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The world's first AI assistant(OpenClaw) on a $5 chip. No Linux. No Node.js. Just pure C

MimiClaw turns a tiny ESP32-S3 board into a personal AI assistant. Plug it into USB power, connect to WiFi, and talk to it through Telegram — it handles any task you throw at it and evolves over time with local memory — all on a chip the size of a thumb.

• Tiny — No Linux, no Node.js, no bloat — just pure C
• Handy — Message it from Telegram, it handles the rest
• Loyal — Learns from memory, remembers across reboots
• Energetic — USB power, 0.5 W, runs 24/7
• Lovable — One ESP32-S3 board, $5, nothing else

You send a message on Telegram. The ESP32-S3 picks it up over WiFi, feeds it into an agent loop — Claude thinks, calls tools, reads memory — and sends the reply back. Everything runs on a single $5 chip with all your data stored locally on flash.

• An ESP32-S3 dev board with 16 MB flash and 8 MB PSRAM (e.g. Xiaozhi AI board, ~$10)
• A USB Type-C cable
• A Telegram bot token — talk to @BotFather on Telegram to create one
• An Anthropic API key — from console.anthropic.com

# You need ESP-IDF v5.5+ installed first:
# https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-idf/en/v5.5.2/esp32s3/get-started/

git clone https://github.com/memovai/mimiclaw.git
cd mimiclaw

idf.py set-target esp32s3

MimiClaw uses a two-layer config system: build-time defaults in mimi_secrets.h, with runtime overrides via the serial CLI. CLI values are stored in NVS flash and take priority over build-time values.

cp main/mimi_secrets.h.example main/mimi_secrets.h

Edit main/mimi_secrets.h:

#define MIMI_SECRET_WIFI_SSID       "YourWiFiName"
#define MIMI_SECRET_WIFI_PASS       "YourWiFiPassword"
#define MIMI_SECRET_TG_TOKEN        "123456:ABC-DEF1234ghIkl-zyx57W2v1u123ew11"
#define MIMI_SECRET_API_KEY         "sk-ant-api03-xxxxx"
#define MIMI_SECRET_SEARCH_KEY      ""              // optional: Brave Search API key
#define MIMI_SECRET_PROXY_HOST      ""              // optional: e.g. "10.0.0.1"
#define MIMI_SECRET_PROXY_PORT      ""              // optional: e.g. "7897"

Then build and flash:

# Clean build (required after any mimi_secrets.h change)
idf.py fullclean && idf.py build

# Find your serial port
ls /dev/cu.usb*          # macOS
ls /dev/ttyACM*          # Linux

# Flash and monitor (replace PORT with your port)
# USB adapter: likely /dev/cu.usbmodem11401 (macOS) or /dev/ttyACM0 (Linux)
idf.py -p PORT flash monitor

Important: Plug into the correct USB port! Most ESP32-S3 boards have two USB-C ports. You must use the one labeled USB (native USB Serial/JTAG), not the one labeled COM (external UART bridge). Plugging into the wrong port will cause flash/monitor failures.

Show reference photo

Connect via serial to configure or debug. Config commands let you change settings without recompiling — just plug in a USB cable anywhere.

Runtime config (saved to NVS, overrides build-time defaults):

mimi> wifi_set MySSID MyPassword   # change WiFi network
mimi> set_tg_token 123456:ABC...   # change Telegram bot token
mimi> set_api_key sk-ant-api03-... # change Anthropic API key
mimi> set_model claude-sonnet-4-5  # change LLM model
mimi> set_proxy 127.0.0.1 7897  # set HTTP proxy
mimi> clear_proxy                  # remove proxy
mimi> set_search_key BSA...        # set Brave Search API key
mimi> config_show                  # show all config (masked)
mimi> config_reset                 # clear NVS, revert to build-time defaults

Debug & maintenance:

mimi> wifi_status              # am I connected?
mimi> memory_read              # see what the bot remembers
mimi> memory_write "content"   # write to MEMORY.md
mimi> heap_info                # how much RAM is free?
mimi> session_list             # list all chat sessions
mimi> session_clear 12345      # wipe a conversation
mimi> restart                  # reboot

MimiClaw stores everything as plain text files you can read and edit:

MimiClaw uses Anthropic's tool use protocol — Claude can call tools during a conversation and loop until the task is done (ReAct pattern).

To enable web search, set a Brave Search API key via MIMI_SECRET_SEARCH_KEY in mimi_secrets.h.

• WebSocket gateway on port 18789 — connect from your LAN with any WebSocket client
• OTA updates — flash new firmware over WiFi, no USB needed
• Dual-core — network I/O and AI processing run on separate CPU cores
• HTTP proxy — CONNECT tunnel support for restricted networks
• Tool use — ReAct agent loop with Anthropic tool use protocol

Technical details live in the docs/ folder:

• docs/ARCHITECTURE.md — system design, module map, task layout, memory budget, protocols, flash partitions
• docs/TODO.md — feature gap tracker and roadmap

MIT

Inspired by OpenClaw and Nanobot. MimiClaw reimplements the core AI agent architecture for embedded hardware — no Linux, no server, just a $5 chip.