I designed a silent, open-source curtain opener that runs on ESPHome
Hey r/homeassistant - I'm Daniel.
About 6 years ago (ya, long time ago) I set out to build an automated curtain opener. I wanted something to open my curtains automatically in the morning, but there were no products out there.
I initially open-sourced the project but it had many issues that I didn't have the time or skill to address. People have been reaching out to me over the years about it, so I finally decided to get it working again. I’ve learned a lot in the last 6 years, and have completely redesigned it so it’s working flawlessly.
The Ropener:
- Retrofits onto your existing curtain rod.
- Silent TMC2209 stepper motor.
- ESPHome-native. Local-only. No cloud, no app. Drop the YAML in and it works.
- Matter optional via Matterbridge for Apple Home / Google / Alexa.
- Stall detection instead of end-stop switches (one less thing to align). Works on almost all curtain types.
Everything is open source:
- STEP files + STLs on Printables: https://www.printables.com/model/1725737-
- Firmware (ESPHome YAML) + PCB design (KiCad) + assembly docs on GitHub: https://github.com/Valar-Systems/Ropener
- License is Open Community License (OCL v1) - fork it freely for personal use.
Fair disclosure: I started selling an assembled kit at my shop valarsystems.com for people who'd rather not source parts and print everything. But the open-source release is the default — buying the kit is just the convenience path for those who want it. Everything works standalone.
Happy to answer anything about the hardware, firmware, ESPHome implementation, or the mechanical design. Will be hanging out in the comments for the next few hours.
Full demo video (1 min): https://youtu.be/kw-FztIAOuc