We’ll use Adafruit IO as a backend, its simplicity is a huge asset to this project. If you’ve not used the service, head to the Welcome to Adafruit IO guide for an explainer and to set up an account. The basic service is free and private!
So let’s assume at this point you have an account set up and are at the io.adafruit.com home page…
From the navigation bar second to top, select “Feeds,” and then “New Feed.”
Give the feed a useful name (e.g. “Cheekmate” to match this project) and click the “Create” button. You’ll now see it in a list of feeds (or as the sole feed, if first time using the service).
Note the “Key” name assigned to the feed; typically a lowercase version of the feed name you entered. This key is needed later when setting up the code…or return to the Feeds form later to get it when needed.
Click “Dashboards” from the navigation bar, and then “New Dashboard,” assign it a name (this can be the same as the feed if you want), and “Create.”
The dashboard now appears in a list (or as the sole dashboard to start). Click the dashboard name in the list and we’ll create a simple form for entering messages…
Our new “Cheekmate” dashboard is initially blank. Near the top right of the form, click the gear icon to pop open the Dashboard Settings menu. Select the “Create New Block” item to add a UI element…
Choose the simple Text block — it provides a single-line field for entering text, that’s all we need here.
You’ll be asked to connect this to a feed (a destination to which any text entered in the field will be sent). Select the “Cheekmate” feed created earlier (or whatever name you chose), and then the “Next step” button.
Now you can customize the look a little, like selecting the Large font so it’s easy to use the dashboard from a mobile phone. Click “Create block” when it’s all to your liking.
Optional but recommended: from the Dashboard Settings menu, select “Edit Layout” to adjust the size or position of the text field so it’s easier to tap. Click “Save Layout” when done.
Click the Key icon near the top right of the main Adafruit IO page to access your Adafruit IO key.
This is a seemingly random long sequence of letters and numbers that uniquely identifies you to the system, and will be inserted into the project code to grant it access.
Never share this key. If you post project code on Github or similar, remember to strip it out before committing.
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