The Adafruit I2C QT Rotary Encoder Breakout takes the hassle out of working with rotary encoders. An onboard microcontroller running Adafruit's seesaw firmware handles all the pulse tracking, debouncing, and pin management — simply read the encoder value over I2C whenever you need it.

Designed in the compact STEMMA QT / Qwiic form factor, this breakout lets you make solderless connections to any compatible microcontroller. The encoder footprint accepts standard PEC11-pinout rotary encoders (not included), so you can choose the exact encoder style you prefer — with or without detents, with or without a push switch.

Key Features

• Seesaw I2C Interface – Onboard microcontroller handles all encoder tracking and debouncing automatically
• STEMMA QT / Qwiic Connectors – Solderless I2C connection with daisy-chain support
• Built-in NeoPixel – Programmable RGB LED for visual feedback, controlled over I2C
• Interrupt Pin – Configurable INT output pulses low on rotation or button press
• 3V & 5V Compatible – Works with both 3.3V and 5V power and logic levels
• Up to 8 on One Bus – Three address jumpers allow addresses 0x36 to 0x3D
• Compact 1" × 1" PCB – Encoder mounted at 45° angle to minimise board size
• Breadboard-Friendly – Six 0.1"-spaced breakout pads for traditional wiring

Ideal For

• User interface controls for menu navigation and volume/brightness adjustment
• STEMMA QT / Qwiic sensor chains requiring rotary input
• Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and CircuitPython projects
• Multi-encoder setups (up to 8 per I2C bus)

Package Contents

• 1× Adafruit I2C QT Rotary Encoder Breakout PCB (assembled and tested)
• 1× 0.1" Header Strip

Resources

• Adafruit I2C QT Rotary Encoder Guide
• Arduino Seesaw Library (GitHub)
• CircuitPython Seesaw Library (GitHub)