A minimalist animated cat running on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 WH with a 2.13" Waveshare Touch e-Paper display (250×122).
The cat idles, walks, sleeps, and reacts over time with smooth transitions and a cozy e-ink aesthetic.

• Raspberry Pi Zero 2 WH (or any Pi with GPIO and Python 3)
• Waveshare 2.13" Touch e-Paper display (250×122)
• Raspberry Pi OS (Bookworm or Bullseye recommended)
• Python 3.9+
• A set of .png animation frames exported from .gif files

Directory structure:

catmagotchi/
   ├── animations/
   │   ├── idle/
   │   ├── sleep/
   │   └── …
   ├── lib/
   │   └── waveshare_epd/
   ├── main.py
   ├── requirements.txt
   └── README.md

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y python3 python3-pip python3-pil python3-pil.imagetk python3-numpy python3-spidev python3-tk git

Pillow, NumPy and SPI support are installed via APT for performance and compatibility reasons.

git clone https://github.com/waveshare/e-Paper
cd e-Paper/RaspberryPi_JetsonNano/python

Instead of installing the driver with setup.py, copy it manually to the project:

mkdir -p ~/catmagotchi/lib
cp -r lib/waveshare_epd ~/catmagotchi/lib/

If you’re using the preview mode on macOS or a Linux desktop:

pip3 install -r requirements.txt --break-system-packages

Or use a virtualenv:

python3 -m venv cat-env
source cat-env/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

To run on the e-Paper display:

cd ~/catmagotchi
python3 main.py

To run desktop preview mode (for development on macOS/Linux):

python3 main.py --preview

Pillow
spidev
numpy

Note: numpy, spidev, and pillow are preferably installed via apt for best performance on Raspberry Pi.

• Add touch support (wake, play, feed)
• Integrate a basic UI with bubbles or reactions
• Trigger behaviors based on time of day or sensors

Built with ❤️ and Python by Maxence Rose, inspired by Tamagotchis, e-ink magic, and cozy low-power interfaces.