[Nano ESP32] Pin Configuration

Author: karlsoderby

content/hardware/03.nano/boards/nano-esp32/tutorials/pin-setup/assets/change-config.png

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+---
+title: Nano ESP32 Selecting Pin Configuration 
+description: Learn how to switch between default & ESP32 pin configurations when programming your board.
+author: Karl Söderby
+hardware:
+  - hardware/03.nano/boards/nano-esp32
+tags: [ESP32, Pin Configuration]
+---
+
+The [Arduino Nano ESP32](https://store.arduino.cc/nano-esp32) is a Nano form factor board based on an ESP32-S3 SoC. This board is part of the [Arduino Nano Family](https://store.arduino.cc/pages/nano-family), and follows the pinout of that specific form factor by default.
+
+When programming the board in the "default" mode, the pins labelled on the board matches the pins in the program, **but does not match the ESP32-S3**. This mode can be changed to use the "ESP32" pins instead.
+
+To change this configuration, simply connect your board, go to **Tools > Pin Numbering > Select Option**. More details are available in this tutorial.
+
+## Software & Hardware Needed
+
+- [Arduino Nano ESP32](https://store.arduino.cc/nano-esp32)
+- [Arduino IDE](https://www.arduino.cc/en/software)
+- [Arduino ESP32 Core](https://github.com/arduino/arduino-esp32) (version 2.0.12 and above). Can be installed directly in the Arduino IDE.
+
+## Different Pin Configurations
+
+So why does the Nano ESP32 pins not match the ESP32 (MCU) pins? The Nano ESP32 was designed using the **Nano form factor**, a favorable form factor for many, which has consistently kept its pins for many years. 
+
+This makes it possible to migrate an older Nano board, to a newer generation Nano (like the Nano ESP32), without having to change your hardware setup. 
+
+This of course brings a separate issue, which is that by default, the Nano ESP32 does not use the ESP32's pinout. An example of this is:
+- Pin `2` is actually `5`
+- Pin `5` is actually `8`
+- and so on..
+
+It is common in a board's design that the actual microcontroller's pins doesn't match the header pins.
+
+Luckily, we have two configurations available to choose between:
+- **Nano (Default)**
+- **ESP32-S3 (Legacy)**.  
+
+So, let's say we are configuring a pin in a sketch:
+
+```arduino
+// with default configuration, this enables pin 2 as an output
+pinMode(2, OUTPUT);
+```
+
+But, using the ESP32 configuration (legacy):
+
+```arduino
+// with ESP32 configuration, this enables pin 2 as an output
+pinMode(5, OUTPUT);
+```
+
+### Which Pin Config Should I Choose?
+
+The answer to this depends on what platform you prefer most: if you are most familiar with Arduino & the Nano form factor, we recommend you use the default (Nano).
+
+If you experience with the ESP32 platform, and not so much with the Arduino platform, the legacy (ESP32) configuration might be a better option. However please bare in mind that pins in the code will not match the Nano ESP32's physical pin labels.
+
+## Change Pin Configuration
+
+To change the pin configuration, open the Arduino IDE, and navigate to **Tools > Pin Numbering.** Here you can select between the default (Nano) and legacy (ESP32) options. 
+
+![Change pin configuration in the Arduino IDE.](assets/change-config.png)
+
+You can now upload a sketch, and the configuration will change. 
+
+## Nano ESP32 Pin Map
+
+To understand how the Nano ESP32 board's pins correlates with the ESP32-S3 SoC pins, have a look at the pin map below:
+
+| Nano  | ESP32  |
+| ----- | ------ |
+| D0    | GPIO44 |
+| D1    | GPIO43 |
+| D2    | GPIO5  |
+| D3    | GPIO6  |
+| D4    | GPIO7  |
+| D5    | GPIO8  |
+| D6    | GPIO9  |
+| D7    | GPIO10 |
+| D8    | GPIO17 |
+| D9    | GPIO18 |
+| D10   | GPIO21 |
+| D11   | GPIO38 |
+| D12   | GPIO47 |
+| D13   | GPIO48 |
+| A0    | GPIO1  |
+| A1    | GPIO2  |
+| A2    | GPIO3  |
+| A3    | GPIO4  |
+| A4    | GPIO11 |
+| A5    | GPIO12 |
+| A6    | GPIO13 |
+| A7    | GPIO14 |
+| BOOT0 | GPIO46 |
+| BOOT1 | GPIO0  |
+
+See the pinout below for a better visual translation:
+
+![Nano / ESP32 pinout](assets/esp-pinout.png)
+
+## Summary
+
+In this tutorial, we've covered how the Nano ESP32's pinout differ from the ESP32-S3 SoC pinout. We've also had a look at how to change the configuration, and provided a pin map that can be used as a reference when making your next project.