socat PTY,link=ttyMP,raw,echo=0 EXEC:"./micropython/po

rts/unix/build-standard/micropython",pty,stderr

This creates a "virtual serial port" at ./ttyMP. Can replace this with any path you like.

mpremote connect ttyMP

This connects to that virtual serial port.

You should be able to share this to docker/podman with --device ttyMP.

I never really used mpremote, so I don't know what all it needs in the MicroPython runtime to work correctly.

Thanks! This does work for a basic (textual) repl but fails with other commands like run or ls:

% mpremote connect ttyMP ls :/       
b'\r\r\n>>> \r\r\n>>> \r\r\n>>> \r\n>>> '
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/nix/store/6zg7xv54f37ssgcz6wncjxwp63k75hvz-mpremote-1.25.0/bin/.mpremote-wrapped", line 9, in <module>
    sys.exit(main())
             ~~~~^^
  File "/nix/store/6zg7xv54f37ssgcz6wncjxwp63k75hvz-mpremote-1.25.0/lib/python3.13/site-packages/mpremote/main.py", line 569, in main
    handler_func(state, args)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/nix/store/6zg7xv54f37ssgcz6wncjxwp63k75hvz-mpremote-1.25.0/lib/python3.13/site-packages/mpremote/commands.py", line 327, in do_filesystem
    state.ensure_raw_repl()
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^
  File "/nix/store/6zg7xv54f37ssgcz6wncjxwp63k75hvz-mpremote-1.25.0/lib/python3.13/site-packages/mpremote/main.py", line 511, in ensure_raw_repl
    self.transport.enter_raw_repl(soft_reset=soft_reset)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/nix/store/6zg7xv54f37ssgcz6wncjxwp63k75hvz-mpremote-1.25.0/lib/python3.13/site-packages/mpremote/transport_serial.py", line 159, in enter_raw_repl
    raise TransportError("could not enter raw repl")
mpremote.transport.TransportError: could not enter raw repl

When I have the time I'll dig deeper and try to figure out what exactly mpremote requires from the "device" it connects to.

I never really used mpremote, so I don't know what all it needs in the MicroPython runtime to work correctly.

For example, I don't think handling CTRL-A for raw REPL was not implemented until recently in MicroPython v1.27. Not sure if there are other missing features.

Ha, I answered before I even knew the problem. 😄

I think updating to v1.27 should fix the lack of raw REPL, but I wouldn't be surprised if soft reset doesn't work correctly. It will trigger PYEXEC_FORCED_EXIT which will cause the MicroPython process to end.

The TCP4-LISTEN address type to socat had the option to fork which spawned (or forked?) a new MicroPython process every time a new connection was made, which could solve this, but PTY doesn't allow the fork option.

I have been working on mpbridge ...

Is this the mpbridge you are talking about? Do you mean you use it as a real-world example of mpremote?

a method to get better CI testing for "various stuff"

The reason I'm interested in using mpremote with the Unix port is (perhaps unsurprisingly) for CI purposes too. Right now I have to handle the bare-metal and unix ports differently, and being able to use mpremote with both would greatly simplify things.

a custom rfc2217 & socket + some special handling to make the unix port bahave in the same way as a bare-metal build

Those commits all look very relevant! Are there plans to merge them upstream? I'm not familiar with the mpremote codebase; would those changes allow mpremote to use a plain (non-RFC2217) socket like stdin/stdout, or maybe to work around the raw REPL issue (in pre-1.27 but possibly also later) than @dlech mentioned above?

Is this the mpbridge you are talking about?

No, that is another project, possible I need to rename 😬 to mprbridge.

The links to my mpbridge/mpbridge_container are above

Yes, I plan to submit the Mpremote fixes upstream, challenge is that the current bash based testframework is severely limiting to add test for these scenarios thus Ive been using additional pytest based tests.
That adds reliability, but also complexity to the PR.

Btw, I have been testing with micropython 1.27 and WSL2 ubuntu.

You need MicroPython 1.28 to fix this error.

Thanks for the fast response.
I look forward to the release of 1.28. Being able to fully run and test my project on my PC without even using my embedded target will be amazing!

I have micropython, lvgl, ble (via HCI nrf52840) working on unix and a Waveshare knob touch 1.8inch ESP32-S3 device. Just this and some asyncio issues left to sort and they will be interchangeable.

Just wanted you to know that your efforts are really appreciated.

unix micropython supported a repl over IP, but that's just crazy talk!

Not at all, it works today with mpbridge above, and some patches to Mpremote

That's great news. Do you have an estimate as to when it will make it into a release?

It would be very useful, and I would enjoy spending time trying it out, but I have to try not to go off on too many tangents, otherwise I end up spending very little of my time on my core project, which will of course be open source. I end up in a tar pit of googling error messages! I have never worked on any project that had as many tangents as this one. Micropython, lvgl, an embedded device not yet supported by Micropython, unix ports, hci bluetooth - the list goes on! And all to get to what basically amounts to a cross platform 'ble hello world app'! That's probably TMI, but didn't want to sound ungrateful.