# Pocket Rig

> A planner for hand-held, cyberdeck-style microcontroller builds on an RP2040 Pico-class, ESP32 DevKit or Uno-class
> board. List the parts on your bench and the browser reads them into buses and signals, counts the pins, lays a first
> pin map on the board's pinout, totals the current on each rail and estimates the battery runtime - flagging pin
> shortfalls, I2C address clashes, logic-level traps, boot-strapping pins and supplies that brown out. Two metered
> lanes: a build check (build / adjust / rethink, a pin map, must and should changes, a build order) and a boot sketch
> (flash / hold, the first sketch wired to your pin map, libraries and bench checks). https://pocket-rig.skillsafe.ai/

## What is free (runs in the browser)

- Reading the parts: one a line, free text ("2.8in ILI9341 TFT", "4 buttons", "WS2812 x8", "keyboard matrix 5x10"),
  with "40mA" or "@0x3D" to override a current or an I2C address. Unknown parts count as one pin and 0 mA, flagged.
- The pin count: shared bus lines once (I2C 2, SPI 3, I2S 3), each serial device 2, every other signal 1, against the
  board's free pins (ESP32 GPIO6-11 and the USB serial pair excluded).
- Flags: pins over or tight, I2C address clashes, no spare hardware serial, no I2S on Uno-class, 3.3 V parts on a 5 V
  board and 5 V signals into a 3.3 V board, RAM on Uno-class, a 5 V board on one cell, 5 V parts with no boost, rail
  overloads and peaks, runtime under the target or under half of it, strapping and USB-serial pins on a map.
- The pinout card: both header rows drawn, each pad coloured by bus, flagged pads ringed, strapping (S) and
  input-only (i) pins marked. Views: the page's draft map, the builder's map, your own pasted map.
- The power strip: who draws what (stacked bar), the 3.3 V and 5 V rails against typical limits, a battery gauge
  against the runtime you want.
- Exports: Markdown, the pin map as CSV, the pinout as SVG, the sketch as .ino.

Every current, rail limit and runtime is a typical estimate for common breakout modules, not a measurement. Pin facts
follow the boards' public pinouts.

## The metered lanes (model: gpt-terra)

- `task: "build"` - returns `{task, title, verdict: build|adjust|rethink, summary, pins: [{pin, part, signal, why}],
  changes: [{level: must|should, what, why}], power: [...], order: [...], tips: [...]}`.
- `task: "boot"` - returns `{task, title, verdict: flash|hold, summary, libraries: [{name, why}], sketch,
  pins: [{pin, part, signal}], checks: [{step, expect}], blockers: [...]}`. On hold the sketch is empty and each
  blocker names the exact pins.
- The page re-checks every reply: pins must exist on the header, flash and input-only pins must not be misused, no pin
  may carry two parts unless it is a shared bus line, and the pins a sketch hard-codes must be on the map sent.
- Handoff: the build check's pin map fills the boot lane's map with one button.

API tutorial in eight languages: https://pocket-rig.skillsafe.ai/api.html

## Sources

- SkillSafe skill @wedsamuel1230/arduino-project-builder (https://skillsafe.ai/skill/@wedsamuel1230/arduino-project-builder)
  - assembling a complete multi-part project with power management and board-specific choices; the build check.
- SkillSafe skill @wedsamuel1230/arduino-code-generator (https://skillsafe.ai/skill/@wedsamuel1230/arduino-code-generator)
  - sketch code with pin constants, non-blocking timing and proper start-up; the boot sketch.
- Why now: Pinterest 2026 Hobbies Trend Report, "Handmade Hacker" - "cyberdeck" searches +1,410%
  (https://newsroom.pinterest.com/news/2026-pinterest-hobbies-trend-report/).
- Not affiliated with any board maker. Sample rigs are made up.