TinyDesk and InputInfinity both put an ESP32 near a keyboard and mouse workflow, but they move input in opposite directions. TinyDesk gives the ESP32 a small graphical environment that a computer accesses through a terminal. InputInfinity uses an ESP32-S3 as a USB keyboard and mouse that a browser can control on a connected computer.

That distinction decides which project belongs on your desk.

XDA Developers' write-up of TinyDesk describes an open-source project that renders a mouse-controlled desktop through ANSI/VT terminal output. The ESP32 runs the desktop and its applications. A PC terminal displays the output, then sends keyboard and mouse events back to the board. The project includes desktop-style elements such as windows, a taskbar, a file manager, an editor, a shell, and a system monitor. It also includes MQTT and Modbus tools.

It is a serious amount of work packed into a small device. It is also easy to mistake it for a remote-control tool if you focus only on the mouse cursor and keyboard events. It is not that.

Start with the direction of control

With TinyDesk, the ESP32 is the computer running the interface. Your PC is the terminal endpoint. You use your local keyboard and mouse to operate software on the microcontroller.

With InputInfinity, the browser is the control point. An ESP32-S3 connects to a target computer as a USB input device. When you send a key press or mouse movement through the browser control, the connected computer receives it as keyboard or mouse input.

Put another way:

• TinyDesk: PC input goes to an ESP32-hosted desktop.
• InputInfinity: browser input goes through an ESP32-S3 to a connected computer.

This is more than an architecture diagram. It changes the practical question each tool answers.

TinyDesk answers: “How can I run and operate a compact ESP32 interface from a terminal?”

InputInfinity answers: “How can I send keyboard and mouse input to this computer without installing control software on it?”

If you want to edit a file stored in the TinyDesk environment, open its shell, or use its included tools, TinyDesk is the relevant kind of project. If you need to click through a setup screen, enter credentials, change a boot menu selection, or operate a second computer from your own browser, you need USB input presented to that target machine. That is InputInfinity's job.

A terminal desktop is not a USB keyboard

A terminal can carry rendered text and mouse events between a PC and TinyDesk. That makes TinyDesk interactive without a conventional desktop application on the PC. The PC is still talking to software running on the ESP32.

A USB keyboard and mouse works differently. The target computer sees a device connected to its USB port and receives ordinary input events from that device. InputInfinity turns the ESP32-S3 into that remote USB keyboard and mouse endpoint.

This difference becomes obvious at the point where the target computer cannot, or should not, run extra software.

Consider a computer being configured for the first time. It may be sitting at a firmware screen, an operating system setup screen, a login prompt, or a recovery environment. There may be no network connection yet. There may be a policy against installing a remote-control agent. There may simply be no reason to put a control program on it.

TinyDesk does not claim to control that target computer. Its desktop is its own environment on the ESP32.

InputInfinity is built for sending input to the target computer without installing software there. The target receives USB keyboard and mouse input. Your control surface is a browser elsewhere.

That is a narrower scope than remote desktop access, and it is worth being precise about it. InputInfinity does not provide a full remote desktop view of the target machine. It gives you remote input. You still need a separate way to see the target screen when the job requires visual feedback, whether that is being physically present, using an existing display path, or working from another appropriate viewing setup.

The browser changes where you work

TinyDesk uses a terminal as the PC-side interface. That is a good fit for people who enjoy terminal workflows or who want a compact ESP32 system with a visual layer. The terminal window is where the ESP32 desktop appears and where its mouse and keyboard events originate.

InputInfinity uses a browser as the control surface. That matters when the controller should be easy to reach from a general-purpose machine without setting up a dedicated client for the computer being controlled. You open the browser control, select the device you want to operate, and send input through the ESP32-S3 connected to that computer.

The browser is on the control side, not the target side. The target computer does not need InputInfinity software installed for the ESP32-S3 to present keyboard and mouse input over USB.

For a person managing a few machines at a desk, that makes the workflow straightforward. A development laptop can control a test machine. A main workstation can send input to a separate computer during setup. A small group of systems can each have their own ESP32-S3 connection, while the operator works from one browser-based control point.

InputInfinity has a free start option for up to three devices. That is enough to test this pattern with a primary machine and a couple of targets before deciding whether it fits the way you work.

Choose based on the machine that needs attention

The fastest way to choose is to name the machine you are trying to operate.

If the ESP32 itself is the machine of interest, TinyDesk is the closer fit. You are building an ESP32-based environment and want to interact with its apps, files, shell, or included tools through a terminal. The PC is there to display and control what the microcontroller runs.

If another computer is the machine of interest, InputInfinity is the closer fit. The ESP32-S3 is between your browser and that computer's USB input. It is there to make the target receive keystrokes and pointer actions.

This is also why both projects can appeal to the same builder without replacing one another. You might use TinyDesk as a project that explores what an ESP32 can host and render through a terminal. You might use InputInfinity on a workbench where several computers need occasional input and target-side software is off the table.

The hardware family creates an apparent overlap. The operating model does not.

Plan the setup before choosing the tool

Before building either workflow, write down four details: where the application runs, where you will see its output, where your keyboard and mouse events originate, and which device must receive them.

For TinyDesk, the application runs on the ESP32. The PC terminal displays the output. Your local input travels back to the ESP32.

For InputInfinity, the browser is where you issue input. The ESP32-S3 connects over USB to the target. The target computer receives keyboard and mouse events. Screen viewing is a separate concern and should be planned as such.

This small exercise prevents a common disappointment: choosing a project because it has a cursor and windows, then finding that it operates the wrong machine.

For readers whose actual need is one keyboard and mouse for multiple computers, InputInfinity is the direct path. The ESP32-S3 acts as a remote input device, the browser is the controller, and nothing needs to be installed on the target computer. For more examples of the desk problems this pattern can address, see our guide to ESP32-S3 projects that solve a real desk problem.