paperd.ink

3. Home Assistant

Installing Home Assistant on paperd.ink Classic

Setting up Home Assistant

  • Visit the Home Assistant installation page and select the appropriate OS/Machine here →.
  • Choose the Home Assistant Operating System method for installation.
  • If you decide to use a different installation method, make sure to install the HA Supervisor to enable the installation of the ESPHome add-on, which is needed to communicate with Paperd.Ink.

You’ll need to do the following for Windows/Mac/Linux:

  • Install a Virtual Image Hypervisor such as VirtualBox, KVM, Vmware Workstation, or Hyper-V.
  • Download the corresponding image and unzip it.
  • Set up a new VM with the given settings. (Pro tip: Make sure you select the Linux version “Linux 2.6 / 3.x / 4.x (64-bit)” and not Oracle Linux while setting up the VM).
  • Load the appliance image into your virtual image hypervisor.
  • You should now be able to access Home Assistant on homeassistant.local:8123 and see the message Preparing Home Assistant (this can take up to 20 minutes) on your screen. You can then register and log in.

Setting up ESPHome addon

  • Click on the sidebar icon to go to HA Settings.
  • From the menu, go to Add-Ons.
  • Click on the Add-On Store button located on the bottom right of the screen.
  • Search for ESPHome and install it.
  • Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup process.
  • Enable start on boot, Watchdog, and Show in sidebar options. Click on START.
  • ESPHome should now appear on your HA sidebar.

More instructions available here →

Installing ESPHome on Paperd.Ink

  • Connect your Paperd.Ink to your computer via a USB cable.
  • Go to ESPHome Dasboard → and click on Connect, then select your Paperd.Ink device from the dropdown.
  • Click on Prepare for first use and Install on the popup.
  • After a successful installation, enter the same Wi-Fi details as the HA installation and access.
  • It will provision the device and show a Provisioned! success message. Click Close.
  • Go to the ESPHome page on the HA sidebar and click on Adopt to create a new device name.
  • Install it and close the page once you see INFO Successfully uploaded program.

Configuring Paperd.Ink

  • Go to ESPHome page from your HA sidebar.
  • Click on Edit under the device you created in the previous step.
  • Copy paste the configuration provided below the existing configuration and make sure the identation is correct.
output:
  - platform: gpio
    pin:
      number: 12
    id: enable_epd

font:
  - file:
      type: gfonts
      family: Source+Sans+Pro
      weight: 900
    id: source_sans_pro_25
    size: 25

spi:
  clk_pin: GPIO18
  mosi_pin: GPIO23
  miso_pin: GPIO19

display:
  - platform: waveshare_epaper
    cs_pin: GPIO22
    dc_pin: GPIO15
    busy_pin: GPIO34
    reset_pin: GPIO13
    model: 4.20in
    update_interval: 3600s
    lambda: |-
      id(enable_epd).turn_on(); // Turns on E-paper
      it.printf(200, 150, id(source_sans_pro_25), TextAlign::BASELINE_CENTER, "%s", "Hello World from HA!");
      id(enable_epd).turn_off();// Turns off E-paper
  • Click Save, then Install, and then Wirelessly to install it on your Paperd.Ink.
  • You should now see Hello World from HA! displayed on your Paperd.Ink.

Advanced Config

For a more advanced config which shows weather forecast, day and date, checkout our blog →

Further Reading

← 2. Libraries Used
4. Examples →