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A Raspberry Pi Zero W bedside clock appliance: HT16K33 7-segment display driven directly over I2C, NTP/DST-correct, with systemd packaging, HomeKit, and a printable case.

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# PiClock

[![tests](https://github.com/code-a-saurus/PiClock/actions/workflows/tests.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/code-a-saurus/PiClock/actions/workflows/tests.yml)

_This document is LLM-generated._

An always-on digital bedroom clock, as written about on [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/07/i-wanted-a-clock-that-never-needed-setting-things-escalated/): a Raspberry Pi Zero W (or Zero 2 W) driving an Adafruit 1.2"
4-digit 7-segment display (HT16K33) over I2C. It shows 24-hour local time, keeps itself
accurate over NTP, and follows daylight-saving transitions automatically — so it never
needs to be reset.

## How it stays correct

The Pi has no battery-backed clock, so correctness comes from two things:

- **NTP** (`systemd-timesyncd`, on by default) keeps the system clock accurate over Wi-Fi.
- The **timezone is set once** on the Pi (e.g. `sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/New_York`);
  the app reads *local* time, so
  Python's `zoneinfo` applies DST rules automatically. No offset math, ever.

Before the clock has synced after a cold boot, the display shows `----` rather than a
confidently wrong time. Once it has synced, the backpack's lower-left indicator dot stays
lit as a sync indicator; if NTP is later lost the time keeps showing (the system clock
free-runs and stays approximately right) and only the dot goes dark. (Sync-indicator idea
borrowed from [tenox7/rpiclock](https://github.com/tenox7/rpiclock).)

## Hardware

- Raspberry Pi **Zero W** or **Zero 2 W**, Raspberry Pi OS Lite (Debian 13 "trixie").
  Both boards are supported by the same code; the only difference is a zeroconf
  version pin used by the optional HomeKit feature, which pip selects automatically
  by CPU architecture (see [requirements-homekit.txt](requirements-homekit.txt)).
  The Zero W is armv6 (32-bit OS only); the Zero 2 W is armv7/aarch64 (32- or 64-bit).
- Adafruit 1.2" 4-digit 7-segment display + I2C backpack (HT16K33), default address `0x70`.
- I2C must be enabled (`sudo raspi-config nonint do_i2c 0`).

Wiring and assembly are covered step-by-step in [HARDWARE_RUNBOOK.md](HARDWARE_RUNBOOK.md);
the 3D-printable housing (STLs + Fusion source) is in [3d_print/](3d_print/).

## Software

Pure Python. The HT16K33 is a simple register-based I2C chip, so it's driven directly with
`smbus2` — no Blinka/Adafruit stack. Layout:

| Path | Role |
|---|---|
| [piclock/clock.py](piclock/clock.py) | Time → display rendering (pure, unit-tested) |
| [piclock/display.py](piclock/display.py) | HT16K33 driver + segment/colon encoding |
| [piclock/timesync.py](piclock/timesync.py) | "Is the clock NTP-synced yet?" check |
| [piclock/config.py](piclock/config.py) | Config with `PICLOCK_*` env overrides |
| [piclock/schedule.py](piclock/schedule.py) | Day/night schedule logic (pure, unit-tested) |
| [piclock/control.py](piclock/control.py) | Shared on/off + brightness state (thread-safe) |
| [piclock/ctl.py](piclock/ctl.py) | Control socket for one-off CLI commands |
| [piclock/homekit.py](piclock/homekit.py) | Optional HomeKit Lightbulb accessory |
| [piclock/app.py](piclock/app.py) | Main loop |
| [main.py](main.py) | Entry point |
| [systemd/piclock.service](systemd/piclock.service) | systemd unit |
| [scripts/install.sh](scripts/install.sh) | venv + deps + service installer (run on the Pi) |
| [scripts/piclockctl](scripts/piclockctl) | CLI client: `piclockctl on\|off\|bright\|dim\|brightness N` |
| [deploy/](deploy/) | optional CI push-to-deploy template (adapt before use) |
| [3d_print/](3d_print/) | printable case (STLs + Fusion source; separately licensed, see below) |

## Setup (on the Pi)

The installer creates a dedicated **`clocker`** service account, deploys the app to
`/opt/piclock` owned by that account, builds its venv, and installs + enables the systemd
service:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/code-a-saurus/PiClock.git ~/piclock && cd ~/piclock
sudo scripts/install.sh
```

The installer takes three optional flags, combinable as needed (e.g.
`sudo scripts/install.sh --homekit --schedule`):

- `--homekit` — installs the HomeKit deps into the venv and enables the Lightbulb
  accessory, so the display can be controlled from the Home app / Siri.
- `--schedule` — enables the in-app day/night schedule (blank the display by day,
  wake it in the evening, dim it at night; times and levels tunable — see
  [Configuration](#configuration)).
- `--reboot` — enables a monthly midday reboot that returns the appliance to a
  known-good state.

Each flag fully toggles its feature: re-running the installer without a flag
disables that feature, so pass every flag you want active on each run.

`clocker` is a no-login system account whose only privilege is membership in the `i2c`
group (to reach `/dev/i2c-1`). It has **no sudo access** and needs none — the app only reads
time-sync status and writes to the display.

To run in the foreground for development (as your own user):

```bash
python3 -m venv venv
venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt
venv/bin/python main.py
```

Verify the display is on the bus (once the hardware is attached):

```bash
sudo apt install -y i2c-tools && i2cdetect -y 1   # expect a device at 0x70
```

## Configuration

Set via environment variables (typically in the systemd unit):

| Variable | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| `PICLOCK_24H` | `1` | 24-hour (`1`) or 12-hour (`0`) |
| `PICLOCK_BRIGHTNESS` | `3` | Display brightness, `0`–`15` |
| `PICLOCK_SCHEDULE` | `0` | Enable the in-app day/night schedule (blank by day, wake in the evening, dim at night) |
| `PICLOCK_OFF_AT` | `08:00` | Schedule edge: blank the display (`HH:MM`, local time) |
| `PICLOCK_ON_AT` | `17:00` | Schedule edge: show the display at the wake brightness |
| `PICLOCK_DIM_AT` | `20:00` | Schedule edge: dim to the night brightness |
| `PICLOCK_WAKE_BRIGHTNESS` | `15` | Level the schedule's evening wake applies, `0`–`15` |
| `PICLOCK_NIGHT_BRIGHTNESS` | `0` | Level the schedule's night dim applies, `0`–`15` (`0` is still lit) |
| `PICLOCK_BLINK` | `0` | Blink the colon at 1 Hz (default: steady, no movement at night) |
| `PICLOCK_SYNC_DOT` | `1` | Lower-left dot lit while NTP-synced, dark when free-running; `0` disables the dot |
| `PICLOCK_I2C_BUS` | `1` | I2C bus number |
| `PICLOCK_I2C_ADDRESS` | `0x70` | HT16K33 address |
| `PICLOCK_TICK` | `0.2` | Loop period, seconds |
| `PICLOCK_DISPLAY` | `ht16k33` | Set to `null` to run with no hardware (dev/testing) |
| `PICLOCK_CTL_SOCKET` | (empty) | Path of the `piclockctl` control socket; empty disables it (the unit sets `/run/piclock/ctl.sock`) |

The shipped systemd unit leaves everything at these defaults except `PICLOCK_BRIGHTNESS=0`
(dimmest — it's a dark-bedroom appliance) and the control-socket path. Edit
[systemd/piclock.service](systemd/piclock.service) to taste and re-run `install.sh`.

## Service

```bash
sudo systemctl status piclock
sudo systemctl restart piclock
journalctl -u piclock -f
```

One-off display commands from the shell (they behave like Siri commands — the day/night
schedule re-asserts itself at its next on/off edge):

```bash
piclockctl off              # blank the display (the clock keeps running)
piclockctl on               # show it again
piclockctl bright           # full brightness (level 15)
piclockctl dim              # dimmest lit level (level 0)
piclockctl brightness 7     # any level 0-15
```

`install.sh` creates a **`clockctl`** group that gates the control socket. Users who need to
run clock commands should be added to it: `sudo usermod -aG clockctl <user>` (log out and
back in to pick it up).

## Development & tests

The time/format logic runs and is tested off-Pi (no hardware needed):

```bash
python3 -m venv venv
venv/bin/pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
venv/bin/pytest
# Exercise the full loop without a display:
PICLOCK_DISPLAY=null venv/bin/python main.py
```

## Updating

There's no bundled remote-deploy pipeline — how you get code onto the Pi is up to you. The
supported path is to update the checkout on the Pi and re-run the installer:

```bash
cd ~/piclock && git pull
sudo scripts/install.sh        # idempotent: re-syncs /opt/piclock, refreshes the venv, restarts
```

`install.sh` re-syncs `/opt/piclock`, rebuilds the `clocker` venv, and restarts the service.
Pass the same feature flags you used originally (`--homekit`, `--schedule`, `--reboot`) — each
flag fully toggles its feature, so omitting one on a later run disables it.

If you'd rather push-to-deploy from CI, [deploy/](deploy/) has an adaptable Gitea Actions
template — see [deploy/README.md](deploy/README.md).

## License

Everything except [3d_print/](3d_print/) is released into the public domain under
[The Unlicense](LICENSE) — do whatever you like with it. The 3D-printable case in
[3d_print/](3d_print/) is adapted from a CC-licensed Printables design and is instead
**CC BY-NC-SA 4.0** (attribution, noncommercial, share-alike); see
[3d_print/LICENSE.md](3d_print/LICENSE.md).

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