ESP32-P4 based ESP‑KVM open‑source IP‑KVM solution unveiled

The ESP‑KVM project provides an open‑source IP‑KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) platform built around the ESP32‑P4 dual‑core RISC‑V microcontroller. By coupling the MCU with an HDMI‑to‑MIPI CSI bridge, the system captures HDMI video, encodes it as MJPEG or H.264, and streams it over a network while emulating USB keyboards and mice, enabling full remote control of a target computer. The firmware, released under the Apache 2.0 licence, adds features such as HTTPS login, firmware‑over‑the‑air updates with rollback, thermal protection, virtual media boot, and wake‑on‑LAN, though audio streaming and wireless networking are not yet supported.

The hardware bill of materials totals roughly $45, using a Waveshare ESP32‑P4‑ETH board, a Geekworm MIPI‑CSI‑to‑HDMI adapter, and optional optocoupler modules for power control. The project originated with developer Jonathan Rowny and was later forked by Evgenij Spitsyn, who added H.264 support and additional peripherals. It is intended for LAN or VPN use due to still‑limited security evaluation.