Bee Write Back: A $200 DIY Distraction-Free Writing Machine Built Around Raspberry Pi

The Bee Write Back is a DIY distraction-free writing machine that combines a 5.5 inch AMOLED display with a small mechanical keyboard, a battery, and a few other odds and ends. It uses a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W for brains, and designer shmimel says the total cost of materials is about $200 (not including 3D printing costs).

Designed to offer a distraction-free writing experience, the writerDeck is an open source project: shmimel has published a build guide and design files on GitHub, and today released a six minute video showing the build process.

While this little device is designed first and foremost for writing, the hardware actually makes it a pretty versatile little computer. The screen is a 5.5 inch, 1280 x 720 pixel display AMOLED display with up to 300 nits brightness. While it's a bit small for a PC display, it should be able to handle video, games, or other graphics as well as the text-based documents you'd expect from a writerDeck. And with a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W inside, the system should support Raspberry Pi OS and other lightweight Linux distributions.

But with a 40% sized mechanical keyboard featuring a YMD Air40 PCB, 48 Gateron switches, and a set of 48 keycaps, the keyboard accounts for about 40% of the component costs, so this thing is clearly designed for writing. The design is customizable: you can easily change the keyboard layout to meet your needs. And while the 3D-printed case is designed to accommodate the Raspberry Pi, display, battery, keyboard, cables, and other adapters, folks with a bit of know-how should be able to tweak the design to make room for different displays, keyboards, or single-board computers. Shmimel says it should also be possible to modify the design so that the screen can tilt forward, something that the original build does not do.

The Bee Write Back represents an interesting approach to focused computing. Unlike commercial distraction-free writing devices like the Freewrite or Astrohaus products, this is a fully open-source project that anyone with basic electronics skills can build themselves. The use of a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W as the brains means the device can run a full Linux operating system, giving users flexibility in choosing their writing environment while maintaining the simplicity of a dedicated writing device.

The choice of components reflects careful consideration of the writing experience. The AMOLED display offers excellent contrast and battery efficiency, while the mechanical keyboard with Gateron switches provides tactile feedback that many writers prefer. The 5.5-inch form factor is small enough to be portable but large enough to be usable for extended writing sessions.

For those interested in building their own, the project files include detailed instructions and 3D-printable case designs. The modular nature of the build means users can customize various aspects, from the keyboard layout to potentially swapping in different single-board computers or displays. This flexibility, combined with the relatively modest $200 price point, makes the Bee Write Back an accessible entry point into custom computing devices.

The project also highlights the growing trend of purpose-built computing devices that strip away distractions in favor of focused functionality. In an age of constant notifications and multitasking, devices like the Bee Write Back offer a return to single-purpose computing that many find appealing for creative work.

Whether you're a writer looking for a distraction-free environment, a maker interested in custom computing projects, or simply someone who appreciates well-designed open-source hardware, the Bee Write Back offers an intriguing option that balances simplicity with the flexibility of a full Linux system.