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Big Beautiful Screens

API-driven real-time display screens for dashboards, menus, and signage.

Big Beautiful Screens is a lightweight service that lets you push content to display screens in real-time. Point any device—Smart TV, browser, Raspberry Pi—at a screen URL and update it instantly via REST API.

Features

  • Real-time updates via WebSocket - changes appear instantly
  • Auto-layout - content arranges automatically based on item count
  • Auto-scaling text - text sizes itself to fill available space
  • Multiple content types - text, markdown, images, video, and widgets
  • Interactive widgets - clocks, countdowns, and more
  • Theming - 13+ pre-defined themes or fully custom styling
  • Multi-page rotation - cycle through pages automatically
  • Ephemeral pages - temporary content that auto-expires

Quick Example

# Create a screen
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/api/v1/screens

# Send content
curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/api/v1/screens/{id}/message \
  -H "X-API-Key: {api_key}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"content": ["Hello, World!", "Panel 2", "Panel 3"]}'

Open http://localhost:8000/screen/{id} to see your content update in real-time.

Use Cases

  • Dashboards - Sales metrics, system status, KPIs
  • Digital signage - Lobby displays, announcements
  • Menu boards - Restaurant menus, specials
  • Status boards - Build status, server health
  • Event displays - Schedules, countdowns
  • Office displays - Meeting room signs, welcome screens

Getting Started

Ready to get started? Head to the Installation Guide or jump straight to the Quick Start.

Architecture

┌─────────────────┐     REST API      ┌─────────────────┐
│  Your App/      │ ───────────────▶  │  Big Beautiful  │
│  Automation     │                   │  Screens        │
└─────────────────┘                   └────────┬────────┘
                                               │
                                               │ WebSocket
                                               ▼
                         ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
                         │                                      │
                    ┌────┴────┐  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐      │
                    │ Browser │  │ Smart   │  │ Rasp Pi │ ...  │
                    │         │  │ TV      │  │         │      │
                    └─────────┘  └─────────┘  └─────────┘      │
                         │                                      │
                         └──────────────────────────────────────┘
                                    Viewers