Vibe Watch: a wrist controller for managing AI coding agents
If you’re running multiple AI coding sessions in parallel, switching back to the keyboard every time an agent finishes a task adds up fast. A developer called GOROman built a wearable fix: Vibe Watch, an M5Stack-based wrist controller for managing AI agents hands-free.
What It Does
The controller runs on an M5Stack StopWatch, a compact device that combines a round touchscreen, physical buttons, speaker, vibration motor, Bluetooth, and battery in one unit. GOROman adapted M5Stack’s Stick Watch accessory kit into a wrist mount using a nylon strap and double-sided tape.
The round display shows six live agent indicators at once. Each indicator’s color, brightness, and animation reflects the current state of the agent. Tapping one shifts a selection ring to it with a spring animation that overshoots slightly before settling, a deliberate design choice to make navigation feel physical rather than flat.
The Action Layer
Pressing both hardware buttons simultaneously switches the display into an Action layer showing five controls: FAST, NG, OK, PLAN, and AI. The left orange button rejects an action; the right blue button approves it. Each button plays a distinct sound so you can confirm the result without looking at the display. PLAN toggles plan mode visibly. The large center control handles push-to-talk.
Build It Yourself
The project is MIT licensed and fully open source. Build time is roughly three hours. The ESP32-S3 inside the StopWatch runs everything: firmware, UI rendering, settings storage, battery monitoring, sound and vibration, touchscreen input, and the BLE HID connection to the host machine.
To build it yourself:
- Clone the repo:
git clone https://github.com/GOROman/vibewatch.git - Build with PlatformIO:
python3 -m platformio run -e m5stack-stopwatch - Upload:
python3 -m platformio run -e m5stack-stopwatch --target upload - Open Settings, select a device slot, tap PAIR, and connect from macOS Bluetooth settings.
The project supports three Bluetooth device identities. Settings survive restarts. GOROman says the original motivation came from purchasing an OpenAI Codex Micro and wanting something smaller and more glanceable for the same kind of dedicated AI coding hardware interaction.
I’m founder of BizStack at Cagri Sarigoz LLC and a passionate advocate for entrepreneurs.
With over 14 years in tech, marketing, and AI, including my role as Head of SEO at CitizenShipper and co-founder of TaleBot at Intale AI, I’m dedicated to sharing genuine, useful product insights and tips.
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