PyBLE is an open-source, MIT-licensed MicroPython IDE for programming microcontroller boards over Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), which targets Android tablet and iPad users.
PyBLE combines a Flutter-based IDE for iPad and Android with support for MicroPython and visual programming (Blockly), an open MicroPython agent firmware, and the PBLE/1 protocol fully documented by the developer. The IDE currently supports features such as editing and running Python, a live console, wireless file management, and initial firmware targets include ESP32, ESP32-S3, and ESP32-C3 wireless microcontrollers.
PyBLE highlights:
- Flutter app
- Filtered BLE discovery and PBLE/1 open protocol support
- MicroPython editor with save, run, stop, soft reboot, and live console
- Wireless file browsing and transfer with integrity checks
- Offline Blockly workspace with GPIO and standard MicroPython NeoPixel blocks
- Editable beginner examples
- Exact Blockly sidecar reopening and a bounded Python-to-blocks importer
- Adaptive tablet interface for portrait and landscape use
- Local operation without an account, analytics, or cloud dependency.
- Firmware
- Built with upstream MicroPython
- Exposes PBLE/1 as a BLE GATT peripheral
- Run, stop, console, and soft-reboot control
- Filesystem operations with CRC validation and atomic uploads
- Resumable transfer behavior and bounded transport recovery
- Optional main.py auto-run protection
- Board naming and identify support
- Upstream MicroPython’s standard neopixel module.
You can get started in three steps:
- Use a USB cable once to install the PyBLE firmware (v0.5.1) for your board.
- Open the PyBLE app on the tablet/iPad, find your nearby board, and connect directly over BLE.
- Edit files, arrange Blocks, run code, and use the console over BLE
Currently, three firmware files are provided for classic ESP32 boards with 4 MB SPI flash (no PSRAM), generic ESP32-S3-N16R8 boards with 16 MB flash and 8 MB PSRAM, and the Waveshare ESP32-S3-LCD-1.47B. Support for ESP32-C3 boards with 4MB flash is also planned. The firmware is open-source, so you should be able to port your own board if you wish.
You’ll find more details on the PyBLE website as well as the GitHub account with the firmware and app source code and detailed documentation. The iPad and Android app haven’t been released on the Apple App Store and Google Play publicly just yet. In the meantime, you can install the iPad beta from Testflight or build the Android app from source. There’s also an Android build available only to approved internal testers.
This is an open-source project by SciLabPro, most notably Dr. Viwat Vchirawongkwin, who happens to be an associate professor of chemistry at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Besides PyBLE, they also designed the TitraLab ESP32 board to teach automated titration (also deployed in classrooms) and the MicroPad IDE beta for the TitraLab board, and are working on the Thermab handheld, USB-C rechargeable temperature data logger designed to measure two PT100 probes simultaneously.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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