Show HN: Physical Pomodoro Timer with ESP32 and e-paper screen

Summary

pomodoro This is the repository for an ESP32 based pomodoro timer. It uses an ePaper display and a rotary dial for input. The code in this repository will not be ready-to-use, as some assets and fonts have been removed. However, if you really want to you should be able to adapt the code to your needs. Parts List ESP32 (I used an AZDelivery ESP32 NodeMCU) WaveShare 4.26inch e-Paper display HAT, 800x480 (link) KY-040 rotary encoder with button A single WS2812 LED (could be replaced with a simple RGB LED)A A USB-C connector (like this one) 3d printed case ( onshape file) file) Some resistors and 0.1uF capacitors Project Origin I love trying out different productivity techniques - some say that the quest to optimize your productivity is the ultimate procrastination method, so maybe that is what drove me to this project. I also have a habit of committing time (around a month of work outside my normal job) once a year to a project that benefits someone else. Last year, I bought a 3D printer (BambuLab X1C) and wanted to put it to good use. I have previously finished an apprenticeship as an electronics engineer before pivoting to software engineering, so I also wanted to come back to my roots and build something physical. My friend struggles with time management throughout the day sometimes - lots of different tasks to organize, and little focus. So I thought to myself: Why not make them a pomodoro timer? So, I set out with a few goals: It should be a physical device It should be fun It should be intuitive to use There are some cool projects out there (arguably much cooler than this, for example the Focus Dial by Salim Benbouziyane), but I wanted to build something from scratch. I also never built something with an ePaper display and thought it might be a good fit for something that is mostly idling and doesn't require a backlight. Why these parts? This was my second dive back into building things with microcontrollers in a long time. I knew ESP32 well enough to feel comfor...