Docs: lift boards canonical pin into permanent reference page

[Terastar-Paperclip]

Summary

Rewrites src/content/docs/nodes.md as a Diataxis-mode reference page lifted from the canonical pin ESPresense/ESPresense#2334:

• Tier-1 picks at the top — M5 Atom S3 Lite (first-timer) and M5 Stamp C3 Mate (cost-conscious), per QA's call in ESPA-43.
• Community-tested boards split by chip family (S3, C3, original ESP32) so readers can pick a chip first and a board within it.
• Works with caveats table names the failure modes per board and tells readers to reproduce on a tier-1 board before opening a firmware bug.
• Steer away section hardens the language around unbranded ESP32 clones (citing @maxi1134's 40-50% WiFi-retry rate from #1364), ESP32-CAM, S2 / C6 / 8266, NSPanel, and GL-S10.
• Header pins the firmware version — Last verified against firmware v4.0.6 — 2026-05-11 — so the reference stays auditable.

No quality claims appear that aren't already in #2334 or already in nodes.md. Affiliate links are carried over verbatim from the previous nodes.md.

Closes ESPA-52.

Test plan

• npx astro build — clean, /nodes renders with 6 tables, footnote refs resolve, all 33 pages built.
• Reviewer eyeballs desktop and mobile rendering on the Cloudflare Pages preview (tables are 3-4 columns and Starlight wraps overflow on narrow screens, but worth a glance).
• Reviewer skim-checks board claims against #2334 and confirms no inadvertent QA fabrications.

Follow-up

Once merged, ESPA-40 tracks pinging the Community Manager to update #2334 with a pointer to the new reference page.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Documentation
  • Reorganized hardware node documentation with clearer board selection guidance, including tiered recommendations for first-time buyers and expanded chip family compatibility information.
  • Added "Steer away" section highlighting products to avoid.
  • Enhanced power and cabling guidance with improved structure and revised references.
  • Updated firmware version verification reference.

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

The nodes documentation page is comprehensively reorganized and expanded. A new front matter section, verification notice, and tiered board selection guidance lead readers. Community-tested boards are grouped by chip variant (ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3, Original). A detailed caveats table and new "steer away" section address edge cases and exclusions. Power and cabling guidance is restructured into typed subsections. Footnotes are refreshed with discussion URL references.

Changes

Nodes Hardware Reference Documentation

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Document Metadata and Verification src/content/docs/nodes.md	Front matter added with title, description, and sidebar.order. "Last verified" callout introduced referencing firmware v4.0.6 with canonical community discussion attribution.
Board Selection Guidance src/content/docs/nodes.md	Tiered "First-time buyer (tier 1)" section added with summarized starter board selection table. "Chip families" section introduced with ESP32 variant compatibility and support table to guide chip-first selection.
Community-Tested Board Tables src/content/docs/nodes.md	"Community-tested (branded)" section established with separate board tables for ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3, and Original ESP32, each with updated store links, feature notes, and module-specific guidance.
Board Caveats and Exclusions src/content/docs/nodes.md	"Works, with caveats" section expanded from shorter clone-focused content into detailed table with specific board entries and updated numbered discussion footnote references. New "Steer away" section added listing product categories and models to avoid (unbranded ESP32, ESP32-CAM, ESP32-S2/ESP8266, ESP32-C6, NSPanel, GL-S10) with concise justification text.
Power and Cabling Reference src/content/docs/nodes.md	"Power and cabling" section rebuilt into consistently structured typed subsections (USB-C chargers, USB-C to C cables, USB-A chargers, USB-A to C cables, USB-A to Micro-B cables) with revised link bullet wording and formatting.
Resources and Citations src/content/docs/nodes.md	"See also" links refreshed to reference canonical discussion, installer, and Discord resources. Footnotes replaced and expanded: [^cdc] definition updated, [^unbranded] footnote removed, multiple numbered discussion URL footnotes added and used throughout board tables.

Possibly related PRs

• ESPresense/ESPresense.com#270: Modifies the same nodes.md file with front-matter and sidebar adjustments related to this comprehensive rewrite.
• ESPresense/ESPresense.com#249: Modifies nodes.md documentation front-matter and navigation order, related to the metadata changes in this PR.

Suggested reviewers

• DTTerastar

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title accurately reflects the main change: reorganizing and expanding the nodes documentation into a comprehensive reference page lifted from a canonical community discussion, with clearer board guidance and categorization.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

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✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests

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ESP32-C6 is NOW supported!

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🧹 Nitpick comments (1)

src/content/docs/nodes.md (1)

89-89: 💤 Low value

Consider hyphenating pack quantities for style consistency.

Compound modifiers like "3 pack" should be hyphenated as "3-pack" when they precede a noun, per standard English style guides. This applies to several product descriptions in the power and cabling section.

📝 Proposed style fixes

-* [20W USB-C Wall Charger (3 pack)](https://amzn.to/4hFLcBz)
+* [20W USB-C Wall Charger (3-pack)](https://amzn.to/4hFLcBz)

-* [Dual USB-A 3 pack](https://amzn.to/4iA0EAq) — compact cube design
+* [Dual USB-A 3-pack](https://amzn.to/4iA0EAq) — compact cube design

-* [16 ft, 2 pack](https://amzn.to/3zzTTXW)
-* [1 ft, 6 pack](https://amzn.to/3kyD8Is)
-* [Straight adapter 4 pack](https://amzn.to/4hNrh3O)
-* [Right-angle adapter 4 pack](https://amzn.to/4bWWH6o)
+* [16 ft, 2-pack](https://amzn.to/3zzTTXW)
+* [1 ft, 6-pack](https://amzn.to/3kyD8Is)
+* [Straight adapter 4-pack](https://amzn.to/4hNrh3O)
+* [Right-angle adapter 4-pack](https://amzn.to/4bWWH6o)

As per coding guidelines, the static analysis tool LanguageTool flagged this style inconsistency.

Also applies to: 99-99, 103-106

🤖 Prompt for AI Agents

Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

In `@src/content/docs/nodes.md` at line 89, Update the product descriptions to
hyphenate compound modifiers like "3 pack" to "3-pack" for style consistency;
specifically replace occurrences such as "[20W USB-C Wall Charger (3 pack)]"
with "[20W USB-C Wall Charger (3-pack)]" and make the same change for the other
flagged entries (references 99-99 and 103-106) to ensure all pack quantities use
the "N-pack" form.

🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents

Verify each finding against current code. Fix only still-valid issues, skip the
rest with a brief reason, keep changes minimal, and validate.

Nitpick comments:
In `@src/content/docs/nodes.md`:
- Line 89: Update the product descriptions to hyphenate compound modifiers like
"3 pack" to "3-pack" for style consistency; specifically replace occurrences
such as "[20W USB-C Wall Charger (3 pack)]" with "[20W USB-C Wall Charger
(3-pack)]" and make the same change for the other flagged entries (references
99-99 and 103-106) to ensure all pack quantities use the "N-pack" form.

---

ℹ️ Review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Organization UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: e9a64adf-5182-4264-a48d-be2bbf49df4c

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 2ad7839 and 30afb96.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• src/content/docs/nodes.md