Gotek Touchscreen Interface

A touchscreen-driven disk image browser for retro computing.
Load Amiga ADF, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC DSK files from an SD card onto a FAT12 USB RAM disk — presented directly to a Gotek/FlashFloppy as a standard USB stick. No PC needed. No USB swapping. Just tap and play.

Coded by Mez and Dimmy of OmegaWare · 2026
Keep the scene alive.

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What is this?

A Gotek floppy emulator normally needs a USB stick full of disk images. You pull it out, plug it into a PC, copy files, put it back. Every time.

This project replaces that USB stick with an ESP32-S3 that pretends to be a USB stick — but one that you control wirelessly from a touchscreen. Pick a game, tap INSERT, and your retro machine sees a freshly loaded floppy in under a second.

The key trick: the ESP32-S3 presents a FAT12 RAM disk over TinyUSB directly to the Gotek's USB port. No Linux. No Raspberry Pi. No boot delay. Instant on.

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Hardware Variants

Variant	Board	Role	Display	Status
Waveshare 7"	Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-7	Standalone touchscreen controller	800×480 RGB parallel, GT911	✅ Supported
XIAO Dongle	Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3	Headless USB dongle (phone/web control)	Optional SSD1306 OLED	✅ Supported
CYD	ESP32-2432S028R ("Cheap Yellow Display")	Wireless touchscreen remote	320×240 ILI9341, XPT2046	✅ Supported
Waveshare 2.8"	Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-2.8	Compact standalone controller	320×240 ST7789, CST328	✅ Supported
Waveshare 2.8B	Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-2.8B	Compact standalone controller	320×240 ST7789 variant	🔜 Coming soon

The CYD is widely available for under £10, making this one of the cheapest possible setups.

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Features

• FAT12 USB RAM disk — ESP32-S3 presents a TinyUSB mass storage device directly to the Gotek. FlashFloppy sees a standard USB stick and needs no modification whatsoever.
• Touchscreen game browser — scrollable list with cover art (JPEG), game names, and multi-disk grouping
• Detail view — full cover art, .nfo game info, INSERT/EJECT buttons, disk selector for multi-disk titles
• Six built-in themes — NAVY, EMBER, MATRIX, PAPER, SYNTHWAVE, GOLD — cycle with a tap
• ADF and DSK modes — switch between Amiga (ADF/IMG/ADZ) and ZX Spectrum/Amstrad CPC (DSK) from the UI
• WiFi web server — built-in access point with browser-based game manager (upload, delete, configure)
• ESP-NOW + WiFi TCP wireless mode — touchscreen variants can wirelessly control the XIAO dongle over ESP-NOW for pairing and TCP for fast disk transfers
• Auto-resume — last loaded disk and theme saved to CONFIG.TXT and restored on boot
• Cracktro boot screen — animated starfield, copper bars, and scrolling text on the 7" variant (touch to skip)

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How It Works

Standalone mode (Waveshare 7" / CYD with SD card)

SD Card ──► ESP32-S3 ──► TinyUSB FAT12 RAM disk ──► Gotek USB port ──► Retro machine
                │
            Touchscreen UI
            WiFi web server

The ESP32 reads the disk image from SD, builds a FAT12 filesystem in PSRAM, and presents it to the Gotek as a USB mass storage device. When you swap disks, it detaches the USB, rebuilds the RAM disk with the new image, and reattaches — FlashFloppy sees a new disk inserted.

Wireless mode (Touchscreen → XIAO Dongle)

SD Card ──► Waveshare/CYD ──[ESP-NOW pairing]──► XIAO ──► Gotek USB port
               Touchscreen UI          └─[WiFi TCP data]─┘

The XIAO plugs permanently into the Gotek. The touchscreen pairs with it over ESP-NOW, then transfers disk images over WiFi TCP (fast, reliable). The XIAO presents the RAM disk to the Gotek. The touchscreen shows status and handles all UI.

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SD Card Layout

SD Card Root/
├── CONFIG.TXT              ← auto-generated on first boot
├── ADF/                    ← Amiga disk images
│   ├── Speedball 2/
│   │   ├── Speedball 2.adf
│   │   ├── Speedball 2.jpg     ← cover art (any JPEG)
│   │   └── Speedball 2.nfo     ← plain text: line 1=title, rest=description
│   ├── Cannon Fodder/
│   │   ├── Cannon Fodder-1.adf ← multi-disk: suffix -1, -2, -3 ...
│   │   ├── Cannon Fodder-2.adf
│   │   ├── Cannon Fodder-3.adf
│   │   ├── Cannon Fodder.jpg
│   │   └── Cannon Fodder.nfo
│   └── Worms.adf               ← flat layout also works
└── DSK/                    ← ZX Spectrum / Amstrad CPC disk images
    └── Dizzy/
        ├── Dizzy.dsk
        └── Dizzy.jpg

File naming rules:

• Single-disk games: GameName.adf / GameName.dsk
• Multi-disk games: GameName-1.adf, GameName-2.adf, etc.
• Cover art: GameName.jpg or GameName.jpeg (any resolution, displayed scaled)
• Game info: GameName.nfo (plain text — line 1 is the title, subsequent lines are description)
• Supported image formats: .adf, .img, .adz (ADF mode) · .dsk (DSK mode)

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CONFIG.TXT

Auto-generated on first boot. Edit manually or via the web UI.

MODE=STANDALONE        # STANDALONE or WIRELESS
THEME=0                # 0=NAVY 1=EMBER 2=MATRIX 3=PAPER 4=SYNTHWAVE 5=GOLD
LASTFILE=Worms.adf     # restored on boot
LOOP=0                 # 1=loop cracktro boot screen forever
XIAO_MAC=AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF   # auto-written when XIAO pairs
XIAO_IP=192.168.4.1          # auto-written when XIAO pairs

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WiFi Web Server

When WiFi is enabled, the ESP32 creates an access point:

• SSID: GotekSetup (configurable)
• Password: retrogaming
• URL: http://192.168.4.1

The web UI lets you upload ADF/DSK files, cover art and NFO files, manage your library, and edit CONFIG.TXT — all from a phone or laptop without touching the SD card.

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Building & Flashing

⚡ A one-click web flasher is coming. For now, use Arduino IDE.

Waveshare 7" (Gotek_7inch.ino)

Libraries:

• LovyanGFX by lovyan03
• ESP32 by Espressif board package

Arduino IDE board settings:

Setting	Value
Board	ESP32S3 Dev Module
USB Mode	USB-OTG (TinyUSB)
USB CDC On Boot	Disabled ← critical
PSRAM	OPI PSRAM
Flash Size	16MB (128Mb)
Partition Scheme	3MB APP / 9.9MB FATFS
CPU Frequency	240MHz
Flash Mode	QIO 120MHz

XIAO Dongle (Gotek_XIAO.ino)

Libraries:

• Adafruit SSD1306 (optional — for status OLED)
• Adafruit GFX

Arduino IDE board settings:

Setting	Value
Board	XIAO_ESP32S3
USB Mode	USB-OTG (TinyUSB)
USB CDC On Boot	Disabled ← critical
PSRAM	OPI PSRAM
Flash Size	8MB
Partition Scheme	Default with SPIFFS

Important: Plug in the external WiFi antenna before use.

CYD — Cheap Yellow Display (Gotek_CYD.ino)

Libraries:

• TFT_eSPI by Bodmer
• XPT2046_Touchscreen by Paul Stoffregen
• TJpg_Decoder by Bodmer

You must copy the provided User_Setup.h into your TFT_eSPI library folder before compiling.

Arduino IDE board settings:

Setting	Value
Board	ESP32 Dev Module
Partition Scheme	Huge APP (3MB No OTA)
Flash Frequency	40MHz
CPU Frequency	240MHz
PSRAM	Disabled

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Pairing the XIAO Dongle

1. Flash and connect the XIAO to the Gotek USB port
2. Flash the touchscreen variant (Waveshare 7" or CYD)
3. On the touchscreen, go to the Info screen and tap PAIR
4. The devices pair automatically over ESP-NOW — MAC address and IP are saved to CONFIG.TXT
5. Switch to WIRELESS mode — the touchscreen now sends disk images to the XIAO over WiFi TCP

Pairing is persistent. Once paired, power cycling both devices will restore the connection automatically.

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Wiring

Waveshare 7" — no external wiring needed

The display, touch, SD card, and USB OTG are all onboard.

XIAO Dongle

Connection	Detail
USB port → Gotek	Standard USB-A cable
Optional OLED	SSD1306 128×32 on I2C (SDA/SCL)
WiFi antenna	External antenna — must be connected

CYD

All onboard. SD card uses HSPI (SCK=18, MISO=19, MOSI=23, CS=5). No external wiring.

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Roadmap

• Waveshare 2.8" and 2.8B variants
• ESP Web Tools one-click browser flasher
• PC companion app (Windows/macOS)
• iPhone / Android app
• OTA firmware update via web UI
• More disk formats (HFE, ST, D64)

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Known Issues:

Massive load times when indexing around 1000 disks. Currently working on resolving this.

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Credits & Acknowledgements

• mesarim — original concept, FAT12 USB RAM disk core, 7" Waveshare port, XIAO dongle, CYD variant
• dimitrihilverda — fork, JC3248 support, WiFi web server, theme engine
• Keir Fraser — FlashFloppy firmware
• Jean-François Del Nero — HxC Floppy Emulator — original Gotek community pioneer
• Jeff (HxC author) — first to demonstrate Pi Zero W as USB mass storage for Gotek
• lovyan03 — LovyanGFX

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Licence

MIT — see LICENSE for details.