Seeed Studio XIAO Debug Mate is an inexpensive ESP32-S3-based multi-tool designed for the company’s XIAO boards, offering DAPLink debugger, serial monitor, and power profiler modes.
The debugger comes with 8MB flash, 8MB PSRAM, a 2.01-inch display to display debugging/power information, two 14-pin headers to provide easy access to the XIAO’s module I/Os, a 36 LED matrix for status indication, and a couple of buttons, plus a srcoll wheel to navigate the menu. The serial monitor function can also be used be Arduino, Raspberry Pi, or other boards.
XIAO Debug Mate specifications:
- Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8
- CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ 240 MHz
- Memory – 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM
- Wireless – Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 5.0 dual-mode (Classic + BLE) connectivity
- Storage – 8MB SPI flash
- Display – 2.01-inch TFT LCD with 296 x 240 resolution
- Expansion
- 2x 14-pin female GPIO headers routing the XIAO module pins
- 2x 14-pin male GPIO headers on the bottom, also routing the XIAO module pins
- 8x pogo pins for additional GPIOs (won’t work on all XIAO boards)
- UART Grove connector
- Debugging
- DAPLink, OpenOCD for SAMD21, nRF52840 (Sense), RP2040, RP2350, RA4M1, MG24 (Sense)
- Note: The XIAO nRF54L15, ESP32(C3/S3/C6) series does not currently support the debugging feature since the pads are not in the right location.
- Misc
- Recessed Reset button, and green user button
- Scroll wheel to navigate options in the menu
- 36-LED Matrix for Status Indication on the bottom side, used for serial baud rate in the factory firmware
- Power Supply – 5V/1A via USB-C port
- Dimensions – 100 x 56 x 20 mm
- Enclosure – 3D-printed in Bback PLA
Seeed Studio provides more details about the XIAO Debug Mate features:
- DAPLink Debugger – OpenOCD & PyOCD Support to set breakpoints, step through code, inspect memory, and access low-level hardware operations. SWD interface for Arm Cortex-M target (including XIAO SAMD21, RP2040, RP2350, nRF52840, RA4M1, MG24 series, but not the ESP32 and nRF54L15 series)
- Serial Monitor & UART Passthrough – Monitor communications between the XIAO USB-C board/module and the XIAO Debug Mate, or between the XIAO Debug Mate and external UART devices (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Grove sensors) connected over the Grove port. You can visualize real-time serial data on the onboard display or redirect signals to your PC for detailed analysis.
- Power Profiling – Track power consumption down to μA levels with voltage/current readings, ultra-low-power states, and consumption patterns with peak/valley identification. ±10% accuracy @ 1-10μA
When I first read about it, I thought the XIAO Debug Mate was a generic 3-in-1 debugger powered by an XIAO ESP32S3 module, but after looking at the photos and discussing with Seeed Studio, I eventually understood it’s mostly a debug tool for their XIAO USB-C boards, and even some (ESP32-based) don’t support the SWD debugging function. For third-party boards from Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and others, it’s mainly a USB-to-TTL debug board. You’ll find instructions to get started on the wiki.
The XIAO Debug Mate ESP32-S3-based multi-tool can be purchased for around $20 on AliExpress or the Seeed Studio store.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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