AWTRIX
AWTRIX 3 is archived: what it means for you
AWTRIX 3 is archived and AWTRIX NG changed the API. What it means for a Ulanzi TC001 and Home Assistant, your three paths, and where Perchi Matrix fits.
By The MyPerchi team · Published · 8 min read
What changed upstream?
AWTRIX 3, the free community firmware that made the Ulanzi TC001 pixel clock worth buying, is archived on GitHub: its README says the project is deprecated, development has ended, and there will be no new releases and no issue support. Its successor, AWTRIX NG, is a from-scratch rewrite with a new HTTP API (v1) that is not compatible with AWTRIX 3, a PolyForm Noncommercial licence, authentication that ships switched off, and firmware updates by manual .bin upload. Perchi Matrix, our LED desk display, runs its own firmware and implements an authenticated subset of the AWTRIX 3 local API, so existing AWTRIX 3 flows have somewhere to go. Everything below was checked on 18 September 2026.
| AWTRIX 3 | AWTRIX NG | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Archived: deprecated, no new releases, no issue support | Active development |
| Hardware | Ulanzi TC001, AWTRIX 2 mainboards, DIY ESP32 32x8 matrices | ESP32 and ESP32-S3; any WS2812 panel 8 pixels high and 32 to 128 wide, single or chained |
| HTTP and MQTT API | The AWTRIX 3 calls: custom apps, notify, settings, switch, power | HTTP API v1 under /api/v1/ with new paths, MQTT topics and payload keys |
| Migration | Not applicable | "Nothing carries over": a payload with a key NG does not know is rejected whole |
| Apps | Custom apps pushed over MQTT or HTTP without recompiling | 5 built-in apps plus user apps written in Berry in the browser; pushed apps over HTTP and MQTT; AWTRIX Hub for shared flows and icons |
| Home Assistant | MQTT discovery | MQTT auto-discovery |
| Authentication | Plain HTTP and MQTT on your LAN | HTTP Basic auth available; the shipping default is no auth at all |
| Updates | Online flasher | Manual .bin upload through the web UI or curl; no signed-update mechanism documented |
| Licence and cost | Free, supported by donations | Free for noncommercial use under PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 |
| Community | 2.4k stars, 232 forks, 5,000+ Discord members | 277 stars, 23 forks |
Do my automations still work on AWTRIX 3 as it is?
Yes. Archived does not mean broken. A TC001 running AWTRIX 3 today keeps running it tomorrow, and every Home Assistant, ioBroker or Node-RED flow that talks to it keeps working, because nothing on the device changes. What you lose is the future: no bug fixes, no security fixes, no new features, and nobody to file an issue with. The hardware's known weak points do not change either: reviewers describe a battery glued in and hard to replace, a temperature sensor warmed by the ESP32 next to it, and stock firmware whose "AWTRIX simulator" mode lags or freezes, and Amazon.com buyers rate the TC001 3.8 out of 5 across 541 ratings. If your setup is stable and you need nothing new, staying put is reasonable for a while, and it costs nothing.
What are the three paths?
Three honest options; the right one depends on how much you enjoy maintaining firmware.
1. Stay on AWTRIX 3. Zero cost, zero work, and you accept that it is frozen. The risk is not that it stops one morning; it is that the next Home Assistant change, router or security advisory arrives with no fix behind it.
2. Migrate to AWTRIX NG. Free, actively developed, with Berry scripting on the device, a web UI and Home Assistant discovery. The cost is a rewrite: the migration guide says API paths, MQTT topics and payload keys all changed, and "the rule is all or nothing", so every custom app, notify call and blueprint you wrote for AWTRIX 3 has to be redone. Two defaults are worth changing on day one: authentication is off until you turn on HTTP Basic auth, and updates are unsigned .bin files you upload yourself. The licence is noncommercial, which is no problem on your own desk.
3. Move to a display that keeps the AWTRIX 3 API. Perchi Matrix implements an authenticated subset of the AWTRIX 3 HTTP and MQTT calls, so the notify, custom-app, switch, settings and power flows you already have keep working, and you gain signed updates, a token on the local API, 70+ maintained apps that need no scripting, and a warranty in India. The cost: it is a subset, not the whole API; the 24x8 launch size crops layouts drawn for 32x8; and it is a reservation with an estimated wait, not a same-day delivery.
| Stay on AWTRIX 3 | Migrate to AWTRIX NG | Move to Perchi Matrix | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost today | Nothing | Nothing (your time) | The launch price on the pricing page |
| Your AWTRIX 3 flows | Keep working | Rewrite all of them | Keep working, for the supported subset |
| Updates | None | Manual, unsigned .bin | Signed, staged, automatic rollback |
| Local API auth | Plain HTTP on the LAN | Off by default; Basic auth optional | Off by default; token, Basic or HMAC-signed when on |
| Home Assistant | MQTT discovery | MQTT auto-discovery | MQTT discovery plus rest_command in bearer mode |
| Apps without scripting | The AWTRIX 3 set | 5 built in; the rest in Berry | 70+ from the store, no code |
| Someone to email | No | Community Discord | Yes, in India |
What does Perchi Matrix implement?
Perchi Matrix runs Perchi OS, its own firmware, on an ESP32-S3 driving 8x8 WS2812B panels. Its local API is off by default; an owner turns it on per display from the dashboard and gets a token once. When it is on, the display answers on your LAN at mx-<id>.local with the AWTRIX 3 notify, custom-app, switch, settings and power calls, and publishes MQTT topics with Home Assistant discovery for a light, a text entity, an app selector and sensors. Requests can be authenticated with a bearer token, HTTP Basic or HMAC-signed headers; Home Assistant cannot sign requests, so it uses bearer mode. The local API and MQTT keep working on your LAN without our servers, and firmware updates are signed with a key kept offline, trial-booted on the device and rolled back automatically if the new image does not come up. Which endpoints are implemented, and the exact answer to "Do my AWTRIX 3 automations work on Perchi Matrix?", live on the Home Assistant app page; the developer overview is on /developers.
What it does not do matters just as much. It does not support the AWTRIX NG API or Berry scripts. /api/screen returns 501; use the live mirror in the dashboard instead. Some AWTRIX keys are accepted and others are not, so read the list first. And 32x8 is the native AWTRIX geometry: on the 24x8 launch size a layout drawn for 32 pixels is cropped, while 32x8, 64x16 and 64x32 run the same firmware and open later on the waitlist, with the size set at the factory. The full picture, including where AWTRIX NG wins, is on Perchi Matrix vs AWTRIX, and the definition of the term is on what an AWTRIX-compatible display is.
How do you keep a TC001 useful?
The TC001 is still a good object: a 4,400 mAh battery, a buzzer and USB-C make it the better bedside or portable clock, and Perchi Matrix has none of those. Four ways to keep it earning its place:
- Leave AWTRIX 3 on it as a stable clock and notification target you no longer change.
- Flash AWTRIX NG if you like scripting and want an active project; turn on Basic auth first.
- Flash ESPHome or WLED if you want YAML-driven displays or 2D effects rather than apps; the guide to AWTRIX alternatives covers when each makes sense, including "Can I still flash AWTRIX on a TC001, and is it worth it in 2026?".
- Run both. Keep the TC001 for the battery and the buzzer, and put Perchi Matrix on the desk for the apps, the webhooks and the Home Assistant entities. The side-by-side comparison is honest about where each one wins.
Where Perchi Matrix fits, and where it does not
The Perchi Matrix 24x8 LED desk display fits if you want the AWTRIX 3 API to stay alive with authentication on and signed updates behind it, if you would rather install a Razorpay, GitHub or calendar app than script one, or if you want a display sold in India with a GST invoice and a warranty. It does not fit if you need a battery, if you have built your world on AWTRIX NG's Berry scripts, if you must have 32 pixels wide today, or if the lowest dollar price decides it: the TC001 lists at USD 45.99 on ulanzi.com and INR 7,790 on Amazon.in, and the free firmware is the point of it. We are in the reservation phase, nothing is charged until your unit is bench-tested, and the current estimated wait is on the reserve page.
Sources
Checked on 18 September 2026.
- github.com/Blueforcer/awtrix3: archive notice, stars, forks
- AWTRIX NG site, HTTP reference, updating guide and migration guide: hardware, API v1, auth default, manual updates, "all or nothing"
- github.com/Blueforcer/awtrix-ng: PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0, stars, forks
- Ulanzi TC001 and Amazon.in B0D9XS6F1Y: USD 45.99, INR 7,790, 8x32, 4,400 mAh
- Blakadder and New Atlas: TC001 strengths and weaknesses
Questions
Is AWTRIX 3 deprecated, and what replaces it?
Yes. The AWTRIX 3 repository on GitHub is marked deprecated and archived: development has ended, there are no new releases and no issue support, and the README points to AWTRIX NG as the successor. Existing installations keep working. If you want the AWTRIX 3 API with a maintained product behind it, Perchi Matrix implements an authenticated subset of it.
AWTRIX NG vs AWTRIX 3: what changed?
Almost everything under the hood. AWTRIX NG is a from-scratch rewrite for ESP32 and ESP32-S3 boards with any WS2812 panel 8 high and 32 to 128 wide. Its HTTP API moved to /api/v1/ with new paths, MQTT topics and payload keys, and a payload containing an unknown key is rejected whole, so AWTRIX 3 integrations must be reworked. It adds Berry scripting and keeps Home Assistant MQTT discovery; authentication ships off and updates are manual .bin uploads.
What does the AWTRIX NG licence allow?
AWTRIX NG is published under PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0: free for any noncommercial purpose, including your own desk, but not for commercial use without a separate agreement with the author. That is why a company cannot ship AWTRIX NG inside a product it sells. Perchi Matrix is not a fork of AWTRIX; its AWTRIX 3 compatibility is our own implementation of a subset of the API on our own firmware, and it implies no endorsement by the AWTRIX project.
- Perchi Matrix
- AWTRIX
- Home Assistant
- displays