Community-powered acoustic intelligence for everyone.

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🔗 Quick Links

📊 Dashboard	dash.muteq.eu — Live noise monitoring & analytics
🌐 Website	muteq.eu — Learn more about MUTEq
💬 Discord	Join our community — Get help & share your builds
🔧 Build Your Own	DIY Guide — Start building your Mute Box

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🎯 What is mute?

mute is a lightweight USB noise monitoring client that connects your DIY Mute Box to the official MUTEq dashboard. It's the heart of the MUTEq acoustic intelligence platform.

Connect any supported USB sound meter to your Raspberry Pi or computer, run the mute client via Docker, and instantly get:

• 📈 Real-time noise level streaming to the cloud dashboard
• 🌤️ Weather data correlation (temperature, humidity, conditions)
• 🏠 Local Home Assistant integration via MQTT
• 📊 Advanced analytics, alerts, and reporting

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⚡ How It Works

┌─────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐
│  🎤 USB Sound   │ ──▶ │  🐳 mute client │ ──▶ │  ☁️  MUTEq      │ ──▶ │  📊 Dashboard   │
│     Meter       │     │    (Docker)     │     │    Backend      │     │  dash.muteq.eu  │
└─────────────────┘     └─────────────────┘     └─────────────────┘     └─────────────────┘
                                │
                                │ (optional)
                                ▼
                        ┌─────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐
                        │  📡 MQTT        │ ──▶ │  🏠 Home        │
                        │    Broker       │     │    Assistant    │
                        └─────────────────┘     └─────────────────┘

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🚀 Quick Start (Docker)

The recommended way to run mute is via Docker. No API keys, no tokens, no manual device IDs!

Prerequisites

1. ✅ A supported USB sound meter connected to your device
   → Search for "volume meter HY1361" on Aliexpress — this model is tested and will be detected automatically by the mute script

   
   this is what you are looking for on Aliexpress

2. ✅ Docker installed

3. ✅ A config directory on your host (e.g., /home/pi/mute-config)

Step 1: Run the Container

docker run -d \
  --name mute-client \
  --restart=unless-stopped \
  --device /dev/bus/usb:/dev/bus/usb \
  -v /path/to/config:/config \
  meaning/mute-client:latest

⚠️ Important: The -v /path/to/config:/config volume mount is required. This is where the client stores your device registration and onboarding state. Replace /path/to/config with a real path on your host (e.g., /home/pi/mute-config).

Step 2: Get the Onboarding URL

After starting the container, check the logs to find your unique onboarding link:

docker logs mute-client

You'll see something like:

🔗 [SUCCESS] Onboarding URL: https://api.muteq.eu/claim/my-muteq-sensor-XXXX

Step 3: Complete Onboarding

1. Click (or copy-paste) the onboarding URL into your browser
2. Enter your address — this is used to fetch local weather data
3. Click "Complete Setup"

That's it! The backend will:

• 🗺️ Geocode your address automatically
• 🆔 Assign your unique device ID
• 📡 Start receiving noise data from your Mute Box
• 📊 Show your device on the dashboard

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🏠 Optional: Home Assistant Integration (MQTT)

If you want to integrate with Home Assistant, add the MQTT environment variables:

docker run -d \
  --name mute-client \
  --restart=unless-stopped \
  --device /dev/bus/usb:/dev/bus/usb \
  -v /path/to/config:/config \
  -e LOCAL_MQTT_ENABLED=true \
  -e LOCAL_MQTT_SERVER=192.168.1.100 \
  -e LOCAL_MQTT_PORT=1883 \
  -e LOCAL_MQTT_USER=mqtt-user \
  -e LOCAL_MQTT_PASS=mqtt-pass \
  -e LOCAL_MQTT_TLS=false \
  meaning/mute-client:latest

💡 Note: MQTT is completely optional. Your Mute Box will work perfectly fine without it — data always streams to the cloud dashboard.

Environment Variables (All Optional)

Variable	Default	Description
LOCAL_MQTT_ENABLED	false	Enable MQTT publishing for Home Assistant
LOCAL_MQTT_SERVER	—	MQTT broker IP address
LOCAL_MQTT_PORT	1883	MQTT broker port
LOCAL_MQTT_USER	—	MQTT username
LOCAL_MQTT_PASS	—	MQTT password
LOCAL_MQTT_TLS	false	Enable TLS for MQTT connection

🚫 No other configuration is needed. There are no API keys, no tokens, no manual device IDs. Everything is automatic.

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🏠 Home Assistant Integration

mute supports MQTT auto-discovery for seamless Home Assistant integration. When MQTT is configured, your sensor will automatically appear in Home Assistant!

MQTT Topics

Topic	Description
muteq/<device_id>/noise/realtime	Current noise level in dB
muteq/<device_id>/noise/threshold	Threshold alert events
muteq/<device_id>/availability	Online/offline status

Example Home Assistant Automation

automation:
  - alias: "Alert when noise exceeds 85 dB"
    trigger:
      - platform: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.mute_box_noise_level
        above: 85
    action:
      - service: notify.mobile_app
        data:
          message: "⚠️ Noise level is {{ states('sensor.mute_box_noise_level') }} dB!"

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🎤 Supported USB Sound Meters

Vendor ID	Product ID	Description
0x16c0	0x05dc	Van Ooijen Technische Informatica HID meters
0x1a86	0x7523	Generic USB volume meter (common in DIY builds)

Have a different USB sound meter? Open an Issue to request support! Please include the vendor/product IDs.

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📊 Dashboard Features

Everything you need to understand your acoustic environment at dash.muteq.eu:

Real-time Metrics 📈 Live SPL — Sub-second updates 📊 Daily averages — Background level tracking 🔴 Peak detection — Catch the loudest moments 📉 Event counts — Threshold violations	Advanced Analytics 🎯 Quietness score — Quality of life metric 🌤️ Weather overlays — Correlate with conditions 📍 Sensor map — Geographic visualization 📋 Export reports — PDF/CSV for evidence
Visualization 📊 Event timeline — Spike charts 🥧 Noise distribution — dB range breakdown 📈 Stack & quietness — Stacked bar analysis 📉 Statistical summary — Median, std dev, peaks	For Municipalities 💰 Fine revenue calculator — Estimate enforcement potential 📋 Compliance reports — Regulatory documentation 🗺️ Multi-sensor networks — City-wide deployment

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🎯 Who Is It For?

🏠 Citizens Monitor noise in your neighborhood. Document disturbances. Take back your peace.	🏛️ Municipalities Deploy city-wide sensor networks. Make data-driven noise policies.	🎉 Event Organizers Stay compliant with noise limits. Real-time monitoring during events.
👮 Police & Enforcement Evidence-based enforcement. Timestamped data for legal proceedings.	🏢 Property Owners Document noise issues for tenant disputes. Monitor construction.	📋 Acoustic Consultants Professional-grade data at a fraction of the cost.

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🔧 Build Your Own Mute Box

100% Open Source · Free Dashboard Access · Works Instantly

Building your own Mute Box is easy and affordable. All you need is:

• A Raspberry Pi (or any Linux device)
• A supported USB sound meter
• Docker installed

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🔒 Privacy First

🚫🎤 No Audio Recordings	Only dB levels are captured. Never actual sound content.
👤 No Personal Data	No PII collected. Anonymous by design.
🇪🇺 GDPR Compliant	Built in Europe with privacy at its core.
🔐 Local-first Option	Use MQTT-only mode to keep data on your network.

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🤝 Contributing

We love contributions from the community! Here's how you can help:

• 🐛 Report bugs — Found an issue? Let us know!
• 💡 Suggest features — Have an idea? We're all ears.
• 🎤 Add USB devices — Help us support more sound meters.
• 📖 Improve docs — Documentation PRs are always welcome.
• 🌍 Translations — Help make mute accessible worldwide.

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👤 Author

Developed with ❤️ by Raphaël Vael

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📜 License

This project is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).

You are free to:

• ✅ Share — copy and redistribute the material
• ✅ Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material

Under the following terms:

• 📛 Attribution — You must give appropriate credit
• 🚫 NonCommercial — Commercial use requires explicit approval from the author

💡 Intellectual Property Notice: The MUTEq concept is registered with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP).

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MUTEq — Acoustic intelligence for everyone.

Open-source · Community-powered · Privacy-first

Dashboard • Website • Discord •

_{© 2024 Raphaël Vael · Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0}