esp-eth-drivers
https://github.com/espressif/esp-eth-drivers.git
WIZnet - W5500
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ESP-IDF Adds Official Support for W5500
— SPI Ethernet Is Now Part of the Standard Ethernet Driver
Espressif has officially added support for the WIZnet W5500 Ethernet controller in ESP-IDF.
With the new esp-eth-drivers and the espressif/w5500 component,
ESP32 can now use SPI-based Ethernet seamlessly through the standard Ethernet API.
🔗 Official Links
GitHub: esp-eth-drivers
Component Registry: espressif/w5500 1.0.0
1. Official Component Integration
Espressif has published the W5500 driver as an official component under the name espressif/w5500.
It can be added to an ESP-IDF project with a single command:
The driver operates on top of the ESP-IDF esp_eth abstraction layer,
handling SPI initialization, interrupts, and buffer management internally.
2. Driver Architecture in esp-eth-drivers
The new W5500 driver is fully integrated with ESP-IDF’s Ethernet layer (esp_eth).
Just like LAN8720 or DM9051, W5500 now works as a standard MAC/PHY Ethernet module.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| SPI control | Handled automatically by the driver |
| Interrupts | INT pin managed internally |
| RX/TX buffers | DMA-based automatic handling |
| lwIP integration | Single call via esp_eth_driver_install() |
| Maintenance | Officially maintained by Espressif |
Internally, W5500 operates in MACRAW mode to connect directly with ESP32’s lwIP stack,
allowing developers to use the standard TCP/IP and socket APIs without any manual porting.
3. Why It Matters
In the past, developers had to manually implement SPI communication,
handle RX/TX pointers, manage interrupts, and integrate with lwIP.
Now, esp-eth-drivers takes care of all of that automatically.
This unified approach allows LAN8720, DM9051, and W5500
to share the same esp_eth API, simplifying Wi-Fi + Ethernet dual networking setups.
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espressif/esp-eth-drivers
