Flashing#
Flashing is the process of installing MicroPython on a microcontroller. The exact instructions vary. Below are the steps for installing MicroPython on an ESP32.
The first step in flashing MicroPython to a microcontroller is to find its port. The %discover --all magic reports this information:
%discover --all
/dev/ttyUSB0
hwid USB VID:PID=10C4:EA60 SER=0163A3DA LOCATION=1-1.3
manufacturer Silicon Labs
product CP2104 USB to UART Bridge Controller
interface CP2104 USB to UART Bridge Controller
/dev/ttyAMA2
hwid fe201800.serial
/dev/ttyAMA1
hwid fe201600.serial
/dev/ttyAMA0
hwid fe201000.serial
A controller is installed at port /dev/ttyUSB0. The exact port name varies, and may even change if you unplug and replug the device.
ESP32#
Micropython.org has compiled interpreter binaries for select architectures. For ESP32, choose “Generic ESP32 module”, unless a more specific version is available. Update the firmware and port variables in the script below, then execute.
You can also build (customized) MicroPython firmware with ide49.
%%bash
# set the correct port (%discover -all)
port=/dev/ttyUSB0
# find the latest firmware at https://micropython.org/download/esp32/
firmware=https://micropython.org/resources/firmware/esp32-20220117-v1.18.bin
# download
curl -O $firmware
# install (flash)
esptool.py -p $port erase_flash
esptool.py -p $port -b 460800 write_flash -z 0x1000 `basename $firmware`
# optionally delete the downloaded firmware
rm `basename $firmware`
Show code cell output
% Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current
Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed
100 1518k 100 1518k 0 0 393k 0 0:00:03 0:00:03 --:--:-- 393k
esptool.py v3.2
Serial port /dev/ttyUSB0
Connecting......
Detecting chip type... Unsupported detection protocol, switching and trying again...
Connecting......
Detecting chip type... ESP32
Chip is ESP32-D0WDQ6 (revision 1)
Features: WiFi, BT, Dual Core, Coding Scheme None
Crystal is 40MHz
MAC: 30:ae:a4:28:39:f0
Uploading stub...
Running stub...
Stub running...
Erasing flash (this may take a while)...
Chip erase completed successfully in 11.2s
Hard resetting via RTS pin...
esptool.py v3.2
Serial port /dev/ttyUSB0
Connecting.......
Detecting chip type... Unsupported detection protocol, switching and trying again...
Connecting.......
Detecting chip type... ESP32
Chip is ESP32-D0WDQ6 (revision 1)
Features: WiFi, BT, Dual Core, Coding Scheme None
Crystal is 40MHz
MAC: 30:ae:a4:28:39:f0
Uploading stub...
Running stub...
Stub running...
Changing baud rate to 460800
Changed.
Configuring flash size...
Flash will be erased from 0x00001000 to 0x0017cfff...
Compressed 1555136 bytes to 1022998...
Writing at 0x00001000... (1 %)
Writing at 0x00011746... (3 %)
Writing at 0x00019ebe... (4 %)
Writing at 0x00021f00... (6 %)
Writing at 0x000292a7... (7 %)
Writing at 0x00032798... (9 %)
Writing at 0x0003cbac... (11 %)
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Writing at 0x0004f85b... (14 %)
Writing at 0x00054e45... (15 %)
Writing at 0x00059ee0... (17 %)
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Writing at 0x00069344... (22 %)
Writing at 0x0006e416... (23 %)
Writing at 0x00072f94... (25 %)
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Writing at 0x0007e702... (28 %)
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Writing at 0x0010103f... (66 %)
Writing at 0x0010619e... (68 %)
Writing at 0x0010b3c2... (69 %)
Writing at 0x00110b3d... (71 %)
Writing at 0x00115d19... (73 %)
Writing at 0x0011b22b... (74 %)
Writing at 0x0012056f... (76 %)
Writing at 0x00125cd6... (77 %)
Writing at 0x0012b102... (79 %)
Writing at 0x00130775... (80 %)
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Writing at 0x0013bc6c... (84 %)
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Writing at 0x00146bb4... (87 %)
Writing at 0x0014c88c... (88 %)
Writing at 0x00154179... (90 %)
Writing at 0x0015d497... (92 %)
Writing at 0x00163417... (93 %)
Writing at 0x00168c91... (95 %)
Writing at 0x0016e70d... (96 %)
Writing at 0x00173e28... (98 %)
Writing at 0x001796da... (100 %)
Wrote 1555136 bytes (1022998 compressed) at 0x00001000 in 25.1 seconds (effective 495.3 kbit/s)...
Hash of data verified.
Leaving...
Hard resetting via RTS pin...
The device is now available:
%discover
24:0a:c4:13:ad:14 serial:///dev/ttyUSB0
%connect 24:0a:c4:12:87:7c
import sys
print(sys.implementation)
Connected to 24:0a:c4:12:87:7c @ serial:///dev/ttyUSB0
(name='micropython', version=(1, 16, 0), mpy=10757)
To flash firmware from a local file, update the port and firmware variables below, then run the cell.
%%bash
# local firmware
port=/dev/ttyUSB0
firmware=~/micropython.bin
esptool.py -p $port erase_flash
esptool.py -p $port -b 460800 write_flash -z 0x1000 $firmware
Show code cell output
esptool.py v3.2
Serial port /dev/ttyUSB0
Connecting.....
Detecting chip type... Unsupported detection protocol, switching and trying again...
Connecting.....
Detecting chip type... ESP32
Chip is ESP32-D0WDQ6 (revision 1)
Features: WiFi, BT, Dual Core, Coding Scheme None
Crystal is 40MHz
MAC: 30:ae:a4:30:80:14
Uploading stub...
Running stub...
Stub running...
Erasing flash (this may take a while)...
Chip erase completed successfully in 4.6s
Hard resetting via RTS pin...
esptool.py v3.2
Serial port /dev/ttyUSB0
Connecting.....
Detecting chip type... Unsupported detection protocol, switching and trying again...
Connecting....
Detecting chip type... ESP32
Chip is ESP32-D0WDQ6 (revision 1)
Features: WiFi, BT, Dual Core, Coding Scheme None
Crystal is 40MHz
MAC: 30:ae:a4:30:80:14
Uploading stub...
Running stub...
Stub running...
Changing baud rate to 460800
Changed.
Configuring flash size...
Flash will be erased from 0x00001000 to 0x00164fff...
Compressed 1457072 bytes to 966988...
Writing at 0x00001000... (1 %)
Writing at 0x000099b2... (3 %)
Writing at 0x00012347... (5 %)
Writing at 0x0001939e... (6 %)
Writing at 0x00022327... (8 %)
Writing at 0x0002da89... (10 %)
Writing at 0x0003815e... (11 %)
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Writing at 0x000673cd... (25 %)
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Writing at 0x00158bcc... (96 %)
Writing at 0x0015e1e9... (98 %)
Writing at 0x001641fc... (100 %)
Wrote 1457072 bytes (966988 compressed) at 0x00001000 in 23.5 seconds (effective 495.7 kbit/s)...
Hash of data verified.
Leaving...
Hard resetting via RTS pin...