Chain Joystick ESPHome Component

Chain Joystick is a high-precision Hall-effect joystick input node in the M5Stack Chain series. It supports three-axis control signal input, including analog input on the X/Y axes and digital button input on the Z axis. The device uses a Hall-effect joystick that achieves high-precision control by detecting magnetic field changes, offering contactless operation, wear resistance, high accuracy, and strong interference immunity, which ensures stability and a long service life. It also integrates a programmable RGB LED for status indication and interactive display, making it suitable for human-machine interaction, robot control, and other applications.

Note

To use Chain series nodes, a compatible host is required for UART communication and control, such as the Chain DualKey host, or an Atom series device paired with the Atomic ToChain Base.

1. Component Overview

Item	Information
Expansion module	Chain Joystick (U205)
Main functions	Provides Hall-effect joystick input and button functions
Communication interface	Chain Bus / UART
ESPHome components	`m5_chain_base`, `m5_chain_joystick` (external components)
ESPHome version requirement	2026.9.0 or later

2. Component Details

Include External Components

Configuration Example

Configure the host UART pins (using the Chain DualKey as an example)

uart:
  - id: chain_uart_right
    tx_pin: GPIO6
    rx_pin: GPIO5
    baud_rate: 115200

  - id: chain_uart_left
    tx_pin: GPIO47
    rx_pin: GPIO48
    baud_rate: 115200 

Include the external components

external_components:
  - source: github://m5stack/esphome@feat-m5-chain
    components: [m5_chain_base, m5_chain_joystick]
    refresh: 0s 

Add the Chain Joystick

m5_chain_joystick:
  id: chain_joystick
  uart_id: chain_uart_right
  chain_index: 1
  update_interval: 50ms 

Set the correct index according to the actual position of the Chain.

Add Chain Joystick ADC sensors

sensor:
  - platform: m5_chain_joystick
    m5_chain_joystick_id: chain_joystick
    name: "Chain Joystick X"
    type: mapped_int16
    axis: x

  - platform: m5_chain_joystick
    m5_chain_joystick_id: chain_joystick
    name: "Chain Joystick Y"
    type: mapped_int16
    axis: y 

Add the Chain Joystick binary sensor

binary_sensor:
  - platform: m5_chain_joystick
    m5_chain_joystick_id: chain_joystick
    name: "Chain Joystick Button" 

Add the Chain Joystick RGB LED

output:
  - platform: m5_chain_joystick
    id: chain_joystick_red
    m5_chain_joystick_id: chain_joystick
    channel: rgb_red
  - platform: m5_chain_joystick
    id: chain_joystick_green
    m5_chain_joystick_id: chain_joystick
    channel: rgb_green
  - platform: m5_chain_joystick
    id: chain_joystick_blue
    m5_chain_joystick_id: chain_joystick
    channel: rgb_blue

light:
  - platform: rgb
    name: Chain Joystick RGB
    red: chain_joystick_red
    green: chain_joystick_green
    blue: chain_joystick_blue 

3. Reference Example

After the Chain Joystick expansion module is connected, you can view the corresponding Sensor and Light entities on the device page:

Dashboard card example

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