MicroPython Programming Basics with ESP32

and ESP8266

MicroPython is a re-implementation of Python programming language targeted

for microcontrollers and embedded systems like the ESP32 or ESP8266.

Programming in MicroPython is very similar to programming in Python: all of the

language features of Python are also in MicroPython, apart from a few
exceptions. Because microcontrollers and embedded systems are much more
limited than our computers, MicroPython does not come with the full standard
library by default.

If you already know how to program in Python, programming in MicroPython is

the same. You just need to bear in mind that MicroPython is used for
constrained devices. So, you must keep your code as simple as possible.

This article explains the basics of Python programming language syntax that
also apply to MicroPython, like:

Mathematical operators
Relational operators

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 Data types
print() function
Conditional statements
While and for loops
User defined functions
Classes and objects
Modules

Prerequisites
In this tutorial we’re going to use uPyCraft IDE as a development environment,
but you can use any other program. To install and get started with uPyCraft IDE,
follow these next tutorials:

Getting Started with MicroPython on ESP32 and ESP8266

Install uPyCraft IDE:
Install uPyCraft IDE – Windows PC Instructions
Install uPyCraft IDE – Mac OS X Instructions
Install uPyCraft IDE – Linux Ubuntu Instructions
Flash/Upload MicroPython Firmware to ESP32 and ESP8266

Mathematical Operators
Micropython can perform mathematical operations. The following table shows
the mathematical operators supported:

Operator Mathematical Operation

+ Addition

– Subtraction

* Multiplication

/ Division

// Division, discarding the decimal point

% Remainder after division

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 In the Shell, try several operations to see how it works. For example:

>>> 2+2*9-3
17
>>> 28594/2312
12.36765
>>> 214522236/7.5
2.860297e+07
>>> 23//2
11
>>> 25%3
1

You can perform other mathematical operations if you import the math module,
like square root, trigonometric functions, logarithm, exponentiation, etc..

Relational Operators
You can make comparisons using relational operators. These compare the
values on either sides and show the relation between them.

Operator Description

== Equal to

!= Not equal to

> Greater than

< Less than

>= Greater than or equal to

<= Less than or equal to

Try several comparisons and test the result:

>>> 2 == 3
False
>>> 4 == 4

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 True
>>> 3 > 2
True
>>> 489808234 != 2223
True
>>> 4.5 >= 4.5
True

Assigning Values to Variables

In Python you don’t need to declare what type each variable is. If you’re used to
program your boards using Arduino IDE, you know that you need to declare the
type of a variable when creating a new variable. There isn’t such thing in Python.

Variables are simply a storage placeholder for values: number or text. To assign
a value to a variable you use the equal sign (=), with the variable name on the
left and the value on the right.

For example, to create a variable to hold the GPIO number where an LED is
connected to, you can simply type the following:

led_pin = 23

In the Arduino IDE, you would have something like:

const int led_pin = 23;

As you can see, Python is much simpler than programming in C (in Arduino
IDE).

Note: the names you give variables can’t have spaces and are case sensitive,
so led_pin is different from LED_PIN or Led_Pin.

Data Types

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 Variables can store several types of values, not just whole numbers. That’s
where data types come in. A data type is a classification of a value that tells
what operations can be done with the value and how it should be stored.

The following table shows the data types we’ll use most often in our projects.

Data type Description

int (Int) Integer (whole number)

float (Float) Number with a decimal point

str (String) Set of characters between quotation marks

bool (Boolean) True or False

Let’s create variables with different data types:

>>> a = 6
>>> b = 95.32
>>> c = 'Hello World!'
>>> d = True

The first value assigned to a, is an integer, which is a whole number.

The b variable contains a float value, which is a number with a decimal.
The third value, ‘Hello World!’, is a string, which is a series of characters.
A string must be put inside single (‘Hello World!’) or double quotation
(“Hello World!”) marks.
Finally, d is a Boolean, which is a type that can only take either True or
False.

There is a function to check the data type of a variable: the type() function. This
function accepts as argument the variable you want to check the data type.

type(variable)

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 For example, after declaring the variables in the previous example a, b, c, and d,
you can check its data type. For example, if you type:

>>> type(a)

It returns:

<class 'int'>

This tells that a is an int (integer). Experiment with the other variables and you
should get:

>>> type(b)
<class 'float'>
>>> type(c)
<class 'str'>
>>> type(d)
<class 'bool'>

print() Function
The print() function prints the message between parentheses into the Shell. This
is specially useful in our projects to debug the code and keep track of what’s
going on. For example:

>>> print('LED is on')

LED is on

Comments
Comments in Python start with the hash character (#) and continue to the end of
the line. A comment is useful to add “notes” in your program or to tell anyone
who reads the program what the script does. This doesn’t add any functionality
to your program. For example:

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 # This is just a comment

Because in MicroPython we are working under constrained conditions, there are

occasions in which you should avoid adding comments to save space on the
ESP memory.

Conditional Statements
To write useful programs, you’ll probably need to perform different actions
depending on whether a certain condition is True or False. We’re talking about
conditional statements. They have the following structure:

if <expr1>:
<statement1>
elif <expr2>:
<statement2>
elif <expr3>:
<statement3>
(...)
else:
<statementn>

<expr> is a Boolean expression and it can be either True or False. If it is True,

the <statement> right after it is executed. The <statement> should be indented
so that Python knows what statement belongs to each expression.

The elif statement stands for else if and runs only if the first if condition is not
True.

The else statement only runs if none of the other expressions are True.

There’s no limit to the number of elif statements in a program. It’s also not
necessary to include an else clause, but if there is one, it must come at the end.

In the Arduino IDE, we use {} curly brackets to define code blocks. With
MicroPython, we use indentation. Additionally, you need to use a colon : after

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 each expression. Contrary to the Arduino IDE, the expression doesn’t need to be
inside parentheses.

Important: Python’s standard indentation is 4 spaces. In MicroPython

indentation should be only 2 spaces to fit more code into the microcontroller
memory.

While and For loops

Loops allow you to execute a block of code multiple times for as long as a
condition is met. There are two kinds of loops: while and for loops. For example,
you can print all numbers from 1 to 10 with a while loop:

number = 1
while number <= 10:
print(number)
number = number + 1

The code that belongs to the while loop, indicated by the indentation, is
executed as long as the value in the number variable is less than or equal to
(<=) 10. In every loop, the current number is printed and then 1 is added to it.

You can also print numbers from 1 to 10 using a for loop, like this:

number = 1
for number in range(1, 11):
print(number)

The for loop is executed as long as the value in the number variable is within the
range of 1 and 11. The range() function automatically assigns the next value to
the number variable, until 1 below the final number you specify.

You should use a for loop when you want to repeat a block of code a certain
number of times. Use a while loop when you want to repeat code until a certain
condition is no longer met. In some situations, you can use either
one, oftentimes one is more suitable than the other.

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 Similar to the conditional statements, the for and while Boolean expressions
should have a colon : right after them, and the expressions to be executed
should be indented.

User-defined Functions
To define a new function, you use the word def followed by the name you want
to give the function and a set of parentheses (and arguments inside, if
necessary). After the parentheses you add a colon : and then tell the function
what instructions to perform. The statements should be indented with 2 spaces
(in MicroPython). For example:

def my_function(<arg1>, <arg2>, ...):

<statement>
(...)
return

For example, a function that converts the temperature in Celsius to Fahrenheit

could be the following:

def celsius_to_fahrenheit(temp_celsius):
temp_fahrenheit = temp_celsius * (9/5) + 32
return temp_fahrenheit

The celsius_to_fahrenheit() function accepts as argument a temperature in

Celsius (temp_celsius). Then, it does the calculation to convert the temperature.
Finally, it returns the temperature in Fahrenheit (temp_fahrenheit).

Note: functions don’t necessarily need to return something. They could just
perform some work without the need to return anything.

Classes and Objects

Python is an Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) language. There are two
important concepts you need to understand about OOP: classes and objects.

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 A class is a blueprint for objects. It defines a set of attributes (data and
functions) that characterize an object. The functions inside of a class are called
methods. Classes are defined by the keyword class followed by the name of the
class. For example:

class MyClass:
(...)

Note: by convention, classes’ names in Python should be CapWords. However,

you can give whatever name you want.

An object is an instance of a class. It’s simply a collection of data and methods

into a single entity. Through the object, you can use all functionalities of its class.
Confused? Let’s take a look at a simple example.

If we would like to define several persons in a Python program using the same
attributes, we can think of the term person as a class. We may want to define a
person using attributes like name, age, country, etc.

So, we can create a class called Person. Our class will have the following
attributes: name, age, and country. You can add as many attributes as you want.
We’ll also create a function (method) that prints a description of the person
based on its attributes:

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 class Person:
name = ""
age = 0
country = ""
def description(self):
print("%s is %d years old and he is from %s." %(self.n

As you can see, we define a new class by using the keyword class, followed by
the name we want to give to the class.

Inside the Person class, we define several variables to hold values. By default
the name and country are empty strings, and the age is 0. Then, we also define
a function (method) that prints all the variables values into the Shell.

All functions inside a class should have the self parameter as argument and
other arguments, if needed.

The self parameter refers to the object itself. It is used to access variables that
belong to the class. For example, to access the name variable inside the class,
we should use self.name.

Now that we’ve create a class, we can create as many Person objects as we
want by using that class. The Person object will have a name, age, and country.
We’ll also be able to print its description using the description() method.

For example, to create a new Person object called person1:

>>> person1 = Person()

Set the object’s properties

To set the name, age, and country of the person1 object. You can do it as
follows:

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 >>> person1.name = "Rui"
>>> person1.age = 25
>>> person1.country = "Portugal"

Calling methods

Later in your code you can use the created description() method on any Person
object. To call the description() method on the person1 object:

>>> person1.description()

This should print the following:

Rui is 25 years old and he is from Portugal.

You should now understand that you can create as many objects as you want
using the same class and you are able to use the available methods with all the
objects of that class.

The constructor method

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 Instead of having to define a class, and then set the object’s properties, which
can be time consuming, you can use the constructor method inside your class.

The constructor method is used to initiate data as soon as an object of a class is

instantiated. The constructor method is also known as __init__ method. Using
the __init__ method, the Person() class looks as follows:

class Person():
def __init__(self, name, age, country):
self.name = name
self.age = age
self.country = country
def description(self):
print("%s is %d years old and he is from %s." %(self.n

Then, to instantiate a Person object with the same attributes we’ve defined
earlier, we just need to do the following:

>>> person1 = Person("Rui", 25, "Portugal")

If you call the description() on the person1 object, you’ll get the same result:

>>> person1.description()
Rui is 25 years old and he is from Portugal.

Modules
A module is a file that contains a set of classes and functions you can use in
your code – you can also call it library. To access the classes and functions
inside that code, you just need to import that module into your code.

You can create your own modules, or use already created modules from the
standard Python library. When it comes to MicroPython, it only comes with a
small subset of the standard Python library, but it does come with a set of
modules to control GPIOs, make networks connections and much more.

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 Importing modules/libraries is as simple as using:

import module_name

For example, to import the machine library that contains classes to control
GPIOs, type the following:

import machine

In most programs you won’t need all the classes from one module. You may just
want to import a single class. For example, to import only the Pin class from the
machine module:

from machine import Pin

Wrapping Up
In this tutorial we’ve just scratched the surface of Python basics that also apply
to MicroPython. If you are used to program electronics using the Arduino IDE,
you’ll find that MicroPython has a much simpler and user-friendly syntax. Let’s
just summarize some of the main differences between your Arduino sketches
and programs in MicroPython:

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 You don’t use semicolon ; at the end of a statement
After Boolean expressions in conditional statements and loops, you use a
colon :
To define code blocks use indentation instead of curly brackets {}
When creating a variable, you don’t need to define which data type it is –
you don’t need to declare a variable
Indentation in MicroPython is 2 spaces

Recommend reading: MicroPython Programming with ESP32 and ESP8266

eBook

We hope you’ve found this article about the MicroPython basics syntax useful.
We’ll be adding tutorials about programming the ESP32 and ESP8266 using
MicroPython very soon. So, stay tuned and subscribe the RNT blog!

Thanks for reading.

SMART HOME with

Raspberry Pi, ESP32,
ESP8266 [eBook]

Recommended Resources

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 Build a Home Automation System from Scratch » With Raspberry Pi,
ESP8266, Arduino, and Node-RED.

Home Automation using ESP8266 eBook and video course » Build IoT
and home automation projects.

Arduino Step-by-Step Projects » Build 25 Arduino projects with our course,

even with no prior experience!

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 What to Read Next…

Arduino IDE 2: Install ESP32 LittleFS Uploader (Upload Files to the

Filesystem)

MicroPython: MQTT – Publish DHT11/DHT22 Sensor Readings

(ESP32/ESP8266)

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 Getting Date and Time with ESP32 on Arduino IDE (NTP Client)

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18 thoughts on “MicroPython Programming

Basics with ESP32 and ESP8266”

Naveen
October 16, 2018 at 11:47 am

Nice work

Reply

Sara Santos
October 16, 2018 at 3:48 pm

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 Thanks

Reply

Raj
October 16, 2018 at 3:07 pm

Hi,

Can we install Tensorflow in in ESP32 or esp8266 ?

Would be interested if you can make any tutorial when you get a
chance…

Thx

Reply

Sara Santos
October 16, 2018 at 3:50 pm

Hi Raj.
We’re not planning adding any tutorials about Tensorflow in a near
future.
Regards,
Sara

Reply

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 Joerg Seiler
October 16, 2018 at 3:19 pm

Wonderfully written, easy to understand step by step introduction of the

basics.

What I would of liked to have seen is an example of actually creating a

small module (Library).

Reply

Sara Santos
October 16, 2018 at 3:53 pm

Hi.
Thank you for your support.
This is just a quick getting started guide, so we just included the most
basic and essential stuff.
Creating a module is indeed something really interesting. Maybe we’ll
add a new tutorial about that in a near future.
Regards,
Sara

Reply

Dusan
October 17, 2018 at 7:01 am

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 Perfektne, praktické, jednoduché.
MicroPython ma svoju budúcnosť a aj ESP32.
Dakujem.
ps: pošlem na cafe.

Reply

Sara Santos
October 17, 2018 at 8:42 am

Hi Dusan.
You are right!
Thank you so much for supporting our work.
(Ďakujeme vám za podporu našej práce) (used Google translator).
Regards,
Sara

Reply

Henry Smith
October 18, 2018 at 1:25 pm

Thanks for the article. I have been doing Arduino C++ on a NodeMcu
8266 and it is somewhat limiting. I am quite comfortable with Python and
I want to give it a try.

Does MicroPython support LIsts, Tuples and Dictionaries? If so, I’m in.
Thanks

Reply

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 Sara Santos
October 21, 2018 at 3:26 pm

Hi Henry.
Yes, it does.
In the following link you can see in more detail the differences between
Python and MicroPython:
http://docs.micropython.org/en/latest/genrst/builtin_types.html#
Regards,
Sara

Reply

JU@NUS
November 29, 2020 at 10:53 pm

Hi. I really appreciate your work. I’m starting with uPython and your
explanation was very helpful.
Is there any simple GUI to control mi esp32 board ?

Reply

Colin
May 7, 2021 at 3:52 pm

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 Hi,
I enjoy your tutorials. Thank you!
I can get ESP32 programs to run in micro python on my Wroom board
using uPycraft. However I do not understand how to permanently upload
the equivalent of an hex file (as with AVR or Pic processors) so that the
program runs by itself. Have I missed something or is this not possible?
When I shutdown uPycraft the program stops working.

regards,

Colin

Reply

Sara Santos
May 8, 2021 at 1:34 pm

Hi.
Make sure that you are uploading the code to the board and not just
running the code.
Here’s a tutorial about upycraft:
https://randomnerdtutorials.com/getting-started-micropython-esp32-
esp8266/
Regards,
Sara

Reply

Colin
May 8, 2021 at 3:11 pm

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 Thank you Sara for your quick response!
I did follow the tutorial but still cannot get the program to run by itself
after re-setting. I renamed it ” main.py “and there is a boot.py in the
device list. However boot.py is empty (?)
Contents of boot.py:

This file is executed on every boot (including wake-boot from

deepsleep)

#import esp
#esp.osdebug(None)
#import webrepl
#webrepl.start()

Surely it should contain some instructions?

I am puzzled!

regards and thanks for your patience,

Colin

Reply

Sara Santos
May 8, 2021 at 4:47 pm

Hi.
It doesn’t necessarily need to have something on it. It can be empty
without any problem.
You need to make sure that the main.py file is on the device folder.
Otherwise, it won’t run by itself.
At the side bar, check that you have a main.py file on the device
folder.

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 It might also be an issue with your IDE, I’m not sure… You may want
to try another IDE and see how it goes.
We have a tutorial for Thonny IDE, and VS Code with the PyMakr
extension:
https://randomnerdtutorials.com/getting-started-thonny-micropython-
python-ide-esp32-esp8266/
https://randomnerdtutorials.com/micropython-esp32-esp8266-vs-
code-pymakr/

Regards,
Sara

Reply

Colin
May 10, 2021 at 9:08 am

Hi Sara,
Thanks again for your reply.
I have tried Thonny and this seems to work very well as it allows
me to load the code onto the board. I now have an ESP32 reading
from a DS18b20, displaying the result on an oled display, sending
output to uart and also a flashing light. What more could I ask for?
Many thanks for your help.

best wishes,

Colin

Sara Santos
May 10, 2021 at 1:32 pm

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 Great!
I’m glad the issue was solved.
Regards,
Sara

Alejhandro Navarro
December 5, 2021 at 9:25 pm

I want to use a ESP32 to connect with a UHF readers, I want to use

uPython for that, how I can call or import .h files from my main.py?

Reply

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