MicroCLI 🔌

An easy-to-understand command line tool for the BBC micro:bit.

This project was built to facilitate the process of interacting directly with your BBC micro:bit's MicroPython filesystem without tools like MakeCode or Python Editor. It's built on top of Microfs, which has made the process easier.

Key features

• Quick Setup: Use a Makefile to build the CLI executable, focusing only on the commands you need.
• Easy Testing: Apply changes directly to your micro:bit's main.py file with a single command: ./microCLI
• More intuitive usage & enhanced message.
• More recent & maintained.
• Includes additional features such as file renaming and file content display.

Requirements

• Python 3.6 or higher

Usage

Install dependencies with :

    pip install -r requirements.txt

Execute the command:

  make

Use the program like this:

./microCLI [-ls | -up | -save | -rm | -rename | -show | -v | --version | -h | --help] <FILENAME> <NEWNAME>
DESCRIPTION:

    ./microCLI                      : run your main.py file on the micro:bit. The file should be located at the root (same level as the microCLI).

    -h | --help                     : display this message and exit.
    -ls                             : show the files currently on the micro:bit filesystem.
    -up <FILENAME> <NEWNAME>        : upload a specific file into the micro:bit. Needs the path of the source file. Accepts an optional argument to name the file you want to upload differently.
    -save <FILENAME> <NEWNAME>      : save a file from the micro:bit to your device. The file name is required. You can optionally specify a new name for the file you want to save.
    -rm <FILENAME>                  : delete a file from the micro:bit.
    -rename <FILENAME> <NEWNAME>    : renames a file directly into the micro:bit. Needs the name of the file you want to rename and the new name. E.g.: -rename hello.py main.py
    -show <FILENAME>                : show the content of a file on the micro:bit (similar to Unix 'cat' command)
    -v | --version                  : shows the MicroPython version and some information about the connected micro:bit

Why ?

I was looking for a way to test stuff directly on my micro:bit. After doing some research, I found out that there weren't many options to run Python code on it, aside from the MakeCode / Python Editor online tools. I eventually found a VS Code extension that did the job, but having to use the command palette to navigate every couple of minutes was a hassle (search for the right text to click on...etc), then I found out it was using MicroFS under the hood, so I thought that would be a good starting point to create an easy way to test my code via terminal. While MicroFS is solid, the original repository was not so user-friendly for someone who would just like to quickly run his code into the device, since it's more focused on its pip package 'ufs', which is understandable, but I wanted something more straightforward and simpler.

So I decided to create something that would suit my needs and make it simpler for others who might be in the same situation.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details