ESP32 Forum

Hi. I am making custom ESP32 boards, but I wish to remove the CP2102 programmer IC from the board for prototyping, because it costs quite a bit to have it on every board. I am making an external programmer. I want this to be as small as possible. I'd appreciate a review of my circuit. I am following the guide from the datasheet. This is the circuit I am trying to implement: Here is my schematic and PCB The idea is to power the programmer and esp board via USB. I'll plug the programmer into my laptop. That gives the programmer 5V. The programmer is plugged into the esp board, which gives the esp board 5V as well. The ESP board will have its own 5V to 3.3V regulator. Will my circuit work as intended?

As a sidenote, would it be better to put the power LED on the 3.3V line of the programmer's internal voltage regulator output instead of the 5V from USB?

The design looks OK at a glance. However, I think it's better to print one prototype and check if it works as expected.

Fwiw, you could also move over to newer chips like the ESP32S3, which have an internal USB-serial-JTAG adapter.