CircuitPython 8.2.3

This is CircuitPython 8.2.3, the latest bugfix revision of CircuitPython, and is a new stable release.

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. The 8.2.0 firmware is larger than what the bootloader can handle. See these instructions for updating your bootloader.

Notable changes to 8.2.3 since 8.2.2

• Improve RGBMatrix timing on SAMx5x.

Notable changes to 8.2.3 since 8.1.0

• Continued enhancement of synthio.
• RP2040 alarm.sleep_memory.

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 8.2.2

Fixes and enhancements

Port and board-specific changes

Broadcom

Espressif

i.MX

nRF

RP2040

SAMx

• Improve RGBMatrix timing. #8220. Thanks @PaintYourDragon and @jepler.

SiLabs

Spresense

STM

Individual boards

Documentation changes

• Fix ReadTheDocs builds by explicitly redirecting index.html to the README. #8249. Thanks @jepler.

Build and infrastructure changes

Translation additions and improvements

New boards since 8.2.2

Known issues

• ESP32-S3 has significant issues with I2C devices that sleep or use clock stretching. Retry operations on these devices as necessary, or use ESP32-S2 boards.
• Espressif boards have ESP-IDF storage leaks and occasionally crash after extended WiFi use.
• See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues, including issues still to be addressed for:
  • 8.2.x
  • 9.0.0
  • long term

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed since 8.2.2, including the contributors above, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

CircuitPython 8.2.2

This is CircuitPython 8.2.2, the latest bugfix revision of CircuitPython, and is a new stable release.

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. The 8.2.0 firmware is larger than what the bootloader can handle. See these instructions for updating your bootloader.

Notable changes to 8.2.2 since 8.2.1

• Replace expired Adafruit IO SSL certificate.

Notable changes to 8.2.2 since 8.1.0

• Continued enhancement of synthio.
• RP2040 alarm.sleep_memory.

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 8.2.1

Fixes and enhancements

• Replace expired Adafruit IO SSL certificate. #8227. Thanks @jepler for PR and @brentru for certificate update.

Port and board-specific changes

Broadcom

Espressif

i.MX

nRF

RP2040

SAMx

SiLabs

Spresense

STM

Individual boards

Documentation changes

Build and infrastructure changes

Translation additions and improvements

New boards since 8.2.1

Known issues

• ESP32-S3 has significant issues with I2C devices that sleep or use clock stretching. Retry operations on these devices as necessary, or use ESP32-S2 boards.
• Espressif boards have ESP-IDF storage leaks and occasionally crash after extended WiFi use.
• See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues, including issues still to be addressed for:
  • 8.2.x
  • 9.0.0
  • long term

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed since 8.2.1, including the contributors above, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

CircuitPython 8.2.1

This is CircuitPython 8.2.1, the latest bugfix revision of CircuitPython, and is a new stable release.

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. The 8.2.0 firmware is larger than what the bootloader can handle. See these instructions for updating your bootloader.

Notable changes to 8.2.1 since 8.1.0

• Continued enhancement of synthio.
• RP2040 alarm.sleep_memory.

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 8.2.1

Most changes below are backports from main. Thanks @dhalbert for the backport pull requests.

Fixes and enhancements

• Return correct type from dict.fromkeys(). #8207, #8175. Thanks @kbsriram and @dhalbert.
• Raise NotImplementedError for os.getenv() on small boards without settings.toml support. #8206, #8169. Thanks @jepler and @dhalbert.
• Fix setting wifi.radio.hostname. #8201, #8150. Thanks @microdev1 and @dhalbert.

Port and board-specific changes

Broadcom

Espressif

• Increase maximum synthio channels to 12. #8212, #8189. Thanks @todbot.

i.MX

nRF

RP2040

• Fix RP2040 manual safe mode via reset button. #8170. Thanks @tannewt.

SAMx

SiLabs

Spresense

STM

Individual boards

• 42. Keebs Frood: Rev7 uses new flash chip. #8203, #8154. Thanks @piit79.
• Adafruit MatrixPortal S3: fix address pins. #8199, #8137. Thanks @makermelissa.
• Adafruit Metro RP2040: support 16MB flash. #8181. Thanks @jepler.
• Adafruit QT Py ESP32-S3 no PSRAM: remove frozen libraries. #8197, #8130. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Espressif ESP32-S3 Box: use PSRAM. #8197, #8129. Thanks @Neradoc.
• Espressif ESP32-S3 Box Lite: use PSRAM. #8197, #8129. Thanks @Neradoc.
• UnexpectedMaker FeatherS3: add second I2C bus. #8174. Thanks @UnexpectedMaker.

Documentation changes

• Note that wifi.radio.ipv4_address_ap is read-only. #8208, #8180. Thanks @anecdata and @dhalbert.
• Document various networking restrictions. #8205, #8165. Thanks @anecdata and @dhalbert.
• Automate documentation of optional types and functions. #8185. Thanks @jepler.
• Fix zlib.decompress() name. #8195, #8125. Thanks @jimmo.

Build and infrastructure changes

Translation additions and improvements

New boards since 8.2.0

• Adafruit Metro M7 1011 SD. #8196, #8127. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Adafruit Metro RP2040. #8181. #8194, #8035. Thanks @dhalbert and @jepler.
• Adafruit QT Py ESP32-S3 4MB Flash 2MB PSRAM. #8198, #8130. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Datanoise PicoADK. #8204, #8166, #8156. Thanks @DatanoiseTV and @dhalbert.
• Makerdiary nRF52840 Connect Kit. #8200, #8142. Thanks @makerdiary.
• splitkb.com Liatris. #8202, #8152. Thanks @splitkb.

Known issues

• ESP32-S3 has significant issues with I2C devices that sleep or use clock stretching. Retry operations on these devices as necessary, or use ESP32-S2 boards.
• Espressif boards have ESP-IDF storage leaks and occasionally crash after extended WiFi use.
• See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues, including issues still to be addressed for:
  • 8.2.x
  • 9.0.0
  • long term

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed since 8.2.0, including the contributors above, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

CircuitPython 8.2.0

This is CircuitPython 8.2.0, the latest minor revision of CircuitPython, and is a new stable release.

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. The 8.2.0 firmware is larger than what the older bootloaders can handle. See these instructions for updating your bootloader.

Notable changes to 8.2.0 since 8.1.0

• Continued enhancement of synthio.
• RP2040 alarm.sleep_memory.

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 8.2.0-rc.1

This release is a relabeling of 8.2.0-rc.1 and is otherwise the same as that release.

Known issues

• ESP32-S3 has significant issues with I2C devices that sleep or use clock stretching. Retry operations on these devices as necessary, or use ESP32-S2 boards.
• Espressif boards have ESP-IDF storage leaks and occasionally crash after extended WiFi use.
• See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues, including issues still to be addressed for:
  • 9.0.0
  • long term

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed since 8.1.0, including the contributors above, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

CircuitPython 8.2.0 Release Candidate 1

This is CircuitPython 8.2.0-rc.1, a release candidate for CircuitPython 8.2.0. We believe it is stable, and are making a release candidate for further testing before final release.

Notable changes to 8.2.0 since 8.1.0

• Continued enhancement of synthio.
• RP2040 alarm.sleep_memory.

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 8.2.0-rc.0

Fixes and enhancements

• Fix shape.set_boundary(). #8114. Thanks @FoamyGuy.

Port and board-specific changes

Broadcom

Espressif

i.MX

nRF

RP2040

• Prevent bad audio artifacts during flash writes. #8123. Thanks @jepler.

SAMx

SiLabs

Spresense

STM

Individual boards

• Espressif ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1: Correct board.BUTTON. #8116. Thanks @Neradoc.

Documentation changes

Build and infrastructure changes

Translation additions and improvements

• Thanks for translations:
  • @wtuemura (Portugese - Brazil)

New boards since 8.2.0-rc.0

Known issues

• ESP32-S3 has significant issues with I2C devices that sleep or use clock stretching. Retry operations on these devices as necessary, or use ESP32-S2 boards.
• Espressif boards have ESP-IDF storage leaks and occasionally crash after extended WiFi use.
• See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues, including issues still to be addressed for:
  • 8.2.0
  • 8.x.x
  • long term

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed since 8.2.0-rc.0, including the contributors above, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

CircuitPython 8.2.0 Release Candidate 0

This is CircuitPython 8.2.0-rc.0, a release candidate for CircuitPython 8.2.0. We believe it is stable, and are making a release candidate for further testing before final release.

Notable changes to 8.2.0 since 8.1.0

• Continued enhancement of synthio.
• RP2040 alarm.sleep_memory.

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 8.2.0-beta.1

Fixes and enhancements

• Improve OnDiskGif documentation; report clearer error when image is too wide. #8102. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Validate wifi access point channel. #8087. Thanks @anecdata.
• Update RGBMatrix protomatter library. #8056. Thanks @jepler.
• Speed up displayio refresh when objects are hidden. #8050. Thanks @FoamyGuy.

Port and board-specific changes

Broadcom

Espressif

i.MX

• Fix pin checking for busio.SPI. #8084. Thanks @breakersun.

nRF

• Reset UART peripheral on deinit to save power. #8089. Thanks @furbrain.
• Allow 12 voices for synthio. #8077. Thanks @jepler.

RP2040

SAMx

SiLabs

• Improve README.

Spresense

• Update SDK to 3.0.1. Thanks @kamtom480.

STM

Individual boards

• Pimoroni Badger 2040: increase display contrast. #8075. Thanks @mariobodemann.

Documentation changes

• Document RP2040 countio limitations. #8104. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Fix typo in aesio documentation. #8097. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Correct wifi.radio.start_ap documentation. #7680. Thanks @dhalbert.

Build and infrastructure changes

• Speed up LTO builds by using parallel make jobs. #8096. Thanks @jepler.

Translation additions and improvements

• Thanks for translations:
  • @rezaalmanda (Indonesian)

New boards since 8.2.0-beta.1

• Adafruit MatrixPortal S3. #8056. Thanks @jepler.
• Smart Bee Designs Bee-Data-Logger. #8099. Thanks @strid3r21.
• Unexpected Maker NANOS3. #8080. Thanks @UnexpectedCircuitPython (@UnexpectedMaker).

Known issues

• ESP32-S3 has significant issues with I2C devices that sleep or use clock stretching. Retry operations on these devices as necessary, or use ESP32-S2 boards.
• Espressif boards have ESP-IDF storage leaks and occasionally crash after extended WiFi use.
• See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues, including issues still to be addressed for:
  • 8.2.0
  • 8.x.x
  • long term

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed since 8.2.0-beta.1, including the contributors above, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

CircuitPython 8.2.0 Beta 1

This is CircuitPython 8.2.0-beta.1, a beta release for CircuitPython 8.2.0, and is a new unstable release.

Notable changes to 8.2.0 since 8.1.0

• Continued enhancement of synthio.
• RP2040 alarm.sleep_memory.

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 8.2.0-beta.0

Fixes and enhancements

• Reduce size of stack frames. #8071. Thanks @tannewt.
• Use biquad filtering per note for synthio. #8048. Thanks @jepler.
• API changes and documentation improvents for synthio. #8024. Thanks @jepler.

Port and board-specific changes

Broadcom

Espressif

i.MX

RP2040

SAMx

SiLabs

• Update README. #8042. Thanks @applecuckoo.

Spresense

STM

Individual boards

• Lolin C3 Pico: fix pin assignments. #8031. Thanks @tkroo.
• Makerdiary M60: allow powering via battery. #8043. Thanks @hyx0329.
• Microchip SAME54 Xplained Pro: support additional flash chip type. #8054. Thanks @tomiahola.
• Nordic PCA10056: make buttons and LEDs compatible with PCA10100. #8037. Thanks @jpconstantineau.
• Pimoroni Badger 2040: update display start sequence to increase constrast. #8075. Thanks @mariobodemann.

Documentation changes

Build and infrastructure changes

• Provide port-specific fetching of submodules. #8073, #8070. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Fix compilation cast issue. #8039. Thanks @graeme-winter.
• More synthio tests. #8028. Thanks @jepler.

Translation additions and improvements

• Thanks for translations:
  • @Atalanttore (German)
  • @bergdahl (Swedish)

New boards since 8.2.0-beta.0

Known issues

• ESP32-S3 has significant issues with I2C devices that sleep or use clock stretching. Retry operations on these devices as necessary, or use ESP32-S2 boards.
• Espressif boards have ESP-IDF storage leaks and occasionally crash after extended WiFi use.
• See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues, including issues still to be addressed for:
  • 8.2.0
  • 8.x.x
  • long term

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed since 8.2.0-beta.0, including the contributors above, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

CircuitPython 8.2.0 Beta 0

This is CircuitPython 8.2.0-beta.0, a beta release for CircuitPython 8.2.0, and is a new unstable release.

Notable changes to 8.2.0 since 8.1.0

• Continued enhancement of synthio.
• RP2040 alarm.sleep_memory.

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 8.1.0

Fixes and enhancements

• synthio improvements and fixes. #8024, #7985. Thanks @jepler.
• Fix memoryview.cast over sliced memoryview. #7998. Thanks @tannewt.
• Fix display initialization crashes. #7983. Thanks @furbrain.

Port and board-specific changes

Broadcom

Espressif

• Fix TouchAlarm. #8003. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Check USB/JTAG lines for incoming characters. #7973. Thanks @tannewt.
• Improve debug builds for ESP32-C3. #7972. Thanks @tannewt.

i.MX

RP2040

• Add alarm.sleep_memory. #8015. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Wait for completion in wifi.radio.stop_station(). #7982. Thanks @bill88t.
• Allow static IPv4 address. #7976. Thanks @anecdata.

SAMx

SiLabs

• Various fixes, including BLE bonding. #8021. Thanks @silabs-BelaV.

Spresense

STM

Individual boards

Adafruit Feather RP2040: add access to boot button. #7988. Thanks @Neradoc.
LilyGo T-Display RP2040: fix incorrect pins. #8026. Thanks @phamhuyvn.
LilyGo T-Display RP2040: fix display column start. #8011. Thanks @rcarteraz.

Documentation changes

Build and infrastructure changes

• Add apt-get update for mpy-cross build steps. #8012. Thanks @dhalbert.

Translation additions and improvements

• Thanks for translations:
  • @andibing (English - UK)
  • @bergdahl (Swedish)
  • @bill88t (Greek)
  • @jposada202020 (Spanish)
  • @luisan00 (Spanish)
  • @tannewt (multiple langauges)
  • @wtuemura (Portugese - Brazil)

New boards since 8.1.0

Lolin C3 Pico. #8025, #8014. Thanks @tkroo,
Lolin S3 Mini. #8023. Thanks @tkroo.
M5Stack Timer Camera X. #7941. Thanks @bill88t.
NXP MIMIXRT1060-EVKB. #8016. Thanks @charlieh0tel.

Known issues

• ESP32-S3 has issues with I2C devices that sleep (LC709203F), use clock stretching, or violate the I2C protocol (e.g., BNO055). Retry operations on these devices as necessary, or use ESP32-S2 boards.
• Espressif boards have ESP-IDF storage leaks and occasionally crash after extended WiFi use.
• See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues, including issues still to be addressed for:
  • 8.2.0
  • 8.x.x
  • long term

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed since 8.1.0, including the contributors above, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

CircuitPython 8.1.0

This is CircuitPython 8.1.0, the latest minor revision of CircuitPython, and is a new stable release.

Notable changes to 8.1.0 since 8.0.0

• Silicon Labs (SiLabs) MG24 microcontroller family port (silabs), contributed by Silicon Labs.
• Add animated GIF support, including palette support: gifio.OnDiskGif.
• Add safemode.py, for programmatic handling of safe mode.
• Add ESP-NOW support on Espressif.
• synthio improvements and new features; API is still experimental and will continue to change after 8.1.0.
• Add picodvi on RP2040: DVI/HDMI framebuffer and displayio support.
• CPU frequency is settable on RP2040.
• Add 7-color e-ink display support.
• Add bitmaptools.drawpolygon().
• Allow setting pystack size in settings.toml.
• Allow static IPv4 addresses for access points.
• Add dither support to Palette.
• Support array.extend(iterable).

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 8.1.0-rc.0

This release is a relabeling of 8.1.0-rc.0 and is otherwise the same as that release.

Known issues

• ESP32-S3 has issues with I2C devices that sleep (LC709203F), use clock stretching, or violate the I2C protocol (e.g., BNO055). Retry operations on these devices as necessary, or use ESP32-S2 boards.
• ESP32-S2 used as an HTTP server may crash after several hours. This is a regression from 7.x.x.
• See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues, including issues still to be addressed for:
  • 8.x.x
  • 9.0.0
  • long term

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed since 8.0.0, including the contributors above, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.

CircuitPython 8.1.0 Release Candidate 0

This is CircuitPython 8.1.0-rc.0, a release candidate for 8.1.0. We believe it is stable, and are making a release candidate for further testing before final release.

Notable changes to 8.1.0 since 8.0.0

• Silicon Labs (SiLabs) MG24 microcontroller family port (silabs), contributed by Silicon Labs.
• Add animated GIF support, including palette support: gifio.OnDiskGif.
• Add safemode.py, for programmatic handling of safe mode.
• Add ESP-NOW support on Espressif.
• synthio improvements and new features; API is still experimental and may change after 8.1.0.
• Add picodvi on RP2040: DVI/HDMI framebuffer and displayio support.
• CPU frequency is settable on RP2040.
• Add 7-color e-ink display support.
• Add bitmaptools.drawpolygon().
• Allow setting pystack size in settings.toml.
• Allow static IPv4 addresses for access points.
• Add dither support to Palette.
• Support array.extend(iterable).

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 8.1.0-beta.2

Fixes and enhancements

• Fix display object management. #2204. Thanks @furbrain.
• Allow no chip select pin in native adafruit_bus_device.spi_device. #7970. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Continued synthio improvements and fixes. #7969, #7959, #7933, #7862. Thanks @jepler.
• Prevent WiFi workflow background activity if WiFi not connected. #7960. Thanks @thess.
• Improve vectorio.Polygon argument validation. #7947. Thanks @FoamyGuy.
• Support little-endian e-paper displays; fix display memory management. #7891. Thanks @tannewt.

Port and board-specific changes

Broadcom

Espressif

• Improve serial input in ESP32-C3 and similar chips. #7973. Thanks @tannewt.
• Improve debug builds. #7972. Thanks @tannewt.
• Add missing ESP32-S3 microntroller.Pin pins. #7967. Thanks @bojanpotocnik.
• Report actual busio.SPI().frequency. #7963. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Allow static IPv4 for access point. #7946. Thanks @anecdata.
• Fix crash when sending rapid pings. #7938. Thanks @jepler.
• Add documentation that supervisor.next_stack_limit() has no effect. #7914. Thanks @anecdata.

i.MX

• Fix pin pad handling. #7964. Thanks @tannewt.
• Fix regressions, startup and MIDI problems. #7953. Thanks @jepler.
• Update TinyUSB, fix unimplemented Processor routines, script for peripheral generation. #7921. Thanks @tannewt.

nRF

• Implement memorymap. #7942. Thanks @furbrain.

RP2040

• Wait for wifi.radio.stop_station() to complete. #7982. Thanks @bill88t.
• Allow static IPv4 for access point. #7976. Thanks @anecdata.
• picodvi now takes framebuffer resolution instead of output resolution. #7922. Thanks @tannewt.
• Allow setting cpu.frequency. #7430. Thanks @Lanzaa.

SAMx

SiLabs

• Initialize RTC to prevent time crashes. #7939. Thanks @RetiredWizard.

Spresense

STM

• Preserve monotonicity of time routines after RTC date/time change. #7965. Thanks @dhalbert.

Individual boards

• Adafruit Feather RP2040: add board.BUTTON/board.BOOT for GPIO4, for rev D and later boards. #7988. Thanks @Neradoc.
• Adafruit Feather RP2040 ThinkInk: rename board, add board.BUTTON. #7927. Thanks @BlitzCityDIY.
• Sprig Hack Club: add board.DISPLAY. #7958. Thanks @ajs256.

Documentation changes

• Document settings.toml CIRCUITPY_PYSTACK_SIZE. #7951. Thanks @Neradoc.
• Add __contains__() stub to displayio.Group. #7949. Thanks @FoamyGuy.

Build and infrastructure changes

• Update how Python stubs are built. #7957, #7934. Thanks @tekktrik.
• Update shallow clone tag. #7909. Thanks @mjsir911.

Translation additions and improvements

• Thanks for translations:
  • @ChenxiXiao (Chinese - Pinyin)
  • @luisan00 (Spanish)
  • @yutaro Urata (Japanese)

New boards since 8.1.0-beta.2

• Adafruit Feather RP2040 Prop-Maker. #7877. Thanks @dhalbert.
• Lilygo T-Display. #6037. Thanks @erongd.
• NXP IMXRT1015-EVK. #7921. Thanks @tannewt.
• NXP iMXRT RT 1040EVK. #7921. Thanks @tannewt.
• NXP iMXRT RT 1050EVKB. #7921. Thanks @tannewt.
• Pimoroni Inky Frame 5.7. #7962. Thanks @tannewt.
• Pimoroni Badger 2040 W. #7916. Thanks @bablokb.
• Pimoroni Pico DV Demo Base for Pico. #7915. Thanks @RetiredWizard.
• Pimoroni Plasma 2040 W. #7920. Thanks @bablokb.

Known issues

• ESP32-S3 has issues with I2C devices that sleep (LC709203F), use clock stretching, or violate the I2C protocol (e.g., BNO055). Retry operations on these devices as necessary, or use ESP32-S2 boards.
• ESP32-S2 used as an HTTP server may crash after several hours. This is a regression from 7.x.x.
• See https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython/issues for other issues, including issues still to be addressed for:
  • 8.x.x
  • 9.0.0
  • long term

Thanks

Thank you to all who used, tested, and contributed since 8.1.0-beta.2, including the contributors above, and many others on GitHub and Discord. Join us on the Discord chat to collaborate.