Wokwi Fallback

If your hardware setup isn't working, Wokwi provides a browser-based simulation of the uFerris board. You can complete all workshop exercises in simulation.

The real hardware experience is part of what makes this workshop special. Use Wokwi only if your hardware setup fails and you can't resolve it before the workshop.

Install the Extension

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
  3. Search for "Wokwi Simulator"
  4. Install it

Set Up for the Workshop

The workshop repo includes a wokwi.toml configuration file in each example project. This file tells Wokwi how to simulate the uFerris board.

To run a simulation:

  1. Open an example project in VS Code
  2. Build it: cargo build --release
  3. Press F1 → "Wokwi: Start Simulator"
  4. The simulator opens with a virtual uFerris board

Verify It Works

Open the hello-uferris project and run the simulation. You should see the virtual board and serial output in the Wokwi panel.

Option 2: Browser-Based

Visit wokwi.com and create a new ESP32-C3 project. You can paste code directly into the browser editor.

The browser version won't have the uFerris board definition. You'll need to map virtual pins manually. The VS Code extension is a better experience.

Switching Between Hardware and Wokwi

All workshop examples are written to work on both real hardware and Wokwi. The pin assignments are the same — the Wokwi board definition mirrors the physical uFerris board.

If you start on Wokwi and your hardware issue gets resolved during the workshop, you can switch to real hardware at any time by simply flashing with espflash instead of running the simulator.