CircuitPython Goes Turbo With Precompiled Functions
CircuitPython has introduced a new Turbo feature that allows developers to precompile critical sections of code for significantly improved performance. This update integrates MicroPython's Viper and native compilation modes, offering speedups ranging from 3x to 70x compared to standard interpreted execution. The enhancement enables CircuitPython to handle more demanding tasks on Adafruit hardware without sacrificing its beginner-friendly nature.
- ▪CircuitPython Turbo enables precompilation of code sections to overcome the speed limitations of interpreted Python on microcontrollers.
- ▪The feature was developed by Mikey Sklar with assistance from Anthropic's Claude LLM and integrates MicroPython's Viper compiler.
- ▪Using native mode provides approximately a 3x speedup, while Viper mode can achieve speedups between 20x and 70x depending on the code.
- ▪Adafruit documentation demonstrates that a Metro RP2040 calculates the Mandelbrot set 19.7 times faster with Viper than with standard Python bytecode.
- ▪The current implementation does not include inline assembly, although this feature exists in the upstream MicroPython version.
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CircuitPython Goes Turbo With Precompiled Functions No comments by: Tyler August September 14, 2026 Title: Copy Short Link: Copy It would not be at all original to declare that Python is the new BASIC. Like BASIC, it has been the first programming language for a whole generation of coders, and its main advantage is that it’s quick and easy to write in. Like BASIC it is an interpreted language, and thus rather slow to execute. Thus while CircuitPython can be very useful for beginners and quick projects, it hits the limitations of the hardware far sooner than it needs to — unless you can pre-compile critical parts of the code, which you now can, thanks to CircuitPython Turbo by [Mikey Sklar] with some help from Anthropic’s Claude LLM.
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