immich-frame/README.md

> [!IMPORTANT]  
> This project was developed entirely with AI coding assistance (Claude Opus 4.6 via Cursor IDE) and has not undergone rigorous review. It is provided as-is and may require adjustments for other environments.

# Immich Frame

An ESP32 firmware for the [M5Stack PaperColor](https://shop.m5stack.com/products/m5paper-color-esp32s3-dev-kit) e-ink display that turns it into a digital photo frame powered by your [Immich](https://immich.app/) server.

<div align="center">
  <figure>
    <img src="docs/PaperColor.jpg" alt="PaperColor displaying a photo from Immich" width="400">
    <figcaption><sub>PaperColor showing a dithered photo with location and date metadata overlays</sub></figcaption>
  </figure>
</div>

## Features

- **Photo cycling modes** -- random, chronological, reverse-chronological, favorites-weighted, and recency-weighted
- **Deep sleep with batch caching** -- fetches multiple photo IDs per wake cycle to minimize network calls and extend battery life
- **6-color e-ink rendering** -- Floyd-Steinberg dithering calibrated to the Spectra 6 palette with blue noise smoothing
- **Portrait pairing** -- automatically pairs two portrait photos side-by-side
- **Metadata overlays** -- date, time, location, people, album, and camera info as caption bars or corner badges
- **Web UI** -- configure all settings, manage albums, trigger actions, and download wake logs from your browser
- **Wake logging** -- persistent CSV log of each photo cycle that survives reboots and deep sleep

## Hardware

- [M5Stack PaperColor](https://shop.m5stack.com/products/m5paper-color-esp32s3-dev-kit) -- ESP32-S3R8 (16MB flash, 8MB PSRAM), 4" 600x400 Spectra 6 e-ink display, 1250mAh battery, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi

## Requirements

- [PlatformIO](https://platformio.org/) (CLI or IDE plugin)
- An [Immich](https://immich.app/) server with an API key

## Getting Started

1. Clone the repository:

   ```bash
   git clone https://code.cottongin.xyz/cottongin/immich-frame.git
   cd immich-frame
   ```

2. Build and flash:

   ```bash
   pio run -t upload
   ```

3. On first boot the device creates a `PaperColor-Setup` WiFi access point. Connect to it and open `192.168.4.1` in your browser.

4. Enter your WiFi credentials, Immich server URL, and API key. The device reboots and begins displaying photos.

## Usage

The PaperColor has three user buttons along the top edge (left to right: Top, Up, Down) and a power button on the side.

**Single press:**

| Button | Action |
|--------|--------|
| Top | Show a random photo |
| Up | Next photo |
| Down | Play / pause slideshow |

**Combos and holds:**

| Input | Action |
|-------|--------|
| Top double-press | Enter deep sleep |
| Top + Down hold (3s) | Enter deep sleep |
| Up hold (5s) | Factory reset (erases all settings, reboots) |

**LED feedback:**

- White flash on any button press
- Red flash when entering deep sleep
- Green pulse while charging
- Orange pulse at low battery, red pulse at critical

**Deep sleep:** In deep sleep mode the device wakes on a timer, fetches and displays a photo, then sleeps again. The interval and batch size are configured via the web UI. Press the power button to wake manually.

## Configuration

Once connected to your network, access the web UI at `http://papercolor.local` to manage:

- **Slideshow** -- interval (2m to custom), cycling mode, image quality, deep sleep batch size
- **Display** -- metadata overlay content and position, translucent badge backgrounds
- **Albums** -- filter photos by specific Immich albums
- **Device** -- sync time, download/clear wake logs, deep sleep, reboot, factory reset

## Tools

The `tools/` directory contains standalone HTML utilities for analyzing wake log CSV files:

- `log-viewer.html` -- chart and table view of a single wake log
- `log-compare.html` -- side-by-side comparison of multiple wake logs

Open them directly in your browser; no server required.

## License

[MIT](LICENSE)