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Beginner's Guide To Installing GhostESP For Use With The Flipper Zero

This guide shows how to install GhostESP onto an ESP32 based board for use with the Flipper Zero. GhostESP can also be used on its own, but the steps below focus on a Flipper-friendly setup.

The steps are similar for other ESP32 based boards, but you will need to select the firmware build for your specific board.

There are three methods listed below to flash the board. You only need to select one method.

The general steps are:

  1. Check the Prerequisites
  2. Choose one method to flash your board under Flashing Methods
  3. Follow the After Flashing steps to connect to your board
  4. Optional: Install the GhostESP companion app

Prerequisites

  • A compatible ESP32 board. GhostESP supports the ESP32-Wroom, ESP32-S2, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3, ESP32-C5, ESP32-C6, and ESP32-P4. See the supported hardware page for the full compatibility matrix.
  • A USB cable (Micro USB or USB-C). This must be a data cable, not a charge-only cable.
  • For Methods 1 and 2: a WebSerial capable browser such as Google Chrome, Brave, or Microsoft Edge. Firefox and Safari are NOT supported.
  • For Method 2: a tool to extract the firmware archive, such as 7-Zip.
  • For Method 3: a Flipper Zero with the GhostESP companion app installed, and a way to wire the board to the Flipper GPIO pins.
If no serial port appears (Windows drivers)

Many ESP32 boards use a Silicon Labs CP210x USB-UART chip. If your board does not show a serial port after plugging it in, install the CP210x VCP driver, then unplug and reconnect the board.

Cheaper boards may use a CH340 or CH9102 chip instead. Install the matching driver for the chip printed on your board.

Entering Bootloader Mode

Methods 1 and 2 need the board in bootloader mode:

  1. Hold the BOOT button on the board.
  2. While continuing to hold BOOT, connect the USB cable, then release BOOT.
  3. If that does not work: hold BOOT, tap RESET, wait 1-2 seconds, then release BOOT.

Flashing Methods

Choose only one method from the list below:

Method 1: GhostESP Web Flasher

This is the recommended method and handles most of the complexity for you. It works directly from your browser without installing any tools.

  1. Plug the board into your computer and put it in bootloader mode.
  2. Navigate to the GhostESP Web Flasher.
  3. Close any app that is using the board's serial port.
  4. Select the ESP32 variant that matches your board from the dropdown.
  5. Click Connect and follow the browser prompts to select the serial port.
  6. Wait a few minutes for the flashing process to complete.
  7. When flashing finishes, unplug and reconnect the board.

Proceed to After Flashing.

If the flasher fails or glitches

Clear your browser cache and reload the page. Disable any VPN or firewall that might block the flashing process, as some network configurations can interfere with the web flasher. If the flasher times out, reconnect the board and repeat the bootloader steps.

Method 2: ESP Huhn Tool

Use this method if you prefer manual control, want to flash a specific release file, or the web flasher is unavailable.

  1. Navigate to the GhostESP releases page and find the most recent version.
  2. Under Assets, download the .zip file that matches your exact board, saving it to a folder you can find easily.
  3. Extract the .zip file with 7-Zip or your preferred tool.
  4. Plug the board into your computer and put it in bootloader mode.
  5. Navigate to the ESP Huhn Tool.
  6. Click Connect and select your device's serial port.
  7. Add merged.bin at offset 0x0. This single file contains the bootloader, partition table, and firmware at the correct offsets for your board, so it is the recommended path. If your release has no merged.bin, use the separate binaries and offsets listed below instead.
  8. Click Flash and wait for it to finish.
  9. Unplug and reconnect the board.

Proceed to After Flashing.

Flashing the separate binaries

Only use these offsets if you are not flashing merged.bin. The bootloader offset depends on the chip, and the firmware offset depends on your board's partition layout. Getting either wrong produces a board that flashes successfully but never boots.

Chip bootloader.bin partitions.bin firmware.bin
ESP32 / ESP32-S2 0x1000 0x8000 0x10000 (factory) or 0x20000 (OTA)
ESP32-C5 / ESP32-P4 0x2000 0x8000 0x10000 (factory) or 0x20000 (OTA)
ESP32-S3 / C3 / C6 0x0 0x8000 0x10000 (factory) or 0x20000 (OTA)

Check the OTA column on the supported hardware page: a ✓ means the release uses a dual-partition layout, so firmware.bin usually belongs at 0x20000, and Manual builds use the single-app layout at 0x10000. Some OTA boards use a custom offset instead: S3TWatch uses 0x800000, the C5 flash-XIP builds (NM-CYD-C5, T-Dongle-C5) use 0x500000, and CrowPanel P4 builds use 0x490000. If you are unsure which you have, flash merged.bin instead.

ESP32-C5 bootloader offset

The C5 ROM expects the bootloader at 0x2000, not 0x1000 or 0x0. Some third-party flasher instructions still say 0x0 for C5 boards, and that will not boot.

Method 3: Flipper Zero (ESP Flasher App)

This method uses your Flipper Zero as the programmer, so a PC is not required for the flashing step.

  1. Make sure the GhostESP companion app is on your Flipper Zero. It includes the ESP flasher app used below. If your custom firmware already has an up to date copy preinstalled, use that and skip this step. Otherwise see Installing The GhostESP Companion App.
  2. Navigate to the GhostESP releases page and download the .zip that matches your ESP32 board.
  3. Extract the .zip file and copy its three .bin files to SDCard/apps_data/esp_flasher/. Do not place them in assets/.
  4. Wire the ESP32 to the Flipper GPIO pins, following the pinout shown by the GhostESP app.
  5. Put the ESP32 into bootloader mode: hold BOOT, connect USB, then release BOOT.
  6. Open the ESP flasher app on the Flipper and choose Manual Flash.
  7. Select bootloader.bin, partitions.bin, and GhostESP.bin, then confirm the target variant.
  8. Start the flash and reset the ESP32 when it completes.

Proceed to After Flashing.

If flashing fails

Recheck the GPIO wiring, confirm all three .bin files are in SDCard/apps_data/esp_flasher/ (not assets/), and make sure the selected variant matches your ESP32 chip.

After Flashing

GhostESP boots automatically and creates a Wi-Fi access point called GhostNet with the password GhostNet. If you cannot see it, reboot the board and wait 10 seconds. You can control the board in three ways:

Web Interface (Easiest)

  • Connect to the GhostNet Wi-Fi network
  • Open a browser and go to ghostesp.local or 192.168.4.1
  • No authentication is required by default. To enable it, run webauth on from a serial terminal; the login is then your AP SSID and password (both GhostNet by default)
  • Note: Wi-Fi and BLE commands do not work from the WebUI, because the radio is hosting the access point. Use a serial terminal or the on-device UI for those.

On-Device UI (Supported Display Boards)

  • Open Menu → WiFi → Scanning and choose Scan Access Points to run your first scan
  • Choose List Access Points to review the results

Serial Terminal (Full Control)

  • Connect via USB and open a serial console at 115200 baud, for example the GhostESP web dashboard console
  • Run help to list all available commands
  • Try your first passive scan with scanap, then view results with list -a
  • To use the board through the Flipper instead of a PC, insert it into the Flipper (or wire it to the GPIO pins), plug the USB cable into the Flipper, and choose GPIO → USB-UART Bridge

Installing The GhostESP Companion App

Custom firmware may already include it

If the GhostESP app is preinstalled and up to date on your custom firmware (e.g. Momentum Firmware), do not download the one from the Flipper app store. Use the preinstalled version.

The GhostESP companion app for the Flipper Zero is available on the Flipper mobile app and the Flipper app catalog. Install it here: https://lab.flipper.net/apps/ghost_esp

Alternatively, download the .fap from the GhostESP-FlipperCompanion releases page and copy it to your Flipper's SD card under the apps/ directory.

After installing, launch it from Applications → GPIO on your Flipper Zero.

Version compatibility

The companion app is regularly updated to support new GhostESP firmware features. Always use the latest version of both the firmware and the companion app, and keep them updated together.

If you are unsure how to install applications on your Flipper Zero, see the Official Documentation.

Troubleshooting

Device won't boot or loops

  • Verify you flashed the correct firmware for your chip, and the correct offsets if you flashed separate binaries
  • Try a different USB cable (some are charge-only)
  • Reboot the device and wait 10 seconds

Flash fails or times out

  • Ensure the board is in bootloader mode
  • Try a different USB port or hub
  • Close other apps using the serial port

Can't connect to GhostNet

  • Reboot the device and move closer to it
  • Check that you're using the correct password: GhostNet (case-sensitive)

Serial connection issues

  • Install the driver for your board's USB-UART chip
  • Verify the correct COM port is selected

Next Steps