--- title: Espressif Systems releases a Linux BSP developer preview... description: Espressif Systems has released a developer preview of a Linux BSP for its ESP32-S31 dual-core RISC-V microprocessor, which includes an MMU making Linux support... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/espressif-systems-releases-a-linux-bsp-developer-preview-for-esp32-s31-risc-v-microprocessor-lmglqymci twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Espressif Systems releases a Linux BSP developer preview for ESP32-S31 RISC-V microprocessor | daily.dev og:description: Espressif Systems has released a developer preview of a Linux BSP for its ESP32-S31 dual-core RISC-V microprocessor, which includes an MMU making Linux support... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/espressif-systems-releases-a-linux-bsp-developer-preview-for-esp32-s31-risc-v-microprocessor-lmglqymci og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/LMglQymci.png og:image:alt: Espressif Systems releases a Linux BSP developer preview for ESP32-S31 RISC-V microprocessor og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Espressif Systems releases a Linux BSP developer preview for ESP32-S31 RISC-V microprocessor **[CNX Software](https://daily.dev/sources/cnx-software)** · [@cnxsoft](https://daily.dev/cnxsoft) · 3 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Espressif Systems has released a developer preview of a Linux BSP for its ESP32-S31 dual-core RISC-V microprocessor, which includes an MMU making Linux support feasible. The BSP uses Buildroot 2025.02 and a Linux 6.18 kernel fork, with instructions and repos provided for building and flashing a minimal Linux image (helped by the boards' 16MB PSRAM). The author walks through updating esptool to 5.3.0+, configuring, and building the image, noting the build takes over an hour. Espressif warns the BSP is experimental only, with irregular updates, possible breaking changes, and unclear WiFi support. Two community projects (GrieferPig's Linux 6.12 port and Marco's Linux 7.1 with OpenSBI 1.9 port) are also porting Linux to the ESP32-S31-Korvo-1 board with varying peripheral support. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What esptool version do I need to flash Linux to an ESP32-S31 board? esptool version 5.3.0 or greater is required to flash Linux to an ESP32-S31 board; earlier versions such as 4.7.0 are not sufficient. The ESP32-S31 Linux developer preview build process depends on this updated esptool to write the OS image to the device over serial at 115200 baud. _daily.dev keeps embedded developers current on esptool and RISC-V Linux BSP requirements before a flash goes wrong._ ### What Linux kernel version and build system does the official ESP32-S31 Linux BSP use? The official ESP32-S31 developer preview uses a Linux 6.18 kernel fork built with Buildroot 2025.02, via the esp-buildroot-external repository which includes the NOR boot stack and root filesystem instructions. The esp-linux-bsp repo itself only provides image layout and packaging tools and is pulled automatically during the Buildroot build. _Track Linux BSP tooling choices like this on daily.dev when evaluating a new RISC-V board for embedded work._ ### Is the ESP32-S31 Linux BSP ready for production use? No, Espressif explicitly states the ESP32-S31 Linux BSP developer preview is only for experimentation and not recommended for production. It carries risks of irregular updates, potential breaking changes, limited feature acceptance, and bugs fixed only on a best-effort basis, and it is unclear whether WiFi is functional yet. _daily.dev helps engineers weigh preview-stage risk before committing a product roadmap to a new BSP._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [The newest ESP32 can actually run Linux, and it's getting uncomfortably close to a Raspberry Pi](https://daily.dev/posts/the-newest-esp32-can-actually-run-linux-and-it-s-getting-uncomfortably-close-to-a-raspberry-pi-ex3qklo9c) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [GitHub - GrieferPig/esp32-s31-linux: Porting MMU Linux to ESP32-S31](https://daily.dev/posts/github---grieferpig-esp32-s31-linux-porting-mmu-linux-to-esp32-s31-o9nrg0dao) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Running Linux 6.11 On The ESP32-S3 With A Few Tweaks](https://daily.dev/posts/running-linux-6-11-on-the-esp32-s3-with-a-few-tweaks-havlry0ud) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Espressif’s New ESP32-S31: Dual-Core RISC-V With WiFi 6 And GBit Ethernet](https://daily.dev/posts/espressif-s-new-esp32-s31-dual-core-risc-v-with-wifi-6-and-gbit-ethernet-wxfcaffql) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Espressif Unveils ESP32-S31: A Dual-Core RISC-V SoC with Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and Advanced HMI Capabilities](https://daily.dev/posts/espressif-unveils-esp32-s31-a-dual-core-risc-v-soc-with-wi-fi-6-bluetooth-5-4-and-advanced-hmi-ca-3psf77luz) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 1 comments --- Tags: [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#iot](https://daily.dev/tags/iot), [#embedded](https://daily.dev/tags/embedded) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/espressif-systems-releases-a-linux-bsp-developer-preview-for-esp32-s31-risc-v-microprocessor-lmglqymci) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Espressif Systems releases a Linux BSP developer preview for ESP32-S31 RISC-V microprocessor","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/espressif-systems-releases-a-linux-bsp-developer-preview-for-esp32-s31-risc-v-microprocessor-lmglqymci","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/espressif-systems-releases-a-linux-bsp-developer-preview-for-esp32-s31-risc-v-microprocessor-lmglqymci"},"datePublished":"2026-08-22T04:29:08.345Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T21:00:17.764Z","description":"Espressif Systems has released a developer preview of a Linux BSP for its ESP32-S31 dual-core RISC-V microprocessor, which includes an MMU making Linux support...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/5cfb8cc963825916f38f904ec949cc51?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/5cfb8cc963825916f38f904ec949cc51?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"CNX Software","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"CNXSoft","url":"https://daily.dev/cnxsoft","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/1366138?v=4","interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"EndorseAction"},"userInteractionCount":490}},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/espressif-systems-releases-a-linux-bsp-developer-preview-for-esp32-s31-risc-v-microprocessor-lmglqymci","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"linux,iot,embedded","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CNX Software","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/cnx-software"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Espressif Systems releases a Linux BSP developer preview for ESP32-S31 RISC-V microprocessor"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/espressif-systems-releases-a-linux-bsp-developer-preview-for-esp32-s31-risc-v-microprocessor-lmglqymci#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What esptool version do I need to flash Linux to an ESP32-S31 board?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"esptool version 5.3.0 or greater is required to flash Linux to an ESP32-S31 board; earlier versions such as 4.7.0 are not sufficient. 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