Skip to content
PSPixelPSPixel

Web installer

The web installer flashes MicroPython and installs the controller onto a Raspberry Pi Pico W straight from your browser — no tools to install, no files to copy by hand. It’s the quickest way to get a fresh board running.

Open the installer →

Prefer to do it by hand, or want to understand every step? See Manual setup.

What you need

Section titled “What you need”
  • A Raspberry Pi Pico W and a USB cable.
  • Desktop Chrome, Edge, or Opera. Firefox, Safari, and phones can’t talk to USB devices from a web page — the installer will tell you if the browser isn’t supported.
  • Your Wi-Fi name and password (optional — you can also set Wi-Fi up later from the device’s own setup network).

How it works

Section titled “How it works”
  1. Pick a version. Install from chooses between Released version — the project’s tags, newest first, and what you want almost always — and Branch (unreleased), which lists the repository’s branches (main first) and installs whatever is on the one you pick. Branches are useful for trying unreleased changes, but aren’t guaranteed stable. The second dropdown lists the versions of the kind you chose; the newest release is preselected.
  2. Flash MicroPython. Hold the BOOTSEL button while plugging the Pico W in, then press Flash via USB. If your browser can’t flash directly, the installer links you to the official MicroPython download page (with the exact version to grab) to download the .uf2 yourself and drag it onto the RPI-RP2 drive. Already have MicroPython on the board? Press Already flashed — skip instead.
  3. Connect. After the board reboots (about five seconds), press Connect and pick the Pico’s serial port.
  4. Configure. Fill in the device name, Wi-Fi, LED count and data pin, and watchdog — everything else (the setup network’s name/password, LED behavior, MQTT including TLS and certificate validation, the cover button/IR remote, boot mode, logging) is tucked behind its own (advanced) section, pre-filled with sensible defaults, so the basics stay quick and the rest is there when you need it. Press Scan for networks to fill in nearby Wi-Fi names to pick from — you can still type any name by hand. If you turn on MQTT certificate validation, a drop zone appears — drag a certificate file in or click to browse, and it’s uploaded onto the device along with everything else in step 4. Its filename may use only letters, digits, dots, dashes and underscores (up to 64 characters).
  5. Install. The installer copies the controller onto the board, writes your settings, and reboots it. The strip lights up on the persisted mode.

After installing

Section titled “After installing”

The device behaves exactly as a hand-installed one, and the last step tells you how to reach it:

  • If you set up Wi-Fi, find the device’s IP address on your router (its connected-devices list) and open it in a browser. If it can’t join that network — wrong password, network out of range — it automatically opens its own setup network instead, same as below.
  • If you left Wi-Fi blank, the device starts up as its own Wi-Fi access point on this first boot instead of joining a network — that’s expected. Connect your phone or computer’s Wi-Fi to it (PSPixel by default) and open http://192.168.4.1/ to finish setup — see Can’t connect?.

To change anything later, use the Web UI (the dashboard the device serves) or re-run the installer.

If something goes wrong

Section titled “If something goes wrong”
  • “This browser cannot talk to USB devices” — switch to desktop Chrome, Edge, or Opera.
  • You pick the board from the USB prompt and then nothing happens — on Windows, USB flashing needs a WinUSB driver bound to the board’s boot interface, which isn’t installed by default. The installer now times out after a few seconds and reports this; either way, use the drag-the-.uf2 fallback link instead (no driver needed).
  • Flashing doesn’t start — on Windows the Pico’s bootloader occasionally needs a moment to be recognised; unplug, hold BOOTSEL, plug back in. If it still won’t, use the drag-the-.uf2 fallback link.
  • “GitHub API rate limit hit” — the installer reads the picked version straight from GitHub; wait a few minutes and reload.
  • “Failed to open serial port” — usually means the board hasn’t finished booting yet right after flashing/rebooting; wait a few seconds and press Connect again. Also check no other program (Thonny, the Arduino IDE, another browser tab) already has the port open.
  • The install stalls partway — unplug the board and start again from step 1 (re-flashing MicroPython wipes the half-written filesystem).

Each step turns green with a checkmark once it succeeds, or red with the error if it didn’t — so you can always tell which one to retry.