Most AI assistants live inside the company's own hardware and apps. Muse Gadgets takes a different path. Meta has published open-source SDKs and firmware that let anyone connect the Muse assistant to boards they already own: displays, buttons, sensors, speakers and small motors. The code is released under the Apache 2.0 license.
There are two kits. The ESP32 Device SDK is firmware for small microcontroller boards. The Linux Device SDK turns a Raspberry Pi or other Linux computer into a gadget. Alongside the SDKs, Meta made its own plug-in device, Muse Home Link, which lets Muse reach compatible devices on a home network. This guide focuses on the ESP32 side: what it is, how setup works, which boards are supported and how a beginner can get one running.
The project's own notes are frank. They say it is built by hackers for hackers, and that tinkering can brick boards and void warranties. Read that as a fair warning, not a joke.
What a Muse gadget is
A gadget is a device that pairs with the Muse app on your phone and connects to the Muse service over your home Wi-Fi. Once connected, Muse can use it. Depending on the board, that might mean showing a status light, showing images on a screen, listening through a microphone when you hold a button or speaking through a speaker.
On boards with the home-network tunnel, Muse can also reach other devices on your network, including anything you build that offers a simple local web interface. That is the part that interests many makers: a way for an AI assistant to press buttons in your home that you define.
Supported boards
The simplest starting board is the ESP32-C5 DevKitC-1, which works as it is with its built-in status light and BOOT button. The supported list also includes an ESP32-C6 devkit without PSRAM, Espressif's ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1, several boards with small LCD or e-paper screens, Seeed's SenseCAP Indicator and reTerminal e-paper panels, and the Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition, which gets push-to-talk and its volume dial.
A group of boards runs the full on-screen interface, with an animated avatar, push-to-talk and settings. These include several Waveshare ESP32-S3 AMOLED touch boards and Espressif's ESP32-S3-BOX-3. Audio and image support vary by board, so check the feature table before you buy.
What you need
A supported ESP32 board.
A USB cable that carries data, not just power.
A computer running macOS or Linux.
An SDK token from the Muse gadgets site. Every gadget needs one to pair, even ones you build for yourself. Read the SDK terms before using it.
The Muse app on your phone, with Developer mode turned on in its device settings.
Two ways to build
The fast way uses an AI coding agent. The SDK is designed so that Meta's Muse Code tool, or any other agent that reads an AGENTS.md file, can set up the toolchain, build for your board, flash it and read its logs. You clone the repository, start the agent in the ESP32 folder, plug in your board and ask it to build and flash for your exact board. The agent needs access to the USB serial port, so if it runs in a sandbox you must let the flash and monitor commands run outside it. You still approve each command.
Useful follow-up requests include asking the agent to watch the serial log and tell you when the board is ready to pair, to build the full interface for your screen board or to add support for a new board with a given flash size and button pin.
The manual way uses Espressif's ESP-IDF. The SDK is built for ESP-IDF version 6.0.1, and the documentation says other versions are not supported. You install that version, set your SDK token in the configuration menu, build and flash. The default build targets the ESP32-C5 DevKitC-1, and a helper script builds for other boards.
Pairing, step by step
After flashing, the status light breathes orange, which means it is ready for setup.
In the Muse app, turn on Developer mode, then add a device. It appears with a MuseGadget name.
When the light breathes blue, press the BOOT button to confirm that you are the person setting it up.
The light turns green when Muse is connected.
Holding the button for five seconds resets the device so you can set it up again. The light colours also tell you when it is reconnecting, not paired or in an error state, which saves time when you debug.
Pitfalls
Wrong ESP-IDF version. If the build fails in strange ways, check that you are on exactly the supported version and that you ran the export script in the current terminal.
Board will not flash. Hold BOOT, tap RESET, release BOOT and try again.
Tokens and security. The SDK token is personal. Never commit it to a public repository. The documentation recommends enabling encrypted storage on boards that support it, because without it anyone with physical access to the board could read stored secrets.
Pairing on untrusted networks. Pairing requires a press on the device and creates a fresh encrypted session, but because these are community devices, there is no manufacturer check, and the documentation says it cannot prevent an active man-in-the-middle attack. Set gadgets up on a network you trust.
Updates are off by default. Over-the-air updates are off on most builds. Remember to reflash when you want new features.
Ideas for gadgets
A colour e-paper panel that shows reminders or a daily summary from Muse.
A small round screen with push-to-talk on your desk.
A device with a local web interface, such as a relay box for a lamp or a fan, that Muse can control through the home tunnel.
A Raspberry Pi that runs your own commands, such as checking on a home server.
Some makers have also connected Xiaozhi-based voice boards to Muse, so a wake word can start a request. Projects in the wider ESP32 voice community share code and ideas, and the Muse SDK itself credits a display setup routine taken from the Xiaozhi project.
The short version
Muse Gadgets is an open-source ESP32 and Linux SDK for building your own devices that work with the Muse assistant. Start with a supported board such as the ESP32-C5 DevKitC-1, get an SDK token, and build either with an AI coding agent that reads the repository's AGENTS.md or by hand with ESP-IDF 6.0.1. Pair through the Muse app in Developer mode, keep your token private, enable encrypted storage where you can and set devices up only on networks you trust.
Project resources: https://github.com/facebookincubator/muse-gadget-sdk