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mpytool vs mpremote Comparison

Detailed comparison between mpytool and mpremote.

Commands

Command mpytool mpremote
List files 🟢 ls :/path 🟢 ls path
Tree view 🟢 tree :/path 🟢 tree path
Print file 🟢 cat :file 🟢 cat file
Copy files 🟢 cp src :dst 🟢 cp src :dst
Delete file 🟢 rm :file 🟢 rm file
Delete dir 🟢 rm :dir 🟢 rmdir dir
Create dir 🟢 mkdir :dir 🟢 mkdir dir
Move/rename 🟢 mv :src :dst 🔴
Touch file 🔴 🟢 touch file
SHA256 hash 🔴 🟢 sha256sum file
Execute code 🟢 exec "code" 🟢 exec "code"
Evaluate expr 🔴 🟢 eval "expr"
Run script 🟢 run script.py 🟢 run script.py
Enter REPL 🟢 repl 🟢 repl
Monitor output 🟢 monitor 🔴 use repl
Stop program 🟢 stop 🔴 use Ctrl-C in repl
Soft reset 🟢 reset 🟢 soft-reset
Machine reset 🟢 reset --machine 🟢 reset
Raw REPL reset 🟢 reset --raw 🔴
Hardware reset 🟢 reset --rts 🔴
Bootloader 🟢 reset --boot 🟢 bootloader
DTR bootloader 🟢 reset --dtr-boot 🔴
Device info 🟢 info 🔴 use exec
Disk usage 🟢 info 🟢 df
Speed test 🟢 speedtest 🔴
Mount VFS 🟢 mount ./dir :/mp 🟢 mount ./dir
Unmount VFS 🔴 exit session 🟢 umount
Virtual submount 🟢 ln ./src :/dst 🔴
Package install 🔴 🟢 mip install pkg
RTC control 🟢 rtc, rtc --set 🟢 rtc, rtc --set
ROMFS manage 🔴 🟢 romfs
Edit remote file 🟢 edit :file 🟢 edit :file
Flash read/write/ota 🟢 flash r/w/erase/ota 🔴
Print CWD 🟢 pwd 🔴 use exec
Change CWD 🟢 cd :path 🔴 use exec
Manage sys.path 🟢 path 🔴 use exec
Sleep 🟢 sleep 2 (sec) 🟢 sleep 2000 (ms)
Connect device 🟢 auto / -p 🟢 connect dev
Disconnect 🔴 🟢 disconnect
Resume session 🔴 not needed 🟢 resume
List ports 🟢 auto 🟢 devs

Features

Feature mpytool mpremote
Connection
Auto-detect port 🟢 🟢
TCP/socket connection 🟢 -a ip:port 🔴
Connect by serial ID 🔴 🟢 id:serial
Port shortcuts 🔴 🟢 a0, u0, c0
Multiple connections 🔴 🟢 switching
Custom baud rate 🟢 -b 🟢 baud:RATE
File Transfer
Skip unchanged files 🟢 SHA256 🟢 SHA256
Force upload 🟢 -f 🟢 -f
Recursive copy 🟢 auto 🟢 -r flag
Compression 🟢 deflate -z/-Z 🔴
Chunk size 🟢 auto/-c 512B-32KB 🔴 256B fixed
Compile .py to .mpy 🟢 -m 🔴
Exclude patterns 🟢 -e 🔴
Output
Progress bar 🟢 🟢
Verbose output 🟢 -v 🟢 -v
Quiet mode 🟢 -q 🔴
Debug levels 🟢 -d/-dd 🔴
Color output 🟢 NO_COLOR aware 🟢
Unicode support 🟢 names + content 🔴 issues
REPL
Session capture 🔴 🟢 --capture
Code injection 🔴 🟢 Ctrl-J
File injection 🔴 🟢 Ctrl-K
Escape non-printable 🔴 🟢 -e
Exit shortcut 🟢 Ctrl+] 🟢 Ctrl+] / Ctrl+X
Show CWD/path on start 🔴 🔴
Usability
Shell completion 🟢 ZSH + Bash 🔴
Remote path completion 🟢 🔴
User config file 🔴 🟢 config.py
Custom aliases 🔴 🟢
Command separator 🟢 -- 🟢 +
Default (no command) 🟢 info 🟢 REPL
CWD tracking 🟢 cd, pwd 🔴
sys.path control 🟢 path 🔴
Python API 🟢 documented 🔴 planned
Raw-paste mode 🟢 🟢
Platform Support
Linux 🟢 🟢
macOS 🟢 🟢
Windows 🟢 🟢

Path Syntax

Syntax mpytool mpremote
Device path prefix 🟢 : required 🟢 : optional
Current directory 🟢 : 🟢 . or empty
Root directory 🟢 :/ 🟢 /
Relative path 🟢 :path 🟢 path
Absolute path 🟢 :/path 🟢 /path
Copy contents only 🟢 src/ trailing slash 🔴

Mount VFS Comparison

Feature mpytool mpremote
Read-only mount 🟢 default 🔴
Read-write mount 🟢 -w 🟢 always
Custom mount point 🟢 any path 🔴 /remote only
Multiple mounts 🟢 🔴 single mount
Virtual submounts 🟢 ln cmd 🔴
Transparent .mpy 🟢 -m 🔴
Soft reset remount 🟢 🟢
CWD restore after remount 🟢 🟢
Path protection 🟢 realpath 🟢 realpath
Unsafe symlinks 🔴 🟢 --unsafe-links
VFS RENAME 🟢 🟢
VFS SEEK 🟢 🟢
VFS READLINE 🟢 🟢
File iteration 🟢 🟢
Directory listing 🟢 batch (1 RTT) 🔴 iterative (buggy recursion)
Agent size 🟢 4.3KB raw 🔴 5.5KB compressed

Summary

mpytool advantages:

  • Faster file transfers (2-5x) — deflate compression
  • TCP/socket connection for network devices
  • .mpy compilation during upload and mount
  • Flash operations and OTA updates (RP2, ESP32)
  • Flexible mount options (custom paths, multiple mounts, submounts, read-only)
  • Shell completion with remote path support
  • CWD and sys.path tracking across commands
  • No auto soft-reset (preserves device state between commands)
  • Smaller VFS agent (4.3KB vs 5.5KB) — 22% less RAM, faster mount
  • Batch directory listing (1 RTT) — mpremote has recursion bug with shared state
  • Full Unicode support in file names and content
  • Minimalist design (blocking I/O, simpler code)

mpremote advantages:

  • Package manager (mip) for micropython-lib
  • RTC and ROMFS support
  • REPL session capture and code/file injection
  • User config file and custom aliases
  • VFS timeout protection (polling)
  • Connect by device serial ID

mpremote known issues:

  • Unicode in file names and content may cause errors or corruption
  • VFS directory listing has recursion bug (shared data_ilistdir state)
  • Fixed 256B chunk size limits transfer speed