Prism

Important

Upgrading from before April 11, 2026? Database migrations now run automatically on container startup. Run git pull && docker-compose up -d --build and your database will update itself. No manual steps required.

A subscription-free, self-hosted family dashboard that integrates with the tools you already use without becoming yet another system of record.

Prism is a configurable family dashboard designed for large wall-mounted screens and handheld tablets. It connects to existing services you already use - Google Calendar, Microsoft To Do, OneDrive, and more - and displays the information your family actually needs. Built for people who value privacy, hate subscriptions, and are comfortable with Docker.

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What's New in v1.7.0

Calendar refactor · Drag-and-drop everywhere · Cards display mode · Multi-provider weather · Click-to-edit from the widget

The calendar subpage and the dashboard CalendarWidget now share a unified toolbar and support ten view modes (Agenda, Day, List, Schedule, 1W–4W, Month, 3 Months). A new cards display mode renders meals, events, chores, and tasks in per-day cards with full drag-and-drop between days; a dynamic capacity probe folds overflow into a "+N more" popover so nothing is silently clipped. Tasks/Chores/Meals widget items are click-to-edit, opening the same modals as the subpage. The weather stack is now multi-provider (WEATHER_PROVIDER=meteo|pirate|openweather) — Open-Meteo is the new zero-config default, with Pirate Weather adding a sunrise/sunset arc and minutely precipitation timeline when configured.

See the full changelog for details on every release.

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Screenshots

Dashboard (Dark Mode)

Screensaver

Calendar

Travel Map

Chores	Shopping
Wishes & Gift Ideas	Mobile PWA

Getting Started

Option 1: Clone and build (any platform)

HTTPS / Nginx certificate prerequisite (Linux/WSL)

Prism's default Nginx config terminates TLS on port 443 and expects:

• config/certs/prism.crt
• config/certs/prism.key

If these files are missing, Nginx fails with cannot load certificate "/etc/nginx/certs/prism.crt".

Generate a local self-signed cert:

mkdir -p config/certs
openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 \
  -newkey rsa:2048 \
  -keyout config/certs/prism.key \
  -out config/certs/prism.crt \
  -subj "/CN=localhost"

If you see Permission denied while writing certs:

sudo chown -R "$USER:$USER" config/certs

git clone https://github.com/sandydargoport/prism.git
cd prism
bash scripts/install.sh

If you prefer ./scripts/install.sh, make it executable first: chmod +x scripts/install.sh

Option 2: Pull pre-built image (includes Raspberry Pi / ARM64)

# Download docker-compose.yml and .env.example
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sandydargoport/prism/master/docker-compose.yml
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sandydargoport/prism/master/.env.example
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your secrets

# Pull and start (auto-selects amd64 or arm64)
docker-compose up -d

Raspberry Pi: Tested on Pi 4 (4GB+). Works with the pre-built ARM64 image. No compilation needed.

Open http://localhost:3000 and log in with PIN 1234 (parent) or 0000 (child).

What Prism Does

Dashboard Widgets

Build your home view with drag-and-drop widgets:

• Calendar - Day/week/month views with bidirectional Google Calendar sync and iCal support
• Weather - Current conditions and forecasts via OpenWeatherMap
• Photos - Rotating family photo slideshow from OneDrive
• Tasks - To-do lists with due dates, syncs with Microsoft To Do
• Shopping - Grocery lists organized by category with check-off mode and barcode scanning
• Chores - Assigned chores with points, pending approvals, and completion tracking
• Meals - Weekly meal planning grid with recipe linking
• Messages - Family message board with pinned and expiring messages
• Points - Per-child point totals and goal progress
• Wishes - Per-family-member wish lists with Microsoft To Do sync
• Bus Tracker - School bus arrival tracking via FirstView email notifications
• Birthdays - Upcoming family birthdays
• Clock - Simple digital clock with date

Widgets are resizable and rearrangeable on a 48-column CSS Grid. Multiple dashboards are supported (e.g. /d/kitchen, /d/bedroom), each with independent layouts and screensaver configurations.

Full-Page Modules

Beyond the dashboard, Prism includes dedicated pages for:

• Calendar - Full calendar with multiple view modes (day, week, multi-week, month, 3-month), event creation, and configurable hidden hours
• Travel Map - Interactive globe for tracking family travel. Add standalone places (visited, want-to-go, bucket list) or create multi-stop trips in Route, Loop, or Hub/spoke styles. Trips and places are always visible on the globe; selecting a trip highlights its route. Supports national park stops, visit dates, notes, and GPS-linked photos from OneDrive. Filter and search via the Places tab.
• Recipes - Recipe library with URL import (schema.org), Paprika import, and favorites
• Shopping - Multiple lists with drag-to-reorder categories, shopping mode, and barcode scanning
• Chores - Chore management with group-by-person view and approval workflow
• Tasks - Task lists with Microsoft To Do sync
• Meals - Weekly meal planning with recipe linking
• Goals - Family goals with point allocation and recurring rewards
• Wishes - Per-member wish lists, claim/hide gifts, Microsoft To Do sync
• Messages - Family message board with pinned and expiring messages
• Photos - Photo gallery with tagging for wallpaper/screensaver use
• Babysitter - Public info page for caregivers (emergency contacts, WiFi QR code, house rules)

Display Modes

• Screensaver - Photo slideshow after idle timeout with configurable templates
• Away Mode - Privacy screen showing only photos and clock, auto-activates after extended inactivity
• Babysitter Mode - Shows caregiver information overlay

Integrations

• Google Calendar - Bidirectional sync via OAuth: create, edit, and delete events in Prism and changes push back to Google Calendar; iCal supported for read-only calendar sources
• Microsoft To Do - Tasks, shopping lists, and wish lists (bidirectional sync)
• OneDrive - Photos for slideshow and wallpaper
• OpenWeatherMap - Weather data
• Gmail + FirstView - School bus arrival tracking via geofence email notifications
• Open Food Facts - Product lookup for barcode scanning (no API key required)
• USB HID barcode scanners - Plug-and-play on desktop: scanner acts as a keyboard, items added instantly
• Paprika - Recipe import

The goal isn't to replace your existing tools. It's to bring them together in one place that works for your family's rhythms.

Built for Self-Hosters

Prism is designed for people who:

• Want control over their family's data
• Are comfortable with Docker or basic server setup
• Prefer one-time effort over ongoing subscriptions
• Value privacy and local-first architecture

If you're looking for a plug-and-play commercial solution, Prism might not be for you. But if you're the kind of person who runs a home server or likes tinkering with self-hosted tools, you'll feel right at home.

For remote access outside your home network, consider Cloudflare Tunnel or similar solutions.

Updating

From the latest stable release

cd prism
git pull
docker compose up -d --build

Your database, settings, and uploaded files are stored in Docker volumes and are preserved across rebuilds. If an update includes a database migration, it will be noted in the release.

Trying a feature branch

Some features are developed on branches before merging to master. To try one:

cd prism
git fetch origin
git checkout feature/branch-name
docker compose up -d --build

To go back to the stable release:

git checkout master
docker compose up -d --build

Switching branches rebuilds the app but preserves your data. Feature branches may have rough edges. Use at your own risk.

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Everything above is all you need to get started. The section below is optional background on why and how Prism was built.

Behind the Project (click to expand)

Why I Built This

I wanted a family dashboard that connected to the tools we already use and didn’t require a monthly subscription. DAKboard is configurable but feels like a solo project that outgrew itself. Skylight is clean but fairly limited. Both offer free tiers that don’t go very far, and the paid versions cost money on an ongoing basis, which I couldn’t get past.

I looked at open-source alternatives like MagicMirror², Homarr, Home Assistant, and many others, but they were all built for somewhat different use cases. Browsing the forums, I found a small group of people who wanted the same thing and had nothing that quite fit.

The integrations reflect the tools my family actually uses: Microsoft To Do for tasks and shopping, Google Calendar for scheduling, OneDrive for photos, OpenWeatherMap for weather. I have limited experience with other ecosystems, so if there’s a service you’d like to see supported, open an issue or submit a PR. I did look into Apple Notes integration since my spouse uses it, but the reverse engineering required more ongoing maintenance than I was willing to take on.

I’m not a software developer, but I work in a technical field where AI tools are increasingly central to how work gets done. I pay for a Claude Code subscription and justify that cost as staying current in my field. I hope you find it useful. If something is missing or broken, open an issue or submit a PR.

How It Was Built

This project was built entirely with Claude Code. I directed the implementation by defining requirements, designing user experience, prioritizing features, and making product decisions. Claude Code handled the actual coding.

Competitive research: I used Playwright to systematically crawl DAKboard and Skylight, capturing screenshots and analyzing their features, layouts, and interaction patterns. Browser dev tools helped me understand how they handled integrations and real-time updates. This became the foundation for defining what Prism should do differently.

Code review approach: Rather than reviewing code myself - which I’m not well-positioned to do - I used adversarial prompting across multiple LLMs to critique each other’s output. It’s an imperfect process, but it’s more rigorous than a single model reviewing its own work.

Tech stack:

• Next.js 15 (App Router) + React + TypeScript frontend
• Node.js backend with PostgreSQL (Drizzle ORM) and Redis caching
• Docker Compose for deployment
• CSS Grid + dnd-kit for dashboard layout (48-column grid)
• PIN-based auth optimized for shared family devices

On security and code quality: I’ve done what I can to make this solid - there’s a CI pipeline, E2E tests, and a security policy. I use this in my own home. But I’m not a professional software developer, and I can’t make guarantees I’m not qualified to make. Use reasonable judgment about what you expose to the internet.

Features I’m Excited About

Some features exist because I needed them:

• Travel globe - An interactive 3D globe for tracking trips as a family. Drop pins for places you've visited or want to visit, add the stops and national parks within each trip, and browse everything in the Places tab with filters for status, bucket list, and whether a trip includes a national park. Uses OpenFreeMap tiles. No API key required.
• Barcode scanner - Point your phone camera at a grocery item and it appears on your shopping list. Warns you if the item is already on a list, lets you pick which list to add it to, and suggests a category. USB barcode scanners work on desktop too: plug in and scan, no configuration needed. Product lookup via Open Food Facts, no API key required.
• Recipe viewer - Not another recipe app, but a way to view recipes on a large kitchen screen without repeatedly unlocking my phone
• Calendar parsing - Handles the integrations that matter most to families (school calendars, work calendars, shared family events)
• Drag-and-drop layout - Build your dashboard the way you want it, resize and arrange widgets to fit your screen
• Chores with approval workflow - Kids mark chores complete, parents approve and award points
• Screensaver modes - Photo slideshow, away mode for privacy, babysitter mode for caregivers

Some things are still on the roadmap:

• Additional integrations - Google Photos, Todoist, Home Assistant, and other services people actually use
• Multi-household support - For shared custody situations
• Voice control - "Hey Prism, what’s for dinner?"
• Offline support - Service workers so the dashboard works even when internet is down

The architecture makes adding integrations relatively straightforward. If you contribute one that matters to you, we all benefit.

Contributing

I built this for my family, but I'm sharing it because others might find it useful. If you do:

• Star the repo
• Report issues you encounter
• Suggest features that would help your family
• Submit PRs for improvements

See CONTRIBUTING.md for details.

License

Prism is open-source under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 license. Free for personal and non-commercial use. It works as a PWA, so the same interface runs on wall-mounted displays, tablets, and mobile devices.

See LICENSE for details.

Acknowledgments

Built with Claude Code. Inspired by frustration with existing solutions. Made better by the self-hosting community.