# MagTag Literary Quote Clock ## Overview ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/116/456/medium800/circuitpython_IMG_7718.jpg?1667584823) This project is perfect for the book lover in all of us. In this project you will create a clock that tells the time using quotes from books. It'll update every five or so minutes (there are enough quotes to update more often but doing so has the potential to wear out your eInk display). Each time, it will display a quote that has the time highlighted in bold. The code for this project also has some useful functions for mixing multiple fonts in a relatively seamless text block, so if you're trying to do that check out the code attached. ## Parts ### Adafruit MagTag - 2.9" Grayscale E-Ink WiFi Display [Adafruit MagTag - 2.9" Grayscale E-Ink WiFi Display](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4800) The Adafruit MagTag combines the ESP32-S2 wireless module and a 2.9" grayscale E-Ink display to make a low-power IoT display that can show data on its screen even when power is removed! The ESP32-S2 is great because it builds on the years of code and support for the ESP32 and also adds... Out of Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4800) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4800/guides) ![Angled shot of rectangle-shaped electronic ink display breakout with the text: "MAGTAG 2025 Edition with SSD1680 Chipset"](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/640x480/4800-10.jpg) ### USB Type A to Type C Cable - approx 1 meter / 3 ft long [USB Type A to Type C Cable - approx 1 meter / 3 ft long](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4474) As technology changes and adapts, so does Adafruit. This   **USB Type A to Type C** cable will help you with the transition to USB C, even if you're still totin' around a USB Type A hub, computer or laptop. USB C is the latest industry-standard connector for... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4474) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4474/guides) ![Angled shot of a coiled black, USB-C to USB-A cable.](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/640x480/4474-02.jpg) ### 5V 2A Switching Power Supply w/ USB-A Connector [5V 2A Switching Power Supply w/ USB-A Connector](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1994) Our 5V 2A USB power adapter is the perfect choice for powering single-board computers like Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, or anything else that's power-hungry! This adapter was specifically designed to provide 5.25V, not 5V, but we still call it a 5V USB adapter. We did this on purpose to... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1994) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1994/guides) ![5V 2A Switching Power Supply with USB-A Connector](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/640x480/1994-01.jpg) If you'd like to mount yours like I did in the pictures: Warning: ### Mini Magnet Feet for RGB LED Matrices (Pack of 4) [Mini Magnet Feet for RGB LED Matrices (Pack of 4)](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4631) Got a glorious RGB Matrix project you want to mount and display in your workspace or home? If you have one of the matrix panels listed below, you'll need a pack of these **Mini-Magnet Feet.**  We got these specifically for our RGB LED Matrices, which no longer... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4631) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4631/guides) ![Angled shot of four magnet feet.](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/640x480/4631-00.jpg) If you would like an acrylic frame: ### Acrylic + Hardware Kit for Adafruit MagTag [Acrylic + Hardware Kit for Adafruit MagTag](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4807) Here is the perfect kit with two faceplate options for your MagTag, including a vivid Red Arrow plate and a dreamy white Cloud plate. And of course, the mounting hardware is included, so you can assemble it with just a plain Phillips screwdriver. Takes less than 3... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4807) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/4807/guides) ![Acrylic + Hardware Kit for Adafruit MagTag showing contents](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/640x480/4807-00.jpg) # MagTag Literary Quote Clock ## Install CircuitPython Danger: Make sure that you [update the TinyUF2 Bootloader](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-magtag/update-tinyuf2-bootloader-for-circuitpython-10-4mb-boards-only) before installing CircuitPython! ### Adafruit MagTag - Update TinyUF2 Bootloader for CircuitPython 10 and Later [Adafruit MagTag](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-magtag) [Update TinyUF2 Bootloader for CircuitPython 10 and Later](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-magtag/update-tinyuf2-bootloader-for-circuitpython-10-4mb-boards-only) [CircuitPython](https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython) is a derivative of [MicroPython](https://micropython.org) designed to simplify experimentation and education on low-cost microcontrollers. It makes it easier than ever to get prototyping by requiring no upfront desktop software downloads. Simply copy and edit files on the **CIRCUITPY** drive to iterate. ## Set Up CircuitPython Follow the steps to get CircuitPython installed on your MagTag. [CircuitPython Download for MagTag](https://circuitpython.org/board/adafruit_magtag_2.9_grayscale/) Warning: WARNING: The updated Adafruit MagTag 2025 Edition will not work with CircuitPython 9.2.x or earlier. Make sure you install 10.x.x or later! **Click the link above and download the latest .BIN and .UF2 file** You can use a 9.x.x release for a pre-2025 MagTag. You  **must** use a 10.x.x release for the updated MagTag 2025 Edition. (depending on how you program the ESP32S2 board you may need one or the other, might as well get both) Download and save it to your desktop (or wherever is handy). ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/138/625/medium640/adafruit_products_magtag-9.2.8.png?1753973423) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/138/626/medium640/adafruit_products_magtag-10.0.0-beta.2.png?1753973581) Plug your MagTag into your computer using a known-good USB cable. **A lot of people end up using charge-only USB cables and it is very frustrating! So make sure you have a USB cable you know is good for data sync.** ![adafruit_products_MagTag_top.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/096/955/medium640/adafruit_products_MagTag_top.jpg?1605035864) # Option 1 - Load with UF2 Bootloader This is by far the easiest way to load CircuitPython. **However it requires your board has the UF2 bootloader installed. Some early boards do not (we hadn't written UF2 yet!) - in which case you can load using the built in ROM bootloader.** Still, try this first! Warning: Make sure that you [update the TinyUF2 Bootloader](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-magtag/update-tinyuf2-bootloader-for-circuitpython-10-4mb-boards-only) before following these steps for the UF2 bootloader! ## Try Launching UF2 Bootloader Loading CircuitPython by drag-n-drop UF2 bootloader is the easier way and we recommend it. If you have a MagTag where the front of the board is black, your MagTag came with UF2 already on it. ![adafruit_products_IMG_0169.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/097/429/medium640/adafruit_products_IMG_0169.jpg?1607200225) Launch UF2 by **double-clicking** the Reset button (the one next to the USB C port). You may have to try a few times to get the timing right. ![adafruit_products_MagTag_pinouts_Reset_and_Boot0.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/097/430/medium640/adafruit_products_MagTag_pinouts_Reset_and_Boot0.jpg?1607202717) If the UF2 bootloader is installed, you will see a new disk drive appear called **MAGTAGBOOT** ![adafruit_products_image.png](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/097/431/medium640/adafruit_products_image.png?1607202820) Copy the **UF2** file you downloaded at the first step of this tutorial onto the **MAGTAGBOOT** drive ![adafruit_products_image.png](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/097/432/medium640/adafruit_products_image.png?1607202977) If you're using Windows and you get an error at the end of the file copy that says **Error from the file copy, Error 0x800701B1: A device which does not exist was specified.** You can ignore this error, the bootloader sometimes disconnects without telling Windows, the install completed just fine and you can continue.[If its really annoying, you can also upgrade the bootloader (the latest version of the UF2 bootloader fixes this warning)](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-magtag/install-uf2-bootloader) Your board should auto-reset into CircuitPython, or you may need to press reset. A **CIRCUITPY** drive will appear. You're done! Go to the next pages. ![adafruit_products_image.png](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/097/433/medium640/adafruit_products_image.png?1607203475) # Option 2 - Use esptool to load BIN file If you have an original MagTag with while soldermask on the front, we didn't have UF2 written for the ESP32S2 yet so it will not come with the UF2 bootloader. You can upload with **esptool** to the ROM (hardware) bootloader instead! Follow the initial steps found in the [Run esptool and check connection section of the ROM Bootloader page](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-magtag/rom-bootloader#run-esptool-and-check-connection-3076823-5) to verify your environment is set up, your board is successfully connected, and which port it's using. **In the final command to write a binary file to the board, replace the port with your port, and replace "firmware.bin" with the the file you downloaded above.** The output should look something like the output in the image. ![adafruit_products_Metro_ESP32_S2_binary_install.png](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/096/950/medium640/adafruit_products_Metro_ESP32_S2_binary_install.png?1605031120) Press reset to exit the bootloader. Your **CIRCUITPY** drive should appear! You're all set! Go to the next pages. ![adafruit_products_Metro_ESP32_S2_CIRCUITPY.png](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/096/951/medium640/adafruit_products_Metro_ESP32_S2_CIRCUITPY.png?1605031168) # Option 3 - Use Chrome Browser To Upload BIN file If for some reason you cannot get esptool to run, you can always try using the Chrome-browser version of esptool we have written. This is handy if you don't have Python on your computer, or something is really weird with your setup that makes esptool not run (which happens sometimes and isn't worth debugging!) You can follow along on the [Web Serial ESPTool](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-magtag/web-serial-esptool) page and either load the UF2 bootloader and then come back to Option 1 on this page, or you can download the CircuitPython BIN file directly using the tool in the same manner as the bootloader. # MagTag Literary Quote Clock ## CircuitPython Internet Test One of the great things about most Espressif microcontrollers are their built-in WiFi capabilities. This page covers the basics of getting connected using CircuitPython. The first thing you need to do is update your **code.py** to the following (it will error until WiFi details are added). Click the **Download Project Bundle** button to download the necessary libraries and the  **code.py** file in a zip file. Extract the contents of the zip file, and copy the **entire** **lib** **folder** and the **code.py** file to your **CIRCUITPY** drive. https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Learning_System_Guides/blob/main/ESP32_S2_WiFi_Tests/CPy_Native_WiFi_Test/code.py Your **CIRCUITPY** drive should resemble the following. ![CIRCUITPY](https://adafruit.github.io/Adafruit_Learning_System_Guides/ESP32_S2_WiFi_Tests_CPy_Native_WiFi_Test.png ) To get connected, the next thing you need to do is update the **settings.toml** file. ## The settings.toml File We expect people to share tons of projects as they build CircuitPython WiFi widgets. What we want to avoid is people accidentally sharing their passwords or secret tokens and API keys. So, we designed all our examples to use a **settings.toml** file, that is on your  **CIRCUITPY**  drive, to hold secret/private/custom data. That way you can share your main project without worrying about accidentally sharing private stuff. If you have a fresh install of CircuitPython on your board, the initial **settings.toml** file on your **CIRCUITPY** drive is empty. To get started, you can update the **settings.toml** on your **CIRCUITPY** drive to contain the following code. https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Learning_System_Guides/blob/main/ESP32_S2_WiFi_Tests/CPy_Native_WiFi_Test/settings.toml This file should contain a series of Python variables, each assigned to a string. Each variable should describe what it represents (say `wifi_ssid`), followed by an **= ** (equals sign), followed by the data in the form of a Python string (such as `"my-wifi-password"` including the quote marks). **At a minimum you'll need to add/update your WiFi SSID and WiFi password, so do that now!** As you make projects you may need more tokens and keys, just add them one line at a time. See for example other tokens such as one for accessing GitHub or the Hackaday API. Other non-secret data like your timezone can also go here. For the correct time zone string, look at [http://worldtimeapi.org/timezones](http://worldtimeapi.org/timezones) and remember that if your city is not listed, look for a city in the same time zone, for example Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Miami are all on the same time as New York. Of course, don't share your **settings.toml** - keep that out of GitHub, Discord or other project-sharing sites. Warning: If you connect to the serial console, you should see something like the following: ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/097/014/medium800/adafruit_products_1__screen__Users_brentrubell__screen_.png?1605218222) In order, the example code... Checks the ESP32's MAC address. ```python print(f"My MAC address: {[hex(i) for i in wifi.radio.mac_address]}") ``` Performs a scan of all access points and prints out the access point's name (SSID), signal strength (RSSI), and channel. ```python print("Available WiFi networks:") for network in wifi.radio.start_scanning_networks(): print("\t%s\t\tRSSI: %d\tChannel: %d" % (str(network.ssid, "utf-8"), network.rssi, network.channel)) wifi.radio.stop_scanning_networks() ``` Connects to the access point you defined in the **settings.toml** file, and prints out its local IP address. ```python print(f"Connecting to {os.getenv('WIFI_SSID')}") wifi.radio.connect(os.getenv("WIFI_SSID"), os.getenv("WIFI_PASSWORD")) print(f"Connected to {os.getenv('WIFI_SSID')}") print(f"My IP address: {wifi.radio.ipv4_address}") ``` Attempts to ping a Google DNS server to test connectivity. If a ping fails, it returns `None`. Initial pings can sometimes fail for various reasons. So, if the initial ping is successful (`is not None`), it will print the echo speed in ms. If the initial ping fails, it will try one more time to ping, and then print the returned value. If the second ping fails, it will result in `"Ping google.com: None ms"` being printed to the serial console. Failure to ping does not always indicate a lack of connectivity, so the code will continue to run. ```python ping_ip = ipaddress.IPv4Address("8.8.8.8") ping = wifi.radio.ping(ip=ping_ip) * 1000 if ping is not None: print(f"Ping google.com: {ping} ms") else: ping = wifi.radio.ping(ip=ping_ip) print(f"Ping google.com: {ping} ms") ``` The code creates a socketpool using the wifi radio's available sockets. This is performed so we don't need to re-use sockets. Then, it initializes a a new instance of the [requests](http://docs.python-requests.org/en/master/) interface - which makes getting data from the internet _really really easy._ ```python pool = socketpool.SocketPool(wifi.radio) requests = adafruit_requests.Session(pool, ssl.create_default_context()) ``` To read in plain-text from a web URL, call `requests.get` - you may pass in either a http, or a http **s** url for SSL connectivity.  ```python print(f"Fetching text from {TEXT_URL}") response = requests.get(TEXT_URL) print("-" * 40) print(response.text) print("-" * 40) ``` Requests can also display a JSON-formatted response from a web URL using a call to `requests.get`.  ```python print(f"Fetching json from {JSON_QUOTES_URL}") response = requests.get(JSON_QUOTES_URL) print("-" * 40) print(response.json()) print("-" * 40) ``` Finally, you can fetch and parse a JSON URL using `requests.get`. This code snippet obtains the `stargazers_count` field from a call to the GitHub API. ```python print(f"Fetching and parsing json from {JSON_STARS_URL}") response = requests.get(JSON_STARS_URL) print("-" * 40) print(f"CircuitPython GitHub Stars: {response.json()['stargazers_count']}") print("-" * 40) ``` OK you now have your ESP32 board set up with a proper **settings.toml** file and can connect over the Internet. If not, check that your **settings.toml** file has the right SSID and password and retrace your steps until you get the Internet connectivity working! ## IPv6 Networking Starting in CircuitPython 9.2, IPv6 networking is available on most Espressif wifi boards. Socket-using libraries like **adafruit\_requests** and **adafruit\_ntp** will need to be updated to use the new APIs and for now can only connect to services on IPv4. ### IPv6 connectivity & privacy IPv6 addresses are divided into many special kinds, and many of those kinds (like those starting with  **FC** , **FD** , **FE** ) are private or local; Addresses starting with other prefixes like  **2002:** and **2001:** are globally routable. In 2024, far from all ISPs and home networks support IPv6 internet connectivity. For more info consult resources like [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6_address#Local_addresses). If you're interested in global IPv6 connectivity you can use services like [Hurricane Electric](https://www.he.net/) to create an "IPv6 tunnel" (free as of 2024, but requires expertise and a compatible router or host computer to set up) It's also important to be aware that, as currently implemented by Espressif, there are privacy concerns especially when these devices operate on the global IPv6 network: The device's unique identifier (its EUI-64 or MAC address) is used by default as part of its IPv6 address. This means that the device identity can be tracked across multiple networks by any service it connects to. ### Enable IPv6 networking Due to the privacy consideration, IPv6 networking is not automatically enabled. Instead, it must be explicitly enabled by a call to `start_dhcp_client` with the `ipv6=True` argument specified: ```python wifi.start_dhcp_client(ipv6=True) ``` ### Check IP addresses The read-only `addresses` property of the `wifi.radio` object holds all addresses, including IPv4 and IPv6 addresses: ```python >>> wifi.radio.addresses ('FE80::7EDF:A1FF:FE00:518C', 'FD5F:3F5C:FE50:0:7EDF:A1FF:FE00:518C', '10.0.3.96') ``` The `wifi.radio.dns` servers can be IPv4 or IPv6: ```python >>> wifi.radio.dns ('FD5F:3F5C:FE50::1',) >>> wifi.radio.dns = ("1.1.1.1",) >>> wifi.radio.dns ('1.1.1.1',) ``` ### Ping v6 networks `wifi.radio.ping` accepts v6 addresses and names: ```python >>> wifi.radio.ping("google.com") 0.043 >>> wifi.radio.ping("ipv6.google.com") 0.048 ``` ### Create & use IPv6 sockets Use the address family `socket.AF_INET6`. After the socket is created, use methods like `connect`, `send`, `recfrom_into`, etc just like for IPv4 sockets. This code snippet shows communicating with a private-network NTP server; this IPv6 address will not work on your network: ```python >>> ntp_addr = ("fd5f:3f5c:fe50::20e", 123) >>> PACKET_SIZE = 48 >>> >>> buf = bytearray(PACKET_SIZE) >>> with socket.socket(socket.AF_INET6, socket.SOCK_DGRAM) as s: ... s.settimeout(1) ... buf[0] = 0b0010_0011 ... s.sendto(buf, ntp_addr) ... print(s.recvfrom_into(buf)) ... print(buf) ... 48 (48, ('fd5f:3f5c:fe50::20e', 123)) bytearray(b'$\x01\x03\xeb\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00GGPS\x00\xeaA0h\x07s;\xc0\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\xeaA0n\xeb4\x82-\xeaA0n\xebAU\xb1') ``` # MagTag Literary Quote Clock ## Getting The Date & Time A very common need for projects is to know the current date and time. Especially when you want to deep sleep until an event, or you want to change your display based on what day, time, date, etc. it is **Determining the correct local time is really really hard. There are various time zones, Daylight Savings dates, leap seconds, etc.** Trying to get NTP time and then back-calculating what the local time is, is extraordinarily hard on a microcontroller just isn't worth the effort and it will get out of sync as laws change anyways. For that reason, we have the free adafruit.io time service. **Free for anyone with a free adafruit.io account.** You _do need an account_ because we have to keep accidentally mis-programmed-board from overwhelming adafruit.io and lock them out temporarily. Again, it's free! Info: ## Step 1) Make an Adafruit account It's free! Visit [https://accounts.adafruit.com/](https://accounts.adafruit.com/) to register and make an account if you do not already have one ## Step 2) Sign into Adafruit IO Head over to [io.adafruit.com](https://io.adafruit.com/) and click **Sign In** to log into IO using your Adafruit account. It's free and fast to join. ## Step 3) Get your Adafruit IO Key Click on **My Key** in the top bar ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/097/449/medium800/adafruit_products_image.png?1607208628 "My Key" has been replaced with a key-shaped icon!) You will get a popup with your **Username** and **Key** (In this screenshot, we've covered it with red blocks) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/097/450/medium800/adafruit_products_image.png?1607208767) Go to the **settings.toml** file on your **CIRCUITPY** drive (or create one with the text editor with your operating system) and add three lines for `AIO_USERNAME`, `ADAFRUIT_AIO_KEY` and `TIMEZONE` so you get something like the following: ```python # This file is where you keep secret settings, passwords, and tokens! # If you put them in the code you risk committing that info or sharing it CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID = "your-wifi-ssid" CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD = "your-wifi-password" ADAFRUIT_AIO_USERNAME = "your-adafruit-io-username" ADAFRUIT_AIO_KEY = "your-adafruit-io-key" # Timezone names from http://worldtimeapi.org/timezones TIMEZONE="America/New_York" ``` The timezone is optional, if you don't have that entry, adafruit.io will guess your timezone based on geographic IP address lookup. You can visit [http://worldtimeapi.org/timezones](http://worldtimeapi.org/timezones) to see all the time zones available (even though we do not use Worldtime for time-keeping, we do use the same time zone table). ## Step 4) Upload Test Python Code This code is like the Internet Test code from before, but this time it will connect to adafruit.io and get the local time ```python import ipaddress import os import ssl import wifi import socketpool import adafruit_requests # Get our username, key and desired timezone ssid = os.getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID") password = os.getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD") aio_username = os.getenv("ADAFRUIT_AIO_USERNAME") aio_key = os.getenv("ADAFRUIT_AIO_KEY") timezone = os.getenv("TIMEZONE") TIME_URL = f"https://io.adafruit.com/api/v2/{aio_username}/integrations/time/strftime?x-aio-key={aio_key}&tz={timezone}" TIME_URL += "&fmt=%25Y-%25m-%25d+%25H%3A%25M%3A%25S.%25L+%25j+%25u+%25z+%25Z" print("ESP32-S2 Adafruit IO Time test") print("My MAC addr:", [hex(i) for i in wifi.radio.mac_address]) print("Available WiFi networks:") for network in wifi.radio.start_scanning_networks(): print("\t%s\t\tRSSI: %d\tChannel: %d" % (str(network.ssid, "utf-8"), network.rssi, network.channel)) wifi.radio.stop_scanning_networks() print("Connecting to", ssid) wifi.radio.connect(ssid, password) print(f"Connected to {ssid}!") print("My IP address is", wifi.radio.ipv4_address) ipv4 = ipaddress.ip_address("8.8.4.4") print("Ping google.com:", wifi.radio.ping(ipv4), "ms") pool = socketpool.SocketPool(wifi.radio) requests = adafruit_requests.Session(pool, ssl.create_default_context()) print("Fetching text from", TIME_URL) response = requests.get(TIME_URL) print("-" * 40) print(response.text) print("-" * 40) ``` After running this, you will see something like the below text. We have blocked out the part with the secret username and key data! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/097/451/medium800/adafruit_products_image.png?1607212430) Note at the end you will get the date, time, and your timezone! If so, you have correctly configured your **settings.toml** and can continue to the next steps! # MagTag Literary Quote Clock ## Code the MagTag Quote Clock ## Installing Project Code To use with CircuitPython, you need to first install a few libraries, into the lib folder on your **CIRCUITPY** drive. Then you need to update **code.py** with the example script. Thankfully, we can do this in one go. In the example below, click the **Download Project Bundle** button below to download the necessary libraries and the **code.py** file in a zip file. Extract the contents of the zip file, open the directory **literary-clock/** and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using. Connect your MagTag board to your computer via a known good USB data+power cable. The board should show up as a thumb drive named **CIRCUITPY** in Explorer or Finder (depending on your operating system). Copy the contents of that directory to your **CIRCUITPY** drive. Your **CIRCUITPY** drive should now look similar to the following image: ![CIRCUITPY](https://adafruit.github.io/Adafruit_Learning_System_Guides/literary-clock.png ) https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Learning_System_Guides/blob/main/literary-clock/code.py ## Code run-through The code starts out by importing all the libraries it needs - quite a lot in this case. ```python import time import ssl import gc import socketpool import wifi import adafruit_minimqtt.adafruit_minimqtt as MQTT from adafruit_io.adafruit_io import IO_MQTT import adafruit_datetime import adafruit_display_text from adafruit_display_text import label import board from adafruit_bitmap_font import bitmap_font import displayio from adafruit_display_shapes.rect import Rect ``` Then, it sets the UTC offset - you should modify this to your current local UTC offset (you can find that here: [https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zone/timezone/utc](https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zone/timezone/utc)). It then imports the quotes file and starts to set up the display and fonts. ```python UTC_OFFSET = -4 quotes = {} with open("quotes.csv", "r", encoding="UTF-8") as F: for quote_line in F: split = quote_line.split("|") quotes[split[0]] = split[1:] display = board.DISPLAY splash = displayio.Group() display.root_group = splash arial = bitmap_font.load_font("fonts/Arial-12.pcf") bold = bitmap_font.load_font("fonts/Arial-Bold-12.pcf") LINE_SPACING = 0.8 HEIGHT = arial.get_bounding_box()[1] QUOTE_X = 10 QUOTE_Y = 7 ``` Now, the display background and text labels are set up and added to the display group. ```python rect = Rect(0, 0, 296, 128, fill=0xFFFFFF, outline=0xFFFFFF) splash.append(rect) quote = label.Label( font=arial, x=QUOTE_X, y=QUOTE_Y, color=0x000000, line_spacing=LINE_SPACING, ) splash.append(quote) time_label = label.Label( font=bold, color=0x000000, line_spacing=LINE_SPACING, ) splash.append(time_label) time_label_2 = label.Label( font=bold, color=0x000000, line_spacing=LINE_SPACING, ) splash.append(time_label_2) after_label = label.Label( font=arial, color=0x000000, line_spacing=LINE_SPACING, ) splash.append(after_label) after_label_2 = label.Label( font=arial, color=0x000000, line_spacing=LINE_SPACING, ) splash.append(after_label_2) author_label = label.Label( font=arial, x=QUOTE_X, y=115, color=0x000000, line_spacing=LINE_SPACING ) splash.append(author_label) ``` After that, the MagTag attempts to connect to the internet. ```python # 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." ) # ... print(f"Connecting to {ssid}") wifi.radio.connect(ssid, password) print(f"Connected to {ssid}!") ``` At this point, we start defining a few helper functions. The first one, `get_width`, is used to get the width of a string, in pixels, when passed the string and the font the string will be displayed in. The next one, `smart_split`, is used to tell the code when to wrap a line when it's not the first label being used in a block of text. This is necessary since the code uses multiple fonts (bold and normal Arial 12pt.) in the same text block. The last two are functions that are run when Adafruit IO is initially connected to - it subscribes the user to the ISO formatted time feed - and when it is disconnected from, respectively. ```python def get_width(font, text): return sum(font.get_glyph(ord(c)).shift_x for c in text) def smart_split(text, font, width): words = "" spl = text.split(" ") for i, word in enumerate(spl): words += f" {word}" lwidth = get_width(font, words) if width + lwidth > 276: spl[i] = "\n" + spl[i] text = " ".join(spl) break return text def connected(client): # pylint: disable=unused-argument io.subscribe_to_time("iso") def disconnected(client): # pylint: disable=unused-argument print("Disconnected from Adafruit IO!") ``` This function is run whenever the quote to be displayed is updated. It's a bit complicated but a very important part of this project. It starts by wiping all of the labels since we don't use every single label every time. It then goes on to separate the different parts of the quote so it can set one part of that as bold and the rest as normal and sets the text of the part of the quote prior to the time. Then the code for setting the location of the time text and the text after the time text is run, which account for the possibility that the first line of that may need to be wrapped over to the next line. Finally, the display is refreshed with the new quote. ```python def update_text(hour_min): quote.text = ( time_label.text ) = time_label_2.text = after_label.text = after_label_2.text = "" before, time_text, after = quotes[hour_min][0].split("^") text = adafruit_display_text.wrap_text_to_pixels(before, 276, font=arial) quote.text = "\n".join(text) for line in text: width = get_width(arial, line) time_text = smart_split(time_text, bold, width) split_time = time_text.split("\n") if time_text[0] != "\n": time_label.x = time_x = QUOTE_X + width time_label.y = time_y = QUOTE_Y + int((len(text) - 1) * HEIGHT * LINE_SPACING) time_label.text = split_time[0] if "\n" in time_text: time_label_2.x = time_x = QUOTE_X time_label_2.y = time_y = QUOTE_Y + int(len(text) * HEIGHT * LINE_SPACING) wrapped = adafruit_display_text.wrap_text_to_pixels( split_time[1], 276, font=arial ) time_label_2.text = "\n".join(wrapped) width = get_width(bold, split_time[-1]) + time_x - QUOTE_X if after: after = smart_split(after, arial, width) split_after = after.split("\n") if after[0] != "\n": after_label.x = QUOTE_X + width after_label.y = time_y after_label.text = split_after[0] if "\n" in after: after_label_2.x = QUOTE_X after_label_2.y = time_y + int(HEIGHT * LINE_SPACING) wrapped = adafruit_display_text.wrap_text_to_pixels( split_after[1], 276, font=arial ) after_label_2.text = "\n".join(wrapped) author = f"{quotes[hour_min][2]} - {quotes[hour_min][1]}" author_label.text = adafruit_display_text.wrap_text_to_pixels( author, 276, font=arial )[0] time.sleep(display.time_to_refresh + 0.1) display.refresh() ``` This function is run whenever the IO feed gets a new value, so roughly once a second. It starts by converting the received UTC time into the local time. Then it checks to see if the time received is the same hour and minute as the last time received and if a quote entry exists for said time. If it isn't the same time and a quote does exist, the code then sends the time to the function above to update the quote. ```python LAST = None def message(client, feed_id, payload): # pylint: disable=unused-argument global LAST # pylint: disable=global-statement timezone = adafruit_datetime.timezone.utc timezone._offset = adafruit_datetime.timedelta( # pylint: disable=protected-access seconds=UTC_OFFSET * 3600 ) datetime = adafruit_datetime.datetime.fromisoformat(payload[:-1]).replace( tzinfo=timezone ) local_datetime = datetime.tzinfo.fromutc(datetime) print(local_datetime) hour_min = f"{local_datetime.hour:02}:{local_datetime.minute:02}" if local_datetime.minute != LAST: if hour_min in quotes: update_text(hour_min) LAST = local_datetime.minute gc.collect() ``` However, before any of those functions can be used, the code needs to set up the Adafruit IO MQTT connection, which the following code does. ```python # Create a socket pool pool = socketpool.SocketPool(wifi.radio) # Initialize a new MQTT Client object mqtt_client = MQTT.MQTT( broker="io.adafruit.com", port=1883, username=aio_username, password=aio_key, socket_pool=pool, ssl_context=ssl.create_default_context(), ) # Initialize an Adafruit IO MQTT Client io = IO_MQTT(mqtt_client) # Connect the callback methods defined above to Adafruit IO io.on_connect = connected io.on_disconnect = disconnected io.on_message = message # Connect to Adafruit IO print("Connecting to Adafruit IO...") io.connect() ``` After it is connected the code runs through this loop to continually check for a new feed update from the Adafruit IO time feed. ```python while True: try: io.loop() except (ValueError, RuntimeError) as e: print("Failed to get data, retrying\n", e) wifi.reset() io.reconnect() continue time.sleep(1) ``` # MagTag Literary Quote Clock ## Using The MagTag Quote Clock If you've already loaded all the code onto the board, all that's left to do is update the UTC offset on line 20 of **code.py** to reflect your local time. UTC is 4 hours ahead of my local time, so I set my UTC offset to `-4`. [Find your UTC offset here](https://www.timeanddate.com/time/zone/timezone/utc) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/116/467/medium800/circuitpython_Screen_Shot_2022-11-04_at_4.01.00_PM.png?1667592180) After that, plug your MagTag into a power source and you should be good to go! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/116/468/medium800/circuitpython_IMG_7715.jpg?1667592267) ## Featured Products ### Adafruit MagTag - 2.9" Grayscale E-Ink WiFi Display [Adafruit MagTag - 2.9" Grayscale E-Ink WiFi Display](https://www.adafruit.com/product/4800) The Adafruit MagTag combines the ESP32-S2 wireless module and a 2.9" grayscale E-Ink display to make a low-power IoT display that can show data on its screen even when power is removed! The ESP32-S2 is great because it builds on the years of code and support for the ESP32 and also adds... 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