This is a rough quickstart for the ESP8266 (NodeMCU ESP-12E) Development board. This is the one I use.
Download the Arduino IDE.
Go to Tools -> Board -> Board Manager
Search and install the esp8266 package.
Under Tools, make your settings look like this:
Go to File -> Examples -> ESP8266 -> Blink
Plug it in. Upload it.
Flashing blue lights == uploading
The onboard LED should blink after it uploads
Mine has been picky about which Micro USB cable I use. Use a nice cable. If it isn't uploading, try adding a 10k resistor between GPIO0 and GND. Also make sure your cable isn't too long and your USB port is giving it enough power.
Next, I recommend playing around with some of the Wi-Fi examples.
Notes and Tips:
- The board runs on 3.3V which is different than Arduino (5V). Components will generally work, but you may need a voltage converter.
- There's only one analog in pin (A0)
- If you've hooked something up and you're pretty certain it should be working, try another GPIO pin.
Here's a pinout of the NodeMCU version:
Here's the Adafruit Huzzah version.
Welcome to the future.ᐧ