# googlecreativelab/anypixel

A web-friendly way for anyone to build unusual displays

Repository: https://github.com/googlecreativelab/anypixel
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/anypixel
Language: JavaScript
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: hardware, schematics, javascript
Archived: true
Last push: 2025-08-18T18:25:17+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 37, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3744, "days_push": 380, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 6441, forks 505 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:43.424903+00:00)

## What it is
AnyPixel.js is an open-source software and hardware framework from Google Creative Lab for building large, unusual, interactive displays where each pixel is an interactive element, such as a wall of 5880 LED arcade buttons. It includes hardware schematics, STM32 firmware, Node.js backend apps, and a JavaScript frontend framework with an in-browser previewer and example apps.

## Use cases
- build a giant interactive LED button wall display
- create an interactive installation where each pixel is a physical button
- prototype large-scale interactive displays in a browser previewer
- drive custom LED hardware from a Node.js backend
- connect a Raspberry Pi to interactive hardware for round-trip communication
- find schematics and firmware for building a custom pixel display

## When to choose
- you want to build a large interactive physical display with web technologies
- you need open hardware schematics plus firmware and software as a starting point
- you want to prototype interactive display apps in-browser before wiring hardware

## When to avoid
- you need an actively maintained project with up-to-date dependencies and QA
- you want a general-purpose LED matrix or signage solution rather than interactive per-pixel elements
- you are not comfortable forking and maintaining archived code yourself

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: abandoned
- function: web-framework, gui, embedded, developer-tools
- domain: hardware, web-development, graphics, developer-tools
- platform: cross-platform, embedded
- tags: interactive-displays, led-displays, hardware-software, arcade-buttons, creative-coding, installation-art, raspberry-pi, stm32-firmware, nodejs, javascript

## Member repositories
- googlecreativelab/anypixel (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:43.424903+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:44:42.500800+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/googlecreativelab/anypixel (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:43.424903+00:00, sha f3de16961a7b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.