title	Welcome to Badgeware!
summary	An introduction to Badgeware and the Badgeware SDK
hide_toc	true

Welcome to Badgeware!

Badgeware is a MicroPython-powered platform for our family of programmable badges — Tufty, Badger, and Blinky. Write a short Python script, copy it to your badge over USB, and it runs. No toolchains, no compilers, no fuss.

Your badge comes preloaded with a set of apps, but the real fun starts when you write your own. Everything is built around a simple update() function that the badge calls once per frame — draw to the screen, read some buttons, and you've got an app. If you've ever written a few lines of Python, you already have everything you need to get started.

This site is your guide. You'll find step-by-step tutorials to get you up and running, feature guides that go deeper on topics like sprites, text, and vector shapes, and a full API reference for when you need the details. Whether you're building a name badge for a conference, a tiny game to pass the time, or a dashboard that pulls live data over WiFi — it all starts here.

New here? Head straight to Getting started to write your first app in minutes.

Meet the badges

There are three badges in the family, each with its own kind of display — but they all run the same Badgeware API, so code you write for one will mostly work on the others. Where they differ is resolution, colour, and how the screen refreshes.

Tufty	Badger	Blinky
The versatile all-rounder — smooth, vivid, and up for anything graphical.	The low-power one — sips battery and idles for up to 100 days.	The little showpiece — tiny, bright, and made to be worn.
Full-colour IPS LCD	E-paper display	Greyscale LED matrix
320×240 (or 160×120)	264×176	39×26
Full RGB colour	Black, white + 2 greys	Bright white LEDs
Redraws continuously	Updates on demand, sleeps between	Redraws continuously
Great for games, animation, and rich UIs	Great for name badges, dashboards, and e-readers	Great for scrolling text, pixel art, and notifications

Shared hardware

Despite their different displays, all three badges share the same core hardware and software platform:

Processor	RP2350 dual-core ARM Cortex-M33 @ 200MHz with hardware floating point
Memory	16MB flash for firmware, code, and assets, plus 8MB PSRAM for runtime use
Connectivity	2.4GHz WiFi and Bluetooth 5 for downloading data, syncing, or communicating between badges
Power	1000mAh rechargeable battery with USB-C charging
Expansion	Qw/ST port for connecting breakout accessories, SWD port for debugging
Inputs	Five front-facing buttons, plus RESET and BOOTSEL on the back
Software	The same Badgeware MicroPython API, so code written for one badge runs on the others with minimal changes
Disk Mode	Double-tap RESET to mount the badge as a USB drive, drag your files on, eject, and go

A taste of Badgeware

Every app is built around a single update() function that the badge calls once per frame. Here's a quick example — a bouncing ball with a greeting, in about 20 lines:

x, y = 80, 60
dx, dy = 2, 1

while True:
    x, y = x + dx, y + dy
    if x < 5 or x > screen.width - 5:  dx = -dx
    if y < 5 or y > screen.height - 5: dy = -dy

    screen.pen = color.navy
    screen.clear()

    screen.pen = color.orange
    screen.circle(x, y, 10)

    screen.pen = color.white
    screen.font = rom_font.smart
    screen.text("Hello, Badgeware!", 24, 50)

That's a complete, runnable app — copy it onto your badge and it just works. Everything else is building on these ideas: drawing to the screen, reading buttons, and letting update() do its thing.

Where to next

• Getting started — plug in and run your first app in minutes.
• Creating your first app — the full app structure, including init() and on_exit().
• Coding for the different badges — how Tufty, Badger, and Blinky differ, and how to write code that runs on all three.
• Guides — go deeper on sprites, text, vector shapes, animation, and more.
• API reference — the details, for when you need them.

Happy hacking!