T-Deck get it now

Overview

LILYGO T-Deck is a highly integrated multi-functional embedded development platform based on the ESP32-S3 main control chip. It integrates a 2.8-inch ST7789 LCD (320 × 240), trackball navigation module, physical keyboard (I²C), TF card storage, LoRa SX1262 wireless module, and ES7210 microphone array. Suitable for IoT terminals, portable interactive devices, and low-power wireless communication projects.

Notes:
T-Deck-Plus has allocated the Grove interface pins for GPS module use — the Grove interface on T-Deck-Plus cannot be used as a general-purpose interface.
T-Deck updated the TFT_eSPI ST7789 initialization sequence on 2024-07-26. If you encounter incorrect screen display, check that the initialization sequence in the repo matches.
The LoRa radio module shares the SPI bus with other peripherals. Only one SPI device can be selected at a time — ensure all other SPI device CS lines are high (inactive) before communicating with the SX1262.
When powered by battery, GPIO10 must be set HIGH. This requirement can be ignored when the board is powered via USB.

Quick Start

Example Support

Example	PlatformIO/Arduino	ESP-IDF	Description
T-Deck Examples	✓		Keyboard, Microphone, GPS, Touchpad, Unit Test

Available examples:

├─Keyboard_ESP32C3       # ESP32C3 keyboard I2C slave
├─Keyboard_T_Deck_Master # T-Deck read from keyboard
├─Microphone             # Noise detection
├─Touchpad               # Read touch coordinates
├─GPSShield              # GPS Shield example
└─UnitTest               # Factory hardware unit testing

If microphone is enabled, the middle trackball button (GPIO0) is not available.

PlatformIO

Install Visual Studio Code and Python
Search for and install the PlatformIO IDE extension in VS Code
After restarting VS Code, click File → Open Folder → select the T-Deck directory
Open platformio.ini, uncomment the example you want to use (only one active at a time)
Click ✓ to compile, connect via USB, click → to upload

Arduino

Install Arduino IDE
Copy all folders from T-Deck/lib to your Arduino libraries folder
In Tools → Board, configure:

Arduino IDE Setting	Value
Board	ESP32S3 Dev Module
USB CDC On Boot	Enable
CPU Frequency	240 MHz
USB DFU On Boot	Disable
Flash Mode	QIO 80 MHz
Flash Size	16MB(128Mb)
USB Firmware MSC On Boot	Disable
PSRAM	OPI PSRAM
Partition Scheme	16M Flash(3MB APP/9.9MB FATFS)
USB Mode	Hardware CDC and JTAG
Upload Mode	UART0/Hardware CDC
Upload Speed	921600

Click Upload. If upload fails, hold the BOOT button (trackball center), insert USB, then click Upload. After upload, click RST to exit download mode.

The ESP32C3 programming interface is the 6-pin header near the RST button (top to bottom: 3V3, GND, RST, BOOT, RX, TX).

Development Platforms

Video

Key Features

ESP32-S3FN16R8 dual-core LX7 @ 240 MHz, Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 5.0 LE
SX1262 LoRa (433–915 MHz, optional)
MIA-M10Q GNSS module
2.8-inch ST7789 LCD (320 × 240), no touch — trackball navigation
Physical keyboard (I²C communication)
ES7210 audio codec + MSM381A3729H9CP microphone array
2000 mAh lithium polymer battery
16 MB Flash + 8 MB PSRAM + TF card slot

Product Parameters

Feature	Specification
MCU	ESP32-S3FN16R8 @ Dual-core LX7, 240 MHz
Flash	16 MB
PSRAM	8 MB
Wi-Fi	2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0 LE
LoRa	SX1262, 433–915 MHz (optional)
GPS	MIA-M10Q GNSS
Display	2.8-inch ST7789 LCD, 320 × 240
Input	Trackball + physical keyboard (I²C)
Audio	ES7210 codec + microphone array
Battery	2000 mAh lithium polymer
Storage	TF card expansion
USB	1 × Type-C
Dimensions	100 × 68 × 11 mm

Pin Diagram

Pin Mapping

Signal	GPIO
Power Enable	10
I2S WS	5
I2S BCK	7
I2S DOUT	6
I2C SDA	18
I2C SCL	8
Battery ADC	4
Touch INT	16
Keyboard INT	46
SD CS	39
TFT CS	12
LoRa CS	9
TFT DC	11
TFT Backlight	42
SPI MOSI	41
SPI MISO	38
SPI SCK	40
Trackball G01	3
Trackball G02	2
Trackball G03	15
Trackball G04	1
ES7210 MCLK	48
ES7210 LRCK	21
ES7210 SCK	47
ES7210 DIN	14
LoRa BUSY	13
LoRa RST	17
LoRa DIO1	45
BOOT	0
GPS TX	43
GPS RX	44

Peripheral Initialization

The following snippets show the minimum setup for each peripheral using the pin definitions above. Copy the #define block from Pin Mapping into your sketch, then use the relevant snippet.

Before any SPI transaction — pull all other CS lines HIGH first:
cpp
digitalWrite(BOARD_SDCARD_CS, HIGH);
digitalWrite(BOARD_TFT_CS,    HIGH);
digitalWrite(RADIO_CS_PIN,    HIGH);

Power Enable (battery-powered builds)

cpp

// Must be set HIGH when running on battery; safe to call on USB too.
pinMode(BOARD_POWERON, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(BOARD_POWERON, HIGH);

Display (ST7789 — Arduino_GFX)

cpp

#include <Arduino_GFX_Library.h>

Arduino_DataBus *bus = new Arduino_ESP32SPI(
    BOARD_TFT_DC, BOARD_TFT_CS,
    BOARD_SPI_SCK, BOARD_SPI_MOSI, BOARD_SPI_MISO);

// 320×240, no RST pin (-1), portrait
Arduino_GFX *gfx = new Arduino_ST7789(bus, -1, 0, true, 320, 240);

void setup() {
    pinMode(BOARD_TFT_BACKLIGHT, OUTPUT);
    digitalWrite(BOARD_TFT_BACKLIGHT, HIGH);
    gfx->begin();
    gfx->fillScreen(BLACK);
}

Display (ST7789 — TFT_eSPI)

Requires User_Setup.h configured for T-Deck — see the 2024-07-26 commit for the correct initialization sequence.

cpp

#include <TFT_eSPI.h>

TFT_eSPI tft;

void setup() {
    pinMode(BOARD_TFT_BACKLIGHT, OUTPUT);
    digitalWrite(BOARD_TFT_BACKLIGHT, HIGH);
    tft.init();
    tft.setRotation(1);
    tft.fillScreen(TFT_BLACK);
}

LoRa (SX1262 — RadioLib)

cpp

#include <RadioLib.h>

SX1262 radio = new Module(
    RADIO_CS_PIN,   // CS
    RADIO_DIO1_PIN, // DIO1 / IRQ
    RADIO_RST_PIN,  // RST
    RADIO_BUSY_PIN  // BUSY
);

void setup() {
    // Deselect other SPI devices first
    pinMode(BOARD_SDCARD_CS, OUTPUT); digitalWrite(BOARD_SDCARD_CS, HIGH);
    pinMode(BOARD_TFT_CS,    OUTPUT); digitalWrite(BOARD_TFT_CS,    HIGH);

    SPI.begin(BOARD_SPI_SCK, BOARD_SPI_MISO, BOARD_SPI_MOSI);

    // 915.0 MHz, +22 dBm, bandwidth 125 kHz, SF7, CR 4/5
    int state = radio.begin(915.0);
    if (state != RADIOLIB_ERR_NONE) {
        Serial.printf("LoRa init failed: %d\n", state);
    }
}

Keyboard (I²C)

cpp

#include <Wire.h>

#define KEYBOARD_ADDR 0x55

void setup() {
    Wire.begin(BOARD_I2C_SDA, BOARD_I2C_SCL);
    pinMode(BOARD_KEYBOARD_INT, INPUT_PULLUP);
}

// Poll or use interrupt — read one byte per keypress
void loop() {
    if (digitalRead(BOARD_KEYBOARD_INT) == LOW) {
        Wire.requestFrom(KEYBOARD_ADDR, 1);
        if (Wire.available()) {
            char key = Wire.read();
            Serial.printf("Key: %c\n", key);
        }
    }
}

Trackball

cpp

// Trackball outputs quadrature pulses on four GPIOs.
// Attach interrupts to detect movement direction.
void setup() {
    pinMode(BOARD_TBOX_G01, INPUT);
    pinMode(BOARD_TBOX_G02, INPUT);
    pinMode(BOARD_TBOX_G03, INPUT);
    pinMode(BOARD_TBOX_G04, INPUT);
}

Microphone (ES7210 — I²S)

When the microphone is enabled, GPIO0 (BOOT / trackball center button) is not available.

cpp

#include <driver/i2s.h>

void setup() {
    i2s_config_t i2s_config = {
        .mode = (i2s_mode_t)(I2S_MODE_MASTER | I2S_MODE_RX),
        .sample_rate = 16000,
        .bits_per_sample = I2S_BITS_PER_SAMPLE_16BIT,
        .channel_format = I2S_CHANNEL_FMT_RIGHT_LEFT,
        .communication_format = I2S_COMM_FORMAT_STAND_I2S,
        .intr_alloc_flags = ESP_INTR_FLAG_LEVEL1,
        .dma_buf_count = 4,
        .dma_buf_len = 256,
        .use_apll = false,
    };
    i2s_pin_config_t pin_config = {
        .mck_io_num   = BOARD_ES7210_MCLK,
        .bck_io_num   = BOARD_ES7210_SCK,
        .ws_io_num    = BOARD_ES7210_LRCK,
        .data_in_num  = BOARD_ES7210_DIN,
        .data_out_num = I2S_PIN_NO_CHANGE,
    };
    i2s_driver_install(I2S_NUM_0, &i2s_config, 0, NULL);
    i2s_set_pin(I2S_NUM_0, &pin_config);
}

SD Card (SPI)

cpp

#include <SD.h>

void setup() {
    SPI.begin(BOARD_SPI_SCK, BOARD_SPI_MISO, BOARD_SPI_MOSI);
    if (!SD.begin(BOARD_SDCARD_CS)) {
        Serial.println("SD init failed");
    }
}

Dimension Diagram

Schematic

T-Deck Schematic PDF

Datasheet

Software Development

T-Deck GitHub Repository

Dependent Libraries

FAQ

Q. Still don't know how to set up the programming environment? A. Refer to the LilyGo-Document for additional setup instructions.
Q. Arduino IDE prompts to upgrade library files — should I? A. Do not upgrade. Different library versions may be incompatible; stay with the versions in the lib directory.
Q. Does T-Deck have a touch screen? A. No. T-Deck uses a trackball navigation module instead of a touch screen.
Q. Upload keeps failing? A. Hold the trackball center button (BOOT), then insert USB, then click Upload. After completion, press RST to exit download mode.

Version History

Version	Release Date	Update Description
V1.0	—	Initial release

T-Lora Pager

T-Camera Plus S3

T-A7670

T-Bao

T-Keyboard S3 Pro

T-Deck get it now

Overview

Quick Start

Example Support

PlatformIO

Arduino

Development Platforms

Video

Key Features

Product Parameters

Pin Diagram

Pin Mapping

Peripheral Initialization

Power Enable (battery-powered builds)

Display (ST7789 — Arduino_GFX)

Display (ST7789 — TFT_eSPI)

LoRa (SX1262 — RadioLib)

Keyboard (I²C)

Trackball

Microphone (ES7210 — I²S)

SD Card (SPI)

Dimension Diagram

Schematic

Datasheet

Software Development

Dependent Libraries

FAQ

Version History

T-Deck get it now ​

Overview ​

Quick Start ​

Example Support ​

PlatformIO ​

Arduino ​

Development Platforms ​

Video ​

Key Features ​

Product Parameters ​

Pin Diagram ​

Pin Mapping ​

Peripheral Initialization ​

Power Enable (battery-powered builds) ​

Display (ST7789 — Arduino_GFX) ​

Display (ST7789 — TFT_eSPI) ​

LoRa (SX1262 — RadioLib) ​

Keyboard (I²C) ​

Trackball ​

Microphone (ES7210 — I²S) ​

SD Card (SPI) ​

Dimension Diagram ​

Schematic ​

Datasheet ​

Software Development ​

Dependent Libraries ​

FAQ ​

Version History ​

T-Deck get it now

Overview

Quick Start

Example Support

PlatformIO

Arduino

Development Platforms

Video

Key Features

Product Parameters

Pin Diagram

Pin Mapping

Peripheral Initialization

Power Enable (battery-powered builds)

Display (ST7789 — Arduino_GFX)

Display (ST7789 — TFT_eSPI)

LoRa (SX1262 — RadioLib)

Keyboard (I²C)

Trackball

Microphone (ES7210 — I²S)

SD Card (SPI)

Dimension Diagram

Schematic

Datasheet

Software Development

Dependent Libraries

FAQ

Version History