# Adafruit NeoPixel Überguide ## The Magic of NeoPixels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO6xQMR8naw Incorporating scads of LEDs into an electronic project used to be a hairy prospect, a veritable rat’s nest of wires and code. The arrival of dedicated LED driver chips brought welcome relief, offloading grunt work from the microcontroller and allowing one to focus on the application. Much simpler, but still not “Christmas light” simple. The **WS2812** Integrated Light Source — or _ **NeoPixel** _ in Adafruit parlance — is the latest advance in the quest for a simple, scalable and affordable full-color LED. Red, green and blue LEDs are integrated alongside a driver chip into a tiny surface-mount package controlled through a single wire. They can be used individually, chained into longer strings or assembled into still more interesting form-factors. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/010/668/medium800/leds_neo-closeup.jpg?1377729545) Danger: ## Important Things to Know About NeoPixels in General - **Not all addressable LEDs are NeoPixels.** “NeoPixel” is Adafruit’s brand for individually-addressable RGB color pixels and strips based on the **WS2812** ,  **WS2811**  and **SK6812** LED/drivers, using a single-wire control protocol. Other LED products we carry — DotStars, WS2801 pixels, LPD8806 and “analog” strips — use different methodologies (and have their own tutorials). _When seeking technical support in the forums, a solution can be found more quickly if the correct LED type is mentioned, i.e. avoid calling DotStars “NeoPixels.” Similar, but different!_ - NeoPixels don’t just light up on their own; **they require a microcontroller** (such as Arduino) and some programming. We provide some sample code to get you started. To create your own effects and animation, you’ll need some programming practice. If this is a new experience, work through some of the beginning Arduino tutorials to get a feel for the language. - **NeoPixels aren’t the answer for every project.** The control signal has very strict timing requirements, and some development boards (such as Netduino or Raspberry Pi) can’t reliably achieve this in every situation. This is why we continue to offer other LED types; some are more adaptable to certain tasks. - Color order can vary. We're used to thinking about colored light as red/green/blue (RGB) , and some NeoPixels _are_ `RGB`, but many are `GRB`, `BGR`, `RBG`, etc. So if you ask for red, but a pixel turns green, this may be what's up. There is setup code to pick the right one for your use case. ### Not recommended. The refresh rate is relatively low (about 400 Hz to 2 KHz), and in fast motion may appear “speckled.” They look fine in stationary displays though (signs, decorations, jewelry, etc.). For POV use, [DotStar strips](../../../../adafruit-dotstar-leds/overview) will look much better (they have much higher refresh rate). ### Definitely! The slower movement used for photographic light painting doesn’t call attention to the limited refresh rate; [the results look great](../../../../neopixel-painter/overview), especially with a light diffuser. ### There’s no _inherent_ limit in the maximum length of a NeoPixel chain, but eventually you’ll encounter any of various _practical_ limits: 1. **RAM:** NeoPixels require some RAM from the host microcontroller; more pixels = more RAM. It’s only a few bytes each, but as most microcontrollers are pretty resource-constrained, this becomes a very real consideration for large projects. 2. **Power:** each NeoPixel draws a little bit of current; more pixels = more power. Power supplies likewise have some upper limit. 3. **Time:** NeoPixels process data from the host microcontroller at a fixed data rate; more pixels = more time and lower animation frame rates. - [Next Page](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neopixel-uberguide/form-factors.md) ## Guide Products ### Adafruit NeoPixel Pebble / Seed LED Strand - 300 LEDs - 2" Pitch [Adafruit NeoPixel Pebble / Seed LED Strand - 300 LEDs - 2" Pitch](https://www.adafruit.com/product/6023) We have all sorts of LED strips for a wide range of needs. [_Chonky_](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3869) strips? We got those! [Strips with alligator...](https://www.adafruit.com/?q=neopixel%20alligator%20clips%20stripping%20wires) In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/6023) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/6023/guides) ## Related Guides - [Dragon Kite Poi with Animated Lights and WLED](https://learn.adafruit.com/dragon-kite-poi-with-animated-lights-and-wled.md) - [Sparkle Motion Skirt with 2D Mapping](https://learn.adafruit.com/sparkle-motion-skirt-with-2d-mapping.md) - [LED Festival Coat with Mapping and WLED ](https://learn.adafruit.com/led-festival-coat-with-mapping-and-wled.md) - [Jellyfish Umbrella with easy WLED WiFi Control](https://learn.adafruit.com/jellyfish-umbrella-with-easy-wled-wifi-control.md) - [Polka Dot Electro-Swing Dress with NeoPixels](https://learn.adafruit.com/polka-dot-dress-with-neopixels.md) - [Remote Control with the Huzzah + Adafruit.io](https://learn.adafruit.com/remote-control-with-the-huzzah-plus-adafruit-io.md) - [NeoPixel NanoRing](https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixel-nanoring-gemma.md) - [Creating Custom LED Animations](https://learn.adafruit.com/creating-custom-led-animations.md) - [CPX Glowing Disembodied Hand](https://learn.adafruit.com/cpx-glowing-disembodied-hand.md) - [IRIS LED and Prop Guards](https://learn.adafruit.com/iris-leds-prop-guards.md) - [LED Ribbon Shoes](https://learn.adafruit.com/led-ribbon-shoes.md) - [Random Spooky LED Eyes](https://learn.adafruit.com/random-spooky-led-eyes.md) - [nOOds LED CV Signal Visualizers](https://learn.adafruit.com/noods-led-synth-cv-visualizers.md) - [Easy LED Jeweled Necklace](https://learn.adafruit.com/led-jeweled-necklace.md) - [Tent Lantern](https://learn.adafruit.com/tent-lantern.md)