adafruit-circuitpython-week.../2025/2025-07-14.md
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CircuitPython Weekly Meeting for July 14, 2025

Welcome to the CircuitPython Weekly meeting notes! Feel free to add your Hug Reports and Status Updates before the meeting, alphabetically by your username. During the meeting, we go through them in order. If you cant make the meeting and would still like to participate, add your notes with a “(missing meeting)” after your username and well read them off for you.

Add any longer-form discussion topics or general questions you have to the “In the weeds” section.

We now convert this document to Markdown on export, instead of including explicit raw Markdown formatting. When you type, just format your contributions with regular Google Docs formatting. If you type using Markdown formatting characters, your input will be converted on the fly to formatted text. You can also right-click and “Paste as Markdown” any text that is using raw Markdown.

Thanks! We hope to see you in the meeting!

Tim is hosting.

Video is available on YouTube.

Join here for the chat all week: http://adafru.it/discord.

The CircuitPython Weekly Meeting normally is held at 2pm US ET/11am PT on Mondays. Check the #circuitpython channel on Discord for notices of change in time and links to past meetings. Meeting times are also available in iCal format for use with standard calendar applications and can also be viewed in your browser.

If you want to be able to participate in the meeting by speaking, you will need to be added to the @circuitpythonistas role on Discord. Please ask any of the moderators or admins to add you if youd like to join.

CircuitPython development is sponsored by Adafruit. Please support them by purchasing hardware from https://adafruit.com.

Reminders: Podcast available on most services. Let us know if were missing some. The canonical URL for the podcast version is https://adafruit-podcasts.s3.amazonaws.com/circuitpython_weekly_meeting/audio-podcast.xml which you may be able to enter directly into compatible podcast apps.

Community News

03:56 CircuitPython 10.0.0-alpha.8 Released

CircuitPython 10.0.0-alpha.8 is an alpha release for 10.0.0. Further features, changes, and bug fixes will be added before the final release - Adafruit Blog and release notes - GitHub.

Highlights of this release

  • Increase the firmware partition size for ESP32-S3 boards with 4MB flash, allowing more features to be included, including BLE. You must update the TinyUF2 bootloader on these boards. See the notes.
  • Merge updates from MicroPython v1.25.0.
  • Fix regressions caused by SD automount capability.
  • Add Terminal.cursor_x and .cursor_y.
  • Add picodvi.Framebuffer.color_depth.

05:17 Building an Autonomous LEGO Train with CircuitPython and LIDAR

Dr. Lorraine Underwood hacks a Bluetooth-controlled LEGO train, mounting a track system to the ceiling of her home. She integrates CircuitPython, a Seeed XIAO board, NeoPixels, and a spinning LIDAR sensor to detect walls and control the trains movement - Element14 and YouTube. Via BlueSky.

06:04 A Handy Utility For Seeing CircuitPython Pins

A Python 3 command line utility to see the defined pins for CircuitPython boards - GitHub. Via Mastodon.

06:35 Project of the Week: A DIY IR Camera


Malcom Wilson built a digital infrared camera in a Yashica Film body. It's built with a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, Pi Camera 3 NoIR and OLED display, programmed in Python - Camera Hacks by Malcom-Jay.

07:19 Newsletter Details

The Python on Microcontrollers Weekly Newsletter is a CircuitPython-community-run newsletter emailed every Monday. The complete archives are [here](https://www.adafruitdaily.com/category/circuitpython/). It highlights the latest Python on hardware related news from around the web including CircuitPython, Python and MicroPython developments.

To contribute your own news or project, edit next week's draft on GitHub and submit a pull request with the changes. You may also or email cpnews@adafruit.com, or tag a post with #CircuitPython on Mastodon, Bluesky, or X (formerly known as Twitter),.

08:06 State of CircuitPython, Libraries and Blinka

This report contains information from the previous seven days. Any changes (PRs merged, etc.) made today are not included in this report.

08:29 Overall

  • 16 pull requests merged
    • 10 authors - CrackXT, bborncr, Fabien-Chouteau, weblate, TheKitty, OmarEMbed, ddrown, dhalbert, BlitzCityDIY, FoamyGuy
    • 6 reviewers - TheKitty, BlitzCityDIY, FoamyGuy, ladyada, dhalbert, jepler
  • 9 closed issues by 6 people, 16 opened by 13 people

09:39 Week of 7/7/25:

  • 9 pull requests merged
    • 5 authors - mlodedrwale, FoamyGuy, bgigous, tekktrik, makermelissa
    • 5 reviewers - FoamyGuy, tekktrik, dhalbert, makermelissa, TheKitty
  • 11 closed issues by 8 people, 8 opened by 7 people

10:52 Core

12:59 Libraries

Library updates in the last seven days:

16:45 Blinka

17:57 Hug reports

18:16 @foamyguy

  • @TheKitty for working through the available text and terminal display APIs documenting issues and possible improvements as well as a new learn guide that includes these.

18:44 @danh

  • @FoamyGuy for some quick reviews before the 10.0.0-alpha.8 release.

18:59 @tannewt (notes only)

  • Thanks to everyone who covered for me while I was out.

19:10 @todbot (notes only)

  • Group hug

19:21 @James Fowler

  • @danh and @tannewt for help with gc.collect() issues (#10456)
  • @danh, @bill88t, @sola85, and @neradoc for helping get IR Remotes / pulseio.PulseIn working again on my Lolin S2 Minis with 10.0 alpha

20:19 Status Updates

20:45 @foamyguy

  • Testing different devices and version of nina-fw with esp32spi to troubleshoot and try to narrow down an issue affecting latest version of nina
  • Testing triple matrix bonnet with Pi 4 and Pi 5, and working on learn guide
  • Replying to issues in core and some libraries relating to Terminal and other picodvi display related things

21:43 @danh

  • Released CircuitPython 10.0.0-alpha.8. This version uses larger firmware partitions on 4MB flash ESP32-S3 boards, which requires a TinyUF2 update. There are other fixes and enhancements.
  • Im continuing to work on 10.0.0 issues. Ive also made a PR to do larger partitions for 4MB ESP32-S2 boards, which will complete the partition size increase for all boards. Non-USB boards have already been done.

22:24 @jepler (notes only)

  • I made many contributions to MicroPython since April: (some merged, some in open PR). Check notes for full list. [Host, Please dont read it all]
    • Fix various subtle problems with mp_printf function use (some merged, some in open draft PR)
    • Create a compiler plugin for detecting whether mp_printf is used correctly (open draft PR)
    • Reduce code size of mp_printf
    • Support grouping digits in {} formatting with {:_b} and {:_x}
    • Micropython now runs “address” and “undefined behavior” sanitizers during CI, and I fixed all revealed problems
      • Git history shows I first started working on this in 2017!
    • Fixed markup of “MicroPython differences from CPython” pages
    • Various other small compatibility improvements, bug fixes, code size, documentation and test coverage improvements
  • I made More progress with my Classic Mac (System 6 / 7) MicroPython port, as mentioned in a recent newsletter. Check notes for full details. [Host: please dont read it all]
    • Basic vfs support for Mac filesystems
    • Garbage collection works
    • Can import modules & packages from disk or from frozen
    • Can run a modified version of the fullscreen editor, which is frozen in
    • Can run a program when you double-click it
    • Still only tested in “umac” mac emulator
    • Next major milestone is useful QuickDraw support. This is using a custom C code generator and open source Mac API specification files called “multiversal”. I did manage to draw a rectangle!
  • I would love collaborator(s) on Mac MicroPython port!
  • I will be in London at the time of the meeting. Returning to the US July 16.
  • Ill be attending PyOhio weekend of July 26.

24:03 @tannewt (notes only)

  • Back working part time after leave. Im still watching the baby during the day so Im working when she sleeps. Please mention me if you want my input and Ill get back to you when I can.
  • Caught up on email and happy to do reviews.
  • Will be looking at some epaper support and fruit jam DVI debugging.

24:41 In The Weeds

@foamyguy
Adding static stubs files in the core repo? Someone recently pointed out that micropython const has no stub. Its missing because stubs are mostly generated from shared-bindings and micropython module isnt in there. Docs have a similar issue as its also mostly generated from code in shared-bindings. There are some static .rst docs files for modules that dont exist in shared-bindings. Im thinking it would make sense to have the same for stubs. One question is where to put them?

  • Tannewt: Sounds fine to me. Maybe a top level stubs folder?

27:04 Wrap-Up

Next meeting is 7/28/25 at normal time 2pm US Eastern / 11am US Pacific