The last holdout
When I first set up ClawTutor, the Apple TV was the obvious target. Streaming is almost entirely online — block the DNS and the box is useless. Job done.
Gaming consoles are trickier. Both the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation use online services heavily — eShop, PSN, online multiplayer — but they also run a ton of content locally. Downloaded games, offline modes, local multiplayer. DNS blocking alone doesn't touch any of that.
So for a while, the consoles were on the network but outside ClawTutor's reach. Which, as any parent will tell you, the kids noticed immediately.
Step one: DNS control
Getting the consoles under Pi-hole was straightforward. Both the Switch and PlayStation let you set a custom DNS server in their network settings. Point it at the Pi, assign the device a static IP or match by MAC address, and Pi-hole can block or unblock it per child — same as any other device.
Once the DNS was in place, ClawTutor could do what it already does for the TV:
- 🎮 eShop and the PlayStation Store go dark when credits run out
- 🌐 Online multiplayer stops working — no internet, no matchmaking
- ✅ Credits earned → DNS unblocked → everything back online
This covers 80% of the use case. Online gaming is the main pull, and that's now gated behind earned screen time.
Step two: closing the offline loophole
The remaining 20% is local play. A downloaded Switch game or a offline PlayStation title doesn't need DNS at all — it runs entirely on the console. There's no network request to block.
"The console is off the internet, but the kids are still playing. DNS isn't enough here."
The fix is a smart plug. Plug the console into a controllable power socket, wire it to ClawTutor via the Home Assistant REST API (or directly via the plug's local API), and when screen time credits hit zero — the power goes off. No internet, no local play, no workarounds.
What's live now
As of today, both consoles are fully integrated in my home setup:
- 🕹️ Nintendo Switch — DNS controlled via Pi-hole, power via smart plug
- 🎮 PlayStation — same setup, same result
- 📺 Apple TV — still the primary target, unchanged
The kids figured out pretty fast that the consoles now have the same rules as the TV. That took approximately one evening of experimentation on their part and zero intervention on mine. The system handled it.
You can see the full device setup on the Oliver's Setup page.
What's next
Devices are mostly sorted now. The next focus is subjects — Geography is the obvious next tutor after Maths and English, and I want to add a proper exam prep mode before the school year gets serious.
If you're setting this up yourself and run into anything, open an issue on GitHub.
— Oliver, Feb 2026