reTerminal Sticky
Seeed Studio reTerminal Sticky: a magnetic ESP32-S3 e-ink note device. 3.97" 800x480
monochrome ePaper with 4-level grayscale, capacitive touch, 750 mAh battery.
Firmware is native ESP-IDF v5.4 / target esp32s3 (C/C++). ESPHome is the
supported no-C path. Apps are distributed by flashing whole firmware images — there
is no on-device app sandbox or multi-app runtime.
Read this first for any firmware task
Two rules cause most first-time failures on this device:
- Latch power on at boot. The device powers off unless firmware drives the
power-hold GPIOs within the first moments of
app_main(). See
references/esp-idf-dev.md.
- The panel is natively 800x480 landscape. Your logical canvas orientation is a
choice you implement with a rotation in the pixel-write path. Pick one and keep
touch coordinates in the same space. See references/display.md.
Where to look
| Task |
File |
| Pin map, buses, part numbers, electrical/physical specs |
references/hardware.md |
Toolchain, project skeleton, sdkconfig.defaults, build/flash, power latch, NVS, deep sleep |
references/esp-idf-dev.md |
| ePaper driver API, refresh modes, rotation, ghosting, partial-update strategy |
references/display.md |
| Touch/GT911 gestures, buttons, IMU, SHT40, RTC, mic, buzzer, fuel gauge, SD |
references/peripherals.md |
Publishing to Sticky Playground: integration.json, manifest, CI, review flow |
references/playground-registry.md |
| Existing firmware projects, ESPHome/Home Assistant, official docs, where the wiki is |
references/ecosystem-and-docs.md |
Getting known-good driver sources
The registry holds a complete, buildable ESP-IDF app (sticky-2048) whose drivers are
the practical reference implementation for this board: seeed_epaper (SSD1677 panel),
gt911 (touch), bq27220 (fuel gauge), plus sticky_display / sticky_touch /
sticky_buzzer / sticky_ai_button wrappers.
To pull them into a working directory:
scripts/fetch_sticky_sources.sh <dest-dir>
Read that source before writing a driver from scratch. It is the only public code that
is known to run on production hardware.
Documentation reality check
There is no wiki.seeedstudio.com page for the Sticky (verified 404 on
/reterminal_sticky/ and /sticky/). The Seeed wiki covers the older reTerminal
E-series, which is a different board — its pinouts do not transfer, though its
ESPHome cookbooks are conceptually useful.
Authoritative docs live at https://www.seeedstudio.com/sticky/docs/, and Seeed
states they are still under active development. When something is missing, the
fallback order is: registry source code → official docs → E-series wiki (concepts
only) → Discord/forum. Full link list in
references/ecosystem-and-docs.md.
Conventions in this skill
- Pin numbers are ESP32-S3 GPIO numbers, not header positions.
- "Native" coordinates mean the panel's own 800x480 landscape frame; "logical" means
whatever orientation the application chose.
- Facts marked (unverified) come from a single source or conflicting sources and
should be confirmed against hardware before relying on them.
1---2name: sticky-device3description: Hardware facts, ESP-IDF firmware patterns, ePaper/touch APIs, and Playground publishing rules for the Seeed Studio reTerminal Sticky (ESP32-S3, 3.97" 800x480 e-ink). Use when working on reTerminal Sticky or "Sticky" firmware, apps, pin assignments, display refresh, touch gestures, deep sleep, ESPHome/Home Assistant configs, or when submitting an integration to the Sticky Playground registry.4license: MIT5---67# reTerminal Sticky89Seeed Studio reTerminal Sticky: a magnetic ESP32-S3 e-ink note device. 3.97" 800x48010monochrome ePaper with 4-level grayscale, capacitive touch, 750 mAh battery.1112Firmware is native **ESP-IDF v5.4 / target `esp32s3`** (C/C++). ESPHome is the13supported no-C path. Apps are distributed by flashing whole firmware images — there14is no on-device app sandbox or multi-app runtime.1516## Read this first for any firmware task1718Two rules cause most first-time failures on this device:19201. **Latch power on at boot.** The device powers off unless firmware drives the21 power-hold GPIOs within the first moments of `app_main()`. See22 [references/esp-idf-dev.md](references/esp-idf-dev.md).232. **The panel is natively 800x480 landscape.** Your logical canvas orientation is a24 choice you implement with a rotation in the pixel-write path. Pick one and keep25 touch coordinates in the same space. See [references/display.md](references/display.md).2627## Where to look2829| Task | File |30|---|---|31| Pin map, buses, part numbers, electrical/physical specs | [references/hardware.md](references/hardware.md) |32| Toolchain, project skeleton, `sdkconfig.defaults`, build/flash, power latch, NVS, deep sleep | [references/esp-idf-dev.md](references/esp-idf-dev.md) |33| ePaper driver API, refresh modes, rotation, ghosting, partial-update strategy | [references/display.md](references/display.md) |34| Touch/GT911 gestures, buttons, IMU, SHT40, RTC, mic, buzzer, fuel gauge, SD | [references/peripherals.md](references/peripherals.md) |35| Publishing to Sticky Playground: `integration.json`, manifest, CI, review flow | [references/playground-registry.md](references/playground-registry.md) |36| Existing firmware projects, ESPHome/Home Assistant, official docs, where the wiki is | [references/ecosystem-and-docs.md](references/ecosystem-and-docs.md) |3738## Getting known-good driver sources3940The registry holds a complete, buildable ESP-IDF app (`sticky-2048`) whose drivers are41the practical reference implementation for this board: `seeed_epaper` (SSD1677 panel),42`gt911` (touch), `bq27220` (fuel gauge), plus `sticky_display` / `sticky_touch` /43`sticky_buzzer` / `sticky_ai_button` wrappers.4445To pull them into a working directory:4647```bash48scripts/fetch_sticky_sources.sh <dest-dir>49```5051Read that source before writing a driver from scratch. It is the only public code that52is known to run on production hardware.5354## Documentation reality check5556There is **no `wiki.seeedstudio.com` page for the Sticky** (verified 404 on57`/reterminal_sticky/` and `/sticky/`). The Seeed wiki covers the older reTerminal58**E-series**, which is a different board — its pinouts do not transfer, though its59ESPHome cookbooks are conceptually useful.6061Authoritative docs live at <https://www.seeedstudio.com/sticky/docs/>, and Seeed62states they are still under active development. When something is missing, the63fallback order is: registry source code → official docs → E-series wiki (concepts64only) → Discord/forum. Full link list in65[references/ecosystem-and-docs.md](references/ecosystem-and-docs.md).6667## Conventions in this skill6869- Pin numbers are ESP32-S3 **GPIO numbers**, not header positions.70- "Native" coordinates mean the panel's own 800x480 landscape frame; "logical" means71 whatever orientation the application chose.72- Facts marked **(unverified)** come from a single source or conflicting sources and73 should be confirmed against hardware before relying on them.
varo6