Install — POSEIDON

DEVICE 1 · MAIN · M5STACK CARDPUTER-ADVANCE · ESP32-S3

🔱 The Cardputer

This is the brain of POSEIDON — the handheld you'll actually carry. Flashing takes one click. Grab a USB-C cable, plug it in, and let's go.

★ EASIEST · RECOMMENDED FOR EVERYONE

Option A — M5Burner (one click)

M5Burner is M5Stack's free official flasher. POSEIDON is right there in the list — no files to download, no offsets to remember.

Download M5Burner from docs.m5stack.com/download and open it.
In the search box, type POSEIDON.
Plug your Cardputer in with a USB-C cable.
Click Burn.
That's it — wait for the green bar, and you're done. 🎉

M5Burner picks the port and version for you automatically. New releases (v0.6.8 and up) show up the moment they're tagged.

Option B — Flash in your browser

Prefer not to install anything? Flash straight from Chrome or Edge using WebSerial. Plug the Cardputer in, hit the button, pick its port, and watch it go.

WEB FLASHER · CHROME / EDGE

Plug in via USB-C → click → choose the Cardputer's serial port → done in ~30 s.

This browser can't flash — open this page in Chrome or Edge. Web flashing needs HTTPS (use the live site, not a local file).

⚡ FIRST BOOT

Unplug, plug back in — POSEIDON boots straight to the main menu. From here, the keyboard drives everything: arrow keys to move, Enter to select, and you're inside. Go explore. 🌊

DEVICE 2 · OPTIONAL ADD-ON · ESP32-C5

🛰 The TRIDENT C5 Satellite

OPTIONAL — ONLY IF YOU HAVE A C5 BOARD

TRIDENT is an optional sidekick. If you have an ESP32-C5 board, flash it to unlock 5 GHz work, Zigbee sniffing, and PMKID capture — beamed back to the Cardputer over ESP-NOW. Don't have a C5? Skip this whole section; the Cardputer is fully loaded on its own.

Flash it in your browser — one click

Same deal as the Cardputer: plug the C5 in, hit the button, pick its port, and watch it go. Runs entirely in Chrome or Edge over WebSerial — no install, no offsets to type. The three images go on automatically.

WEB FLASHER · CHROME / EDGE

Plug in via USB-C → click → choose the C5's serial port → ~2–4 min (it flashes over the ROM loader, which is slow but reliable on the C5), leave it plugged in. If it won't connect, hold BOOT (G0) while you click.

Prefer the command line, or on Firefox/Safari? The three .bin files and a manual route are under Advanced below.

ADVANCED — manual flash (CLI / other browsers)

Flash from Espressif's own WebSerial tool at espressif.github.io/esptool-js (Connect → add the three files at the addresses below → Program), or with Python esptool:

THREE FILES · from docs/flash/bin/trident-c5/

0x2000 bootloader.bin

0x8000 partition-table.bin

0x10000 poseidon_c5_node.bin

# set each address in its Flash Address box, then Program

Grab them from flash/bin/trident-c5/ or the latest release. There's also a standalone two-target flasher at /flash/.

💡 PICK THE RIGHT PORT

The C5 shows up as a generic "USB Serial Device" — exactly like the Cardputer does. If both are plugged in, unplug the Cardputer while you flash the C5 so there's no guessing which port is which. Once flashed, the C5 pairs with POSEIDON automatically over ESP-NOW and appears under C5 → Status.

STUCK? · QUICK FIXES

Troubleshooting

No port shows up? Install the USB serial driver (CH340 / CP210x) for your board, then unplug and replug. Try a different USB-C cable — some are charge-only and carry no data.
Web flasher greyed out or missing the button? Use Chrome or Edge — Firefox and Safari don't support WebSerial yet.
Won't connect / flash fails? Hold the BOOT (G0) button while you plug in or hit Connect to force download mode, then release and flash again.

⚠ CAN'T BRICK IT

Boots to black or locks up? Don't panic — hold BOOT (G0) during power-on to force download mode, then flash again. Every ESP32 has this escape hatch, so you can't permanently brick a Cardputer or a C5 from software. Worst case, you just re-flash. 🔱