Why Toit Is the Game‑Changing Language for ESP32 IoT Development

Toit Overview

Toit is a new, free, open‑source programming language created by a team from Google’s V8 engine group, aimed specifically at IoT scenarios. It targets low‑power Wi‑Fi devices such as the ESP32, providing a modern, Python‑like syntax with much higher execution speed.

Key Features

Toit enables true multitasking on a $2 ESP32 MCU, allowing developers to partition firmware and application code so multiple apps can run independently without risking device bricking. Errors are isolated to the offending app, and updates can be deployed wirelessly in seconds.

Connectivity and Sandbox

The language offers out‑of‑the‑box wireless connections via the ESP32’s built‑in Wi‑Fi, NB‑IoT, or LTE‑M, eliminating the need for USB flashing. Applications are sandboxed, and the orchestration engine separates configuration from code, enabling easy OTA updates as small as 20 KB with automatic resume on network loss.

Developer Experience

Toit provides a modern, object‑oriented, memory‑safe language with syntax highlighting, code navigation, and autocomplete. It includes a built‑in console and command‑line tools, and its package manager supplies drivers for common peripherals (I²C, SPI, I²S, UART).

API and Security

Toit exposes a gRPC‑based API that gives full programmatic control over devices, with end‑to‑end encryption using modern public‑key cryptography. Each device has a unique security identifier, ensuring trustworthy data collection.

VS Code Extension

A Visual Studio Code extension lets developers write, run, deploy, and monitor IoT applications directly from the editor, showing active devices and apps in a sidebar and accelerating development cycles.

Getting Started

To begin, flash Toit onto an ESP32 board via a USB cable or the web‑serial protocol. Configuration takes minutes, after which the device connects wirelessly to the cloud. The console includes an integrated editor for writing and running code on the device.

License

Toit’s core is licensed under LGPL 2.1 with an optional commercial license; up to ten devices are free, beyond which a $0.5/month fee applies. The standard library is MIT‑licensed.