MimiClaw: AI Assistant on ESP32

2026-05-14 · source · source ↗ · raw capture · wiki page

Runs an AI assistant on a ~$5 ESP32-S3 microcontroller. Pure C, no Linux kernel, no Node.js, no cloud dependencies.

Hardware

ESP32-S3 with 16MB flash and 8MB PSRAM
USB-powered (0.5W)
WiFi-connected via Telegram messaging interface
WebSocket gateway on port 18789

AI Capabilities

Dual-provider: Anthropic (Claude) and OpenAI (GPT)
ReAct agent loop with tool calling for both providers
Switchable at runtime without recompilation
Web search via Tavily or Brave Search API

Persistent Storage & Memory

Plain-text files: - SOUL.md: personality/behavior definition - MEMORY.md: long-term retention across reboots - HEARTBEAT.md: autonomous task checking (~30-minute intervals) - cron.json: scheduled job persistence

Autonomous Features

Built-in cron scheduler for recurring/one-shot tasks. Heartbeat service prompts independent action. Session-based chat history per user.

Architecture

Dual-core processing: network I/O independent from AI computation. Two-layer config: build-time defaults in mimi_secrets.h with runtime CLI overrides persisted to NVS flash.

Tools: web_search, get_current_time, cron_add/list/remove.

Stats

C (96.6%), ESP-IDF v5.5+, 214 commits, 5.4k stars, 790 forks.