Install MicroPython On The ESP32

At this point, you should already have installed Thorney IDE on your computer. If you haven't done so, you should do it now.

A brand new ESP32 does not normally come with the MicroPython firmware pre-installed. Before you can actually start working with MicroPython on this microcontroller is to install the MicroPython firmware.

Installing the MicroPython firmware

To install the MicroPython firmware to an ESP32, you need two things:

First, you need to download the firmware for the particular device from the Micro Python website.

And second, is to use a appropriate tool to upload the firmware binary file to your ESP32.

Luckily, the newer versions of the Thonny IDE come equiped with the upload tool.

Download the MicroPython firmware

To download the firmware for the ESP32, go to download page on the MicroPython website. Beware, there is a specific firmware file for each supported target board. You can't upload a Micro:bit firmware to an ESP32.

Once at the download page, find the list with the ESP-IDF v4.x downloads, and select the latest stable firmware. At the time I am writing this, the latest version is 1.14.

There are unstable versions and there are also versions for ESP32 with the additional SPI RAM chip, which provides additional memory. I don't have that, so I'm going to go with the latest generic version.

Download the file, and continue with Thonny.

Flash the MicroPython firmware to the ESP32

Connect your ESP32 to your computer, then in Thonny select Tools, Options to bring up the Options dialog box.

Click on the Interpreter tab. There are two drop-down menus here.

The top one is the interpreter selector. Select the "MicroPython (ESP32)" from the list.

The second is the port selector. Select the port to which your ESP32 is connected.

Finally, click on the "install or update" hyperlink.

This will take you to the ESP32 firmware installer box. Again, you will need to select the appropriate communications port.

Then, browse for the firmware file that you downloaded earlier.

There are a few options for the installer, which I recommend that you leave in their default states (see my screenshot above).

Finally, click on the Install button to start the flashing process. The process takes around one minute to complete.

Test your new MicroPython interpreter

Once the flashing is complete, your ESP32 MicroPython interpreter will connect to Thonny, and the REPL prompt will appear.

Type "help()" to see helpful information from the interpreter.

And with this, your ESP32 board can now work with MicroPython.