TinyDesk developer preview

A mouse-operated desktop running on an ESP32, displayed in your terminal.
Drag and resize windows, browse files, edit and save text, and use the
embedded shell. MQTT and Modbus apps connect the desktop to real projects.

This release is a developer preview: expect rough edges, and please report
what breaks.

New in 0.1.6

• nano with UTF-8 text: the cursor, Backspace and Delete work by
  character, so text such as Привет or 日本語 no longer breaks into
  stray bytes; Up and Down keep the column (#4).
• peek and poke: root can read RAM, ROM, PSRAM and the GPIO,
  IO_MUX and eFuse registers, and switch GPIO outputs, from the
  Terminal; peek -l lists what is allowed.
• The Editor on small boards: a build can also set the number of
  undo records (TD_EDITOR_UNDO_OPS), next to the text size
  (TD_EDITOR_MAX) and the undo text (TD_EDITOR_UNDO), to save RAM
  while the Editor is open (#6).
• Scripts on small boards: a port can set the script memory limits,
  and a script that runs out of memory while it loads says so instead of
  stopping silently.

Also since 0.1.0: the new home at github.com/tinydesk-project, update
information that can move, and only root changes the network policy
(0.1.5); Software Update offers to save built-in pins before
an official update, non-ASCII names line up, long command lines wrap
(0.1.4); official updates in Software Update and fixes for boards
without PSRAM (0.1.3); the SD card at /sd and in Files (0.1.2);
ping -c, MQTT over TLS in the PC programs, and tdsh.exe for Windows.

Install

• ESP boards, from the browser: https://tinydesk-project.github.io/install/
  (Chrome or Edge on a computer). Pick the edition and your exact board.
• Open the board in the browser: https://tinydesk-project.github.io/console/
  (a real terminal with mouse support; the installer's own Logs & Console
  cannot show the desktop).
• Without the browser: each *-factory.bin below is flashed at offset 0
  with esptool; see the installer page for the commands.
• PC programs: tinydesk-desktop-windows-x64.zip and
  tinydesk-shell-windows-x64.zip (Windows 10 or later, run them in Windows
  Terminal), tinydesk-desktop-linux-x86_64.tar.gz and
  tinydesk-shell-linux-x86_64.tar.gz (x86_64, built on Ubuntu 22.04).

Check the files against SHA256SUMS.txt. The firmware is not signed.
Factory flashing can erase user data: back up an existing board first.

Before connecting

Use a UTF-8 terminal with ANSI/VT cursor control and xterm mouse reporting,
or the web terminal above. ESP32-C6 uses its built-in USB port (any speed);
the classic ESP32 Desktop edition uses 921600 baud, the Shell edition
115200. On the local console, run passwd as root (initial password:
TinyDesk). Remote access is blocked until that password changes. Telnet
starts disabled; enable it explicitly in Network only on a trusted network.
It is unencrypted and root-only because it takes over the existing desktop.
SSH provides a separate encrypted shell, not the windowed desktop (the 4 MB
ESP32 Desktop build has no SSH server).

Physical password recovery is unavailable after a Telnet takeover until the
board reboots. Remote takeover is refused while physical recovery is active.

Choose the exact board

Measured on our boards with this firmware (About → Free RAM, idle desktop
after start-up, Wi-Fi connected unless noted):

What is in this preview

• Desktop: overlapping windows (move, resize, minimise, maximise, full
  screen), taskbar, start menu, desktop icons, drag and drop, copy and paste
  with the PC; Dark theme by default; the screen follows the terminal's size.
• Apps: Terminal (TinyDesk Shell), Files, Editor, Network, MQTT (TLS),
  Modbus TCP/RTU with a TCP server, System Monitor, Task Manager, Log Viewer,
  Settings, Software Update (OTA with rollback), About.
• Shell scripts (.tdsh): variables, if/while/for, functions, pipes
  and redirection; right-click → Run on the desktop.
• Two editions: TinyDesk Desktop, and TinyDesk Shell on its own.
• Security: physical recovery uses a transport trust policy, not just shell
  task identity; Telnet is opt-in; Telnet, SSH and FTP reject the factory
  password.
• PC programs: the Windows desktop follows Windows Terminal when it is
  resized or maximised, and its shell has ifconfig, ping, date, cal
  and tz.
• Board pins come from a configuration file (board command), not from
  the code.
• Tests gate release builds; every release starts as a draft pre-release.