by components that depend on it (such as esp32_camera, speaker, and media_player). Users must now explicitly add a psram: configuration block to their YAML. Additionally, for ESP32-S3, the mode option is now required since S3 supports both quad and octal modes. Typically, 2MB PSRAM uses quad mode while 8 or 16MB uses octal mode—check your module’s datasheet. Example configuration:
```
psram:
  mode: octal  # Required for ESP32-S3, use 'quad' or 'octal'
  speed: 80MHz
```
esphome#11470

Component Behavior Changes

Script max_runs: Queued scripts now default to max_runs: 5 (allowing 1 running + 4 queued instances) instead of unlimited to prevent crashes from unbounded memory growth. Set max_runs explicitly if you need more capacity. esphome#11308
Remote transmitter: Remote transmitter now defaults to non-blocking mode to prevent long blocking operations (>30ms). esphome#11524
Fan preset modes: Fan preset modes now preserve the order defined in YAML instead of being sorted alphabetically. The order in Home Assistant will match your YAML configuration order. esphome#11483
Select state: The public state member has been deprecated and will be removed in 2026.5.0. Use current_option() method instead. Deprecation warnings will be shown during compilation. esphome#11623

Component-Specific Changes

HM3301: AQI calculation updated to EPA 2024 standard. Values will change compared to the old 2012 formula. esphome#9442
GDK101: Firmware version is now reported as a string instead of a float division result. esphome#11029
Uponor Smatrix: The address property of the uponor_smatrix component was removed. Device addresses are now 32-bit instead of separate 16-bit system and device addresses. Update configurations by prepending the previous system address to individual device addresses. esphome#11066
Pipsolar: Fixed typo warnung_low_pv_energy renamed to warning_low_pv_energy. Update YAML configurations. esphome#10291
E-Paper SPI: Busy pin logic corrected to match datasheet (active low). Some e-paper displays may behave differently. esphome#11349
nRF52 bootloader: Default bootloader changed for xiao_ble and adafruit_itsybitsy_nrf52840 boards. Warning shown if generic Adafruit bootloader is used. esphome#10698
HTTP request triggers: Changed from multiple on_response/on_error triggers to a single trigger that receives variables. Update automation configurations to use the new variable-based trigger format. esphome#11464

YAML Lambda Changes

Users who access component members directly in YAML lambdas may need updates:

Select: Change id(my_select).state to id(my_select).current_option() (deprecated, will be removed in 2026.5.0). esphome#11623
Fan: Change id(my_fan).preset_mode to id(my_fan).get_preset_mode(). esphome#11632
Event: Change id(my_event).last_event_type to id(my_event).get_last_event_type(). esphome#11767
Climate: Custom mode members are now private. Change direct access to public accessor methods:
- Check if active: id(my_climate).custom_fan_mode.has_value() → id(my_climate).has_custom_fan_mode(), id(my_climate).custom_preset.has_value() → id(my_climate).has_custom_preset()
- Get value: id(my_climate).custom_fan_mode.value() → id(my_climate).get_custom_fan_mode(), id(my_climate).custom_preset.value() → id(my_climate).get_custom_preset()
esphome#11621

Breaking Changes for Developers

The following changes affect external component developers. Standard YAML configurations are generally not affected.

Core Framework Changes

Action/Trigger Framework: All action/trigger/condition method signatures changed to use const references (const Ts&... x) instead of pass-by-value (Ts... x). See the Action Framework Performance Optimization blog post for migration details. esphome#11704
Controller API: Controllers now use global registry pattern. Method signatures changed to remove unused state parameters (e.g., on_sensor_update(sensor::Sensor *obj) instead of on_sensor_update(sensor::Sensor *obj, float state)). External controller implementations extremely rare. esphome#11772
EntityBase::hash_base(): Removed deprecated virtual method (deprecated since June 2022). Remove hash_base() overrides from external components. esphome#11783
hexencode(): Removed function deprecated since 2022.1. Use alternative encoding methods. esphome#11383
Schema constants: Removed deprecated schema constants from core. Update external components to use current schema helpers. esphome#11591

Component-Specific API Changes

Climate

See the Climate Entity Class: FiniteSetMask and Flash Storage Optimizations blog post for migration details.

Custom modes storage: Changed from std::set<std::string> to FiniteSetMask for supported modes, and from std::vector<std::string> to std::vector<const char *> for custom fan modes and presets. esphome#11466, esphome#11621
Member access: Climate device members (custom_fan_mode_, custom_preset_) are now private. Use protected setter methods (set_custom_fan_mode_(), set_custom_preset_()) in derived classes. Use public accessor methods to read values: has_custom_fan_mode(), get_custom_fan_mode(), has_custom_preset(), get_custom_preset(). esphome#11621
Deprecated methods: Removed methods deprecated in 1.20 (July 2021). esphome#11388

Light

See the Light Entity Class: Memory Optimizations blog post for migration details.

Color modes: Replaced std::set<ColorMode> with ColorModeMask bitmask class. esphome#11348
Effect names: Changed from std::string to const char * for effect names. esphome#11487
Deprecated methods: Removed methods deprecated in 2021.8.0. esphome#11389

Fan

See the Fan Entity Class: Preset Mode Flash Storage and Order Preservation blog post for migration details.

Preset modes: Changed from std::set<std::string> to std::vector<const char *>. The .preset_mode public member has been removed - use get_preset_mode() for reading and set_preset_mode_() for writing in derived classes. esphome#11483, esphome#11632
Deprecated code: Removed code deprecated in 2022.2. esphome#11392

Select

See the Select Entity Class: Index-Based Operations and Flash Storage blog post for migration details.

Options storage: Changed from std::vector<std::string> to FixedVector<const char *>. esphome#11514
State member: Public state member deprecated (will be removed in 2026.5.0). Use current_option() method instead. esphome#11623
Index-based operations: Added optional control(size_t index) override for more efficient implementations. esphome#11623

Event

See the Event Entity Class: Memory Optimizations blog post for migration details.

Event types storage: Changed from FixedVector<std::string> to FixedVector<const char *>. The last_event_type field is now private - use get_last_event_type() getter instead. esphome#11463, esphome#11767

Network Components

See the Network get_use_address() Optimization blog post for migration details.

WiFi scan results: External components that access WiFi scan results after connection must call wifi.request_wifi_scan_results() in their to_code() function to prevent cleanup. esphome#11205
use_address: Changed from const std::string & to const char * in WiFi, Ethernet, and OpenThread components. Remove .c_str() calls when using get_use_address(). esphome#11707

Other Components

Cover: Removed methods deprecated in 2021.9. Update to current cover API. esphome#11391
Nextion: Removed methods deprecated in 1.20 (July 2021). Update to current nextion API. esphome#11393

ESP32-Specific Changes

ESP-IDF advanced options: New options to disable libc locks in IRAM and VFS features. External components using these features must call helper functions to register needs. esphome#10930, esphome#11441

Migration Resources

For detailed migration guides and examples, see the ESPHome developer documentation.

The 2025.11 release blog posts include comprehensive migration examples for common use cases.

Release 2025.11.1 - November 24

[graph] Fix legend border esphome#12000 by @swoboda1337
[network] Fix IPAddress constructor causing comparison failures and garbage output esphome#12005 by @bdraco
[ltr501][ltr_als_ps] Rename enum to avoid collision with lwip defines esphome#12017 by @swoboda1337
[cst816][packet_transport][udp][wake_on_lan] Fix error messages esphome#12019 by @swoboda1337
[jsn_sr04t] Fix model AJ_SR04M esphome#11992 by @swoboda1337
[cst816][http_request] Fix status_set_error() dangling pointer bugs esphome#12033 by @bdraco
[esp32] Fix C2 builds esphome#12050 by @swoboda1337
[core] Add support for passing yaml files to clean-all esphome#12039 by @swoboda1337
[script][wait_until] Fix FIFO ordering and reentrancy bugs esphome#12049 by @bdraco
[esp_ldo,mipi_dsi,mipi_rgb] Fix dangling pointer bugs in mark_failed() esphome#12077 by @bdraco
[online_image] Fix some large PNGs causing watchdog timeout esphome#12025 by @jesserockz

Release 2025.11.2 - November 27

[nextion] Do not set alternative baud rate when not specified or <= 0 esphome#12097 by @edwardtfn
[esp32] Fix platformio flash size print esphome#12099 by @swoboda1337
[script] Fix script.wait hanging when triggered from on_boot esphome#12102 by @bdraco
[lvgl] Allow multiple widgets per grid cell esphome#12091 by @clydebarrow (new-feature)
[lvgl] Fix position of errors in widget config esphome#12111 by @clydebarrow
[esp32] Fix hosted update when there is no wifi esphome#12123 by @swoboda1337
[wifi] Restore blocking setup until connected for RP2040 esphome#12142 by @clydebarrow
[scheduler] Fix use-after-move crash in heap operations esphome#12124 by @bdraco

Release 2025.11.3 - December 3

[build] Don’t clear pio cache unless requested esphome#11966 by @clydebarrow
[usb_uart] Wake main loop immediately when USB data arrives esphome#12148 by @bdraco
[espnow] Initialize LwIP stack when running without WiFi component esphome#12169 by @bdraco
[helpers] Add conversion from FixedVector to std::vector esphome#12179 by @clydebarrow
[hlk_fm22x] Fix Action::play method signatures esphome#12192 by @bdraco
[mopeka_pro_check] Fix negative temperatures esphome#12198 by @swoboda1337
[ade7953] Apply voltage_gain setting to both channels esphome#12180 by @dlitz
[core] Fix clean all on windows esphome#12217 by @swoboda1337
[rtl87xx] Fix AsyncTCP compilation by upgrading FreeRTOS to 8.2.3 esphome#12230 by @swoboda1337
[analog_threshold] Fix oscillation when using invert filter esphome#12251 by @swoboda1337
[rtl87xx] Fix FreeRTOS version for RTL8720C boards esphome#12261 by @swoboda1337

Release 2025.11.4 - December 4

[esp32] Add build flag to suppress noexecstack message esphome#12272 by @clydebarrow
[ld2420] Add missing USE_SELECT ifdefs esphome#12275 by @swoboda1337
[config] Provide path for has_at_most_one_of messages esphome#12277 by @clydebarrow
[es8311] Remove MIN and MAX from mic_gain enum options esphome#12281 by @swoboda1337
[esp32_hosted] Fix build and bump IDF component version to 2.7.0 esphome#12282 by @swoboda1337
[CI] Trigger generic version notifier job on release esphome#12292 by @jesserockz
[scheduler] Fix use-after-free when cancelling timeouts from non-main-loop threads esphome#12288 by @bdraco

Release 2025.11.5 - December 9

[binary_sensor] Fix reporting of ‘unknown’ esphome#12296 by @clydebarrow
[lvgl] Number saves value on interactive change esphome#12315 by @clydebarrow
[scheduler] Fix missing lock when recycling items in defer queue processing esphome#12343 by @bdraco
[wifi] Fix scan timeout loop when scan returns zero networks esphome#12354 by @bdraco
[libretiny] Fix WiFi scan timeout loop when scan fails esphome#12356 by @bdraco
[mqtt] Fix logger method case sensitivity error esphome#12379 by @swoboda1337

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2025.11.0 changelog.

ESPHome 2025.10.0: Z-Wave Proxy and Arduino as an IDF component

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Release Overview

ESPHome 2025.10.0 delivers major architectural improvements, new communication protocols, and extensive performance optimizations. This release focuses on enhancing security, improving memory efficiency, and expanding hardware support while introducing groundbreaking new features.

Key Highlights:

Z-Wave Proxy - Bridge Z-Wave devices to Home Assistant through ESPHome
Arduino as IDF Component - Unified ESP32 framework architecture (breaking change)
Enhanced ePaper Display Support - New unified SPI ePaper component
Security Enhancements - SHA256 OTA authentication, password deprecation, and API hardening with OOM protection
API Improvements - Home Assistant action responses and configurable connection limits
Extensive Memory Optimizations - Flash and RAM savings across all platforms
New Sensor Components - WTS01 and LM75B temperature sensors

Z-Wave Proxy

The new Zwave Proxy component enables network-based connectivity for Z-Wave hardware by proxying serial communication between a Z-Wave modem SoC and Z-Wave JS over WiFi or Ethernet. This component was specifically designed for the Home Assistant ZWA-2 Z-Wave Adapter, which combines an ESP32 and a Z-Wave modem in a single device, but could support other Z-Wave hardware in the future.

Key Features:

Remote Z-Wave placement - Position your Z-Wave modem anywhere in your home with WiFi/Ethernet connectivity
Serial-to-network bridge - Proxies UART communication between Z-Wave hardware and Z-Wave JS via ESPHome’s native API
Flexible deployment - Use ESP32 devices to extend Z-Wave modem placement beyond USB cable reach
Low latency performance - Achieves 50-60ms typical latency (as low as 35ms under ideal conditions)
Ethernet recommended - Best reliability with wired connections, though WiFi is supported

This component is particularly useful for optimizing Z-Wave mesh network topology by placing the Z-Wave controller in a central location, even when your server is in a basement or closet.

Arduino as IDF Component (Major Architectural Change)

This release includes a fundamental change in how ESP32 Arduino builds work - Arduino is now integrated as an ESP-IDF component rather than a separate framework. This is the biggest architectural change for ESP32 in ESPHome’s history.

Previously, Arduino came as a precompiled framework with everything baked in - you got whatever upstream decided, whether you needed it or not. This led to bloated builds that often couldn’t even fit on devices with limited flash space. You were stuck with the upstream choices and locked out of ESP-IDF features.

Now Arduino is built as an ESP-IDF component alongside your configuration. ESPHome compiles only what you actually use, eliminating the bloat. You get access to ESP-IDF features while still using Arduino libraries when you need them. This aligns with Espressif’s recommended approach and is how the Arduino ecosystem is evolving.

Memory Savings:

20-30KB RAM savings on Arduino builds
Additional ~8KB RAM savings if using the web server
Smaller binary sizes overall
Better memory efficiency through shared libraries

Development Benefits:

Faster fixes for underlying components - Many components now share the same implementations between Arduino and ESP-IDF, eliminating duplicate maintenance
Access to latest ESP-IDF 5.4 features while using Arduino libraries
Reduced maintenance burden - One framework to maintain instead of two separate paths
Future-proof - Follows Espressif’s direction for the ESP32 ecosystem

Build Time Trade-off:

Arduino builds now take longer (Arduino is compiled on top of ESP-IDF)
ESP-IDF builds are now 2-3x faster than Arduino builds
Consider migrating to ESP-IDF if build time matters to you

Should You Migrate to ESP-IDF?

We recommend ESP-IDF for most users, especially for:

Bluetooth Proxy devices (lower memory usage)
New projects
Configurations where you want faster builds

Arduino is still fully supported and works great if you need it for specific Arduino libraries. See our Arduino to ESP-IDF migration guide for help switching - it’s easier than you might think!

What You Need to Know

Most users: Your configuration will work without changes. ESPHome handles the framework integration automatically.

External component developers: If you maintain external components using Arduino-specific APIs, review Espressif’s Arduino as ESP-IDF component documentation and test your components with this release.

Breaking change details: Framework version handling has been improved with stricter validation. See the breaking changes section for specifics.

ePaper SPI Display Component

The new Epaper Spi component provides a unified, modernized interface for SPI-based ePaper displays:

Improvements:

Cleaner configuration with consistent API across models
Better performance with optimized refresh cycles
Improved partial update handling where supported
Reduced memory overhead through efficient buffering

Current Status:

Currently supports one display model, with additional models from the waveshare_epaper component being migrated over time. This new architecture provides a more maintainable codebase for future ePaper display support.

Security Enhancements

ESPHome 2025.10.0 significantly improves security with several key changes. We conducted an internal security audit that didn’t find any privilege escalation issues but identified many hardening opportunities. We’ve addressed these in this release and will continue to focus on internal security testing in the coming months.

SHA256 OTA Authentication

OTA authentication has been upgraded from MD5 to SHA256 for better security:

Modern cryptographic hashing replaces legacy MD5 authentication
Hardware acceleration on supported ESP32 variants (S3, etc.)
Non-blocking authentication for better performance
Graceful transition period - Both SHA256 and MD5 are accepted through 2025.12.x
MD5 will be rejected starting with 2026.1.0 on platforms that support SHA256

During the transition, you’ll see a warning when MD5 is used. After 2026.1.0, downgrading to older ESPHome versions will require serial flashing instead of OTA.

Bonus improvement: Extended handshake timeout (20s) makes OTA more reliable on poor WiFi connections without freezing the device.

API Password Deprecation - Heads Up

If you’re still using password authentication for the API, now’s the time to switch to encryption. Password support will be removed in version 2026.1.0.

This release adds better warnings so you’ll know if you need to update your configuration:

You’ll see a clear warning if you’re using passwords - no surprises when support is removed
Can’t use both - if you try to configure both password and encryption, ESPHome will stop you (this combination has never worked properly and causes connection failures)
Easy migration - just switch from password: to encryption: with a key
You have time - password support works until 2026.1.0, giving you plenty of time to update

WARNING

If you’re using password: in your API configuration, please migrate to encryption: before version 2026.1.0. Password authentication will be removed at that time. You can’t use both password and encryption together - pick one (and encryption is the better choice for security).

Dashboard Improvements

The ESPHome Dashboard now uses WebSockets instead of HTTP polling for real-time updates:

Instant updates - Device status changes appear immediately (no more 1-2 second polling delay)
Snappier interface - Everything feels more responsive
Lower server load - More efficient than constant HTTP polling
Logs start instantly - The logs command now skips external component updates, eliminating 5-30 second delays when internet is unavailable

If you manage multiple devices, the dashboard will feel noticeably faster and more responsive. Viewing logs is now instant even in offline or isolated network environments.

Device Onboarding Improvements

Getting your ESPHome devices online has never been easier. This release brings major improvements to the initial setup experience, particularly for ESP32-IDF devices and the Made for ESPHome program.

Captive Portal for ESP-IDF

This is huge. ESP-IDF devices now have full captive portal support, which means you don’t have to figure out which IP address to type into your browser anymore. When you connect to the device’s access point, your phone or computer automatically detects the captive portal and opens the configuration page - just like connecting to hotel or airport WiFi.

This brings ESP-IDF up to feature parity with Arduino for onboarding, and since most new ESPHome devices are running ESP-IDF, this dramatically improves the out-of-box experience. The implementation includes a lightweight DNS server that runs in ESPHome’s event loop, responding to all DNS queries with the device’s IP address to trigger captive portal detection on iOS, Android, and other platforms.

Improved Improv BLE Performance

Improv Wi-Fi over BLE is the standard way to provision ESPHome devices over Bluetooth, and we’ve made it significantly faster and more reliable:

Performance improvements:

26x faster service lookups for typical 3-service configurations by replacing HashMap with vectors
1KB flash savings plus reduced RAM usage
Better discoverability - Device names are now visible to passive BLE scanners, making ESPHome devices easier to find on a wider range of BLE scanning technologies

Why passive scanning matters: Many home automation systems and BLE scanners only support passive scanning (not active scanning). Making the device name visible to passive scanners means your devices show up in more scanning apps and are easier to identify during setup.

These improvements directly support the Made for ESPHome program, which requires Improv provisioning via BLE for Wi-Fi projects to ensure a consistent, high-quality setup experience across all ESPHome-compatible products.

The Made for ESPHome program requires Improv BLE provisioning for Wi-Fi projects. See the certification requirements for details.

Home Assistant Action Responses

The API now supports receiving responses from Home Assistant actions, enabling bidirectional communication:

Capabilities:

Call Home Assistant actions from ESPHome
Receive response data for processing in automations
Enhanced integration with Home Assistant services
New automation possibilities with real-time data exchange

This feature enables more sophisticated integrations, such as querying state from Home Assistant for use in ESPHome logic.

YAML Enhancements

Literal Substitutions

The new !literal tag allows raw string values in substitutions without variable expansion:

substitutions:
  json_template: !literal '{"key": "${value}"}'

This is particularly useful for JSON templates and other contexts where dollar signs should not trigger substitution.

Dynamic Auto-Loading

Components can now conditionally auto-load dependencies based on configuration, reducing unnecessary component inclusion and saving memory.

Memory & Performance Optimizations

ESPHome 2025.10.0 brings major memory efficiency improvements, with nearly 3KB of RAM savings on typical configurations. As ESPHome has grown more capable over the years, memory usage has naturally increased with new features. ESP8266 devices with their ~40KB of free RAM were starting to feel the squeeze, and ESP32-C3 Bluetooth proxies were experiencing stability issues under load.

We’ve made these use cases much better. Through systematic optimization efforts, we’ve reclaimed precious RAM and improved stability across the board. ESP8266 users get more headroom for complex configurations. ESP32-C3 Bluetooth proxy users get better stability with multiple active connections. All platforms benefit from faster performance and lower memory overhead.

The improvements come from replacing heavy C++ STL containers (vectors, maps, sets) with lighter alternatives and moving data from RAM to flash storage where possible. Each optimization might save a few hundred bytes, but they add up quickly when applied across the codebase.

This is just the beginning - we’re continuing this optimization work in 2025.11.0 and beyond. Expect more memory savings and performance improvements in upcoming releases.

RAM Savings:

~3KB total RAM savings on ESP8266, ~1-2KB on ESP32 from all optimizations combined
Lock component: 388 bytes flash + 23 bytes RAM per lock via bitmask optimization
ESP32 BLE Server: 1KB flash savings by replacing HashMap with vectors (26x faster lookups)
Event Emitter: 2.6KB flash savings via vector replacement (2.3x faster)
mDNS/OpenThread: StaticVector eliminates dynamic allocation overhead
Script names: Moved to flash storage instead of RAM
Component metadata: Named structs replace std::pair overhead
API: Zero-copy techniques eliminate unnecessary data copying in Bluetooth proxy, Z-Wave proxy, and base API calls (authentication, time zones), reducing allocations and improving performance

Performance Improvements:

Logger: 35-72% faster log formatting through optimized string handling
Web Server: Significant reduction through lookup tables and IDF server unification
Scheduler: Reduced function call overhead
OTA: Non-blocking authentication improves responsiveness
USB Host: Dedicated FreeRTOS task for continuous event processing prevents data corruption during high-frequency transfers

These optimizations benefit all platforms, but ESP8266 users will notice the most dramatic stability improvements.

New Components & Features

Sensor Components

WTS01 - Temperature sensor with UART interface
LM75B - Popular I2C temperature sensor

Communication Features

Multiple CAN instances on supported ESP32 platforms
UART enhancements with multiple ESP32 features and fixes
Remote receiver demodulation support on ESP32
Modbus courtesy responses for improved protocol compliance

Hardware Support

LAN8670 PHY support for Ethernet
Configurable Ethernet MAC address in YAML
QMC5883L DRDY pin for maximum sampling rate
USB host/UART support on ESP32-P4

For Contributors

If you contribute to ESPHome or maintain external components, you’ll notice some big improvements to the development experience:

CI Testing Improvements:

Much faster CI for large PRs - Large PR test time reduced from ~1 hour to ~20 minutes through intelligent component grouping
Release builds 6-7x faster - Release test time reduced from 12+ hours to 1h40m
Smarter component testing - Changed components get isolated test runners with full validation, while dependency-only components are grouped for speed
Better feedback loops - Get results faster, making it easier to iterate on contributions
More reliable testing - APT package caching (2m30s → 5s), retry logic for downloads, and utilization of a larger available disk partition (66GB instead of 23GB)

These improvements make it much easier to contribute to ESPHome by reducing wait times and making the CI system more efficient and reliable.

Breaking Changes

ESPHome 2025.10.0 includes several breaking changes requiring attention:

Arduino as IDF Component

Framework architecture change - Arduino is now integrated as an ESP-IDF component
Impact: Build process changes, potential incompatibilities with external components
Action Required: Test custom components, update framework version handling
PR: esphome#10647

API Changes

Several API-related breaking changes improve security and efficiency:

ConnectRequest/Response renamed to AuthenticationRequest/Response esphome#10726
Password and encryption now mutually exclusive with deprecation warnings esphome#10871
Configurable connection limits added with new defaults esphome#10939
Message size limits to prevent memory exhaustion esphome#10936
ClientInfo::get_combined_info() removed to eliminate heap fragmentation esphome#10970
HomeassistantServiceResponse renamed to HomeassistantActionRequest esphome#10839

Component Changes

EKTF2232: rts_pin renamed to reset_pin esphome#10720
MMC5603: Fixed incorrect calculation factor (values will change) esphome#9925
ESP32 BLE: max_connections now shared between client and server esphome#11006
Logger: Runtime tag-specific log levels conditionally compiled esphome#11004
Lock: Internal representation changed to bitmask esphome#10977
mDNS/OpenThread: Services storage uses StaticVector esphome#10976

ESP32 Platform

Version handling improved with stricter validation esphome#10899
Web server: IDF web server now used for Arduino builds esphome#10991

Audio

esp-audio-libs updated to 2.0.1 with new FLAC decoder esphome#10974

Most breaking changes involve internal optimizations and security improvements. Standard configurations should continue working, but custom components and advanced setups may require updates.

Release 2025.10.1 - October 16

[mipi_spi] Rotation fixes esphome#11226 by @clydebarrow (new-feature)
[ota] Fix MQTT resolution when static IP appears first in device list esphome#11272 by @bdraco
[ota.esphome] Handle blank password the same as no password defined esphome#11271 by @jesserockz
[tests] Fix OTA password test assertions after merge collision esphome#11275 by @bdraco
[wifi] Fix enterprise wifi esphome#11276 by @swoboda1337
[substitutions] Fix AttributeError when using packages with substitutions esphome#11274 by @bdraco

Release 2025.10.2 - October 20

[datetime] Fix DateTimeStateTrigger compilation when time component is not used esphome#11287 by @bdraco
[core] Add ESP32 ROM functions to reserved ids esphome#11293 by @swoboda1337
[htu21d] Revert register address change esphome#11291 by @swoboda1337
[esp32] Reduce tx power on Arduino in the event of a brownout esphome#11304 by @swoboda1337
[const] Add CONF_OPENTHREAD esphome#11318 by @danstiner
[dashboard] Fix binary download with packages using secrets after Path migration esphome#11313 by @bdraco
[dashboard] fix migration to Path esphome#11342 by @tomaszduda23
[scd4x, bme68x] Fix temperature_offset to use the temperature_delta instead of temperature esphome#11347 by @Spectre5
[core] Fix IndexError when OTA devices cannot be resolved esphome#11311 by @bdraco
[esp32] Fix OTA rollback esphome#11300 by @swoboda1337
[openthread] Backport address resolution support to prevent OTA crash esphome#11312 by @bdraco

Release 2025.10.3 - October 24

[hdc1080] Make HDC1080_CMD_CONFIGURATION failure a warning (and log it) esphome#11355 by @pzich
[uart] Make rx pin respect pullup and pulldown settings esphome#9248 by @asergunov
[core] handle mixed IP and DNS addresses correctly in resolve_ip_address esphome#11503 by @Links2004

Release 2025.10.4 - November 4

[uart] Fix order of initialization calls esphome#11510 by @kbx81
Fix the LiberTiny bug with UART pin setup esphome#11518 by @asergunov
[mipi_rgb] Fix rotation with custom model esphome#11585 by @clydebarrow (new-feature)
[lvgl] Fix nested lambdas in automations unable to access parameters esphome#11583 by @bdraco
[image] Catch and report svg load errors esphome#11619 by @clydebarrow
[lvgl] Fix event for binary sensor esphome#11636 by @clydebarrow
[sdl] Fix keymappings esphome#11635 by @clydebarrow

Release 2025.10.5 - November 11

[const] Add CONF_ROWS esphome#11249 by @stuartparmenter
[core] Don’t allow python 3.14 esphome#11527 by @swoboda1337
[usb_uart] Fixes for transfer queue allocation esphome#11548 by @clydebarrow
[lvgl] Fix rotation with unusual width esphome#11680 by @clydebarrow

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2025.10.0 changelog.

ESPHome 2025.9.0: MIPI RGB displays and a camera JPEG encoder

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT

MIPI RGB Displays

Camera Encoder

Release Overview

ESPHome 2025.9.0 brings significant enhancements to display technology, camera functionality, and performance optimizations. This release focuses on advanced display capabilities, improved memory efficiency, and enhanced developer tools while maintaining backward compatibility for most use cases.

Key Highlights:

MIPI RGB Display support for high-performance color displays with dedicated hardware acceleration
ESPHome Builder improvements with support for uploading existing YAML files and blank configurations
Camera JPEG encoder enabling efficient image compression and streaming capabilities
Enhanced NRF52 features including DFU (Device Firmware Update) support
Extensive memory optimizations reducing flash and RAM usage across all platforms
Improved sensor support with enhanced BL0940 power monitoring capabilities
Component improvements including restructured Inkplate e-paper display support

🎉 Welcome Jonathan to the Open Home Foundation Team!

We’re excited to announce that Jonathan (@swoboda1337) has joined the Open Home Foundation as a full-time developer on ESPHome!

Jonathan has been a long-standing and valued contributor, and now he’ll be able to focus fully on building ESPHome — helping people create smart homes that are private, sustainable, and built on open standards.

This milestone is made possible by the support of our community and the Open Home Foundation’s mission to advance open-source smart home technologies while upholding the principles of privacy, choice, and sustainability.

If you’d like to support continued development of ESPHome and other open home projects, consider:

Supporting the Open Home Foundation → openhomefoundation.org
Subscribing to Home Assistant Cloud → nabucasa.com to help fund open-source development

🚀 Welcome to the team, Jonathan — we can’t wait to see what you’ll help build!

MIPI RGB Display Support

ESPHome 2025.9.0 introduces comprehensive support for MIPI RGB displays through the new Mipi Rgb component.

Key Features:

Hardware acceleration through dedicated MIPI controllers
High refresh rates with excellent color reproduction
Unified configuration supporting multiple display models
Reduced CPU overhead compared to traditional parallel displays
Professional display quality for advanced user interfaces

MIPI RGB displays offer superior performance for applications requiring high-quality graphics, smooth animations, and professional-grade user interfaces.

ESPHome Builder Enhancements

The ESPHome Builder web interface now offers improved flexibility for getting started with your projects:

New Capabilities:

Upload existing YAML files to continue working on configurations created elsewhere
Start with a blank configuration for complete customization from scratch

Camera JPEG Encoder

The new Camera Encoder component adds efficient JPEG compression capabilities to ESP32 camera implementations, enabling:

Benefits:

Reduced bandwidth for image transmission over WiFi
Lower storage requirements for image capture applications
Improved streaming performance with compressed image data
Configurable quality settings to balance size vs. quality
Hardware acceleration where available on supported platforms

This component is particularly valuable for security cameras, time-lapse photography, and any application requiring efficient image handling.

Enhanced NRF52 Platform

Building on the NRF52 platform introduced in 2025.8.0, this release adds crucial development and deployment features:

New Capabilities:

DFU (Device Firmware Update) support for over-the-air updates
Improved debugging tools with enhanced Zephyr integration

These enhancements make NRF52 development more practical for production deployments while maintaining the low-power advantages of Nordic semiconductors.

Memory & Performance Optimizations

ESPHome 2025.9.0 continues the optimization efforts with significant improvements:

Flash Memory Savings:

Component source strings moved to flash (ESP8266) saving substantial RAM
GPIO memory optimization reducing usage by up to 50% through bit-packing
Scheduler improvements with memory pools to reduce heap fragmentation
String optimizations eliminating unnecessary allocations in core functions

Runtime Improvements:

Enhanced GPIO expander support with cached operations reducing I2C bus usage
Optimized sensor logging with compile-time string management
Better timezone synchronization allowing the timezone to be sent from Home Assistant for devices that are pre-installed with ESPHome

Breaking Changes

ESPHome 2025.9.0 includes several breaking changes that may require configuration updates:

Core Preference Storage Changes

Device ID consideration: Preference storage now accounts for device_id to prevent conflicts
Impact: Devices may lose some stored preferences on first boot after upgrade
Action Required: No configuration changes needed, but stored calibration data may need to be reconfigured

LVGL Spinbox Configuration

Configuration change: step property replaced with selected_digit for spinbox widgets
Impact: Existing LVGL spinbox configurations will fail validation
Action Required: Update spinbox configurations to use selected_digit instead of step

Bluetooth Proxy Connection Defaults

Default change: Active connections now default to true instead of false
Impact: Bluetooth proxy will allow active connections by default
Action Required: Explicitly set active: false if you want to maintain previous behavior

API and Memory Optimizations

String function changes: state_class_to_string() now returns const char* instead of std::string
Component storage changes: Component source strings moved to flash memory on ESP8266
Impact: Custom components using these functions may need updates
Action Required: Update custom components to handle new return types

Inkplate Component Rename

Component renamed: Inkplate component has been renamed and grayscale handling improved
Impact: Existing Inkplate configurations will need component name updates
Action Required: Update component references in your configuration

Most breaking changes are internal optimizations that shouldn’t affect typical configurations, but custom components and advanced setups may require updates.

Release 2025.9.1 - September 19

[mqtt] Fix KeyError when MQTT logging configured without explicit level esphome#10774 by @bdraco
fix(packet_transport): Add initialization for sensor configuration in packet transport esphome#10765 by @TMaYaD
[core] Fix ESP8266 mDNS compilation failure caused by incorrect coroutine priorities esphome#10773 by @bdraco
[gpio] Fix unused function warnings when compiling with log level below DEBUG esphome#10779 by @bdraco

Release 2025.9.2 - September 29

[esp32_improv] Disable loop by default until provisioning needed esphome#10764 by @bdraco
[libretiny] Fix lib_ignore handling and ignore incompatible libraries esphome#10846 by @swoboda1337
Set color_order to RGB for the Waveshare ESP32-S3-TOUCH-LCD-4.3 and ESP32-S3-TOUCH-LCD-7-800X480 esphome#10835 by @stuartparmenter
[esp32_improv] Fix crashes from uninitialized pointers and missing null checks esphome#10902 by @bdraco
[sx126x] Fix issues with variable length FSK packets esphome#10911 by @swoboda1337
[mipi_spi] Fix t-display-amoled esphome#10922 by @clydebarrow

Release 2025.9.3 - October 1

[api] Prevent API from overriding noise encryption keys set in YAML esphome#10927 by @bdraco
[sim800l] Fixed ignoring incoming calls. esphome#10865 by @vmakeev
[voice_assistant] Fix wakeword string being reset while referenced esphome#10945 by @abmantis

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2025.9.0 changelog.

ESPHome 2025.8.0: nRF52 support and ESP-NOW mesh communication

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Release Overview

ESPHome 2025.8.0 expands platform support with the introduction of Nordic nRF52 devices, adds mesh communication capabilities, and delivers significant performance improvements. This release focuses on architectural innovation and memory optimization while introducing new hardware possibilities.

Key Highlights:

New nRF52 platform based on Zephyr RTOS opens Nordic semiconductor ecosystem
ESP-NOW mesh communication enables direct device-to-device connectivity
High-performance MIPI DSI displays for ESP32-P4 professional applications
Extensive memory optimizations with up to 10x performance improvements in key areas
Python 3.11+ requirement (breaking change - Python 3.10 support dropped)

NRF52 Platform Support

ESPHome 2025.8.0 introduces basic support for Nordic nRF52 series microcontrollers through the new Nrf52 platform. This implementation is built on the Zephyr RTOS, providing a robust foundation for Nordic semiconductor devices.

Key Features:

Complete platform integration with ESPHome’s component ecosystem
ADC support for analog sensor reading with configurable resolution
GPIO functionality with interrupt support and pin configuration
Zephyr debug component for advanced debugging and development

The nRF52 platform opens up new possibilities for low-power, Bluetooth-enabled devices while maintaining the familiar ESPHome configuration syntax and component compatibility.

ESP-NOW Communication

The new Espnow component brings device-to-device communication to ESP32 platforms without requiring WiFi infrastructure. ESP-NOW enables direct communication between ESP32 devices using the 2.4GHz band with minimal power consumption.

Applications:

Mesh sensor networks - Sensors can communicate directly without WiFi routers
Remote control systems - Direct device control with low latency
Backup communication - Fallback when WiFi is unavailable
Battery-powered devices - Efficient communication for power-constrained applications

This protocol is particularly valuable for distributed sensor networks and scenarios where traditional WiFi infrastructure is impractical or unavailable.

MIPI DSI Display Support

ESPHome now supports high-performance MIPI DSI displays through the new Mipi Dsi component, specifically designed for ESP32-P4 processors with DSI interfaces.

Benefits:

High-resolution displays with excellent performance
Hardware acceleration through dedicated DSI controllers
Reduced CPU overhead compared to traditional SPI displays
Professional display quality for advanced applications

This addition significantly expands ESPHome’s display capabilities, enabling professional-grade user interfaces and high-resolution graphics applications.

Memory & Performance Optimizations

ESPHome 2025.8.0 includes extensive optimizations focused on reducing memory usage and improving performance:

Flash Memory Savings:

Conditional compilation removes unused API features (thousands of bytes saved)
Optimized protobuf implementations with zero-copy techniques
Reduced code duplication across components
Streamlined error handling and logging systems

Runtime Performance:

10x faster string encoding with optimized memcpy operations
Enhanced scheduler with reduced millis() calls
Improved BLE scanning with batched processing
Zero-copy protobuf fields for reduced memory allocations

Python 3.11+ Requirement

Starting with ESPHome 2025.8.0, Python 3.11 or higher is required to run ESPHome. This change enables us to:

Utilize modern Python features and improvements
Remove legacy compatibility code that was needed for older Python versions
Maintain a more secure and efficient codebase

Why This Change?

Python 3.10 reaches its end of life in October 2026. This upgrade is necessary for the project to move forward with modern development practices and maintain long-term security and maintainability.

What You Need to Do

Installation Method	Action Required
Home Assistant Add-on	No action needed - Already uses Python 3.12
Container Images (Docker)	No action needed - Already uses Python 3.12
Direct Installation (pip)	Upgrade Python to 3.11+ before updating ESPHome

WARNING

If you’re running ESPHome directly on your machine with Python 3.10 or older, running pip install -U esphome will not upgrade beyond version 2025.7.x. You must upgrade your Python installation first.

Breaking Changes

ESPHome 2025.8.0 includes several breaking changes that may require action on your part:

Bluetooth and BLE Changes

Bluetooth Proxy: Parsed advertisement support and V1 connection support removed to save memory
BLE: Conditional compilation for advertising and service classes may reduce available features if not explicitly enabled
May affect older components using deprecated Bluetooth features

API Optimizations

Deprecated protobuf fields removed (reduces flash usage)
Conditional compilation for Home Assistant state/service subscriptions
May affect custom API clients using deprecated fields

Component Filter Changes

LD2410 and LD2450 components now use native filters instead of throttle
See the component documentation for updated filter configuration

ESP32 Touch Sensor

Workaround implemented for ESP-IDF v5.4 regression
May affect touch sensor behavior on newer ESP-IDF versions

Most of these changes are automatic optimizations that shouldn’t affect typical usage, but custom components or advanced configurations may need updates.

Release 2025.8.1 - August 25

[api] Add zero-copy StringRef methods for compilation_time and effect_name esphome#10257 by @bdraco
[esp32_ble_client] Add log helper functions to reduce flash usage by 120 bytes esphome#10243 by @bdraco
[api] Add USE_API_HOMEASSISTANT_SERVICES if using tag_scanned action esphome#10316 by @jesserockz
[http_request] Fix for host after ArduinoJson library bump esphome#10348 by @clydebarrow
[core] Improve error reporting for entity name conflicts with non-ASCII characters esphome#10329 by @bdraco
[pvvx_mithermometer] Fix race condition with BLE authentication esphome#10327 by @bdraco
[esp32_ble_client] Optimize BLE connection parameters for different connection types esphome#10356 by @bdraco
[esp32_ble] Increase GATT connection retry count to use full timeout window esphome#10376 by @bdraco
[script] Fix parallel mode scripts with delays cancelling each other esphome#10324 by @bdraco
[deep_sleep] Fix ESP32-C6 compilation error with gpio_deep_sleep_hold_en() esphome#10345 by @bdraco
[esp32_ble_client] Reduce log level for harmless BLE timeout race conditions esphome#10339 by @bdraco
[lvgl] Fix meter rotation esphome#10342 by @clydebarrow
[esp32_ble_tracker] Fix on_scan_end trigger compilation without USE_ESP32_BLE_DEVICE esphome#10399 by @bdraco
[test] Add integration test for light effect memory corruption fix esphome#10417 by @bdraco
[web_server] Use oi.esphome.io for css and js assets esphome#10296 by @clydebarrow

Release 2025.8.2 - August 29

[wifi] Fix reconnection failures after adapter restart by not clearing netif pointers esphome#10458 by @bdraco
[mipi_spi] Fix dimensions esphome#10443 by @clydebarrow
[i2c] Perform register reads as single transactions esphome#10389 by @clydebarrow
[wifi] Fix retry with hidden networks. esphome#10445 by @clydebarrow
Fix AttributeError when uploading OTA to offline OpenThread devices esphome#10459 by @bdraco
[rtttl] Fix RTTTL for speakers esphome#10381 by @fortuna
[esphome] Fix OTA watchdog resets by validating all magic bytes before blocking esphome#10401 by @bdraco

Release 2025.8.3 - September 4

[mcp4461] Fix reading level esphome#10479 by @p1ngb4ck
Fix incorrect entity count due to undefined execution order with globals esphome#10497 by @bdraco
[mipi_dsi] Fix config for Guition screen esphome#10464 by @clydebarrow
[mcp4461] Fix read transaction esphome#10465 by @clydebarrow
[esp32] Rebuild when idf_component.yml changes esphome#10540 by @swoboda1337
[i2c] Fix bug in write_register16 esphome#10547 by @latonita
[esp32] Clear IDF environment variables esphome#10527 by @swoboda1337
[api] Fix VERY_VERBOSE logging compilation error with bool arrays esphome#10539 by @bdraco

Release 2025.8.4 - September 10

[sen5x] Fix initialization esphome#10603 by @kbx81
[kmeteriso] Fix i2c call esphome#10618 by @clydebarrow
[light] add missing header esphome#10590 by @tomaszduda23

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2025.8.0 changelog.

ESPHome 2025.7.0: Web server OTA, LoRa, and sub-devices

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Release Overview

ESPHome 2025.7.0 is a major release featuring significant architectural improvements, new hardware support, and important platform updates. This release modernizes the codebase while expanding hardware compatibility and introducing powerful new features for advanced users.

Major Changes:

Web Server OTA moved to dedicated platform (breaking change - migration required)
ESP-IDF 4.x support removed - ESP-IDF 5.3.2+ now required
ESP32 Arduino updated to 3.1.3 for better compatibility and performance
Sub-device support for logical entity grouping in Home Assistant
Jinja2 template expressions for dynamic configuration generation

New Hardware:

LoRa communication (SX126x/SX127x), ESP32 Hosted WiFi, LN882X SoCs
New sensors: OPT3001 light, LPS22 pressure, GL-R01 ToF, Xiaomi BLE

Performance:

Extensive memory optimizations (up to 40% reduction in component memory usage)
Enhanced performance through C++20 support and optimized algorithms
Improved interrupt handling and scheduler efficiency

Web Server OTA Platform

WARNING

Breaking Change: Read this carefully! If your only OTA method is web_server and you don’t have it explicitly enabled, you will lose the ability to update devices OTA after updating to 2025.7.0. You must add the web_server OTA platform to your configuration to maintain OTA functionality.

The Web Server component has undergone a significant architectural change. Previously, OTA functionality was built directly into the web server component. This has now been extracted into a dedicated OTA platform: Web Server.

Migration Required:

If you were relying on the web server’s built-in OTA functionality, you now need to explicitly configure the web server OTA platform:

# Before (implicit OTA in web server)
web_server:
  port: 80

# After (explicit OTA platform required)
web_server:
  port: 80

ota:
  - platform: esphome  # Your existing OTA method
  - platform: web_server  # Add this for web-based OTA uploads

Benefits of this change:

Cleaner separation of concerns - Web server focuses on serving content, OTA platform handles updates
More flexible OTA configuration - Better control over OTA methods and security
Improved maintainability - Dedicated OTA platform allows for better features and bug fixes

ESP-IDF 4.x End of Life

NOTE

Major Platform Change: This release completely removes support for ESP-IDF 4.x versions, marking the end of life for these older framework versions.

ESPHome 2025.7.0 removes all support for ESP-IDF 4.x versions as part of our commitment to supporting modern, secure, and well-maintained development frameworks. Please see our developer blog post for detailed background and technical reasons behind this decision.

What this means for users:

Most users are unaffected - We automatically set the recommended ESP-IDF version (currently 5.3.2) as the default
Explicit version users must update - If you’re explicitly setting the ESP-IDF version in your configuration, you must update to version 5.3.2 or later
Legacy projects may need updates - Older projects might require minor configuration adjustments

Required action if you explicitly set ESP-IDF version:

# Remove or update old explicit versions
esp32:
  board: esp32dev
  framework:
    type: esp-idf
    version: 4.4.7  # ❌ No longer supported

# Update to supported version
esp32:
  board: esp32dev
  framework:
    type: esp-idf
    version: 5.3.2  # ✅ Supported (or omit for latest recommended)

Benefits of ESP-IDF 5.x:

Enhanced security - Latest security patches and improvements
Better performance - Optimized code generation and runtime performance
Modern C++ support - Full C++20 support with improved standard library
Expanded hardware support - Better support for newer ESP32 variants (S2, S3, C3, C6, H2)
Active maintenance - Continued updates and bug fixes from Espressif

ESP32 Arduino Framework 3.x

NOTE

Framework Update: Arduino for ESP32 has been upgraded to version 3.1.3, bringing significant improvements and maintaining compatibility with ESP-IDF 5.3.2.

To maintain alignment and compatibility with the current ESP-IDF version of 5.3.2, the Arduino framework for ESP32 has been updated to version 3.1.3. This represents a major version jump from Arduino 2.x.

Key improvements in Arduino 3.1.3:

ESP-IDF 5.3.2 compatibility - Full integration with the latest ESP-IDF features
Improved stability - Better memory management and reduced crashes
Enhanced WiFi performance - More reliable connections and better power management
Updated libraries - Latest versions of core Arduino libraries
Bug fixes - Numerous fixes for issues present in earlier versions

Potential compatibility considerations:

Some third-party Arduino libraries may need updates for Arduino 3.x compatibility
Timing-sensitive code might behave slightly differently due to framework optimizations
Memory usage patterns may change slightly due to framework improvements

NOTE

Flash Usage Warning: Arduino 3.x can use more flash memory than Arduino 2.x, which may cause some projects with many components to exceed available flash space. If you encounter flash size issues, consider:

Switching to ESP-IDF framework (recommended for large projects)
Reducing the number of enabled components
Using a board with more flash memory

Most users will see this as a transparent improvement with better performance and reliability.

Sub-Device Support

NOTE

New Feature: Entities can now be organized into logical sub-devices, enabling better organization and area management in Home Assistant.

ESPHome now supports sub-devices, a powerful new feature that allows you to logically group entities from a single physical ESPHome device into multiple virtual devices within Home Assistant. This is particularly useful for complex setups where one ESP32 controls sensors or actuators in different areas of your home.

Use cases and benefits:

Multi-room sensors - One ESP32 with temperature sensors in different rooms can appear as separate devices per room
Complex automation hubs - A single ESP32 controlling lights, fans, and sensors across multiple areas
Better Home Assistant organization - Entities automatically appear in the correct areas and can be managed independently
Cleaner dashboards - Related entities are grouped together logically rather than by physical device

How it works:

You can assign entities to sub-devices using the new device_id configuration option. First, define your devices in the devices section under esphome:, then reference them in individual entities.

Example configuration:

esphome:
  name: multi_room_controller

  # Define areas (optional)
  areas:
    - id: living_room_area
      name: "Living Room"
    - id: bedroom_area
      name: "Bedroom"

  # Define devices
  devices:
    - id: living_room_device
      name: "Living Room Sensors"
      area_id: living_room_area
    - id: bedroom_device
      name: "Bedroom Sensors"
      area_id: bedroom_area

# Assign sensors to different devices
sensor:
  - platform: dht
    pin: GPIO4
    temperature:
      name: "Living Room Temperature"
      device_id: living_room_device
    humidity:
      name: "Living Room Humidity"
      device_id: living_room_device

  - platform: dht
    pin: GPIO5
    temperature:
      name: "Bedroom Temperature"
      device_id: bedroom_device
    humidity:
      name: "Bedroom Humidity"
      device_id: bedroom_device

In this example, Home Assistant will see two separate sensor devices (one for living room, one for bedroom) even though they’re controlled by a single ESPHome device.

This feature enhances the logical organization of your smart home while maintaining the efficiency of centralized ESPHome device management.

New Hardware Support Highlights

This release brings support for exciting new hardware platforms and components:

New Wireless Communication:

SX126x & SX127x LoRa modules - Long-range, low-power communication for remote sensors and IoT applications
ESP32 Hosted WiFi - Use an ESP32 as a WiFi adapter for other microcontrollers, expanding connectivity options

New Sensors & Measurement:

OPT3001 - High-precision ambient light sensor with excellent low-light sensitivity
LPS22 - Accurate barometric pressure sensor for weather monitoring and altitude measurement
GL-R01 - Time-of-flight distance sensor for precise proximity and ranging applications
Xiaomi XMWSDJ04MMC - Support for popular Xiaomi Bluetooth temperature/humidity sensors

Expanded Platform Support:

LN882X SoC Family - New LibreTiny support extends ESPHome to additional low-cost WiFi microcontrollers
PI4IOE5V6408 - New I2C GPIO expander for applications requiring additional digital I/O pins

Infrastructure Improvements:

DS2484 - Advanced 1-Wire bus master for improved reliability in complex 1-Wire networks
Enhanced Camera Framework - New base camera class enables support for alternative camera implementations

Memory and Performance Optimizations

ESPHome 2025.7.0 includes extensive memory and performance optimizations, particularly beneficial for resource-constrained devices:

Memory Usage Reductions:

Component memory reduced (8 bytes per component) - Significant savings for devices with many components
Sensor entities optimized - Reduced memory footprint for devices with numerous sensors
API and networking optimizations - Lower RAM usage for WiFi and API communication
Color constant storage optimization - More efficient handling of color data in displays and lighting

Performance Improvements:

Faster loop processing - Components can now disable their loop() method when not needed, reducing CPU overhead
Optimized API communication - Improved batching and reduced redundant operations
Enhanced logging performance - More efficient message processing and reduced CPU impact
Bluetooth proxy optimizations - Better performance for ESP32 devices acting as Bluetooth proxies

Code Quality Enhancements:

C++20 support - Modern C++ features for better performance and developer experience
Improved interrupt handling - More reliable GPIO interrupt processing
Enhanced scheduler - Better task management with comprehensive test coverage

Jinja2 Template Expressions in Substitutions

NOTE

New Feature: ESPHome now supports Jinja2 template expressions within substitutions, enabling more advanced and dynamic value generation.

ESPHome 2025.7.0 introduces support for Jinja2 template expressions within the existing substitutions system. This enhancement extends the current ${ } substitution syntax to support Jinja2 expressions, allowing for more sophisticated value calculations and transformations.

Enhanced substitution capabilities:

Mathematical operations - Perform calculations using substitution variables
Conditional expressions - Use ternary operators and conditional logic
String formatting - Advanced string manipulation and formatting
Type conversions - Convert between strings, numbers, and other types
Filter operations - Apply Jinja2 filters for data transformation

Example usage:

substitutions:
  device_name: living_room_sensors
  num_sensors: 3
  base_pin: 4
  offset_voltage: 3.3
  enable_debugging: false
  sensor_config:
    update_interval: 60s
    accuracy_decimals: 2

sensor:
  - platform: adc
    pin: GPIO${base_pin}
    name: "${device_name} voltage"
    update_interval: ${sensor_config.update_interval}
    accuracy_decimals: ${sensor_config.accuracy_decimals}
    filters:
      # Convert ADC reading to actual voltage
      - multiply: ${offset_voltage / 4095}

  - platform: adc
    pin: GPIO${base_pin + 1}
    name: "${device_name} sensor ${num_sensors > 1 and 'secondary' or 'primary'}"
    accuracy_decimals: ${1 if num_sensors <= 2 else 2}
    update_interval: ${sensor_config.update_interval}

binary_sensor:
  - platform: gpio
    pin: GPIO${base_pin + 2}
    name: "${device_name} status ${enable_debugging and '(debug)' or ''}"

Key features:

Works within existing substitutions - Uses the familiar ${ } syntax you already know
Access to substitution variables - All defined substitutions are available as Jinja variables
Dictionary and list access - Use dot notation (device.name ) or indexing (pins[0] )
Mathematical functions - Access to Python’s math library (math.sqrt, math.pi, etc.)
Conditional logic - Ternary operators and boolean expressions for dynamic values

Benefits:

More powerful substitutions - Calculate complex values instead of just simple replacements
Reduced duplication - Generate values programmatically based on other substitutions
Better maintainability - Change base values and have dependent values update automatically
Enhanced flexibility - Support for conditional values and complex transformations

This feature builds upon ESPHome’s existing substitutions system, making it more powerful while maintaining backward compatibility. It’s particularly useful for responsive designs, calculated pin assignments, and configurations that need to adapt based on device capabilities or user preferences.

For complete documentation and more examples, see the Substitutions guide.

ArduinoJson Library 7.x

WARNING

Breaking Change: The ArduinoJson library has been upgraded from version 6.x to 7.2.0, introducing breaking changes that may affect custom components and external integrations.

ESPHome 2025.7.0 upgrades the ArduinoJson library to version 7.2.0, bringing performance improvements and reduced memory usage. Most users will not be affected as all standard ESPHome components have been updated. However, if you have external components, or lambdas that directly use ArduinoJson, you may need to update your code.

For detailed migration information, see the ArduinoJson migration guide.

Release 2025.7.1 - July 17

[lvgl]: fix missing await keyword in meter tick_style width processing esphome#9538 by @theshut
Fix compilation error when using string lambdas with homeassistant services esphome#9543 by @bdraco
Fix format string warnings in Web Server OTA component esphome#9569 by @bdraco
Add helpful error message when ESP32+Arduino runs out of flash space esphome#9580 by @bdraco
Allow disabling OTA for web_server while keeping it enabled for captive_portal esphome#9583 by @bdraco
[esp32] Add missing include for helpers esphome#9579 by @jesserockz
Fix lwIP thread safety assertion failures on ESP32 esphome#9570 by @bdraco

Release 2025.7.2 - July 19

Fix template event web_server crash esphome#9618 by @AzonInc
[api] Fix compilation error with char* lambdas in HomeAssistant services esphome#9638 by @bdraco
[wireguard] Fix boot loop when CONFIG_LWIP_TCPIP_CORE_LOCKING is enabled esphome#9637 by @bdraco
[scheduler] Fix cancellation of timers with empty string names esphome#9641 by @bdraco
[logger] fix on_message esphome#9642 by @ssieb
esp32_camera: deprecate i2c_pins; throw error if combined with i2c: block esphome#9615 by @RubenKelevra
[scheduler] Fix DelayAction cancellation in restart mode scripts esphome#9646 by @bdraco
[lvgl] Fix meter rotation esphome#9605 by @clydebarrow
[libretiny] Remove unsupported lock-free queue and event pool implementations esphome#9653 by @bdraco
[lvgl] Prevent keyerror on min/max value widgets with no default esphome#9660 by @jesserockz
Fix AsyncTCP version mismatch between platformio.ini and async_tcp component esphome#9676 by @bdraco
[speaker] Media player’s pipeline properly returns playing state near end of file esphome#9668 by @kahrendt
[voice_assistant] Use media player callbacks to track TTS response status esphome#9670 by @kahrendt
[gpio] Disable interrupt mode by default for LibreTiny platforms esphome#9687 by @bdraco

Release 2025.7.3 - July 23

[gpio] Auto-disable interrupts for shared GPIO pins in binary sensors esphome#9701 by @bdraco
Fix format string error in ota_web_server.cpp esphome#9711 by @tmpeh
[sdl][mipi_spi] Respect clipping when drawing esphome#9722 by @JonasB2497
[esp32_touch] Fix setup mode in v1 driver esphome#9725 by @swoboda1337
[tuya] Update use of fan_schema esphome#9762 by @jesserockz
[config_validation] Add support for suggesting alternate component/platform esphome#9757 by @kbx81
[core] Process pending loop enables during setup blocking phase esphome#9787 by @bdraco
[fastled_clockless, fastled_spi] Add suggested alternate when using IDF esphome#9784 by @kbx81
[neopixelbus] Add suggested alternate when using IDF esphome#9783 by @kbx81
[bme680_bsec] Add suggested alternate when using IDF esphome#9785 by @kbx81

Release 2025.7.4 - July 28

[remote_receiver] Fix idle validation esphome#9819 by @swoboda1337
[gt911] i2c fixes esphome#9822 by @clydebarrow
fix: non-optional x/y target calculation for ld2450 esphome#9849 by @Hofferic
[logger] Don’t allow logger.log actions without configuring the logger esphome#9821 by @jesserockz
Add seed flag when running setup with uv present esphome#9932 by @cryptk
Fail with old lerp esphome#9914 by @HeMan

Release 2025.7.5 - August 5

[lvgl] Bugfix for tileview esphome#9938 by @clydebarrow
[api] Fix OTA progress updates not being sent when main loop is blocked esphome#10049 by @bdraco
[font] Catch file load exception esphome#10058 by @clydebarrow
[i2s_audio] Use high-pass filter for dc offset correction esphome#10005 by @doobry

Full List of Changes

For the complete list of every merged pull request in this release, see the full 2025.7.0 changelog.