diff --git a/firmware/esp32-csi-node/build_firmware.ps1 b/firmware/esp32-csi-node/build_firmware.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9bfb5afc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/firmware/esp32-csi-node/build_firmware.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+# Remove MSYS environment variables that trigger ESP-IDF's MinGW rejection
+Remove-Item env:MSYSTEM -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+Remove-Item env:MSYSTEM_CARCH -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+Remove-Item env:MSYSTEM_CHOST -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+Remove-Item env:MSYSTEM_PREFIX -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+Remove-Item env:MINGW_CHOST -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+Remove-Item env:MINGW_PACKAGE_PREFIX -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+Remove-Item env:MINGW_PREFIX -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+
+$env:IDF_PATH = "C:\Users\ruv\esp\v5.4\esp-idf"
+$env:IDF_TOOLS_PATH = "C:\Espressif\tools"
+$env:IDF_PYTHON_ENV_PATH = "C:\Espressif\tools\python\v5.4\venv"
+$env:PATH = "C:\Espressif\tools\xtensa-esp-elf\esp-14.2.0_20241119\xtensa-esp-elf\bin;C:\Espressif\tools\cmake\3.30.2\cmake-3.30.2-windows-x86_64\bin;C:\Espressif\tools\ninja\1.12.1;C:\Espressif\tools\ccache\4.10.2\ccache-4.10.2-windows-x86_64;C:\Espressif\tools\idf-exe\1.0.3;C:\Espressif\tools\python\v5.4\venv\Scripts;$env:PATH"
+
+Set-Location "C:\Users\ruv\Projects\wifi-densepose\firmware\esp32-csi-node"
+
+$python = "$env:IDF_PYTHON_ENV_PATH\Scripts\python.exe"
+$idf = "$env:IDF_PATH\tools\idf.py"
+
+Write-Host "=== Cleaning stale build cache ==="
+& $python $idf fullclean
+
+Write-Host "=== Building firmware (SSID=ruv.net, target=192.168.1.20:5005) ==="
+& $python $idf build
+
+if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) {
+    Write-Host "=== Build succeeded! Flashing to COM7 ==="
+    & $python $idf -p COM7 flash
+} else {
+    Write-Host "=== Build failed with exit code $LASTEXITCODE ==="
+}
diff --git a/firmware/esp32-csi-node/read_serial.ps1 b/firmware/esp32-csi-node/read_serial.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7c001227
--- /dev/null
+++ b/firmware/esp32-csi-node/read_serial.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+$p = New-Object System.IO.Ports.SerialPort('COM7', 115200)
+$p.ReadTimeout = 5000
+$p.Open()
+Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 200
+
+for ($i = 0; $i -lt 60; $i++) {
+    try {
+        $line = $p.ReadLine()
+        Write-Host $line
+    } catch {
+        break
+    }
+}
+$p.Close()
diff --git a/ui/pose-fusion/js/main.js b/ui/pose-fusion/js/main.js
index 29f283f4..db045922 100644
--- a/ui/pose-fusion/js/main.js
+++ b/ui/pose-fusion/js/main.js
@@ -116,6 +116,18 @@ function init() {
   visualCnn.tryLoadWasm(wasmBase);
   csiCnn.tryLoadWasm(wasmBase);
 
+  // Auto-connect to local sensing server WebSocket if available
+  const defaultWsUrl = 'ws://localhost:8765/ws/sensing';
+  if (wsUrlInput) wsUrlInput.value = defaultWsUrl;
+  csiSimulator.connectLive(defaultWsUrl).then(ok => {
+    if (ok && connectWsBtn) {
+      connectWsBtn.textContent = '✓ Live ESP32';
+      connectWsBtn.classList.add('active');
+      statusLabel.textContent = 'LIVE CSI';
+      statusDot.classList.remove('offline');
+    }
+  });
+
   // Auto-start camera for video/dual modes
   updateModeUI();
   startTime = performance.now() / 1000;