About

What is a Smart Mirror?#

A smart mirror is a two-way mirror with a display behind the glass that shows information and allows the user to interact with it. You can almost think of it as a mirror with a heads up display. Smart mirrors are used in a variety of settings, both residential and commerical and can add a futuristic feel while still blending in with your room decor - it doesn’t feel like “just another screen”.

About ReflectOS#

ReflectOS is designed to be a “batteries included” OS for your smart mirror or display project. It aims to allow you to tinker with your system and adapt it to your changing needs without needing to do any custom coding.

It was born out of a desire to provide an intuitive OS for makers and DIY enthusiasts to build incredible smart mirror hardware without having to worry about the software. Additionally, it was also designed to allow makers to build sellable smart mirror/display projects which could be self-managed by the customer.

ReflectOS seeks to fufill the promise of a minimalist aesthetic - it aims to be the one screen in your home that isn’t constantly trying to get your attention.

The core goals of the projects are to be approachable, configurable, and extensible. Let’s dig a bit further into what each of those means.

Goals#

Be Approachable#

Everything that needs to be done to install, setup, and configure the system can be done through a user interface, and doesn’t require knowledge of using command-line tools or coding.

Be Configurable#

Don’t compromise on customization - allow users to configure their system to suite their unique needs.

Be Extensible#

Create a contributor friendly culture and codebase to allow developers to build their own extensions for their systems, as well as share them with the wider community.

Supported Hardware#

ReflectOS currently supports the following hardware:

• Raspberry Pi Zero W
• Rasberry Pi 3 Model B / B+
• Rasberry Pi 3 Model A / A+
• Raspberry Pi 4 Model B
• Raspberry Pi 5

Sounds a lot like MagicMirror²#

You are absolutely correct - this project was heavily inspired by the MagicMirror² Project , and draws on a TON of the good ideas that it has developed. ReflectOS seeks to accomplish a different set of goals and be a bit more performant on lower-power devices (e.g. Raspberry Pi Zero W).

Check out the answer to this faq question for more thoughts on this.