Workbench

Set up the desk pet

Install the desk pet on the Waveshare ESP32-P4 4-inch touch box, straight from the browser. You only need this once: after that the box updates itself over Wi-Fi. Come back here to reinstall it or to recover a box that won't start.

Meet Ember

A desk pet on the box's 720×720 touch screen. It grows with your GitHub activity, and it pings you when a Claude Code or Codex session needs you. You can also pet it, feed it, and play Pet Says and 20 Questions on it. Source: John-ODell/ESP-P4_Box.

Ember the desk pet on its home screen, level 4, 18-day streak — Its home screen: level, streak, today's GitHub contributions and mood.

Ember with a 'claude finished' notification bubble — When a coding session finishes, it changes colour and says which one.

1Connect
2Install
3Set up

What you need

Three things, and a few minutes.

The box (Waveshare ESP32-P4 4-inch touch box) and a USB-C data cable. Some cables only charge; if the box never shows up, try another.
Chrome or Edge on a computer (Mac, Windows, Linux or a Chromebook). The browser talks to the box over USB with Web Serial, which Safari, Firefox and phones don't have.
A Mac running the bridge. It turns your GitHub activity into the pet and sends it to the box over your home Wi-Fi. Set it up once from the ESP-P4_Box repo with python3 bridge/setup.py; the bridge README has the rest. You can install the firmware first and set up the bridge before you connect the box to it.

Plug into the right port

The box has two USB-C ports. Only one of them can install the firmware.

Screen towards you: the two USB-C ports are on the right-hand side, under the buttons. Use the lower one.

Use the lower port, the one with the USB-serial chip (a WCH CH343). In Chrome's port list it's called USB Single Serial; on a Mac its name starts with cu.usbmodem or cu.wchusbserial.
The other port is the ESP32-P4's own USB. It shows up as USB JTAG/serial debug unit (Espressif), and installing through it isn't supported. If you pick it, this page will say so.
Not sure which is which? Plug into either one and click Connect the box: the list shows what's on the other end.

Connect and check the chip

The page reads the chip's name and revision before anything is written.

Looking up the latest desk pet release…

Install the firmware

Keep the box plugged in until this finishes. It takes a minute or two.

Erase the whole chip first

Right for a first install or a recovery. Erasing also wipes the box's saved settings (Wi-Fi and bridge), so for a reinstall that keeps them, untick it.

Install log

Put it on your Wi-Fi and connect the bridge

Sent to the box over the same USB cable, once it has started the desk pet.

Private by design: nothing you type here goes to this website's server, its storage or any analytics. It goes only over USB to the box, which keeps it.

Watch it connect

The box reports each step as it goes.

Wi-Fi Waiting for settings
Bridge Waiting for Wi-Fi

Box log

The box is set up. From here on it looks after itself.

Hook up your AI tools. Claude Code, Codex, Goose and Aider can send "done" and "needs you" bubbles to the pet. Run connect.py from the repo on the Mac; the bridge README has the details.
Updates arrive over Wi-Fi. The box installs new desk pet releases by itself, so you don't need this page again unless you want to reinstall it, change its Wi-Fi or bridge, or recover a box that won't start.