Where do you get “Your” information from?
So what is the difference between the technical reference manual or guide and the data sheet? Take for example on the ESP32C6? I see this base question come up often enough. 
and it trips a lot of people up. Think of it like this:
Datasheet = Executive Summary for Engineers
The ESP32-C6 Datasheet is the concise, high-level overview of the chip. It tells you:
- Electrical characteristics (voltage, current, temp ranges)
- Memory sizes (RAM, ROM, Flash support)
- Package info (QFN40, pin pitch, thermal pad)
- Basic peripheral counts (UARTs, SPI, I2C, ADCs, etc.)
- Recommended operating conditions
- Mechanical drawings and pin functions
- Some performance benchmarks
It’s the go-to reference for hardware designers and BOM selection.
Use the datasheet when you’re deciding if this chip fits your product, or you’re designing the PCB.
Technical Reference Manual (TRM) = Deep Dive for Firmware Developers
The ESP32-C6 Technical Reference Manual (TRM) is a massive document (~400–700 pages) that describes the internal architecture of every peripheral:
- UART/SPI/I2C register maps
- Clock trees and PLL setup
- Sleep modes and wake sources
- Low-power co-processor features
- Memory-mapped peripheral registers
- Interrupt routing, DMA setup
- Peripheral configurations, timing, and edge cases
It’s what firmware, RTOS, and driver developers use when writing low-level code or debugging complex behavior.
To compare, it’s this way for me.
| Aspect | Datasheet | Technical Reference Manual (TRM) |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Overview for hardware integration | Deep detail for software/hardware co-dev |
| Length | ~30–60 pages | 400–800+ pages |
| Audience | HW engineers, product architects | Firmware devs, RTOS hackers, driver authors |
| Covers | Pinouts, power, packages, interfaces | Clock control, registers, peripherals internals |
| Use it for… | Schematic design, PCB layout | Writing code for SPI, RTC, I2C, power control |
| Where to get it | Espressif Docs site (PDF) | Espressif Docs site (PDF) |
Best Docs for Xiao ESP32C6 Development
| Purpose | Use This Document | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pinouts, labels, soldering pads, GPIO mapping |  Seeed Studio Xiao ESP32C6 Wiki / Datasheet |
Tells you how Seeed wired the chip, what GPIOs are exposed, which pads to solder to |
| Peripheral capabilities (UART, I2C, ADC, etc.) | ESP32-C6 Datasheet (Espressif) |
Tells you what the chip is capable of, e.g. how many ADCs, what voltages are safe |
| Low-level firmware, power tuning, sleep modes, registers | ESP32-C6 Technical Reference Manual (TRM) |
Use this for deep coding, register poking, advanced sleep handling |
| Arduino IDE support, pin names (D0, D1, A0…), I2C setup | Seeed Arduino BSP GitHub or Board Variant files |
Tells you what pin maps Arduino D0/D1 to, and what GPIOs are used for I2C, Serial, etc. |
| Power usage, current draw, battery input | Seeed Xiao ESP32C6 Hardware Wiki |
Shows battery connector specs, charging IC behavior, USB power modes |
HTH
GL 
PJ 
