Mikro.js

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Development Guide ​

This section covers building Mikro.js firmware from source, creating driver packages for sensors and peripherals, and defining board packages that bundle drivers with pin configurations.

What you can contribute ​

  • Driver packages (@mikrojs/driver-xxx): Native C/C++ modules paired with TypeScript wrappers for sensors, displays, motor controllers, and other peripherals.
  • Board packages: Pin maps, sdkconfig defaults, and pre-configured driver re-exports for specific development boards.
  • Core runtime: Bug fixes, performance improvements, and new platform APIs in packages/@mikrojs/native/.

Prerequisites ​

  • Node.js >= 24
  • pnpm >= 10.30
  • direnv (for ESP-IDF environment management)
  • ESP-IDF prerequisites for your platform: see Espressif's setup guide
  • A USB cable and an ESP32 development board (for on-device testing)

Getting the source ​

sh
git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/mikrojs/mikro.git
cd mikrojs
pnpm install

If you already cloned without submodules:

sh
git submodule update --init --recursive
pnpm install

This installs all workspace dependencies and builds the qjsc bytecode compiler (used during firmware builds).

What's next ​

  • Custom Firmware -- Build and distribute custom firmware from npm packages
  • Building from Source -- Set up ESP-IDF and build firmware from the monorepo
  • Creating Drivers -- Build a native driver package for a peripheral
  • Creating Boards -- Define a board package with pin maps and sdkconfig
  • Architecture -- How the build system, module registration, and bytecode pipeline work