1. Run Denframe at home
Install Denframe Desktop on a Mac or Windows PC that stays on. Denframe is a small local web service, not a cloud account.
How it works
One host. Your screens. Nothing in between.
Denframe is a small local web service, not a cloud account. Here is exactly what runs where, and what it takes to bring it into a household.
In three steps
2. Build one calm view
Start with a layout, add only what matters and preview it at the screen's real size.
3. Connect a screen
Cast to a receiver on the same Wi-Fi, open it in a TV browser or pair an Android panel.
With opt-in Home Assistant export, selected Cast presets and dashboard activations become scenes, speaker mute becomes an observed switch, and playback or Glance summaries become sensors. Choose supported entities in the official Companion app for automotive access. Check build availability and follow the export guide.
Ready to set up? Follow your first dashboard guide.
The shape of the system.
Any device on the same Wi-Fi opens the dashboard.
FastAPI and SQLite on a Mac, a PC or Home Assistant.
Finds Cast receivers on the LAN and links dedicated panels once.
Nest Hubs, Chromecasts, Google TVs, TV browsers and Android panels.
Start complete, then make it yours.
A new dashboard starts with what the screen is for — a Glance, a Gallery, Home or Now playing — then a starter layout, one from your library, or a blank page, and a real preview before it is created. First run offers purpose-built starter layouts, works without a receiver, and labels every optional connection before you add it.
Daily BriefConfirm a city · no account
Local time and weather, with a headline feed only when you choose one.
Art & WeatherUseful offline · no account
Attributed Open Access art, a clock, and optional weather for a confirmed city.
World DeskChoose currencies · no account
Time and dated daily currency reference rates for the places you follow.
Quiet GalleryUseful offline · no account
A calm rotation of bundled, attributed public-domain artwork with a discreet clock.
Family KitchenConfirm a city · add your content
Weather and time, ready for your own notes, calendar, tasks, and meal plan.
Welcome HomeUseful offline · no account
A warm art display with time and optional guest information that you author.
Six looks for every dashboard.
Choose a look, add the household blocks that belong, and preview how the saved dashboard fits a measured screen before casting it from any paired device. Compare Chromecast and DIAL connections.
Gallery · composed · timeless
Painting
A gallery wall that happens to know the time, the weather, and what matters today.
Editorial · confident · clear
Modern
A confident morning briefing with oversized type, disciplined color, and clear rhythm.
Atmospheric · luminous · layered
Glass
A soft-focus media wall where translucent panes float over a living color field.
Precise · quiet · monochrome
Ink
A crisp near-black briefing with restrained light, square rules, and no visual haze.
Warm · welcoming · tactile
Linen
A warm household view with soft paper tones and calm, readable serif details.
Natural · deep · restful
Botanical
A deep-green ambient canvas with quiet natural accents and gallery-scale artwork.
Learning and fun packs add short prompt-and-reveal activities with optional images and recorded sound. Tell the Time is included with Denframe, and the rest come from the Denframe Library with Get: listen to its cards, then show it on a screen. Every one is reviewed and approved, though the two with recordings were published without a listening review; sound and touch still need physical-device validation. Follow the pack how-to guide.
Explore the libraryStudio, organized by what it touches.
Dashboards open in a full-window editor that draws the chosen screen at its real size. Everything else lives on its own page under Studio, in four groups rather than one long scroll. Sources is a page for each kind of content a screen can hold, showing whether it is current before you open it.
Custom JSON sources can show a prominent Hero Number, numeric Progress Bars and meters, or a Status Matrix with critical readings first; an output with none chosen shows as a list. Set up custom source presentations.
What it takes to run.
- An Android companion display requires a Denframe host (Mac, PC, or Home Assistant, including on a Raspberry Pi). Panel hardware is still being evaluated.
- Packaged desktop installers include their runtime; you do not need Python or Node.js. Building from source requires Python 3.11+ and Node.js 20.19+ (or 22.12+).
- A computer that stays on, on the same non-isolated Wi-Fi or LAN as your receivers.
- Guest Wi-Fi, client isolation, and separate VLANs commonly block mDNS discovery — put Denframe and its receivers on the same trusted network.
- DashCast is used as a fallback receiver automatically; registering Denframe's own Custom Web Receiver adds live state updates and acknowledgements.