I attend conferences regularly, and for years I’ve wanted a badge that makes it easy for people to find me online.
In 2019, I attended defcon and built defpi, a goofy raspberry pi powered badge.
While that was fun I wanted a bit more turnkey and I found just what I wanted with a Badgeware Badger (nerdy domain hack badgewa.re).
Since my use case is to just have my socials via QR I chose the e-ink version as it made the most sense.
So what does the Badger come equipped with?
- RP2350
- WiFi
- 1000mAh battery
- USB-C
- MicroPython
I might not be the biggest Python fan but in the age of AI does it matter? I just ask Codex to help me get the desired outcome I'm looking for!
So Codex and I cooked a few hundred lines of Python and boom my profiles are only a QR code scan away.
Let's take a look at my default badge screen in all its glory.
Social screen.
All in all it's pretty simple, get you to either my LinkedIn or my personal site.
The crazy thing is the simulator lets me test the code before I deploy it to the badge.
make sim and I'm able to test it locally.
Then a simple make deploy while the badge is connected and it deploys it all.
You can check out the code repo if you wanna steal slopfork my setup.
Badger 2350 badge
Personal Badgeware app for the Badger 2350.
Requirements: macOS, uv, Git, and a data-capable USB-C cable. Run make to see the three available commands.
Simulator
make sim
The first run clones and builds Badgeware Desktop beside this repo. Later runs reuse that build, stage the current app in an isolated filesystem, and launch it at the Badger's 264×176 resolution.
Simulator controls:
-
Space: Button B; flip between the badge and social/QR screens -
↑/↓: change the background pattern -
←/→: Buttons A and C -
Esc: hot reload
Deploy the app
-
Connect the Badger over USB-C.
-
Double-tap RESET. Wait for the
BADGERdrive to appear. -
Run:
make deploy
The command validates the app, copies its Python and image files into /apps/badge, safely ejects the drive, and lets the badge reboot.
Update the firmware
This installs the latest official firmware together…
Happy conferencing, folks!
PS: If you're going to be in Dallas for Commit Your Code 2026 come find me and I’ll show off the badge.
Follow me for all things tech.
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