AN OLD DISCARDED MONITOR BECOMES A MIRROR THAT SHOWS YOUR DAY EVERY MORNING
A Raspberry Pi and a sheet of two-way mirror glass turn a discarded screen into a mirror that floats your calendar, weather and news over your reflection every morning.
by Michael Teeuw and the MagicMirror² community
DisplaysHome
Built withRaspberry Pi
- difficulty
- ●●○○○
- time
- a weekend
- license
- MIT
- repo
- repo ACTIVE23,908 stars
●●○○○ · a weekend · MIT · 23,908 stars · repo ACTIVE
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
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COMPAREE VERDICT
MagicMirror² is the most mature smart mirror software around: it grew out of a 2014 build, the module ecosystem is vast, and the official install is a short manual setup on the Pi (community install scripts exist too). The software part is solved. What is not solved is the physical build — the project gives no guidance on where to buy a two-way mirror, how to size it, or how to build a frame that hides the Pi and the monitor bezel. You will spend more time on community frame tutorials than on the code. The monitor can be free if you rescue one; the two-way mirror (acrylic is lighter and cheaper to ship, glass is flatter and tougher to scratch) and the frame are where the money goes. If you are comfortable with basic carpentry or have access to a laser cutter, this is a weekend well spent. If cutting and mounting the mirror makes you nervous, you will stall before the Pi ever boots.
IN THE REPO
GOOD TO KNOW
- —MIT license — no restrictions on commercial use.
- —The software is production-ready with extensive documentation and 600+ third-party modules.
- —There is no frame design, BOM or build guide — you source the monitor, mirror and enclosure yourself.
- —The installation docs assume you can SSH into a Pi and edit a config file.
- —Mirror glass and framing dominate the cost; the software itself is free.
- —23.7k stars, active development, last pushed within days of this page.
Parts to buy
6 itemsFrom our check of the build. Exact quantities and part numbers are in the creator’s BOM.
Can I build this?
Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.
Videos
Raspberry Pi Magic Mirror
There is no official video — the documentation is text and the YouTube walkthroughs are all community-made; search 'MagicMirror build' for dozens of frame tutorials.
More builds like this
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Start here
Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.
- 1.Read the installation docs and make sure your Pi model is supported (The official route is a short manual install on Raspberry Pi OS; community-made automatic installers exist but are third-party.)
- 2.Order two-way mirror acrylic cut to the size of your monitor's visible screen area(Search 'two-way mirror acrylic' or 'two-way mirror glass' — acrylic is lighter and cheaper to ship, glass is flatter.)
- 3.Install MagicMirror² on your Pi following the official manual steps and configure the modules in config.js(The config file is JavaScript (config.js); copy the sample and edit it — the defaults show clock, calendar, weather and news.)
- 4.Watch a community frame build video that matches your tools and skill level(YouTube has hundreds — look for one that uses materials you can actually source locally.)
Resources
Documentation, files and community threads for this build — we link straight to the original sources and never rehost the creator’s files.
KNOWN ISSUES
- Picking the mirror material without thinking it through — acrylic is lighter, cheaper to ship and safer, but can bow and distort; glass is flatter and more scratch-resistant but heavier and fragile. Get a sample or check community builds before ordering.
- Underestimating the frame build — the software is easy; the carpentry or fabrication is where weekends disappear.
- Not measuring the visible screen area before ordering the mirror — bezels do not count, and a badly sized mirror looks unfinished.
- Forgetting that the Pi has to update modules and fetch API data — if your mirror is in a hallway with no Wi-Fi, it will show stale information.
- Skipping the autostart config and expecting the mirror to boot on power-on — you have to enable the autostart script or it will sit at a desktop.
Can I use a touchscreen?
Yes — several modules add touch support, but you will need a USB touchscreen overlay or a monitor with built-in touch, and the mirror glass adds a small air gap that slightly degrades sensitivity.
What is the difference between two-way mirror film and acrylic?
Film is the cheapest and goes on a sheet of glass, but it can bubble and scratch. Two-way acrylic is a solid lightweight sheet with the coating built in; two-way glass is heavier but flatter and more scratch-resistant. Acrylic and glass both give a cleaner result than film.
Do I need a frame, or can I just lean the monitor against a wall?
You can lean it, but the bezel, cables and Pi will all be visible — a frame is what makes it look like a mirror instead of a monitor with a sheet taped to it.
Can I add voice control?
Yes — there are modules for Google Assistant, Alexa, and offline voice recognition; all require extra setup and a USB microphone.
What happens if the Pi crashes or loses power?
The mirror goes black — there is no persistence; it is just a monitor running a web page served by the Pi.
Community builds
No community builds yet — be the first, we feature the best ones.
Discussion1
FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM
Nearly 24k stars and more than a decade of hallway and bathroom mirrors — this is the reference build. What module would you install first: your commute time, or one that hides everything when no one is standing in front of it?
Michael Teeuw and the MagicMirror² community
Michael Teeuw built the original MagicMirror in 2014 as a side project and shared it. He then built MagicMirror², a modular platform, which he develops with a large community of contributors who also maintain hundreds of third-party modules.
Keep building — related projects
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DISCLAIMER
- Comparee is not the author of the projects featured here. All rights to each project belong to its creator — every page links to the original source, and we never host creators’ files.
- Information is provided without warranty and may become outdated as projects evolve. Prices are indicative bands only — always check the creator’s parts list for current costs.
- Building and operating any project is at your own responsibility. Protective equipment, safe workshop practice and compliance with local regulations are the builder’s responsibility.
CompareeTEAM2mo agoedited
Practical notes from our verification: MagicMirror² is built by the creator of the original MagicMirror with a large community of contributors, and the third-party module list in the wiki is long. The official documentation is thorough on installation and configuration (a manual git clone install, with config/config.js as a JavaScript file) and says little about the physical build — that gap is why the frame and two-way mirror tutorials, like the linked videos from Becky Stern and DIY Machines, are community-made. Help is available on the official forum and Discord. Decide on the screen, the mirror material and the frame before you touch the software; that is where most of the effort goes. Correction (4 October 2026): we re-checked this page line by line against the project's own repository, documentation and videos, and fixed errors in earlier versions.