PlatformIO_Esp32C3Boilerplate/README.md

Boilerplate project for ESP32 (c3) development.

Specifications

Summary

This project is a starting point for ESP32-C3 development. It provides basic "infrastructure" and "Framework" for specific developments.

Functionality

• Enables the user to connect to their WiFi network
  • Has a mechanism to "Factory reset" the device
• Eases updates by providing OTA update mechanism using update-server URL
• Role based User Management
  • Standard Roles
    • Sysadmin (Can administer the system, update, change settings)
    • UserAdmin (Can administer user accounts)
    • WebUIConnect (Allows logging in to the Web UI)
    • Debugger (Allowed to use API Test UI in the Web UI)
• Secure, Role based Rest API for all functions
  • API functions access can be configured either as "Public" or a user role can be assigned to determine access (only users who have the corresponding rolle can call that API).
  • User authentication needs to return a token that is needed to be passed into all rest API requests (unless the called API endpoint is public)
  • All admin functions (including HTTPS configuration, logs, password changes, ...) are available in the API by default
  • All API calls will return a JSON that returns
    • Result of the last call (either success or detailed error description)
    • If applicable, the result of the call
  • There are 3 boilerplate APIs that are available publicly by default
    • Control the on-board LED (set brightness; 0-> off; 100->full brightness)
    • Ping (that returns the current uptime as JSON)
    • Add (takes 2 integers and returns the result of adding those integers)
• Admin Web-UI
  • Role based security configuration
    • Roles are centrally maintained
  • User management
    • Users can change their password
    • Users can be assigned zero or more roles
  • Allows to interactively calling of the Rest APIs via the web UI
    • The corresponding user token is preset with the current user's token by decfault, but it can be overwritten
    • This functionality is only accessible when the user has the role Debugger
  • Enables secrity configuration of the exposed API functions
  • Configuration of logging
    • log level
    • log max size in non volatile memory (default 50kb)
  • Viewing- and management of logs
    • filter
    • search
    • view
    • clear logs
  • Networking configuration
    • Host name
    • DHCP or static IPv4 parameters
  • HTTPS certificate configuration
    • By default a self-signed certificate is used
    • Allows the set up of certificates for HTTPS (file upload)
  • Firmware update handling
    • Upload new firmware via file selector
    • Check URL for new firmware button (this will reach out to a configurable (in the code) URL to to try and find new firmware. If new firmware is available it offers to install.)

Technical details

• The target platform is ESP32-C3 with Arduino Framework
• Memory is to be treated as a sparse resource, so the size of the code must be kept small
• The API layer exclusively uses JSON messages to communicate in both direcitons
• The Web UI is to be implemented as a Vanilla JS single page web site UI that communicates with the backend via the REST API.
• All documentation goes into the README.md file
• The Admin UI is implemented in an extendable way, so that developers can easily use the same mechnism to implement their own UIs
• The "factory reset" function should execute when a definable PIN (choose a good default) is pulled high- or low on boot and held that way for 10 seconds.
• When starting after initial flashing or factory reset, the device needs to act as an unsecured access point with a defined SSID .
  • The user can then connect to that AP and is presented with a basic user interface (setup screen) where the user can
    • Choose their WIFI
    • Enter the password of their WIFI (can be left empty for unsecuried wifi)
    • Change the admin useranme (defaults to "admin")
    • Enter an Admin password (can be left empty)
    • A submit button that submits the entered information
  • Once the user entered submitted information, the information is stored in non volatile memory, and the device is restarted.
    • On subsequent startups, the device looks for configuraiton stored in non volatile memory
    • The factory reset functionality deletes the information from the non volatile memory, which will lead to the setup screen.
• Logging is done based on log level.
  • Log levels are Error, Warn, SecurityAudit, Info, and Debug; SecurityAudit records security-relevant events such as login/logout, invalid bearer tokens, authorization failures, unknown API URLs/methods, and security configuration changes.
  • The logs are stored in non volatile memory
  • they need to be implemented as a ring buffer that occupies a configurable space in non volatile memory
  • There is a standard API endpoint that returns the logs (restricted to user role Debugger)

Source organization

The firmware is split by responsibility:

Path	Responsibility
src/main.cpp	Arduino setup()/loop() and boot orchestration
include/app.h	Framework constants, state, structs, and function declarations
include/custom_api.h	Custom API handler declarations
src/config/api_definitions.cpp	Central API catalog, route handlers, and default role/public access mapping
src/config/api_definitions_custom.cpp	Custom API catalog and default public access mapping
src/core/state.cpp	Global state, project/device identity, hashing, persisted settings
src/core/logging.cpp	LittleFS log ring buffer
src/core/auth.cpp	Users, roles, tokens, and API authorization
src/core/device.cpp	LED control, factory reset, and WiFi connection
src/util/json_utils.cpp	Small JSON response and request parsing helpers
src/web/ui.cpp	LittleFS-backed HTML serving and captive-portal helper pages
src/web/routes.cpp	Page/captive route registration and generic API route registration from framework and custom API catalogs
src/handlers/handlers_setup.cpp	Setup and WiFi scan route handlers
src/handlers/handlers_custom_api.cpp	Custom API handlers for ping, add, and LED brightness
src/handlers/handlers_api.cpp	API ACL list/detail management handlers
src/handlers/handlers_auth.cpp	Login, users, roles, and password route handlers
src/handlers/handlers_admin.cpp	Settings, logs, and certificate route handlers
src/handlers/handlers_ota.cpp	Firmware upload and OTA route handlers
data/setup.html	First-run provisioning UI served from LittleFS
data/admin.html	Admin UI served from LittleFS

Current implementation

The firmware in src/main.cpp implements the boilerplate as a compact Arduino ESP32-C3 application using built-in ESP32 Arduino libraries only:

• WiFi provisioning access point and first-run setup UI.
• Factory reset on boot by holding FACTORY_RESET_PIN high/low default behavior: GPIO4 held LOW for 10 seconds.
• Admin Web UI served from /.
• Token-based login with role checks.
• Configurable API access control where each route can be PUBLIC or require one role.
• Public boilerplate APIs: ping, add, and LED brightness.
• LED brightness is persisted in non-volatile memory, applied on boot, and loaded into the Admin UI slider.
• User management with the standard roles Sysadmin, UserAdmin, WebUIConnect, and Debugger.
• Custom role management. System roles are protected and cannot be deleted.
• Active/inactive user accounts with role checkboxes in the Admin UI.
• API security management through a list/detail UI with a role dropdown per API.
• Ring-buffer logging in LittleFS with default maximum size of 50 KiB.
• Firmware and LittleFS filesystem upload OTA and update-from-URL hooks.
• HTTPS certificate storage API. The default Arduino WebServer runs HTTP; stored certificate material is available for applications that add TLS termination.
• Network settings for hostname plus DHCP/static IPv4 configuration.

Web UI files

The setup and admin pages are stored as editable HTML files in the PlatformIO data/ directory and are served from LittleFS by request path:

URL	File
/ in setup mode	/setup.html
/ in normal mode	/admin.html
/setup.html	/setup.html
/admin.html	/admin.html

After changing files in data/, upload the filesystem image as well as the firmware:

pio run -t uploadfs

In the PlatformIO UI, use the Upload Firmware and Filesystem project task when you want one action to upload both firmware and the LittleFS image that contains the web UI.

Uploading the filesystem image replaces the LittleFS contents, including stored log files. WiFi configuration, users, roles, and settings are stored in NVS preferences and are not part of that filesystem image.

Provisioning

After initial flashing or factory reset, the device starts an unsecured access point:

TSL-Embedded-XXXXXX

Connect to the access point and open:

http://192.168.1.1/

While in setup mode, the device also runs a captive-portal DNS responder. Most phones and laptops will automatically open or suggest the setup page after joining the AP; unknown HTTP requests are redirected to http://192.168.1.1/.

The setup page lets you choose WiFi, set the WiFi password, set the admin username, and set the admin password. The default admin username is admin; the password may be empty. After submit, the device stores the configuration in non-volatile memory and restarts.

The default project name is TSL-Embedded. The firmware combines the project name with the chip suffix to form the device name, for example TSL-Embedded-BDF5F0. That name is used as the setup AP SSID, the station-mode WiFi hostname, and the mDNS hostname. Override the project name at compile time if needed:

#define PROJECT_NAME "MyProject"

On normal boot, the device connects to the configured WiFi and serves the Admin UI at the IP printed to serial.

Networking

Open Networking in the Admin UI to configure the station-mode host name and IP parameters.

The host name field is optional. If it is empty, the firmware uses the generated default host name based on PROJECT_NAME and the chip suffix, for example TSL-Embedded-BDF5F0. A custom host name must be 1-31 characters and may contain only letters, digits, and hyphens. It cannot start or end with a hyphen.

Address mode defaults to DHCP. To use a static IPv4 address, select Static IPv4 and provide:

Field	Required	Example
Static IP	Yes	192.168.1.50
Gateway	Yes	192.168.1.1
Subnet mask	Yes	255.255.255.0
DNS 1	No	192.168.1.1
DNS 2	No	8.8.8.8

Networking changes are stored immediately, but they apply on the next WiFi reconnect or reboot.

Factory reset

The default reset pin is GPIO4. Hold GPIO4 LOW during boot for 10 seconds to clear stored configuration and logs, then the device restarts into setup mode.

The defaults can be changed at compile time:

#define FACTORY_RESET_PIN 4
#define FACTORY_RESET_ACTIVE_LEVEL LOW

Authentication

Login:

POST /api/login
Content-Type: application/json

{"username":"admin","password":""}

The response contains a bearer token. Pass it to protected APIs:

Authorization: Bearer <token>

HTTPS certificate configuration

The Admin UI stores HTTPS certificate material so applications built on this boilerplate can use it when adding TLS termination. The default Arduino WebServer used by this project serves HTTP only; uploading a certificate stores the material in NVS preferences but does not by itself switch the built-in web server to HTTPS.

To configure the stored certificate material:

1. Log in as a user with the Sysadmin role.
2. Open Networking -> HTTPS Certificate.
3. Select a certificate file and click Save certificate.
4. Use Load current to verify what is currently stored.

The upload file must be a plain text PEM-style file. Use UTF-8 or ASCII text and preserve the PEM block line breaks exactly. The file may use .pem, .cer, .crt, or .txt.

Valid content is one or more PEM blocks, for example a certificate chain:

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...base64 certificate data...
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...base64 intermediate certificate data...
-----END CERTIFICATE-----

If your TLS integration expects both the certificate and private key from this stored value, put both PEM blocks in the same text file:

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...base64 certificate data...
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
...base64 private key data...
-----END PRIVATE KEY-----

Do not upload binary DER, PKCS#12/PFX, or password-protected keystore files directly. Convert those to PEM text first. The equivalent API is:

POST /api/cert
Authorization: Bearer <token>
Content-Type: application/json

{"certificate":"-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\n...\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----\n"}

API response shape

Every API returns JSON with a success field. Errors include an error string:

{"success":false,"error":"Authentication required"}

Public boilerplate APIs

Ping:

GET /api/ping

Add two integers:

POST /api/add
Content-Type: application/json

{"a":1,"b":2}

Set LED brightness from 0 to 100:

POST /api/led
Content-Type: application/json

{"brightness":50}

Admin APIs

Protected APIs and their default roles:

API	Role
POST /api/logout	WebUIConnect
GET /api/me	WebUIConnect
GET /api/apis	Sysadmin
POST /api/apis	Sysadmin
GET /api/users	UserAdmin
POST /api/users	UserAdmin
POST /api/password	WebUIConnect
GET /api/settings	Sysadmin
POST /api/settings	Sysadmin
GET /api/logs	Debugger
POST /api/logs/clear	Debugger
GET /api/files	Debugger
GET /api/files/download	Debugger
POST /api/factory-reset	Sysadmin
POST /api/ota/check	Sysadmin
POST /api/ota/run	Sysadmin
POST /api/update	Sysadmin
GET /api/cert	Sysadmin
POST /api/cert	Sysadmin

Change API security:

POST /api/apis
Authorization: Bearer <token>
Content-Type: application/json

{"path":"/api/led","method":"POST","role":"WebUIConnect"}

Use "role":"PUBLIC" to make a known API public.

Firmware and filesystem updates

Because the Admin UI is stored in LittleFS, OTA releases are distributed as one combined update package. The package contains both the LittleFS filesystem image and the firmware image, so UI and firmware changes cannot drift apart during an update.

Artifact	Purpose	Build output
firmware.bin	Intermediate ESP32 application firmware	.pio/build/seeed_xiao_esp32c3/firmware.bin
littlefs.bin	Intermediate files from data/, including admin.html and setup.html	.pio/build/seeed_xiao_esp32c3/littlefs.bin
update.tslpkg	Single OTA package containing LittleFS plus firmware	.pio/build/seeed_xiao_esp32c3/update.tslpkg

Create the single OTA package:

pio run
pio run -t buildfs
python scripts/create_update_package.py

For a direct USB flash during development:

pio run -t upload
pio run -t uploadfs

For OTA updates, host update.tslpkg on your update server. The Admin UI has one update package URL. The default is:

http://example.com/update.tslpkg

The package format is intentionally small:

Offset	Size	Value
0	8	Magic bytes TSLUPD1\0
8	4	Header size, little-endian uint32, currently 32
12	4	LittleFS image size, little-endian uint32
16	4	Firmware image size, little-endian uint32
20	12	Reserved, zero-filled
32	variable	LittleFS image bytes
32 + littlefsSize	variable	Firmware image bytes

Upload an update package from the Admin UI or post multipart form data to:

POST /api/update

/api/ota/check checks reachability and content length for the configured package URL. /api/ota/run streams the package from the URL, applies the LittleFS image first, applies the firmware image second, and restarts.

Installing an update package replaces the LittleFS partition, including stored log files. WiFi configuration, users, roles, API ACLs, and settings are stored in NVS preferences and are not part of the LittleFS image.