Which board is the ESP32-S3 Mini

[kiwipaulrob]

There are lots out there. Are you referring to what is commonly called ' little purple ' the all in one board. Aliexpress link follows

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009402265924.html

[RealDeco]

it's a for a esp32-s3 supermini or zero, i can only recommend using zero over supermini. but it could easily be used for the "little purple" just without display 👍

[n-IA-hane]

https://www.waveshare.com/esp32-s3-zero.htm?srsltid=AfmBOopgCaSIvFPqKjnn59tQRGPPklT8erAQnawFmzeBAqcrbxygeckB

No, it wasn’t the first audio board I had assembled. For convenience, I had put the mic and speaker on two separate buses. I think this setup still works at least for standalone intercom use without I2S audio duplex, also because with separate buses you can use native ESPHome components without I2S audio duplex. Still, I recommend getting a device with a mic codec or speaker on a single I2S bus you get better time alignment and can use the I2S audio duplex framework, which includes a lot of custom code that helps a fully full-duplex experience for intercom, voice assistant, MWW, and Espressif AFE libraries, allowing BSS on dual-mic devices, noise suppression, and automatic gain control. I do most tests on Xiaozhi and Waveshare S3; if the Mini that RealDeco intends has hardware wiring similar to the Ball v2+, it will definitely work by starting from the xiaozhi-ball YAML and making the needed adaptations.
RealDeco, I hope the work I’ve done is useful. If you want to give me feedback or suggest modifications that might also be useful for you, let me know.

[n-IA-hane]

Small update after the 2026.5.0 release: the old ESP32-S3 Mini target is no longer a public preset in this project.

For small codec-less boards, the intended starting point is now the Generic S3 family. Pick the closest intercom-only or full-experience Generic YAML, then adapt the GPIO, I2S mic, I2S speaker, and bus settings for your board.

That path is also the one I want to use for a future Generic dual-bus example.

[n-IA-hane]

⚠️ Heads-up: major breaking changes are coming in the next version.

I know it can be frustrating to keep up with every big architectural change, and before you send me to hell: this one is not just another internal refactor.

The next release makes ESPHome Intercom compatible with SIP and VoIP. Yes, really. This is already working on the dev branch.

What does it mean in practice?

It means that, if you want, you can have a simple Home Assistant / ESPHome-centric PBX without having to carry Asterisk along with it.

• Your ESP intercom can still stay simple: one button, one destination, call, answer, talk, hang up.
• Under the hood, ESP devices are becoming real SIP/VoIP phones.
• ESPs can still call each other directly when direct SIP routing is available.
• ESPs can still call Home Assistant, and Home Assistant can still call ESPs.
• Home Assistant / Intercom Native is now also a SIP softphone, router/B2BUA, RTP bridge/resampler, optional local registrar and optional trunk client.
• You can register a real softphone such as Zoiper, Linphone, baresip or similar directly to Intercom Native.
• Registered softphones can appear in the central phonebook, so ESPs and Home Assistant can call them by name.
• Home Assistant itself can receive calls as a VoIP softphone and make its Lovelace card ring.
• If you configure a SIP trunk, Home Assistant and ESP devices can make and receive external calls without requiring Asterisk beside the integration.
• You can call landline/mobile numbers from Home Assistant or from an ESP through the trunk.
• External inbound calls can ring Home Assistant by default.
• I am also working on DTMF-based routing/IVR: for example, call your home number, press nothing to ring Home Assistant, or dial an optional internal extension such as 200 to ring a specific ESP.
• Internal extension numbers are optional: contacts can still be resolved by name, SIP URI, direct IP/port, HA routing, softphone registration, or trunk routing depending on your setup.
• Audio quality is negotiated per direction, so a device can receive the best compatible speaker format while transmitting whatever its microphone path can actually produce.

This is a breaking migration because the old project-specific call-control model is being replaced by SIP/SDP/RTP primitives. The goal is to make the project simpler conceptually and much more interoperable: ESPs, Home Assistant, browser card, softphones and trunks all speak the same VoIP model.

If you want to test early, use the dev branch. If your install is critical, wait for the release notes and migration guide before upgrading.

Current testing status: I am actively testing with Spotpear, Waveshare S3, Home Assistant, Zoiper and baresip. I have not completed testing across every YAML/profile yet, but if you want to start experimenting now, these are the devices and clients I can already say are working.