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Quick Start

Get your first device online and displaying live data in under 5 minutes.

Prerequisites​

  • A VWire account — sign up at app.vwire.io
  • An ESP32 or ESP8266 (recommended), or any MQTT-capable board
  • Arduino IDE and a local copy of the VWire Arduino Library downloaded from the official VWire GitHub repository

Installing the library​

The VWire Arduino library is not currently available through Arduino Library Manager.

  1. Download the latest VWire Arduino ZIP archive from the official VWire GitHub repository.
  2. In Arduino IDE, open Sketch → Include Library → Add .ZIP Library.
  3. Select the downloaded ZIP archive.
  4. Install the required dependencies: PubSubClient and ArduinoJson.

Step 1 — Create a device​

  1. Log in to the VWire Dashboard
  2. Go to Devices → Add Device, enter a name, and click Create
  3. Open the device settings and copy two values:
    • Auth Token — secret key used to authenticate the connection
    • Device ID — the device's identifier (e.g. VU-XXXXXX)

Step 2 — Flash your device​

Use this minimal sketch. Replace the placeholders with your actual WiFi credentials, auth token, and device ID:

#include <Vwire.h>

// WiFi credentials
const char* WIFI_SSID     = "YOUR_WIFI_SSID";
const char* WIFI_PASSWORD = "YOUR_WIFI_PASSWORD";

// From device settings in the dashboard
const char* AUTH_TOKEN = "YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN";
const char* DEVICE_ID  = "YOUR_DEVICE_ID";   // e.g. VU-ABC123

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);

  // Configure Vwire (connects to mqtt.vwire.io:8883 via TLS by default)
  Vwire.config(AUTH_TOKEN);
  Vwire.setDeviceId(DEVICE_ID);

  // Connect to WiFi and the VWire cloud
  Vwire.begin(WIFI_SSID, WIFI_PASSWORD);
}

void loop() {
  // Must be called every loop iteration
  Vwire.run();

  static unsigned long lastSend = 0;
  if (Vwire.connected() && millis() - lastSend >= 2000) {
    lastSend = millis();

    // Send a simulated temperature reading to pin V0
    float temperature = 23.5;  // replace with actual sensor reading
    Vwire.virtualSend(V0, temperature);
  }
}

Upload the sketch. Open the Serial Monitor at 115200 baud and wait for the connected message. Your device will appear Online in the dashboard.

Step 3 — Create a project and add a widget​

  1. In the dashboard, go to Projects → New Project, enter a name, and click Create
  2. Click + Add Widget and choose Value Display
  3. Set:
    • Device → your newly created device
    • Pin → V0
    • Suffix → °C
    • Label → Temperature
  4. Click Save — the widget immediately shows the live value from your device

Step 4 — Add a historical chart​

  1. Click + Add Widget and choose Graph
  2. Set the same device and pin V0
  3. Set Duration to 1h and click Save

You now have a live temperature readout and a scrolling historical chart.

Receiving commands from the dashboard​

To react to values written from a dashboard widget (e.g. a Button or Switch on V1):

// Declare this outside setup() and loop()
VWIRE_RECEIVE(V1) {
  int value = param.asInt();  // 0 or 1
  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, value);
  Serial.printf("V1 received: %d\n", value);
}

The VWIRE_RECEIVE macro auto-registers the handler — no additional setup required.

Next steps​