mctl: Command-line Interface for MicroPython Devices

• Connect to devices over serial or network (WebREPL)
• List all serial devices: mctl devices
• Enter the REPL: mctl repl
• Manipulate files and directories: mctl ls, mctl rm, mctl put, mctl get, mctl mkdir
• Synchronize a folder onto the device: mctl sync (only uploads changed files)
• Edit a file and upload if changed: mctl edit <filename>
• Reset the device: mctl reset
• Run Python scripts: mctl run <script_or_file>
• Reuse a mctl repl connection to run mctl commands in another terminal at the same time
• Mount the device into the local filesystem: mctl mount (experimental!)
• More: see mctl help

Code: cli/index.ts

Installation

mctl is included in the micropython-ctl npm package. You can also install it via the mctl npm package:

npm install -g mctl

Usage

$ mctl help
Usage: index [options] [command]

Options:
  -t, --tty <device>                                      Connect over serial interface (eg. /dev/tty.SLAB_USBtoUART)
  -h, --host <host>                                       Connect over network to hostname or IP of device
  -p, --password <password>                               Password for network device
  -s, --silent                                            Hide unnecessary output
  --help                                                  display help for command

Commands:
  devices                                                 List serial devices
  repl                                                    Open a REPL terminal
  run <fileOrCommand>                                     Execute a Python file or command
  info [options]                                          Get information about the board (versions, unique id, space, memory)
  ls [options] [directory]                                List files on a device
  cat <filename>                                          Print content of a file on the device
  get <file_or_dirname> [out_file_or_dirname]             Download a file or directory from the device. Download everything with 'get /'
  put [options] <file_or_dirname> [dest_file_or_dirname]  Upload a file or directory onto the device
  sync [directory]                                        Sync a local directory onto the device root (upload new/changes files, delete missing)
  edit <filename>                                         Edit a file, and if changed upload afterwards
  mkdir <name>                                            Create a directory
  rm [options] <path>                                     Delete a file or directory
  mv <oldPath> <newPath>                                  Rename a file or directory
  sha256 <filename>                                       Get the SHA256 hash of a file
  reset [options]                                         Reset the MicroPython device
  mount [targetPath]                                      Mount a MicroPython device (over serial or network)
  run-tests                                               Run micropython-ctl tests on a device
  version                                                 Print the version of mctl
  help [command]                                          display help for command

Device connection logic:

1. --host or --tty option
2. MCTL_TTY env var: serial connection
3. MCTL_HOST env var: network connection
4. AMPY_PORT env var: serial connection
5. WEBREPL_HOST env var: network connection

For network connection passwords, the env vars MCTL_PASSWORD and WEBREPL_PASSWORD can be used.

Examples

Set target device

# List serial devices
mctl devices

# By default connect to first serial device
mctl info

# Connect over specific serial device
mctl -t /dev/USB0 info

# Connect over network
mctl -h DEVICE_IP -p WEBREPL_PASSWORD info

Get information, REPL, list and read files

# Get information about the board
mctl info

# Enter the REPL
mctl repl

# List files
mctl ls  # list all files in /
mctl ls foo/  # list all files in /foo/
mctl ls -r  # recursively list all files and directories
mctl ls -r --json  # output as json
mctl ls -r --include-hash --json  # output as json, include sha256 hash of each file

# Print contents of boot.py
mctl cat boot.py

Upload and download files

# Download all files and directories recursively, into the current directory
mctl get /

# Download all files and directories recursively, into /tmp/
mctl get / /tmp/

# Upload a file
mctl put boot.py

# Upload all Python scripts
mctl put "*.py"

# Upload everything recursively
mctl put .

# Synchronize current local directory onto the device (upload only changed files, remove deleted files)
mctl sync

# Synchronize specific current local directory onto the device
mctl sync <directory>

# Edit a file and upload only if changed
mctl edit boot.py

Example Output

ls -r --json --include-hash:

[
    {
        "filename": "/",
        "size": 0,
        "isDir": true,
        "mTime": 0
    },
    {
        "filename": "/boot.py",
        "size": 139,
        "isDir": false,
        "mTime": 0,
        "sha256": "16f5b4bcb120e9a032242b47967e649a0cc577b41939e81ef7d4b4da181bd17f"
    },
    {
        "filename": "/main.py",
        "size": 1810,
        "isDir": false,
        "mTime": 14,
        "sha256": "936d92994d0b86eb0e60efd053e12d009d718af3894d7f5c16303b1d7c526306"
    }
]

Experimental

# Mount device onto local filesystem (experimental, only works with python files)
mctl mount

Notes

mctl mount

• Mounts the device filesystem into the local filesystem. Highly experimental! Doesn't yet work well with binary files, and Windows. Not recommended for production use. Might result in data loss.
• Should work for Python (.py) files on macOS and Linux.
• macOS, Linux: works, using fuse-native
• Windows: experimental, might be buggy. Uses node-fuse-bindings and Dokany
• Keeps the device connection open, which means you cannot connect to it in parallel
• If you encounter problems or have feedback, please post here: https://github.com/metachris/micropython-ctl/issues/3