rpi-rf-gpiod2 1.0.0

433 MHz RF transmitter/receiver for Raspberry Pi using gpiod (Pi 3/4/5)

rpi-rf-gpiod

Modern 433 MHz RF library for Raspberry Pi using gpiod — works on Pi 3B, 4, and 5.

Drop-in replacement for rpi-rf with:

• ✅ Pi 5 support (RP1 chip, /dev/gpiochip4)
• ✅ Kernel 6.12+ compatible (gpiod edge detection works where lgpio/RPi.GPIO don't)
• ✅ Interrupt-based RX (kernel edge events with nanosecond timestamps, ~0% CPU idle)
• ✅ No GIL contention between TX and RX
• ✅ No daemon required (unlike pigpio)

Installation

pip install rpi-rf-gpiod

Prerequisites: gpiod Python bindings (usually pre-installed on Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm):

sudo apt install python3-libgpiod

Quick Start

Send a code

from rpi_rf_gpiod import RFTransmitter

with RFTransmitter(gpio=17) as tx:
    tx.send(code=4539729, protocol=1, repeat=10)

Receive codes

from rpi_rf_gpiod import RFReceiver

def on_code(code, protocol, pulselength):
    print(f"Received: {code} (proto={protocol}, pl={pulselength}µs)")

with RFReceiver(gpio=16, callback=on_code) as rx:
    import time
    while True:
        time.sleep(1)

CLI Tools

# Send
rf_send 4539729 --gpio 17 --protocol 1 --repeat 10

# Receive
rf_receive --gpio 16

API Reference

RFTransmitter(gpio=17, chip=None)

Method	Description
enable()	Open GPIO and claim pin as output
disable()	Release GPIO resources
send(code, protocol=1, pulselength=None, repeat=10, length=24)	Transmit an RF code

RFReceiver(gpio=16, chip=None, callback=None)

Method	Description
enable()	Start edge detection
disable()	Stop and release GPIO
register_callback(cb)	Add a (code, proto, pl) -> None callback
unregister_callback(cb)	Remove a callback
set_tx_guard(duration=1.0)	Ignore codes for N seconds (anti self-reception)
clear_tx_guard(cooldown=0.5)	Resume receiving after TX
start_capture()	Begin buffering codes (for learn mode)
stop_capture()	Stop and return buffered [(code, proto, pl), ...]
get_capture_snapshot()	Get buffer copy without stopping

Supported Protocols

#	Pulse (µs)	Typical Use
1	350	PT2262, most common outlets
2	650	—
3	100	—
4	380	—
5	500	—
6	200	HT6P20B

Why not rpi-rf?

Feature	rpi-rf	rpi-rf-gpiod
GPIO backend	RPi.GPIO (unmaintained)	gpiod (active, kernel-supported)
Pi 5	❌	✅
RX method	GPIO.add_event_detect (broken 6.12+)	gpiod edge events (works on 6.12+)
CPU usage (RX idle)	~15% (polling workaround)	~0%
GIL contention	Yes (TX vs RX fight for GIL)	No (edge events are lightweight)

Why gpiod over lgpio?

Both lgpio and RPi.GPIO edge detection are broken on kernel 6.12+. We tested all available GPIO libraries on a Pi 1B+ with kernel 6.12.47:

Library	Edge Detection
lgpio 0.2.2	❌ Broken
RPi.GPIO	❌ Broken
gpiod 2.2	✅ Works
gpiozero 2.0	✅ Works (uses gpiod internally)
pigpio	✅ Works (requires daemon)

Hardware

Connect a 433 MHz transmitter/receiver module:

TX Module:          RX Module:
  VCC → 5V            VCC → 5V
  GND → GND           GND → GND
  DATA → GPIO 17      DATA → GPIO 16
  (+ antenna)         (+ antenna)

License

BSD 3-Clause. Based on protocol definitions from rc-switch and rpi-rf.