Overview

A base IoT template for ESP8266-based WiFi boards.

Check out the next iteration of the project at https://github.com/aperepel/iot-mqtt-spiffs-deepsleep-oled for more advanced features.

On startup, it enters the SmartConfig mode and awaits for WiFi credentials to be provided (the easiest is to use your smartphone on the same network). There are alternative, less robust methods, but not covered here.
Once it gets WiFi credentials, it connects to the configured network
Everything is accompanied by OLED prompts and debug info on UART/Serial.
After connection is established, the board's IP is printed.
The board turns off the OLED display
Press the button once - it flashes the logo and prints the IP address. Turns off the display again.
Hold the button for 5 seconds - wipes out WiFi credentials and goes into the SmartConfig mode (e.g. when you need to connect to a different WiFi network.)

Show Me!

Note: the wiring and code were updated since the video was shot (SDA pin moved from D2 to D7) - current version won't flash the LED on every RX/TX.

Why?

Over time I recognized repeatable patterns and best practices I followed for my projects and wanted to capture those as a starter project. E.g. if you're interested in a connected device which goes beyond blinking an LED and take provisioning/deployment/security and operations seriously.

From this state, use your favorite MQTT library, host the WebServer, POST JSON to your REST API endpoint, etc. All while interacting with the whole gamut of sensors, the usual Arduino way.

TBD

more efficient sleep for when running on battery (currently draws ~20mA in always-on mode)
~~Fritzing wiring diagram (if it has esp8266 components or similar?)~~ http://fritzing.org/projects/iot-esp8266-ssd1306-oled-starter
A video demonstrating the flow

Components

Any ESP8266/esp12e/NodeMCU (no Lua, only using native Arduino/C++ code) - https://github.com/esp8266/esp8266-wiki/wiki
SSD_1306 128x64 OLED display in I2C mode (not SPI)
A push button + a 10K resistor to control display and force WiFi credential resets
ESP8266 SmartConfig Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cmmakerclub.iot.esptouch . Used to perform initial WiFi setup and provide credentials to the board. no passwords are hardcoded in the source code.
For iOS users (I haven't tried it, but..) https://github.com/EspressifApp/EsptouchForIOS
http://www.platformio.org (seriously, save yourself some trouble and start using it today)

Building

# serial port monitor part is optional, but nice
platformio run -t upload && platformio serialports monitor --baud 115200

IDE Support

Really, any IDE which PlatformIO supports will do (which in practice means everything.) From free offerings I prefer Eclipse CDT for C++ development (a piece of me dies every time I use Eclipse, but it still is light years ahead of other free alternatives for IoT development ;) )

# read PlatformIO reference docs for details, but here's an Eclipse example (respond Y when prompted)
platformio init --ide eclipse --board esp12e

In Eclipse, right-click in the project pane -> Import from Existing sources.

Notes

The ESP_SSD1306 library is a display driver fork of the Adafruit_SSD1306 with changes required for ESP8266.
I had to inline the Adafruit_GFX library to pick up a more recent version from the one listed in PlatformIO repos.

aperepel / iot-esp8266-starter