PaperMono - E-ink fridge magnet shopping list with mobile web page
Show HN: PaperMono, e-ink fridge magnet shopping list with mobile web page
PaperMono turns the M5Stack PaperMono e-paper device into a household shopping list that lives on your fridge and syncs with a phone web app. The ESP32-S3 firmware, about 2,400 lines of C++, handles touch input, low-power Wi-Fi, and ghost-free e-paper refreshes. Items are grouped by aisle in your walking order, and the FastAPI server with SQLite stores the list, remembers your catalog, and can optionally sort new items into aisles using Claude. Everything works offline, queuing edits until the next sync. It's a complete, readable project you can use as-is or as a starting point for your own PaperMono firmware.
It turns the device into a household shopping list that lives on the fridge and stays in sync with a phone web app.
- schainks
This is amazing! Please make a 10" or 12" version that can sit on a countertop. I want an at-a-glance food prep schedule that's always on, and am using a spare kindle to do this instead.
- m101
I think on the app you should have an auto sort for your local supermarket. I have a list of aisles that I go through on my route around and I ask an ai to sort my shopping list by that route through the supermarket.
- gister123
Nice work. I did something similar with my Kindle scribe. It shows me widgets for my grocery list, home todos, one that cycles between local weather, and some quotes. And I can use the pen to add or check off items. All vibe coded!
- mlmonkey
OOS: https://shop.m5stack.com/products/m5papermono-with-lora-nfc-... :-(
I was thinking of putting together a little "Anki" device for my kid using such a device. Anyone have any other ideas for a small eInk device that is programmable like this?
- schnevets
Pretty cool! I remembered having a brainstorming session with co-workers about all the cool use-cases for e-ink displays over a decade ago. A product precisely like this was definitely mentioned, as was conference room displays, data center cage information, Kanban-style sticky notes in manufacturing, dynamic game pieces, among others. You'd think simple displays like the PaperMono would be as cheap as bluetooth speakers by now, but I know there are some major patent restrictions.
I can tell you this conversation happened over a decade ago because LCD Touchscreens were still more expensive than e-ink at the time.