Which VS Code extensions do you use for MicroPython?

[daleka]

Hi everyone! 👋

I currently use Thonny for MicroPython development, but it has a terrible code editor.
Additionally, there is no support for automatic formatting or compiling .mpy files before uploading them to the microcontroller.

I’d like to switch to VS Code, but I’ve run into several issues:

No fully-featured extension for MicroPython (or maybe I just can’t find the right one).
Pymakr is unstable, often fails to detect devices, buttons are unresponsive, and sometimes nothing happens when I click them.
No easy way to automatically compile .py to .mpy before uploading. The mpy-cross tool works in the terminal, but I’d love to integrate it into VS Code.
Autocomplete and syntax highlighting don't always work properly with MicroPython libraries.
So, my questions are:
🔹 Which VS Code extensions do you use for MicroPython?
🔹 How do you set up a smooth workflow for ESP32 / STM32 development?
🔹 Is there a way to automatically compile .py to .mpy inside VS Code before uploading it to the microcontroller?

I’d really appreciate your advice and experiences! 🙌

[BugByter123]

No help with VSCode here, but I use Pycharm with micropython plugin, works awesome once you figure out the workflow.
The plugin version in the marketplace is old, I use latest from https://github.com/JetBrains/intellij-micropython.
No experience with compiling mpy individually, I recompile the entire firmware with my py files once ready for distribution.

[daleka]

Hey BugByter123, thanks a lot for your response!

I’ve actually tried using PyCharm with the MicroPython plugin before, but I installed it from the Marketplace. I didn’t even realize that the Marketplace version might be outdated compared to the official one.

I also had some issues connecting to STM-based boards, specifically the Pyboard. I’ll give it another try with the version you linked and see if it works better.

One more challenge I have is that I need to compress my files before uploading them to the microcontroller. My project doesn’t fit in its regular .py format due to limited storage, so I have to compile everything to .mpy right away. If you have any tips on automating this process in PyCharm, that would be great!

Thanks again for the tip!

[BugByter123]

I mostly have experience with the pico rp2040 chipsets and some ESP32. STM-based may still have issues. The latest version has a filemanager as well that is useful for managing files on the board during dev.
Nova is the branch you want, see JetBrains/intellij-micropython#330

[daleka]

STM-based boards don’t seem to work properly. Even though the board connects, I keep getting this error:

Connect I/O error - Traceback (most recent call last):
File " ", line 12, in
File " ", line 10, in fld
File " ", line 10, in fld
File " ", line 7, in fld
OSError: [Errno 22] EINVAL

Seems like an issue specific to STM boards.

[Josverl]

for VSCode

MicroPico does a decent job, https://github.com/paulober/MicroPico.
its tailored towards the RP2 port, but can run several of the other ports as well.
Maintainer is active and responsive.
It also includes the micropython-stubs :-)

The nova plugin is planning to use the stubs as well, but I have no hands-on with that.

[TomSaw]

I also started with MircoPico since i'm a VSCode/VSCodium advocate.
Nice environment but i frequently loose connection to the ESP32.

Reloading the IDE solves the issue, takes seconds and not a single character of work is lost so i can live with it.

Add some mpremote tasks and it's very powerfull and quick.

[mattytrentini]

I just use VS Code with no necessary extensions.

Then use mpremote in a separate (or in the integrated) terminal.

[daleka]

I just use VS Code with no necessary extensions.

Then use mpremote in a separate (or in the integrated) terminal.

Hi @mattytrentini! Thanks for your input!

I'm curious—how do you use mpremote in VS Code? Do you run it directly from the terminal, or do you use any macros or hotkeys to streamline the process?

Also, have you set up any custom buttons in VS Code to quickly execute mpremote commands (like uploading and running scripts)?

If you have any tips or workflow optimizations, I'd love to hear about them!

[mattytrentini]

There is no need to have an integrated extension; VS Code to edit and mpremote running in a terminal is about the fastest way to develop. Just mount the code to iteratively develop - or copy it when I want to test it disconnected - and that's it. Much faster than any other platform I've used!

For work, we have configured VS Code with a devcontainer and custom build commands, but that's for building the firmware blob, which is not necessary for general development. But that's easy to do too.

[rimelis]

mpremote lacks WebREPL which is pity. Only Thonny is giving such ability currently, for ESP32 at least.

[robert-hh]

As an alternative viperide suports WEBREPL as well and is less intrusive. Only it lacks easy file exchange.
viper ide online: https://viper-ide.org/
viper ide repository: https://github.com/vshymanskyy/ViperIDE.git

[rimelis]

Yeah, I have tried viper-ide.org, it looks like very promising and nicely working connected locally, however WebREPL option is failing to me and others. It's a bug on their side, I have added comment on that.

[daleka]

After spending a few days searching for a development environment for MicroPython, I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no full-fledged, convenient, and stable solution for it.

Everything available is either minimal editors like Thonny, or some makeshift solutions put together "on the fly" (VS Code + Pymakr, mpremote, ampy, etc.). All of these come with tons of issues, unstable performance, connection problems, poorly implemented code uploads to the device, and more.

There is nothing on the level of PlatformIO for Arduino, nor even a fully integrated experience in Visual Studio Code or JetBrains IDEs. Everyone is forced to cobble together their own macros, scripts, or workaround solutions.

This is already my third day trying to find a more convenient solution, tweaking configurations instead of actually working on my project. But everything just works like crap... 😡 Thonny remains the most viable option, but the lack of a proper editor and flexible settings makes it far from an ideal choice.

In my opinion, this is a major drawback of MicroPython, significantly slowing down its adoption. The entry barrier is much higher compared to Arduino or ESP-IDF.

[daleka]

My simple approach is as follows. The only python file I put on my MP device is main.py and it only contains a single line:

import run  # noqa: F401

Then I put all my initialization (e.g. wifi setup) and application code in run.py and the modules it includes. All those .py files remain on my development PC and I run mpr xrun run in one window (where I can see program output) while I edit those python files in other windows to do my development/debugging. I don't use boot.py (delete the default one). So my MP device only contains the above single main.py and a heap of *.mpy files and libraries.

Hello!

I'm trying to figure out mpremote. Initially, I was mounting the project folder, but I ran into memory issues, so I decided to abandon this method. Then I started copying files to the controller, except for main.py, which I ran from the host machine. The code executed, but I couldn't see any logs in the terminal. I don’t understand why mpremote doesn’t output logs in this case.

After that, I decided to copy the entire project to the controller. I wrote a script that detects changes, compiles only the modified files, and sends them to the controller. main.py contains the imports and the entry point. But now I ran into a new issue:

PS E:\Thony\Executive> mpremote run main.py
mpremote: could not read file 'main.py'

PS E:\Thony\Executive> mpremote --device COM4 run main.py
mpremote: '--device' is not a command

PS E:\Thony\Executive> mpremote repl
Connected to MicroPython at COM4
Use Ctrl-] or Ctrl-x to exit this shell
import main
import main

I expected the code to run after import main, but nothing happens. I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. Are there any nuances I might have overlooked?

I’d appreciate any insights!

[mattytrentini]

At least a couple of these issues can be resolved by carefully reading the mpremote docs. If it's unclear please let us know and suggest improvements!

> mpremote --device COM4 run main.py

This should be:

> mpremote connect COM4 run main.py

> mpremote run main.py

This will run the local (ie from the PC filesystem) on your device. Is that what you intended? Is there are main.py in E:\Thony\Executive?

> mpremote repl
Connected to MicroPython at COM4
Use Ctrl-] or Ctrl-x to exit this shell
import main
import main

This will indeed import main.py from your device's filesystem. But you said you weren't copying main.py to your device so perhaps you're running a default, blank file? You can check the contents of main.py with mpremote:

> mpremote cat :main.py

(The colon indicates that the file is on the device filesystem.)

BTW the second attempt at importing main will do nothing; just like CPython, MicroPython caches imports so if main has already been interpreted it won't be parsed a second time. Instead, try soft-resetting your device (with Ctrl+D at the repl) and then re-importing.

There's also no need to write your own script to detect changes; mpremote cp -r copies recursively and compares the hashes of the files on your device with the PC filesystem to determine if they differ before copying.

If your application is printing to stdout or stderr you will see that output in mpremote's repl. I would double-check to ensure your log methods are being called.

[daleka]

I tried using the command as you suggested, but it did not work either:

PS E:\Thony\Executive> mpremote connect COM4 run main.py
mpremote: could not read file 'main.py'
For some reason, the run command does not see my file, even though it is definitely on the controller.

I was able to start the code using this approach:
mpremote connect COM4 exec "import main" + repl
Then, in the REPL, I manually enter:
main.run()

And the code starts working. Other methods described in the mpremote documentation do not work for me.

Apologies for my strange questions. I don't understand English well, so I use a translator. I also read the mpremote documentation through a translator, which sometimes makes me lose context.

Thank you for your help!

P.S. I also noticed that the file change detection before copying does not work correctly—mpremote copies the files even when they are identical. Because of this, I decided to handle the file transfer process in my own script.

[mattytrentini]

>mpremote connect COM4 run main.py

Just to clarify, this is trying to load main.py from your PC filesystem and execute it on your device.

It must be difficult to interpret through a translator; I admire your efforts!

[daleka]

I have successfully added functionality to my VSCode extension. It compiles, uploads files to the controller, and runs the code — and overall, I am satisfied with it.

However, I also want to add support for working with a mounted folder. When I mount the folder, it mounts successfully, and all files, including main.py, appear in /remote. However, I cannot get the code to run from this mounted directory.

I have read the documentation and tried various launch commands, including:

1. Adding /remote to sys.path and importing main.py
   mpremote connect COM4 mount e:\Thony\Executive\mpy exec "import sys; sys.path.insert(0, '/remote'); import main"

2. Trying to run main.py directly using run
   mpremote connect COM4 mount e:\Thony\Executive\mpy run main.py

3. Adding /remote/src to sys.path, assuming main.py is inside
   mpremote connect COM4 mount e:\Thony\Executive\mpy exec "import sys; sys.path.insert(0, '/remote/src'); import main"

4. Running main.py using exec(open(...).read())
   mpremote connect COM4 mount e:\Thony\Executive\mpy exec "exec(open('/remote/main.py').read())"

5. Adding /remote to sys.path as a separate command before import
   mpremote connect COM4 mount e:\Thony\Executive\mpy
   mpremote connect COM4 exec "import sys; sys.path.insert(0, '/remote')"
   mpremote connect COM4 exec "import main"

6. Mounting /remote and importing main from flash storage
   mpremote connect COM4 mount e:\Thony\Executive\mpy exec "import sys; sys.path.insert(0, '/remote'); import main" + repl

7. mpremote connect COM4 mount e:\Thony\Executive\mpy exec "import sys; sys.path.insert(0, '/remote'); import main" + repl
   mpremote connect COM4 mount e:\Thony\Executive\mpy
   mpremote connect COM4 fs cp e:\Thony\Executive\src\main.py /flash/main.py
   mpremote connect COM4 exec "exec(open('/flash/main.py').read())"

8. Creating boot.py to automatically add /remote to sys.path
   mpremote connect COM4 fs put - "/flash/boot.py" <<EOF
   import sys
   sys.path.insert(0, "/remote")
   EOF

mpremote connect COM4 mount e:\Thony\Executive\mpy exec "import main" + repl

None of these methods started the code automatically.

Could you suggest the correct way to run files from the mounted /remote directory?
Should /remote be added to sys.path, or is there another approach?

You mentioned that your mpr tool supports running code. I have already built part of my VSCode extension and could adapt it to mpr by simply replacing mpremote with mpr.

However, I am specifically interested in:

Does mpr support all standard mpremote commands?
Can mpr execute code from the mounted /remote directory?
I am not interested in the xrun command, as I already have my own script for compiling .mpy files.
My main issue is executing code from the mounted folder.

Would mpr help solve this problem?

Thank you for your response!

[Josverl]

Lastly :I completely missed : Autocomplete and syntax highlighting don't always work properly with MicroPython libraries.

please check out : micropython-stubs

if you find something that does not work please create an issue with a sample of the code that does not work so I can try to fix that.

[jkorte-dev]

Compiling to mpy file on save is really a good idea. I' m using Intellij / pycham but mounting the local workspace and running the scripts is sometimes a bit slow. I'll try to speed up using mpy files. Just have to figure out how to do this in Intellij. Thanks for sharing your idea.

[daleka]

Lastly :I completely missed : Autocomplete and syntax highlighting don't always work properly with MicroPython libraries.

please check out : micropython-stubs

if you find something that does not work please create an issue with a sample of the code that does not work so I can try to fix that.

Hi!
Do you know how to deal with these errors in VS Code?
Pylance reports missing imports for uasyncio and machine, even though this is MicroPython code and runs fine on the device.

If you have any ideas or suggestions, I’d really appreciate it! 😊

[DavesCodeMusings]

I have a couple VS Code extensions I wrote to put a GUI wrapper around esptool and mpremote.

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/publishers/DavesCodeMusings

You'll need to have Python installed and working. If you can run an esptool or mpremote command successfully from command-line the extension should be able to do it for you in VS Code through mouse clicks and dialogs.

Most everything is accessed through context menus, either right-clicking on the detected USB serial port or in the code editing window.

[daleka]

Hi!
Thanks for sharing! I actually already created my own VS Code extension that works for my needs. But I appreciate the help! 😊

[DavesCodeMusings]

Hi! Thanks for sharing! I actually already created my own VS Code extension that works for my needs. But I appreciate the help! 😊

And that's what I get for skimming late at night. LOL! Glad to see you've got something working. It's a rewarding experience, isn't it?

[daleka]

I see that Pylance is also underlining your MicroPython library imports as import errors. Is there really no way to fix that? Maybe there are some workarounds or alternative approaches you could recommend?

[DavesCodeMusings]

Honestly, I haven't explored it. I just ignore them. My experience with other linters is there's generally some way to create an exceptions list, but at this point, I don't know what that is.

My main reason for using VS Code with my MicroPython development is VS Code's git integration. I keep my git repository as the "golden copy" and then upload to the flash ram with the sync function I put in my extension. Installing Pylance was VS Code's idea when I saved something with a .py extension. All I'm really after is point and click git functionality.

[DavesCodeMusings]

As for compiling mpy, I've been using GitHub actions to automate this. Here's a workflow you can look at and adapt if you want:

https://github.com/DavesCodeMusings/thimble/blob/main/.github/workflows/build.yml

This fires whenever I push changes to the repo. Then, because of the following package.json, I have the option to install the library with mip.

https://github.com/DavesCodeMusings/thimble/blob/main/package.json

Maybe not the exact solution you're looking for, but handy if you're using GitHub to store your code. Sure beats compiling manually then pushing to the repo in my opinion.