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Inkycal Documentation

Welcome to the official documentation for Inkycal β€” a modular, customizable information dashboard for Raspberry Pi–powered E-Paper displays.

Inkycal turns your E-Paper display into a beautiful always-on dashboard capable of showing:

  • Calendars & schedules
  • Weather forecasts
  • Task lists
  • Photos & images
  • Custom Python-based modules

All rendered as crisp, low-power e-paper graphics.

πŸš€ What is Inkycal?

Inkycal is a Python application designed to generate and display information dashboards on Waveshare and Papirus e-paper displays.
It includes:

βœ” Modular architecture
βœ” Beautiful templates
βœ” Battery-friendly rendering
βœ” Support for colour e-paper (black, white, red/yellow)
βœ” Remote configuration through a web UI
βœ” Automatic boot-startup
βœ” PiSugar battery support

✨ Key Features

  • Modular Design
    Add, remove, or reorder modules like Calendar, Weather, Images, and more.

  • E-Paper Optimized Rendering
    Includes ghosting prevention, calibration cycles, and reduced colour palettes.

  • Web-Based Configuration UI
    Create your settings.json directly from the cloud.

  • Runs on Raspberry Pi Zero, Zero W, Zero 2 W, Pi 3/4/5
    Optimized for low-power devices.

  • Pre-built InkycalOS Image (optional)
    A ready-to-boot SD card image that includes everything preconfigured.

πŸ“¦ Installation Options

Choose the method that suits you best:

1. Raspberry Pi Installation

Install Inkycal manually on Raspberry Pi OS (Lite recommended).
β†’ See: Installation Guide

2. Install via pip (no e-paper, dev mode)

Ideal for development or testing modules.
β†’ See: Installing on non-GPIO devices

Preconfigured SD card image with everything set up:
Just add your settings.json and boot.

πŸ“ Documentation Overview

This documentation is divided into the following sections:

Section Description
Installation Set up Inkycal on Raspberry Pi or another device
Quickstart Your first Inkycal run in 3 minutes
Modules Full API and configuration docs for all built-in modules
Developing Modules Learn how to build your own custom modules
Display Drivers Supported e-paper models and driver notes
Troubleshooting Common issues, calibration, ghosting, slow boot, etc.

🧩 Supported E-Paper Displays

Inkycal supports most Waveshare E-Paper displays:

  • 5.83", 7.5", 9.7", 10.3", 12.48", 13.3" displays
  • Black/White and Black/White/Red or Yellow or 16 grayscale displays
  • SPI interface required

For a full list, see: Supported Displays

πŸ›  System Requirements

  • Raspberry Pi Zero / Zero W / Zero 2 W / Pi 3 / 4 / 5
  • Raspberry Pi OS Lite (Bookworm or Bullseye recommended)
  • SPI enabled
  • Python 3.11–3.13
  • At least a 4GB SD card

Optional:

  • PiSugar battery module
  • WiFi connectivity for weather/calendar modules

πŸ“„ Getting Started

  1. Create your module layout using the Inkycal web UI
  2. Download your settings.json
  3. Copy it to your Pi
  4. Run:
python inky_run.py

Or let Inkycal start automatically on boot.

➑️ Continue to the full Quickstart Guide: πŸ‘‰ QuickstartοΏΌ

❀️ Support the Project

Maintaining Inkycal takes a significant amount of time and resources. If you find this project useful, please consider supporting development:

πŸ‘‰ https://github.com/sponsors/aceisace

Sponsors also get access to InkycalOS Lite, the pre-built SD card image that saves hours of setup time.

πŸ“¬ Need Help?

If you run into problems:

  • See the Troubleshooting section
  • Open an issue on GitHub
  • Or join the community discussions