Build for Tronbyt¶

To build apps for Tronbyt, use Pixlet. Apps developed with Pixlet can be served in a browser or pushed to a physical Tronbyt device.

Requirements¶

• You've installed Pixlet.
• You are familiar with using a terminal.

Hello, World!¶

Pixlet applets are written in a simple, Python-like language called Starlark. Here's the venerable Hello World program:

load("render.star", "render")

def main():
    return render.Root(
        child = render.Text("Hello, World!")
    )

Copy the code above and save it as hello_world.star. Run it with the pixlet serve command:

pixlet serve hello_world.star

You can view the result by navigating to http://localhost:8080:

Push to a Tronbyt¶

If you have a Tronbyt, pixlet can push apps directly to it:

# render the bitcoin example
pixlet render examples/bitcoin.star

# login to your Tronbyt account
pixlet login

# list available Tronbyt devices
pixlet devices

# push to your favorite Tronbyt
pixlet push <YOUR DEVICE ID> examples/bitcoin.webp

To get the ID for a device, run pixlet devices.

How it works¶

Pixlet scripts are written in a simple, Python-like language called Starlark. The scripts can retrieve data over HTTP, transform it and use a collection of Widgets to describe how the data should be presented visually.

The Pixlet CLI runs these scripts on your computer (Mac, Windows or Linux) and renders the result as a WebP or GIF animation. You can view the animation in your browser, save it, or even push it to a Tronbyt device with pixlet push.

What's next?¶

• Read the in-depth tutorial on building a more advanced app.
• See our best practices for authoring apps.
• Check out the references for the widgets and modules.
• Learn about fonts you can use in Pixlet apps.

Publish your app¶

Once you've got an app that's looking spiffy, you can publish and share it with the community.