Guide · updated 2026-11-03

Codex and ChatGPT hardware projects people actually built

People have used Codex and OpenAI's other tools to build an ESP32 greenhouse vent opener, a RICOH GR camera remote, a litter-picking rover and more. Most of the builds collected here run on an ESP32, an M5Stack board or a Raspberry Pi, and several link their code. OpenAI's You Can Just Build Things page was still live when we checked Nov 3, 2026.

OpenAI's You Can Just Build Things page collects hardware people made with Codex and related tools. We list the builds below with what they run on and whether code is linked. Next step: pick a board you already have (often an ESP32), open the matching build's repo or write-up, and paste the project's own setup prompt into your coding agent.

Build	What it does	Hardware	Builder	Code
Greenhouse vent opener	Opens greenhouse side curtains from a LINE message or a temperature reading	ESP32, BTS7960 driver, two 24V roll-up motors, SwitchBot sensor	@tomiyasu16	Post only
Dream Logger	Tell it your dream and get four illustrated scenes, saved to a calendar	M5Stack CoreS3 SE, power bank	@fedesarquis	Post only
RICOH GR live-view remote	Wireless shutter and live viewfinder that sits on the camera's hot shoe	M5Stack StickS3, printed mount, RICOH GR II, III, IIIx or IV	@tinker_zhang	Repo (GPL-3.0)
AI-designed DEFCON badge	Light-up blossom badge. The agent routed the PCB in KiCad and ordered it from JLCPCB	ESP32, LEDs, resistors, optional OLED	@aitelmax	Post only
El Tucu	Desk arm that agents rent in five-minute blocks and pay for in USDC	ESP32, four SG90 servos, 5V supply	@crypto_dev_1	Repo
Multi-screen generative art	One artwork flowing across several small screens over an ESP32 mesh	T-QT Pro, Raspberry Pi with Waveshare displays, 1.75" round AMOLED	@msurguy	Post only
Realtime on ESP32	Voice chat with the OpenAI Realtime API over WebRTC, with voice-controlled functions	ESP32-S3-Korvo-2, speaker	OpenAI and Espressif	Repo
Reflect	Assistant that answers with sound and colored light	M5Stack CoreS3, LIFX Color A19 bulb, phone	OpenAI	Repo
ImageGenCam	Camera that runs every photo through image generation	Pi Zero 2 W, Display HAT Mini, spy camera, PiSugar 3, printed case	OpenAI	Repo
Cat TV	Laser dots, birds and fish streamed to a projector for a cat	Raspberry Pi, Samsung Freestyle projector	@axbehr	Post only
62 BAR	Mini DJ instrument with a motorized platter you can grab	Raspberry Pi 5, 3.5" touchscreen, SparkFun brushless motor, Adafruit keys, encoder and slider	@eminimnim	Post only
Noutomation	No-code sensor and relay rules set from a browser, for farms and workshops	Raspberry Pi CM4, M5Stack StamPLC	@masubo_bio	Post only
MOSS	Tracked rover with an SO-101-derived arm and a bin, built to pick up litter	ESP32-S3 motor control plus a Jetson Orin Nano or Raspberry Pi 5. Base parts about $460	@metrox_eth	Repo
Kindle AI usage display	An old Kindle's lock screen shows month-to-date AI spend across Codex, Claude Code, Cursor and more	Jailbroken Kindle, a host computer	@kuberwastaken	Repo
Kinform	A $13 Bluetooth speaker becomes a sarcastic rock with its own memories	Bluetooth speakerphone, Android phone	@bonitadreama	Post only
Project Tabletop	Projected football game on the floor, steered with a marker or a fingertip	Windows 11 PC, projector, 1080p webcam	Alexander Biemann (abiemann)	Repo

ESP32 and M5Stack builds

Tomiyasu, a farmer in Hokkaido with no engineering background, used to crank the side curtains by hand. Now one ESP32 drives two 24V motors through a BTS7960 driver, polling a Cloudflare backend for commands sent in LINE, and a SwitchBot sensor opens and closes them at set temperatures. The builder says the wiring, power and stopping mechanisms have to be checked for your own motors, and that it's still in field testing.

Dream Logger's firmware is C++ on the Arduino ESP32 framework, written with Codex in a flash-and-test loop over USB-C. The RICOH GR remote is the quickest to try: you can flash it from M5Burner by searching GR. El Tucu's demo has Codex rent the arm, pay with x402 and make it wave. The DEFCON badge and the art mesh were built with agents too, but neither publishes design files or code.

OpenAI's own starter builds

Three builds on the page are official OpenAI examples, and all three have code. ImageGenCam is set up for Codex to lead: you paste the prompt from the repo and Codex reads it and walks you through each step. It needs a Mac with Codex Desktop and an OpenAI account. Reflect came out of an OpenAI hackathon and runs on an M5Stack CoreS3 built with ESP-IDF v5.5. Realtime on ESP32 points to Espressif's openai_demo, which runs on an ESP32-S3-Korvo-2 by default and needs an OpenAI API key.

Raspberry Pi builds

Cat TV exists because behr's cat kept trying to jump into the TV. The Pi renders the scenes and streams them over AirPlay to a Samsung Freestyle projector, and Codex wrote the scenes. 62 BAR is the most ambitious: the builder credits an agent called Astra with the concept, CAD and parts orders, and Codex with the motor firmware and app. It's still a prototype. Noutomation runs farm-style rules (water at 6 every morning, fan on above 30°C) on a Raspberry Pi CM4 and an M5Stack StamPLC.

Robots

MOSS is the only full robot in the set. It's a tracked rover with an SO-101-derived arm, and the base parts come to about $460 before you pick a computer. The builder used Codex on the CAD revisions. The README says it drives and does pick-and-drop moves, but autonomous litter picking hasn't been shown yet. El Tucu is the small one: four SG90 servos on an ESP32, running on Solana devnet for now.

Gadgets that reuse hardware you already have

Three builds skip the microcontroller. The Kindle display jailbreaks an old Kindle and draws AI usage on it with FBInk, and the repo includes an agent skill that checks your Kindle model and firmware before touching it. Kinform turns a $13 Bluetooth speakerphone into a character with memories, voiced from an Android app. Project Tabletop needs only a Windows PC, a projector and a webcam.

Want an ESP32 robot that talks?

None of these 16 is a talking desk robot. If that's what you want, XiaoZhi, Stack-chan and JARVIS Desk Bot are open-source places to start, and the ESP32 robot projects guide compares the boards and prices.

Common questions

What is OpenAI's You Can Just Build Things page?

A site from OpenAI that collects hardware projects built with Codex and its other tools. Community builds are listed with votes, parts and links, next to official examples like ImageGenCam, Reflect and Realtime on ESP32. On October 18, 2026 it listed 20 builds.

Can Codex write ESP32 firmware?

Several builds on the page say it did. The greenhouse vent opener's builder had no engineering background, Dream Logger's firmware was written with Codex in a flash-and-test loop over USB-C, and 62 BAR credits Codex with its motor firmware.

Which of these Codex hardware projects have code I can use?

Eight link a repo: the Kindle AI usage display, the RICOH GR remote, El Tucu, Realtime on ESP32, Reflect, ImageGenCam, MOSS and Project Tabletop. The others are posts without code.

What's the easiest one to start with?

ImageGenCam, because Codex walks you through the build from the repo's own prompt, and the RICOH GR remote, which you can flash from M5Burner. Both are rated easy on their cards.

Do I need an OpenAI account?

For the official builds, yes. ImageGenCam needs Codex Desktop on a Mac and an OpenAI account, and Realtime on ESP32 and Reflect call the Realtime API. The community builds use a mix of tools, and two of them (the DEFCON badge and 62 BAR) were built with an agent called Astra.

What to build next

Builds that share a board, robot or agent with this one.

More guides: How to set up Anki Vector with wire-pod (2026) · Give your AI agent a robot body · What can Reachy Mini do? Real projects and apps · Cheap ESP32 robot projects you can build · Best robot arm under $200 · SO-101 vs SO-100 · SO-101 parts list and cost · Robots you can build with AI · AI hardware for robot and agent builds