Review on 📥 Optimized ESP8266 Firmware Downloader Flash Download Tool for ESP-01S/01 ESP-07/07S ESP-12E/12F/12S/F by Jimmie Trotto

This is the most convenient USB to UART adapter I've seen for the ESP8266. It can control the RESET and GPIO0 of the ESP8266, making flashing completely automatic and painless with most flashing tools. UART is already supported by the Linux kernel shipped with Ubuntu 20.04. Nothing needs to be installed, just plug and play. For Windows 10, the drivers are loaded automatically after connecting to USB. It's cheaper and much more convenient than, for example, FTDI USB-UART. I've flashed this UART many times and never had a problem.