Best Claude use cases for hardware & IoT

5 real setups where the source names Claude for hardware and IoT, most-discussed first. Each one credits the person who did it and links the source.

Quick answer

Claude appears in 5 of the 11 hardware & IoT use cases on agentsetups, and in 168 use cases overall.

Most-discussed: Turn an unused Kindle into a photo frame by Niraj Rajgor; Cut an ESP32 display’s wake time from 7s to 0.9s by Steve Dakh; Have Claude Cowork fix a years-old printer issue by Arpit Agarwal.

Tools named most in these sources: ESP32 (2).

Quick start (from Turn an unused Kindle into a photo frame by Niraj Rajgor):

Start in an empty folder; give the agent the Kindle’s network address and model (all over Wi-Fi).
Ask it to build custom software for personal use, adapting existing open-source jailbreak work (here SpiderCat / KindleModding).
Have it build tools to send commands, transfer files and investigate errors; verify access survives a reboot.

+2 more steps in the copyable prompt.

Last updated 16 Oct 2026 · based on 336 use cases on agentsetups, each credited to its author.

All 5 Claude hardware & IoT use cases

Turn an unused Kindle into a photo frame
Codex with GPT-6 Astra adapted an open jailbreak over Wi-Fi, built KindleCTL tools and a slideshow app.
1. Start in an empty folder; give the agent the Kindle’s network address and model (all over Wi-Fi).
2. Ask it to build custom software for personal use, adapting existing open-source jailbreak work (here SpiderCat / KindleModding).
3. Have it build tools to send commands, transfer files and investigate errors; verify access survives a reboot.
+2 more steps in the copyable prompt.
Claude, Codex · Hardware & IoT · by Niraj Rajgor (blog, 27 Sep 2026) · source
Cut an ESP32 display’s wake time from 7s to 0.9s
Applying Anthropic’s “how we made it faster” method; battery life goes from ~1 month to ~10. Packaged as a Claude Code skill.
1. Apply Anthropic’s published speed-up method to your software (here a battery-powered ESP32 display).
2. Measure wake time and battery impact before and after.
3. Turn the method into a Claude Code skill to reuse on any software.
Claude · Hardware & IoT · by Steve Dakh (X post, 12 Oct 2026) · source
Have Claude Cowork fix a years-old printer issue
Cowork got a 10-year-old printer’s “scan to computer” button working again after years of failed manual attempts.
1. Describe the symptom to Cowork (e.g. the printer’s scan-to-computer button does nothing).
2. Let it investigate settings and drivers on the Mac and apply the fix.
Claude · Hardware & IoT · by Arpit Agarwal (X post, 8 Oct 2026) · source
Reverse-engineer a TV to build a faster native app
With Ghidra and Claude Code, an iOS dev built a native Plex client for a 2019 LG TV: profile picker in ~3 s instead of ~30 s.
1. On a development TV, pull the native libraries and open them in Ghidra.
2. Ask the model to work out how things are implemented, navigating addresses, xrefs and strings; trust the binary and real hardware over its claims.
3. Prove the hard part first (a real video frame on the hardware video plane) before building the app.
+1 more step in the copyable prompt.
Claude · Hardware & IoT · by /u/Purple_Imagination_1 (Reddit, 7 Oct 2026) · source
Put your Claude Code usage on a desk display
Claude wrote a Claude Code mod, ESP32 firmware and UI, then drove FreeCAD from the display’s drawing to make a printable enclosure.
1. Use a Claude Code mod to pull subscription usage and context-window data out to a display over USB.
2. Have Claude write the mod, the ESP32 firmware and the UI.
3. Give Claude the manufacturer’s dimensioned drawing and have it drive FreeCAD to design the enclosure and stand.
+1 more step in the copyable prompt.
Claude · Hardware & IoT · by /u/fcampanini74 (Reddit, 5 Oct 2026) · source

Questions people ask

What is Claude used for in hardware and IoT?

Real examples from the sources: Turn an unused Kindle into a photo frame (by Niraj Rajgor); Cut an ESP32 display’s wake time from 7s to 0.9s (by Steve Dakh); Have Claude Cowork fix a years-old printer issue (by Arpit Agarwal); Reverse-engineer a TV to build a faster native app (by /u/Purple_Imagination_1); Put your Claude Code usage on a desk display (by /u/fcampanini74).

How do I set up Claude for hardware and IoT?

Copy a setup that already worked. Turn an unused Kindle into a photo frame by Niraj Rajgor: 1) Start in an empty folder; give the agent the Kindle’s network address and model (all over Wi-Fi). 2) Ask it to build custom software for personal use, adapting existing open-source jailbreak work (here SpiderCat / KindleModding). 3) Have it build tools to send commands, transfer files and investigate errors; verify access survives a reboot. The use-case page has the full prompt to paste into Claude.

Claude vs Codex for hardware and IoT: which should I use?

agentsetups compares what people did, not which is better. In hardware & IoT, Claude has 5 use cases and Codex has 3; 1 name both. See Claude vs Codex for hardware & IoT.