![\"Random](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/year-in-review-Random-Nerd-Tutorials-2025.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nWe\u2019ll also talk about our plans and milestones for the new year. Finally, we’ll share a few personal thoughts about 2025 and the year ahead, including one big change that will have a major impact on our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is also a great opportunity for you to get involved. Feel free to leave a comment with your feedback, ideas for future projects, or suggestions<\/strong> on what you\u2019d like us to improve, change, or cover next. We\u2019re always happy to hear from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2025, we published 86 new tutorials, including updated content (110 published in 2024<\/a>). This works out to almost two tutorials or projects each week, except during our Monthly Recap weeks, when we usually publish only one post. This was our goal from the start, and we think it\u2019s a good pace for our readers who want to follow our work regularly without feeling overwhelmed.<\/p>\n\n\n Every year, we select the top five most popular tutorials published that year, based on views, comments, and feedback from our readers. This is a great chance for you to check them in case you missed any of the most popular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s a list of the top 5.<\/p>\n\n\n 1. ESP32-C3 Super Mini: Getting Started Guide<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n Our getting started guide for the ESP32-C3 Super Mini was the most popular tutorial of the year. I wasn’t expecting this, but it seems there are more people interested in this board than I expected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The ESP32-C3 Super Mini is a compact development board based on the Espressif ESP32-C3 chip. Its main advantages over other ESP32 boards are its small size and low power consumption in deep sleep mode. We created a getting started guide, but didn’t explore more because it works quite similarly to other “regular” ESP32 boards. However, let us know if there are any specific subjects about this board that you’d like to see covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2.<\/strong> FreeRTOS with ESP32 – Getting Started Guide<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Using FreeRTOS on the ESP32 programmed with Arduino IDE was a subject that I’ve been asked multiple times for a long time. So, it is no surprise that our FreeRTOS getting started guide is one of the most popular tutorials this year. My only regret is not having covered this subject earlier. It allows you to handle and manage tasks, and multitasking (or sort of) is an easy way.<\/p>\n\n\n 3.<\/strong> Programming ESP32 with ESP-IDF using VS Code \u2013 Getting Started Guide<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n Another subject a lot of you have been asking for quite some time is how to program the ESP32 using ESP-IDF (Espressif IoT Development Framework)\u2014the “official way” to program ESP32 boards developed by Espressif. Besides the first getting started guide, we already covered other basic subjects related to GPIO control with ESP-IDF. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While programming with ESP-IDF is definitely not for everyone, it’s still very popular among our readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. ESP32 CYD with ESP-NOW: Receive and Display Data From Multiple Boards<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n This tutorial combining ESP-NOW with the CYD board (Cheap Yellow Display) shows how you can easily integrate ESP-NOW on this particular ESP32 Display board to receive and display data from multiple other ESP32 boards in just one place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This tutorial was so popular that we’re planning to create a similar one that shows how to control other boards via ESP-NOW using the CYD display as a user interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5.<\/strong> ESP32 RFID User Management System with Web Server<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n This project shows how to build an RFID user management system with a web server that runs on an ESP32. The ESP32 board is connected to an MFRC522 RFID reader and a microSD card that will store all the user data. The web server allows you to check the access log, and add and manage users.<\/p>\n\n\n Besides the top 5 most popular tutorials this year, it’s also worth mentioning the following guides:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were threee main new subjects that we started covering this year:<\/p>\n\n\n\n ESP-IDF is the official development framework from Espressif for programming ESP32 boards. Because it is officially supported, it is frequently updated and often provides earlier support for new ESP32 chips compared to Arduino IDE or MicroPython. It also offers more flexibility, better performance, and deeper control over peripherals, system configuration, and task management.<\/p>\n\n\n However, ESP-IDF is much more complex than Arduino IDE and requires a solid understanding of the ESP32 hardware, memory management, FreeRTOS, and peripheral setup. This complexity gives you more control over your boards, but you\u2019re also more likely to run into errors, configuration problems, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re not familiar with the Arduino IDE or are just getting started with the ESP32, we don\u2019t recommend jumping into ESP-IDF yet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But, if you already have a great understanding of how the ESP32 works and programming it with Arduino IDE, and if you\u2019re up for the challenge, we have several tutorials on this topic (and maybe we’re planning a complete eBook about it in the future).<\/p>\n\n\n\n For now, you can get started with the following tutorials:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ESP32 core for the Arduino IDE comes with built-in support for FreeRTOS functions. But what is FreeRTOS?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n FreeRTOS is a real-time operating system that allows the ESP32 to manage and run multiple tasks simultaneously in a smooth and efficient way. It\u2019s built into the ESP32 and fully integrated with both the Arduino core and the Espressif IoT Development Framework (IDF).<\/p>\n\n\n FreeRTOS allows the ESP32 to run multiple tasks at the same time, each with its own priority, instead of executing code strictly line by line. It also includes features like queues and semaphores, which make communication between tasks easier and more reliable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking at it more closely, this is a topic we should have covered earlier. FreeRTOS can simplify development a lot, especially in larger projects where several tasks need to run at once or in a specific order. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For those who have been asking for tutorials about this subject, they are finally here (it’s better late than never :D). Let us know what other topics about FreeRTOS you would like us to cover here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the moment, you can check the following tutorials:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We also have another tutorial about Mutexes <\/strong>already written to be published at the beginning of next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I would also like to cover more complex projects where we can see how to apply these FreeRTOS concepts to make code development easier. What do you think?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until recently, there was no support for ESP-NOW using MicroPython firmware. But now, ESP-NOW seems to be working reliably with MicroPython, and it is quite easy to implement. At the moment, we have the following tutorials:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have another one about one-to-many ESP-NOW communication that will be published soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We also reviewed and experimented with several new development boards. Here’s the list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we mentioned previously, this is a small ESP32 board based on the ESP32-C3 chip. Its main advantage is its small size and super low power consumption in deep sleep. It seems to be quite popular at the moment. You can check out our getting started guide:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Arduino UNO Q is the latest Arduino board that combines a microcontroller (STM32U585) and a Linux-capable microcomputer (Qualcomm Dragonwing QRB2210 SoC), all while maintaining the classic Arduino board form factor. To give you an idea of what this board is all about, you can read our article below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think this new board is quite useful, and it opens a whole new world of possibilities for IoT apps that combine the simplicity of using sensors and peripherals on a microcontroller with more complex models and applications that might require a microcomputer. I\u2019m thinking about things like running AI models, complex web server programs, creating your own self-hosted database, and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What do you think? Would you like to see more tutorials about the Arduino Uno Q board?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Raspberry Pi Pico 2\/ Pico 2W is the successor of the Raspberry Pi Pico\/Pico W (version 1). This new version uses the RP2350 chip. It can be programmed like the previous versions of the board. So, your previous programs are compatible with the new versions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides the getting-started guide, we also have an extensive list of guides and an eBook for you to learn how to get the most out of this board:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This board uses an ESP32 together with an A7670 cellular module (G, E, or SA). It has a SIM card slot for SMS communication and mobile internet access. GPS is included for getting location data. A microSD card slot is available for storage. The board can run on a battery and has a built-in charging circuit. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are also supported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year, we didn’t launch any new eBooks. However, we spent a considerable amount of time (more than I would have liked to) updating our previous eBooks and some of them more than once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note that when you buy one of our eBooks, you’ll receive eBook updates for free. You can get the latest version of your eBook in the RNTLAB member’s area<\/a>. If you’re having trouble finding the latest version of one of the eBooks you’ve previously bought, you can send an email to our support<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can expect frequent updates whenever there are new library releases (with breaking changes) or changes to the ESP32, ESP8266, RPi Pico core. This ensures that our projects continue to work as expected. We also make updates to add new subjects or units that we think are relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don’t think you get this kind of service often with other digital products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New ESPAsyncWebServer and AsyncTCP Libraries<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We had to update this eBook to use the new versions of the ESPAsyncWebServer <\/a>and AsyncTCP <\/a>libraries. The eBook is now in its 3rd Edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In summary, here’s what happened: the original ESPAsyncWebServer and AsyncTCP repositories created by me-no-dev were archived and are no longer actively developed by that author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The projects have been moved and continued under the new ESP32Async GitHub organization<\/a>. These are the forks that are actively maintained and updated for recent ESP32 core releases and are the ones we now recommend using with our projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We also updated all the tutorials in our blog that use those libraries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Version 3 of the ESP32 Core<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Still in this eBook, we used to recommend using PlatformIO. However, there’s currently no support for the latest version of the ESP32 core (version 3). So, we had to change to pioarduino to keep up with the latest releases of the core. If you want to use the newest versions of the ESP32 core on VS Code, you need to use pioarduino now (learn more)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The “Learn ESP32 with Arduino IDE” eBook is one of our best-selling eBooks. We had to update it several times this year. It is currently in version 3.2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main changes were related to the ESPAsyncWebServer library and some breaking changes on the ESP32 core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Visit the Courses Page to see All the eBooks \u00bb<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n For those of you who don\u2019t know, Maker Advisor<\/a> is our other website where you\u2019ll find reviews about development boards, tools, and gear for your electronics lab. That\u2019s also where we show where you can buy your electronics components for your projects (check the Tools page<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n We\u2019re currently not creating new content for Maker Advisor, but we try to have our Tools page<\/a> as up-to-date as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking at the milestones we set for this year, we didn’t cover most of the topics we had planned last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Publishing a New Tutorial Every Week<\/strong> \u2705<\/p>\n\n\n\n We successfully published one to two (and sometimes three) tutorials per week with our weekly newsletter<\/a>. We also sent a monthly recap every month, like in previous years.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNumber of Published Tutorials: 86<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Random](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Number-published-projects-2025-RNT.jpg?resize=750%2C500&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nMost Popular Tutorials<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Random](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Most-popular-projects-2025.jpg?resize=750%2C500&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"ESP32](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ESP32-C3-Super-Mini-Onboard-LED-Blinking-ON.jpg?resize=750%2C421&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"FreeRTOS](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Logo_freeRTOS.png?resize=413%2C157&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\"){kind=logo}
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"Programming](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ESP32-ESP-IDF-Getting-Started.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"ESP32](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CYD-Receive-Data-Via-ESP-NOW-Project-Overview-.png?resize=750%2C490&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"ESP32](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ESP32-RFID-Web-Server-Management-System-01.jpg?resize=1024%2C707&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nOther Relevant Tutorials Worth Mentioning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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![\"ESP32](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ESP32-CYD-LVGL-Display-Temperature-Line-Chart-BME280-Demonstration.jpg?resize=750%2C422&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"ESP32-CAM](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ESP32-CAM-QR-Code-Scanner-Overview.jpg?resize=850%2C251&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"ESP32](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ESP32-LILYGO-TTGO-T-A7670G-Dev-Board-overview.jpg?resize=750%2C422&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nNew Subjects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1) ESP-IDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"ESP-IDF](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ESP-IDF-vs-Arduino-IDE.jpg?resize=750%2C275&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
2) ESP32 with FreeRTOS (Arduino IDE)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
3) ESP-NOW with MicroPython<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
New Development Boards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
ESP32-C3 Super Mini<\/h4>\n\n\n
![\"ESP32-C3](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ESP32-C3-Super-Mini.jpg?resize=750%2C422&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Arduino UNO Q<\/h4>\n\n\n
![\"Arduino](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Arduino-UNO-Q-Qualcomm-Specifications-Specs-Overview.jpg?resize=1024%2C505&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
RPi Pico 2\/ RPi Pico 2 W<\/h4>\n\n\n
![\"Raspberry](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/RPi-Pico-2-vs-Rpi-Pico-2W.jpg?resize=750%2C421&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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LILYGO TTGO T-A7670G ESP32 (4G, GPRS, and GPS)<\/h4>\n\n\n
![\"ESP32](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ESP32-LILYGO-TTGO-T-A7670G-Dev-Board-connected-LTE-band-atenna.jpg?resize=750%2C422&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
eBooks Updated This Year<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
![\"Build](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Build-Web-Servers-with-ESP32-ESP8266-3rd-Edition-eBook-500px.jpg?resize=225%2C300&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"Learn](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Learn-ESP32-with-Arduino-IDE-eBook-3rd-edition-cover-image.jpg?resize=240%2C300&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\n
![\"SMART](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Smart-Home-Raspberry-Pi-ESP32-ESP8266-eBook500px-195x300.jpg?resize=195%2C300&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nMaker Advisor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/maker-advisor-750px.jpg?resize=750%2C247&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nMilestones for 2025 (Achieved or Not?)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n