adafruit/circuitpython 10.4.0-alpha.2 on GitHub

This is CircuitPython 10.4.0-alpha.2, an alpha release for 10.4.0. Further features, changes, and bug fixes will be added before the final release of 10.4.0.

Highlights of changes since 10.3.1

5 GHz WiFi support.
Allow importing turbo (@viper and @native) .mpy files on many espressif, nordic, and SAMx5x boards (already enabled on RP2xxx).
BLE numeric-comparison (PIN) pairing on Espressif.
Merge from MicroPython v1.28 and v1.29.
Many bug fixes.

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

Try code.circuitpython.org or 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).

Documentation

Documentation is available in readthedocs.io.

Port status

CircuitPython has a number of "ports" that are the core implementations for different microcontroller families. Stability varies on a per-port basis. As of this release, these ports are consider stable (but see Known Issues below):

atmel-samd: Microchip SAMD21, SAMx5x
cxd56: Sony Spresense
espressif: Espressif ESP32, ESP32-C2, ESP32-C3, ESP32-C5, ESP32-C6, ESP32-C61, ESP32-H2, ESP32-S2, ESP32-S3
nordic: Nordic nRF52840, nRF52833
raspberrypi: Raspberry Pi RP2040, RP2350
stm: ST STM32F4 chip family

These ports are considered alpha and will have bugs and missing functionality:

analog: Analog Devices MAX32690
broadcom (will be removed in CircuitPython 11): Raspberry Pi boards such as RPi 4, RPi Zero 2W
espressif: ESP32-P4
litex: fomu
mimxrt10xx: NXP i.MX RT10xxx
renode: hardware simulator
silabs: Silicon Labs MG24 family
stm: ST non-STM32F4 chip families
zephyr: multiplatform RTOS, running on multiple chip families

Changes since 10.3.1

Fixes and enhancements

Fix argument validations, internal calculations, and edge cases in many places, including audio code. #11385, #11384, #11381, #11378, #11377, #11370, #11368, #11367. Thanks @peterbay.
Allow 5 GHz channels in wifi.Monitor. #11375. Thanks @mikeysklar.
Allow 5 GHz channels in wifi.Radio.start_ap(). #11374. Thanks @mikeysklar.
Compress localized messages further. #11373, #11369. Thanks @dhalbert.
Save firmware space by shrinking property objects on more ports. #11371. Thanks @lynt-smitka.
Allocate space only for terminal font glyphs that exist. #11365. Thanks @lynt-smitka.
Set ARM Thumb bit on code pointers consistently. #11361. Thanks @mikeysklar.
Merge from MicroPython v1.29.0. #11349. Thanks @mikeysklar.
Merge from MicroPython v1.28.0. #11334. Thanks @mikeysklar.
wifi.Radio.connect() can now take a Network from scan result. #11309. Thanks @mikeysklar.

Port and board-specific changes

Analog Devices

Broadcom

Espressif

Enable turbo (@viper and @native) .mpy loading. #11392. Thanks @mikeysklar.
BLE numeric-comparison pairing. #11340. Thanks @mmabey.

i.MX

Nordic

Enable turbo (@viper and @native) .mpy loading. #11360. Thanks @mikeysklar.

renode

RP2xxx

Use a smaller version of the internal timezone code. #11379. Thanks @lynt-smitka.

SAMx

Enable turbo (@viper and @native) .mpy loading. #11356. Thanks @mikeysklar.

SiLabs

Spresense

STM

Enable turbo (@viper and @native) .mpy loading. #11355. Thanks @mikeysklar.

Zephyr

Correct staleness check for autogen_board_info.toml. #11396. Thanks @mikeysklar.
Fix BLE problems, including those affecting BLE workflow. #11366. Thanks @dhalbert.
In tests, read serial output in chunks instead of one byte at a time. #11353. Thanks @lynt-smitka.
Run tests in parallel. #11348. Thanks @lynt-smitka.
In CI runs, cache each port's submodules in its own cache entry. #11345. Thanks @lynt-smitka.
Limit west update to projects we actually use. #11344. Thanks @lynt-smitka.
Only build boards that enabled a changed module. #11316. Thanks @lynt-smitka.

Individual boards

Pimoroni PicoSystem: enable picogame. #11359. Thanks @lynt-smitka.

Documentation changes

Build and infrastructure changes

Experiment with merge queues. #11399, #11398, #11390, #11389, #11388, #11387. Thanks @tannewt.
Cancel PR merge runs when a later PR is merged, to save CI time. #11388. Thanks @tannewt.
Regenerate translation data when TRANSLATION is changed in a build directory. #11372. Thanks @dhalbert.

Translation additions and improvements

New boards

SecuringHardware.com Xiaomao. #11395. Thanks @securelyfitz.

Known issues

See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues, including issues still to be addressed for:

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed toward this release, including the contributors above, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

adafruit/circuitpython 10.4.0-alpha.2 CircuitPython 10.4.0-alpha.2 on GitHub