HackADay Article: hackaday.com/2016/11/30/the-es...
If you're thinking "no wifi? no problem!" then this hack is for you! nosdk8266 allows you to use your ESP8266 with very, very little overhead. This enables rapid development cycles, crazy high speeds and more I/D RAM than you've ever imagined. You'll still need the esp open sdk, but not a ton more!
Github: github.com/cnlohr/nosdk8266
HaD Article: Still in discussion...