- \n
- Raspberry Pi Pico CircuitPython Introduction<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n
- Installing CircuitPython on Raspberry Pi Pico<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n
- Verify The Raspberry Pi Pico CircuitPython Installation<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n
- Programming Raspberry Pi Pico Using CircuitPython<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n
- Raspberry Pi Pico LED Blinking (CircuitPython)<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n
- Raspberry Pi Pico CircuitPython Simulation (Wokwi)<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n
- Concluding Remarks<\/a>\n<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
\n\n\nRaspberry Pi Pico CircuitPython Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
As stated in the previous tutorial Getting Started With Raspberry Pi Pico (Using MicroPython)<\/a><\/strong>, the CircuitPython<\/strong> is a fork of the MicroPython that was created by Adafruit. It\u2019s the easiest programming experience you could think of thanks to the huge libraries list from Adafruit that includes nearly all sensors and modules that are commonly used in the makers\u2019 space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Programming the Raspberry Pi Pico in CircuitPython is of course one of the easiest options among all and the code will run much slower than Arduino C++ or C. But all in all, this is the most beginner-friendly programming language option out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the Raspberry Pi Pico CircuitPython tutorials, we’ll also use the same Thonny IDE<\/strong> that we’re using for MicroPython Tutorials. You can download the IDE here on Thonny.org<\/strong><\/a>. Download the version that suits your operating system and go through the installation steps with all default settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nInstalling CircuitPython on Raspberry Pi Pico<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
To prepare your Raspberry Pi Pico for programming with CircuitPython, you need to follow the steps below:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\nStep #1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Hold the BOOTSEL<\/strong> button on the Raspberry Pi Pico board. Then, connect the board to the USB port of your PC. This step is required to operate the microcontroller in the bootloader mode to be ready for firmware flashing. After connecting the board to the USB port, you can release the BOOTSEL button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note<\/strong>: a new window will open when the USB is connected to your PC, this is where we’ll save our UF2 firmware file.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\nStep #2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
You can just download the Raspberry Pi Pico CircuitPython UF2 file from the following links:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Raspberry Pi Pico UF2 Download<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Raspberry Pi Pico W UF2 Download<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Drag and drop it into the USB drive. And it’ll automatically be flashed to the board, which will auto-reset thereafter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you’d like to use Thonny IDE for this step instead, then proceed with the following instructions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Open Thonny IDE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the menu toolbar select: File <\/strong>> Options <\/strong>> Interpreter tab<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Raspberry-Pi-Pico-MicroPython-Setup-Thonny-IDE\"](\"https:\/\/deepbluembedded.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Raspberry-Pi-Pico-MicroPython-Setup-Thonny-IDE.png\" "\\"Raspberry-Pi-Pico-MicroPython-Setup-Thonny-IDE\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, select the following options: CircuitPython (Generic)<\/strong> as interpreter. And for the port, leave it as \u201cTry to detect port automatically<\/strong>\u201c.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, you should click on the install or update CircuitPython<\/strong> button. A new window will open as shown in the screenshot below. Here you should select the Raspberry Pi Pico board variant according to what you\u2019re using.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the Raspberry Pi Pico Board, Select Raspberry Pi Pico \/ Pico H<\/strong>. For the Raspberry Pi Pico W Board, Select Raspberry Pi Pico W \/ Pico WH<\/strong>. Then, you should click the install<\/strong> button. It\u2019ll take a couple of seconds and it\u2019ll give you a done<\/strong> message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Raspberry-Pi-PIco-CircuitPython-UF2-Flashing-Firmware-Thonny-IDE\"](\"https:\/\/deepbluembedded.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Raspberry-Pi-PIco-CircuitPython-UF2-Flashing-Firmware-Thonny-IDE.png\" "\\"Raspberry-Pi-PIco-CircuitPython-UF2-Flashing-Firmware-Thonny-IDE\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can close that window, and you should see at the bottom of the IDE window that your board is ready and the REPL showing a greeting message so you can test it by simple commands like
print('hello world')<\/code> or something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nVerify The Raspberry Pi Pico CircuitPython Installation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
After flashing the UF2 file to your Raspberry Pi Pico board, the RPI-RP2 drive will be ejected. Then, a new drive will be mounted. This new drive is named CIRCUITPY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you have a CIRCUITPY<\/strong> drive, then you have successfully installed CircuitPython on your Raspberry Pi Pico. This drive will have some files and folders that are used to store settings, libraries, and our firmware programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most importantly, the code.py<\/strong> file which is the main source code file for any project. This is where our main program shall be stored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Connect your Raspberry Pi Pico board to your PC and open Thonny IDE. In the REPL shell window, type in any test commands to see how the Raspberry Pi Pico executes it, and print back the results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
print('hello world')<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nProgramming Raspberry Pi Pico Using CircuitPython<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
To program the Raspberry Pi Pico Using CircuitPython with Thonny IDE, follow the steps below:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\nStep #1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Make sure you’ve flashed the proper UF2 file to your Raspberry Pi Pico board and it shows up in your computer as a drive named “CIRCUITPY<\/strong>“.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\nStep #2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Open the Thonny IDE<\/strong>, from the menu select Open file<\/strong>, navigate to the Raspberry Pi pico CIRCUITPY<\/strong> drive, and open the code.py<\/strong> file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Copy the following code to the code.py file, which blinks the onboard LED of the Raspberry Pi Pico (or Pico W) board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
import time\nimport board\nimport digitalio\n \nBUILTIN_LED = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.LED)\nBUILTIN_LED.direction = digitalio.Direction.OUTPUT\n \nwhile True:\n BUILTIN_LED.value = 1\n time.sleep(0.1)\n BUILTIN_LED.value = 0\n time.sleep(0.1)<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Save the file using ctrl+s<\/strong> or the save<\/strong> button in the menu bar in Thonny IDE. The code.py<\/strong> file will be flashed to the Raspberry Pi Pico board and it’ll reset to start executing the new code script automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nRaspberry Pi Pico LED Blinking (CircuitPython)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
And now let’s write our first LED Blinking CircuitPython code and run it on the Raspberry Pi Pico. Here is the code listing for this example demo project:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raspberry Pi Pico (Pico W Compatible)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
#-------------------------------------------------------------\n# LAB Name: Raspberry Pi Pico CircuitPython (Project Template)\n# Author: Khaled Magdy\n# For More Info Visit: www.DeepBlueMbedded.com\n#-------------------------------------------------------------\nimport time\nimport board\nimport digitalio\n \nBUILTIN_LED = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.LED)\nBUILTIN_LED.direction = digitalio.Direction.OUTPUT\n \nwhile True:\n BUILTIN_LED.value = 1\n time.sleep(0.1)\n BUILTIN_LED.value = 0\n time.sleep(0.1)<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you can easily tell, it sets the onboard LED pin as an output pin. And toggle its state every 100ms<\/strong> and keeps repeating forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Raspberry Pi Pico W UF2 Download<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Installing CircuitPython on Raspberry Pi Pico<\/a>\n\n<\/li>\n