uflash3 3.0.4

A module and utility to flash Python onto the BBC micro:bit.

A community fork of uFlash.

A utility for flashing the BBC micro:bit with Python scripts and the MicroPython runtime. You pronounce the name of this utility “micro-flash”. ;-)

It provides three services:

1. A library of functions to programatically create a hex file and flash it onto a BBC micro:bit.

2. A command line utility called uflash/py2hex that will flash Python scripts onto a BBC micro:bit.

3. A command line utility called uextract/hex2py that will extract Python scripts from a hex file created by uFlash.

Several essential operations are implemented:

• Encode Python into the hex format.

• Embed the resulting hexified Python into the MicroPython runtime hex.

• Extract an encoded Python script from a MicroPython hex file.

• Discover the connected micro:bit.

• Copy the resulting hex onto the micro:bit, thus flashing the device.

• Specify the MicroPython runtime hex in which to embed your Python code.

You can generate or download fully optimized MicroPython runtime hex for micro:bit v2 through micropython-microbit-v2-builder.

Installation

To install simply type:

$ pip install uflash3

NB: You must use a USB data cable to connect the micro:bit to your computer (some cables are power only). You’re in good shape if, when plugged in, the micro:bit appears as a USB storage device on your file system.

Linux users: For uflash to work you must ensure the micro:bit is mounted as a USB storage device. Usually this is done automatically. If not you’ve probably configured automounting to be off. If that’s the case, we assume you have the technical knowledge to mount the device yourself or to install the required kernel modules if they’re missing. Default installs of popular Linux distros “should just work” (tm) out of the box given a default install.