I built an Open Source screen timer for the m5stickc (Arduino)
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I've never posted on ShowHN before, but I wanted to share my Xmas 2025 project; to try a new approach to controlling our kids screen time.This also involved massively over-engineering a solution in order to play with a shiny new gadget (and avoid the in laws at Christmas, obviously)I've shared some learnings on AI coding with embedded devices, and how I approached the product design/hardware selection side of things.The Web App is at https://screenie.org - and I'm Open Sourcing the device and web app code later today (links to follow on that site)
HN · launched Jan 6, 2026 · 17 upvotes (top 37%) · 0 views
Niche: embedded systems and firmware utilities · 239 launches, 4 in the last 7 days ▼ -76% · Explore this niche →
Category and tags
- Horizontal
- Hardware & robotics
- Prosumer
- Not AI
- Hobby / open-source project
Visit website ↗ Source listing ↗
More like this: all 239 launches in embedded systems and firmware utilities →
Could you build this?
Yes Writing an Arduino/ESP32 sketch for an M5StickC device with an LCD timer and button controls is a classic beginner embedded project easily authored with AI assistance.
Discussion
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Competitors
Other products that read as similar to this one : 270 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.
Attention rank: #98 of 271 (itself plus its competitors, highest first, normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).
Launched 67 days after the earliest competitor.
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