7.3 KiB
Presto Music Library - Records On This Day
A MicroPython application for the Pimoroni Presto (RP2350B, 480×480 touch display, WiFi) that connects to the Music Library API and lets you browse your record collection by release date.
Features
- Month calendar — 7×6 grid with day-of-week headers, today highlight
- Today's records on boot — opens directly to records released on today's date
- Tap a day — see records released on that date with cover art, titles, artist names, format, and release year
- Record detail view — tap any record row to see large cover art, genres, record type, and purchase date
- Month navigation — arrow buttons to browse previous/future months
- Touch scrolling — drag the day view to scroll through longer record lists
- Display sleep — turns the backlight off after 1 minute of inactivity and wakes on touch
- WiFi auto-connect — connects on boot with retry logic
- NTP time sync — calendar always shows the correct date
- Error handling — graceful messages when the server is unreachable or images fail to load
Requirements
- Pimoroni Presto running stock firmware (MicroPython + PicoGraphics + touch driver)
- WiFi network with internet access
- A valid API token for the Music Library API
The app initialises Presto with full_res=True, so all layout and touch coordinates
use the display's full 480×480 pixel coordinate system.
Setup
1. Create secrets.py
cp config.example.py secrets.py
Edit secrets.py and fill in your credentials:
WIFI_SSID = "your-wifi-ssid"
WIFI_PASSWORD = "your-wifi-password"
API_TOKEN = "your-api-token"
secrets.pyis git-ignored and never committed.
2. Deploy to your Presto
Copy the files to the root of your Presto's flash storage. You can use Thonny, mpremote, or any MicroPython file transfer tool.
Using mpremote:
# Install mpremote if you don't have it
pip install mpremote
# Copy files to the Presto
mpremote fs cp main.py :main.py
mpremote fs cp secrets.py :secrets.py
# Reset the device to start the app
mpremote reset
After secrets.py has been copied to the device once, you can redeploy the app with the project task:
mise run presto
This copies main.py to :main.py and resets the device; it does not copy secrets.py.
Using Thonny:
- Open Thonny and select "MicroPython (Raspberry Pi Pico)" as the interpreter
- Open
main.pyandsecrets.pyin Thonny - Use File → Save Copy → Raspberry Pi Pico to save
main.pyasmain.pyandsecrets.pyassecrets.py - Press the reset button on the Presto, or use Run → Send EOF / Soft Reboot
3. The app starts automatically
The Presto runs main.py on boot. The app will:
- Show a startup screen
- Connect to WiFi (showing progress)
- Sync time via NTP
- Load and display today's records
Usage
Month view
- Today's date is highlighted in blue
- Tap ← → arrows to navigate months
- Tap any day cell to see records released on that date
Day view
- Shows records with cover art, title, artists, format, and release year
- Tap < Back to return to the month view
- Drag vertically to scroll through longer lists
- During drag scrolling, cover art is temporarily shown as lightweight placeholders and redrawn when you lift your finger
Record detail view
- Tap any record row in the day view to open its detail page
- Shows a larger cover image (uses
thumb_url, 480px source), the full title, artists, genres, record type, format, release year, and purchase date - Drag vertically to scroll if the content is taller than the screen
- The header bar stays fixed at the top while the cover and info scroll underneath
- Tap < Back to return to the day view
- If the record can be scrobbled, a "Scrobble" button appears at the bottom — tap it to scrobble the release to Last.fm; "Done" confirms success
Display sleep
- After 1 minute with no touch input, the display backlight turns off
- Touch the screen once to wake it; the wake touch is ignored so it will not also press a button or scroll
- WiFi is left enabled while the display sleeps. If it drops while idle, the app reconnects on wake
Error states
- "Could not reach server" — the API is unreachable. Tap anywhere on the day view to retry, or tap Back to return to the month view.
- "WiFi connection failed" — WiFi credentials are wrong or the network is down. The app retries every 10 seconds.
- Grey placeholder in place of cover art — the image could not be loaded (network issue or invalid URL). The rest of the record info is still shown.
Files
presto/
main.py # Application source, deployed to the device as main.py
config.example.py # Template for secrets.py
secrets.py # Your credentials (git-ignored, create from example)
README.md # This file
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Stuck on "secrets.py not found" | secrets.py not on the device |
Copy config.example.py to secrets.py and deploy it |
| Stuck on "WiFi connection failed" | Wrong SSID/password, or network down | Check secrets.py credentials; verify network is up |
| "Could not reach server" on day tap | API token invalid, or server down | Check API_TOKEN in secrets.py; verify the server is running |
| Images show as grey rectangles | JPEG decoder not available, or image URLs unreachable | Check firmware version; ensure Presto has internet access |
| Touch not responding | Firmware touch API mismatch | Try updating Presto firmware to the latest version |
| Display is black after idle | Backlight sleep is active | Touch once to wake the display |
API Endpoint
The app talks to:
GET https://music-library.claudio-ortolina.org/api/v1/collection/on_this_day?date=YYYY-MM-DD
Authorization: Bearer <API_TOKEN>
Response format:
{
"records": [
{
"id": "...",
"selected_release_id": "abc-123-uuid",
"title": "Album Title",
"artists": ["Artist Name"],
"micro_cover_url": "https://.../api/v1/assets/thumb.jpg?width=40",
"mini_cover_url": "https://.../api/v1/assets/thumb.jpg?width=150",
"thumb_url": "https://.../api/v1/assets/thumb.jpg?width=480",
"release_date": "1973-03-01",
"genres": ["Rock"],
"format": "Vinyl",
"record_type": "LP",
"purchased_at": "2024-11-15"
}
]
}
The Presto client prefers mini_cover_url for the 80×80 full-resolution row thumbnail, then falls back to micro_cover_url and thumb_url.
The detail view prefers thumb_url for the full-size cover, falling back to mini_cover_url and micro_cover_url.
License
This application is part of the Music Library project.