Clawd Lamp

1. You hit enterClaude Code starts working on your prompt
2. A hook firesClaude Code runs a command you configured
3. curl over Wi-FiA request to clawd.local/think
4. The ESP32 reactsThe LEDs switch pattern in a few milliseconds

Claude Code has hooks: commands it runs when something happens, such as a prompt being submitted, a tool being about to run, or a reply finishing. Each hook sends a tiny web request to an ESP32 on your Wi-Fi, and the ESP32 changes the light pattern. The hooks run in the background, so Claude never waits on Clawd, even when it's unplugged.

One limit: hooks can't see the model's reasoning as it happens. Clawd lights up for the whole turn, thinking and tool use together, from when you press enter until the reply is done.

The back plate's lip has 0.25 mm clearance on each side. If it's too tight, sand the lip. If it's loose, add a wrap of tape. To change Clawd's size, run python generator\make_clawd.py --pixel 10 for a 160 mm Clawd. --depth changes the thickness, and the script re-checks every part before writing it.

• Wire the strip's input end, where the printed arrows point away from you and the pads read DIN rather than DO. Wired to the other end, nothing lights, and nothing is harmed.
• Ground is often a white wire rather than black, and some strips add a spare red and white power pair for long runs: tape those off separately. The pad labels under the silicone are the authority, not the colours.
• Put the resistor in the green wire, close to the strip, and heat-shrink it.
• Cut each wire about 15 cm long, so the back plate can come out with the board on it.

1. Test-fit the plastic. Press the back plate into the shell, then pull it out with a fingernail in the notch on the top edge. Push the eye plugs in from inside, with a drop of glue on each flange.
2. Cut 15 LEDs from the input end of the strip, straight across the copper pads on the cut line.
3. Solder the three wires as shown above, and cover every joint with heat-shrink.
4. Flash the firmware (next section) and check the LEDs animate while everything is still on the bench.
5. Fit the antenna. Snap its tiny connector onto the XIAO, then stick the antenna flat against the inside top of the shell.
6. Mount the board. Set the XIAO on the back plate's shelf with the USB-C port facing the window. Plug the cable in through the window so it lines the board up, then hot-glue the board's edges to the rails. Keep glue out of the port.
7. Stick the strip in. On a translucent shell, run it up the left wall, across the ceiling and down the right wall, LEDs facing inward about 25 mm behind the front face. On an opaque shell, snake it across the inside of the front wall level with the eyes instead, and line the rest of the interior with white paper or paint so the light bounces toward them. Curve it gently at the corners and never crease it at an LED.
8. Close it up. Tuck the wires in and press the back plate home.

1. Install Arduino IDE 2.
2. In Boards Manager, install esp32 by Espressif Systems.
3. In Library Manager, install Adafruit NeoPixel.
4. Open firmware/clawd_lamp/clawd_lamp.ino. Set WIFI_SSID and WIFI_PASS, which must be a 2.4 GHz network because the ESP32 can't join 5 GHz. If you used a different number of LEDs, change LED_COUNT.
5. Plug in the XIAO. Choose Tools → Board → XIAO_ESP32C3, pick its COM port, and set USB CDC On Boot to Enabled. Click Upload.
6. Open Serial Monitor at 115200 baud to see Clawd's address. Go to http://clawd.local/ in a browser and try the buttons.

On power-up, a chasing orange dot means Clawd is joining Wi-Fi. Red blinking means it can't connect. One warm flash that settles to a dim glow means it's ready.

All five hooks are in hooks/clawd-hooks.json. Merge its "hooks" block into ~/.claude/settings.json so Clawd works in every project, then run /hooks in Claude Code to confirm they loaded. Each entry looks like this:

"UserPromptSubmit": [
  {
    "hooks": [
      {
        "type": "command",
        "command": "curl -s -m 2 -o /dev/null http://clawd.local/think || true",
        "async": true
      }
    ]
  }
]

• "async": true runs the hook in the background, so Claude never waits for Clawd. || true keeps an unplugged Clawd from putting error notices in your chat.
• Nothing from your prompt leaves your PC. The request is only the URL.
• Pressing Esc to interrupt doesn't fire Stop. Clawd goes back to idle on your next prompt, or after 5 minutes on its own.
• Anyone on your Wi-Fi can make Clawd blink. That's harmless, but good to know.

The page Clawd serves is a live view, not just buttons. It renders the colour the firmware computed for every LED, seven times a second, so what you see matches the strip exactly. That also means the whole software half can be built and tested before the hardware arrives.

• leds sets the strip length, saved to the board's flash. Start near 12 for a 30 LEDs/m strip, or 24 for 60 LEDs/m, and adjust by eye.
• brightness caps everything, and is what really sets your power budget.
• idle glow sets how bright the resting green sits. Zero turns it off.

The tiles below it show thinking time, prompts answered, tool calls and permission asks, all measured by the board and kept through reboots, plus tokens and cost reported by hooks/clawd_stats.py once you wire it into the Stop hook. Those dollar figures are list-price equivalent: on a Claude subscription they are not your bill, but what the same tokens would cost on the pay-as-you-go API.

LEDs stay dark or show random colors

Check that the wires go to the strip's input end, that GND is connected, and that LED_PIN is 10 and LED_COUNT matches your strip. Try once with the resistor bypassed.

Red blinking at power-up

The Wi-Fi name or password is wrong, the network is 5 GHz only, or the antenna isn't clipped on.

No COM port appears

Try a different cable. Many USB-C cables only charge.

Serial Monitor stays blank

Set Tools → USB CDC On Boot → Enabled, upload again, and check the baud rate is 115200.

The browser works but Claude doesn't trigger it

Run curl http://clawd.local/think in a terminal. If clawd.local doesn't resolve, use the IP address from Serial Monitor in the hooks instead, and reserve that address in your router. Guest networks often stop devices from reaching each other.

Bright dots instead of an even glow

Move the strip further back from the front face, or line the inside of the front with a sheet of printer paper.

• print/clawd_shell.stlBody, arms and legs, open at the back
• print/clawd_back.stlBack plate with lip, USB-C window and board shelf
• print/clawd_eyes.stlTwo eye plugs
• gcode/B1_*.gcodeReady-to-print files for the BIQU B1, PLA
• gcode/biqu_b1_pla.iniPrusaSlicer profile used to make them
• generator/make_clawd.pyRebuilds the STLs from the pixel art, for any size
• firmware/clawd_lamp/ESP32 sketch: Wi-Fi, web page, light patterns, counters
• firmware/clawd_lamp/wifi_secrets_example.hCopy to wifi_secrets.h and add your network; that name is git-ignored
• firmware/clawd_wifi_test/Wi-Fi diagnostic sketch: scans, joins, explains failures
• hooks/clawd-hooks.jsonClaude Code hook settings to merge
• hooks/clawd_stats.pyTotals your token use and cost, and reports it to the board
• docs/This guide, the wiring diagram and the animation