Case study

open-desk-lamp-firmware: replacement firmware for the Xiaomi desk lamp

Replaces the ESP8266-based Xiaomi desk lamp firmware with an open implementation of the lamp's local power, dimming and colour-temperature controls, based on the documented board wiring.

Targets: Firmware
Category: Independent reconstruction cases
Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-27

Stars: 113
Last commit: 2019-03-19
Language: C
License (GitHub): MIT

GitHub data as of 2026-11-09

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Requirements & limits

The firmware covers the lamp's local knob controls: power, dimming and colour temperature; the author's hardware variant is the documented target.
Installation requires opening the lamp, wiring U0RX, U0TX, GPIO0 and GND to a USB serial adapter, and overwriting stock firmware. Back up the original flash; the backup contains Wi-Fi credentials. Check flash size for other variants.
Build with CMake 2.8+, xtensa-lx106-elf from esp-open-sdk and Espressif's ESP8266 NONOS SDK. CI compiles the firmware but runs no tests.
The project uses MIT; Espressif's SDK libraries have their own modified MIT license. Stock firmware and the Xiaomi app retain their own terms.

Cite

BibTeX

@misc{xiaomi-desk-lamp-open-firmware-case,
  title = {{open-desk-lamp-firmware: replacement firmware for the Xiaomi desk lamp}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/fvollmer/open-desk-lamp-firmware}},
  url = {https://github.com/fvollmer/open-desk-lamp-firmware},
  urldate = {2026-10-27},
  note = {Awesome REA entry: \url{https://awesomerea.org/resources/xiaomi-desk-lamp-open-firmware-case/}}
}

Plain text

open-desk-lamp-firmware: replacement firmware for the Xiaomi desk lamp. https://github.com/fvollmer/open-desk-lamp-firmware (accessed 2026-10-27). Awesome REA entry: https://awesomerea.org/resources/xiaomi-desk-lamp-open-firmware-case/

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About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.

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Primary sources

README.md GitHub · fvollmer/open-desk-lamp-firmware · Revision 043aeb9
src/CMakeLists.txt GitHub · fvollmer/open-desk-lamp-firmware · Revision 043aeb9
src/main.c GitHub · fvollmer/open-desk-lamp-firmware · Revision 043aeb9
src/leds.c GitHub · fvollmer/open-desk-lamp-firmware · Revision 043aeb9
.travis.yml GitHub · fvollmer/open-desk-lamp-firmware · Revision 043aeb9
LICENSE GitHub · fvollmer/open-desk-lamp-firmware · Revision 043aeb9
https://github.com/fvollmer/open-desk-lamp-firmware/releases/tag/v0.0.1
README.md GitHub · pfalcon/esp-open-sdk · Revision c70543e
Makefile GitHub · pfalcon/esp-open-sdk · Revision c70543e