Give your AI coding agent a body.
Tiny Engineer is an open-source, 3D-printable desktop robot that physically acts out what an AI coding agent is doing: reading, thinking, coding, finishing tasks. It runs on an ESP32 over Wi-Fi and exposes a simple REST API, so any tool that can make an HTTP request can drive it.
Watch the demo · Build your own · How it works · API
AI coding agents increasingly spend long stretches working on their own. I wanted to see what mine was doing without staring at the IDE.
So I built a slightly ridiculous desk robot: instead of another spinner or status line, there is a tiny teammate sitting next to me, visibly reading, thinking, and typing while the agent works.
An AI agent works; an integration turns that into events; the robot’s REST API on your LAN receives them; the hardware moves and reacts.
Two ways in
- Built-in — Cursor Agent → Cursor hooks →
tiny-engineer-cursor→ HTTP over Wi-Fi - Bring your own — Claude, Codex, or any other agent → your script/plugin/app → HTTP REST
Both hit the same Tiny Engineer REST API (/anim). The ESP32-C3 runs that API, robot logic, and animations, then drives:
| Bus | Hardware | Role |
|---|---|---|
| I2C | PCA9685 → 5× servos | Head / neck, hands / body |
| I2C | SSD1306 OLED | Status, face, info |
| I2S | MAX98357A → speaker | Audio |
Cursor is one, sample, client, not the architecture. Details: Cursor hooks · any integration · HTTP API
End-to-end path (details live in the linked docs):
- Get the electronics — hardware inventory
- 3D print the parts — printables
- Assemble the mechanics — fit the five servos — 3D models, servo axes
- Wire the electronics — wiring, hardware overview
- Flash the ESP32 firmware — getting started → Flash
- Configure Wi-Fi — getting started → Wi-Fi
- Test the robot — web UI + a curl — getting started → Prove it
- Connect your coding agent — Cursor hooks or any IDE / REST
Full walkthrough: docs/getting-started.md.
Major pieces (exact models and counts in the BOM):
| Role | Part | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| Controller | Waveshare ESP32-C3-Zero | 1 |
| Servo PWM | Adafruit PCA9685 | 1 |
| Actuators | PowerHD HD-1370A micro servos | 5 |
| Display | 0.91" 128×32 SSD1306 OLED (I2C) | 1 |
| Audio | MAX98357A + 8 Ω / 1 W speaker | 1 + 1 |
| USB / power | Adafruit 5993 USB-C breakout; 5 V / ≥2 A supply | 1 |
| Structure | 3D-printed parts | — |
Complete inventory and limits: docs/hardware/components.md.
Firmware is Arduino on PlatformIO. From the project root:
pio run # build
pio run -t upload # flash firmware + LittleFS
pio device monitor # serial (115200)If servos move but audio is silent, run pio run -t uploadfs once.
Wi-Fi (first boot): join TinyEngineer-XXXX, open http://192.168.4.1/config, enter a 2.4 GHz network. OLED shows the setup steps.
Web UI: http://tiny-engineer.local/ (or the IP on the OLED) — settings, hardware tests, animations.
Make it move:
curl -X POST "http://tiny-engineer.local/anim?name=ring"Full route list: docs/api.md. Settings: docs/settings.md.
Anything that can POST over HTTP can drive the robot:
curl -X POST "http://tiny-engineer.local/anim?name=typing"Useful name values: typing, reading, thinking, ring, welcome, attention, error, abort, none.
Cursor projects can map agent events to poses via hooks — docs/hooks.md. Broader patterns and examples: docs/integration.md.
| Goal | Doc |
|---|---|
| Build end-to-end | docs/getting-started.md |
| Parts / BOM | docs/hardware/components.md |
| Wiring / power | docs/hardware/README.md |
| Printable parts | 3d_models/README.md |
| Servo axes / safe ranges | docs/robot-movement.md |
| HTTP API | docs/api.md |
| Settings | docs/settings.md |
| Cursor hooks | docs/hooks.md |
| Any IDE / REST | docs/integration.md |
| Full index | docs/README.md |
Print it, wire it, change the CAD, swap animations, or hook up a different agent. Issues and PRs welcome — especially new integrations.
MIT. See LICENSE.