Guides

• Best first ESP32 projects for vibe coders (no soldering)

  The best first ESP32 project uses one board, one display or sensor and no soldering: a weather or calendar display, a desk clock, or a sensor that reports to your phone. The ESP32 is cheap, has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built in, and is so widely used that AI coding tools write reliable code for it.

• What you need to start vibe coding hardware

  To start vibe coding hardware you need an AI coding tool, a cheap development board such as an ESP32 or Raspberry Pi Pico, a USB data cable, the board's free software, and the display or sensor your project uses. A first kit often costs $30 to $50. A soldering iron and 3D printer help later but aren't needed to start.

• Can you vibe code a PCB? What AI can and can't do

  Partly. AI tools can help you pick parts, plan a circuit, explain a schematic and write the firmware, and code-based tools like atopile and SKiDL let AI describe a board in text. But layout, power handling and checking the design before you order it still take electrical judgment AI can't supply. Most vibe-coded builds use off-the-shelf modules instead.

• What hardware can you build with Claude? Project ideas

  With Claude or another AI coding tool you can build most projects where the hard part is code on an off-the-shelf board: e-ink and screen dashboards, clocks, macro pads and controllers, sensors that report to your phone, small robots and old devices given new jobs. The builds below score 4 or 5 for AI-buildability, meaning AI can do most of the hard part.