Once you get this initial setup done, you will never have to do it again for this board. From then on, it’s just copying, pasting, and uploading.
Here is the step-by-step guide to getting your software ready:
### Phase 1: Download the Software
1. Go to the official Arduino website (arduino.cc) and download the **Arduino IDE** (version 2.x).
2. Install it and open the application. It will look like a blank text editor.
### Phase 2: Teach the Software About the ESP32
Out of the box, the Arduino IDE only knows about standard Arduino boards. We have to tell it where to find the “blueprints” for your Seeed Studio ESP32S3 chip.
1. In the Arduino IDE, click on **File > Preferences** (or Arduino IDE > Settings on a Mac).
2. Look for a box near the bottom called **”Additional Boards Manager URLs”**.
3. Copy and paste this exact link into that box:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/gh-pages/package_esp32_index.json
4. Click **OK**.
5. Now, look at the left-hand sidebar of the software and click on the **Boards Manager** icon (it looks like a circuit board or a stack of books).
6. Type **esp32** into the search bar.
7. Look for the package titled **”esp32 by Espressif Systems”** and click **Install**. (This might take a minute or two to download).
### Phase 3: Select Your Specific Board
Now that the software knows about ESP32 chips, we just need to tell it exactly which one is plugged into your computer.
1. Plug your XIAO ESP32S3 into your computer using a USB-C data cable. *(Make sure the physical switch on the Round Display is pushed to the “ON” position!).*
2. At the very top of the Arduino IDE screen, click the dropdown menu that says **”Select Board”** and click **”Select other board and port…”**
3. In the “Boards” search box, type in **XIAO_ESP32S3** and select it.
4. In the “Ports” column right next to it, select the USB port your board is plugged into (it usually says something like COM3 on Windows, or /dev/tty.usbmodem on Mac). Click **OK**.
### Phase 4: Add the Display Libraries
The screen needs two specific “libraries” (pre-written code files) to draw graphics easily. Seeed Studio has custom-made these to perfectly match the Round Display’s wiring so you don’t have to configure anything.
1. Go to the official **Seeed Studio Round Display Wiki** (search Google for *”Getting Started with Seeed Studio Round Display for XIAO”*).
2. Scroll down to the **Software Preparation** section.
3. Download the two specific ZIP files they link to: the **TFT_eSPI** library and the **RTC** library.
4. Back in the Arduino IDE, click **Sketch > Include Library > Add .ZIP Library…**
5. Select the ZIP files you just downloaded to install them.
### Phase 5: Copy, Paste, Flash!
You are officially ready to go.
On that exact same Seeed Studio Wiki page, scroll down to the **”Hardware Test”** or **”TFT_Clock”** examples. You will see a block of code.
1. Copy that entire block of code.
2. Paste it into your Arduino IDE (deleting the blank code that was already there).
3. Click the **Right-Facing Arrow (Upload)** button in the top left corner of the Arduino IDE.
The software will compile the text, flash it over the USB cable, and your blank screen will activate.
