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Clawd Mochi: a pixel-crab desk buddy for about $7

yousifamanuelon GitHub
Original

A 1.54in color screen in a 3D-printed case wiggles, blinks and squints like Claude Code's pixel-crab mascot. Your phone drives it over the board's own WiFi, with no cloud and no app.

Build sheet
Controller
ESP32-C3 Super Mini
Display
1.54in ST7789 240x240
Interface
Phone browser over WiFi
Language
Arduino C++
Can I build this?Beginner · AI 4/5 · $7–10
Difficulty
Beginner
AI-buildability
4/5

Mostly a flashed Arduino sketch with a short list of jumper wires and a printed case, so AI tools can handle most of the code and setup.

Time
A weekend
Cost
$7–10
Parts
ESP32-C3 Super MiniST7789 1.54in TFT 240x240PLA filament
Tools
soldering iron3D printercomputer for Arduino IDE
Starter prompt

Based on "Clawd Mochi: a pixel-crab desk buddy for about $7" on Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/clawd-mochi-a-desk-companion-with-a-pixel-crab-face

I want to build a desk companion on an ESP32-C3 Super Mini driving a 1.54in ST7789 240x240 SPI TFT. Write an Arduino sketch that shows looping pixel-art eyes with wiggle and blink animations, and hosts a WiFi access point with a mobile web page to switch expressions and adjust speed. Use hardware SPI on GPIO 8 and 10 with the display's RES, DC, CS and BL pins on GPIO 2, 1, 4 and 3.

Estimates based on the original write-up. How AI-buildability is scored. Building with an AI assistant? Connect it to Afterware (free MCP server).

Story

Clawd Mochi is a fan build inspired by Clawd, the pixel-crab mascot of Claude Code. An ESP32-C3 Super Mini pushes a 240x240 ST7789 display over SPI. One Arduino sketch handles everything: wiggle, blink and squint animations, a boot logo reveal, and a Claude Code text view.

The board runs its own WiFi hotspot and serves a small web controller. Join it from a phone or laptop and you can switch expressions, change animation speed and background color, or draw on the screen in canvas mode. Nothing touches the internet.

The case is a two-part PLA or PETG print with a window for the display and a slot for the wires and USB-C cable. The maker puts the cost at about $7 to $8 and the build time at about an hour. A separate Clawd 3D model with no electronics is also published, for display use.

Resources · 4
Firmware and READMECase model on MakerWorld3D Clawd model on MakerWorldArduino IDE
esp32-c3tft display3d printed casepixel artweb controllerdesk companion
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