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First Agent Setup

Flash an ESP32, provision it onto Wi-Fi, register it with the relay, and wake your first computer through WakeLink.

What You Need

ItemRequirement
ESP32 board
ESP32-WROOM-32, ESP32-DevKitC, or similar
USB cable
Data-capable cable for flashing
Computer
Python 3.7+ and pip
WakeLink account
Create one for free
2.4 GHz Wi-Fi
ESP32 provisioning uses 2.4 GHz networks
Target computer
Wake-on-LAN enabled in BIOS/UEFI and OS
💡Tip

Enable Wake-on-LAN on the target computer first. On Windows, open Device Manager → Network Adapters → Properties → Power Management and allow the adapter to wake the system. In BIOS/UEFI, look for Wake on LAN, Power On By PCI-E, or similar labels.

1Install esptool

bash
pip install esptool
esptool.py version

Use pip3 instead of pip if your system requires it.

2Download the Firmware

  1. Open the Downloads page
  2. Download wakelink-esp32.bin
  3. Save it somewhere easy to find
💡Tip

Verify the SHA-256 checksum shown on the downloads page before flashing a production device.

3Flash the Firmware

bash
# Linux / macOS
esptool.py --chip esp32 --port /dev/ttyUSB0 --baud 460800 write_flash 0x0 wakelink-esp32.bin

# Windows
esptool.py --chip esp32 --port COM3 --baud 460800 write_flash 0x0 wakelink-esp32.bin

If the board stalls at Connecting..., hold BOOT (or IO0) until the flash starts.

4Connect to the Setup Hotspot

After the first boot, the ESP32 starts AP provisioning mode.

  1. Connect to the Wi-Fi network named WakeLink-Setup
  2. Use the AP password shown on the serial console banner
  3. Open http://192.168.4.1 in a browser, or continue in the Android setup wizard
  4. Expect the network to say No internet while provisioning

5Configure Provisioning

The browser portal and Android setup wizard write the same configuration values.
FieldDescription
WiFi SSID
Your 2.4 GHz network name
WiFi Password
Password for that network
Server Host
Relay hostname, for example wakelink-project.org
Server Port
Usually 443
Use TLS
Enable WSS for normal deployments
Agent ID
The identifier you registered in the dashboard
Agent Token
The shared EWSP secret exported for that agent
API Token
The per-device relay token (`wld_…`) used for firmware WebSocket authentication
💡Tip

The exported agent config gives you the relay URL, agent ID, the EWSP agent_token, and the per-device relay token expected in the portal's API Token field.

Click Save & Connect. The device stores the configuration in NVS, reboots, connects to Wi-Fi, and then opens its relay session.

6Add the Computer to WakeLink

  1. Open the Dashboard
  2. Click Add Device
  3. Enter the target computer's MAC address and a friendly name
  4. Select the ESP32 agent you just provisioned
  5. Save the device
bash
# Windows
ipconfig /all

# Linux
ip link show eth0
# or: cat /sys/class/net/eth0/address

# macOS
ifconfig en0 | grep ether

7Send Your First Wake Command

Android app

  1. Open WakeLink on your phone
  2. Sign in
  3. Tap Wake next to the device

CLI

bash
wakelink add desk --ip 192.168.1.50 --token "$AGENT_TOKEN"
wakelink wake desk AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF

Wake commands are issued by the client and encrypted end-to-end with EWSP before being forwarded through the relay.

Common Issues

ESP32 does not appear as a USB device

Install the CP2102 or CH340 USB-UART driver used by your development board.

Setup hotspot is not visible

Open a serial monitor at 115200 baud and check the provisioning banner. If the board already has configuration saved, perform a factory reset and boot again.

Agent shows offline in the dashboard

Verify Wi-Fi credentials, relay host and port, and the provisioned token values. The LED should be solid once the board is connected.

Computer does not wake

Re-check BIOS/UEFI Wake-on-LAN settings, OS adapter power settings, and the MAC address saved in WakeLink.

Continue reading

InstallationESP32 Firmware