# Tab5 touchscreen, turned into a MIDI grid

Open-source ESP-IDF firmware that turns the M5Stack Tab5's touchscreen into a class-compliant USB-MIDI controller with six playing modes, a 4-track looper and live value readouts on screen.

- Category: Interface (code)
- Made by: [Retr0Kr0dy](https://github.com/Retr0Kr0dy) on GitHub
- Original: https://github.com/Retr0Kr0dy/Tab5-Launchpad
- On Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/tab5-touchscreen-turned-into-a-midi-grid

## Can I build this?

- Difficulty: Beginner
- AI-buildability: 5/5 (It is entirely firmware for an off-the-shelf Tab5, so AI tools can write nearly all of it and the reader only needs to set up ESP-IDF and flash it.)
- Time: A weekend
- Cost: $50–80
- Parts: M5Stack Tab5, ESP32-P4
- Tools: USB-C cable, computer with ESP-IDF 5.5.4 installed

Estimates based on the original write-up. How the AI-buildability score works: https://afterware.xyz/ai-buildability

## Build sheet

- Board: M5Stack Tab5 (ESP32-P4)
- Interface: USB-MIDI class device
- Framework: ESP-IDF 5.5.4
- Modes: 6 (notes, drums, faders, XY, macros, looper)

## Starter prompt

```
Based on "Tab5 touchscreen, turned into a MIDI grid" on Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/tab5-touchscreen-turned-into-a-midi-grid

Write ESP-IDF firmware for an M5Stack Tab5 (ESP32-P4) with its touchscreen that acts as a class-compliant USB-MIDI device. Draw an 8x4 grid of pads that send note on/off with fixed velocity, and a row of four faders that send CC 20-23 with relative drag. Show each control's current value and CC or note number on screen, and redraw the full frame every time you present it.
```

## Story

The Tab5 Launchpad is firmware for the M5Stack Tab5, which is built around an ESP32-P4. The firmware presents the device as a standard USB-MIDI class device, so a DAW or synth sees a plain MIDI input with no driver. The touchscreen is divided into modes: notes, drums (GM percussion map on channel 10), faders, an XY pad, 16 macro knobs and a looper.

The looper records whatever is played in any mode, and can also capture MIDI sent back from a connected host. Tracks layer through overdub, and each on-screen control shows its current value and CC or note assignment. The author also notes that the firmware only reports USB enumeration state, not whether a DAW is actually listening.

The repository includes a native Linux preview tool that renders the real drawing code against a software framebuffer, so the screenshots come from the firmware itself rather than mockups. The build is a stock ESP-IDF 5.5.4 project.

## Resources

- [Repository](https://github.com/Retr0Kr0dy/Tab5-Launchpad)
- [M5Stack Tab5 docs](https://docs.m5stack.com/en/core/Tab5)

Tags: midi controller, esp32-p4, m5stack tab5, usb-midi, looper, touchscreen

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