Learning Signals

Capture IR buttons and remotes with GhostESP

Before you start

  • Hardware: Board with IR RX support (see hardware requirements).
  • SD card: Inserted and mounted so GhostESP can save .ir files under /mnt/ghostesp/infrared/.
  • Easy Learn: Optional assistant that suggests button names. Toggle via settings.

Learn a remote or button

  1. Open Infrared and choose Learn Remote to learn a new remote. To add a button to an existing remote, open the remote file and choose Add Signal.

  2. Align the source remote with the IR receiver window, hold it steady within a few centimeters, then press the button once.

  3. Confirm the button name. Easy Learn provides a suggested label during learning, otherwise use the on-screen keyboard.

  4. Watch the preview popup for protocol name and decoded address/command details. If a known protocol decodes as RAW, cancel and retry.

  5. Confirm to save. GhostESP will create a new .ir file for fresh remotes or append the button to the currently open file automatically.

Storage layout

  • New remotes are written to /mnt/ghostesp/infrared/remotes/<name>.ir.
  • Adding to an existing remote appends another named button block inside the same .ir file.

Tips

  • Keep the remote within a few centimeters of the receiver and avoid direct sunlight.
  • If learning fails, exit and re-open the Infrared learning popup to try to reinitialize the IR RX channel (uses GPIO interrupts, not RMT).

CLI Support

You can learn signals via the command line using ir learn.

# Learn a signal and auto-save to a new file under /mnt/ghostesp/infrared/remotes
ir learn

# Learn and append to a specific file
ir learn /mnt/ghostesp/infrared/remotes/my_remote.ir
  • Without a path, GhostESP generates a new .ir file name based on the decoded protocol/address/command (or a RAW timestamp) in /mnt/ghostesp/infrared/remotes/.
  • With a path, the learned signal is appended to the given .ir file.

Manual File Creation

You can manually create .ir files if you know the protocol details. Save them as text files with the .ir extension in /mnt/ghostesp/infrared/remotes/.

Example .ir file content:

Filetype: IR signals file
Version: 1

name: Power
type: parsed
protocol: NEC
address: 00 FF
command: 00 FF