tfaour
fe5a2df074
docs/hardware.md and firmware/README.md were updated already; this catches the root README, docs/architecture.md, docs/widgets.md, and server/README.md -- all still described the project as single-panel/ single-chip (800x480, ESP32-C6 only) even after image_pipeline.py stopped hardcoding that.
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ESPresso Frame
A DIY e-ink photo frame: an ESP32 board pulls photos from your
Immich library and displays them on a full-color
e-paper panel, waking on a timer to refresh and spending the rest of its
time in deep sleep. The original build is a 7.3" panel on an ESP32-C6;
a larger 13.3" panel on Seeed's EE02 (ESP32-S3) is supported
server-side, but its firmware driver isn't working yet -- see
docs/hardware.md.
- No cables to a computer, no SD card shuffling. Provisioning is a captive portal with a QR code drawn on the panel itself -- scan, join, fill in your WiFi and server address, done.
- The frame never decodes an image. A small self-hosted server does all the work (pulling from Immich, cropping, dithering, packing into the panel's exact pixel format) and hands the device a stream it can write straight to SPI. The ESP32-C6 has no PSRAM and not much SRAM to spare -- keeping it a dumb display client is what makes that workable (the same design carries over to the ESP32-S3 board even though it does have PSRAM, for consistency).
- Crops toward faces, not just the center, using face bounding boxes Immich already computed for its own People feature -- no bundled face detector.
- Refresh interval and album are configurable from a web UI, no reflashing needed to change them.
Hardware
- ESP32-C6 dev board (8MB flash), or Seeed's XIAO ESP32-C6 (production board) -- both drive the panel below.
- Waveshare 7.3" E Ink Spectra 6 (E6) panel -- 800x480, 6-color, SPI.
- Experimental, not yet working: Waveshare 13.3" E Ink Spectra 6 (1600x1200) on Seeed's EE02 (ESP32-S3) -- server-side support exists, but the firmware driver's panel init sequence isn't ported from vendor code yet.
See docs/hardware.md for wiring,
docs/architecture.md for how the two halves talk
to each other, and docs/widgets.md for the server's
placeable photos/calendar/whiteboard widget system.
Getting started
server/-- run the FastAPI server first (Docker Compose, points at your Immich instance). Seeserver/README.md.firmware/-- build and flash the board, then scan the QR codes it draws on first boot to provision it. Seefirmware/README.md.
Repo layout
firmware/ ESP-IDF project (ESP32-C6 devkit/xiao boards, ESP32-S3 ee02)
server/ FastAPI server: Immich -> crop/dither/pack -> the frame
docs/ Wiring and architecture notes
License
MIT -- see LICENSE. A few small pieces of vendored
third-party code (a QR code generator, a bitmap font table) keep their
own permissive licenses; see LICENSE for details.
Built with substantial assistance from Claude Code.