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Welcome to the latest Python on Microcontrollers newsletter! This week was quite busy. CircuitPython.org was finally updated last Friday with a fresh, new look. This issue highlights a number of classes and tutorials now being offered. CircuitPython was bumped with a bug fix release (and another is likely occurring next week, thanks for all the testing folks). And finally, I’d like to extend the community’s thanks to CircuitPython core developer Jeff Epler, who is retiring. See the farewell message in the Team Updates. – Anne Barela, Editor
We’re on Discord, Twitter/X, BlueSky and for past newsletters – view them all here. If you’re reading this on the web, subscribe here. Here’s the news this week:
The CircuitPython.org Website is Updated
As posted previously, the CircuitPython.org website has been refreshed to better highlight the language and content – circuitpython.org.
TIOBE Index for March 2025: Top 10 Most Popular Programming Languages
Python continues to be the #1 language worldwide, gaining over 8% from last month. Also of interest is the rising popularity of legacy languages Delphi/Object Pascal and Ada – TechRepublic.
Using AI to Program Microcontrollers
Vivian Van Zyl on YouTube demonstrates using Code Mate to code CircuitPython for an ESP32-C6 and an SSD1306 OLED display – YouTube.
Newsletter note: the use of AI and Large Language Models (LLM) is a very fast paced, changing field. Adafruit has shown some videos with Ladyada using Claude Code recently. All code generally needs to be reviewed to ensure it is correct. And workflows used this week may be different next week due to tool changes. And then there is “The Next Great Thing” that will leave previous tutorials obsolete.
Introduction to CS and Programming Using Python From MIT
MIT Open CourseWare has an online class available via the internet: 6.100L Introduction to CS and Programming Using Python – Website and videos – YouTube. Via X.
CircuitPython 9.2.6 Released
CircuitPython 9.2.6 is the latest bugfix revision of CircuitPython and is a new stable release – Adafruit Blog and release notes – GitHub.
Highlights of this release
- Fix
storage.remount("/", readonly=False) regression.
- Fix RP2xxx WiFi mDNS limitations.
Zephyr RTOS on Raspberry Pi Pico 2 Tutorials
Chris Wilson has started a new series of tutorials on hackster.io on using the Zephyr real-time operating system (RTOS) version 4.1 to program the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 – hackster.io. Via X.
Microsoft is Offering Free AI/ML Courses for Beginners
Microsoft has created four free courses to introduce folks to artificial intelligence – X.
Raspberry Pi ASCII Camera
André Esser built a Raspberry Pi video to ASCII out project in three days for a Raspberry Pi Jam event – Tom’s Hardware and YouTube.
The project uses the Python package ASCII Player – GitHub.
This Week’s Python Streams
Python on Hardware is all about building a cooperative ecosphere which allows contributions to be valued and to grow knowledge. Below are the streams within the last week focusing on the community.
CircuitPython Deep Dive Stream
Last Friday, Scott streamed work on Emoji Fonts in CircuitPython.
You can see the latest video and past videos on the Adafruit YouTube channel under the Deep Dive playlist – YouTube.
CircuitPython Parsec
John Park’s CircuitPython Parsec this week is on USB Gamepad Configuration – Adafruit Blog and YouTube.
Catch all the episodes in the YouTube playlist.
The CircuitPython Show
In the latest episode released March 24th, Liz Clark and Noe Ruiz join the show and share how they collaborate on projects and share some of their favorite collabs – The CircuitPython Show.
CircuitPython Weekly Meeting
CircuitPython Weekly Meeting for March 24, 2025 (notes) on YouTube.
Project of the Week
Dan McCreary has built an audio spectrum analyzer using a Raspberry Pi Pico 2, an OLED display and MicroPython – Tom’s Hardware, YouTube and GitHub.
Popular Last Week
What was the most popular, most clicked link, in last week’s newsletter? E-ink Weather Dashboard with a Raspberry Pi.
Did you know you can read past issues of this newsletter in the Adafruit Daily Archive? Check it out.
New Notes from Adafruit Playground
Adafruit Playground is a new place for the community to post their projects and other making tips/tricks/techniques. Ad-free, it’s an easy way to publish your work in a safe space for free.
A CircuitPython “Avalanche Noise” random number generator (RNG) with TPS65131 & NPN transistors – Adafruit Playground.
Build a WiFi Matrix Keypad Remote – Adafruit Playground.
Zephyr Quest: IoT Toggle Switch for Feather TFT – Adafruit Playground.
News From Around the Web
An LED clock with many backgrounds using the Kitronik ZIP Halo HD and BBC micro:bit V2 in MicroPython featuring a drift-adjusted MCP7940N RTC and synchronisation with the MicroPython clock, includes a look at the current issues with MicroPython on micro:bit timing and use of pyminify to squeeze code into a small file system – Instructables.
Keyboard design contest #00 results – GitHub.
Making an International Space Station tracker with an Adafruit MagTag and CircuitPython – BlueSky thread.
An updated CircuitPython lesson on buttons, using the Raspberry Pi Pico and CircuitPython. It demonstrates fluctuation, high impedance and the need for the internal resistor. It also shows the fluctuation is more prominent in Pico than Pico 2 – YouTube. Via BlueSky.
Alfonso created an interactive art piece. The Tilt-A-Sketch is a modern twist on the classic Etch A Sketch, using the Adafruit Matrix Portal S3, an LED matrix panel and CircuitPython – Instructables. Via BlueSky.
A Semtech SX126x LoRa driver for Micropython and CircuitPython – GitHub.
Raspberry Pi has released a small Power over Ethernet (PoE) injector for network power use. The promised PoE HAT is still in development – Raspberry Pi News.
How to practice MicroPython without a microcontroller: Wowki and Raspberry Pi Pico – YouTube.
Scheme-it – Schematic drawing and block diagramming via the web – DigiKey. Via X.
Solving the upip installing in .frozen Issue on Raspberry Pi Zero W with MicroPython – YouTube.
3 Raspberry Pi projects that convert furniture into devices – XDA.
Raspberry Pi Pico and MicroPython LVGL: the best display for the keyboard widget – YouTube and GitHub.
A CircuitPython powered smart alarm clock on an Adafruit Matrix Portal M4 – Instructables.
New
T-Deck Pro is an open-source dev board with a keyboard and touchscreen. It has 4G cellular + SX1262 LoRa and is based on an ESP32 – LilyGo.
Adafruit ESP32-S3 Reverse TFT with w.FL Antenna – Adafruit.
New Boards Supported by CircuitPython
The number of supported microcontrollers and Single Board Computers (SBC) grows every week. This section outlines which boards have been included in CircuitPython or added to CircuitPython.org.
This week there were no new boards added (after last week’s record breaking addition).
Note: For non-Adafruit boards, please use the support forums of the board manufacturer for assistance, as Adafruit does not have the hardware to assist in troubleshooting.
Looking to add a new board to CircuitPython? It’s highly encouraged! Adafruit has four guides to help you do so:
New Learn Guides
The Adafruit Learning System has over 3,000 free guides for learning skills and building projects including using Python.
Severance-style Bluetooth Speaker from Ruiz Brothers and Liz Clark
CircuitPython Libraries
The CircuitPython library numbers are continually increasing, while existing ones continue to be updated. Here we provide library numbers and updates!
To get the latest Adafruit libraries, download the Adafruit CircuitPython Library Bundle. To get the latest community contributed libraries, download the CircuitPython Community Bundle.
If you’d like to contribute to the CircuitPython project on the Python side of things, the libraries are a great place to start. Check out the CircuitPython.org Contributing page. If you’re interested in reviewing, check out Open Pull Requests. If you’d like to contribute code or documentation, check out Open Issues. We have a guide on contributing to CircuitPython with Git and GitHub, and you can find us in the #help-with-circuitpython and #circuitpython-dev channels on the Adafruit Discord.
You can check out this list of all the Adafruit CircuitPython libraries and drivers available.
The current number of CircuitPython libraries is 512!
What’s the CircuitPython team up to this week?
What is the team up to this week? Let’s check in:
Dan
Early last week I released CircuitPython 9.2.6, mostly to fix a regression in 9.2.5. There are more recent bug fixes, so expect to see a 9.2.7 soon. We will also be starting on 10.0.0 alpha or beta releases soon.
Tim
This week I finished up the guide pages for the Memory game guide. I also wrote a new guide page covering the CircuitPython implementation of the Matrix rain effect. I’ve been working on the implementing the Fruit Jam animation shown on recent live streams in CircuitPython with displayio as well, it’s looking very slick!
Jeff
It’s a bittersweet update this week. I’ve wrapped up my time working for Adafruit, at least for now. I’m proud of what I’ve been able to contribute across hundreds of pull requests and I’m grateful to have met so many wonderful colleagues & community members.
Thank you so much to a range of people but in particular Scott, Dan, Kattni, PT & Limor for seeing potential in me and Adafruit for paying me to write open source software that enables creative people to do cool project. And thank you to Anne for editing the newsletter and always giving me a spot for updates. (Ed: You will be missed, Jeff!)
What’s next for me? First, I’m going to take an extended trip. After that, I will see what projects catch my eye.
And if you’re still reading all the way to the end, perhaps you want to stay in touch. I’m on Mastodon. My wife & I will be posting vacation photos online.
Liz
This week I worked on testing some emulators that Jeff had put together for the Metro RP2350 and the upcoming Fruit Jam board. I tested the CPM/Zork emulator and the GameBoy emulator from MCUME. I also worked the code for the Lumon Bluetooth Speaker project. This was very simple, since there is an Arduino library that takes care of streaming audio over Bluetooth with I2S with ESP32. All I had to do was adjust the pins for the Feather ESP32 V2 and change the name of the Bluetooth device.
Upcoming Events
City of STEM and Maker Faire Los Angeles, California is being held April 12, 2025 – MakerFaire.
The next MicroPython Meetup in Melbourne will be on April 23rd – Meetup. You can see recordings of previous meetings on YouTube.
The community is coming back to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for PyCon US 2025 May 14 – May 22, 2025 – us.pycon.org.
KiCad conferences (KiCon) to be held this year include 28 – 30 May 2025 in San Diego, California, 19 – 20 Sept 2024 in Bochum, Germany, and to be determined in Asia – KiCad.
Open Hardware Summit 2025 is being held May 30 @ 10am – May 31 @ 6pm GMT+1 in Edinburgh, Scotland – Eventbrite.
PyCon UK will be at CONTACT in Manchester from Friday 19th September to Monday 22nd September 2025 – PyCon UK 2025.
Send Your Events In
If you know of virtual events or upcoming events, please let us know via email to cpnews(at)adafruit(dot)com.
Latest Releases
CircuitPython’s stable release is 9.2.6. New to CircuitPython? Start with our Welcome to CircuitPython Guide.
20250319 is the latest Adafruit CircuitPython library bundle.
20250321 is the latest CircuitPython Community library bundle.
v1.24.1 is the latest MicroPython release. Documentation for it is here.
3.13.2 is the latest Python release. The latest pre-release version is 3.14.0a6.
4,232 Stars Like CircuitPython? Star it on GitHub!
Call for Help – Translating CircuitPython is now easier than ever
One important feature of CircuitPython is translated control and error messages. With the help of fellow open source project Weblate, we’re making it even easier to add or improve translations.
Sign in with an existing account such as GitHub, Google or Facebook and start contributing through a simple web interface. No forks or pull requests needed! As always, if you run into trouble join us on Discord, we’re here to help.
38,883 Thanks
The Adafruit Discord community, where we do all our CircuitPython development in the open, reached over 38,883 humans – thank you! Adafruit believes Discord offers a unique way for Python on hardware folks to connect. Join today at https://adafru.it/discord.
ICYMI – In case you missed it
Python on hardware is the Adafruit Python video-newsletter-podcast! The news comes from the Python community, Discord, Adafruit communities and more and is broadcast on ASK an ENGINEER Wednesdays. The complete Python on Hardware weekly videocast playlist is here. The video podcast is on iTunes, YouTube, Instagram), and XML.
The weekly community chat on Adafruit Discord server CircuitPython channel – Audio / Podcast edition – Audio from the Discord chat space for CircuitPython, meetings are usually Mondays at 2pm ET, this is the audio version on iTunes, Pocket Casts, Spotify, and XML feed.
Contribute
The CircuitPython Weekly Newsletter is a CircuitPython community-run newsletter emailed every Monday. The complete archives are here. It highlights the latest CircuitPython related news from around the web including Python and MicroPython developments. To contribute, edit next week’s draft on GitHub and submit a pull request with the changes. You may also tag your information on Twitter with #CircuitPython.
Join the Adafruit Discord or post to the forum if you have questions.
