Clawdmeter is a DIY ESP32-S3-powered desk dashboard that displays Claude Code token usage on a 2.16-inch AMOLED screen so you know when you’re about to reach the limits in real time.
It’s mostly a firmware project since it relies on off-the-shelf hardware (Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-AMOLED-2.16). It leverages the LVGL library for its graphics user interface, the NimBLE stack for Bluetooth LE (BLE) communication, and also functions as a HID keyboard for shortcuts using the buttons from the unit.
We previously covered Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-AMOLED-1.8 with a 1.8-inch display, but never the 2.16-inch variant, so let’s have a quick look at the hardware first.
ESP32-S3-Touch-AMOLED-2.16 specifications:
- Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8
- CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration.
- Memory – 512KB RAM, 8MB PSRAM
- ROM – 384KB
- Connectivity – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE
- Storage
- 16MB NOR flash
- MicroSD card slot
- Display
- 2.16-inch AMOLED display
- 480 x 480 resolution, 16.7M colors
- 100,000:1 contrast ratio, 600 cd/m2 brughtness, 178° viewing angle
- CO5300 QSPI display driver
- CST9220 capacitive touch I2C controller
- Audio
- ES8311 low-power mono audio codec
- ES7210 audio ADC
- 2x microphones with echo cancellation circuitry
- Speaker pads
- USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming
- Sensors – QMI8658 6-axis IMU (3-axis accelerometer + 3-axis gyroscope)
- Expansion – 9 pads with GPIOs, UART, VBUS, 3.3V, and GND
- Misc
- Power, Boot, and User (GPIO18) buttons
- PCF85063 RTC chip
- On-board chip antenna and IPEX antenna connector
- Power
- 5V via USB-C port
- 2-pin MX1.25 connector for optional 3.7V Lithium battery
- AXP2101 PMIC for USB-C and battery power management
- Dimensions – 46 x 46 x 22.5 mm
Waveshare provides support for the ESP-IDF framework and the Arduino IDE, and offers various code samples for each, including the ESP-Brookesia firmware. They also published tutorials to use XiaoZhi AI, OpenClaw, and ESP-Claw with the device. You’ll find all the resources to get started on the documentation website.
Back to the ClawdMeter project. It pairs with your laptop over Bluetooth, displays pixel-art Clawd animations that speed up as Claude Code usage rate climbs, shows stats, and the two side buttons send Space and Shift+Tab over BLE HID for Claude Code’s voice mode and mode-toggle shortcuts.
The firmware is written in C using Platform IDE with the help of Claude. The code looks decent and uses constants instead of hard-coded coordinates, as recently seen in some other projects. That means you can probably port it fairly easily to other ESP32 platforms with different display resolutions.
If you’d like to reproduce the exact same setup, you can purchase the ESP32-S3-Touch-AMOLED-2.16 controller for about $30 on AliExpress, Amazon ($40.99), or the Waveshare store with or without a battery (saves about $2). However, as noted by various X users, there are various ways to implement such a Claude Code meter, for instance, a taskbar app or other widget running on the host, or an app to show the usage on a USB information display. More details about the ClawdMeter can also be found on the project’s website.
Via Adafruit
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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