Tab5 OS

Tab5 OS is an open ESP-IDF/LVGL environment for the M5Stack Tab5. It combines a file browser with wired, BLE, and Wi-Fi tools for inspecting devices and saving field captures.

As of 2026-09-23, the latest published release is v0.6.0. main also contains a UART/RS-485 log viewer that has not been tagged. This is a field beta: the ST7121 tablet has passed the checks recorded in the hardware smoke checklist, while the other display family, electrical measurements, and several recovery/fault tests remain open.

Project map

flowchart LR
    device["M5Stack Tab5<br/>ESP32-P4"] --> os["Tab5 OS<br/>LVGL launcher"]
    os --> apps["Files, notes, clock<br/>and reader apps"]
    os --> tools["GPIO, I2C, UART<br/>and BLE tools"]
    os --> network["Wi-Fi tools, web<br/>and OTA updates"]

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Hardware

• M5Stack Tab5 (ESP32-P4)
• Original ILI9881C/GT911 and newer ST7123/ST7121 display variants through M5Stack's factory BSP

Get started

• For an existing tablet, read Install and recovery and check its partition layout before choosing an app-only, source, or factory flash. Some earlier tablets have a different layout.
• For a blank tablet or a deliberate clean recovery, download the factory image and SHA256SUMS from the latest release, verify the hash, and follow the factory-image instructions. That path erases internal flash settings and files.
• After boot, use System to confirm the firmware version, storage, Wi-Fi, and OTA state. Saved file paths and CSV formats are in Data formats.

Toolchain

M5Stack recommends ESP-IDF v5.4.2 for Tab5. Install that exact release using Espressif's setup, then open an ESP-IDF shell.

idf.py set-target esp32p4
idf.py build
idf.py -p <PORT> flash monitor

For faster Windows iteration, put the ESP-IDF directory in .idf-path, then use the persistent Ninja build and app-only flash wrappers:

.\tools\build_idf.ps1
.\tools\flash_idf.ps1 -Port COM7

Use -Full after bootloader or partition-table changes, after reviewing the layout and data-migration guidance in Install and recovery. Normal source edits retain the build tree, use project-local ccache with four jobs, and flash only the app partition.

See Install and recovery before a clean erase or when recovering a device that no longer boots. A clean factory recovery erases credentials, settings, both OTA slots, and internal SPIFFS data.

Generated note and telemetry files follow the documented SD-card paths and CSV conventions.

USB remote desktop

With Tab5 OS running over USB:

python .\tools\remote_desktop.py --port COM7

The window mirrors the display at half size and sends clicks and drags back as touch input. Pass --scale 1 for full size.

Hold the Tab5 reset button until its green LED flashes rapidly before flashing. Use Ctrl+] to exit the monitor.

The checked-in defaults include M5Stack's required QIO, 200 MHz PSRAM, and L2-cache settings. Removing them causes MIPI display underruns on the 720p panel.

OTA releases

The System app installs the latest stable tagged GitHub release over Wi-Fi. Pushes and pull requests run verification; a v* tag publishes app-only and factory/recovery images, a versioned OTA manifest, checksums, license/notices, and pinned dependencies from the same build. The updater verifies compatibility, version, exact size, embedded app version, and SHA-256 before activation. Before a new stable tag, run the applicable hardware smoke checks and disclose remaining gaps in its release notes. On a matching rollback-enabled bootloader, OTA candidates remain pending until the UI has stayed healthy for 30 seconds. Updates do not silently erase NVS settings. See the OTA manifest contract and compatibility contract.

Hardware safety

External GPIO and I2C signals are 3.3 V only. External 5 V is off at boot and Tab5 OS does not currently expose a control to enable it. See pin and interface safety before connecting external hardware.

See ROADMAP.md for the long-term product plan and current execution checkpoint.

Architecture, troubleshooting, privacy, contribution, security-reporting, compatibility, and hardware-test contracts live in docs/, CONTRIBUTING, and SECURITY.

For help, check Troubleshooting or open a bug report. Share vulnerabilities privately through SECURITY.

Upstream

The vendored components/m5stack_tab5/ board support comes from the Apache-2.0-licensed component inside M5Stack's M5Tab5-UserDemo; that repository's root license is MIT. The ST7121 driver retains Espressif's Apache-2.0 headers. Managed dependencies are pinned in dependencies.lock; see Third-party notices.

Status

These features are implemented on main; a checked item does not mean that every hardware or fault case has passed. The smoke checklist records measured coverage.

• ESP32-P4 boot
• Display and backlight
• Touch input
• SPIFFS/microSD file browser
• Saved Scope and I2C capture graphs in Files, with zoom, pan, cursor values, and visible-range statistics
• Saved UART and RS-485 logs in Files, with timestamped RX/TX paging, filters, and hex/ASCII views
• Notes, counter, and system apps
• Internet-synced RTC clock with persistent daily alarms and snooze
• Milwaukee weather plus a static time/date screensaver with hourly and daily forecasts
• GPIO control and eight-channel ADC oscilloscope with frequency/duty measurement, persistent calibration, and SD capture
• External Grove I2C scan, 100/400 kHz byte read/watch, gated write, and SD capture on G53/G54
• UART1 and onboard RS-485 terminal with line settings, ASCII/hex I/O, send history, and SD capture
• Bounded SPI2 master console with selectable mode/clock and explicit M5-Bus chip-select
• G6 PWM and bounded single-pulse generator with isolated LEDC resources and automatic timeout
• User-controlled Govee H5075 monitoring and COLMI R12 health tools
• User-controlled KICKR cycling telemetry with SD ride logging
• Timed Servo Toy control on G0 with sine sweeps at selectable 0.05-1.00 Hz, random motion, isolated PWM resources, and safe output release
• Persistent brightness, dimmed idle screen, and configurable timed screen-off
• Recoverable notes plus durable ride, summary, ebook, and heart-rate storage paths
• Wi-Fi settings with channel/RSSI scan, address details, DNS lookup, four-probe ping, and mDNS service discovery
• Bounded HTTP request console with verified HTTPS, gated cleartext, capped previews, and opt-in redacted SD metadata logs
• MQTT 3.1.1 publish/subscribe console with verified TLS, explicit device-local TLS profiles, QoS/retain visibility, bounded history, and opt-in payload-free SD metadata logs
• Opt-in generic BLE advertisement scanner and GATT explorer with explicit connections, bounded discovery, reads, notifications, gated raw writes, and atomic evidence snapshots
• AI chat client through an authenticated HTTPS relay
• Start/stop microphone transcription with a live waveform
• Reader-mode web browser with HTTPS and clickable links
• SD-card ebook reader with three first-run Project Gutenberg classics
• Application launcher
• USB remote desktop
• HTTPS OTA updates with rollback support on a matching bootloader and partition layout

License

Apache-2.0. See Third-party notices.