Architecture
Self-hosting is planned for release in Q1 2027. This is how the self-hosted server is designed to work. The details may change before it ships.
There are three pieces: a folder, one server, and your Frame. The server shows the Frame whatever is in the folder. Everything else is yours to decide.
The folder
The folder holds two things:
- The image the Frame shows. One picture, the size of the Frame's screen, drawn however you like.
- A settings file that says how long the Frame should sleep before it asks for the picture again.
Change either whenever you want. The Frame picks up the new image and the new sleep time the next time it asks.
The server
The server does one job: when the Frame asks, it sends back the image in the folder and the sleep time from the settings file. It keeps nothing of its own, runs on a computer, a Raspberry Pi or a server on your network, and needs no connection to the internet.
Your Frame
- The Frame wakes up and asks the server for its picture.
- The server sends the image in the folder, and how long to sleep.
- The Frame shows the image and goes to sleep for that long.
- It wakes up and asks again.
Press to make the Frame ask straight away rather than waiting for its sleep to end.
Your part
Putting the image and the settings file in the folder is up to you. Anything that can write a file will do: a script that renders a picture every morning, a scheduled job that pulls a chart from your own systems, a home automation system that reacts to something in your house. Draw what you want the Frame to show, save it in the folder, and set how long the Frame should sleep until it's worth looking again.