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 toI2CTarget
.
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, SAMx5xcxd56
: Sony Spresenseespressif
: Espressif ESP32, ESP32-S2, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3nrf
: Nordic nRF52840, nRF52833raspberrypi
: Raspberry Pi RP2040stm
: 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 2Wlitex
: fomumimxrt10xx
: NXP i.MX RT10xxxsilabs
: Silicon Labs MG24 familystm
: 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 asCIRCUITPYTHON_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
inbitmaptools
. #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
- Adafruit Feather RP240 USB Host: allow control of
board.USB_HOST_5V_POWER
pin. #8471. Thanks @jepler. - Espressif ESP32-S3 Eye: add OV2640 support. #8901. Thanks @jerryneedell.
- Pimoroni Pico DV Base W: fix I2S audio pin assignments. #8915. Thanks @RetiredWizard.
- UnexpectedMaker Bling: Pin changes. #8853. Thanks @UnexpectedMaker.
Documentation changes
- Fix some type annotations in
synthio
. #8895. Thanks @jepler. - Add board-specific stub file generation. #8882. Thanks @FoamyGuy.
- Use terser error messages on smaller builds. #8844. Thanks @dhalbert.
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 toshared-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
- Adafruit Floppsy RP2040. #8834. Thanks @jepler.
- M5Stack Dial. #8931. Thanks @CDarius.
- Pimoroni Inky Frame 7.3in. #8896. Thanks @kattni.
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 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.