Release Notes

Status

Stable. Ships in a clean factory-default state. Confirmed working on RP2040, RP2350, and ESP32-S3.

What's new since v0.8.0-rc4

Bug fixes

• ls no longer changes your working directory. Running ls /Core previously left you inside /Core after it finished. Fixed by using uos.listdir(target) directly.
• POST beeper crash fixed. If beeper was enabled in settings but beeper_pin was still None, post.py crashed with a NameError. beeper is now initialized to False at module level.
• POST registry creation handles missing /Nebula/ parent. On a completely fresh filesystem, check_registry() now creates /Nebula/ before creating /Nebula/Registry/.
• Boot-clock crash sentinel now shows a login message. Startup mode 7 (device crashed while applying boot clock) now has an entry in _STARTUP_MSGS and displays a warning at login. Previously the sentinel was cleared by POST but no notification reached the user.

Registry overhaul

• Config caching: regedit.py now caches the parsed config in memory. Repeated read() calls no longer re-parse the file from disk.
• Removed dead code: The unused XOR-encrypted user store (user.dat) removed from regedit.py. Only usrmgmt.py / user.cfg handles users now.
• f-strings removed: All f-strings in regedit.py replaced with .format() for broader firmware compatibility.

Stability fixes

• Fixed recovery_mode() crash: initialization.py was calling an undefined recovery() function — now dispatches correctly.
• GC optimization: Redundant double/triple gc.collect() calls removed across the codebase. Faster and just as effective.
• Removed unused import random from main.py — small free RAM at boot.

Serial file transfer (_xfer)

New critical inline command added to the _CRITICAL dict alongside reboot, sreboot, freeup, gc. Receives files over serial using base64 — used by the web package browser and browser update page to push files to a running device without touching the raw REPL or requiring WiFi.

Web package browser

packages.html now uses the _xfer serial protocol instead of raw REPL. The browser package browser was available in rc4 but required the device to be in REPL mode. It now installs to a running Launchpad shell — no mode switch, no reboot. HTTPS auto-translation added for Chromium mixed-content compliance. All website JS moved to js/; CSS unified into style.css.

Log directory auto-creation

POST now creates /Nebula/Logs/ automatically. Was listed as “what’s next” in rc4 — done.

OS management commands

Three new shell commands for managing the OS lifecycle. All require an explicit typed confirmation.

• update from-file <path> — applies a .rpc archive to the running OS. Skips /Users/ and /Nebula/ entirely so accounts, WiFi credentials, and config are preserved. Sets a crash sentinel before writing. Reboots when done.
• factoryreset — soft reset: wipes user accounts, home dirs, non-builtin packages, and logs. OS files untouched. Type CONFIRM. Reboots into first-run setup.
• reinstall — full OS wipe: deletes /Core/, /Packages/, /Nebula/, /Users/, writes a reinstall stub as main.py, reboots. Type WIPE. Optionally stage a .rpc for auto-install: reinstall /path/to/os.rpc.

Supporting infrastructure: Core/rpc_install.py (streaming two-pass ZIP extractor, peak RAM = largest single file not archive size) and Core/rpc_stub.py (self-contained boot stub, no Core/ imports needed).

Browser OS update page

New update.html: update from a browser tab while the device is running. Loads a .rpc with JSZip, skips user data, pushes files via _xfer, sends reboot at the end. No raw REPL, no WiFi. Source: server version picker or a local file.

First-run setup improvements

• Official package repo added automatically — no prompt, no opt-in needed.
• guest account created silently.
• New setup question: verbose boot preference (on/off). Was previously only settable after login.
• Post-update notification: on first login after a successful update from-file, the shell shows a one-time confirmation banner and clears itself.

Installation

Fresh install: Use the Web Installer — flash from your browser, no software needed.

Updating from rc4: Use the OS Update page or run update from-file /path/to/os.rpc from the shell. User data is preserved.

Manual: Flash MicroPython v1.20+, copy release files to the board, connect at 115200 baud, reboot.

Known Limitations

Same as v0.8.0-rc4 except /Nebula/Logs/ manual creation is no longer needed — POST handles it.

• MemoryError may occur in the shell after heavy use due to heap fragmentation. freeup compacts; reboot clears.
• ESP32-S3 temperature sensor reports unrealistic values (~300–450 °C). Hardware calibration difference, not an RPCortex bug.
• No real-time clock on base Pico: date shows time since boot epoch until RTC is set.
• HTTPS on Pico 1 W needs ~9.5 KB contiguous heap. Run freeup first if fragmented.
• WiFi passwords stored plaintext in the registry. No secure enclave on this hardware.
• The editor requires a real terminal emulator — Thonny REPL won’t render it.

What's Next

• Tab completion
• Shell aliases
• SD card support
• update check — online update check (reserved, not yet implemented)
• Unified user system

RPCortex Nebula v0.8.1-beta2  •  by dash1101. Issues and PRs welcome.