# What actually happens when you describe a build to Soldr, start to finish?

> A real session, quoted as it came back: the clarifying question, the parts card with real prices, and Soldr flagging a problem in its own list before you do.

[HTML version](https://soldr.ai/docs/your-first-build)

[Docs](https://soldr.ai/docs) / Start here

Not a demo, not a mock-up of what a session might look like — this is one real conversation, run just now, quoted as it actually came back. Including the part where Soldr flags a problem in its own parts list rather than hiding it.

4 min read
Start here
Your first build

## What you type

One sentence, in your own words. No part names required — that's the point.

```
I want to build a weather station that logs temperature and humidity and shows it on a small screen
```

## It asks before it assumes

"A small screen" and "logs temperature and humidity" doesn't say which controller family to build on, and guessing wrong means redoing the parts list. So the first reply back wasn't a parts card at all — it was a question:

> **Soldr's actual reply** — "Before I pick the parts — which platform would you like this built on? Arduino (Uno/Nano) — simplest to wire and program, 5V, huge library support. Best for sensors, motors and standalone gadgets. ESP32 — adds WiFi and Bluetooth, 3.3V, more processing. Best if it needs to talk to your phone, a dashboard or the internet. Raspberry Pi — a full Linux computer. Best if it needs a screen, a camera with vision, or to run real software. Tell me which (or say "you pick" and I'll choose the best fit and explain why)."

Answered with just `ESP32` — the WiFi angle seemed worth having for a weather station, and it doesn't cost anything to ask a follow-up.

## The parts list, with the reasoning attached

The next reply named the build — **"Display Weather Station (ESP32)"** — and returned five parts, each with a reason and a live price, not a generic template list:

| Part | Why it's in this build | Price |
|---|---|---|
| ESP32-WROOM-32 | the controller — WiFi, Bluetooth, enough pins for the sensor and display | ₹280 |
| DHT11 Temperature & Humidity Sensor | supplies the actual weather reading | ₹45 |
| 0.91″ OLED 128×32, I2C (SSD1306) | the compact local readout | ₹264 |
| Dupont Jumper Wire Kit | wiring between the parts above | ₹60 |
| 3.5″ TFT Touch Screen (ILI9486) | a larger optional display — see below | ₹1,190 |
| This exact tray | real prices, real stock, at the moment this ran | ₹1,839 |

## It checks its own list — and says so

Before this build ever reaches your hands, Soldr reads back what it just assembled and points out what's questionable in it, in its own words:

> **Soldr's own "Common problems" section, quoted directly** — "The ESP32-WROOM-32 uses 3.3V logic, while the DHT11 Temperature & Humidity Sensor is specified with 5V logic; this voltage difference needs attention. The listed build includes two displays, so the project may be more complex than a single-screen weather station. Power problems can appear if the source cannot handle the active total and the separate peak demands."

That second line is Soldr flagging its own parts list as more complicated than it needed to be — a small OLED and a large touch screen both got carded for one "small screen" ask. Nothing here is hidden or smoothed over: you can drop the touch screen and keep just the OLED by saying so, the same way you'd tell a person building it with you.

## After the parts list: code, wiring, and what any of it costs

The parts card is free to reach and free to revise — describing the idea, answering "which platform," even seeing this full list with reasoning, none of it drew a credit. Generating the actual firmware is the next step, and it needs you signed in: your first code generation is free regardless of size, and after that each generation is billed by what it actually produced. The full breakdown, with the exact formula, is in [Credits & pricing](https://soldr.ai/docs/credits-and-pricing).

From here, the same conversation continues into wiring (matched to this exact board's real pinout, not a generic diagram), a schematic, and — since this particular board has WiFi — an optional browser dashboard for the live readings, which Soldr offered unprompted once it saw the ESP32 in the tray.

## If the list it gives you doesn't look right

- Say so in plain language — "drop the touch screen" or "why is this part here" both work, the same conversation continues rather than starting a new one.

- If a part conflicts with another (a voltage mismatch, a shared pin, two displays doing the same job), Soldr's own reply is often where you'll see it flagged first, the way the DHT11/ESP32 voltage note showed up here unasked.

- Still unsure whether a swap makes sense? Ask — that's a question, not a generation, so it's free.

[Previous What Soldr does](https://soldr.ai/docs/what-soldr-does)
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