Show HN: PaperMono, e-ink fridge magnet shopping list with mobile web page

Looks cool, though I'm hearing that Apple will be introducing a Homepod with screen, and I'd probably give that a try. I think their privacy is good enough, and it would be instantly integrated into my ecosystem.

i built a similar app, but included more meal planning recipe management features and a "shopping mode" that goes section by section like this but just shows the next two things to grab as large clickable button as i found it annoying to fiddle with a list and checkboxes.

since its just got a simple api for adding new recipes its also easy for terminal based agents to add new stuff. its really solved the problem of the 20page prose about "why my way of cooking beans is so special" with the actual recipes hidden at the bottom thing.

we can also just snap a picture of a recipe in a regular cookbook to inject it.

then we mostly just need to pick what we want to eat that week and it does all the actual list building. we have a few special "recipies" for things we just buy every week as standards, milk etc. and the system knows which things are "staples" we probably already have in the house, flour etc.

I love the fridge magnet epaper idea from this though. especially for its potential during cooking to not need your phone or a tablet on the cooking surface

I think on the app you should have an auto sort for your local supermarket. I have a list of aisles that I go through on my route around and I ask an ai to sort my shopping list by that route through the supermarket.

Neat! I have one better though:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-it_note

* Works during power outage

* No battery!

* Very few remote attacks possible

* Very little attack surface

* Accepts multiple input technologies (ink, crayon, and so on)

Saw this device going around on X that has a mic / speaker so you can just dictate things: https://zectrix.com/en/

Ordered one but haven't tried it out yet. Sharing in case other folks are looking at devices.

Neato. Every time I see a competent eink project, I remember how long it has taken to due licensing drama and how much I've aged and will age until full wall eink.

Pretty cool! I remembered having a brainstorming session with co-workers about all the cool use-cases for e-ink displays over a decade ago. A product precisely like this was definitely mentioned, as was conference room displays, data center cage information, Kanban-style sticky notes in manufacturing, dynamic game pieces, among others. You'd think simple displays like the PaperMono would be as cheap as bluetooth speakers by now, but I know there are some major patent restrictions.

I can tell you this conversation happened over a decade ago because LCD Touchscreens were still more expensive than e-ink at the time.

OOS: https://shop.m5stack.com/products/m5papermono-with-lora-nfc-... :-(

I was thinking of putting together a little "Anki" device for my kid using such a device. Anyone have any other ideas for a small eInk device that is programmable like this?

This is amazing! Please make a 10" or 12" version that can sit on a countertop. I want an at-a-glance food prep schedule that's always on, and am using a spare kindle to do this instead.

Nice work. I did something similar with my Kindle scribe. It shows me widgets for my grocery list, home todos, one that cycles between local weather, and some quotes. And I can use the pen to add or check off items. All vibe coded!

This would be cool if you could write on it with a stylus. I can’t imagine typing on my fridge - too clunky

I was just working on something similar. Was about to buy the xteink for my display. You've accelerated my progress. How's the battery life?

Curious what you landed on for refresh, full flash or partial? Ticking off items one by one is exactly where partial update artifacts pile up on these panels.

definitely first read this as 'PaperMario e-ink fridge magnet shopping list...'

Hold on babe I gotta charge my fridge magnet…

Jokes aside this is cool

Project like this make me excited with AI. You can pretty much custom firmware, tailored for your specific needs. Thanks for this repo. Quick question to the community : why does nobody makes afordable huge e-ink displays ?

At first I thought “that’s a very specific shopping list for fridge magnets”. :)

Much more advanced than what I use for this, but I use a small palm size drawing tablet with a magnet back from a Japanese stationery company called KING JIM. It's called the KING JIM BB-12. It was like $15-20, and I find it practical for quick jotting and as for my grocery list I can easily tuck away in any pocket.

I think there's something to be said about not carrying a phone-like device into stores, since the whole "cameras everywhere" situation is feeling more dystopian than it already did. I even carried paper lists to not further contribute to that.

> Fully vibe-coded with Claude Code

Lame, my interest drops to 0 whenever I find out a project is vibe-coded

Because why would I be impressed if I can just go prompt it myself?

If its vibe-coded its just another display of claude code's abilities, which its like...duh at this point

That means the only thing interesting is the idea itself, which in this case...

This is giving me Juicero vibes.

That's a neat project and cool hardware but it's almost effectively paper, right? Slightly harder to use paper?

This would be great as something I can load the groceries to, then have the recipe and steps when making stuff

I hate using my phone for that stuff as it’s usually doing a few things and messy hands/ scrolling stuff is awful