Start with the Cheap Yellow Display: an ESP32 with a built-in touchscreen and a community of projects

Brian Lough started this repo because the board's own software support was a single zip file on a random website. The CYD is an ESP32 with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a 320 x 240 2.8-inch LCD with a resistive touch screen, USB for power and programming, an SD card slot, an LED and a few spare pins. Since everything is already connected, there's no soldering or wiring before your first project.

The repo has a setup and configuration page, basic examples for each feature, examples with other display libraries, ESPHome configs, 3D-printed stands and cases, and a pin map showing which pins are free. It also has a decision tree for telling a real CYD from look-alike boards, and a Discord for help.

Hardware & cost: An ESP32-2432S028R. The README puts it at about $15 delivered, and prices vary by seller. Some of the store links in the README are affiliate links. MIT licensed.

Difficulty: Easy. It suits beginners and anyone who wants to build without assembling hardware.

Agent install prompt (paste into Claude Code, Cursor or Codex): "Open https://github.com/witnessmenow/ESP32-Cheap-Yellow-Display, follow SETUP.md to set up Arduino for my CYD, and flash the basic touch example from Examples/Basics. Ask before flashing."

Source: witnessmenow/ESP32-Cheap-Yellow-Display on GitHub, https://github.com/witnessmenow/ESP32-Cheap-Yellow-Display (facts checked against the project README, Oct 2026).

Found via Joseph Zhou's AI Hardware list (https://josephzhou.me/ai/).