Stepper Component

The stepper component allows you to use stepper motors with ESPHome. Currently only the A4988 stepper driver (datasheet) and ULN2003 (datasheet) are supported.

Note

This component will not show up in the Home Assistant front-end automatically because Home Assistant doesn’t have support for steppers. Please see Home Assistant Configuration.

Base Stepper Configuration

All stepper configuration schemas inherit these options.

Configuration variables:

  • max_speed (Required, float): The maximum speed in steps/s (steps per seconds) to drive the stepper at. Note most steppers can’t step properly with speeds higher than 250 steps/s.

  • acceleration (Optional, float): The acceleration in steps/s^2 (steps per seconds squared) to use when starting to move. The default is inf which means infinite acceleration, so the stepper will try to drive with the full speed immediately. This value is helpful if that first motion of the motor is too jerky for what it’s moving. If you make this a small number, it will take the motor a moment to get up to speed.

  • deceleration (Optional, float): The same as acceleration, but for when the motor is decelerating shortly before reaching the set position. Defaults to inf (immediate deceleration).

A4988 Component

Put this code into the configuration file on ESPHome for this device.

stepper:
  - platform: a4988
    id: my_stepper
    step_pin: GPIOXX
    dir_pin: GPIOXX
    max_speed: 250 steps/s

    # Optional:
    sleep_pin: GPIOXX
    acceleration: inf
    deceleration: inf

Configuration variables:

  • id (Required, ID): Specify the ID of the stepper so that you can control it.

  • step_pin (Required, Pin Schema): The STEP pin of the A4988 stepper driver.

  • dir_pin (Required, Pin Schema): The DIRECTION pin of the A4988 stepper driver.

  • sleep_pin (Optional, Pin Schema): Optionally also use the SLEEP pin of the A4988 stepper driver. If specified, the driver will be put into sleep mode as soon as the stepper reaches the target steps.

  • All other from Base Stepper Configuration.

Note

If the stepper is driving in the wrong direction, you can invert the dir_pin:

stepper:
  - platform: a4988
    # ...
    dir_pin:
      number: GPIOXX
      inverted: true

ULN2003 Component

Put this code into the configuration file on ESPHome for this device.

# Example configuration entry
stepper:
  - platform: uln2003
    id: my_stepper
    pin_a: GPIOXX
    pin_b: GPIOXX
    pin_c: GPIOXX
    pin_d: GPIOXX
    max_speed: 250 steps/s

    # Optional:
    acceleration: inf
    deceleration: inf

Configuration variables:

  • id (Required, ID): Specify the ID of the stepper so that you can control it.

  • pin_a (Required, Pin Schema): The pin a of the stepper control board.

  • pin_b (Required, Pin Schema): The pin b of the stepper control board.

  • pin_c (Required, Pin Schema): The pin c of the stepper control board.

  • pin_d (Required, Pin Schema): The pin d of the stepper control board.

  • sleep_when_done (Optional, boolean): Whether to turn off all coils when the stepper has reached the target position

  • step_mode (Optional, string): The step mode to operate the motor with. One of:

    • FULL_STEP (Default)

    • HALF_STEP

    • WAVE_DRIVE

  • All other from Base Stepper Configuration.

stepper.set_target Action

To use your stepper motor in automations or templates, you can use this action to set the target position (in steps). The stepper will always run towards the target position and stop once it has reached the target.

on_...:
  then:
  - stepper.set_target:
      id: my_stepper
      target: 250

  # Templated
  - stepper.set_target:
      id: my_stepper
      target: !lambda |-
        if (id(my_binary_sensor).state) {
          return 1000;
        } else {
          return -1000;
        }

Configuration options:

  • id (Required, ID): The ID of the stepper.

  • target (Required, int, templatable): The target position in steps.

Warning

This turns the stepper to an absolute position! To have the stepper motor move relative to the current position, first reset the current position and then set the target to the relative value.

on_...:
  then:
    # Move 150 steps forward
    - stepper.report_position:
        id: my_stepper
        position: 0
    - stepper.set_target:
        id: my_stepper
        target: 150

stepper.report_position Action

All steppers start out with a target and current position of 0 on boot. However, if you for example want to home a stepper motor, it can be useful to report the stepper where it is currently at.

With this action, you can set the stepper’s internal position counter to a specific value (in steps). Please note that reporting the position can create unexpected moves of the stepper. For example, if the stepper’s target and current position is at 1000 steps and you “report” a position of 0, the stepper will move 1000 steps forward to match the target again.

on_...:
  then:
  - stepper.report_position:
      id: my_stepper
      position: 250
  # It's best to call set_target directly after report_position, so that the stepper doesn't move
  - stepper.set_target:
      id: my_stepper
      target: 250

  # Templated
  - stepper.report_position:
      id: my_stepper
      position: !lambda |-
        if (id(my_binary_sensor).state) {
          return 0;
        } else {
          return -1000;
        }

Configuration variables:

  • id (Required, ID): The ID of the stepper.

  • position (Required, int, templatable): The position to report in steps.

stepper.set_speed Action

This Action allows you to set the speed of a stepper at runtime.

on_...:
  - stepper.set_speed:
      id: my_stepper
      speed: 250 steps/s

Configuration variables:

  • id (Required, ID): The ID of the stepper.

  • speed (Required, templatable, float): The speed in steps/s (steps per seconds) to drive the stepper at.

stepper.set_acceleration Action

This Action allows you to set the acceleration of a stepper at runtime.

on_...:
  - stepper.set_acceleration:
      id: my_stepper
      acceleration: 250 steps/s^2

Configuration variables:

  • id (Required, ID): The ID of the stepper.

  • acceleration (Required, templatable, float): The acceleration in steps/s^2 (steps per seconds squared) to use when starting to move.

stepper.set_deceleration Action

This Action allows you to set the deceleration of a stepper at runtime.

on_...:
  - stepper.set_deceleration:
      id: my_stepper
      deceleration: 250 steps/s^2

Configuration variables:

  • id (Required, ID): The ID of the stepper.

  • deceleration (Required, templatable, float): The same as acceleration, but for when the motor is decelerating shortly before reaching the set position.

Home Assistant Configuration

The easiest way to control your stepper from Home Assistant is to add a number to your ESPHome configuration. See Number for more information.

number:
  - platform: template
    name: Stepper Control
    min_value: -100
    max_value: 100
    step: 1
    set_action:
      then:
        - stepper.set_target:
            id: my_stepper
            target: !lambda 'return x;'

stepper:
  - platform: ...
    # [...] stepper config
    id: my_stepper

lambda calls

From lambdas, you can call several methods on stepper motors to do some advanced stuff (see the full API Reference for more info).

  • set_target: Set the target position of the motor as an integer.

    // Argument is integer (signed int)
// Set the (absolute) target position to 250 steps
id(my_stepper).set_target(250);

  • report_position: Report the current position as an integer.

    // Report the (absolute) current position as 250 steps
id(my_stepper).report_position(250);

  • current_position: Get the current position of the stepper as an integer.

    int pos = id(my_stepper).current_position;

  • target_position: Get the set target position of the stepper as an integer.

    int pos = id(my_stepper).target_position;

See Also