Adafruit-PlatformDetect
Platform detection for use by libraries like Adafruit-Blinka.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. The package is actively maintained, has no dependencies, installs with low friction, carries a permissive MIT license, and solves a real problem for anyone writing code that needs to adapt to different single-board computers. It has been stable since 2018 and is in production use. Install it if your project needs to detect or adapt to the underlying hardware platform.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.7 or higher; platform detection relies on Linux system files (/proc/cpuinfo, /proc/device-tree/compatible, etc.) and will have limited functionality on non-Linux systems.
- Low friction installation with no runtime dependencies.
- Active maintenance as of 2026-06-24 with a recent release 51 days ago.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open and closed projects.
last release 2026-06-24 (51 days) · last repo commit 2026-06-24 · 64 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 158,724 downloads/mo, #10,713 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install Adafruit-PlatformDetect
from adafruit_platformdetect import Detector
detector = Detector()
print(detector.chip.id)
print(detector.board.id)- Whether the package successfully detects all advertised board models (Raspberry Pi, Beaglebone, Orange Pi, etc.) on current hardware.
- Performance impact of reading multiple system files during detection on resource-constrained single-board computers.
What it is and what it does
Adafruit-PlatformDetect is a library that identifies what single-board computer or platform your code is running on by examining system files and Python's built-in platform info. It separates detection into two layers: chip identification (the processor itself) and board identification (the specific device model), since board detection often depends on knowing the chip first. The library gathers platform information from Linux system files like /proc/cpuinfo and /proc/device-tree/compatible, as well as board-specific sources like Beaglebone EEPROM IDs and distribution files.
It was originally written to support Adafruit_Blinka, a compatibility layer that lets CircuitPython code run on Linux single-board computers, but the detection logic is general enough to be useful in any project that needs to know what hardware it's running on. The library has no runtime dependencies and installs cleanly, making it lightweight for embedded and IoT use cases where you need to adapt behavior based on the detected platform.
Use it for
- Detect Raspberry Pi model in a GPIO control library to apply model-specific pin mappings or timing adjustments.
- Identify Beaglebone Black in a hardware abstraction layer to load the correct device drivers.
- Adapt CircuitPython code to run on different single-board computers by detecting the platform at startup.
- Build cross-platform embedded applications that behave differently on Raspberry Pi, Orange Pi, or generic Linux PCs.
- Validate that a deployment is running on the expected hardware before initializing peripherals.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
The package is actively maintained, has no dependencies, installs with low friction, carries a permissive MIT license, and solves a real problem for anyone writing code that needs to adapt to different single-board computers. It has been stable since 2018 and is in production use. Install it if your project needs to detect or adapt to the underlying hardware platform.
Install
adafruit-platformdetect on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction installation with no runtime dependencies. Active maintenance as of 2026-06-24 with a recent release 51 days ago.
Requires Python 3.7 or higher; platform detection relies on Linux system files (/proc/cpuinfo, /proc/device-tree/compatible, etc.) and will have limited functionality on non-Linux systems.
License in practice
MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open and closed projects.
Quickstart
pip install Adafruit-PlatformDetect
from adafruit_platformdetect import Detector
detector = Detector()
print(detector.chip.id)
print(detector.board.id)Verify before relying
- Whether the package successfully detects all advertised board models (Raspberry Pi, Beaglebone, Orange Pi, etc.) on current hardware.
- Performance impact of reading multiple system files during detection on resource-constrained single-board computers.
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 51 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 158,724 / month, #10,713 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Topic :: Software Development :: LibrariesTopic :: System :: Hardware |
Evidence: adafruit_platformdetect-3.89.1-py3-none-any.whl
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See also Adafruit-Blinka · akracer · py-cpuinfo · adafruit-circuitpython-busdevice · device-detector · adafruit-circuitpython-requests · adafruit-circuitpython-typing · Adafruit-PureIO · gpiozero · devicetree