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wtf is meeting-light?

axedl/meeting-light — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

1PythonAudience · generalComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · moderate

TL;DR

A Windows tray app that turns a Home Assistant light red during calls, detecting meetings automatically from microphone usage instead of any video app API.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Meeting Light))
    What it does
      Detects mic usage
      Changes light color
      Manual override
    Tech stack
      Python
      Windows registry
      Home Assistant
    Use cases
      Signal do not disturb
      Automate smart lights
      Cover any call app
    Audience
      Home Assistant users
      Remote workers
      Windows users

Code map

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Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Show family or roommates a red light whenever you are on a video call

REASON 2

Trigger a smart light automatically for any meeting app without configuring each app separately

REASON 3

Mirror a reference light's color and brightness whenever you are not in a meeting

REASON 4

Run a lightweight status indicator without installing a full smart home automation platform

What's in the stack?

PythonWindowsHome AssistantPyInstaller

How it stacks up

axedl/meeting-light0xustaz/streamgatea-bissell/unleash-lite
Stars111
LanguagePythonPythonPython
Setup difficultymoderatehardhard
Complexity2/54/54/5
Audiencegeneraldeveloperresearcher

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires a Windows PC, a Home Assistant instance with a controllable light, and a long lived access token.

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

Wtf does this do

Meeting Light is a small Windows app that sits in your system tray and changes the color of a Home Assistant smart light whenever you are on a call, then changes it back once you are done. The clever part is how it knows you are in a meeting: instead of hooking into Teams, Zoom, or Discord directly, it reads the same microphone usage record that Windows itself keeps for its privacy settings. Because of this, it works with almost any app that uses your microphone, including browser based Google Meet and Slack huddles, without needing separate support for each one. The app checks this microphone record every two seconds and looks for any app on a list you configure. If one of those apps currently holds the microphone, it treats you as being in a meeting and turns the chosen light to a meeting color, commonly red. You can also click the tray icon to override the state manually, and that override sticks until the microphone itself changes again. Outside of meetings, you can set a second reference light so your controlled light mirrors whatever that light is doing, matching its color and brightness instead of just turning off. Everything is configured through a settings window the first time you run it: you enter your Home Assistant address and access token, pick which light to control, choose your meeting and fallback colors, and select which apps count as meeting apps. Setup requires a Windows 10 or 11 computer, a Home Assistant installation with at least one controllable light, a long lived access token from Home Assistant, and Python if you want to run it from source rather than build a standalone executable. The project is released under the MIT license.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Walk me through setting up meeting-light with my Home Assistant instance and a long lived access token
Prompt 2
Explain how meeting-light reads Windows microphone usage from the registry to detect a call
Prompt 3
Show me how to package meeting-light into a standalone executable with PyInstaller
Prompt 4
Help me configure a second reference light so my meeting light matches it when idle

Frequently asked questions

wtf is meeting-light?

A Windows tray app that turns a Home Assistant light red during calls, detecting meetings automatically from microphone usage instead of any video app API.

What language is meeting-light written in?

Mainly Python. The stack also includes Python, Windows, Home Assistant.

What license does meeting-light use?

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is meeting-light to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is meeting-light for?

Mainly general.

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