MATRIX BLASTER

live preview — this is what your screens actually do

An AIM buddy list, for hardware.

Matrix Blaster turns a network of little LED matrix displays into a live buddy list — see who's online, send a scrolling message, done. Flip the same backend into cueMaestro mode and it's a crew cue-light board: fire cues to one screen, a group, or everyone, from a grid built for a dark booth.

Try it live → See how it works Get the hardware →

Source is closed for now — this page is here so you know what it is anyway.

Two skins, one backend

Pick the vibe. The hardware doesn't care.

Every screen registers over MQTT the moment it powers on. What you do with that presence is a URL away.

productioncoming soon

cueMaestro mode

An operator's grid of every screen in the room. Fire a saved cue — "Scene 5 in 2", "LUNCH", "STANDBY" — to one device, a group, or all of them at once.

What it actually does

Built for a dark room and bad venue WiFi

Messaging & display

  • Scrolling text, solid colors, palette effects
  • Pixel overlay effects layered on top of text
  • Full-screen WLED pattern slots for ambient looks
  • Saved cues for one-tap recall

Device management

  • PIN-based claiming — read the screen, own the screen
  • Live presence over MQTT, no polling
  • Browser-flash new hardware, no drivers
  • Admin roster: block, release, take over, rename

Built for shows

  • Group + broadcast sends for a whole rig at once
  • Cue grid designed for one-handed use in the dark
  • OSC trigger support for existing show control
  • Message history, so "what did I just send" has an answer

Under the hood

  • Cloud-hosted — devices phone home from any network
  • MQTT over WebSocket/TLS, works past hotel firewalls
  • Magic-link login, optional password
  • Server-sent events — no refresh, no polling

Getting a screen online

Three steps, no soldering

  1. Flash it from the browser USB cable, Chrome or Edge, no PlatformIO or drivers. The device reboots running Matrix Blaster firmware.
  2. Read the PIN off the screen A freshly flashed device shows a claim PIN on its own matrix — proof you're standing in front of it, not just guessing a hostname.
  3. Claim it, then send something It shows up as a buddy or a tile in the cue grid immediately. First message usually shows up before the coffee's cold.

In the wild

Screenshots

Matrix Blaster buddy list — three claimed devices online, one offline
cueMaestro device grid — devices selected as cue targets, saved cues panel below

Live UI, captured from a seeded local preview — not a mockup.

Built with

Python / FastAPI MQTT (paho-mqtt) Server-Sent Events InfluxDB Docker Compose WLED-based firmware