[mcp3204] differential mode support

[markodraca]

This PR adds documentation for the new differential mode feature for the MCP3204/MCP3208 ADC components.

Description:

This PR adds documentation for the new differential mode feature for the MCP3204/MCP3208 ADC components. Differential mode allows the chip to measure the voltage difference between two analog input pins, rather than measuring a single pin's voltage relative to ground. This is useful for applications requiring precise measurements of small voltage differences, noise rejection in sensor readings.

Related issue (if applicable): fixes

Pull request in esphome with YAML changes (if applicable):

• [mcp3204] differential mode support esphome#7436

Checklist:

• I am merging into next because this is new documentation that has a matching pull-request in esphome as linked above.
  or

• I am merging into current because this is a fix, change and/or adjustment in the current documentation and is not for a new component or feature.

• Link added in /components/index.rst when creating new documents for new components or cookbook.

New Component Images

If you are adding a new component to ESPHome, you can automatically generate a standardized black and white component name image for the documentation.

To generate a component image:

1. Comment on this pull request with the following command, replacing COMPONENT_NAME with your component name in UPPER_CASE format with underscores (e.g., BME280, SHT3X, DALLAS_TEMP):

   @esphomebot generate image COMPONENT_NAME
   

2. The ESPHome bot will respond with a downloadable ZIP file containing the SVG image.

3. Extract the SVG file and place it in the images/ folder of this repository.

4. Use the image in your component's index table entry in /components/index.rst.

Example: For a component called "DHT22 Temperature Sensor", use:

@esphomebot generate image DHT22

[esphome]

As this is a feature matched with a PR in https://github.com/esphome/esphome, please target your PR to the next branch and rebase.

[esphome]

Please take a look at the requested changes, and use the Ready for review button when you are done, thanks 👍

Learn more about our pull request process.

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

Adds documentation and configuration for differential measurements on the MCP3204 sensor: introduces a thermocouple_voltage example using diff_mode, documents a new diff_mode boolean option, and adds an "Operating Modes" section describing single-ended and differential channel pairings for MCP3204 and MCP3208.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)

Summary

MCP3204 sensor documentation content/components/sensor/mcp3204.md

Adds a thermocouple_voltage differential sensor example (diff_mode: true, number: 0); documents diff_mode (optional boolean, default false); expands number description to reference MCP3204/MCP3208 contexts; adds an "Operating Modes" section explaining Single-Ended and Differential modes and pairing rules (MCP3204: CH0/CH1, CH2/CH3; MCP3208: CH0/CH1, CH2/CH3, CH4/CH5, CH6/CH7); updates See Also to include SPI context and an mcp3204 API reference.

Sequence Diagram(s)

(omitted — changes are documentation-only, no control-flow modifications)

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~10 minutes

• Verify differential channel pair mappings for MCP3204 and MCP3208.
• Check example configuration syntax and diff_mode description/default.
• Confirm See Also references and any cross-links are correct.

Suggested labels

next

Suggested reviewers

• jesserockz

Pre-merge checks and finishing touches

✅ Passed checks (3 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description check	✅ Passed	The description provides clear context about the differential mode feature and its purpose, directly relating to the documentation changes made in the pull request.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title '[mcp3204] differential mode support' directly and concisely summarizes the main change: adding differential mode support to the MCP3204 component documentation.

✨ Finishing touches

• 📝 Generate docstrings

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Post copyable unit tests in a comment

Tip

📝 Customizable high-level summaries are now available in beta!

You can now customize how CodeRabbit generates the high-level summary in your pull requests — including its content, structure, tone, and formatting.

• Provide your own instructions using the high_level_summary_instructions setting.
• Format the summary however you like (bullet lists, tables, multi-section layouts, contributor stats, etc.).
• Use high_level_summary_in_walkthrough to move the summary from the description to the walkthrough section.

Example instruction:

"Divide the high-level summary into five sections:

1. 📝 Description — Summarize the main change in 50–60 words, explaining what was done.
2. 📓 References — List relevant issues, discussions, documentation, or related PRs.
3. 📦 Dependencies & Requirements — Mention any new/updated dependencies, environment variable changes, or configuration updates.
4. 📊 Contributor Summary — Include a Markdown table showing contributions:
   | Contributor | Lines Added | Lines Removed | Files Changed |
5. ✔️ Additional Notes — Add any extra reviewer context.
   Keep each section concise (under 200 words) and use bullet or numbered lists for clarity."

Note: This feature is currently in beta for Pro-tier users, and pricing will be announced later.

---

Thanks for using CodeRabbit! It's free for OSS, and your support helps us grow. If you like it, consider giving us a shout-out.

❤️ Share

• X
• Mastodon
• Reddit
• LinkedIn

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands and usage tips.}

[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 3

📜 Review details

Configuration used: CodeRabbit UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 22faa44 and 673f7d0.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• content/components/sensor/mcp3204.md (1 hunks)

🧰 Additional context used

📓 Path-based instructions (1)

**

⚙️ CodeRabbit configuration file

• Do not generate or add any sequence diagrams

Files:

• content/components/sensor/mcp3204.md

🧠 Learnings (1)

📓 Common learnings

Learnt from: CR
Repo: esphome/esphome-docs PR: 0
File: .github/copilot-instructions.md:0-0
Timestamp: 2025-08-24T00:13:13.459Z
Learning: Open pull requests against the correct base branch: use `current` for documentation-only revisions and `next` for changes tied to new features in esphome/esphome

Learnt from: jesserockz
Repo: esphome/esphome-docs PR: 4865
File: .github/workflows/needs-docs.yml:0-0
Timestamp: 2025-05-01T03:29:47.922Z
Learning: In the esphome-docs repository, the "current" label is automatically added by a bot to pull requests, making it a reliable indicator for the target branch.

🪛 GitHub Check: Lint

content/components/sensor/mcp3204.md

[failure] 94-94:
Lists should be surrounded by blank lines [Context: "- MCP3204: 2 pairs (CH0/CH1, C..."]

🪛 LanguageTool

content/components/sensor/mcp3204.md

[style] ~76-~76: This phrase is redundant (‘N’ stands for ‘number’). Consider using “pin”.
Context: .... - number (Required, int): The pin number of the MCP3204 - update_interval (*...

(PIN_NUMBER)

⏰ Context from checks skipped due to timeout of 90000ms. You can increase the timeout in your CodeRabbit configuration to a maximum of 15 minutes (900000ms). (1)

• GitHub Check: Build

🔇 Additional comments (1)

content/components/sensor/mcp3204.md (1)

81-92: Clear and well-documented Operating Modes section.

The new section effectively explains the single-ended and differential operating modes, with proper context about channel pairing. The documentation accurately reflects how the diff_mode parameter and number parameter interact.

[esphome]

As this is a feature matched with a PR in https://github.com/esphome/esphome, please target your PR to the next branch and rebase.

[esphome]

As this is a feature matched with a PR in https://github.com/esphome/esphome, please target your PR to the next branch and rebase.

[netlify]

✅ Deploy Preview for esphome ready!

Name	Link
🔨 Latest commit	673f7d0
🔍 Latest deploy log	https://app.netlify.com/projects/esphome/deploys/691b2bf040aa56000816a500
😎 Deploy Preview	https://deploy-preview-5634--esphome.netlify.app
📱 Preview on mobile	Toggle QR Code... Use your smartphone camera to open QR code link.

---

To edit notification comments on pull requests, go to your Netlify project configuration.

[netlify]

✅ Deploy Preview for esphome ready!

Name	Link
🔨 Latest commit	11459cb
🔍 Latest deploy log	https://app.netlify.com/projects/esphome/deploys/691b3a5e64388d0008741989
😎 Deploy Preview	https://deploy-preview-5634--esphome.netlify.app
📱 Preview on mobile	Toggle QR Code... Use your smartphone camera to open QR code link.

---

To edit notification comments on pull requests, go to your Netlify project configuration.

[markodraca]

Documentation, mcp3204 with diff mode

Stale

[esphome]

As this is a feature matched with a PR in https://github.com/esphome/esphome, please target your PR to the next branch and rebase.

Stale