Tired of the same old smart buttons? Let’s explore the DIY world of custom Matter buttons and bring your unique ideas to life.

I was having coffee the other day and found myself staring at a beautiful, old-school toggle switch on a vintage lamp. I love the satisfying click it makes. And it got me thinking: why do our smart homes have to be filled with generic white plastic buttons? What if we could make any button, switch, or trigger smart? That’s the exciting idea behind creating custom Matter buttons, and it’s a conversation that’s bubbling up in DIY smart home circles.

The core idea is simple yet powerful: bridging the gap between simple, physical buttons and the sophisticated, unified Matter smart home ecosystem. Imagine a device, something like a “Matter GPIO board,” that acts as a central brain. You could connect any number of simple switches or buttons to it, and this brain would assign each one a unique identity within your Matter network.

This means that old-school toggle switch, a big red arcade button, or even a custom-built foot pedal could suddenly control your smart lights, music, or anything else in your home. It’s about taking the smarts we love and applying them to hardware that has character and fits our specific needs.

Why Bother with Custom Matter Buttons?

So, why would you want to go through the trouble? We have plenty of smart buttons on the market from major brands. But the DIY route offers a level of freedom and personalization that you just can’t buy off the shelf.

• Ultimate Personalization: You can use any button you can imagine. Want to launch your “Movie Night” scene by pressing a giant red panic button? You can do that. Want to integrate a beautiful brass light switch into your smart lighting setup? Totally possible.
• Consolidated Control: Instead of having five different smart buttons on a counter, you could build a single, elegant panel with multiple physical buttons, each triggering a different routine or device. Think of a dedicated control panel for your home office or kitchen.
• It Can Be Cost-Effective: A single microcontroller and a handful of buttons can be significantly cheaper than buying multiple name-brand smart buttons, especially if you need several triggers in one location.
• The Fun of DIY: For many of us, the satisfaction of building something ourselves is the biggest reward. It’s a great way to learn more about electronics and how your smart home actually works under the hood.

Making Your Own Custom Matter Buttons Today

While a simple, plug-and-play “Matter GPIO board” isn’t quite a mainstream product just yet, the tools to build your own are absolutely within reach for the determined hobbyist. The key is a powerful little piece of hardware called a microcontroller.

The most popular choice for this kind of project is the ESP32. It’s an inexpensive, versatile, and powerful chip with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. More importantly, it’s officially supported by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), the organization behind Matter. You can find extensive documentation and resources on their developer portal.

So, how do you get from a bare ESP32 chip to a functioning smart button?

1. The Hardware: You’ll need an ESP32 development board, the push-buttons or switches of your choice, and some simple jumper wires to connect them.
2. The Software (The Magic): This is where a platform like ESPHome comes in. ESPHome is an amazing open-source project that lets you configure your ESP32 using simple configuration files instead of complex code. As of September 3, 2025, ESPHome has integrated experimental support for Matter, which is exactly what we need. You can define a button in your configuration, link it to a specific GPIO pin on the ESP32, and tell ESPHome to expose it to your network as a Matter device. It dramatically lowers the barrier to entry. For anyone new to this, the ESPHome Getting Started guide is an excellent place to begin.

What’s Next for DIY Matter Devices?

The smart home world moves fast. While today it requires a bit of a DIY spirit, we’re on the cusp of seeing more accessible hardware for these kinds of projects. I fully expect to see more “Matter-native” development boards and kits hitting the market soon, designed specifically for hobbyists who want to create custom devices without a steep learning curve.

Until then, the path forward is clear for those of us who like to tinker. By combining a simple ESP32 with the power of ESPHome, the dream of creating custom Matter buttons is already a reality. It’s your chance to add a personal, tactile, and truly unique touch to your smart home. So go ahead, find a cool button and make it smart!