Overview

This is a C++ BLE library for the ESP32 that uses the NimBLE host stack instead of bluedroid.
The aim is to maintain, as much as reasonable, the original bluedroid C++ & Arduino BLE API by while adding new features
and making improvements in performance, resource use, and stability.

Testing shows a nearly 50% reduction in flash use and approx. 100kB less ram consumed vs the original!
Your results may vary

What is NimBLE?

NimBLE is a completely open source Bluetooth Low Energy stack produced by Apache.
It is more suited to resource constrained devices than bluedroid and has now been ported to the ESP32 by Espressif.

ESP-IDF Installation

v4.0+

Download as .zip and extract or clone into the components folder in your esp-idf project.

Run menuconfig, go to Component config->Bluetooth enable Bluetooth and in Bluetooth host NimBLE.
Configure settings in NimBLE Options.
#include "NimBLEDevice.h" in main.cpp.
Call NimBLEDevice::init in app_main.

Using

This library is intended to be compatible with the original ESP32 BLE functions and types with minor changes.

If you have not used the original Bluedroid library please refer to the New user guide.

If you are familiar with the original library, see: The migration guide for details.

For more advanced usage see Usage tips for more performance and optimization.

Sponsors

Thank you to all the sponsors who support this project!

If you use this library for a commercial product please consider sponsoring the development to ensure the continued updates and maintenance.

Acknowledgments

• nkolban and chegewara for the original esp32 BLE library this project was derived from.
• beegee-tokyo for contributing your time to test/debug and contributing the beacon examples.
• Jeroen88 for the amazing help debugging and improving the client code.