github adafruit/circuitpython 9.0.0-beta.1
CircuitPython 9.0.0 Beta 1

latest releases: 9.2.0, 9.2.0-rc.0, 9.2.0-beta.1...
pre-release8 months ago

This is CircuitPython 9.0.0-beta.1, a beta release for 9.0.0, and is a new unstable release. This release has known bugs that will be addressed before 9.0.0 final.

NOTE: CircuitPython 9.0.0-alpha.4 and later use a new internal dynamic storage mechanism ("split heap"), which is being tuned. You may find that some CircuitPython programs fail with MemoryError. If you encounter programs that work in 8.x.x but get MemoryError exceptions, consider filing an issue with details.

WARNING for nRF52 boards only: If your board has an nRF52 UF2 bootloader whose version is before 0.6.1, you will not be able to load CircuitPython 8.2.0 and later, due to increased size of the firmware. See these instructions for updating your bootloader.

Notable changes to 9.0.0 since 8.x.x

Audio

  • Add synthio.Note .loop_start and .loop_end properties.
  • Add synthio.Synthesizer.note_state.
  • Add I2S MCLK support on Espressif.
  • Allow signed amplitude in synthio.

Built-in modules

  • Add OrderedDict.move_to_end().
  • Add warnings module, similar to what is in CPython.
  • Add locale.getlocale().
  • Add codeop.compile_command().
  • Remove 8.x.x deprecations: displayio.*.show(), I2CPeripheral renamed to I2CTarget.

Graphics

  • Reorganize and split displayio. 8.x.x naming structure is available in 9.x.x, but will be removed in 10.0.0.
  • Add jpegio JPEG decoder support.
  • Add bitmapfilter image manipulation.

Internal

  • New split-heap internal dynamic storage mechanism.
  • Merge updates from MicroPython v1.19.1, v1.20.0, and v1.21.0.
  • Espressif: update to ESP-IDF v5.1.2.

Networking

  • Allow specifying protocol for raw sockets.
  • Add mDNS TXT record support.
  • Make SD cards available over web workflow.
  • API change: Require explicit socket port reuse. Use socket.setsockopt(pool.SOL_SOCKET, pool.SO_REUSEADDR, 1), as in CPython.

Python interpreter

  • Use terser error messages on small builds.

Storage

  • CIRCUITPY drives now mount on Android.
  • Increased file capacity on CIRCUITPY drives <= 128kB.
  • Require filesystem mounts to be on existing directories. Create /sd in fresh filesystems to provide a mount point.

Supervisor

  • Add repl.py, which runs just before the REPL starts up.

USB

  • Video device ("Webcam", UVC) support.
  • HID can wake up sleeping host computer.
  • Further USB host support, on i.MX and RP2040.

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 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-S2, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3
  • nrf: Nordic nRF52840, nRF52833
  • raspberrypi: Raspberry Pi RP2040
  • stm: ST STM32F4 chip family

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

  • broadcom: Raspberry Pi boards such as RPi 4, RPi Zero 2W
  • litex: fomu
  • mimxrt10xx: NXP i.MX RT10xxx
  • silabs: Silicon Labs MG24 family
  • stm: ST non-STM32F4 chip families

Changes since 9.0.0-beta.0

Fixes and enhancements

  • Require explicit socket port reuse (SO_REUSEADDR). #8940. Thanks @tannewt.
  • Update frozen submodules. #8938. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Update root certificates to include ssl.com RSA root. #8935. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Prevent out-of-range USB MSC reads. Fixes problem with Samsung Disk Magician. #8933. Thanks @drath42 and @jepler.
  • Set socket type on accepted socket. #8932. Thanks @jepler.
  • Increase CDC RX buffer size to allow better ctrl-C handling. #8929. Thanks @tannewt.
  • Fix crash when appending to read-only displayio.Group, such as CIRCUITPYTHON_TERMINAL. #8923. Thanks @jepler.
  • Fix JpegDecoder arguments. #8905. Thanks @FoamyGuy.
  • Restore <module>.file attribute. #8881. Thanks @jepler.
  • Allow RGBMatrix framebuffer size to be more than 65535 bytes. #8864, #8847. Thanks @jepler.
  • Allow zero-size blit in bitmaptools. #8880. Thanks @FoamyGuy.
  • Allow creating a mount point on an existing directory, in preparation 9.0.0 for capability. #8864, #8863. Thanks @jepler.
  • Create /sd/placeholder.txt to document and provide a mount point for SD cards. #8860. Thanks @jepler.
  • Add bitmapfilter.blend(). #8859. Thanks @jepler.
  • Fix .keys() for dict subclasses. #8851. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • USB video device (UVC) support. #8831. Thanks @jepler.
  • Correct sys.version to say "CircuitPython. #8808. Thanks @bill88t.
  • USB host keyboard: add function keys and other keys. #8807. Thanks @iyalosovetsky.

Port and board-specific changes

Broadcom

Espressif

  • Fix and speed up TLS access to sites using elliptic-curve certificates. #8924. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Turn off _bleio on 4MB ESP32-S3 boards and refactor _bleio setting for other boards. #82924. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Reduce NeoPixel animation glitching. #8920. Thanks @tannewt.
  • Fix socket failures by disabling variable length SSL buffers. #8913. Thanks @tannewt.
  • Use new ESP-IDF PCNT, RMT, and timer group drivers. #8909. Thanks @tannewt.
  • Correct flash and PSRAM speeds. #8870. Thanks @tannewt.
  • Disable non-working i2ctarget. #8869. Thanks @tannewt.
  • Allocate SPIRAM only via caps_alloc(). #8868. Thanks @tannewt.
  • Re-enable ParallelDisplayBus. #8862. Thanks @tannewt.

i.MX

nRF

RP2040

  • Swap PIO allocation for USB host for better operation on Pico W. #8922. Thanks @jepler.
  • Update CYW43 driver to Adafruit fork. #8861. Thanks @eightycc.

SAMx

SiLabs

Spresense

STM

Individual boards

Documentation changes

Build and infrastructure changes

  • Update to pre-commit/action@v3.0.1 to get Node.js 20 support. #8936. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Report errors as failures in build-board-info.py. #8934. Thanks @jepler.
  • Include branch and PR number in PR merge firmware filenames. #8930. Thanks @dhalbert.
  • Refactor mbedtls use to shared-module/. #8926. Thanks @jepler.
  • Fix problems found while developing ports/posix. #8900. Thanks @jepler.
  • Fix tools/test-stubs.sh. #8898. Thanks @justmobilize.
  • Fix circuitpython_setboard OS path separator. #8894. Thanks @justmobilize.
  • Document how to use MP_REGISTER_MODULE. #8849. Thanks @jepler.

Translation additions and improvements

New boards since 9.0.0-beta.0

Known issues

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed to 9.0.0-beta.1, including the contributors above, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

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