This is the third beta release of CircuitPython 6.2.0. This release, 6.2.0-beta.2, contains fixes and improvements, most notably for RP2040 and ESP32-S2. See Port status below for details on port stability for each port, and Known issues for known problems. If you find any issues with this release, please file an issue.

Download from circuitpython.org

Firmware downloads are available from the downloads page on circuitpython.org. The site makes it easy to select the correct file and language for your board.

Installation

To install follow the instructions in our new Welcome to CircuitPython! guide. To install the latest libraries, see this page in that guide.

Try the latest version of the Mu editor for creating and editing your CircuitPython programs and for easy access to the CircuitPython serial connection (the REPL).

Port status

CircuitPython has a number of “ports” that are the core implementation for a variety of microcontroller families. Stability varies on a per-port basis. As of this release, atmel-samd, nrf, and stm for the F4 family are stable. cxd56, esp32s2, raspberrypi, and stm for other STM chip families are being actively improved but may be missing functionality and have bugs. litex and mimxrt10xx are in an alpha state and will have bugs and missing functionality.

Changes since 6.2.0-beta.1

Fixes and enhancements

• pew.tick() now does its own time-keeping. #3536. Thanks @deshipu
• Fix write_then_readinto() in native adafruit_bus_device I2CDevice. #4146. Thanks @gamblor21.
• Ensure tud_task() is run on auto-reload to finish USB writes. #4122. Thanks @hathach.
• Add WEBUSB serial support (turned off by default). #4126. Thanks @FiriaCTO.
• Clarify I2C pullup error message. #4118. Thanks @BiffoBear.
• Fix native adafruit_bus_device for boards without longint. #4112. Thanks @gamblor21.
• Update ulab to 1.7.2. #4089. Thanks @jepler.
• RGBMatrix: change default to serpentine=True. #4084. Thanks @jepler.

Board- and port-specific changes

• ESP32-S2:
  • Fix sockets created by accept(). #4139. Thanks @hierophect.
  • Fix deep sleep wakeup sometimes appearing to be brownout wakeup. #4159. Thanks @dhalbert and thanks @jfabernathy for testing.
  • Improve socket arg validation and clean up internal types use for argument passing. #4136. Thanks @hierophect.
  • Fix socket connect error. #4138. Thanks @hierophect.
  • Fix socket.recv_into() receiving one less byte than expected. #4148. Thanks @Neradoc.
  • Separate SSLSocket from Socket. #4049. Thanks @hierophect.
  • Fix default socket timeout. #4095. Thanks @hierophect.
• raspberrypi:
  • Fix PWMOut idea of which channels are variable frequency. #4165. Thanks @DavePutz.
  • rp2pio: transfer up to 32 bytes before checking background tasks. Fixes use of short NeoPixel strips. #4155. Thanks @jepler, @gamblor21, and @jerryneedell.
  • neopixel_write: Set NeoPixel pin as output after PIO use, to avoid spurious signals. #4160. Thanks @gamblor21.
  • Initialize display for Lilygo TTGO T8 ESP32-S2. #4124. Thanks @m4tk.
  • Correct maximum allowed number of PIO instructions. #4154. Thanks @LuminousOwl.
  • Update to very latest pico-sdk. Fixes issues with GP15 and adds unique id support. #4141. Thanks @tannewt.
  • Add (internal-only) board.SMPS pin, which toggles internal regulator PWM mode. #4137. Thanks @ferret-guy.
  • Add (internal-only) board.A3/board.VOLTAGE_MONITOR pin. #4125. Thanks @xorbit.
  • Implement microcontroller.reset() and .reset_to_bootloader(). #4123. Thanks @jepler.
  • Support for RTC. #4110. Thanks @microDev1.
  • Support for watchdog timer. #4083. Thanks @microDev1.
  • Change microcontroller.cpu to refer to the current CPU, restoring .cpu.temperature, etc. Add microcontrollers.cpus[]. #4087. Thanks @DavePutz.
  • Enable Gameduino 3x Dazzler support. #4092. Thanks @jamesbowman.
• mimxrt10xx:
  • Fix SPI OSErrors. #4048. Thanks @janderit.
• nrf:
  • Add UART hardware flow control. #4018. Thanks @iot49.
• Metro M4 Airlift Lite:
  • Enable Gameduino 3x Dazzler support. #4054. Thanks @dglaude.

Build and infrastructure changes

• Add bitmap_font to sys.path in a better place to fix builds. #4140. Thanks @FoamyGuy.
• Update to actions/cache@v2. #4090. Thanks @jepler.
• Fix circuitpython.org automatic PR new-languages list. #4080. Thanks @tannewt.

Documentation

• sdcardio: Add caution about sharing SPI bus with SD cards and other devices. #4163. Thanks @jepler.
• Translation additions and improvements. Thanks:
  • @bergdahl (Swedish)
  • @hexthat (Chinese Pinyin)
  • @fede2cr (Spanish)
  • @wtuemura (Portugese – Brazil)
  • @BumblebeeMan (German)
  • @jepler (German)
  • @hugodahl (French)
  • @Anton-2 (French)
  • @tawez (Polish)

New boards since 6.2.0-beta.1

• DynaLora-USB Dongle. #4168. Thanks @ecasadod.
• Lilygo TTGO T8 ESP32-S2. #4077. Thanks @netroy.
• Silicognition LLC M4-Shim. #4105. Thanks @xorbit.

Full commit log is here.

Breaking changes since 5.x

• i2cslave is now i2cperipheral and the class in it is changed as well.
• The stop kwarg has been removed from I2C.writeto(). If no stop is desired, then use writeto_then_readfrom.
• The default speed of busio.I2C and board.I2C is now 100khz, not 400khz as before. Use busio.I2C to set the speed explicitly. #3471 Thanks @caternuson, @ladyada, @hierophect and @tannewt.
• _bleio.ConnectionError has be removed. Code will now raise the native ConnectionError instead.

Known issues

• ESP32-S2: Crash when repeatedly creating and destroying busio.I2C object on ESP32-S2. #3846.
• See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues.

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed since 6.2.0-beta.1, including @ajs256, @anecdata, @Anton-2, @bergdahl, @BiffoBear, @bspsbee, @BumblebeeMan, @DavePutz, @dglaude, @dhalbert, @ecasadod, @fede2cr, @ferret-guy, @FiriaCTO, @FoamyGuy, @gamblor21, @hathach, @hexthat, @hierophect, @hugodahl, @jamesbowman, @jepler, @jerryneedell, @jfabernathy, @kamtom480, @ladyada, @LuminousOwl, @m4tk, @microDev1, @Neradoc, @netroy, @nichols10, @rpavlik, @siehputz, @skieast, @StarWitch, @tannewt, @tawez, @theacodes, @weblate, @wtuemura, @xorbit,, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

Documentation

Documentation is available in readthedocs.io.

This release is based on MicroPython 1.9.4 @25ae98f. Support upstream MicroPython by purchasing a PyBoard (from Adafruit here) or sponsoring MicroPython on GitHub.

Translations

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!

Troubleshooting

Check out this guide for info on common problems with CircuitPython. If you are still having issues, then post to the Adafruit Support Forums and join Discord.

Assets

Builds are no longer stored as assets on this release page, because there are too many of them. Please see the Download from circuitpython.org section above.