If you've wanted to display sensor readings on your device running WipperSnapper, you're in luck! This guide will walk you through the process of building a device that reads environmental measurements and displays them on an OLED.
The process for setting up and using a display on a development board running WipperSnapper is simple, there is no coding or soldering - you just click!
Build Project Logic with Drag and Drop
Actions are a way to do something when a situation occurs. Adafruit IO's actions present a block-based interface, allowing you to create a project simply by dragging and dropping "blocks" onto a diagram.
In this guide, you'll use an Action to build a workflow that:
- Obtains data from sensors every 15 minutes
- Rounds the data, so we can show it on a display
- Configures a display to show the sensor data
All of this is possible in Adafruit IO - no programming required!
Simple Assembly and Wiring
This project uses the snap-on enclosure for Adafruit QT Py and STEMMA QT cables to connect sensors. There is no soldering or difficult assembly required to build this project. A screwdriver is the only tool required!
What is WipperSnapper?
WipperSnapper is a firmware designed to turn any WiFi-capable board into an Internet-of-Things device without programming a single line of code. WipperSnapper connects to Adafruit IO, a web platform designed (by Adafruit!) to display, respond, and interact with your project's data.
Simply load the WipperSnapper firmware onto your board, add credentials, and plug it into power. Your board will automatically register itself with your Adafruit IO account.
From there, you can add components to your board such as buttons, switches, potentiometers, sensors, and more! Components are dynamically added to hardware, so you can immediately start interacting, logging, and streaming the data your projects produce without writing code.
Parts
WipperSnapper Firmware supports a wide variety of different boards from Adafruit and others. This greenhouse monitor will use the Adafruit QT Py ESP32 microcontroller board.
The Bosh BME688 is perfect for this greenhouse monitoring project as it provides temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and VOC gas sensing capabilities in a sub-$20 package.
If you want to use a different sensor, WipperSnapper firmware supports 104 different types of components.
I selected the "Monochrome 1.3" 128x64 OLED graphic display" for this project because the display makes its own light, no backlight is required. This reduces the power required to run the OLED.
At the time of release, WipperSnapper supports the following display components:
OLED Displays with I2C:
- Monochrome 1.3" 128x64 OLED graphic display - STEMMA QT / Qwiic
- Monochrome 0.91" 128x32 I2C OLED Display - STEMMA QT / Qwiic
- Monochrome 0.96" 128x64 OLED Graphic Display - STEMMA QT PID: 326
LED Displays with I2C Backpacks:
- Quad Alphanumeric Display - Red 0.54" Digits w/ I2C Backpack - STEMMA QT / Qwiic
- Assembled Adafruit 0.56" 4-Digit 7-Segment Display - I2C Backpack - STEMMA QT
- i2c / SPI character LCD backpack - STEMMA QT / Qwiic
Character LCD Displays with I2C Backpacks:
The following parts are required to build the project's enclosure:
Optional Parts
Page last edited June 18, 2025
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