Turn an old Kindle into a photo frame with a coding agent

Niraj Rajgor used Codex and T3 Code on his Mac to have an agent connect to his Kindle, jailbreak it with GPT-6 Astra and build KindleCTL, a slideshow app that cycles ten photos. He writes up why passing tests was not the same as working on the e-ink screen.

$10 in / $50 out per 1M tokensSeveral sessionsAdvancedSource linked

Source

nirajrajgor on Hacker News · 2026-10-12 · Project link

Written in our own words. Credit to the original author. Link checked 2026-10-17.

What they did

Result (as claimed)

Working Kindle photo slideshow; 146 points on Hacker News.

Tools they used

OpenAI Codex GPT-6 AstraT3 Code

Cost: OpenAI Codex: free plan, paid from $8/mo; GPT-6 Astra: from $10 in / $50 out per 1M tokens.

Set it up

Define the job
Say exactly what you want done and what the agent may and may not do on your behalf.
Share only what is needed
Give OpenAI Codex the minimum files or access required. Avoid sharing passwords in chat when a safer login flow exists.
Review the plan
Ask the agent to show its plan or draft before it acts, and approve each step that has real consequences.
Check the result
Confirm the outcome yourself (order placed, request sent, document understood) and keep a record.

Copy the full setup prompt

Paste into your agent and it will walk you through the setup, asking before anything that sends, posts or spends.

You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Claude Code.

Goal: Turn an old Kindle into a photo frame with a coding agent
What the original author did: Niraj Rajgor used Codex and T3 Code on his Mac to have an agent connect to his Kindle, jailbreak it with GPT-6 Astra and build KindleCTL, a slideshow app that cycles ten photos. He writes up why passing tests was not the same as working on the e-ink screen.
Reported result (as claimed by the author): Working Kindle photo slideshow; 146 points on Hacker News.
Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50064318
Tools they used: OpenAI Codex, GPT-6 Astra, T3 Code
Category: Personal & life

Please:
1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like).
2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure.
3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data.
4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.

You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Codex.

Goal: Turn an old Kindle into a photo frame with a coding agent
What the original author did: Niraj Rajgor used Codex and T3 Code on his Mac to have an agent connect to his Kindle, jailbreak it with GPT-6 Astra and build KindleCTL, a slideshow app that cycles ten photos. He writes up why passing tests was not the same as working on the e-ink screen.
Reported result (as claimed by the author): Working Kindle photo slideshow; 146 points on Hacker News.
Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50064318
Tools they used: OpenAI Codex, GPT-6 Astra, T3 Code
Category: Personal & life

Please:
1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like).
2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure.
3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data.
4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.

You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Grok Bot.

Goal: Turn an old Kindle into a photo frame with a coding agent
What the original author did: Niraj Rajgor used Codex and T3 Code on his Mac to have an agent connect to his Kindle, jailbreak it with GPT-6 Astra and build KindleCTL, a slideshow app that cycles ten photos. He writes up why passing tests was not the same as working on the e-ink screen.
Reported result (as claimed by the author): Working Kindle photo slideshow; 146 points on Hacker News.
Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50064318
Tools they used: OpenAI Codex, GPT-6 Astra, T3 Code
Category: Personal & life

Please:
1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like).
2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure.
3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data.
4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.

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