adafruit/circuitpython 6.2.0-beta.3

CircuitPython 6.2.0 beta 3

on GitHub

This release, 6.2.0-beta.3, is the fourth beta release of CircuitPython 6.2.0. Across most ports it adds a second USB serial (CDC) channel, adds a bitmaptool module for help with displayio, and removes the limitation on displayio.Group size. The RP2040 port has many enhancements and fixes, and the Spresense port has several improvements as well. 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, cxd56 (Spresense), nrf, and stm for the F4 family are stable. 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.2

Fixes and enhancements

• Add bitmaptools for bitmap blit operations. #4268, #4278. Thanks @kmatch98.
• Add second USB CDC serial channel. #4215. Thanks @dhalbert.
• displayio.Group now uses a Python list internally. Its size is no longer limited, and it can be sorted. #4233, #4322. Thanks @deshipu and thanks @dhalbert for a fix.
• Fix compile-time disabling of USB MSC. #4283. Thanks @deshipu.
• Fix typos for CIRCUITPY_USB_HID_SYS_CONTROL. #4249. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Avoid pulling in unneeded float/uint64 routines. #4238. Thanks @dhalbert.
• _pixelbuf: increase performance of brightness scaling. #4258. Thanks @jepler.
• Add memoryview.cast(). #4231. Thanks @jepler.
• Add bitops.transpose() function to support piopixl8. #4219. Thanks @jepler.
• Allow memoryview as argument to exec(). #4206. Thanks @iot49.
• Remove unneeded adafruit_bus_device.SPIDevice.spi property. #4179. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Update ulab to 1.7.5. #4229. Thanks @jepler.
• Fix ability to use the reset button to enter safe mode when .reset_reason is not implemented. #4306. Thanks @Neradoc.

Board- and port-specific changes

• ESP32-S2
  • Pin name additions for UnexpectedMaker TinyS2 and Feather S2. #4264. Thanks @UnexpectedMaker.
  • Fix free-pin checking. #4205. Thanks @hierophect.
• RP2040
  • Add busio.UART support. #4224. Thanks @MicroDev1 and @tannewt. Thanks @jerryneedell for testing.
  • Add os.urandom. #4213. Thanks @jepler.
  • Add PWMAudioOut. #4167. Thanks @tannewt.
  • Add countio. #4254. Thanks @gamblor21.
  • Add microcontroller.nvm. #4177. Thanks @MicroDev1.
  • Enable RGBMatrix (protomatter). #4186. Thanks @jepler.
  • Board-specific flash sizes. #4247. Thanks @tannewt.
  • Update flash sizes for various RP2040 boards. #4297. Thanks @tannewt.
  • Fix use of second shared PWM. #4253. Thanks @tannewt.
  • Correct DigitalInOut behavior; increase pin drive strength. #4267. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Implement short I2C writes with bitbang I2C. #4315. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Fix rp2pio writing when stride 2 or 4. #4269. Thanks @jepler.
  • Fix off-by-one PWMOut top count. #4192. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Allow keyboard interrupts while waiting for PIO TX FIFO. #4309. Thanks @jepler.
  • Allow directly specifying the original boot .s file. #4308. Thanks @jepler.
  • Use generic flash init for now to be able to support more flash chips. #4302. Thanks @tannewt.
  • Clear out PIO's and StateMachine objects on soft-reload. #4265. Thanks @DavePutz.
• SAMD21
  • Use only one endpoint for USB MSC instead of two. #4239. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Spresense
  • return the correct value for Analog In. #4294. Thanks @kamtom480.
  • Fix USB enumeration issues. #4245. Thanks @kamtom480.
  • AnalogIn: Return value in proper range. #4294. Thanks @kamtom480.
  • AnalogIn: return valid reference voltages, which can vary per pin. #4310. Thanks @kamtom480.
• STM32
  • Fix I2C repeated start. #4169. Thanks @hierophect.
• TG-Watch
  • Fix board crystal settings. #4232. Thanks @TG-Techie.
• pewpew10
  • Use _pew.git_ticks() for time-tracking. #4200. Thanks @deshipu.
• Feather M4 Express
  • Add EVE support. #4299. Thanks @jamesbowman.

Build and infrastructure changes

• Set SUPEROPT_VM = 0 on most non-Express SAMD21 boards. #4248. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Shrink flash storage needed for USB descriptor serial number. #4243. Thanks @jepler.
• Add directory for manually-run tests; add Socket tests. #4187. Thanks @hierophect.
• Only build translations listed in an allow list. #4298. Thanks @jepler.

Documentation

• Fix formatting in SPI documentation. #4296. Thanks @ajs256.
• Typo fix in RP2040 rp2pio documentation. #4277. Thanks @tannewt.
• Ignore idf-tools folder. #4225. Thanks @jepler.
• Update Design Guide discussion of exceptions and asserts. #4185. Thanks @caternuson.
• Improve StateMachine messages. #4276. Thanks @bergdahl.
• Translation additions and improvements. Thanks:
  • @bergdahl (Swedish)
  • @rodrigoargumedo (Spanish)
  • @jposada202020 (Spanish)
  • @wtuemura (Portuguese - Brazil)
  • @MisterD66 (German)
  • @hugodahl (French)
  • @dglaude (French)
  • @hexthat (Chinese - Pinyin)
  • Luca De Filippo (Italian)

New boards since 6.2.0-beta.2

• Adafruit Feather RP2040. #4270, #4312, #4319. Thanks @tannewt and @jepler.
• Adafruit QT Py RP2040. #4188. Thanks @ladyada.
• Pimoroni RP2040 boards. #4228. Thanks @ZodiusInfuser.
  • Pimoroni Tiny 2040.
  • Pimoroni Keybow 2040.
  • Pimoroni PicoSystem.
• UnexpectedMaker TinyS2. #4244. Thanks @UnexpectedMaker.

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.
• _bleio.ConnectionError has been 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.
• RP2040: A few I2C devices do not work on the RP2040 with busio.I2C. Use bitbangio.I2C instead, and use bitbangio.I2C(..., probe=False) if necessary. See #4082 and #4235.
• 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.2, including @ajs256, @anecdata, @arturo182, @bergdahl, @caternuson, @DavePutz, @deshipu, @dglaude, @dhalbert, @ecasadod, @gamblor21, @hathach, @hexthat, @hierophect, @hugodahl, @iot49, @jamesbowman, @jedgarpark, @jepler, @jerryneedell, @jfabernathy, @joelburton, @jposada202020, @kamtom480, @kattni, @kevinjwalters, @kmatch98, @ladyada, @lesamouraipourpre, @MicroDev1, @MisterD66, @Neradoc, @rodrigoargumedo, @siehputz, @tannewt, @tawez, @TG-Techie, @UnexpectedMaker, @weblate, @wtuemura, @ZodiusInfuser, 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.