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Lire cette page en français English, page shown

WiFi Manager, the base firmware of the modules

The common base for every MicroCoaster module. It handles getting an ESP32 onto the network: a captive portal on first boot, stored credentials, automatic reconnection, and an escape button for taking control back when the network has changed.

Every module on the layout starts from this firmware and grafts its own logic on top. What is settled here does not have to be settled anywhere else.

Version 2.0.0

01 How it works

A module has neither keyboard nor screen. The only way to hand it the credentials of a network is for it to create one itself.

First boot: no wifi.json, the module opens its access point. Captive portal: every request is redirected to the configuration page. Credentials entered: written to wifi.json on LittleFS, then a reboot. From then on: a direct connection to the remembered network, an automatic retry if it drops, then a fallback to the portal.

The /wifi.json file is declared protected with the library, which keeps a filesystem operation from wiping it by accident. That is the difference between a module you reconfigure and a module you have to go and prise out of the layout.

02 Taking it back

A button on GPIO 0, the one already wired on most development boards.

Press for 2 to 5 seconds: reopens the configuration portal without erasing anything. Press for 5 seconds or more: erases the stored credentials, the module starts over blank.

It earns its keep the day the network changes name or key and the module is still looking for the old one.

03 Settings

setPortalTimeout: how long before the portal closes. setAPClientCheck: the portal stays open as long as a client is connected to it. setWebClientCheck: every HTTP request restarts the countdown. setCaptivePortal: redirects every request to the configuration page. setFallbackPolicy ON_FAIL: the portal only opens after a failed connection. setAutoReconnect: retries the connection without intervention.

An hour of portal is comfortable while developing, but generous for a module sitting in a layout: an open access point is a way in. In service, a few minutes are enough.

The access point credentials live in include/env.h, which is not in git. Copy include/env.h.example and fill it in: without that file the firmware does not compile, and that is deliberate. An oversight shows up at build time rather than in production.

The home network credentials never go through the code at all: they are typed into the portal and stay in /wifi.json, in the module's memory.

04 Bringing it up

Requires PlatformIO inside Visual Studio Code.

pio run                  # build
pio run -t upload        # upload the firmware
pio run -t uploadfs      # upload the portal to LittleFS
pio device monitor       # serial console, 115200 baud

The portal is made of static files in data/. They go to LittleFS with uploadfs, separately from the firmware: changing a page does not mean recompiling.

  1. Power the module. It creates the WifiManager-MicroCoaster access point.
  2. Connect to it and open http://192.168.4.1.
  3. Enter the target network.
  4. The module reboots and joins the network.

The serial console at 115200 baud traces every step, and a connection status is published every thirty seconds with the IP address and the signal strength.

05 Ecosystem

ayresnet/AyresWiFiManager   ; captive portal, storage, reconnection

The library logs are turned off through AWM_ENABLE_LOG=0 in platformio.ini, so the console does not mix two languages. Embedded filesystem: LittleFS, which holds the portal pages and /wifi.json.

Modules built on this base: Switch Track, Launch Track, Lift Hill, Audio module, Smoke Machine. The whole thing is driven by the WebApp.

MicroCoaster · Author: Cybertrist