# Tokibot, an e-ink critter fed by coding agents

A small e-paper companion on a Raspberry Pi running a slim Buildroot image. A pixel critter shows what Claude Code and other coding agents are doing, and the tokens they burn are its food.

- Category: Interface (build)
- Made by: [a-lottes](https://github.com/a-lottes) on GitHub
- Original: https://github.com/a-lottes/tokibot
- On Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/tokibot-an-e-ink-critter-fed-by-coding-agents

## Can I build this?

- Difficulty: Intermediate
- AI-buildability: 4/5 (Nearly all of the work is Python, hooks and a Buildroot image, which AI tools handle well, while the e-paper wiring and optional case need some hands-on assembly.)
- Time: A weekend
- Cost: $80–130
- Parts: Raspberry Pi 5
- Tools: computer for flashing, 3D printer (optional, for an enclosure)

Estimates based on the original write-up. How the AI-buildability score works: https://afterware.xyz/ai-buildability

## Build sheet

- Base: Raspberry Pi, Buildroot image
- Display: E-paper, pixel critter
- Input: USB or Wi-Fi from client
- Language: Python

## Starter prompt

```
Based on "Tokibot, an e-ink critter fed by coding agents" on Afterware: https://afterware.xyz/p/tokibot-an-e-ink-critter-fed-by-coding-agents

Write a Python service for a Raspberry Pi that drives a small e-paper display and shows a pixel critter whose mood changes with the state of a coding agent session. Accept state updates over HTTP from a hook script, and map states such as working, waiting for permission, done and rate limit to different pixel faces. Keep the display refresh slow and avoid flicker by holding each mood for at least 30 seconds.
```

## Story

Tokibot is a desk companion built around an e-paper display. A client script hooks into Claude Code's hooks and status line, and sends the session state over USB or Wi-Fi to a Raspberry Pi running the Tokibot service. The critter has a set of moods, from ready and working to permission, waiting, done and rate limit, so you can glance at it to see what your agents are doing.

The image is built with Buildroot rather than Debian. The idea comes from Pwnagotchi, but the system contains only the Tokibot service and the minimum around it. Progress, XP and a token-based food meter are stored on a small writable data partition, so they survive updates of the root filesystem.

The project also includes a leaderboard. The device signs a small score card with an Ed25519 key and posts it to a public highscore page, which the author describes as a game rather than an audit.

## Resources

- [Repository](https://github.com/a-lottes/tokibot)
- [Highscores](https://tokibot.lottes.dev/highscores.html)
- [Download page](https://tokibot.lottes.dev/download.html)
- [FAQ](https://tokibot.lottes.dev/faq.html)

Tags: e-ink, raspberry pi, buildroot, coding agents, pixel art, tamagotchi

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