![\"MicroPython](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Mu-Editor-thumbnail.png?resize=1200%2C675&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nContents:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n MicroPython is a Python 3 programming language re-implementation targeted for microcontrollers and embedded systems. MicroPython is very similar to regular Python. Apart from a few exceptions, the language features of Python are also available in MicroPython. The most significant difference between Python and MicroPython is that MicroPython was designed to work under constrained conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because of that, MicroPython does not come with the entire pack of standard libraries. It only includes a small subset of the Python standard libraries, but it includes modules to easily control and interact with the GPIOs, use Wi-Fi, and other communication protocols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mu Editor is a simple Python editor for beginners. As mentioned on the Mu Editor website, \u201cLess is More: Mu has only the most essential features, so users are not intimidated by a baffling interface.<\/em>\u201d[Mu Editor Webpage]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Installing Mu Editor is very straightforward. Follow the next steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1)<\/strong> Go to the following website and download Mu Editor for your operating system: https:\/\/codewith.mu\/en\/download<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2)<\/strong> Run the installer you\u2019ve just downloaded\u2014it\u2019s probably in your Downloads<\/em> folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3)<\/strong> Finally, follow the on-screen instructions to install it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have trouble with the installation, look at the official instructions on the Mu Editor website: Mu Editor Installation Guides<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s it. It couldn\u2019t be simpler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Open Mu Editor. The following window will open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can see that the interface is very simple and intuitive to use. Let\u2019s take a quick look at the buttons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MicroPython isn\u2019t flashed onto the ESP32 or ESP8266 boards by default. The first thing you need to do to start programming your boards with MicroPython is flash\/upload\/burn the firmware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are different ways in which you can do that. Mu Editor comes with a tool that allows you to quickly install MicroPython firmware on your board. Another method is using esptool\u2014check this tutorial to burn MicroPython firmware with esptool.py<\/a> if you have trouble flashing the firmware with Mu Editor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go to the MicroPython Downloads page: https:\/\/micropython.org\/download\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Select the type of board you\u2019re using. Here are the quick links for \u201cregular\u201d ESP32 and ESP8266 boards:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You should see a similar web page (see figure below) with links to download .bin<\/span> files. Download the latest release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time of writing this article, the latest release is v1.17 (2021-09-02).bin<\/em><\/strong> for the ESP32 and ESP8266 boards. Don\u2019t download the Nightly builds; those versions are not stable and are only recommended for advanced programmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The downloaded file will probably go to the Downloads<\/em> folder. Continue reading to learn how to flash the firmware on your boards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this section, you\u2019ll learn how to flash MicroPython firmware on your boards using Mu Editor. Follow the next steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1)<\/strong> Connect your ESP32 or ESP8266 board to your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2)<\/strong> Open Mu Editor. And click on the gear icon at the bottom right corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3)<\/strong> Click on the ESP Firmware flasher <\/strong>tab. It should automatically detect an ESP32 or ESP8266 board connected to a specific COM port. If you don\u2019t see any port on the Device field, go to this section of the ESP troubleshooting guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4)<\/strong> Choose your device type: ESP32 or ES8266 board. Click on the Browse<\/strong> button and select the MicroPython firmware .bin<\/span> file you\u2019ve downloaded previously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5)<\/strong> Click on Erase & write firmware<\/strong> to start burning MicroPython firmware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6)<\/strong> If you\u2019re using an ESP8266 board, the burning process will start automatically for most boards. If you\u2019re using an ESP32 board, you’ll probably need to hold the on\u2011board BOOT\/FLASH button for about two seconds right after clicking on the Erase & Write firmware button to put your board in flashing mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7)<\/strong> After a few seconds, the process is completed\u2014see figure below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congratulations. You successfully flashed MicroPython firmware on your boards using Mu Editor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, we assumed that you have Mu Editor installed on your computer and the ESP32\/ESP8266 flashed with MicroPython firmware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To get you familiar with the process of writing a file and executing code on your ESP32\/ESP8266 boards, we\u2019ll upload a simple script that blinks the on-board LED of your ESP32 or ESP8266 (that corresponds to GPIO 2).<\/p>\n\n\n\n After having the MicroPython firmware installed on your board and having the board connected to your computer through a USB cable, follow the next steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1)<\/strong> Press the New<\/strong> button to create a new file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2)<\/strong> Copy the following code to your newly created file (including indentation).<\/p>\n\n\n View raw code<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 3)<\/strong> Press the Save<\/strong> button to save the file to your computer. Save it whenever is more convenient to you. We recommend creating a project folder to save that file, for example, called Blink<\/em>. Then, save the file inside that folder. The file should be called main.py<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4)<\/strong> Click on the Files<\/strong> button to open your board filesystem and your project directory on your computer\u2014see figure below. There should be a file called boot.py<\/span> already on your board. It is created by default when you burn MicroPython firmware. There\u2019s also a file called main.py<\/span> on your computer with the code provided previously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Troubleshooting:<\/strong> If you got an error when clicking on the Files<\/strong> button (see figure below), try the following until you get a response: <\/p>\n\n\n\n 5)<\/strong> To upload code to your board, drag the main.py<\/span> file from the \u201cFiles on your computer\u201d window to the \u201cFiles on your device\u201d window. Now, the main.py<\/span> file is on your board filesystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note:<\/strong> Later, if you want to make changes to your main.py<\/span>, you should save it on your computer first. Then, drag the main.py<\/span> again to the device window to overwrite the previous file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6)<\/strong> Now, press the on-board ESP32\/ESP8266 EN<\/strong> (ENABLE<\/strong>) or RST<\/strong> (RESET<\/strong>) button to restart your board. After that, it will run the code we\u2019ve just uploaded. The on\u2011board blue LED should be blinking every half a second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The following figure shows the ESP32 on-board LED light up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the following figure shows the ESP8266.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congratulations! You\u2019ve just written and uploaded your first MicroPython script to your ESP32\/ESP8266 board using Mu Editor software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this tutorial you’ve learned how to use Mu Editor software to program your ESP32 and ESP8266 boards using MicroPython. We have tutorials for other MicroPython IDEs that you might want to experiment with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to learn more about MicroPython with the ESP32 and ESP8266 boards, take a look at our resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks for reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In this guide, you’ll learn how to use Mu Editor software to program your ESP32 and ESP8266 boards using MicroPython. Mu Editor is a simple Python editor for beginner programmers … <\/p>\nWhat is MicroPython?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
![\"MicroPython](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Micropython-logo.svg-Copy.png?resize=250%2C254&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\"){kind=logo}
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nInstalling Mu Editor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Downloading](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Download-Mu-Editor.png?resize=708%2C686&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nMu Editor Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Mu](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Mu-Editor-Overview.png?resize=962%2C572&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Mu](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Mu-Editor-modes.png?resize=602%2C432&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nFlashing MicroPython Software<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Downloading MicroPython Firmware<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Download](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Download-Micropython-firmware.png?resize=461%2C538&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nFlashing MicroPython Firmware using Mu Editor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Mu](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Mu-Editor-Settings.png?resize=750%2C445&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Mu-Administration-ESP-Flasher.png?resize=602%2C521&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Mu](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/mu-editor-burn-firmware-done.png?resize=602%2C521&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nRunning Your First Script<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
![\"Mu](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Mu-editor-new-file.png?resize=47%2C62&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n# Complete project details at https:\/\/RandomNerdTutorials.com\/micropython-programming-with-esp32-and-esp8266\/\n\nfrom machine import Pin\nfrom time import sleep\n\nled = Pin(2, Pin.OUT)\n\nwhile True:\n led.value(not led.value())\n sleep(0.5)\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\t![\"Mu](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Mu-Editor-save-file.png?resize=42%2C60&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Mu](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Mu-editor-files-computer-device.png?resize=962%2C572&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Mu](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/MU-Editor-Error-Cannot-open-files.png?resize=422%2C204&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"Mu](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Mu-Editor-Upload-Files-to-Device.png?resize=962%2C634&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"ESP32](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ESP32-board-Built_in-LED-turned-on-HIGH.jpg?resize=750%2C422&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"ESP8266](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/ESP8266-blinking-LED.jpg?resize=750%2C421&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWrapping Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n