3. Installation - CRCibernetica/circuitpython-ideaboard GitHub Wiki

CRCibernetica IdeaBoard CircuitPython firmware

The latest ideaboard firmware can be downloaded from the CircuitPython Download site:

ideaboard firmware

Select the language (en_US or es) and the latest adafruit-circuitpython-ideaboard-xxxxxx.bin file.

CircuitPython Installation

The CircuitPython binary is installed using any of the esptool firmware flashers. However, Adafruit has a convenient online tool that requires no installation and can be used directly in Chrome.

Connect the IdeaBoard
Put the IdeaBoard in Bootloader Mode by holding down the BOOT button and clicking RESET for one second
Navigate to Adafruit ESPTool

Select 115200 Baud and click Connect
Select the Serial port of the IdeaBoard and click Connect
When the connection is established click Erase (warning: this will completely erase all data!)
Ensure that the desired CircuitPython .bin file is selected and the offset is 0
Click on Program

Getting the CircuitPython Libraries

One of the many benefits of CircuitPython is the actively maintained bundle of 280+ libraries. A good practice is to download the entire bundle and store it in a folder ready to download the libraries that will be needed for your code:

Navigate to the CircuitPython Download library page
Download correct version Bundle. In the case of the IdeaBoard, use Version 8.x

Extract the .zip file and store the bundle folder
Do not copy all the libaries onto your IdeaBoard. A better practice is to add the libraries as needed.
Also download and extract the Examples and the Community Bundle. These additional Community Bundle libraries are maintained by members of the CircuitPython community.

Getting Started with Thonny

The Thonny IDE is a great development environment CircuitPython and Python. It supports CircuitPython boards with and without native USB. Download and install the latest version of Thonny.

Select the CircuitPython interpreter in the menu Run --> Interpreter --> CircuitPython (generic) and select the USB port where the IdeaBoard is connected and click on OK

Enable the following options in View: Assistant, Files, Object Inspector, Shell, Variables

Click RESET on the IdeaBoard and Stop in Thonny to connect

Installing the IdeaBoard libraries

The IdeaBoard helper libraries make it easy to use the onboard motors, servos and RGB LED.

Download and extract the IdeaBoard library from here
In the Thonny IDE select both the lib and examples folders and right-click to Upload to /

Your first program -- Blink

Open the default code.py application on the IdeaBoard
Delete the default code
Enter the following code into the Editor
Press the Run Current Script button (the green 'Play' button)
The RGB LED should begin to flash on and off

from ideaboard import IdeaBoard
from time import sleep

ib = IdeaBoard()

AZUL = (0,0,255)
NEGRO = (0,0,0)

while True:
    ib.pixel = AZUL
    sleep(1)
    ib.pixel = NEGRO
    sleep(1)