PlatformIO

PlatformIO is an open-source ecosystem for embedded development that integrates with VS Code and supports many boards and frameworks.

The LVGL library is directly available in the PlatformIO library registry and can be added to your project with just a few clicks.

Note that you need to choose a board powerful enough to run LVGL and your GUI. See the requirements of LVGL.

For example, the ESP32 family is a good candidate to create UIs with LVGL. Recommended boards include the ESP32 (original dual-core) and the ESP32-S3.

Get the LVGL library

The recommended way to add LVGL and display drivers is through the PlatformIO Home GUI in VS Code:

  1. Open PIO Home by clicking the PlatformIO icon in the left toolbar.

  2. Go to Libraries.

  3. In the search bar, type the library name (i.e. “lvgl”).

  4. Click on the library you want from the results.

  5. Press Add to Project.

  6. Select your target project from the dropdown list.

This will automatically add the library to the lib_deps section of your project’s platformio.ini

If you prefer, you can also edit the platformio.ini file directly and add the libraries under lib_deps:

lib_deps =
    lvgl/lvgl

You can also specify the library version to use. See platformio.ini configuration

If you prefer manual installation, you can also clone the LVGL repository into the lib/ directory of your PlatformIO project.

Set up drivers

To get started, the recommended option is to use the LovyanGFX library as the TFT driver, since it makes testing much easier. In PlatformIO, you’ll add both LVGL and LovyanGFX as dependencies in your platformio.ini:

lib_deps =
    lvgl/lvgl
    lovyan03/LovyanGFX

Another popular option is the TFT_eSPI library, which supports a wide range of displays.

In addition, LVGL also provides its own inbuilt display drivers that can be used directly in your project. See the supported drivers section for a full list.

Display Configuration

You’ll need to create a display configuration file, such as my_display.hpp similar to the example in LovyanGFX user_setting.ino.

In PlatformIO, you can place this file in the include/ folder of your project (e.g., include/my_display.hpp).

If you prefer not to use LovyanGFX, you can integrate other graphics libraries as well by implementing a wrapper class in the same way LovyanGFX is handled; lv_lgfx_user.hpp provides a good example of this.

Once your configuration file is ready, update lv_conf.h to include it, for example:

/* Interface for Lovyan_GFX */
#define LV_USE_LOVYAN_GFX 1

#if LV_USE_LOVYAN_GFX
    #define LV_LGFX_USER_INCLUDE "my_display.hpp"
#endif /*LV_USE_LOVYAN_GFX*/

When using the LovyanGFX interface, you need to add the following to your platformio.ini:

build_flags =
    -I include ; the folder containing my_display.hpp
    -I .pio/libdeps/${PIOENV}/LovyanGFX/src  ; so that PIO includes this when compiling LVGL

Alternatively, you can use the TFT_eSPI library. To make it work, set up TFT_eSPI according to your TFT display type via editing either:

  • User_Setup.h

  • or by selecting a configuration in the User_Setup_Select.h

Both files are located in TFT_eSPI library's folder inside PlatformIO’s .pio/libdeps/<env>/TFT_eSPI/ directory.

With PlatformIO, you can also override the configuration using build_flags in platformio.ini, which avoids editing library files directly. For example:

build_flags =
    -D USER_SETUP_LOADED=1
    -D ST7789_DRIVER=1
    -D TFT_WIDTH=240
    -D TFT_HEIGHT=240
    -D TFT_MOSI=23
    -D TFT_SCLK=18
    -D TFT_CS=5
    -D TFT_DC=16
    -D TFT_RST=17

This approach keeps your configuration under version control.

Configure LVGL

  • Using lv_conf.h

After installing LVGL, copy lv_conf_template.h from the LVGL repo into your project and rename it to lv_conf.h Place it in your include/ or src/ folder, and enable/disable LVGL features by editing the macros. For example:

#define LV_COLOR_DEPTH 16
#define LV_USE_LOG 1

  • Using platformio.ini

Alternatively, you can define LVGL configuration macros directly in platformio.ini under build_flags:

build_flags =
    -D LV_CONF_SKIP
    -D LV_COLOR_DEPTH=16
    -D LV_USE_LOG=1
    -D LV_FONT_MONTSERRAT_24=1

This avoids maintaining a separate lv_conf.h file.

Initialize and run LVGL

In your main.cpp, initialize LVGL and the display driver:

#include <Arduino.h>
#include <lvgl.h>

#define BUF_SIZE 320 * 50
uint8_t lv_buffer[BUF_SIZE];

/* Tick source, tell LVGL how much time (milliseconds) has passed */
static uint32_t my_tick(void)
{
    return millis();
}

void setup() {

    /* Initialize LVGL */
    lv_init();
    /* Set the tick callback */
    lv_tick_set_cb(my_tick);
    /* Initialize the display driver */
    lv_lovyan_gfx_create(320, 480, lv_buffer, BUF_SIZE, true);

    lv_obj_t *label = lv_label_create(lv_screen_active());
    lv_label_set_text(label, "Hello PlatformIO, I'm LVGL!");
    lv_obj_align(label, LV_ALIGN_CENTER, 0, 0 );

}

void loop() {
    lv_timer_handler(); // Update the UI-
    delay(5);
}

Use the examples and demos

LVGL comes with a wide range of examples and demo applications that you can try out in PlatformIO. These are included with the library under the examples and demos folders.

To force PlatformIO to compile and run them, add the following to your platformio.ini:

build_src_filter =
    +<*>
    ; Force compile LVGL demos and examples, remove when working on your own project
    +<../.pio/libdeps/${PIOENV}/lvgl/demos>
    +<../.pio/libdeps/${PIOENV}/lvgl/examples>

This will include all LVGL demos and examples in the build. Once you are ready to work on your own project, you should remove those lines so only your project sources are compiled.

For reference, the lv_platformio repository demonstrates how to set up and run LVGL on different targets, including ESP32, STM32, and a PC simulator (SDL2). This can be very helpful when exploring how LVGL behaves across platforms.

Debugging and logging

LVGL can display debug information in case of trouble. In PlatformIO you can enable logging by editing the lv_conf.h file (or by adding defines in platformio.ini).

In lv_conf.h, go to the Log settings section and enable the log module:

/* Log settings */
#define LV_USE_LOG 1 /* Enable/disable the log module */
#if LV_USE_LOG
    /* How important log should be added:
    * LV_LOG_LEVEL_TRACE A lot of logs to give detailed information
    * LV_LOG_LEVEL_INFO Log important events
    * LV_LOG_LEVEL_WARN Log if something unwanted happened but didn't cause a problem
    * LV_LOG_LEVEL_ERROR Only critical issues, when the system may fail
    * LV_LOG_LEVEL_NONE Do not log anything
    */
    #define LV_LOG_LEVEL LV_LOG_LEVEL_WARN
#endif

After enabling the log module and setting LV_LOG_LEVEL accordingly, LVGL will send log messages to the Serial port (default 115200 bps).

If you prefer not to edit lv_conf.h, the same can be achieved by adding build flags in platformio.ini:

build_flags =
    -D LV_USE_LOG=1
    -D LV_LOG_LEVEL=LV_LOG_LEVEL_INFO

You can then print the logs to serial with a callback function, for example:

static void lv_log_print_g_cb(lv_log_level_t level, const char *buf)
{
    LV_UNUSED(level);
    Serial.write(buf);
}

void setup() {
    Serial.begin(115200);
    lv_log_register_print_cb(lv_log_print_g_cb); // Register print function for LVGL logs
}