An 8-inch e-reader sits on a kitchen bar table, showing the time, temperatures inside and outside the house, eight lights that are on, and a shopping list. It updates every 60 seconds, with no backlight or animation. This e-reader had been in a cabinet, unused, until the user decided to repurpose it. The idea didn’t come from the user, but from a tutorial by Ulrich, who had transformed a Boox e-reader into a dashboard for a home automation system called Home Assistant, without writing any code. Two months later, the user asked an AI assistant installed on a mini-PC (Claude Code, purchased for 15 euros) if they could do the same with their Kobo e-reader. The answer was no—because the Kobo uses a different operating system and an outdated browser, making it incompatible with Home Assistant directly. The solution involved a tool called FBInk, a community-developed software that sends images directly to the screen without using the e-reader's usual interface. This means the e-reader acts like a digital photo frame, displaying whatever image is sent to it. Most Kobo models use an NXP processor, but the Kobo Sage and Elipsa use a different chip called "sunxi," which has some limitations. For example, it can't refresh only part of the screen or read physical buttons. Most existing projects that use Kobo e-readers for Home Assistant target NXP models, not the "sunxi" chip. To work around this, the user reversed the roles: the mini-PC runs the Home Assistant system, collects sensor data, creates a black-and-white image matching the e-reader's resolution, and shares it on the local network. The e-reader simply downloads and displays the image every 60 seconds. This setup allows for more precise control over the layout, as the e-reader's high-resolution screen can show thin lines and fixed text blocks without distortion. However, connecting the e-reader via USB could trigger a storage mode, which would prevent it from staying powered on permanently. The user had to use a wall charger and ensure the e-reader connected to the computer in data mode, a step the AI couldn't do for them. After several hours of troubleshooting and testing, the dashboard finally worked. The e-reader displayed the correct data, but the system faced challenges like a firewall blocking the network connection and the Kobo's interface cutting off Wi-Fi after inactivity. These issues were resolved by adjusting settings and using documentation from online communities. The e-reader now functions as a real-time dashboard, updating automatically without any code written by the user. The project highlights the importance of checking network visibility, testing from external devices, and ensuring that any AI agent involved in the process reads and understands the documentation it cites. While the hardware was already available, the monthly cost of the AI assistant is a real expense, and the Kobo Sage model is now hard to find. For those interested in similar projects, alternative e-readers or ready-made screens may offer easier integration with home automation systems.