Astropi Gallery Recorder

Records Astropi Mission Zero Python scripts as MP4 videos completely offline with a custom SenseHat emulator, and collects them into an HTML gallery.

See Demo

• Only requires Pillow and ffmpeg dependencies, no sense_emu package, no GTK dependency, no browser, no web emulator, and no Sense HAT hardware needed!
• Fast: uses a virtual clock for timing
• Also checks astropi mission zero requirements are satisfied

... and yes, it was vibe coded - thanks Claude!

How it works

A mock sense_hat package intercepts all LED matrix calls (set_pixels, set_pixel, show_message, show_letter, clear, rotation, etc.) and records timestamped frames. A virtual timer replaces time.sleep() so scripts finish instantly regardless of animation length — a 30-second animation renders in under a second. The frames are then stitched into an MP4 using Pillow and ffmpeg.

The visual output mimics the Astro Pi web emulator: dark PCB background, rounded LED squares with gaps, and subtle glow on lit LEDs.

Requirements

• Python 3.9+
• Pillow (pip install -r requirements.txt)
• ffmpeg (on Ubuntu: sudo apt install ffmpeg )

Usage

Put your Mission Zero .py files in a folder, then:

python runner.py my_scripts/

This creates out/SCRIPTNAME.mp4 for each script.

Options

Flag	Description
-o DIR	Output directory (default: out/)
-t SEC	Real-time safety timeout per script (default: 15)
--fps N	Video framerate (default: 30)
--preview	Also save a PNG of first set_pixels() call
--check	Report Mission Zero criteria pass/fail
-v	Verbose output

Example

python runner.py --check --preview -v example_scripts/

🚀 Astro Pi Mission Zero Recorder
   Scripts: 4 files in example_scripts
   Output:  out/

[1/4] angel-stitch2.py ✓ 154 frames, 17.2s animation (rendered in 0.2s) → out/angel-stitch2.mp4
         Criteria: ✅ PASS
[2/4] heart_no_sensor.py ✓ 7 frames, 4.0s animation (rendered in 0.0s) → out/heart_no_sensor.mp4
         Criteria: ❌ FAIL
           ✗ uses_colour_sensor: Colour sensor NOT used
[3/4] hello.py ✓ 51 frames, 7.0s animation (rendered in 0.1s) → out/hello.mp4
         Criteria: ✅ PASS
[4/4] rainbow.py ✓ 6 frames, 8.0s animation (rendered in 0.0s) → out/rainbow.mp4
         Criteria: ✅ PASS

Summary: 3/4 scripts pass all Mission Zero criteria

Mission Zero criteria (--check)

1. Runs free of errors — no unhandled exceptions
2. Uses the colour sensor — sense.colour.colour or sense.color was read
3. Uses the LEDs — at least one display method was called
4. Runs within 30 seconds — virtual animation time ≤ 30s

Mock sensor values

Sensor	Default value
Colour (RGBC)	(0, 0, 0, 0)
Temperature	22.5 °C
Humidity	45.0 %
Pressure	1013.0 hPa
Accelerometer	x=0, y=0, z=1

Edit sense_hat/_hat.py → _ColourSensor to simulate different lighting.

Tuning the visuals

Edit constants at the top of renderer.py:

Constant	Default	Effect
LED_SIZE	36	Pixel size of each LED square
LED_GAP	6	Space between LEDs
LED_RADIUS	5	Corner rounding
GLOW_RADIUS	3	Bloom blur (0 = no glow)
GLOW_ALPHA	100	Glow opacity (0–255)
BG_COLOR	dark	PCB background colour

Project structure

mz-recorder/
├── runner.py              # Main entry point
├── renderer.py            # Frame → PNG/MP4 rendering
├── README.md
├── sense_hat/             # Mock package (drop-in replacement)
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── _hat.py            # Mock SenseHat class
│   ├── _font.py           # Embedded 5×8 pixel font
│   └── _timer.py          # Virtual clock (no real sleeping)
└── example_scripts/       # Sample Mission Zero scripts