# jgarff/rpi_ws281x

Userspace Raspberry Pi PWM library for WS281X LEDs

Repository: https://github.com/jgarff/rpi_ws281x
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/rpi_ws281x
Language: C
License: BSD-2-Clause
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-05-03T18:29:28+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 59/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 80, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4382, "days_push": 122, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1886, forks 640 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:49.051203+00:00)

## What it is
A userspace C library for controlling WS281X LED strips (WS2812, SK6812 RGB/RGBW) from a Raspberry Pi via PWM, PCM, or SPI with DMA. It includes a test program and has official bindings for Python, Rust, Go, Java, C#, and other languages.

## Use cases
- drive neopixel led strips from a raspberry pi
- control ws2812b addressable leds in c
- light up an 8x8 led matrix like unicorn hat
- control sk6812 rgbw leds on a pi
- drive led strips over spi or pwm on raspberry pi
- use dma to control long chains of addressable leds

## When to avoid
- you are on a non-Raspberry-Pi platform or a Pi 5 without compatible support
- you want a high-level animation framework rather than raw LED control
- you need to drive LEDs other than WS281X/SK6812 types

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: embedded, graphics
- domain: embedded-systems, hardware, iot
- platform: embedded, c
- tags: ws2812, neopixel, raspberry-pi, led-control, pwm, dma, gpio, sk6812, hardware, linux

## Member repositories
- jgarff/rpi_ws281x (main) score 59

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:49.051203+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 2026-08-30T03:13:34.952894+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/jgarff/rpi_ws281x (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:49.051203+00:00, sha 05af2fe8f1fc)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.