I recently stumbled upon an interesting project that allows you to view your USPS mail as a GIF. It’s a fun way to keep track of your packages without constantly checking your mailbox. Here’s how I got it working on my system!
First, I installed ImageMagick using my package manager. Then, I modified the get_mail function in the myusps/__init__.py file. The goal was to download and compile images if there was mail, otherwise, it would copy a nomail.gif over. This part was a bit tricky, but with some trial and error, I got it working.
Next, I added a download_images function to handle the image processing. This involved downloading each image, annotating it with its number over the total count, and then creating a GIF from all the images. It’s a bit hacky, but it works perfectly for me!
To display the mail GIF, I added a local_file camera entity in my configuration. This way, I can easily view the mail feed from my dashboard.
I’d love to see this feature integrated into Home Assistant someday, but for now, this DIY solution works great. If you’re interested in trying it out, I recommend checking out @mezz64’s more elegant version on GitHub. It might save you some time and effort!
Overall, this project was a fun way to combine my love for DIY tech solutions with practical home automation. It’s satisfying to see it all come together and work seamlessly.