Sean's Raspberry Pi coding tutorials

Raspberry Pi tutorials and teaching resources

Some of the resources here are from The MagPi magazine and are reproduced with permission. Please subscribe or buy at your newsagent to support the magazine!

Bedtime Stories

ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion create illustrated stories to your specification on this Raspberry Pi project.

• Get the code

Create images with Stable Diffusion AI

My simple Python program shows you how to use DeepAI's API to generate images using AI and download them.

• Get the code

Press Play: Sound Pack

I've created a collection of music loops and sound effects for your Scratch and Python games. Includes instructions!

• Get the music

Download random Dad jokes in Python

This short program uses the icanhazdadjoke API to download random jokes and read them out loud.

• Get the code

Raspberry Radio

Raspberry Radio creates a virtual DJ that introduces your MP3s before playing them, and reads out the news and weather.

• Get the PDF
• Get the code

PiGlow Disco Lights

Add LEDs to your Raspberry Pi that animate while music plays. This is a great add-on for Raspberry Radio.

• Get the code

Newsreader

Newsreader is a Python program that downloads the news using RSS and the weather using an API.

• Get the code

ArtEvolver

ArtEvolver creates digital art by blending slides of textures, shapes, and colours together.

• Get the PDF
• Get the code

Using a Sense HAT in Scratch

Use a Raspberry Pi Sense HAT to control a car in this top-down racing game. I coded this game using Scratch 3.

• Get the PDF

Unicorn HAT text scroller

This Python project scrolls text across Pimoroni's Unicorn HAT. This article was published in issue 34 of The MagPi.

• Get the PDF
• Get the code

Raspberry Pi Clef Hero

This Python game for Pimoroni's Piano HAT add-on teaches you to read sheet music. I wrote this for issue 43 of The MagPi.

• Get the PDF
• Get the code

Raspberry Pi Starter Guide

This 10-page feature from Issue 84 of The MagPi introduces the Raspbian desktop, some awesome applications, programming tools, and how to use SSH and VNC for remote access.

• Get the PDF

Learn to Code

This 12-page feature from The MagPi introduces Scratch and shows you how to build a simple game, before moving on to Python and electronics.

• Get the PDF
• More info

Google AIY Kit for Raspberry Pi

Here's a blog I wrote about assembling the Google AIY Kit for Raspberry Pi, originally given away with The MagPi magazine.

• Read the blog

Using the PiCube

Watch my video demo of the PiCube from SB Components, and see the Python code I used to create it.

• Read the blog

Adding gesture control with Flick

The Flick family of Raspberry Pi add-ons can be used to add gesture control to your Raspberry Pi, including taps and flicks.

• Read the blog

Make music with Sonic Pi

Sonic Pi is a programming language for creating music. Here's the code for an extended version of the tune from the 2nd edition of Raspberry Pi For Dummies.

• Read the article

Scratch and Sonic Pi notes

This infographic shows the musical note numbers in Scratch and Sonic Pi to make it easier to program tunes.

• View the infographic

A short history of the Raspberry Pi

Way back in 2012, the year the Raspberry Pi launched, I attended a talk by Eben Upton about how it came to be.

• Read the blog

Pygame Zero

This article from the launch of Pygame Zero introduces the library that makes Pygame easier to use in education. Pygame Zero is used in my book Mission Python.

• Get the PDF

Explore Mathematica

This bonus chapter by Mike Cook from the 2nd edition of Raspberry Pi For Dummies introduces you to Mathematica.

• Get the PDF

Sean's Scratch Resources

Find many more Scratch tutorials, sprite packs, and tips in my dedicated Scratch Resources section.

• More

Free chapters from my Raspberry Pi related books (PDFs)

Scratch Programming IES

Scratch is a popular first programming language on the Raspberry Pi. The free sample PDF chapter introduces you to Scratch and shows you how to make your first project. This book has been updated for Scratch 3.

• Get the PDF!
• More info

Mission Python

Build a space adventure game with this Python programming book, which I've tested on the Raspberry Pi and Windows machines. You can build my game design, and customize the game with your own map and puzzles.

• Get the PDF!
• More info

Cool Scratch Projects IES

Want to take Scratch beyond the basics? This book comes with 3D glasses and features projects using them. Use this free PDF sample to create the first project in the book, Magic Mirror.

• Get the PDF!
• More info

Raspberry Pi For Dummies

This book sampler for Raspberry Pi For Dummies includes a guide to Scratch 1.4 and Scratch 2 on the Raspberry Pi. The full book includes a project to build a simple arcade game in Scratch.

• Get the PDF!
• More info

Inspiring Raspberry Pi projects

Picade

Read my review of Picade, Pimoroni's arcade cabinet kit for the Raspberry Pi. Play classic arcade, console and home computer games using Retropie.

• Read the review

The Next Verse

This project uses the Raspberry Pi to add a soundtrack to a visual artwork that depicts the cycle of life. It was created by Stewart Easton and Gawain Hewitt.

• Get the PDF

Raspberry Pi Summer Projects

Be inspired by this round-up of outdoors projects including a weather station, a high-altitude balloon, and a motorised skateboard.

• Get the PDF

MIDI Mutant

Musician Aphex Twin worked with Dave Griffiths to make a Raspberry Pi project that programs new sounds for the Yamaha DX7 synthesiser.

• Get the PDF

Raspberry Pi Weekend Projects

Ideas for Raspberry Pi projects you can complete in a weeekend, including a smart fridge, walkie-talkie, and robot.

• Get the PDF

BBC Box

BBC Box uses a Raspberry Pi to store your data locally, so you can get personalised services without giving away all your personal information.

• Get the PDF

What is a Raspberry Pi?

The Raspberry Pi is an affordable and hackable computer. It's a single board computer, about the size of a credit card, that has general purpose input/output (GPIO) pins you can use to connect add-ons and your own electronic circuits. It runs on the free and open source Linux operating system, and it's great for learning to program.

The Raspberry Pi was invented to promote computer science education, but has an enthusiastic ecosystem of hobbyists using it for their inventions and technology projects.

There are several models of Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi 4 is the latest version of the full board device, and it's available with up to 8GB of memory. Prices start at around £35. If you're planning to use the Raspberry Pi on your desktop, the Raspberry Pi 400 houses the computer inside a keyboard.

The Raspberry Pi Zero is a tiny computer that costs around £10. It's good for lower powered or space-constrained projects. The first the world saw of it was when it was given away for free on the cover of The MagPi magazine. More recently, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has launched the Raspberry Pi Pico, which is a microcontroller like an Arduino, rather than a computer.

In 2019, Royal Mail celebrated the Raspberry Pi with its own stamp (see my photo on the right). More than 45 million Raspberry Pis had been sold by August 2022.

This part of my website collects together the Raspberry Pi tutorials and articles I've written.