Setting Up Wokwi Simulator

What is Wokwi?

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Wokwi is a free, browser-based electronics simulator

It lets you simulate microcontrollers like Arduino, ESP32, and Raspberry Pi Pico — no hardware required. You write code, wire up virtual components, and run everything inside your browser. Perfect for prototyping, learning, and testing IoT and embedded projects.

Free to useNo install neededSupports ESP32, Arduino & more

Getting started — step by step

1

Open Wokwi

Go to wokwi.com in any modern browser — no account needed to start. Sign up (free) to save and share your projects.

2

Create a new project

Click "New Project" from the dashboard. Choose your board — for this guide, select ESP32. Wokwi will open a blank project with a virtual board ready to use.

3

Add components

Click the blue "+" button in the simulator panel to add virtual components — LEDs, buttons, sensors, displays, and more. Drag them onto the canvas and wire them to the ESP32 pins.

4

Write or paste your code

The code editor opens alongside your circuit. Write Arduino-compatible C++ code directly in the browser. Wokwi compiles it automatically when you run the simulation.

5

Run the simulation

Hit the green play button. The virtual ESP32 boots, executes your code, and interacts with components in real time. Use the Serial Monitor at the bottom to view output.

The Wokwi interface

Left panel

Circuit canvas

Place and wire virtual components to the microcontroller

Centre panel

Code editor

Write Arduino-style code with syntax highlighting and auto-complete

Right panel

Library manager

Search and add popular Arduino libraries directly from the browser

▶ Play — run simulation⏹ Stop — halt simulation📋 Serial monitor — view logs⚙️ Settings — board & WiFi config💾 Save — persist your project🔗 Share — get a public link

WiFi simulation — wokwi.toml

Wokwi can simulate WiFi networks your ESP32 sees during a scan. Configure them in the project's wokwi.toml file:

[wokwi]
version = 1

[[wokwi.wifi]]
ssid = "Wokwi-GUEST"
password = ""

[[wokwi.wifi]]
ssid = "MyHomeNetwork"
password = "password123"

Even without any config, Wokwi automatically simulates several networks (including Wokwi-GUEST) that your ESP32 WiFi scanner will detect.

Understanding RSSI signal strength

-30 to -50 dBm

Excellent

Very close to access point, maximum speed

-50 to -60 dBm

Good

Strong signal, reliable connection

-60 to -70 dBm

Fair

Usable but may experience slowdowns

-70 to -80 dBm

Weak

Minimal connectivity, often unstable

Below -80 dBm

Very weak

Unreliable, frequent disconnections

RSSI is measured in dBm (decibels relative to 1 milliwatt). It's a logarithmic scale — a 3 dBm difference equals roughly double or half the signal power.