A collection of improved utilities for Pimoroni Inky e-paper displays, with enhanced cross-platform compatibility.

This script allows you to display images on your Inky display from either local files or URLs, with full cross-platform support.

• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Develop on any platform, deploy on Raspberry Pi
• Automatic Hardware/Simulator Detection: Uses real hardware on Raspberry Pi, simulator elsewhere
• Supports All Inky Displays: pHAT, wHAT, SSD1608, Impression, and more
• Image Source Options: Display images from URLs, local files, or galleries
• Button Controls: Navigate images and control display via buttons or simulator keys
• Dynamic Resizing: Automatically resizes and centers images on the display
• Rotation Support: Rotate images in 90° increments
• Saturation Control: Adjustable color saturation for 7-color displays
• Simulation Mode: Test without hardware even on Raspberry Pi

Make sure you have the required dependencies:

# Full installation with simulator support
pip install inky pillow requests pygame

# Minimal installation (hardware support only)
pip install inky pillow requests

# Display an image from a URL on auto-detected display
python inky_image_viewer.py --url https://example.com/image.jpg

# Display a local image file on specific display type
python inky_image_viewer.py --type impressions --file /path/to/image.jpg

# Use simulation mode (no hardware required)
python inky_image_viewer.py --url https://example.com/image.jpg --simulation

# Display a gallery of images from a text file
python inky_image_viewer.py --gallery-file sample_gallery.txt

# Rotate the image
python inky_image_viewer.py --url https://example.com/image.jpg --rotate 90

# Adjust saturation (for 7-color displays, 0.0 to 1.0)
python inky_image_viewer.py --url https://example.com/image.jpg --saturation 0.7

# Display a sample image (if available in the samples directory)
python inky_image_viewer.py --sample 1

# Enable verbose output to see details of the process
python inky_image_viewer.py --url https://example.com/image.jpg --verbose

When using hardware buttons on Raspberry Pi or keys in simulator mode:

• A / A key: Previous image
• B / B key: Next image
• C / C key: Rotate counter-clockwise
• D / D key: Rotate clockwise

Place sample images in the samples directory with names like sample1.jpg, sample2.jpg, etc. Then use --sample 1 to display the first sample image.

The enhanced Inky library now supports seamless development across platforms:

• Develop on any platform: Mac, Windows, Linux
• Deploy to Raspberry Pi: Same code works without changes
• Debug with simulator: Visualize e-ink display behavior

For more details on cross-platform development, see README-platform-update.md.

The new library includes powerful development tools:

from inky import auto
from inky.debug import InkyDebugger, FastModeEnabler

# Get an Inky display
inky = auto()

# Add debugging capabilities
debugger = InkyDebugger(inky)
debugger.toggle_grid()  # Show grid overlay
debugger.print_display_info()  # Display information

# Enable fast mode for rapid development (bypasses e-ink timing)
fast_mode = FastModeEnabler(inky)
fast_mode.enable()

# Display a test pattern showing all available colors
debugger.draw_test_pattern()

If you're using actual Inky hardware, ensure:

1. I2C and SPI are enabled:

   sudo raspi-config nonint do_i2c 0
   sudo raspi-config nonint do_spi 0

2. Add the following to /boot/firmware/config.txt:

   dtoverlay=spi0-0cs
   

3. Install required dependencies:

   sudo apt-get update
   sudo apt-get install python3-pip python3-pil python3-requests
   pip3 install inky

Check out these examples:

• examples/cross_platform.py - Cross-platform development example
• examples/7color/* - Examples for 7-color Inky Impression displays
• examples/what/* - Examples for Inky wHAT displays

If you encounter issues:

1. Check Hardware Connections: Ensure the display is properly connected
2. Try Simulation Mode: Use --simulation to test without hardware
3. Specify Display Type: Use --type and --color if auto-detection fails
4. Enable Verbose Output: Use --verbose for detailed debugging information

For more help, check the Pimoroni Inky GitHub repository.

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.