ESP-Vim, built by developer Omwah, runs Vim directly as firmware on ESP32-S3 and ESP32-P4 microcontrollers. There is no operating system. The device boots straight into the editor. It requires 16 MB of Flash and at least 8 MB of PSRAM, and it ships with filesystem access, git, and MicroPython.
The hardware bar is low. The Cheap Yellow Display board with an S3 variant meets the spec. Add a Bluetooth keyboard and you have a self-contained text editing and scripting machine for under $20. That is the whole pitch, and it holds up.
The full project on GitHub is worth reading for the build details and supported board list, but the more interesting question buried in the original is whether Vim's modal interface, designed for slow 1970s terminals, is actually the correct UI paradigm for constrained microcontroller hardware. The answer is probably yes.
[READ ORIGINAL →]