Clockwise turns an LED matrix and an ESP32 into a wall clock

The parts list is four items and a soldering iron

Clockwise is described as a do it yourself, full featured and smart wall clock device, and the parts list is short enough to state in one breath. You need a 64x64 RGB LED matrix, either HUB75 or HUB75E, an ESP32 dev board, a 5V 3A power supply, and jumpers. That is the whole hardware story for a bare build, and the project is explicit that it is designed to be assembled rather than purchased. The 5V 3A supply is not incidental: 4096 individually addressable RGB pixels draw a lot of current, and a marginal power supply shows up as flickering or a reset board. If you would rather not wire the matrix yourself, there is an alternative in the form of the WiseShield-32 DIY PCB kit, created in partnership with Elecrow specifically for Clockwise, which includes the PCB and all components including sensors to make the clock smarter. The project also states it is compatible with various PCBs or just simple wiring, so the kit is a convenience rather than a requirement. The topic tags on the repository name the pieces: arduino, clock, esp32, led-controller, smartwatch, which is a good hint that the ESP32 is treated as a general purpose controller rather than a clock specific board.

Flashing happens in the browser, not over a serial cable

The setup path is unusually friendly for embedded hardware, and this is the part of the project that removes the usual friction. The documented steps are to go to the project site at clockwise.page and follow the on-screen steps to flash Clockwise and configure WiFi. There is no requirement to install an IDE or attach a serial adapter to get the first version on the board, which is the step that stops most people when they meet an ESP32 project. Detailed instructions live in the project wiki under Getting Started. The WiFi detail matters for later, because once the clock is on your network you configure it from a browser rather than by reflashing, so the physical flashing step is a one time event. The firmware itself is developed in either of two toolchains, and the project is direct about the audience for each. PlatformIO is the advanced path for developers, and ESP-IDF is offered for full control. Both are described in the flashing section of the wiki, and the repository layout backs this up with a CMakeLists.txt, a components/ directory, a firmware/ directory, a main/ directory, sdkconfig.defaults for the ESP-IDF configuration, and a get-platformio.py helper script. The primary language of the repository is C++, and the presence of sdkconfig.defaults makes the ESP-IDF path the more native of the two.

Clockfaces are the extension point, and Canvas is the odd one out

What makes the device more than a glowing wall clock is the clockface system. The project documents a gallery of clockfaces that you can choose from or make your own, and the listed examples include Mario Bros, Words, World Map, Castlevania, Pacman, Pokedex and Canvas. Each of the non Canvas examples lives in its own repository under the cw-cf prefix, which is a good indicator of how the community is expected to work: the main firmware is a runtime, and the faces are separate artefacts that plug into it. Canvas is described as a special type of clockface capable of rendering different themes described in a JSON file, with its own wiki page explaining the format. That distinction matters for anyone planning to make their own. A classic clockface is a fixed piece of artwork, whereas a Canvas face is data driven, so a face that changes over the course of the day, or that shows different content depending on the time, is built by writing JSON rather than by designing pixels. The community is organised in the Clock Club repository, whose stated purpose is creating your own clockfaces, and the repository topics list includes smartwatch, so the hardware can do more than tell the time.

The settings page is where the device becomes configurable without a reflash

The configuration surface is described in detail and it is where a lot of the real usability of the clock lives. WiFi settings can be updated without reflashing. Timezone and NTP server are configurable, with automated NVS POSIX caching so the clock keeps sensible time across a power cycle. Display brightness is manual or smoothed automatic control, with an optional LDR sensor, which is what the sensors in the WiseShield-32 kit are for. Display rotation supports 0, 90, 180 and 270 degrees, which matters because a matrix you can mount only one way up is a common and avoidable annoyance. You can switch between installed clockfaces or use Canvas themes. RGB order correction lets you swap Blue/Green or Blue/Red pins to fix colour mismatches, and this is the setting that will save you an afternoon, because HUB75 panels disagree on pin order between manufacturers and a clock showing red and blue swapped is otherwise baffling. Hardware settings cover the matrix shift driver, with FM6124 named as an example, the I2S clock speed, and the E-line pin. There is also a POSIX timezone string option for fine tuning behaviour or offline overrides, and a note that the current release carried a POSIX param fix.

What building this actually costs you in time

The parts are cheap and the documentation is good, but the time cost is real and it does not appear in the features list. Assembly of a 64x64 matrix means soldering a cable or a connector to a board with 64 or 128 channels, and a mistake in the shift register wiring shows up as scrambled or dead pixels rather than a clear fault. Getting the power right matters as much as the soldering, since the same current draw is what causes resets under bright output. On the software side there are two separate learning curves depending on which path you take. PlatformIO is the smoother one for a developer who has used it, and ESP-IDF is the one that gives full control at the cost of learning the Espressif toolchain and its configuration system. The current firmware release is 1.4.4, published on 2026-10-05, with 1.4.3 the day before, and the last push to the repository was on 2026-10-06. The release history also shows a long gap, since 1.4.1 carries a canvas bug fix and POSIX param from 2023-08-27. That means the project went quiet for a stretch and then resumed with a burst of releases, so if you are following it, check the current release rather than assuming the 2023 build is the state of the art.

Where a smart wall clock stops being the right build

This is a clock, and the honest limitation is that a 64x64 pixel matrix is a small canvas for anything that is not a clock. Text is legible at a glance from across a room, and that is about the limit of it: the project offers a text based face and a world map face, but reading anything longer requires either a bigger panel or a different display. There is no mention of any notification integration, so if you want your calendar or your build status on the wall, that is not what this firmware does. The hardware cost is also fixed at the size of the matrix, and going larger means a different power budget and a different controller, at which point you are outside what the project supports. A second limitation is the wireless dependency. The configuration is a web interface over WiFi and the time is set by NTP, so the clock is a network device that must be provisioned, and it depends on an NTP server and a POSIX timezone string being right for your location, which is why the offline override option exists. If you wanted a clock that works with no network at all, that is a different design.

Editorial conclusion

Adopt Clockwise if you want a wall clock you built yourself and can modify, and you are comfortable with soldering a matrix to an ESP32 and flashing firmware over WiFi. Do not adopt it expecting a buy it and forget it device, since the assembly and the flashing step are on you. Before you order parts, confirm the matrix you plan to use is HUB75 or HUB75E, check the current firmware release on the project releases page rather than assuming the version you saw earlier, and read the advanced configuration wiki page to see whether the RGB order correction and brightness control cover the wiring you plan to use.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. jnthas/clockwise on GitHub
2. License: MIT
3. Project website
4. README
5. Releases