Customer:
I’m having trouble installing and configuring Python for the Inkplate 6FLICK e-reader example on both Mac and Linux due to dependency problems and various combinations of pip, pipx and other Python configuration issues. Could you provide a Docker container or other reproducible environment to avoid these problems?
Originally submitted via email support on 9 September 2025. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.
Soldered Support:
The script is tested and runs with Python 3.13.2 and includes a requirements.txt file generated from that configuration. Check the documentation at: Inkplate Projects - e Reader | Soldered Documentation
You can use miniconda to install a specific Python version:
conda create -n myenv python=3.13
conda activate myenv
pip install -r requirements.txt
If this still doesn’t work, we can look into providing a Docker container. We’re also working on porting Python apps to web-based versions running in the frontend - for example, we’ve already ported the Image converter app to the web at https://soldered.com/image-converter/
Soldered Support:
Can you clarify what happens - does the display simply not update? Check the Serial monitor at 115200 baud when you plug in the device to see if there’s any output.
Try one of the basic microSD examples to confirm the card initialises properly: https://github.com/SolderedElectronics/Inkplate-Arduino-library/tree/master/examples/Inkplate6FLICK/Advanced/SD
The 800-page size shouldn’t be a problem - we’ve tested with larger books.
Soldered Support:
Thank you for noting that FAT32 formatting is required - that will be added to the example documentation.
Here’s a book that we converted on Mac and uploaded to a FAT32 microSD card that worked. The requirements and running the script can be troublesome on Mac, and we’re working on improving this with a static web app.
Try converting a different version of the same book - the converted output is just a folder of images. You can check what your script produced by previewing the images in the output folder in Finder.
The issue might be with that particular EPUB file.
Attachment omitted in migration: democracy.zip
Soldered Support:
The Inkplate 6FLICK will display blank if the book isn’t placed correctly in the /books folder. We can handle this better and inform the user more clearly in the example.
Soldered Support:
The key thing to check is the correct folder structure on the microSD card. The book should be placed in the /books folder (with a subfolder for the title, for example /democracy for a book titled “democracy”).
Can you try using the go to page function to skip to a random page in the middle of your book? That will help us understand if the issue is with initial page loading or something else.
Attachment omitted in migration: image.png
Attachment omitted in migration: image.png