CircuitPython 8.0.0 Launches with a New Wireless Workflow, Raspberry Pi Pico W Support
The new release brings with it a warning of potential data loss for beta users, though, so proceed carefully before upgrading.
The CircuitPython team has announced the programming project's latest major release, CircuitPython 8.0.0 — which brings with it a new Wi-Fi workflow and a warning of potential data loss on upgrade.
"This is CircuitPython 8.0.0, the latest major revision of CircuitPython, and is a new stable release," developer Dan Halbert writes in the project's GitHub release notes. The launch marks the eighth major release of the software since it launched in 2017 as a derivative of MicroPython, itself a Python derivative designed with resource-constrained microcontrollers in mind.
The biggest change in the new release is a shiny workflow for microcontrollers with Wi-Fi capabilities, currently compatible with Espressif ESP8266 and ESP32-based devices and the Raspberry Pi Pico W development board. Using this, it's possible to discover devices, browse the filesystem, upload, download, and edit files, and open up a serial or REPL connection — all without wires.
The new version is also the first CircuitPython release to support the Raspberry Pi Pico W's wireless radio, though as of CircuitPython 8.0.0 only the Wi-Fi radio is compatible. Those looking to use the radio's Bluetooth capabilities, then, will have to look elsewhere — unsurprising, given that the Bluetooth capabilities have only recently been unlocked in the official Raspberry Pi Pico software development kit (SDK) after the board launched with the feature disabled.
Those upgrading from earlier releases are given a warning of potential data loss affecting certain ESP32 and ESP32-C3 boards with 2MB and 4MB flash memory and the Raspberry Pi Pico W. Owing to a change in flash partitioning, data on the devices will be erased on upgrade — an issue that should only affect those who had been running early CircuitPython 8.0.0 beta builds.
The full changelog is available, alongside the permissively-licensed source code, on the CircuitPython GitHub repository; pre-built binaries for all compatible boards are available on the CircuitPython website.