First, install CircuitPython on your board, following the instructions in the Metro ESP-32 Learn Guide.
Required Libraries
- adafruit_framebuf.mpy
- adafruit_io
- adafruit_minimqtt/
- adafruit_connection_manager.mpy
- adafruit_ticks.mpy
- adafruit_led_animation
- adafruit_pixel_framebuf.mpy
- adafruit_requests.mpy
- neopixel.mpy
Once we have all the files we need, a directory listing will look similar to above as far as files and directories.
Upload Code
Click on the Download Project Zip link below to grab the main code directly from GitHub. Rename the file to code.py and drop it onto the main (root) directory of the CIRCUITPY drive that appeared in your computer file explorer/finder when the board was plugged in via a known, good USB cable The code will run properly when all of the files have been uploaded including libraries.
Use any text editor or favorite IDE to modify the code. We suggest using Mu.
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2020 Noe Ruiz for Adafruit Industries
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
from os import getenv
import ssl
import board
import neopixel
import adafruit_requests
import socketpool
import wifi
from adafruit_io.adafruit_io import IO_HTTP
from adafruit_pixel_framebuf import PixelFramebuffer
# adafruit_circuitpython_adafruitio usage with native wifi networking
# Get WiFi details and Adafruit IO keys, ensure these are setup in settings.toml
# (visit io.adafruit.com if you need to create an account, or if you need your Adafruit IO key.)
ssid = getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID")
password = getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD")
aio_username = getenv("ADAFRUIT_AIO_USERNAME")
aio_key = getenv("ADAFRUIT_AIO_KEY")
if None in [ssid, password, aio_username, aio_key]:
raise RuntimeError(
"WiFi and Adafruit IO settings are kept in settings.toml, "
"please add them there. The settings file must contain "
"'CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID', 'CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD', "
"'ADAFRUIT_AIO_USERNAME' and 'ADAFRUIT_AIO_KEY' at a minimum."
)
# Neopixel matrix configuration
PIXEL_PIN = board.IO6
PIXEL_WIDTH = 12
PIXEL_HEIGHT = 12
# LED matrix creation
PIXELS = neopixel.NeoPixel(
PIXEL_PIN, PIXEL_WIDTH * PIXEL_HEIGHT, brightness=0.5, auto_write=False,
)
PIXEL_FRAMEBUF = PixelFramebuffer(
PIXELS,
PIXEL_WIDTH,
PIXEL_HEIGHT,
alternating=True,
rotation=1,
reverse_x=True
)
# Adafruit.io feeds setup
QUOTE_FEED = "sign-quotes.signtext"
COLOR_FEED = "sign-quotes.signcolor"
CURRENT_TEXT = "Merry Christmas!"
CURRENT_COLOR = 0xFFFFFF
# Helper function to get updated data from Adafruit.io
def update_data():
global CURRENT_TEXT, CURRENT_COLOR # pylint: disable=global-statement
print("Updating data from Adafruit IO")
try:
quote_feed = IO.get_feed(QUOTE_FEED)
quotes_data = IO.receive_data(quote_feed["key"])
CURRENT_TEXT = quotes_data["value"]
color_feed = IO.get_feed(COLOR_FEED)
color_data = IO.receive_data(color_feed["key"])
CURRENT_COLOR = int(color_data["value"][1:], 16)
# pylint: disable=broad-except
except Exception as error:
print(error)
# Connect to WiFi
print(f"Connecting to {ssid}")
wifi.radio.connect(ssid, password)
print(f"Connected to {ssid}!")
# Setup Adafruit IO connection
pool = socketpool.SocketPool(wifi.radio)
requests = adafruit_requests.Session(pool, ssl.create_default_context())
# Initialize an Adafruit IO HTTP API object
IO = IO_HTTP(aio_username, aio_key, requests)
while True:
update_data()
print("Displaying", CURRENT_TEXT, "in", hex(CURRENT_COLOR))
for i in range(12 * len(CURRENT_TEXT) + PIXEL_WIDTH):
PIXEL_FRAMEBUF.fill(0x000000)
PIXEL_FRAMEBUF.pixel(0, 0, 0x000000)
PIXEL_FRAMEBUF.text(CURRENT_TEXT, PIXEL_WIDTH - i, 3, CURRENT_COLOR)
PIXEL_FRAMEBUF.display()
Page last edited July 01, 2025
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