Overview

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Here's a great way to display the GitHub Star count for any repo. Using CircuitPython and the PyPortal library, it's easy to grab the JSON data provided by a site's API and display it dynamically.

The PyPortal's built-in WiFi connects to your network and checks for updates every minute. And, you can control the fonts, captions, colors, background image, and even play a happy sound effect when the number changes.

Plus, for extra special fanciness, mount the PyPortal to a trophy for all to admire!

Parts

Front view of a Adafruit PyPortal - CircuitPython Powered Internet Display with a pyportal logo image on the display.
PyPortal, our easy-to-use IoT device that allows you to create all the things for the “Internet of Things” in minutes. Make custom touch screen interface...
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USB cable - USB A to Micro-B - 3 foot long
This here is your standard A to micro-B USB cable, for USB 1.1 or 2.0. Perfect for connecting a PC to your Metro, Feather, Raspberry Pi or other dev-board or...
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Materials

  • You may want to mount your PyPortal on a handsome trophy! I got one at a thrift store for fewer than two dollars
  • You can use small zip ties or double stick tape to mount the the PyPortal to your trophy
internet_of_things___iot_IMG_4288_2k.jpg

Install CircuitPython

CircuitPython is a derivative of MicroPython 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 "flash" drive to iterate.

The following instructions will show you how to install CircuitPython. If you've already installed CircuitPython but are looking to update it or reinstall it, the same steps work for that as well!

Set up CircuitPython Quick Start!

Follow this quick step-by-step for super-fast Python power :)

Click the link above to download the latest version of CircuitPython for the PyPortal.

Download and save it to your desktop (or wherever is handy).

Plug your PyPortal 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.

Double-click the Reset button on the top in the middle (magenta arrow) on your board, and you will see the NeoPixel RGB LED (green arrow) turn green. If it turns red, check the USB cable, try another USB port, etc. Note: The little red LED next to the USB connector will pulse red. That's ok!

If double-clicking doesn't work the first time, try again. Sometimes it can take a few tries to get the rhythm right!

You will see a new disk drive appear called PORTALBOOT.

Drag the adafruit-circuitpython-pyportal-<whatever>.uf2 file to PORTALBOOT.

The LED will flash. Then, the PORTALBOOT drive will disappear and a new disk drive called CIRCUITPY will appear.

If you haven't added any code to your board, the only file that will be present is boot_out.txt. This is absolutely normal! It's time for you to add your code.py and get started!

That's it, you're done! :)

PyPortal Default Files

Click below to download a zip of the files that shipped on the PyPortal or PyPortal Pynt.

PyPortal CircuitPython Setup

To use all the amazing features of your PyPortal with CircuitPython, you must first install a number of libraries. This page covers that process.

Adafruit CircuitPython Bundle

Download the Adafruit CircuitPython Library Bundle. You can find the latest release here:

Download the adafruit-circuitpython-bundle-*.x-mpy-*.zip bundle zip file where *.x MATCHES THE VERSION OF CIRCUITPYTHON YOU INSTALLED, and unzip a folder of the same name. Inside you'll find a lib folder. You have two options:

  • You can add the lib folder to your CIRCUITPY drive. This will ensure you have all the drivers. But it will take a bunch of space on the 8 MB disk
  • Add each library as you need it, this will reduce the space usage but you'll need to put in a little more effort.

At a minimum we recommend the following libraries, in fact we more than recommend. They're basically required. So grab them and install them into CIRCUITPY/lib now!

  • adafruit_esp32spi - This is the library that gives you internet access via the ESP32 using (you guessed it!) SPI transport. You need this for anything Internet
  • adafruit_requests - This library allows us to perform HTTP requests and get responses back from servers. GET/POST/PUT/PATCH - they're all in here!
  • adafruit_connection_manager - used by adafruit_requests.
  • adafruit_pyportal - This is our friendly wrapper library that does a lot of our projects, displays graphics and text, fetches data from the internet. Nearly all of our projects depend on it!
  • adafruit_portalbase - This library is the base library that adafruit_pyportal library is built on top of.
  • adafruit_touchscreen - a library for reading touches from the resistive touchscreen. Handles all the analog noodling, rotation and calibration for you.
  • adafruit_io - this library helps connect the PyPortal to our free datalogging and viewing service
  • adafruit_imageload - an image display helper, required for any graphics!
  • adafruit_display_text - not surprisingly, it displays text on the screen
  • adafruit_bitmap_font - we have fancy font support, and its easy to make new fonts. This library reads and parses font files.
  • adafruit_slideshow - for making image slideshows - handy for quick display of graphics and sound
  • neopixel - for controlling the onboard neopixel
  • adafruit_adt7410 - library to read the temperature from the on-board Analog Devices ADT7410 precision temperature sensor (not necessary for Titano or Pynt)
  • adafruit_bus_device - low level support for I2C/SPI
  • adafruit_fakerequests - This library allows you to create fake HTTP requests by using local files.

Internet Connect!

Connect to WiFi

OK, now that you have your settings.toml file set up - you can connect to the Internet.

To do this, 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 examples/ and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using and copy the contents of that directory to your CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CIRCUITPY drive should now look similar to the following image:

CIRCUITPY
Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2019 ladyada for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

from os import getenv
import board
import busio
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import adafruit_connection_manager
import adafruit_requests
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi

# Get wifi details and more from a settings.toml file
# tokens used by this Demo: CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID, CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD
secrets = {
    "ssid": getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID"),
    "password": getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD"),
}
if secrets == {"ssid": None, "password": None}:
    try:
        # Fallback on secrets.py until depreciation is over and option is removed
        from secrets import secrets
    except ImportError:
        print("WiFi secrets are kept in settings.toml, please add them there!")
        raise

print("ESP32 SPI webclient test")

TEXT_URL = "http://wifitest.adafruit.com/testwifi/index.html"
JSON_URL = "http://api.coindesk.com/v1/bpi/currentprice/USD.json"


# If you are using a board with pre-defined ESP32 Pins:
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

# If you have an AirLift Shield:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D7)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

# If you have an AirLift Featherwing or ItsyBitsy Airlift:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D13)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D11)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D12)

# If you have an externally connected ESP32:
# NOTE: You may need to change the pins to reflect your wiring
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D9)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

# Secondary (SCK1) SPI used to connect to WiFi board on Arduino Nano Connect RP2040
if "SCK1" in dir(board):
    spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK1, board.MOSI1, board.MISO1)
else:
    spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)

pool = adafruit_connection_manager.get_radio_socketpool(esp)
ssl_context = adafruit_connection_manager.get_radio_ssl_context(esp)
requests = adafruit_requests.Session(pool, ssl_context)

if esp.status == adafruit_esp32spi.WL_IDLE_STATUS:
    print("ESP32 found and in idle mode")
print("Firmware vers.", esp.firmware_version.decode("utf-8"))
print("MAC addr:", ":".join("%02X" % byte for byte in esp.MAC_address))

for ap in esp.scan_networks():
    print("\t%-23s RSSI: %d" % (str(ap["ssid"], "utf-8"), ap["rssi"]))

print("Connecting to AP...")
while not esp.is_connected:
    try:
        esp.connect_AP(secrets["ssid"], secrets["password"])
    except OSError as e:
        print("could not connect to AP, retrying: ", e)
        continue
print("Connected to", str(esp.ssid, "utf-8"), "\tRSSI:", esp.rssi)
print("My IP address is", esp.pretty_ip(esp.ip_address))
print(
    "IP lookup adafruit.com: %s" % esp.pretty_ip(esp.get_host_by_name("adafruit.com"))
)
print("Ping google.com: %d ms" % esp.ping("google.com"))

# esp._debug = True
print("Fetching text from", TEXT_URL)
r = requests.get(TEXT_URL)
print("-" * 40)
print(r.text)
print("-" * 40)
r.close()

print()
print("Fetching json from", JSON_URL)
r = requests.get(JSON_URL)
print("-" * 40)
print(r.json())
print("-" * 40)
r.close()

print("Done!")
View on GitHub

And save it to your board, with the name code.py.

Don't forget you'll also need to create the settings.toml file as seen above, with your WiFi ssid and password.

In a serial console, you should see something like the following. For more information about connecting with a serial console, view the guide Connecting to the Serial Console.

circuitpython_image.png

In order, the example code...

Initializes the ESP32 over SPI using the SPI port and 3 control pins:

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esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)

Tells our requests library the type of socket we're using (socket type varies by connectivity type - we'll be using the adafruit_esp32spi_socket for this example). We'll also set the interface to an esp object. This is a little bit of a hack, but it lets us use requests like CPython does.

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requests.set_socket(socket, esp)

Verifies an ESP32 is found, checks the firmware and MAC address

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if esp.status == adafruit_esp32spi.WL_IDLE_STATUS:
    print("ESP32 found and in idle mode")
print("Firmware vers.", esp.firmware_version)
print("MAC addr:", [hex(i) for i in esp.MAC_address])

Performs a scan of all access points it can see and prints out the name and signal strength:

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for ap in esp.scan_networks():
    print("\t%s\t\tRSSI: %d" % (str(ap['ssid'], 'utf-8'), ap['rssi']))

Connects to the AP we've defined here, then prints out the local IP address, attempts to do a domain name lookup and ping google.com to check network connectivity (note sometimes the ping fails or takes a while, this isn't a big deal)

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print("Connecting to AP...")
while not esp.is_connected:
    try:
        esp.connect_AP(secrets["ssid"], secrets["password"])
    except RuntimeError as e:
        print("could not connect to AP, retrying: ", e)
        continue
print("Connected to", str(esp.ssid, "utf-8"), "\tRSSI:", esp.rssi)
print("My IP address is", esp.pretty_ip(esp.ip_address))
print(
    "IP lookup adafruit.com: %s" % esp.pretty_ip(esp.get_host_by_name("adafruit.com"))

OK now we're getting to the really interesting part. With a SAMD51 or other large-RAM (well, over 32 KB) device, we can do a lot of neat tricks. Like for example we can implement an interface a lot like requests - which makes getting data really really easy

To read in all the text from a web URL call requests.get - you can pass in https URLs for SSL connectivity

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TEXT_URL = "http://wifitest.adafruit.com/testwifi/index.html"
print("Fetching text from", TEXT_URL)
r = requests.get(TEXT_URL)
print('-'*40)
print(r.text)
print('-'*40)
r.close()

Or, if the data is in structured JSON, you can get the json pre-parsed into a Python dictionary that can be easily queried or traversed. (Again, only for nRF52840, M4 and other high-RAM boards)

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JSON_URL = "http://api.coindesk.com/v1/bpi/currentprice/USD.json"
print("Fetching json from", JSON_URL)
r = requests.get(JSON_URL)
print('-'*40)
print(r.json())
print('-'*40)
r.close()

Requests

We've written a requests-like library for web interfacing named Adafruit_CircuitPython_Requests. This library allows you to send HTTP/1.1 requests without "crafting" them and provides helpful methods for parsing the response from the server.

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 examples/ and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using and copy the contents of that directory to your CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CIRCUITPY drive should now look similar to the following image:

CIRCUITPY
Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
Temporarily unable to load content:
View on GitHub

The code first sets up the ESP32SPI interface. Then, it initializes a request object using an ESP32 socket and the esp object.

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import board
import busio
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import adafruit_esp32spi.adafruit_esp32spi_socket as socket
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi
import adafruit_requests as requests

# If you are using a board with pre-defined ESP32 Pins:
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

# If you have an externally connected ESP32:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D9)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)

print("Connecting to AP...")
while not esp.is_connected:
    try:
        esp.connect_AP(b'MY_SSID_NAME', b'MY_SSID_PASSWORD')
    except RuntimeError as e:
        print("could not connect to AP, retrying: ",e)
        continue
print("Connected to", str(esp.ssid, 'utf-8'), "\tRSSI:", esp.rssi)

# Initialize a requests object with a socket and esp32spi interface
requests.set_socket(socket, esp)

HTTP GET with Requests

The code makes a HTTP GET request to Adafruit's WiFi testing website - http://wifitest.adafruit.com/testwifi/index.html.

To do this, we'll pass the URL into requests.get(). We're also going to save the response from the server into a variable named response.

Having requested data from the server, we'd now like to see what the server responded with. Since we already saved the server's response, we can read it back. Luckily for us, requests automatically decodes the server's response into human-readable text, you can read it back by calling response.text.

Lastly, we'll perform a bit of cleanup by calling response.close(). This closes, deletes, and collect's the response's data. 

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print("Fetching text from %s"%TEXT_URL)
response = requests.get(TEXT_URL)
print('-'*40)

print("Text Response: ", response.text)
print('-'*40)
response.close()

While some servers respond with text, some respond with json-formatted data consisting of attribute–value pairs.

CircuitPython_Requests can convert a JSON-formatted response from a server into a CPython dict. object.

We can also fetch and parse json data. We'll send a HTTP get to a url we know returns a json-formatted response (instead of text data). 

Then, the code calls response.json() to convert the response to a CPython dict. 

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print("Fetching JSON data from %s"%JSON_GET_URL)
response = requests.get(JSON_GET_URL)
print('-'*40)

print("JSON Response: ", response.json())
print('-'*40)
response.close()

HTTP POST with Requests

Requests can also POST data to a server by calling the requests.post method, passing it a data value.

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data = '31F'
print("POSTing data to {0}: {1}".format(JSON_POST_URL, data))
response = requests.post(JSON_POST_URL, data=data)
print('-'*40)

json_resp = response.json()
# Parse out the 'data' key from json_resp dict.
print("Data received from server:", json_resp['data'])
print('-'*40)
response.close()

You can also post json-formatted data to a server by passing json_data into the requests.post method.

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    json_data = {"Date" : "July 25, 2019"}
print("POSTing data to {0}: {1}".format(JSON_POST_URL, json_data))
response = requests.post(JSON_POST_URL, json=json_data)
print('-'*40)

json_resp = response.json()
# Parse out the 'json' key from json_resp dict.
print("JSON Data received from server:", json_resp['json'])
print('-'*40)
response.close()

Advanced Requests Usage

Want to send custom HTTP headers, parse the response as raw bytes, or handle a response's http status code in your CircuitPython code?

We've written an example to show advanced usage of the requests module below.

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 examples/ and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using and copy the contents of that directory to your CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CIRCUITPY drive should now look similar to the following image:

CIRCUITPY
Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
Temporarily unable to load content:
View on GitHub

WiFi Manager

That simpletest example works but it's a little finicky - you need to constantly check WiFi status and have many loops to manage connections and disconnections. For more advanced uses, we recommend using the WiFiManager object. It will wrap the connection/status/requests loop for you - reconnecting if WiFi drops, resetting the ESP32 if it gets into a bad state, etc.

Here's a more advanced example that shows the WiFi manager and also how to POST data with some extra headers:

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 examples/ and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using and copy the contents of that directory to your CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CIRCUITPY drive should now look similar to the following image:

CIRCUITPY
Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2019 ladyada for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

import time
from os import getenv
import board
import busio
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import neopixel
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi_wifimanager

print("ESP32 SPI webclient test")

# Get wifi details and more from a settings.toml file
# tokens used by this Demo: CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID, CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD
#                           CIRCUITPY_AIO_USERNAME, CIRCUITPY_AIO_KEY
secrets = {}
for token in ["ssid", "password"]:
    if getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_" + token.upper()):
        secrets[token] = getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_" + token.upper())
for token in ["aio_username", "aio_key"]:
    if getenv("CIRCUITPY_" + token.upper()):
        secrets[token] = getenv("CIRCUITPY_" + token.upper())

if not secrets:
    try:
        # Fallback on secrets.py until depreciation is over and option is removed
        from secrets import secrets
    except ImportError:
        print("WiFi secrets are kept in settings.toml, please add them there!")
        raise

# If you are using a board with pre-defined ESP32 Pins:
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

# If you have an externally connected ESP32:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D9)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

# Secondary (SCK1) SPI used to connect to WiFi board on Arduino Nano Connect RP2040
if "SCK1" in dir(board):
    spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK1, board.MOSI1, board.MISO1)
else:
    spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)
"""Use below for Most Boards"""
status_light = neopixel.NeoPixel(board.NEOPIXEL, 1, brightness=0.2)
"""Uncomment below for ItsyBitsy M4"""
# status_light = dotstar.DotStar(board.APA102_SCK, board.APA102_MOSI, 1, brightness=0.2)
"""Uncomment below for an externally defined RGB LED (including Arduino Nano Connect)"""
# import adafruit_rgbled
# from adafruit_esp32spi import PWMOut
# RED_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 26)
# GREEN_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 27)
# BLUE_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 25)
# status_light = adafruit_rgbled.RGBLED(RED_LED, BLUE_LED, GREEN_LED)

wifi = adafruit_esp32spi_wifimanager.ESPSPI_WiFiManager(esp, secrets, status_light)

counter = 0

while True:
    try:
        print("Posting data...", end="")
        data = counter
        feed = "test"
        payload = {"value": data}
        response = wifi.post(
            "https://io.adafruit.com/api/v2/"
            + secrets["aio_username"]
            + "/feeds/"
            + feed
            + "/data",
            json=payload,
            headers={"X-AIO-KEY": secrets["aio_key"]},
        )
        print(response.json())
        response.close()
        counter = counter + 1
        print("OK")
    except OSError as e:
        print("Failed to get data, retrying\n", e)
        wifi.reset()
        continue
    response = None
    time.sleep(15)
View on GitHub

You'll note here we use a secrets.py file to manage our SSID info. The wifimanager is given the ESP32 object, secrets and a neopixel for status indication.

Note, you'll need to add a some additional information to your secrets file so that the code can query the Adafruit IO API:

  • aio_username
  • aio_key

You can go to your adafruit.io View AIO Key link to get those two values and add them to the secrets file, which will now look something like this:

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# 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

secrets = {
    'ssid' : '_your_ssid_',
    'password' : '_your_wifi_password_',
    'timezone' : "America/Los_Angeles", # http://worldtimeapi.org/timezones
    'aio_username' : '_your_aio_username_',
    'aio_key' : '_your_aio_key_',
    }

Next, set up an Adafruit IO feed named test

We can then have a simple loop for posting data to Adafruit IO without having to deal with connecting or initializing the hardware!

Take a look at your test feed on Adafruit.io and you'll see the value increase each time the CircuitPython board posts data to it!

circuitpython_feedstest.jpg

Code PyPortal with CircuitPython

CircuitPython Code

In the embedded code element below, click on the Download Project Bundle button, and save the .zip archive file to your computer.

Then, uncompress the .zip file, it will unpack to a folder named PyPortal_GithubStars.

Copy the contents of the PyPortal_GithubStars directory to your PyPortal CIRCUITPY drive.

internet_of_things___iot_py_star_drag.jpg

This is what the final contents of the CIRCUITPY drive will look like:

CIRCUITPY
Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2019 Limor Fried for Adafruit Industries
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

"""
This example will access the github API, grab a number like
the number of stars for a repository... and display it on a screen!
if you can find something that spits out JSON data, we can display it
"""
import time
import board
from adafruit_pyportal import PyPortal

# Get wifi details and more from a secrets.py file
try:
    from secrets import secrets
except ImportError:
    print("WiFi secrets are kept in secrets.py, please add them there!")
    raise

# Set up where we'll be fetching data from
DATA_SOURCE = "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython"
CAPTION = "www.github.com/adafruit/circuitpython"
# If we have an access token, we can query more often
if 'github_token' in secrets:
    DATA_SOURCE += "?access_token="+secrets['github_token']

# The data we want to display
DATA_LOCATION = ["stargazers_count"]

cwd = ("/"+__file__).rsplit('/', 1)[0]
pyportal = PyPortal(url=DATA_SOURCE, json_path=DATA_LOCATION,
                    status_neopixel=board.NEOPIXEL,
                    default_bg=cwd+"/stars_background.bmp",
                    text_font=cwd+"/fonts/Collegiate-50.bdf",
                    text_position=(200, 100),
                    text_color=0xFFFFFF,
                    caption_text=CAPTION,
                    caption_font=cwd+"/fonts/Arial.bdf",
                    caption_position=(40, 220),
                    caption_color=0xFFFFFF)

# track the last value so we can play a sound when it updates
last_value = 0

while True:
    try:
        value = pyportal.fetch()
        print("Response is", value)
        if last_value < value:  # ooh it went up!
            print("New star!")
            pyportal.play_file(cwd+"/coin.wav")
        last_value = value
    except (ValueError, RuntimeError, ConnectionError, OSError) as e:
        print("Some error occured, retrying! -", e)

    time.sleep(60)  # wait a minute before getting again
View on GitHub
If you run into any errors, such as "ImportError: no module named `adafruit_display_text.label`" be sure to update your libraries to the latest release bundle!

How It Works

The PyPortal Stats Trophy is doing a couple of neat-o things to provide for your stats-tastic display needs!

Background

First, it displays a bitmap graphic as the screen's background. This is a 320 x 240 pixel RGB 16-bit raster graphic in .bmp format.

internet_of_things___iot_git16.bmp

Font

Then, it displays the repo's name as a caption, created with bitmapped fonts to overlay on top of the background. The fonts used here is are bitmap fonts made from the Collegiate and Arial typefaces. You can learn more about converting type in this guide.

Next, the PyPortal will display the current number of GitHub Stars for the repository.

JSON

To keep things current, the Star count is grabbed from the website itself.

GitHub automatically generates a JSON file for each repo, in this case at the address https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython

This file contains all sorts of information, delivered in an easy-to-parse format. If you visit that URL by copying the address in to your browser, your browser may return it as a somewhat difficult to read chunk of raw text, or if you view it in Firefox, it will format it nicely for reading.

You can also use online code "beautifiers" such as https://codebeautify.org/jsonviewer or http://jsonviewer.stack.hu

internet_of_things___iot_Screen_Shot_2019-03-01_at_12.36.03_PM.png

Here it is in a raw-er form, but still using indentation and carriage returns to make it readable:

Download File
Copy Code 
{
  "id": 66166069,
  "node_id": "MDEwOlJlcG9zaXRvcnk2NjE2NjA2OQ==",
  "name": "circuitpython",
  "full_name": "adafruit/circuitpython",
  "private": false,
  "owner": {
    "login": "adafruit",
    "id": 181069,
    "node_id": "MDEyOk9yZ2FuaXphdGlvbjE4MTA2OQ==",
    "avatar_url": "https://avatars3.githubusercontent.com/u/181069?v=4",
    "gravatar_id": "",
    "url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit",
    "html_url": "https://github.com/adafruit",
    "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/followers",
    "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/following{/other_user}",
    "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/gists{/gist_id}",
    "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/starred{/owner}{/repo}",
    "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/subscriptions",
    "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/orgs",
    "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/repos",
    "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/events{/privacy}",
    "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/received_events",
    "type": "Organization",
    "site_admin": false
  },
  "html_url": "https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython",
  "description": "CircuitPython - a Python implementation for teaching coding with microcontrollers",
  "fork": true,
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython",
  "forks_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/forks",
  "keys_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/keys{/key_id}",
  "collaborators_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/collaborators{/collaborator}",
  "teams_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/teams",
  "hooks_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/hooks",
  "issue_events_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/issues/events{/number}",
  "events_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/events",
  "assignees_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/assignees{/user}",
  "branches_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/branches{/branch}",
  "tags_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/tags",
  "blobs_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/git/blobs{/sha}",
  "git_tags_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/git/tags{/sha}",
  "git_refs_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/git/refs{/sha}",
  "trees_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/git/trees{/sha}",
  "statuses_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/statuses/{sha}",
  "languages_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/languages",
  "stargazers_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/stargazers",
  "contributors_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/contributors",
  "subscribers_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/subscribers",
  "subscription_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/subscription",
  "commits_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/commits{/sha}",
  "git_commits_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/git/commits{/sha}",
  "comments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/comments{/number}",
  "issue_comment_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/issues/comments{/number}",
  "contents_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/contents/{+path}",
  "compare_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/compare/{base}...{head}",
  "merges_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/merges",
  "archive_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/{archive_format}{/ref}",
  "downloads_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/downloads",
  "issues_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/issues{/number}",
  "pulls_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/pulls{/number}",
  "milestones_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/milestones{/number}",
  "notifications_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/notifications{?since,all,participating}",
  "labels_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/labels{/name}",
  "releases_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/releases{/id}",
  "deployments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython/deployments",
  "created_at": "2016-08-20T20:10:40Z",
  "updated_at": "2019-03-01T20:31:34Z",
  "pushed_at": "2019-03-01T19:07:33Z",
  "git_url": "git://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython.git",
  "ssh_url": "[email protected]:adafruit/circuitpython.git",
  "clone_url": "https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython.git",
  "svn_url": "https://github.com/adafruit/circuitpython",
  "homepage": "",
  "size": 57300,
  "stargazers_count": 1059,
  "watchers_count": 1059,
  "language": "C",
  "has_issues": true,
  "has_projects": false,
  "has_downloads": true,
  "has_wiki": false,
  "has_pages": false,
  "forks_count": 204,
  "mirror_url": null,
  "archived": false,
  "open_issues_count": 157,
  "license": {
    "key": "other",
    "name": "Other",
    "spdx_id": "NOASSERTION",
    "url": null,
    "node_id": "MDc6TGljZW5zZTA="
  },
  "forks": 204,
  "open_issues": 157,
  "watchers": 1059,
  "default_branch": "master",
  "organization": {
    "login": "adafruit",
    "id": 181069,
    "node_id": "MDEyOk9yZ2FuaXphdGlvbjE4MTA2OQ==",
    "avatar_url": "https://avatars3.githubusercontent.com/u/181069?v=4",
    "gravatar_id": "",
    "url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit",
    "html_url": "https://github.com/adafruit",
    "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/followers",
    "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/following{/other_user}",
    "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/gists{/gist_id}",
    "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/starred{/owner}{/repo}",
    "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/subscriptions",
    "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/orgs",
    "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/repos",
    "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/events{/privacy}",
    "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/adafruit/received_events",
    "type": "Organization",
    "site_admin": false
  },
  "parent": {
    "id": 15337142,
    "node_id": "MDEwOlJlcG9zaXRvcnkxNTMzNzE0Mg==",
    "name": "micropython",
    "full_name": "micropython/micropython",
    "private": false,
    "owner": {
      "login": "micropython",
      "id": 6298560,
      "node_id": "MDEyOk9yZ2FuaXphdGlvbjYyOTg1NjA=",
      "avatar_url": "https://avatars1.githubusercontent.com/u/6298560?v=4",
      "gravatar_id": "",
      "url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython",
      "html_url": "https://github.com/micropython",
      "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/followers",
      "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/following{/other_user}",
      "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/gists{/gist_id}",
      "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/starred{/owner}{/repo}",
      "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/subscriptions",
      "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/orgs",
      "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/repos",
      "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/events{/privacy}",
      "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/received_events",
      "type": "Organization",
      "site_admin": false
    },
    "html_url": "https://github.com/micropython/micropython",
    "description": "MicroPython - a lean and efficient Python implementation for microcontrollers and constrained systems",
    "fork": false,
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython",
    "forks_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/forks",
    "keys_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/keys{/key_id}",
    "collaborators_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/collaborators{/collaborator}",
    "teams_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/teams",
    "hooks_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/hooks",
    "issue_events_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/issues/events{/number}",
    "events_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/events",
    "assignees_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/assignees{/user}",
    "branches_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/branches{/branch}",
    "tags_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/tags",
    "blobs_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/git/blobs{/sha}",
    "git_tags_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/git/tags{/sha}",
    "git_refs_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/git/refs{/sha}",
    "trees_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/git/trees{/sha}",
    "statuses_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/statuses/{sha}",
    "languages_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/languages",
    "stargazers_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/stargazers",
    "contributors_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/contributors",
    "subscribers_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/subscribers",
    "subscription_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/subscription",
    "commits_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/commits{/sha}",
    "git_commits_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/git/commits{/sha}",
    "comments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/comments{/number}",
    "issue_comment_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/issues/comments{/number}",
    "contents_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/contents/{+path}",
    "compare_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/compare/{base}...{head}",
    "merges_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/merges",
    "archive_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/{archive_format}{/ref}",
    "downloads_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/downloads",
    "issues_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/issues{/number}",
    "pulls_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/pulls{/number}",
    "milestones_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/milestones{/number}",
    "notifications_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/notifications{?since,all,participating}",
    "labels_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/labels{/name}",
    "releases_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/releases{/id}",
    "deployments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/deployments",
    "created_at": "2013-12-20T11:47:07Z",
    "updated_at": "2019-03-01T18:51:51Z",
    "pushed_at": "2019-03-01T16:47:12Z",
    "git_url": "git://github.com/micropython/micropython.git",
    "ssh_url": "[email protected]:micropython/micropython.git",
    "clone_url": "https://github.com/micropython/micropython.git",
    "svn_url": "https://github.com/micropython/micropython",
    "homepage": "https://micropython.org",
    "size": 39688,
    "stargazers_count": 7996,
    "watchers_count": 7996,
    "language": "C",
    "has_issues": true,
    "has_projects": true,
    "has_downloads": true,
    "has_wiki": true,
    "has_pages": false,
    "forks_count": 2298,
    "mirror_url": null,
    "archived": false,
    "open_issues_count": 713,
    "license": {
      "key": "mit",
      "name": "MIT License",
      "spdx_id": "MIT",
      "url": "https://api.github.com/licenses/mit",
      "node_id": "MDc6TGljZW5zZTEz"
    },
    "forks": 2298,
    "open_issues": 713,
    "watchers": 7996,
    "default_branch": "master"
  },
  "source": {
    "id": 15337142,
    "node_id": "MDEwOlJlcG9zaXRvcnkxNTMzNzE0Mg==",
    "name": "micropython",
    "full_name": "micropython/micropython",
    "private": false,
    "owner": {
      "login": "micropython",
      "id": 6298560,
      "node_id": "MDEyOk9yZ2FuaXphdGlvbjYyOTg1NjA=",
      "avatar_url": "https://avatars1.githubusercontent.com/u/6298560?v=4",
      "gravatar_id": "",
      "url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython",
      "html_url": "https://github.com/micropython",
      "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/followers",
      "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/following{/other_user}",
      "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/gists{/gist_id}",
      "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/starred{/owner}{/repo}",
      "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/subscriptions",
      "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/orgs",
      "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/repos",
      "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/events{/privacy}",
      "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/micropython/received_events",
      "type": "Organization",
      "site_admin": false
    },
    "html_url": "https://github.com/micropython/micropython",
    "description": "MicroPython - a lean and efficient Python implementation for microcontrollers and constrained systems",
    "fork": false,
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython",
    "forks_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/forks",
    "keys_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/keys{/key_id}",
    "collaborators_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/collaborators{/collaborator}",
    "teams_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/teams",
    "hooks_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/hooks",
    "issue_events_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/issues/events{/number}",
    "events_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/events",
    "assignees_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/assignees{/user}",
    "branches_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/branches{/branch}",
    "tags_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/tags",
    "blobs_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/git/blobs{/sha}",
    "git_tags_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/git/tags{/sha}",
    "git_refs_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/git/refs{/sha}",
    "trees_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/git/trees{/sha}",
    "statuses_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/statuses/{sha}",
    "languages_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/languages",
    "stargazers_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/stargazers",
    "contributors_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/contributors",
    "subscribers_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/subscribers",
    "subscription_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/subscription",
    "commits_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/commits{/sha}",
    "git_commits_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/git/commits{/sha}",
    "comments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/comments{/number}",
    "issue_comment_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/issues/comments{/number}",
    "contents_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/contents/{+path}",
    "compare_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/compare/{base}...{head}",
    "merges_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/merges",
    "archive_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/{archive_format}{/ref}",
    "downloads_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/downloads",
    "issues_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/issues{/number}",
    "pulls_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/pulls{/number}",
    "milestones_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/milestones{/number}",
    "notifications_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/notifications{?since,all,participating}",
    "labels_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/labels{/name}",
    "releases_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/releases{/id}",
    "deployments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/micropython/micropython/deployments",
    "created_at": "2013-12-20T11:47:07Z",
    "updated_at": "2019-03-01T18:51:51Z",
    "pushed_at": "2019-03-01T16:47:12Z",
    "git_url": "git://github.com/micropython/micropython.git",
    "ssh_url": "[email protected]:micropython/micropython.git",
    "clone_url": "https://github.com/micropython/micropython.git",
    "svn_url": "https://github.com/micropython/micropython",
    "homepage": "https://micropython.org",
    "size": 39688,
    "stargazers_count": 7996,
    "watchers_count": 7996,
    "language": "C",
    "has_issues": true,
    "has_projects": true,
    "has_downloads": true,
    "has_wiki": true,
    "has_pages": false,
    "forks_count": 2298,
    "mirror_url": null,
    "archived": false,
    "open_issues_count": 713,
    "license": {
      "key": "mit",
      "name": "MIT License",
      "spdx_id": "MIT",
      "url": "https://api.github.com/licenses/mit",
      "node_id": "MDc6TGljZW5zZTEz"
    },
    "forks": 2298,
    "open_issues": 713,
    "watchers": 7996,
    "default_branch": "master"
  },
  "network_count": 2298,
  "subscribers_count": 109
}

Keys

If we look a bit further down the JSON page, we'll see a key called stargazers_count that has a value of 1059. The raw JSON for this key : value pair looks like this: "stargazers_count": 1059

Our CircuitPython code is able to grab and parse this data using these variables:

Download File
Copy Code 
DATA_SOURCE = "https://api.github.com/repos/adafruit/circuitpython"
DATA_LOCATION = ["stargazers_count"]

Traversing JSON

The DATA_LOCATION contains a value that we use to traverse the JSON file. In the image above, note how there is a tree hierarchy indicated by the indentation level. The stargazer_count key is at the root level of the file's hierarchy, so we can call it explicitly. In some JSON files, the key you seek may have a parent or parents that must be traversed as well.

PyPortal Constructor

When we set up the pyportal constructor, we are providing it with these things:

  • url to query
  • json_path to traverse and find the key:value pair we need
  • default_bg path and name to display the background bitmap
  • text_font path and name to the font used for displaying the star count value
  • text_position on the screen's x/y coordinate system
  • text_color
  • caption_text to display statically -- in this case the name of the repo
  • caption_font
  • caption_position
  • caption_color

Fetch

With the pyportal set up, we can then use pyportal.fetch() to do the query and parsing of the GitHub data and then display it on screen along with the caption text on top of the background image.

Ba-Ding!

Additionally, we use the last_value variable's state to compare against the latest value. If they differ, we play the coin.wav file for a satisfying ding over the PyPortal's built in speaker!

To make your own .wav files, check out this guide.

Customization

You can customize this project to make it your own and point to different website API's as the source of your JSON data, as well as adjust the graphics and text.

Text Position

Depending on the design of your background bitmap and the length of the text you're displaying, you may want to reposition the text and caption. You can do this with the text_position and caption_position options.

The PyPortal's display is 320 pixels wide and 240 pixels high. In order to refer to those positions on the screen, we use an x/y coordinate system, where x is horizontal and y is vertical.

The origin of this coordinate system is the upper left corner. This means that a pixel placed at the upper left corner would be (0,0) and the lower right corner would be (320, 240).

internet_of_things___iot_pyportal_grid.jpg

So, if you wanted to move the subscriber count text to the right and up closer to the top, your code may look like this for that part of the pyportal constructor: text_position=(250, 10)

Text Color

Another way to customize your stats trophy is to adjust the color of the text. The line text_color=0xFFFFFF in the constructor shows how. You will need to use the hexidecimal value for any color you want to display.

You can use something like https://htmlcolorcodes.com/ to pick your color and then copy the hex value, in this example it would be 0x0ED9EE

internet_of_things___iot_hecxolor.png

Background Image

If you would like to create your own background, awesome! You'll want to save the file with these specifications:

  • 320 x 240 pixels
  • 24-bit RGB color (8-bits per channel)
  • Save file as .bmp format

You can then copy the .bmp file to the root level of the CIRCUITPY drive. Make sure you refer to this new filename in the pyportal constructor line:

default_bg=cwd+"/stars_background.bmp"

Change that line to use the new filename name, such as:

default_bg=cwd+"/my_new_background.bmp"

Advanced Option: API Key

The GitHub API allows up to ten queries per minute for an unauthenticated request. If you would like to query your GitHub stars stats at a higher rate, up to 30 per minute, you can do so by adding your GitHub API key token to the secrets.py file. The code we're using checks for the presence of the github_token variable in the file, and if it's there, it adds that argument to the query.

Here's more info on the query limits. To get a token, follow these instruction.

Once you have your token, add it to the secrets.py file. Your file should look something like this:

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Copy Code 
secrets = {
    'ssid' : '_your_wifi_ssid_',
    'password' : '_your_wifi_password',
    'timezone' : "America/Los_Angeles", # this is offset from UTC
    'location' : "Los Angeles, US",
    'github_token' : 'xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx',
    }

Save your secrets file and now you can query three times as fast!

Now, we'll look at mounting the PyPortal onto a trophy for display!

Build the Trophy

internet_of_things___iot_IMG_4335_2k.jpg

Now that you've got your PyPortal displaying your stats, dress things up a bit with a re-purposed trophy! C'mon, you know you've got one in a box somewhere. If not, get one at a yard sale or thrift shop.

Prep

Remove off any unnecessary parts or labels from your trophy if you like.

In this case, I'm going to mount the PyPortal in the center, so I'll remove the (admittedly awesome) spinning "KICKBALL" element.

Mounting

internet_of_things___iot_IMG_4298_2k.jpg

Using zip ties, connect each of the four mounting holes of the PyPortal to the trophy.

Alternately, you can use double-stick foam mounting tape or some other method to mount it.

internet_of_things___iot_IMG_4302_2k.jpg

Now, your display is complete, just plug it into USB power and admire your achievements!

This guide was first published on Mar 01, 2019. It was last updated on Apr 18, 2024.