Personal prototype · Build notes

A small paper briefing
for the morning.

Morning Receipt turns a personal note, local weather, selected news, a quote, tiny artwork and a puzzle into a receipt printed by a Raspberry Pi.

The device runs at home. A private dashboard lets its owner prepare notes, choose content, review the next receipt and manage delivery. Email can deliver the receipt when printing is inconvenient.

Want to plan a receipt-printer project? See my working setup and leave with a personal parts checklist in a 45-minute planning session.

How it works

Prepare → Review → Print or email → Archive

Prepare. Combine scheduled personal notes with weather, chosen news sources and a rotating content library.
Review. Preview the receipt and edit individual choices before delivery.
Deliver. Print at the configured time, or send a readable email with the receipt image attached.
Archive. When enabled, upload the receipt image to Google Drive and create or update a receipt event in the selected Google Calendar.

Why it asks for Google access

Google Drive access lets Morning Receipt create and manage its receipt files and content backups. Calendar events access lets it maintain the corresponding receipt entries in the calendar selected by the owner. These connections are optional; the printer works independently.

The Google connection is for the device owner’s account. Gmail delivery currently uses a separately configured app password. It does not request access to read an inbox.

Read the privacy policy for data storage, sharing and removal.

What this version includes

A local dashboard for previews, notes, content selection and delivery settings.
Scheduled printing, email delivery and separate archive retries.
Receipt history, repeat prevention and recoverable content backups.
Optional private remote access through Tailscale.

Project status

Morning Receipt is a working personal prototype. This site documents it. The software remains a personal prototype. You can now ask about a separate $99 personal planning session with its maker; the session does not include software or hardware.

Current work focuses on simpler phone controls, clearer setup and reliable Google reconnection. Hardware compatibility and installation steps need broader testing before a general release.

Build notes

The prototype uses Python, a Raspberry Pi, an ESC/POS receipt printer and a browser dashboard. Its delivery history records printing, email and archiving separately. A failed archive can be retried after a successful print without reprinting the receipt.