fix(web): reject true and 5.5 for row_address_type and multiplexing

Both still went straight through int(), so a JSON true saved as 1 and 5.5
as 5. They now use the shared hardware range check like the other panel
fields. Review feedback on #586.

Also: the RP1 Backend tooltip said it is ignored on Pi 3/4 (it is ignored
on every model but the Pi 5), and the README gave the dynamic-duration
default cap as 90s; the code default is 180s.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

.gitignore

@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ __pycache__/
 
 # Secrets
 config/config_secrets.json
+# Atomic writes leave these behind when a save or a test is interrupted;
+# the suite drops several per run.
+config/.config_secrets.json.tmp.*
 config/config.json
 config/config.json.backup
 config/wifi_config.json
@@ -49,3 +52,40 @@ config/backups/
 # Starlark apps runtime storage (installed .star files and cached renders)
 /starlark-apps/
 skin_renders/
+
+# JS test deps (test/js)
+node_modules/
+package-lock.json
+
+# Team logos fetched at runtime.
+#
+# src/logo_downloader.py and LogoHelper write into assets/sports/<league>_logos/
+# whenever a plugin meets a team whose logo is not on disk. Those directories are
+# also tracked -- 209 NCAA logos and 153 soccer ones ship with the repo -- so
+# every rig accumulated untracked files it was never meant to commit and
+# `git status` was permanently dirty. That noise is not harmless: it trains
+# everyone to ignore the one signal that says a checkout is not what you think
+# it is, which is how a stale tree sat unnoticed on a rig until a restart
+# surfaced four dead sports plugins.
+#
+# Ignoring a directory does not untrack what is already in it, so the logos that
+# ship keep shipping. Only new downloads are hidden.
+#
+# Adding a logo on purpose is rare and deliberate -- the last time was #415, four
+# named NCAA logos a plugin needed, and there has been no other in a year. Do it
+# with an explicit override:
+#     git add -f assets/sports/ncaa_logos/DUKE.png
+assets/sports/*_logos/
+assets/stocks/ticker_icons/
+assets/stocks/crypto_icons/
+
+# Plugin operation state written at runtime.
+#
+# web_interface/app.py writes data/plugin_operations.json, data/plugin_state.json
+# and data/operation_history.json as the web interface runs, into a directory that
+# ships tracked (data/.gitkeep) and was otherwise unignored. So every rig that ever
+# opened the web UI -- and every test run that constructs the app -- left three
+# untracked files behind and a permanently dirty `git status`. Same reasoning as
+# the logo rule above: a checkout that is always dirty is a checkout nobody reads.
+data/*
+!data/.gitkeep

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -17,8 +17,311 @@ release that ships it.
 accepts both, but the store flags the old spelling as deprecated
 (`store_manager.py`) and only the new one is in `schema/manifest_schema.json`.
 
+## Unreleased
+
+New module a plugin may import via `src.*` (floor on the release that ships
+this):
+
+- `src/common/sports_helpers.py` — the helpers the scoreboards' `sports.py`
+  carry byte-identical copies of: `clamp_window`, `clamp_seconds`,
+  `logo_needs_refresh`, `spread_weighted_order` (+ `MIN_WINDOW_DAYS`,
+  `MAX_WINDOW_DAYS`), and `SportsHelpersMixin` with `_mode_customization`,
+  `_setting_int`, `_reset_dwell_on_reentry`, `_next_switch_index`,
+  `_spread_weighted_order`, `_odds_color`, `_upcoming_date_and_time_text` under
+  the plugins' names and signatures, plus the `_favorite_key` override point.
+  Constructor-free; keeps lazy state on its host (see the module docstring,
+  which also gives the host contract).
+  A new module rather than more methods on `sports_shared`: a plugin that
+  deletes a copy and leans on an older module having grown the method fails at
+  runtime with `AttributeError`, which no load-time check sees, while a missing
+  module fails at load. Nothing in core uses it yet.
+- `test/test_common_is_hardware_free.py` — `src/common` must import without
+  `rgbmatrix` and never import `src.base_classes`, `src.display_manager` or
+  `src.plugin_system` at module level.
+
+Web interface:
+
+- The plugin settings form honours `"x-display": "hidden"` in config schemas:
+  the property gets no control at any depth (top level, nested objects, array
+  rows, Advanced Settings), and saving the form never changes its stored value.
+  JSON API saves are unaffected. Lets plugins keep deprecated or internal keys
+  declared, e.g. countdown's row `id` and weather's `api_key` / `radar_zoom`.
+  See `docs/widget-guide.md`.
+- Display settings no longer silently cut values on save: columns were capped
+  at 128, chain length at 24 and PWM LSB nanoseconds at 500. Rows, columns and
+  chain length now have no upper limit (the current rgbmatrix library still
+  rejects more than 64 rows per panel); rows must be even and at least 8,
+  parallel is 1–3 and PWM dither bits 0–2, matching the library. A stored GPIO
+  slowdown, PWM dither bits or refresh-rate cap of 0 no longer shows (and
+  re-saves) as 3, 1 or 120, and the refresh cap accepts 0 (no cap). The config
+  API rejects out-of-range or non-integer `rows`, `cols`, `chain_length`,
+  `parallel`, `brightness`, `scan_mode`, `pwm_bits`, `pwm_dither_bits`,
+  `pwm_lsb_nanoseconds`, `limit_refresh_rate_hz`, `row_address_type`,
+  `multiplexing` and `gpio_slowdown` with a 400 (JSON `true` or `5.5` used to
+  save as 1 or 5) instead of saving a config the matrix refuses to start with.
+- Display setting help tips and README / config-reference entries corrected
+  and completed: `panel_type` and `rp1_rio` are documented,
+  `show_refresh_rate` prints to the console rather than drawing on the panel,
+  PWM dither bits raise the refresh rate rather than lowering it, and every
+  numeric setting states its range.
+- Row Address Type offers 5, the SM5368 / B707 row shift register. The
+  Waveshare 96x48 V2 panel (back silkscreen `24S-A1`) needs it with RGB
+  sequence BGR and, on a Pi 4, a GPIO slowdown of 6–8. Panels with FM6124
+  column drivers need no Panel Type. On a Pi 5 the library supports only row
+  address types 0 and 2.
+
+## 3.4.0
+
+Plugin-facing changes since 3.3.0 (tag `v3.3.1`) not covered further down:
+
+- `BasePlugin.get_update_interval()` (#555) — return seconds to override the
+  manifest's `update_interval` at runtime (e.g. poll fast only while a game is
+  live), or `None` to keep it. Clamped to at least 5 seconds; a raising or
+  non-numeric return is ignored. Called every scheduling tick, so keep it
+  cheap. Older cores never call it. See `docs/PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md`.
+- `src.common.scroll_config` (#523) — turns a plugin's scroll config into a
+  configured `ScrollHelper` in one place, replacing per-plugin resolution that
+  disagreed between tickers, and warns when a speed won't advance whole pixels
+  per panel refresh. Floor on 3.4.0 to import it.
+- **Skins are marked unsupported.** No current scoreboard plugin builds on
+  `src.base_classes`, so the skin hook (`SportsCore._render_game`) never runs.
+  The web UI no longer shows the Visual Skin dropdown, the store hides and
+  refuses `"type": "skin"` entries, and `GET /api/v3/skins` reports
+  `"supported": false`. Saved `skin` config values still load and save.
+  `src/skin_system/` is unchanged.
+- **Web preview size** now comes from `src/display_geometry.py`, the same
+  computation `DisplayManager` uses: double-sided setups preview one screen,
+  and a missing `chain_length` defaults to 2 everywhere (the Starlark magnify
+  default and the sync handshake used 1). The module is core-internal: plugins
+  keep reading `display_manager.width`/`height`.
+- `src.common.font_layout` (#539, #565) — `load_truetype()` is
+  `ImageFont.truetype` with the layout engine pinned, so text lays out the same
+  whether or not the host's Pillow was built with libraqm; `crisp_size()` and
+  `FONT_PIXEL_GRID` give the size a bundled face renders on whole pixels at
+  (`sports_card` still re-exports them); `resolve_asset_path()` resolves
+  `assets/fonts/...` against the install root, not the working directory.
+  Floor on 3.4.0 to import it. Relatedly, `DisplayManager` now draws text
+  1-bit (#521), so golden images recorded against 3.3.x may need regenerating.
+
+### Install and updates
+
+**Weekly automatic updates (#581), off by default.** Switching on
+*Automatically check for and install updates once a week* on the General tab
+(or `first_time_install.sh --enable-auto-update` / `LEDMATRIX_AUTO_UPDATE=1`)
+updates the core and then every installed plugin once a week, preferably 2–5 AM
+local time. It follows the branch the checkout tracks — `main` on a standard
+install — so a device gets whatever has merged there, not only tagged releases.
+See `docs/WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md`.
+
+- The core step is skipped, with the reason shown, when the checkout has local
+  edits or commits, a rebase or merge is in progress, the branch has no
+  upstream, less than 300 MB is free, or that commit was already rolled back.
+- After pulling, `ledmatrix-update-verify.service` restarts the services and
+  requires the web interface to answer and the display to stay up. If they
+  don't, or the new requirements fail to install, it resets to the previous
+  commit, reinstalls its requirements and restarts again. Anything but success
+  shows under the toggle and as a banner on Overview.
+- Plugins update through the Plugin Store even when the core step is skipped,
+  fails or is rolled back. A plugin version whose `ledmatrix_min_version` is
+  above the device's core is held back, not installed. When the core did
+  update, plugins wait for its health check, and are left alone if that check
+  never reports or the rollback fails.
+- No SSH is needed: switching the toggle on restarts the display service, which
+  installs the health-check units (`src/auto_update_setup.py`, core-internal
+  and not a plugin API).
+
+Installer and service fixes:
+
+- rgbmatrix builds on ARMv6 boards (Pi Zero, Pi 1); an existing checkout is
+  moved forward to the new pin and no longer left root-owned (#577).
+- `first_time_install.sh` grants the web user `safe_pip_install.sh`, as
+  `configure_web_sudo.sh` already did, so plugin requirements install where
+  the display service can see them (#579).
+- The web interface starts when `web_display_autostart` is missing or
+  `config.json` is unreadable; only an explicit `false` keeps it down (#556).
+- Installers render every systemd unit from its `systemd/` template, so the
+  boot-time unit-drift warning can clear, non-root installs included (#547).
+
+### Scrolling
+
+- **Frame pacing (#523).** The loop waits only for the rest of each panel
+  refresh instead of a flat 8 ms: 44–46 fps → 100 fps, and slow frames 14% →
+  0.02%, on a 2×128×64 chain. Sub-pixel blending is off by default again (it
+  shimmered on pixel fonts; Vegas mode still opts in).
+- **Whole-pixel steps (#545).** At a speed `scroll_config` can render in whole
+  pixels, every frame advances by exactly the same amount, removing about six
+  hitches a second. A loop that can't keep up now scrolls slightly slow rather
+  than jumping.
+- The eight sports scoreboards scroll through `scroll_config` too (#542): the
+  default 50 px/s holds each frame for two refreshes instead of alternating
+  0 px and 1 px steps.
+- **Frame stats ignore the pause between scrolls (#582).** The `Scroll frame
+  stats` log line counted the idle wait before each scroll as one frame,
+  inflating `max` and the stall rate. `docs/SCROLL_PERFORMANCE.md` now
+  describes the line actually logged.
+
+### Plugins
+
+- `FontManager` registers the bundled `tom_thumb` font, so plugins no longer
+  need a private loader (#534).
+- The test harness's `set_scrolling_state()` accepts `frame_hold`, as
+  `DisplayManager`'s does (#534).
+- A `display()` with nothing to draw should return `False`, the only value the
+  controller skips on; starlark-apps now does, rather than holding a black
+  panel (#534).
+- Starlark apps may set `render_width`/`render_height` in their `config.json`
+  to render at their own canvas size instead of Pixlet's 64×32 (#552).
+- `scripts/render_plugin.py --display-mode <mode>` renders one mode of a
+  multi-mode plugin; scoreboards previously rendered blank (#522).
+- Scoreboards resolve their own directory under the real plugin loader
+  (declare `_PLUGIN_DIR`), so 4x6 text snaps to its 7px grid instead of
+  rendering a pixel narrow, and an unreadable schema is logged (#519, #520).
+  `DisplayManager` loads 4x6 on that grid too (#565).
+- The 5x7 BDF face reports a real height, so rows stacked by
+  `get_font_height()` no longer overlap (#539).
+- `LogoHelper` remembers a missing logo instead of warning every rotation
+  (#548), and the decoded sports logo cache is bounded (#559).
+
+### Web interface
+
+- Installed Plugins has search, All / Enabled / Disabled / Updates filters and
+  sort (#540).
+- Hardened and polished per the September 2026 audit (#568): utility classes
+  such as `.hidden` actually exist, focus rings, labels and modal focus
+  trapping, dark theme throughout, no overflow at phone width, and background
+  streams pause when hidden, with first-load JS/CSS down from 1358 KB to 291 KB.
+- WiFi Connect works from the LEDMatrix-Setup hotspot: the page is answered
+  before the hotspot drops, and reopening it shows why an attempt failed (#571).
+- Pixlet install, the Starlark app store and app toggles work again (#535,
+  #537); the store uses the configured GitHub token and reports a rate limit
+  instead of drawing a blank grid (#541).
+- Plugin config: geochron and news saves no longer always fail (#575), the page
+  survives stored values the schema outgrew (#578), the form uses the full page
+  height (#573), and file-manager widgets show the script's error (#574).
+- The live status stream reports real disk usage and available memory (#558);
+  a system action refused for want of passwordless sudo says so and names
+  `configure_web_sudo.sh` (#560).
+
+### Tools and security
+
+- **CodeQL triage (#561):** 129 of 134 alerts fixed. Three were exploitable
+  path-handling flaws in the web interface and are closed; web UI escapers now
+  escape quotes, and URL fields refuse script schemes. Path checks share
+  `src/common/path_safety.py` (core-internal).
+- **Home Assistant MQTT bridge** (`integrations/mqtt_bridge`, #538): mode
+  select, stop, power and brightness over MQTT Discovery.
+- **Tools tab** manages the MQTT bridge and the Pixlet editor (#554); the
+  editor stays on loopback when `PIXLET_EDITOR_HOST` says so.
+
+### Fixes
+
+- Updating a plugin whose directory is named for its manifest id (leaderboard,
+  music, stocks, weather) silently did nothing (#536).
+- Plugin reconciliation no longer reports working plugins as stale or replaces
+  their config with a stub, and the Overview banner advises each case correctly
+  (#557).
+- Two config saves in the same second no longer share one backup, so rollback
+  restores the version asked for (#564).
+- On-demand: a second request is honoured without a restart (#534), a pinned
+  request stays on its mode, and restarting mid-session loads every plugin
+  again (#538).
+- `/health` and `/display/current` report real state, and the preview no longer
+  freezes on a leftover snapshot temp file (#534).
+
+### Per-element display customization
+
+**Per-element display customization, and the last mile of it into the web UI.**
+A user can set the font, size, colour, position, visibility and alignment of
+individual display elements per plugin -- and, where a plugin has display
+modes, separately per mode.
+
+New public API a plugin may import via `src.*` (floor on the release that
+ships this):
+
+- `src.element_style.layout_offset(config, element, axis, default, mode)` and
+  `element_color(config, element, default, mode)` — the stateless reads the
+  scoreboard helpers share. There were three copies of the offset read and two
+  of the colour read; these are the one implementation, and they carry the
+  element-name aliasing and the per-mode lookup.
+- `src.element_style.alias_keys(element)` — the names one element may be stored
+  under. The style block names elements `score_text` while the layout block
+  says `score`, and `records`/`record` and `status_text`/`status` split seven
+  to two across the published schemas. A lookup tries the exact name first, so
+  this is inert for a config that already matches.
+- `src.element_style.element_visible(config, element, default, mode)`,
+  `element_align(...)` and `element_scale(...)` — the stateless reads for the
+  three knobs the resolver already understood but no draw path consumed, so an
+  element could be marked hidden in the web UI and still render.
+- `SportsCoreSharedMixin._draw_text_with_outline(..., element="score_text")` —
+  naming the element resolves its colour by name and honours its visibility
+  toggle. Without a name the colour is inferred from font-object identity,
+  which cannot separate two elements sharing a face; that is the case every
+  bitmap font is in, because a `freetype.Face` cannot be re-instantiated, and
+  it is how a BDF-rendered element silently lost a configured colour. Shared
+  faces now resolve when exactly one sharer has a colour set.
+- `LogoHelper.load_logo(..., scale=)` — applies a user's image scale, and keys
+  the cache on the scaled box so two elements scaled differently cannot be
+  served each other's image.
+- `src.element_style.native_bdf_size(font)` — the one pixel size a bitmap font
+  can render at, or None for a scalable one. The web UI needs this to know
+  whether a size control can take effect at all.
+- `ElementStyleResolver(config, defaults, mode=...)` plus `visible`, `align`
+  and `scale` on `ElementStyle`. The mode binds to the resolver rather than
+  being passed per call, so a plugin with one instance per mode makes every
+  existing lookup mode-aware by setting one class attribute.
+- `BasePlugin.styles` / `styles_for(mode)` / `STYLE_MODE` — the accessor every
+  plugin inherits, so adopting this is no longer a guarded import plus schema
+  discovery plus resolver invalidation in each plugin.
+- `SportsCoreSharedMixin._get_layout_offset` — promoted from the plugins'
+  bundled copies. Each still carries its own, which wins by MRO, so adopting
+  it is a deletion.
+
+Schema and web UI:
+
+- A `customization` block is now rendered by a composite style editor: one row
+  per element rather than nested accordions, with a tab per declared mode.
+  Plugins that hand-wrote their style blocks get it without a plugin release;
+  `x-style-elements` and `x-style-modes` declare it compactly.
+- Font fields become a real picker rather than a hardcoded `enum`, so a font
+  the user uploads is selectable. Bitmap fonts taller than the element's
+  declared size ceiling are filtered out, because a bitmap font ignores
+  `font_size` and renders at its own size.
+- `/static/plugin-widgets/<plugin>/<widget>.js` serves a plugin's own web-UI
+  widgets. The client half and the docs already existed; nothing served them.
+
+Fixed:
+
+- A bitmap font asked for a size it has no strike for fell back to
+  *PressStart2P* — a different typeface — rather than to its own native size.
+  32 of the 35 shipped fonts are bitmap, so this was reachable for most font
+  choices.
+- The plugin config form read `config_schema.json` directly while the save
+  route read it through `SchemaManager`. Only the latter expands a compact
+  `x-style-elements` declaration, so a plugin using that form had a
+  customization section that rendered as empty space.
+- `unshare_element_fonts` rebuilt faces through bare `ImageFont.truetype`,
+  bypassing the layout engine `src/common/font_layout.py` pins. These were the
+  only two call sites in `src/` doing so.
+- The form parser compared a schema type to a bare string, so a nullable field
+  (`["array", "null"]`) never had its indexed colour inputs recombined, and a
+  blank one became `[]` rather than null.
+
+Removed:
+
+- The Fonts tab's "Element Font Overrides" panel and its three endpoints. They
+  reported success and saved nothing, and the element keys the panel offered
+  (`nfl.live.score`, `clock.time`) are read by no plugin, so wiring them to the
+  real `FontManager` methods would still have changed nothing on the panel.
+  Per-element font choice now lives in each plugin's own config editor.
+- "Detected Manager Fonts", which listed every installed font with a hardcoded
+  usage count.
+- Two dead client-side config-form renderers in `app-shell.js` (~580 lines) and
+  the legacy `plugins/config_manager.js`, superseded by server-side rendering.
+
 ## 3.3.0
 
+Historical note: tags `v3.3.0` and `v3.3.1` both report `__version__` "3.3.0" and both ship `src/common/sports_shared.py`, so a "3.3.0" floor always means a core with `sports_shared`.
+
 **The release the sports scoreboards floor on to delete their bundled copies.**
 3.2.0 shipped the unified sports library and made `ledmatrix_min_version`
 enforceable; this ships the last three shared modules and completes the store

CLAUDE.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 - `config/config.json` — User plugin configuration (persists across plugin reinstalls)
 - `plugin-repos/` — **Default** plugin install directory used by the
   Plugin Store, set by `plugin_system.plugins_directory` in
-  `config.json` (default per `config/config.template.json:167`).
+  `config.json` (default per `config/config.template.json`).
   Not gitignored.
 - `plugins/` — Legacy/dev plugin location. Gitignored (`plugins/*`).
   Used by `scripts/dev/dev_plugin_setup.sh` for symlinks. The plugin
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 - Each plugin needs: `manifest.json`, `config_schema.json`, `manager.py`, `requirements.txt`
 - Plugin instantiation args: `plugin_id, config, display_manager, cache_manager, plugin_manager`
 - Config schemas use JSON Schema Draft-7
-- Display dimensions: always read dynamically from `self.display_manager.matrix.width/height`
+- Display dimensions: always read dynamically from `self.display_manager.width/height` — not `display_manager.matrix.width/height`, because `matrix` is `None` when hardware init fails (the properties fall back to the canvas size)
 - Secrets: namespaced by plugin id in `config/config_secrets.json`, declared
   via `"x-secret": true` in the plugin's config schema, and deep-merged into
   the plugin's config dict at load time — plugins read them with plain
@@ -45,9 +45,12 @@
 - Plugin configs stored in `config/config.json`, NOT in plugin directories — safe across reinstalls
 - Third-party plugins can use their own repo URL with empty `plugin_path`
 
-## Skin System (visual overlays for sports scoreboards)
+## Skin System (visual overlays for sports scoreboards) — NOT SUPPORTED YET
+- Skins do not render with the current scoreboard plugins: the only hook is `SportsCore._render_game()` in `src/base_classes/sports/core.py`, and no current scoreboard plugin (monorepo or third-party registry) builds on `src.base_classes`
+- So core doesn't offer them: no Visual Skin dropdown (`get_plugin_schema` skips `inject_skin_selector`), the store hides/refuses `"type": "skin"` entries, `GET /api/v3/skins` reports `"supported": false`. Switch: `SKINS_RENDER_SUPPORTED` in `src/skin_system/__init__.py`
+- Stored `skin` / `skin_options` config values must keep loading and saving (base schema allows them; form saves deep-merge over the stored section)
 - Skins live in `skins/<skin-id>/` (skin.json + skin.py), NOT in plugin dirs — plugin reinstall deletes plugin dirs
-- Core: `src/skin_system/` (ScoreboardSkin, SkinContext, runtime); hook: `SportsCore._render_game()` in `src/base_classes/sports/core.py`
+- Core: `src/skin_system/` (ScoreboardSkin, SkinContext, runtime); keep it and its tests
 - Skins render onto `ctx.canvas` only; fallback to built-in renderer on `False`/exception (3 strikes disables for session)
 - View-model guaranteed keys are frozen (see `test/test_skin_system.py::TestViewModelContract`) — renaming keys in `_extract_game_details_common` or sport extractors breaks published skins
 - Validate skins headlessly: `python scripts/validate_skin.py --skin <id>`; docs: `docs/SKIN_SYSTEM.md`, `docs/CREATING_SKINS.md`

PRODUCT.md

@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+# Product
+
+<!-- impeccable:product-schema 1 -->
+
+## Platform
+
+web
+
+## Users
+
+Designed novice-first, with power tools kept within reach.
+
+- **Primary: hobbyist builders.** People who assembled an LED matrix panel on a Raspberry Pi, often by following the install video, and are frequently new to Linux and the Pi. They set the display up once (panel size, timezone, WiFi), install and enable a few plugins, then come back occasionally to tweak what the panel shows. They usually reach the control panel from a phone or laptop on their home network, sometimes as an installed home-screen app.
+- **Secondary: tinkerers and plugin developers.** Comfortable with SSH, `config.json`, and GitHub. They lean on the Config Editor, Logs, Cache, Operation History, Tools, GitHub-repo installs, and per-plugin config while building or debugging. Their tools must stay reachable without sitting in the novice's path.
+
+## Product Purpose
+
+LEDMatrix turns a Raspberry Pi and an RGB LED matrix panel into an information-rich display (clock, weather, calendar, sports scores, stocks, music, and more) through a plugin platform. The web control panel ("LED Matrix Control") is where the display gets configured, extended, and kept healthy.
+
+Success means a builder gets from a freshly flashed Pi to a working, personalized display without needing a terminal, and can keep it running (updates, recovery, troubleshooting) the same way.
+
+## Positioning
+
+Four strengths define LEDMatrix, and future work must protect all of them:
+
+1. **Plugin ecosystem.** The core ships only `starlark-apps` and `web-ui-info`; everything else comes from the built-in Plugin Store (the official `ledmatrix-plugins` monorepo), third-party GitHub repos, or Starlark (Tidbyt-style) apps. Each installed plugin gets its own configuration tab, generated from its schema.
+2. **Runs on tiny Pis.** The UI is served by the same device that drives the matrix, on boards as small as the Pi Zero 2 W (512 MB), Pi 3/3B+, and the 1 GB Pi 4.
+3. **Recovers without SSH.** WiFi access-point fallback with a captive setup page, backup & restore, in-UI updates, live logs, diagnostics, service control, and plugin health let users fix problems from the browser.
+4. **Open and community-led.** GPL-3.0, a Discord community, and contributions welcome. The maintainer (ChuckBuilds) builds in public and openly relies on AI development tools.
+
+## Operating Context
+
+- **Access.** Served on the local network at `http://<pi-ip>:5000` by the `ledmatrix-web` service. It is installable as a PWA (`web_interface/static/v3/manifest.json`, short name "LEDMatrix").
+- **First run.** When the Pi has no network it creates its own WiFi access point, so the captive setup page (`templates/v3/captive_setup.html`) may be the very first screen a user sees, on a phone, with no internet connection.
+- **Navigation.**
+  - System tabs: Overview, General, WiFi, Schedule, Display, Rotation, Config Editor, Backup & Restore, Fonts, Logs, Cache, Operation History, Tools.
+  - A second row holds Plugin Manager (with the Plugin Store), Starlark Apps, and one tab per installed plugin.
+- **Live data.** The Overview shows system stats (CPU, memory, temperature, power/throttling) and a live display preview, streamed over SSE.
+- **Getting Started checklist.** The Overview's first-run checklist runs: set panel size → set timezone → install a plugin → enable it → configure it.
+- **Development.** `python3 scripts/dev_server.py` gives a browser preview without the display loop; `python3 run.py -e` runs the full display in emulator mode.
+
+## Capabilities and Constraints
+
+- **Hard constraint: plugin UI compatibility.** Third-party plugins rely on JSON Schema (Draft-7) generated config forms, the widget registry (`static/v3/js/widgets/`), `x-secret` fields, and plugin web-UI actions. UI changes must keep these working.
+- **Config storage.** Plugin configuration lives in `config/config.json` and secrets in `config/config_secrets.json`, never in plugin directories, so configs survive reinstalls.
+- **Stack.** An existing Flask + HTMX + Alpine.js app with Jinja templates (`web_interface/templates/v3/`) and static JS/CSS (`web_interface/static/v3/`), with self-hosted vendor assets.
+- **Terminology.** Plugin, Plugin Store, Starlark app, rotation, display duration, Vegas Scroll Mode, skin, on-demand, AP mode.
+- **Open decisions** (offered during init, not adopted as constraints):
+  - Whether the UI must work fully offline, with no CDN fallbacks at runtime.
+  - Whether a Node/CSS build step is acceptable for contributors.
+  - Whether a formal accessibility standard (e.g. WCAG 2.2 AA) is a requirement.
+
+## Brand Commitments
+
+- **Names.** The product is "LEDMatrix" and the web UI is titled "LED Matrix Control". The maintainer brand is ChuckBuilds.
+- **Voice.** Friendly, honest, and learning-in-public, as in the README.
+- **App icons.** They live in `web_interface/static/v3/icons/`.
+
+No other visual identity has been made binding.
+
+## Evidence on Hand
+
+- **Photos.** Real photographs of running displays are linked in `README.md` (clock, weather, calendar, NHL/MLB/NFL/NCAA, stocks, music).
+- **Video.** YouTube install and walkthrough videos from ChuckBuilds.
+- **Docs.** Extensive documentation in `docs/`, e.g. `WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md`, `GETTING_STARTED.md`, `WIFI_NETWORK_SETUP.md`, `LOW_MEMORY_BOARDS.md`, `PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md`.
+- **Absences.** There are no testimonials, user counts, or benchmark figures. Do not fabricate them.
+
+## Product Principles
+
+1. **Novice path first, power one click away.** Default views serve the first-time builder, while advanced tools stay discoverable for tinkerers.
+2. **Never strand the user at a terminal.** Every setup, recovery, and troubleshooting task has a browser path, including from the AP-mode captive page.
+3. **Respect the Pi.** Every feature is paid for in memory and CPU on a Pi Zero 2 W that is also driving the display.
+4. **The ecosystem is the product.** Plugins, including third-party ones, must feel first-class and keep working across core UI changes.
+5. **Honest and welcoming.** Plain language, truthful status, and no overstated claims, in keeping with an open, community-built project.

README.md

@@ -463,13 +463,12 @@ For plugin development, check out the [Hello World Plugin](https://github.com/Ch
 
 ### Visual Skins for Scoreboards
 
-Want a different look for a sports scoreboard without forking the plugin?
-**Skins** restyle the live/recent/upcoming screens while the plugin keeps
-handling data, scheduling, caching, and vegas mode. Install one with
-`git clone <skin repo> skins/<skin-id>`, select it in the plugin's config,
-and you're done — see [docs/SKIN_SYSTEM.md](docs/SKIN_SYSTEM.md) (how it
-works) and [docs/CREATING_SKINS.md](docs/CREATING_SKINS.md) (build your own,
-including a ready-made Claude Code prompt).
+**Not supported yet.** Skins are meant to restyle a sports scoreboard's
+live/recent/upcoming screens without forking the plugin, but the current
+scoreboard plugins don't render them: a selected skin has no effect. The web
+UI doesn't offer skin install or selection for that reason. The skin system
+and its docs stay in place for when scoreboards adopt it; see
+[docs/SKIN_SYSTEM.md](docs/SKIN_SYSTEM.md) for why.
 
 2. **Built-in Managers Deprecated**: The built-in managers (hockey, football, stocks, etc.) are now deprecated and have been moved to the plugin system. **You must install replacement plugins from the Plugin Store** in the web interface instead. The plugin system provides the same functionality with better maintainability and extensibility.
 </details>
@@ -495,15 +494,20 @@ These settings control the physical hardware configuration and how the matrix is
 - **`rows`** (integer, default: 32)
   - Number of LED rows (vertical pixels) in each panel
   - Common values: 16, 32, 48, 64
+  - Must be an even number, at least 8. LEDMatrix sets no upper limit, but the
+    current rgbmatrix library rejects more than 64 rows per panel — the display
+    then won't start (see Troubleshooting Display Settings below)
   - Must match your physical panel configuration
 
 - **`cols`** (integer, default: 64)
   - Number of LED columns (horizontal pixels) in each panel
   - Common values: 32, 64, 96, 128
+  - At least 16, with no upper limit
   - Must match your physical panel configuration
 
 - **`chain_length`** (integer, default: 2)
   - Number of LED panels chained together horizontally
+  - At least 1, with no upper limit; longer chains lower the refresh rate
   - If you have 2 panels side-by-side, set to 2
   - If you have 4 panels in a row, set to 4
   - Total display width = `cols × chain_length`
@@ -512,13 +516,14 @@ These settings control the physical hardware configuration and how the matrix is
   - Number of parallel chains (panels stacked vertically)
   - Use 1 for a single row of panels
   - Use 2 if you have panels stacked in two rows
+  - 1–3 on a Raspberry Pi, and the HAT needs that many outputs
   - Total display height = `rows × parallel`
 
 #### Brightness and Visual Settings
 
-- **`brightness`** (integer, 0-100, default: 90)
+- **`brightness`** (integer, 1-100, default: 90)
   - Display brightness level
-  - Lower values (0-50) are dimmer, higher values (50-100) are brighter
+  - Lower values (1-50) are dimmer, higher values (50-100) are brighter
   - Recommended: 70-90 for indoor use, 90-100 for bright environments
   - Very high brightness may cause distortion or require more power
 
@@ -528,52 +533,52 @@ These settings control the physical hardware configuration and how the matrix is
   - Specifies which GPIO pin mapping to use for your hardware
   - **`"adafruit-hat-pwm"`**: Use this for Adafruit RGB Matrix Bonnet/HAT WITH the jumper mod (PWM enabled). This is the recommended setting for Adafruit hardware with the PWM jumper soldered.
   - **`"adafruit-hat"`**: Use this for Adafruit RGB Matrix Bonnet/HAT WITHOUT the jumper mod (no PWM). Remove `-pwm` from the value if you did not solder the jumper.
-  - **`"regular"`**: Standard GPIO pin mapping for direct GPIO connections (Generic)
+  - **`"regular"`**: Standard GPIO pin mapping for direct GPIO connections (Generic). Also the right choice for the Adafruit Triple LED Matrix Bonnet
   - **`"regular-pi1"`**: Standard GPIO pin mapping for Raspberry Pi 1 (older hardware or non-standard hat mapping)
   - Choose the option that matches your specific hardware setup, if aren't sure try them all.
+  - Hardware pulsing (see `disable_hardware_pulsing`) needs the panel's OE line on GPIO 18, which `adafruit-hat-pwm` and `regular` provide and `adafruit-hat` does not
 
 #### PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) Settings
 
 These settings affect color fidelity and smoothness of color transitions:
 
-- **`pwm_bits`** (integer, default: 9)
-  - Number of bits used for PWM (affects color depth)
-  - Higher values (9-11) = more color levels, smoother gradients
-  - Lower values (7-8) = fewer color levels, but may improve stability on some hardware
-  - Range: 1-11, recommended: 9-10
+- **`pwm_bits`** (integer, 1-11, default: 9)
+  - Color depth per channel: how many brightness levels each LED gets
+  - Higher values (9-11) = more color levels, smoother gradients, lower refresh rate
+  - Lower values (7-8) = the subtlest shades are dropped for a higher refresh rate; `1` gives 8 colors
+  - Recommended: 9-10
 
-- **`pwm_dither_bits`** (integer, default: 1)
-  - Additional dithering bits for smoother color transitions
-  - Helps reduce color banding in gradients
-  - Higher values (1-2) = smoother gradients but may impact performance
-  - Range: 0-2, recommended: 1
+- **`pwm_dither_bits`** (integer, 0-2, default: 1)
+  - Time-dithers the lowest color bits: their brightness comes from showing them on only some frames
+  - Raises the refresh rate; the cost is that dark shades can shimmer slightly
+  - `0` = steadiest dim colors, `2` = fastest
+  - The rgbmatrix library accepts only 0-2; a higher value stops the display starting
 
-- **`pwm_lsb_nanoseconds`** (integer, default: 130)
-  - Least significant bit timing in nanoseconds
-  - Controls the base timing for PWM signals
-  - Lower values = faster PWM, higher values = slower PWM
+- **`pwm_lsb_nanoseconds`** (integer, 50-3000, default: 130)
+  - On-time of the least significant color bit; each higher bit doubles it
+  - Lower values = higher refresh rate, but can cost color accuracy or add ghosting on some panels
+  - Higher values = less ghosting (faint trails behind bright text on black), lower refresh rate
   - Typical range: 100-300 nanoseconds
-  - May need adjustment if you see flickering or color issues
 
 #### Advanced Hardware Settings
 
-- **`scan_mode`** (integer, default: 0)
-  - Panel scan mode (how rows are addressed)
-  - Common values: 0 (progressive), 1 (interlaced)
-  - Most panels use 0, but some require 1
-  - Check your panel datasheet if colors appear incorrect
+- **`scan_mode`** (integer, 0-1, default: 0)
+  - Order the rows are refreshed in: `0` = progressive, `1` = interlaced
+  - Interlaced can look a little smoother when the refresh rate is very low, but usually shows a comb effect on anything moving
+  - Leave at `0` unless you are tuning a slow setup
 
 - **`limit_refresh_rate_hz`** (integer, default: 100)
-  - Maximum refresh rate in Hz (frames per second)
-  - Caps the refresh rate for better stability
-  - Lower values (60-80) = more stable, less CPU usage
-  - Higher values (100-120) = smoother animations, more CPU usage
-  - Recommended: 80-100 for most setups
+  - Caps the panel refresh rate in Hz; `0` = no cap
+  - A steady cap reduces flicker caused by other activity on the Pi, and in camera recordings
+  - Scroll speeds are worked out against this value (against 100 Hz when it is `0`), so a cap the panel can actually hold keeps scrolling even
+  - If the key is missing from the config, `DisplayManager` uses 90
+  - Recommended: 80-120. `sudo python3 scripts/scroll_speeds.py --measure` reports the rate your panel really achieves
 
 - **`disable_hardware_pulsing`** (boolean, default: false)
-  - Disables hardware pulsing (usually leave as false)
-  - Set to `true` only if you experience timing issues
-  - Most users should leave this as `false`
+  - `false` = the Pi's hardware PWM times each brightness pulse; `true` = software timing
+  - Leave `false` where possible. Software timing is less exact, so a row, or the whole panel, can briefly flash brighter
+  - Hardware pulsing needs the panel's OE line on GPIO 18 (`adafruit-hat-pwm`, `regular`, the Adafruit Triple LED Matrix Bonnet). With `adafruit-hat` the library uses software timing anyway
+  - It also needs the Pi's onboard sound driver (`snd_bcm2835`) disabled, which `first_time_install.sh` does. Set `true` only if you need the Pi's own audio
 
 - **`inverse_colors`** (boolean, default: false)
   - Inverts all colors (red becomes cyan, etc.)
@@ -581,9 +586,9 @@ These settings affect color fidelity and smoothness of color transitions:
   - Set to `true` only if colors appear inverted
 
 - **`show_refresh_rate`** (boolean, default: false)
-  - Displays the current refresh rate on the matrix (for debugging)
-  - Set to `true` to see FPS on the display
-  - Useful for troubleshooting performance issues
+  - Prints the live refresh rate to the console; nothing is drawn on the panel
+  - Readable when you stop the service and run `sudo python3 run.py` in a terminal; under the service the output is buffered
+  - `sudo python3 scripts/scroll_speeds.py --measure` is an easier way to see the real refresh rate
 
 #### Advanced Panel Configuration (Advanced Users Only)
 
@@ -593,6 +598,7 @@ These settings are typically only needed for non-standard panels or custom confi
   - Color channel order for your LED panel
   - Common values: "RGB", "RBG", "GRB", "GBR", "BRG", "BGR"
   - Most panels use "RGB", but some use "GRB" or other orders
+  - If red shows as blue, try "BGR" (the Waveshare 96x48 V2 needs it)
   - Check your panel datasheet if colors appear wrong
 
 - **`pixel_mapper_config`** (string, default: "")
@@ -613,29 +619,56 @@ These settings are typically only needed for non-standard panels or custom confi
 - **`row_address_type`** (integer, default: 0)
   - How rows are addressed on the panel
   - Most panels use 0 (direct addressing)
-  - Some panels require 1 (AB addressing) or 2 (ABC addressing)
+  - 1 = AB-addressed, 2 = direct row select, 3 = ABC-addressed,
+    4 = ABC shift + DE direct (SM5266), 5 = SM5368 / B707 row shift register
+  - ABC panels (no E line, e.g. many 128x64 FM6124 panels) use 3
+  - Panels with SM5368 row drivers use 5 with `led_rgb_sequence` `"BGR"` —
+    e.g. the Waveshare 96x48 V2 (back silkscreen `24S-A1`; the V1, `24S-A2.1`,
+    uses the defaults). This is what Waveshare's `96X48_1_24_SM5368` panel
+    type sets in their library fork.
+  - SM5368 row drivers are timing-sensitive: if rows jump up and down or the
+    bottom row shows a copy of other rows, raise `gpio_slowdown`. On a Pi 4
+    with an Adafruit Triple LED Matrix Bonnet, 4 left rows jumping; 6–8 gave a
+    stable image.
+  - On a Raspberry Pi 5 the rgbmatrix library currently supports only 0 and 2
   - Check your panel datasheet if display appears corrupted
 
-- **`multiplexing`** (integer, default: 0)
-  - Panel multiplexing type
-  - 0 = no multiplexing (standard panels)
-  - Higher values for panels with different multiplexing schemes
-  - Check your panel datasheet for the correct value
+- **`multiplexing`** (integer, 0-22, default: 0)
+  - How pixels are wired on outdoor/specialty panels (P10, P8, P4 and P3 outdoor modules and similar) whose LEDs aren't laid out in straight rows
+  - `0` = direct (standard indoor panels)
+  - `1` Stripe, `2` Checkered, `3` Spiral, `4` ZStripe, `5` ZnMirrorZStripe,
+    `6` Coreman, `7` Kaler2Scan, `8` ZStripeUneven, `9` P10-128x4-Z,
+    `10` QiangLiQ8, `11` InversedZStripe, `12`–`14` P10Outdoor1R1G1B v1–v3,
+    `15` P10CoremanMapper, `16` P8Outdoor1R1G1B, `17` FlippedStripe,
+    `18` P10-32x16-HalfScan, `19` P10-32x16-QuarterScan, `20` P3Outdoor-64x64,
+    `21` DoubleZMultiplex, `22` P4Outdoor-80x40
+  - If the image is scrambled in a repeating pattern, try the value named after your panel first
+
+- **`panel_type`** (string, default: `""`)
+  - Sends a start-up initialization sequence to driver chips that need one
+  - `""` = Standard (no initialization) — right for most panels, including FM6124 / FM6124D / FM6124DJ
+  - `"FM6126A"` or `"FM6127"` for panels with those chips; try `"FM6126A"` if the panel stays dark or lights only the first pixel on Standard
 
 ### Runtime Configuration (`display.runtime`)
 
 These settings control runtime behavior and GPIO timing:
 
 - **`gpio_slowdown`** (integer, default: 3)
-  - GPIO timing slowdown factor
-  - **Critical setting**: Must match your Raspberry Pi model for stability
-  - **Raspberry Pi 3**: Use 3
-  - **Raspberry Pi 4**: Use 4
-  - **Raspberry Pi 5**: Use 1–2 in PIO mode (`rp1_rio: 0`, the default); start with `1` and increase if you see flickering
-  - **Raspberry Pi Zero/1**: Use 1-2
-  - Incorrect values can cause display corruption, flickering, or system instability
+  - GPIO timing slowdown factor (0-10): slows GPIO writes so the panel electronics keep up. Higher is more reliable but lowers the refresh rate
+  - **Critical setting**: depends on your Raspberry Pi model and your panel
+  - **Raspberry Pi Zero/1**: 0-1
+  - **Raspberry Pi 2/3**: 1-3
+  - **Raspberry Pi 4**: 2-4 (the config template ships 3)
+  - **Raspberry Pi 5**: 1–3 in PIO mode (`rp1_rio: 0`, the default); start with `1` and increase if you see flickering
+  - Panels on `row_address_type` 5 (SM5368 row drivers) can need 6-8 on a Pi 4
+  - Too low: garbage, flicker or rows jumping. Too high: a lower refresh rate
   - If you experience issues, try adjusting this value up or down by 1
 
+- **`rp1_rio`** (integer, 0 or 1, default: 0) — Raspberry Pi 5 only
+  - Which driver the Pi 5's RP1 chip uses: `0` = PIO (default, less CPU), `1` = RIO (registered I/O, can reach a higher refresh rate)
+  - In RIO mode the effect of `gpio_slowdown` is inverted: higher values may be faster
+  - Ignored on a Pi 0-4, and applied only if the installed rgbmatrix library supports it
+
 ### Display Durations (`display.display_durations`)
 
 Controls how long each installed plugin stays visible in seconds before switching to the next one, keyed by plugin id.
@@ -668,7 +701,7 @@ Controls how long each installed plugin stays visible in seconds before switchin
   - Some plugins can automatically adjust their display time based on content
   - This setting limits how long they can extend (prevents one display from dominating)
   - Example: If set to 60, a plugin can extend up to 60 seconds even if it requests longer
-  - Leave unset to use the default cap (typically 90 seconds)
+  - Leave unset to use the default cap (180 seconds; the web UI accepts 30-1800)
 
 ### Example Configuration
 
@@ -715,6 +748,14 @@ Controls how long each installed plugin stays visible in seconds before switchin
 - Verify `hardware_mapping` matches your HAT/connection type
 - Try adjusting `gpio_slowdown`
 - Ensure your display doesn't need the E-Addressable line
+- If it went blank right after a settings change, check `sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix` for `Failed to initialize RGB Matrix`: the rgbmatrix library refused a value (for example more than 64 `rows`, or `pwm_dither_bits` above 2) and the display fell back to no output. The library's own message nearby names the setting
+- A repeating scramble points at `row_address_type` or `multiplexing`; a panel that stays dark, at `panel_type`
+
+**Rows jump up and down, or the bottom row repeats other rows:**
+- Raise `gpio_slowdown` a step at a time (SM5368 panels on `row_address_type` 5 can need 6-8 on a Pi 4)
+
+**A row or the whole panel briefly flashes brighter:**
+- Set `disable_hardware_pulsing` to `false` (needs the OE line on GPIO 18; see `hardware_mapping`)
 
 **Colors are wrong or inverted:**
 - Check `led_rgb_sequence` (try "GRB" if "RGB" doesn't work)

config/config.template.json

@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 {
     "web_display_autostart": true,
+    "auto_update": {
+        "enabled": false
+    },
     "schedule": {
         "enabled": false,
         "mode": "per-day",

docs/ADAPTIVE_LAYOUT.md

@@ -223,8 +223,8 @@ The harness already renders every plugin at a spread of sizes (now
 including 96x48):
 
 ```bash
-python scripts/check_plugin.py <plugin-dir> --sizes 64x32,128x32,96x48,128x64,256x64
-python scripts/render_plugin.py <plugin-dir> --width 96 --height 48
+python scripts/check_plugin.py --plugin <plugin-id> --sizes 64x32,128x32,96x48,128x64,256x64
+python scripts/render_plugin.py --plugin <plugin-id> --width 96 --height 48
 ```
 
 `BoundsCheckingDisplayManager` flags right/bottom overflow and now records

docs/CONFIG_REFERENCE.md

@@ -51,25 +51,25 @@ in `DisplayManager` (`src/display_manager.py`, ~lines 270–295).
 
 | Key | Type / default |
 |---|---|
-| `rows` / `cols` | int, `32` / `64` |
-| `chain_length` | int, `2` |
-| `parallel` | int, `1` |
-| `brightness` | int, `90` |
+| `rows` / `cols` | int, `32` / `64` — rows: even, at least 8, no upper limit here (the current rgbmatrix library rejects more than 64); cols: at least 16, no upper limit |
+| `chain_length` | int, `2` — at least 1, no upper limit |
+| `parallel` | int, `1` — 1–3 |
+| `brightness` | int, `90` — 1–100 |
 | `hardware_mapping` | string, `"adafruit-hat"` (code default `"adafruit-hat-pwm"`) |
-| `scan_mode` | int, `0` |
-| `pwm_bits` | int, `9` (code default 10) |
-| `pwm_dither_bits` | int, `1` |
-| `pwm_lsb_nanoseconds` | int, `130` (code default 150) |
-| `disable_hardware_pulsing` | bool, `false` |
+| `scan_mode` | int, `0` — `0` progressive, `1` interlaced |
+| `pwm_bits` | int, `9` (code default 10) — 1–11 |
+| `pwm_dither_bits` | int, `1` — 0–2 |
+| `pwm_lsb_nanoseconds` | int, `130` (code default 150) — 50–3000 |
+| `disable_hardware_pulsing` | bool, `false` — `true` times brightness pulses in software (less exact); hardware pulsing needs the OE line on GPIO 18 and the Pi's onboard sound driver off |
 | `inverse_colors` | bool, `false` |
-| `show_refresh_rate` | bool, `false` |
-| `led_rgb_sequence` | string, `"RGB"` |
-| `limit_refresh_rate_hz` | int, `100` (code default 90) |
+| `show_refresh_rate` | bool, `false` — prints the refresh rate to stdout; draws nothing on the panel |
+| `led_rgb_sequence` | string, `"RGB"` — `"RGB"`, `"RBG"`, `"GRB"`, `"GBR"`, `"BRG"` or `"BGR"` |
+| `limit_refresh_rate_hz` | int, `100` (code default 90) — `0` = no cap; scroll timing assumes 100 Hz when `0` |
 | `pixel_mapper_config` | string, `""` — e.g. `"U-mapper"` / `"Rotate:90"` |
 | `orientation` | string, `"normal"` — `"180"` rotates the rendered image 180° for panels physically mounted upside down (e.g. to move the Pi/wiring to a more convenient side); composed onto `pixel_mapper_config` as a trailing `Rotate:180` mapper, so it stays independent of any custom `pixel_mapper_config` value |
-| `row_address_type` | int, `0` — non-standard panel row addressing |
-| `multiplexing` | int, `0` — panel multiplexing scheme |
-| `panel_type` | string, `""` — set to `"FM6126A"` or `"FM6127"` for panels needing init |
+| `row_address_type` | int, `0` — non-standard panel row addressing: `1` AB, `2` direct row select, `3` ABC, `4` ABC shift + DE direct, `5` SM5368 / B707 row shift register (e.g. Waveshare 96x48 V2, with `led_rgb_sequence` `"BGR"`). On a Pi 5 the library supports only `0` and `2` |
+| `multiplexing` | int, `0` — 0–22, pixel wiring scheme for outdoor/specialty panels (names listed in the README) |
+| `panel_type` | string, `""` — set to `"FM6126A"` or `"FM6127"` for panels needing init; FM6124 / FM6124D / FM6124DJ panels need none, so leave it `""` |
 
 Where "code default" differs from the template value, the code default only
 applies if the key is missing entirely from your config.
@@ -78,8 +78,8 @@ applies if the key is missing entirely from your config.
 
 | Key | Type / default | Meaning |
 |---|---|---|
-| `gpio_slowdown` | int, `3` | GPIO timing slowdown for faster Pis |
-| `rp1_rio` | int, `0` | RP1 RIO mode on Pi 5 (applied only if the installed matrix library supports it) |
+| `gpio_slowdown` | int, `3` | GPIO timing slowdown for faster Pis (0–10). Panels on `row_address_type` `5` (SM5368 row drivers) can need 6–8 on a Pi 4 — lower values make rows jump |
+| `rp1_rio` | int, `0` | Pi 5 only: `0` = PIO (less CPU), `1` = RIO (higher refresh; `gpio_slowdown` effect inverted). Applied only if the installed matrix library supports it |
 
 ## `display.double_sided`
 

docs/CREATING_SKINS.md

@@ -1,5 +1,14 @@
 # Creating Skins
 
+> **Not supported yet: skins don't render with the current scoreboard
+> plugins.** The only render hook is `SportsCore._render_game()` in
+> `src/base_classes/sports/core.py`, and no current scoreboard (monorepo or
+> third-party) builds on `src.base_classes`, so a skin you build here passes
+> `validate_skin.py` but never appears on the matrix. The web UI and Plugin
+> Store don't offer skins for that reason. Details:
+> [SKIN_SYSTEM.md](SKIN_SYSTEM.md#status-not-supported-yet). The guide below
+> stays accurate for the skin API itself.
+
 A skin restyles a sports scoreboard (live / recent / upcoming) without
 forking the plugin: the plugin keeps fetching data, scheduling, caching, and
 doing vegas mode; your skin only draws. Architecture background:
@@ -19,7 +28,9 @@ panel sizes with **no hardware, no network, no running service**, saves PNGs
 (plus 4x previews) to `skin_renders/`, and fails loudly on errors. Iterate:
 edit → validate → look at the PNGs.
 
-To see it on your matrix, add to your plugin's section in `config/config.json`:
+To select it, add to your plugin's section in `config/config.json` (this is
+stored and validated, but has no visible effect until a scoreboard uses the
+skin hook — see the note at the top):
 
 ```json
 "baseball-scoreboard": {
@@ -28,8 +39,8 @@ To see it on your matrix, add to your plugin's section in `config/config.json`:
 }
 ```
 
-or pick it from the **Visual Skin** dropdown in the web UI (it appears once a
-matching skin is installed). `"skin"` also accepts a per-mode mapping:
+The web UI's **Visual Skin** dropdown is hidden while skins are unsupported.
+`"skin"` also accepts a per-mode mapping:
 `{"live": "my-skin", "recent": "built-in"}`.
 
 ## The manifest (`skin.json`)
@@ -234,8 +245,9 @@ Tips that keep Claude (and you) out of trouble:
       dev machine
 
 Distribute by publishing the directory as a git repo (users
-`git clone <repo> skins/<id>`), or submit it to the plugin registry as an
-entry with `"type": "skin"` (see [SKIN_SYSTEM.md](SKIN_SYSTEM.md) §Distribution).
+`git clone <repo> skins/<id>`). Registry entries with `"type": "skin"` are
+hidden and refused by the Plugin Store while skins are unsupported (see
+[SKIN_SYSTEM.md](SKIN_SYSTEM.md) §Distribution).
 
 **Trust note:** a skin is Python running inside the display service — the
 same trust level as a plugin. Review code before installing skins from

docs/GETTING_STARTED.md

@@ -83,10 +83,10 @@ You should see:
 
 1. Open the **Display** tab
 2. Set your matrix configuration:
-   - **Rows**: 32 or 64 (match your hardware)
-   - **Columns**: commonly 64 or 96; the web UI accepts any integer
-     in the 1–128 range, but 64 and 96 are the values the bundled
-     panel hardware ships with
+   - **Rows**: match your panel — commonly 32 or 64; any even number
+     from 8 to 64
+   - **Columns**: match your panel — commonly 64 or 96; at least 16,
+     with no upper limit
    - **Chain Length**: Number of panels chained horizontally
    - **Hardware Mapping**: usually `adafruit-hat-pwm` (with the PWM jumper
      mod) or `adafruit-hat` (without). See the root README for the full list.

docs/PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md

@@ -36,7 +36,11 @@ self.enabled            # Boolean enabled status
 
 #### `update() -> None`
 
-Fetch/update data for this plugin. Called based on `update_interval` specified in the plugin's manifest.
+Fetch/update data for this plugin. Called on the plugin's update interval:
+the value `get_update_interval()` returns when it returns a number, otherwise
+the static interval: the `update_interval` in the plugin's manifest, else
+`update_interval` in the plugin's section of `config.json`, else 60 seconds
+(see [`get_update_interval()`](#get_update_interval---optionalfloat) below).
 
 **Example**:
 ```python
@@ -109,6 +113,46 @@ Called when plugin is enabled.
 
 Called when plugin is disabled.
 
+#### `get_update_interval() -> Optional[float]`
+
+How often this plugin wants `update()` called right now, in seconds. The
+manifest's `update_interval` is one static number; override this when the
+right cadence depends on state only the plugin knows, e.g. poll every 15s
+while a game is live and fall back to the manifest value otherwise.
+
+**Returns**: seconds as a number, or `None` (the default) for no opinion.
+
+How `PluginManager` (`_get_plugin_update_interval` in
+`src/plugin_system/plugin_manager.py`) resolves the interval on each
+scheduling tick:
+
+1. It calls `get_update_interval()`. A number wins over everything below.
+   Values under `PluginManager.MIN_DYNAMIC_UPDATE_INTERVAL` (5 seconds) are
+   raised to it.
+2. If the hook returns `None`, raises, or returns something that isn't a
+   finite number (a `bool`, a string, NaN, infinity), it is ignored and the
+   static interval applies: the manifest's `update_interval`, else
+   `update_interval` in the plugin's section of `config.json`, else 60
+   seconds.
+
+The static value is cached per plugin until the plugin is loaded or
+unloaded again, so editing `update_interval` in config takes effect on the
+next reload. The hook's return value is never cached: it is called on every
+tick of the display loop, so keep it to attribute reads (no config lookups,
+no I/O, no locks a fetch might hold) and don't let it raise.
+
+**Example**:
+```python
+def get_update_interval(self):
+    # Fast while something is live, manifest default otherwise.
+    if any(m.live_games for m in self._live_managers):
+        return self.config.get("live_update_interval", 15)
+    return None
+```
+
+Added in core 3.4.0; older cores never call it, so a plugin that relies on
+it should floor `ledmatrix_min_version` at `3.4.0`.
+
 #### `get_display_duration() -> float`
 
 Get display duration for this plugin. Can be overridden for dynamic durations.

docs/PLUGIN_ARCHITECTURE_SPEC.md

@@ -189,7 +189,9 @@ class BasePlugin(ABC):
     def update(self) -> None:
         """
         Fetch/update data for this plugin.
-        Called based on update_interval in manifest.
+        Called every get_update_interval() seconds when that returns a
+        number, otherwise at the static interval: the manifest's
+        update_interval, else the plugin config's update_interval, else 60s.
         """
         pass
     
@@ -204,6 +206,21 @@ class BasePlugin(ABC):
         """
         pass
     
+    def get_update_interval(self) -> Optional[float]:
+        """
+        Seconds until update() should run again, decided at runtime.
+        Return None (the default) to use the static interval.
+
+        PluginManager._get_plugin_update_interval calls this on every
+        scheduling tick. A number overrides the manifest and is clamped up
+        to PluginManager.MIN_DYNAMIC_UPDATE_INTERVAL (5s); None, a raise,
+        or a non-finite/non-numeric value falls back to the manifest's
+        update_interval, then the plugin config's update_interval, then
+        60s. The static value is cached until the plugin reloads; the hook
+        is not cached, so it must be cheap and must not raise.
+        """
+        return None
+    
     def get_display_duration(self) -> float:
         """
         Get the display duration for this plugin instance.

docs/PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT_GUIDE.md

@@ -10,11 +10,11 @@ This guide explains how to set up a development workflow for plugins that are ma
 > scale. Existing plugins keep their classic rendering unless they adopt
 > those APIs; nothing migrates automatically.
 
-> **Just want a different look for an existing sports scoreboard?** You may
-> not need a plugin at all — a **skin** restyles the live/recent/upcoming
-> rendering while the plugin keeps handling data, scheduling, caching, and
-> vegas mode, in ~100 lines of drawing code. See
-> [CREATING_SKINS.md](CREATING_SKINS.md).
+> **Want a different look for an existing sports scoreboard?** Skins are
+> meant for that, but they are **not supported yet**: the current scoreboard
+> plugins don't render them (see [SKIN_SYSTEM.md](SKIN_SYSTEM.md#status-not-supported-yet)).
+> For now, change the look through the plugin's own display settings or its
+> code.
 
 ## Overview
 

docs/PLUGIN_ELEMENT_STYLING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+# Per-element styling for plugin authors
+
+Users want to change the font, size and colour of individual things on screen,
+nudge them a few pixels, hide the ones they do not care about, and scale a logo
+down. This is the one system that does that, and a plugin joins it by
+**declaring elements in its `config_schema.json`** — not by writing a style
+resolver, a font cache or a web form.
+
+The short version:
+
+```jsonc
+"customization": {
+  "type": "object",
+  "title": "Display Customization",
+  "x-style-elements": {
+    "score_text": {
+      "title": "Score",
+      "font":  { "default": "PressStart2P-Regular.ttf" },
+      "size":  { "default": 10, "min": 4, "max": 16 },
+      "color": { "default": [255, 255, 255] },
+      "offsets": true,
+      "visible": true,
+      "align": true
+    },
+    "home_logo": { "title": "Home logo", "offsets": true, "scale": true }
+  },
+  "x-style-modes": ["live", "upcoming", "recent"]
+}
+```
+
+That is the whole declaration. The core expands it into a full JSON Schema, the
+web UI renders a compact style editor with a row per element, and the values
+land in `config.json` under the keys you named.
+
+## What each key does
+
+| Key | Effect |
+|---|---|
+| `font` | Font picker listing every shipped **and user-uploaded** font. |
+| `size` | Number field. `min`/`max` also cap which fixed-size fonts are offered. |
+| `color` | Colour swatch; stored as `[r, g, b]`. |
+| `offsets` | X/Y nudge, stored under `customization.layout.<element>`. |
+| `visible` | Show/hide toggle. |
+| `align` | `left` / `center` / `right`. |
+| `scale` | Size multiplier, for logos and images. Also under `layout`. |
+
+`x-style-modes` is optional. Declare it and every element gains a per-mode
+override tab — a scoreboard can then style its live, upcoming and recent cards
+separately. **A mode field left blank means "inherit", not zero.**
+
+## Reading the values
+
+Every plugin inherits `BasePlugin.styles`, which finds your `config_schema.json`
+on its own:
+
+```python
+style = self.styles.style(
+    "score_text",
+    classic_font="PressStart2P-Regular.ttf",   # what you shipped
+    classic_size=10,
+    classic_color=(255, 255, 255),
+)
+if style.visible:
+    draw.text((x + style.offset[0], y + style.offset[1]),
+              text, font=style.font, fill=style.color)
+```
+
+For a specific mode, use `self.styles_for("recent")`, or set
+`STYLE_MODE = "recent"` on the class and keep calling `self.styles`.
+
+### The one rule that matters
+
+**Pass your shipped values as the `classic_*` arguments.** The resolver returns
+them verbatim unless the user actually changed something, which is what keeps an
+untouched install rendering byte-identically. It can tell the difference because
+a value only counts as user-forced when it *differs from the schema default* —
+the save path writes the full default object into `config.json` on every save,
+so "present in config" proves nothing.
+
+Never compare against the default yourself; that rule lives in exactly one place.
+
+### Stateless readers
+
+For helpers handed a config dict rather than a plugin instance:
+
+```python
+from src.element_style import (element_color, element_visible,
+                               element_align, element_scale, layout_offset)
+
+colour = element_color(config, "score_text", (255, 255, 255), mode)
+shown  = element_visible(config, "records", True, mode)
+dy     = layout_offset(config, "score", "y_offset", 0, mode)
+```
+
+## Sports scoreboards
+
+`SportsCoreSharedMixin` wires most of this up already. Two things to know:
+
+* **Name your draws.** `_draw_text_with_outline(..., element="score_text")`
+  resolves the colour by name *and* honours the visibility toggle. Without it
+  the colour has to be guessed from the identity of the font object, which
+  cannot tell two elements apart when they share a face — the case every
+  bitmap font is in.
+* **Modes are free.** Live/upcoming/recent are separate instances, so setting
+  `SKIN_MODE` on each is enough; no call site passes a mode.
+
+## Adopting an existing hand-written block
+
+If your schema already spells out `font` / `font_size` / `text_color` per
+element longhand, **you do not need to change anything**. The core recognises
+that shape and upgrades it in place: the style editor, the real font picker
+(including uploaded fonts) and per-mode overrides all appear on a core update.
+Add `x-style-modes` if you want the mode tabs.
+
+## Fonts, and why size is sometimes locked
+
+32 of the 35 shipped fonts are fixed-strike BDF bitmaps: they render at exactly
+one pixel size and ignore `font_size`. The picker knows which, and the editor
+locks the size field to the native size and labels it `fixed`. A font too tall
+for the `max` you declared is not offered at all.
+
+Uploaded fonts (Fonts tab) land in `assets/fonts/` and appear in the picker
+automatically.
+
+## Checklist
+
+1. Declare `x-style-elements` (and `x-style-modes` if you have modes).
+2. Read through `self.styles`, passing your shipped values as `classic_*`.
+3. Honour `style.visible`, `style.offset` and `style.scale` where they apply.
+4. Confirm an untouched config renders identically:
+   `python scripts/check_plugin.py --plugin <id>`.
+5. Monorepo plugins: bump `manifest.json` and run `python update_registry.py`.
+
+See also: [docs/PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_GUIDE.md),
+[docs/FONT_MANAGER.md](FONT_MANAGER.md).

docs/README.md

@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ Going deeper:
 
 - [PLUGIN_CONFIG_QUICK_START.md](PLUGIN_CONFIG_QUICK_START.md) — minimal config you need
 - [PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_GUIDE.md) — schema design
+- [PLUGIN_ELEMENT_STYLING.md](PLUGIN_ELEMENT_STYLING.md) — let users restyle,
+  move, hide and scale individual elements (per display mode, if you have them)
 - [PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_TABS.md](PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_TABS.md) — multi-tab UI configs
 - [PLUGIN_CONFIG_ARCHITECTURE.md](PLUGIN_CONFIG_ARCHITECTURE.md) — how the config system works
 - [PLUGIN_CONFIG_CORE_PROPERTIES.md](PLUGIN_CONFIG_CORE_PROPERTIES.md) — properties every plugin honors
@@ -54,8 +56,8 @@ Going deeper:
 - [ADVANCED_FEATURES.md](ADVANCED_FEATURES.md) — Vegas scroll, on-demand display,
   cache management, background services, permissions
 - [FONT_MANAGER.md](FONT_MANAGER.md) — font system
-- [SKIN_SYSTEM.md](SKIN_SYSTEM.md) — skin architecture for sports scoreboards
-- [CREATING_SKINS.md](CREATING_SKINS.md) — writing and validating a skin
+- [SKIN_SYSTEM.md](SKIN_SYSTEM.md) — skin architecture for sports scoreboards (not supported yet: current scoreboards don't render skins)
+- [CREATING_SKINS.md](CREATING_SKINS.md) — writing and validating a skin (same caveat)
 
 ## Reference
 

docs/REST_API_REFERENCE.md

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ All endpoints return JSON responses with a standard format:
 
 > The API blueprint is mounted at `/api/v3` (`web_interface/app.py:199`).
 > SSE stream endpoints (`/api/v3/stream/*`) are defined directly on the
-> Flask app at `app.py:799-809`. There are 94 routes total — see
+> Flask app at `app.py:799-809`. There are 111 routes total — see
 > `web_interface/blueprints/api_v3.py` for the canonical list.
 
 ---
@@ -223,6 +223,56 @@ Get the current display state and preview image.
 }
 ```
 
+### List Display Modes
+
+**GET** `/api/v3/display/modes`
+
+Every display mode that can be requested on-demand, with the plugin that owns
+it. This is the list the force-display dialog offers.
+
+Send the reported `plugin_id` alongside `mode` when starting an on-demand
+display: `/display/on-demand/start` falls back to `find_plugin_for_mode` when
+`plugin_id` is omitted, and that lookup only sees modes declared in a static
+manifest — a plugin whose modes are generated (each installed Starlark app is
+one) returns 404 there.
+
+Triggers plugin discovery, which is otherwise lazy — so a caller that never
+opens the dashboard still gets the full list.
+
+**Query Parameters**:
+- `include_disabled` (optional): `1` to include modes belonging to disabled
+  plugins. They are still valid on-demand targets — the controller enables the
+  plugin for the duration of the request — and are reported with
+  `"enabled": false`.
+
+**Response**:
+```json
+{
+  "status": "success",
+  "data": {
+    "modes": [
+      {
+        "mode": "nfl_live",
+        "plugin_id": "football-scoreboard",
+        "plugin_name": "Football Scoreboard",
+        "name": "nfl_live",
+        "enabled": true
+      },
+      {
+        "mode": "clock-simple",
+        "plugin_id": "clock-simple",
+        "plugin_name": "Simple Clock",
+        "name": "Simple Clock",
+        "enabled": true
+      }
+    ]
+  }
+}
+```
+
+`name` is a label for a dropdown: a single-mode plugin's own name, or the raw
+mode string for a multi-mode plugin, since there is no per-mode name anywhere.
+
 ### On-Demand Display Status
 
 **GET** `/api/v3/display/on-demand/status`

docs/SCROLL_PERFORMANCE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,301 @@
+# Scroll Performance
+
+How scrolling is paced on this hardware, what was wrong with it, and how to
+configure a plugin so its marquee is smooth.
+
+Measured on a Raspberry Pi 4 driving a 2×128×64 chain (256×64 logical) at
+`limit_refresh_rate_hz: 100`. Numbers below come from that panel.
+
+| | before | after |
+|---|---|---|
+| scroll frame rate | 44–46 fps | **100 fps, locked** |
+| frames ≥ 45 ms | 14–17% | none observed |
+| dominant frame time | 20 ms | **10 ms** |
+| disk cache write (~1 MB) | 14.8 ms | **5.4 ms** |
+
+---
+
+## The one rule that matters
+
+**Motion is smooth when the strip advances a whole number of pixels per panel
+refresh.**
+
+Advancing one pixel per refresh on a 100 Hz panel gives 100 px/s. Slower crisp
+speeds come from holding each frame for several refreshes -- 50 px/s is one
+pixel every second refresh -- which is covered under *Choosing a speed* below.
+A speed that lands on no such combination has to do one of two bad things:
+
+- **blend** two adjacent columns to render a half-step — on pixel-font text
+  this alternates crisp and smeared frames and reads as shimmer, or as the
+  text jumping a pixel ahead of itself;
+- **repeat** a frame — the strip stands still, then jumps, which reads as
+  judder.
+
+Neither is tunable away. Pick a speed that divides evenly.
+
+`src.common.scroll_config` solves this for you: `configure()` snaps a requested
+speed to the nearest one the panel can actually show in whole pixels, and
+`scripts/scroll_speeds.py` prints the full ladder for your hardware.
+
+## Choosing a speed
+
+The crisp speeds are not a fixed list -- they depend on how fast *your* panel
+refreshes, which depends on its size, `pwm_bits`, `gpio_slowdown` and the Pi
+model. A Pi Zero driving a long chain has a completely different set of good
+speeds from a Pi 4 driving a short one.
+
+```bash
+# what can this panel do? (reads your configured refresh rate)
+python3 scripts/scroll_speeds.py
+
+# what does it ACTUALLY manage, rather than what is configured?
+sudo systemctl stop ledmatrix
+sudo python3 scripts/scroll_speeds.py --measure
+sudo systemctl start ledmatrix
+
+# highlight the closest option to the speed you want
+python3 scripts/scroll_speeds.py --want 45
+
+# try one on the panel
+sudo systemctl stop ledmatrix
+sudo python3 scripts/scroll_speeds.py --demo 50
+sudo systemctl start ledmatrix
+```
+
+Sample ladder for a 100 Hz panel:
+
+```
+  20.0 px/s  (1px every 5 refreshes =  20.0 fps, slightly stepped)
+  25.0 px/s  (1px every 4 refreshes =  25.0 fps, slightly stepped)
+  33.3 px/s  (1px every 3 refreshes =  33.3 fps, smooth)
+  50.0 px/s  (1px every 2 refreshes =  50.0 fps, smooth)
+  66.7 px/s  (2px every 3 refreshes =  33.3 fps, smooth)
+ 100.0 px/s  (1px every 1 refresh  = 100.0 fps, smooth)
+```
+
+### How a slow speed stays crisp
+
+`SwapOnVSync(canvas, framerate_fraction)` holds each frame for N panel
+refreshes. **The panel keeps refreshing at its full rate either way**, so
+holding a frame costs nothing in flicker -- it only changes how often a *new*
+image is presented. That is what allows 50 px/s to be one whole pixel every
+second refresh, instead of half a pixel every refresh (which has no good
+rendering, only a choice between blur and judder).
+
+`scroll_config.configure()` snaps the requested speed to the nearest entry on
+the ladder and reports the hold that speed needs. It does **not** apply the
+hold: the hold belongs to a scroll, not to a plugin's lifetime, and plugins
+share one display manager -- one set at construction is reset the moment any
+other plugin finishes scrolling. Apply it yourself when the scroll starts:
+
+```python
+settings = scroll_config.configure(
+    self.scroll_helper,
+    plugin_config=self.config,
+    global_config=self.global_config,
+    display_manager=self.display_manager,   # supplies the panel refresh rate
+)
+
+# ...then, each time this plugin begins scrolling:
+self.display_manager.set_scrolling_state(True, frame_hold=settings.frame_hold)
+```
+
+Passing `display_manager` only lets `configure` read the true refresh rate from
+`display.hardware`, which a plugin config cannot see. Skipping the
+`set_scrolling_state` call is the mistake that matters: the speed still
+resolves, but the panel keeps presenting a new frame every refresh, so a slow
+snapped speed falls back to fractional pixels. Pass `snap_to_crisp=False` to
+keep an exact requested speed and accept the artefacts.
+
+Speeds slower than about 20 px/s are stepped no matter what, because a 1-pixel
+advance at 20 fps is simply a coarse increment. That is the pixel pitch, not a
+software limit; the only way to move in smaller increments is sub-pixel
+blending, which this display does not tolerate (see above).
+
+## Configuring a plugin
+
+Use the shared resolver rather than reading config keys yourself:
+
+```python
+from src.common import scroll_config
+
+settings = scroll_config.configure(
+    self.scroll_helper,
+    plugin_config=self.config,
+    global_config=self.global_config,
+    refresh_hz=scroll_config.refresh_hz_from_config(self.global_config),
+    plugin_logger=self.logger,
+)
+```
+
+It resolves every config shape in one place, applies the speed, and returns
+what it did. Precedence, highest first:
+
+1. `display_options.scroll_speed` + `scroll_delay` — **the recommended form**
+2. `display.scroll_speed` + `scroll_delay` — deprecated shape
+3. `scroll_speed` + `scroll_delay` at the root — legacy flat
+4. `scroll_pixels_per_second` — deprecated
+5. the global `display` block
+6. the built-in default (100 px/s)
+
+`scroll_speed` is pixels per frame and `scroll_delay` is the frame period in
+seconds, so the pair means `scroll_speed / scroll_delay` px/s. The recommended
+config for a 100 Hz panel:
+
+```json
+"display_options": { "scroll_speed": 1.0, "scroll_delay": 0.01 }
+```
+
+### Why the deprecated key ranks below the explicit pair
+
+Because some plugins give `scroll_pixels_per_second` a **schema default**, and
+schema defaults are merged into plugin config. Ranking it above the pair means
+it is always present and always wins, so the documented settings become
+unreachable. That is a real, shipped bug — see
+[ledmatrix-plugins#408](https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-plugins/issues/408).
+
+If you are writing a plugin: do not give a deprecated key a schema default.
+
+## What was actually wrong
+
+Four independent faults, each found by measurement.
+
+### 1. The frame loop slept on top of a wait it had already done
+
+`display_controller.py` ran the high-FPS loop as `render → SwapOnVSync (blocks
+to the panel's refresh) → time.sleep(0.008) → plugin ticks`. The sleep was
+unconditional and added to a wait that had already happened. Render work
+measured ~4 ms, so each iteration cost ~12 ms against a 10 ms refresh grid —
+every swap missed a refresh and landed on the next one. The loop settled at
+exactly 50 fps while asking for 125, with no headroom, so ~14% of frames
+slipped a further refresh.
+
+Now the loop sleeps only the remainder of the frame budget, with a 1 ms floor
+so plugin threads still get the GIL.
+
+### 2. `SwapOnVSync` held the GIL while blocking
+
+The rgbmatrix binding declares it without `nogil` (unlike `SetPixel`, `Clear`
+and `Fill` immediately above it in `cppinc.pxd`), so the render thread held the
+GIL for the entire vsync wait — most of every frame. Background threads were
+starved into long uninterruptible bursts; a 1.5 MB API response costs ~17 ms to
+parse and ~18 ms to re-encode for the cache, and `json.raw_decode` cannot be
+preempted mid-document. Those bursts are what the render loop then waited on.
+
+Fixed by rebuilding the binding: `scripts/build_rgbmatrix_nogil.sh`.
+
+### 3. Sub-pixel blending was wrong for this display
+
+Enabling it made things worse, not better — see the rule at the top. It is off
+by default and only Vegas mode opts in via `set_sub_pixel_scrolling(True)`.
+
+### 4. Frame-based stepping raced the vsync clock
+
+Frame-based mode gated motion on a wall clock at `1/scroll_delay` steps per
+second. Plugins set `scroll_delay` to the frame period, which puts that
+comparison exactly on its own threshold: a frame arriving a hair early moved
+zero pixels and rendered an identical frame, which dirty-tracking skipped, so
+it returned in ~2 ms and the beat repeated. No `scroll_delay` value tunes this
+out — a shorter delay just trades stalled frames for periodic double-steps.
+
+`ScrollHelper` now accumulates elapsed time in both modes at the same
+configured speed, so position stays proportional to real time.
+
+## Diagnosing a juddery scroller
+
+**An average will lie to you.** A 2 ms duplicate frame and a 21 ms double-wait
+mean exactly 10 ms, so a ticker stalling on half its frames still averages to a
+healthy 100 fps. The stats line reports the tail for that reason — read the
+percentiles, not the fps.
+
+Every scroller emits one line every 5 seconds covering *every* frame in that
+window, tagged with the plugin it came from:
+
+```bash
+journalctl -u ledmatrix --since "-10min" --no-pager | grep "Scroll frame stats"
+```
+
+```
+[Plugin: news] Scroll frame stats - 100.0 fps over 501 frames | median 10.00ms
+p95 10.11ms max 12.03ms min 7.98ms | stalls 0 (0.0%) skips 0 (0.0%)
+```
+
+Reading it, on a 100 Hz panel:
+
+| you see | it means |
+|---|---|
+| median 10 ms, p95 within ~0.5 ms of it | healthy — locked to the panel |
+| p95 or max at 20/30/50 ms | frames missing refreshes — per-frame work is overrunning, or a background thread is holding the GIL |
+| non-zero **skips**, or a median *below* 10 ms | **duplicate frames** — the swap was skipped because the image did not change, so the frame never waited on vsync. The scroller is advancing less than one pixel per frame. |
+| non-zero **stalls** | frames past 1.5× the median, which is the measure of judder that survives averaging |
+
+`stalls` and `skips` are both counted against that window's own median, so they
+stay meaningful on a panel running at any refresh rate.
+
+To rank every scroller at once rather than reading lines one at a time:
+
+```bash
+journalctl -u ledmatrix --since "-3h" --no-pager | grep "Scroll frame stats" \
+  | sed -E 's/.*- (\S+) - (\[Plugin: [^]]+\] )?Scroll.*median ([0-9.]+)ms p95 ([0-9.]+)ms.*/\1 \3 \4/' \
+  | awk '$2 < 1000 {n[$1]++; m[$1]+=$2; p[$1]+=$3} END {for (k in n)
+        printf "%-28s %5d windows  median %6.2fms  p95 %6.2fms\n", k, n[k], m[k]/n[k], p[k]/n[k]}' \
+  | sort -k7 -rn
+```
+
+The `$2 < 1000` guard drops windows whose median is a whole second or more.
+Those are not frames. Until the idle-gap fix in `log_frame_rate()`, the first
+frame of every scroll was timed against the end of the *previous* scroll, so
+the gap between them was recorded as one enormous sample — it landed in the
+`max` field of otherwise healthy windows and counted as one stall per scroll,
+roughly 0.2% at 500 frames to a window, which is the same order as the real
+stall rates it sat beside. Current builds emit none, but the guard costs
+nothing and keeps the command honest against older journals.
+
+A scroller whose p95 sits several times its median is the one to fix, and it is
+usually the one doing the most per-frame work rather than the one configured
+worst. Measured over 20 minutes with two scrollers set identically at 100 px/s,
+the leaderboard held 10 ms flat while the odds ticker spent ~20% of its frames
+on duplicates. Same settings, different render cost: odds does more per-frame
+work, and more variably, so it is first to land a frame that advances less than
+a whole pixel. Check the render path before the config.
+
+Then confirm what the plugin actually loaded — config edits do not always reach
+the running code:
+
+```bash
+journalctl -u ledmatrix --since "-5min" --no-pager | grep -iE "px/s|px/frame"
+```
+
+If a plugin logs its scroll config **twice** with different modes, the second
+line is what is running.
+
+## Rebuilding the binding
+
+```bash
+bash scripts/build_rgbmatrix_nogil.sh              # build into a scratch dir
+sudo bash scripts/build_rgbmatrix_nogil.sh --install
+sudo bash scripts/build_rgbmatrix_nogil.sh --rollback
+```
+
+The build never touches the installed module. `--install` backs up the original
+to `~/rgbmatrix-core.so.ORIGINAL` first, and rolls back automatically if the
+service does not come back healthy. Requires `build-essential`; Cython is
+installed into a cached venv under `~/.cache/ledmatrix-cython`.
+
+Re-run it after upgrading `rpi-rgb-led-matrix`, since a library upgrade
+replaces the patched binding.
+
+## Faster JSON
+
+`src/cache/disk_cache.py` uses `orjson` when it is importable and falls back to
+the stdlib otherwise, so it is optional:
+
+```bash
+sudo pip3 install --break-system-packages orjson
+```
+
+Encoding is where it pays — about 7× on this hardware. Decoding gains far less
+(~1.3× on large payloads) because the cost there is building Python objects,
+not scanning text. That is also why moving parsing to a subprocess does not
+help: `pickle.loads` of the same payload costs 8.1 ms against `json.loads` at
+10.9 ms, so the work just moves rather than disappearing.

docs/SKIN_SYSTEM.md

@@ -1,5 +1,35 @@
 # Skin System Architecture
 
+## Status: not supported yet
+
+**Skins don't render with the current scoreboard plugins.** The skin system
+below works in isolation (it loads, validates and renders skins in
+`scripts/validate_skin.py` and `test/test_skin_system.py`), but nothing on a
+running display calls it:
+
+- The only render hook is `SportsCore._render_game()` in
+  `src/base_classes/sports/core.py`.
+- None of the current scoreboard plugins build on `src.base_classes`. The
+  official scoreboards in the `ledmatrix-plugins` monorepo, and the
+  third-party scoreboards in the plugin registry, carry their own sports and
+  rendering code (with the shared `src/common/sports_*` helpers) and never
+  reach `SportsCore._render_game()`.
+
+So a skin can be dropped into `skins/` and named in a plugin's config, but the
+scoreboard keeps drawing its built-in layout. Until a scoreboard adopts the
+hook, core does not offer skins to users:
+
+- The plugin config page shows no **Visual Skin** dropdown.
+- The Plugin Store hides registry entries with `"type": "skin"` and refuses
+  to install one (`POST /api/v3/plugins/install` answers 400 with the reason).
+- `GET /api/v3/skins` still lists what is in `skins/`, with
+  `"supported": false` and a `message`.
+- A config that already contains `"skin"` / `"skin_options"` still loads,
+  validates and saves unchanged; the value is simply unused.
+
+The rest of this document describes the design as built, for whoever wires a
+scoreboard to it.
+
 Skins are user-installable **visual overlays** for the sports scoreboards.
 A skin replaces only the *look* of a scoreboard — the host plugin keeps doing
 data fetching, scheduling, caching, dedup, live-priority takeover, and vegas
@@ -32,8 +62,10 @@ crashing) simply restores the built-in look.
 
 ## The render funnel
 
-Every sports scoreboard (baseball, football, basketball, hockey — anything
-built on the `src/base_classes/sports/` package, `core.py`) renders through exactly one seam:
+A sports scoreboard built on the `src/base_classes/sports/` package
+(`core.py`) renders through exactly one seam. No current scoreboard plugin is
+built on it (see [Status](#status-not-supported-yet)), so for them this seam is
+never reached:
 `SportsCore._render_game(game, force_clear)`.
 
 1. The mode class's `display()` (live, `SportsUpcoming`, `SportsRecent`)
@@ -135,22 +167,26 @@ Inside the plugin's own config section in `config/config.json`:
 `"built-in"` means the stock renderer. Because this rides the plugin's config
 section, it persists across plugin reinstalls like every other setting.
 
-The web UI shows a **Visual Skin** dropdown for plugins that have matching
-skins installed: `SchemaManager.inject_skin_selector` adds an enum to the
-*served* schema only. Validation never sees the enum — so a config that
-references an uninstalled skin stays valid (rendering just falls back), and
-the currently-configured value is always kept selectable. `GET /api/v3/skins`
-lists installed skins (optionally filtered by `?plugin_id=`).
+`SchemaManager.inject_skin_selector` can add a **Visual Skin** enum to the
+*served* schema for plugins with matching skins installed. While skins are
+unsupported the plugin schema endpoint does not call it, so the dropdown is
+not shown. Validation never sees the enum either way: the base schema allows
+any `skin` value, so a config that references an uninstalled skin stays valid.
+`GET /api/v3/skins` lists installed skins (optionally filtered by
+`?plugin_id=`) and reports `"supported": false`.
 
 ## Distribution
 
 - **Manual:** `git clone <skin repo> skins/<skin-id>` — that's the whole
   install. No manifest bumps, no `update_registry.py`; skins are not monorepo
   plugins.
-- **Store:** registry entries with `"type": "skin"` install through the same
-  `plugins.json` pipeline; `PluginStoreManager` routes them to `skins/`,
-  validates `skin.json` (including the API major version) instead of
-  `manifest.json`, and never installs dependencies — skins are render-only
+- **Store (disabled while unsupported):** registry entries with
+  `"type": "skin"` are hidden from the store list and refused on install.
+  `PluginStoreManager._install_skin_from_info` is kept: once
+  `SKINS_RENDER_SUPPORTED` in `src/skin_system/__init__.py` is true, such
+  entries install through the same `plugins.json` pipeline, land in `skins/`,
+  are validated against `skin.json` (including the API major version) instead
+  of `manifest.json`, and never install dependencies — skins are render-only
   (stdlib + PIL + the provided context, no third-party packages in v1).
 
 ## Trust model

docs/SPORTS_UNIFICATION.md

@@ -80,11 +80,30 @@ src/base_classes/sports/
 src/common/
   sports_scroll.py       SportsScrollDisplay / …Manager — scroll orchestration
                          (content building stays in the plugins)
+  sports_helpers.py      clamp/logo/rotation free functions + SportsHelpersMixin
+                         (unreleased) — the helpers byte-identical in the
+                         plugins' sports.py, and the _favorite_key seam
 ```
 
 `from src.base_classes.sports import SportsCore` keeps working — the package
 `__init__` re-exports, so the conversion is invisible to every existing importer.
 
+### Converging on `src/common`
+
+The scoreboards do not build on `src/base_classes`; their own `sports.py` copies
+have moved past it. So shared code now lands in hardware-free `src/common`
+modules taken from the plugin copies, each a **new module** rather than growth
+on an existing one: a plugin that deletes a method copy and relies on an older
+module having gained it fails at runtime with an `AttributeError`, while a
+missing module fails at load, where the version checks can see it.
+`sports_helpers.py` is the first (it holds `_favorite_key`, the override point
+listed below, for later phases); its parity test compares every body against
+the plugin copies when `LEDMATRIX_PLUGINS` points at a checkout, and
+`test/test_common_is_hardware_free.py` keeps `src/common` free of
+`rgbmatrix`, `src.base_classes` and `src.plugin_system`. How a plugin adopts a
+module and drops its copy is documented in the plugins repo's
+`docs/plugin-development/08-shared-sports-code.md`.
+
 ## Override points (the plugin-facing seam)
 
 The base class calls these; plugins implement or override them. This table is the

docs/WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md

@@ -96,6 +96,33 @@ Configure basic system settings:
 - **Plugin System Settings** — including the `plugins_directory` (default
   `plugin-repos/`) used by the plugin loader
 - **Autostart** options for the display service
+- **Automatic updates** — once a week, update LEDMatrix and every installed
+  plugin with a newer version. Off by default. Runs 2–5 AM local time when
+  possible, otherwise within a day of being due. The last result and next
+  check are shown under the toggle, and anything other than success raises a
+  banner on **Overview**.
+  - *Checks first:* the code update is skipped, with the reason shown, if
+    tracked files were edited locally, the checkout has local commits, a
+    rebase/merge is in progress, the branch has no upstream, less than 300 MB
+    is free, or the newest version already failed once. A failed fetch is
+    retried the next day.
+  - *Health check and rollback:* after pulling, `ledmatrix-update-verify.service`
+    restarts the services and checks that the web interface responds and the
+    display (if it was running) stays up. If not — or if the new dependencies
+    failed to install — it resets to the previous commit, reinstalls the
+    previous dependencies and restarts again. A running display is restarted;
+    a stopped one stays stopped.
+  - *Plugins* update through the Plugin Store, which refuses versions that need
+    a newer LEDMatrix and restores the old copy when an install fails. When the
+    code changed, plugins wait until it passes its health check. Plugins are
+    not health-checked after updating.
+  - *Setup needs no SSH.* Turning the toggle on restarts the display service,
+    which installs the health check (`ledmatrix-update-verify.path` and
+    `.service`); the General tab shows when it is ready, or why setup failed.
+    Until then only plugins update. New installs set it up during
+    installation and can switch updates on with
+    `first_time_install.sh --enable-auto-update` (or `LEDMATRIX_AUTO_UPDATE=1`,
+    which `one-shot-install.sh` passes through), or at the installer's prompt.
 
 Click **Save** to write changes to `config/config.json`. Most changes
 require a display service restart from **Overview**.
@@ -105,18 +132,26 @@ require a display service restart from **Overview**.
 Configure your LED matrix hardware:
 
 **Matrix configuration:**
-- `rows` — LED rows (typically 32 or 64)
-- `cols` — LED columns (typically 64 or 96)
+- `rows` — LED rows per panel (typically 32 or 64; even, at least 8 — the
+  current rgbmatrix library rejects more than 64)
+- `cols` — LED columns per panel (typically 64 or 96; at least 16)
 - `chain_length` — number of horizontally chained panels
-- `parallel` — number of parallel chains
+- `parallel` — number of parallel chains (1–3)
 - `hardware_mapping` — `adafruit-hat-pwm` (with PWM jumper mod),
-  `adafruit-hat` (without), `regular`, or `regular-pi1`
-- `gpio_slowdown` — must match your Pi model (3 for Pi 3, 4 for Pi 4, etc.)
-- `brightness` — 0–100%
+  `adafruit-hat` (without), `regular` (direct wiring, and the Adafruit Triple
+  LED Matrix Bonnet), or `regular-pi1`
+- `gpio_slowdown` — depends on your Pi and panel (roughly 1–3 on a Pi 3,
+  2–4 on a Pi 4); raise it if rows jump or the image is garbage
+- `brightness` — 1–100%
 - `pwm_bits`, `pwm_lsb_nanoseconds`, `pwm_dither_bits` — PWM tuning
 - Dynamic Duration — global cap for plugins that extend their display
   time based on content
 
+The collapsed **Advanced Hardware & Display Options** section holds
+multiplexing, panel type, row address type, scan mode, PWM tuning, the
+refresh-rate cap and hardware pulsing. Every field has a help tip, and the
+README's Display Settings section describes each one with its allowed range.
+
 **Vegas Scroll Mode:** the Display tab also has a full Vegas Scroll
 Mode section — enable toggle, scroll speed, separator width, dynamic
 duration, and related settings — so you can configure Vegas mode

docs/archive/WEB_UI_AUDIT_2026-09.md

@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+# Web UI Technical Audit — September 2026
+
+Scope: `web_interface/` (Flask + HTMX + Alpine, `templates/v3/`, `static/v3/`).
+Method: Impeccable design detector, code review (accessibility; performance,
+theming, responsive), and a live pass on the running app at desktop and
+375px mobile widths in light and dark themes. Severe claims were verified
+against the live page; one was rejected (see below). No code was changed.
+
+Product context: see [`PRODUCT.md`](../../PRODUCT.md).
+
+## Health score: 8/20 (Poor)
+
+| # | Dimension | Score | Key finding |
+|---|-----------|-------|-------------|
+| 1 | Accessibility | 2 | Focus rings never render; modals have no dialog semantics or focus management |
+| 2 | Performance | 2 | ~1.2 MB JS (≈250 KB gzip) on every page; SSE streams and polling never pause |
+| 3 | Responsive | 2 | Mobile drawer works; header title wraps to 3 lines; many ~24px touch targets |
+| 4 | Theming | 1 | Tokens exist but hex dominates; dark mode is a class-by-class patch with leaks |
+| 5 | Implementation integrity | 1 | Templates use Tailwind classes that don't exist in the stylesheet |
+
+## Implementation integrity verdict: fail
+
+There is no Tailwind build. `static/v3/app.css` is a hand-written subset of
+Tailwind, while templates and JS are authored as if full Tailwind were loaded.
+
+- **333 of 516 utility class names used have no CSS rule** (2,582 uses),
+  confirmed against the live stylesheets. Top offenders: `border` (250),
+  `text-gray-700` (183), `block` (148), `mr-1` (127), `hidden` (79),
+  `py-1`, `text-blue-600`, `px-2`, `text-center`, `hover:bg-blue-700`,
+  `divide-y`, `uppercase`, `font-mono`.
+- **`.hidden` has never existed in `app.css`**, so the 145
+  `classList.add/remove/toggle('hidden')` calls across 26 files do nothing.
+  Visible proof: the header shows both the moon and sun theme icons.
+- **15 classes are defined only under `[data-theme="dark"]`** (e.g.
+  `bg-blue-50`, `bg-red-50`, `bg-yellow-50`, `border-blue-200`,
+  `text-red-700`), so tinted notice boxes are unstyled in light mode.
+- Visible damage: the Getting Started checklist (`partials/overview.html:96-117`)
+  renders native gray outset buttons in both themes; 32 visible buttons on
+  the Plugin Manager page render with default browser chrome; search icons
+  overlap inputs; error/diff modal backdrops are transparent
+  (`bg-gray-500 bg-opacity-75` undefined).
+
+Other drift:
+- Four competing `showNotification` definitions (`app.js:6`,
+  `app-shell.js:2464`, `widgets/notification.js:298`, `partials/fonts.html:249`)
+  — the winner depends on load order — plus 53 `alert()`/`confirm()` calls.
+- At least four modal implementations (on-demand modal in `base.html:1032`,
+  Tailwind-UI style in `error_handler.js`/`diff_viewer.js`, `.jfm-*`/`.pfm-*`
+  with injected CSS, ad-hoc modals in `plugins_manager.js`).
+- `.btn` mixed with ~90 hand-assembled color-utility button combos.
+- SSE wiring duplicated in `app-shell.js:5-60` and `app.js:186-205`.
+
+## Findings by severity
+
+### P0
+
+**Undefined utility layer** (above). Every show/hide toggle and every layout
+built from missing classes silently fails; root cause of most visual bugs.
+Fix: replace the hand-rolled subset with a real, purged Tailwind build
+(with dark-mode variants), or at minimum define the high-use missing classes
+(`hidden`, `border`, `block`, spacing/text utilities) and a button reset.
+→ `/impeccable harden`
+
+### P1
+
+- **Focus rings never render.** `focus:ring-2` (`app.css:289-291`) references
+  `--tw-ring-inset` and `--tw-ring-offset-width`, which are never defined, so
+  the `box-shadow` is invalid. `focus:outline-none` (18 uses) does remove the
+  outline. `peer-focus:ring-4` has no rule, so the plugin enable toggle
+  (`plugins_manager.js:1586-1593`, `sr-only` checkbox) shows no focus.
+  WCAG 2.4.7.
+- **Modals lack dialog semantics.** Only `json-file-manager.js` has
+  `role="dialog"`/`aria-modal`/Escape/initial focus; none trap focus or
+  return it. On-demand (`base.html:1032`), error (`error_handler.js:164-205`),
+  diff (`diff_viewer.js:211-214`), plugin file manager
+  (`plugin-file-manager.js:372-392, 576-599`), array-table editor
+  (`array-table.js:460-467`) have none of it. WCAG 2.1.2 / 4.1.2.
+- **Unnamed controls.** ~16 icon-only buttons with no accessible name, e.g.
+  `base.html:1036`, `plugins.html:173,210`, `plugin_config.html:485,656`,
+  `number-input.js:102,129`, `text-input.js:120`, `date-picker.js:95`,
+  `time-picker.js:100`, `password-input.js:141`. ~115 of 245 form fields have
+  no label (hotspots: `plugin_config.html` 19, `starlark_config.html` 14,
+  `plugins.html` 11); confirmed live on the 11 store search/sort/filter inputs.
+- **Captive WiFi setup page** (first-run surface): `#msg` status has no live
+  region, and `outline:none` is replaced by a 15%-alpha shadow
+  (`captive_setup.html:16,48`).
+- **Background traffic never stops.** `/stream/stats` and `/stream/display`
+  SSE stay open on every tab (display frames push with no preview visible).
+  Tab timers keep running after leaving the tab (`display.html:1046` 5s,
+  `logs.html:222` 5s, `tools.html:987` 15s, `plugins_manager.js:1882` 15s,
+  update check `base.html:1196` 30min). Only `tools.html:999` checks
+  `visibilitychange`. Costly on a Pi Zero 2 W.
+- **Page weight.** 47 script tags on every page, including all 33 widgets
+  (`base.html:984-1018`). `app-shell.js` (177 KB) is render-blocking
+  (`base.html:956`); `plugins_manager.js` is 277 KB.
+- **Dark mode leaks.** `plugin-file-manager.js` (53 hex) and
+  `json-file-manager.js` (63 hex, e.g. `.jfm-modal-box{background:#fff}`)
+  inject CSS that ignores `data-theme`; `.form-control` hard-codes
+  `#fff`/`#111827` (`app.css:668-671`). `app.css` has 186 hex + 46 rgb
+  literals vs 94 `var(--…)` uses.
+
+### P2
+
+- Toasts: `role="alert"` inside an `aria-live="polite"` container
+  (`notification.js:78,156`) → double/assertive announcements; auto-dismiss 4s.
+- `prefers-reduced-motion` covers 3 animations; ~106 `animate-pulse`/`fa-spin`
+  uses, `modalSlideIn`, and toast slides ignore it.
+- Mobile: header title wraps to three lines and spills out of the header;
+  ~33 plugin-card buttons are `text-xs px-2 py-1` (~24px); `#logs-container`
+  forced to 400/350px with `!important` (`app.css:399-411`).
+- Logs panel contrast: `text-gray-400` on `bg-gray-900` ≈ 3.9:1
+  (`logs.html:75,86`).
+- Three unnamed nested `<nav>` landmarks (`base.html:474,477,548`); no skip link.
+- Plugin lists fully rebuilt via `innerHTML` on every filter change
+  (`plugins_manager.js:1554, 3784, 3993, 4389, 5905`); `logs.html:225` adds a
+  reflow-forcing resize listener on every partial load.
+
+### P3
+
+- No `loading="lazy"` on images; Font Awesome `font-display:block`.
+- Unpinned `alpinejs@3.x.x` unpkg fallback (`base.html:241`).
+- `widgets/example-color-picker.js` is not loaded anywhere.
+- Detector: 3px accent stripe on `.plugin-card::before` (`app.css:721`).
+
+## Verified and rejected
+
+- **"Static assets are never cache-busted" (raised as P0): false.**
+  `app.py:491` (`@app.url_defaults add_static_version`) appends file mtime as
+  `?v=` to every static URL; the live HTML confirms it. The manual
+  `?v=20260307` on two script tags is merely redundant.
+- Light-mode gray text contrast is mostly fine: `app.css` remaps grays darker
+  (4.8–10:1).
+- Detector `gray-on-color` hits at `app.css:84,285` and `broken-image` hits
+  (JS-populated `src`) are not real rendered issues.
+
+## What works
+
+- Theme set before first paint, follows OS preference, `data-theme` + tokens.
+- Mobile drawer: Escape closes it, focus returns to the hamburger, 44px rows.
+- `aria-current="page"` on nav tabs; real `<header>` and `<main>`.
+- Status colors always paired with text; nearly all images have alt text.
+- `toggle-switch.js` uses `role="switch"`; vendor assets self-hosted.
+
+## Open decisions (block the P0 fix approach)
+
+Recorded as undecided in `PRODUCT.md`:
+- Must the UI work fully offline (no CDN fallbacks)?
+- Is a Node/CSS build step acceptable for contributors?
+- Is WCAG 2.2 AA a formal requirement?
+
+## Recommended order
+
+1. **[P0] `/impeccable harden`** — fix the utility layer (real Tailwind build
+   or define missing classes + button reset).
+2. **[P1] `/impeccable harden`** — focus-ring variables and `peer-focus`;
+   one shared accessible modal helper; name icon buttons and label fields;
+   live region on the captive page.
+3. **[P1] `/impeccable optimize`** — pause SSE/timers on hidden tab or page;
+   load widget scripts on demand.
+4. **[P1] `/impeccable colorize`** — move file-manager CSS and `.form-control`
+   onto theme tokens.
+5. **[P2] `/impeccable adapt`** — header wrap, touch targets, log height.
+6. **[P2] `/impeccable animate`** — reduced-motion alternatives.
+7. **`/impeccable polish`** — final pass.

docs/widget-guide.md

@@ -281,11 +281,49 @@ Guidelines:
   their own collapsible sections) and is safely ignored by older cores, so
   adding it never breaks compatibility.
 
+## Hiding Fields From the Form (`x-display: "hidden"`)
+
+Add `"x-display": "hidden"` to a property that must stay in the schema but
+should not appear as a control: a deprecated key kept so existing configs keep
+validating, or an internal value such as an auto-generated row id.
+
+```json
+{
+  "properties": {
+    "radar_zoom": {
+      "type": "integer",
+      "default": 6,
+      "title": "Radar Zoom Level (deprecated)",
+      "x-display": "hidden"
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+What the core does with it:
+
+- **Not rendered** at any depth: top-level fields, children of an object
+  section, and properties of array-of-object items (never a table column, even
+  if `x-columns` names it, and never in the row editor). A hidden field flagged
+  `x-advanced` is not listed or counted in Advanced Settings, and an object
+  whose children are all hidden draws no empty section. Hidden fields don't
+  show up in the settings search either, since it indexes the rendered form.
+- **Stored value preserved on save.** Saving the form never changes a hidden
+  value. The unchecked-checkbox rule ignores a hidden boolean. Array rows carry
+  a hidden property's stored value through the form, so the value survives the
+  row being posted back; a new row gets no value (the plugin fills it in).
+- **The API is unaffected.** A JSON save to `POST /api/v3/plugins/config` can
+  still set a hidden field.
+
+Older cores ignore the flag and render the field as a normal control.
+
 ## Creating Custom Widgets
 
 ### Step 1: Create Widget File
 
-Create a JavaScript file in your plugin directory. The recommended location is `widgets/[widget-name].js`:
+Create a JavaScript file in your plugin's `widgets/` directory, named
+`widgets/[widget-name].js`. The directory is not optional: it is the only
+place the core will serve a widget from.
 
 ```javascript
 // Ensure LEDMatrixWidgets registry is available
@@ -366,7 +404,29 @@ window.LEDMatrixWidgets.register('my-custom-widget', {
 });
 ```
 
-### Step 2: Reference Widget in Schema
+### Step 2: Declare the Widget in `manifest.json`
+
+The manifest is the allowlist. A widget is served only if the plugin declares
+it, so shipping a file under `widgets/` does not by itself publish it:
+
+```json
+{
+  "widgets": [
+    {
+      "name": "my-custom-widget",
+      "script": "my-custom-widget.js",
+      "description": "What this widget is for"
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+`name` is what you use in `x-widget` and in the URL. `script` is optional and
+defaults to `[name].js`; it must be a plain filename directly inside
+`widgets/` (no paths). Both are validated against
+`schema/manifest_schema.json`.
+
+### Step 3: Reference Widget in Schema
 
 In your plugin's `config_schema.json`:
 
@@ -383,15 +443,30 @@ In your plugin's `config_schema.json`:
 }
 ```
 
-### Step 3: Widget Loading
+### Step 4: Widget Loading
 
-The widget will be automatically loaded when the plugin configuration form is rendered. The system will:
+The widget is loaded on demand when the plugin's configuration form renders a
+field that references it. The system will:
 
-1. Check if widget is registered in the core registry
-2. If not found, attempt to load from plugin directory: `/static/plugin-widgets/[plugin-id]/[widget-name].js`
-3. Render the widget using the registered `render` function
+1. Check whether the widget is already registered in the core registry.
+2. If not, fetch it from `/static/plugin-widgets/[plugin-id]/[widget-name].js`.
+   That route serves the declared `script` from your plugin's `widgets/`
+   directory, as `text/javascript`.
+3. Render it by calling the `render` function your script registered.
 
-**Note:** Currently, widgets are server-side rendered via Jinja2 templates. Custom widgets registered via the registry will have their handlers available, but full client-side rendering is a future enhancement.
+The fetch uses a dynamic `import()`, so the file must parse as an ES module.
+A plain IIFE does — modules are strict mode, so avoid sloppy-mode constructs.
+
+**If the widget fails to load** (not declared, file missing, script throws, or
+it never calls `register`), the field falls back to a plain text input holding
+the current value. This is deliberate: a broken widget costs the user an
+editor, not their configured value.
+
+**Limitation:** the on-demand path applies to `string`-typed fields (the
+default branch of the config-form renderer). Fields typed `object`, `array`,
+`boolean`, `integer` or `number`, and fields whose `enum` is set, are
+dispatched by the server-side template to its own built-in renderers, so a
+plugin-supplied `x-widget` on one of those is ignored today.
 
 ## Widget API Reference
 
@@ -497,10 +572,11 @@ See [`web_interface/static/v3/js/widgets/example-color-picker.js`](../web_interf
 - ✅ Plugin widget loading system implemented
 
 **Current Behavior:**
-- Widgets are server-side rendered via Jinja2 templates (existing behavior preserved)
+- Core widgets are server-side rendered via Jinja2 templates (existing behavior preserved)
 - Widget handlers are registered and available globally
-- Custom widgets can be created and registered
-- Full client-side rendering is a future enhancement
+- Custom widgets can be created, declared in `manifest.json`, and are served
+  and rendered on demand for `string`-typed fields
+- Plugin widgets on non-string fields are not dispatched yet (see Step 4)
 
 **Backwards Compatibility:**
 - All existing plugins using widgets continue to work without changes

first_time_install.sh

@@ -125,6 +125,72 @@ fi
 # Get the home directory of the actual user
 USER_HOME=$(eval echo ~$ACTUAL_USER)
 
+# --- rpi-rgb-led-matrix checkout helpers -------------------------------------
+# Run git as whoever owns the project directory. Run as root against a
+# user-owned repo, git refuses it ("dubious ownership"), and anything it does
+# create — such as .git/modules/<submodule> — ends up root-owned, locking the
+# user out of their own checkout. A root-owned install keeps running as root.
+_rgb_repo_owner() {
+    stat -c %U "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR" 2>/dev/null || echo root
+}
+
+_git_as_repo_owner() {
+    local owner
+    owner=$(_rgb_repo_owner)
+    if [ "$(id -u)" = "0" ] && [ "$owner" != "root" ] && command -v sudo >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        sudo -u "$owner" -H git "$@"
+    else
+        git "$@"
+    fi
+}
+
+# Earlier installer versions ran the submodule git commands as root, leaving
+# root-owned files the repo owner (and so _git_as_repo_owner) cannot write.
+_reclaim_rgb_checkout() {
+    local owner path
+    owner=$(_rgb_repo_owner)
+    if [ "$(id -u)" != "0" ] || [ "$owner" = "root" ]; then
+        return 0
+    fi
+    for path in "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master" "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/.git/modules/rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master"; do
+        if [ -e "$path" ]; then
+            chown -R "$owner:" "$path" 2>/dev/null || true
+        fi
+    done
+}
+
+# `git pull` on the main repo never moves an existing submodule checkout, so a
+# submodule bump (e.g. the ARMv6 build fix for Pi Zero/1) would never reach a
+# device installed before it. Move the checkout forward to the pinned commit —
+# but never backward or sideways: a user who ran `git submodule update --remote`
+# is newer than the pin and is left alone. Never fatal.
+_sync_rgb_submodule() {
+    local sub="$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master" pinned current
+    if [ ! -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/.gitmodules" ] || ! grep -q "rpi-rgb-led-matrix" "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/.gitmodules" \
+        || [ ! -e "$sub/.git" ]; then
+        return 0
+    fi
+    if ! pinned=$(_git_as_repo_owner -C "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR" rev-parse "HEAD:rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master" 2>/dev/null) \
+        || [ -z "$pinned" ]; then
+        return 0
+    fi
+    current=$(_git_as_repo_owner -C "$sub" rev-parse HEAD 2>/dev/null) || current=""
+    if [ "$current" = "$pinned" ]; then
+        return 0
+    fi
+    if [ -n "$current" ] && _git_as_repo_owner -C "$sub" cat-file -e "${pinned}^{commit}" 2>/dev/null \
+        && ! _git_as_repo_owner -C "$sub" merge-base --is-ancestor "$current" "$pinned" 2>/dev/null; then
+        echo "rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master is at ${current:0:7}, not behind the pinned ${pinned:0:7}; leaving it as is"
+        return 0
+    fi
+    echo "Updating rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master to the pinned commit ${pinned:0:7}..."
+    if ! _git_as_repo_owner -C "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR" submodule update --init --recursive rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master; then
+        echo "⚠ Could not update rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master to the pinned commit; building the existing checkout"
+    fi
+    return 0
+}
+# --- end rpi-rgb-led-matrix checkout helpers ---------------------------------
+
 # Determine the Project Root Directory (where this script is located)
 PROJECT_ROOT_DIR=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)
 
@@ -154,6 +220,8 @@ SKIP_PERF=${LEDMATRIX_SKIP_PERF:-0}
 SKIP_REBOOT_PROMPT=${LEDMATRIX_SKIP_REBOOT_PROMPT:-0}
 SKIP_SWAP=${LEDMATRIX_SKIP_SWAP:-0}
 BUILD_JOBS_OVERRIDE=${LEDMATRIX_BUILD_JOBS:-}
+# Weekly automatic updates: 1 on, 0 off, empty = ask (interactive) or leave as is.
+AUTO_UPDATE=${LEDMATRIX_AUTO_UPDATE:-}
 
 usage() {
     cat <<USAGE
@@ -168,12 +236,15 @@ Options:
       --skip-swap           Never add temporary swap for the C++ build
       --build-jobs N        Compile the C++ library with N parallel jobs
                             (default: scaled to available RAM)
+      --enable-auto-update  Turn on weekly automatic updates (with health
+                            check and automatic rollback)
+      --no-auto-update      Leave weekly automatic updates off
   -h, --help                Show this help message and exit
 
 Environment variables (same effect as flags):
   LEDMATRIX_ASSUME_YES=1, RPI_RGB_FORCE_REBUILD=1, LEDMATRIX_SKIP_SOUND=1,
   LEDMATRIX_SKIP_PERF=1, LEDMATRIX_SKIP_REBOOT_PROMPT=1,
-  LEDMATRIX_SKIP_SWAP=1, LEDMATRIX_BUILD_JOBS=N
+  LEDMATRIX_SKIP_SWAP=1, LEDMATRIX_BUILD_JOBS=N, LEDMATRIX_AUTO_UPDATE=1|0
 
 Low-memory devices:
   On a Pi with under 2GB of RAM the C++ build is limited to fewer parallel
@@ -191,6 +262,8 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
         --skip-perf) SKIP_PERF=1 ;;
         --no-reboot-prompt) SKIP_REBOOT_PROMPT=1 ;;
         --skip-swap) SKIP_SWAP=1 ;;
+        --enable-auto-update) AUTO_UPDATE=1 ;;
+        --no-auto-update) AUTO_UPDATE=0 ;;
         --build-jobs)
             shift
             if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then echo "--build-jobs requires a number"; usage; exit 1; fi
@@ -797,6 +870,50 @@ else
     echo "✓ Main config file already exists"
 fi
 
+# Weekly automatic updates (General tab -> Automatic Updates). Off unless asked
+# for: --enable-auto-update / LEDMATRIX_AUTO_UPDATE=1, or "y" at the prompt when
+# installing interactively. Only an explicit choice changes the setting, so
+# re-running the installer with -y never switches it silently.
+if [ -z "$AUTO_UPDATE" ] && [ "$ASSUME_YES" != "1" ] && [ -t 0 ]; then
+    read -p "Automatically check for and install LEDMatrix updates once a week, with automatic rollback if an update breaks something? (y/N): " -n 1 -r
+    echo
+    if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then AUTO_UPDATE=1; else AUTO_UPDATE=0; fi
+fi
+if [ "$AUTO_UPDATE" = "1" ] || [ "$AUTO_UPDATE" = "0" ]; then
+    if python3 - "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/config/config.json" "$AUTO_UPDATE" <<'PY'
+import json, os, sys, tempfile
+path, enabled = sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2] == "1"
+with open(path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
+    config = json.load(f)
+if not isinstance(config.get("auto_update"), dict):
+    config["auto_update"] = {}
+config["auto_update"]["enabled"] = enabled
+# Written beside the original and swapped in whole: the display service's
+# config watcher may be running and must never read a half-written file.
+original = os.stat(path)
+fd, tmp = tempfile.mkstemp(dir=os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(path)), prefix=".config.")
+try:
+    with os.fdopen(fd, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+        json.dump(config, f, indent=4)
+        f.write("\n")
+        f.flush()
+        os.fsync(f.fileno())
+    os.chmod(tmp, original.st_mode & 0o777)
+    if hasattr(os, "chown"):
+        os.chown(tmp, original.st_uid, original.st_gid)
+    os.replace(tmp, path)
+except BaseException:
+    if os.path.exists(tmp):
+        os.unlink(tmp)
+    raise
+PY
+    then
+        if [ "$AUTO_UPDATE" = "1" ]; then echo "✓ Weekly automatic updates enabled"; else echo "✓ Weekly automatic updates off"; fi
+    else
+        echo "⚠ Could not set auto_update in config/config.json; turn it on from the General tab instead"
+    fi
+fi
+
 # Create config_secrets.json from template if missing
 if [ ! -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/config/config_secrets.json" ]; then
     if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/config/config_secrets.template.json" ]; then
@@ -1038,8 +1155,9 @@ else
     # so git clone doesn't fail with "destination path already exists".
     _clone_rpi_rgb() {
         rm -rf "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master"
-        git clone https://github.com/hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix.git rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
+        _git_as_repo_owner clone https://github.com/hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix.git rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
     }
+    _reclaim_rgb_checkout
     if [ ! -d "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master" ]; then
         echo "rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master not found. Initializing git submodule..."
         cd "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR"
@@ -1047,7 +1165,7 @@ else
         # Try to initialize submodule if .gitmodules exists
         if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/.gitmodules" ] && grep -q "rpi-rgb-led-matrix" "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/.gitmodules"; then
             echo "Initializing rpi-rgb-led-matrix submodule..."
-            if ! retry git submodule update --init --recursive rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master; then
+            if ! retry _git_as_repo_owner submodule update --init --recursive rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master; then
                 echo "⚠ Submodule init failed, cloning directly from GitHub..."
                 retry _clone_rpi_rgb
             fi
@@ -1066,12 +1184,14 @@ else
             cd "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR"
             rm -rf rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
             if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/.gitmodules" ] && grep -q "rpi-rgb-led-matrix" "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/.gitmodules"; then
-                retry git submodule update --init --recursive rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
+                retry _git_as_repo_owner submodule update --init --recursive rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
             else
                 retry _clone_rpi_rgb
             fi
         fi
 
+        _sync_rgb_submodule
+
         # Add temporary swap on low-memory devices so the compiler survives.
         CURRENT_STEP="Prepare the low-memory build environment"
         if [ "$LOWMEM_AVAILABLE" = "1" ] && [ "$SKIP_SWAP" != "1" ]; then
@@ -1272,7 +1392,7 @@ if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install/install_web_service.sh" ]; then
         fi
     fi
     
-    if [ ! -f "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-web.service" ] || [ "$NEEDS_UPDATE" = true ]; then
+    if [ ! -f "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-web.service" ] || [ ! -f "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-update-verify.path" ] || [ "$NEEDS_UPDATE" = true ]; then
         bash "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install/install_web_service.sh"
         # Ensure systemd sees any new/changed unit files
         systemctl daemon-reload || true
@@ -1288,7 +1408,7 @@ echo ""
 CURRENT_STEP="Harden systemd unit file permissions"
 echo "Step 8.1: Setting systemd unit file permissions..."
 echo "-----------------------------------------------"
-for unit in "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix.service" "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-web.service" "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-wifi-monitor.service"; do
+for unit in "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix.service" "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-web.service" "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-wifi-monitor.service" "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-update-verify.service" "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-update-verify.path"; do
     if [ -f "$unit" ]; then
         chown root:root "$unit" || true
         chmod 644 "$unit" || true
@@ -1416,6 +1536,9 @@ $ACTUAL_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $PYTHON_PATH $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/display_controll
 $ACTUAL_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $BASH_PATH $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/start_display.sh
 $ACTUAL_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $BASH_PATH $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/stop_display.sh
 $ACTUAL_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $BASH_PATH $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/fix_perms/safe_plugin_rm.sh *
+# Install a requirements.txt as root via vetted helper, so packages are visible
+# to root-run ledmatrix.service (not just the web interface's own user).
+$ACTUAL_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $BASH_PATH $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/fix_perms/safe_pip_install.sh *
 EOF
 if [ -n "$JOURNALCTL_PATH" ]; then
     cat >> /tmp/ledmatrix_web_sudoers << EOF
@@ -1623,6 +1746,19 @@ chmod 755 "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install/install_service.sh" "$PROJECT_ROOT_
 # Re-apply special permissions for config directory (lost during normalization)
 chmod 2775 "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/config" || true
 
+# Harden the sudo-granted helper scripts: root-owned, not writable by the web
+# user (matches scripts/install/configure_web_sudo.sh). The sudoers rules in
+# Step 10 run these as root, so a user-owned copy is a root shell for whoever
+# can edit it. This must come after Step 11's project-wide chown to
+# $ACTUAL_USER, which would otherwise hand them straight back.
+for helper in safe_plugin_rm.sh safe_pip_install.sh; do
+    HELPER_PATH="$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/fix_perms/$helper"
+    if [ -f "$HELPER_PATH" ]; then
+        chown root:root "$HELPER_PATH" || echo "⚠ Could not set ownership on $HELPER_PATH"
+        chmod 755 "$HELPER_PATH" || echo "⚠ Could not set permissions on $HELPER_PATH"
+    fi
+done
+
 echo "✓ Project file permissions normalized"
 echo ""
 

integrations/mqtt_bridge/.gitignore

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+bridge_config.json

integrations/mqtt_bridge/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+# Home Assistant MQTT Bridge
+
+Control the matrix from Home Assistant: force any plugin or mode on demand,
+turn the display on and off, and set brightness — as real HA entities, not
+hand-written `mqtt.publish` calls.
+
+The bridge owns no display logic. It subscribes to one command topic and
+turns each message into a call against the same `api_v3` routes the web UI
+uses, so behaviour lives in one place. It talks to the API over HTTP only —
+no filesystem access — so it can run on the Pi or anywhere that can reach
+the web interface.
+
+## What appears in Home Assistant
+
+On connect the bridge publishes [MQTT Discovery](https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/mqtt/#mqtt-discovery)
+config, so the matrix shows up under **Settings → Devices & Services → MQTT**
+with no YAML:
+
+| Entity | Does |
+|---|---|
+| `select.ledmatrix_display_mode` | Every mode across enabled plugins. Choosing one force-displays it. |
+| `button.ledmatrix_stop_display` | Back to normal rotation. |
+| `switch.ledmatrix_power` | Starts/stops the display service. |
+| `number.ledmatrix_brightness` | 0–100. |
+
+State is read back from the API every 30 seconds, so the entities also track
+changes made from the web UI or an on-demand window expiring on its own.
+All four share an availability topic that is the bridge's MQTT last will:
+if the bridge dies, HA greys the controls out rather than leaving them
+looking live but inert.
+
+## Raw commands
+
+For anything the entities do not cover, publish JSON to the command topic
+(`ledmatrix/command` by default):
+
+```jsonc
+// Force a mode. plugin_id is optional — the bridge fills it in from
+// /api/v3/display/modes.
+{"action": "display", "mode": "nfl_live"}
+
+// duration is seconds; pinned holds this one mode instead of rotating
+// through every mode the plugin owns. Pin Starlark apps, where each mode
+// is an unrelated widget; leave a sports plugin unpinned so live/recent/
+// upcoming still cycle.
+{"action": "display", "plugin_id": "starlark-apps", "mode": "aquarium",
+ "duration": 300, "pinned": true}
+
+{"action": "stop_display"}
+{"action": "power", "state": "on"}
+{"action": "brightness", "value": 75}
+
+// Re-read the mode list and re-publish discovery, after installing a plugin
+{"action": "refresh"}
+```
+
+Every command publishes its outcome to `<command_topic>/status`, and current
+state to `<command_topic>/state`.
+
+## Requirements
+
+- A LEDMatrix install with its web interface reachable (default `http://localhost:5000`)
+- An MQTT broker that Home Assistant is also connected to
+- Python 3 with `paho-mqtt` 2.x and `requests`
+
+## Install
+
+```bash
+sudo ./scripts/install/install_mqtt_bridge.sh
+```
+
+That copies `bridge_config.example.json` to `bridge_config.json` on first
+run, installs the dependencies, and enables `ledmatrix-mqtt-bridge.service`.
+Edit the config with your broker details and re-run it.
+
+```json
+{
+  "mqtt_host": "192.168.1.10",
+  "mqtt_port": 8883,
+  "mqtt_username": "ledmatrix",
+  "mqtt_password": null,
+  "mqtt_topic": "ledmatrix/command",
+  "mqtt_tls": true,
+  "ledmatrix_api_base": "http://localhost:5000"
+}
+```
+
+**TLS is on by default.** Without it the broker password and every display
+command cross the network in cleartext. If your broker only listens on plain
+1883 — which the Mosquitto add-on does out of the box — set `"mqtt_tls": false`
+and `"mqtt_port": 1883`. The bridge logs a warning at startup when a password
+is configured without TLS.
+
+`bridge_config.json` is gitignored. Any key can also be supplied through the
+environment as `LEDMATRIX_MQTT_<KEY>` (`LEDMATRIX_MQTT_MQTT_PASSWORD`, say),
+which keeps a broker password out of a file on disk — put it in a systemd
+drop-in with `Environment=` or `EnvironmentFile=` instead.
+
+Set `mqtt_tls: true` for a broker with TLS. `mqtt_tls_insecure` skips
+certificate verification and exists only for a self-signed broker on a
+trusted LAN; it logs a warning when used.
+
+To run it in the foreground while setting things up:
+
+```bash
+python3 integrations/mqtt_bridge/ledmatrix_mqtt_bridge.py --config integrations/mqtt_bridge/bridge_config.json
+```
+
+## Notes
+
+- Only one thing can be on-demand at a time — the same constraint the web UI has.
+- Forcing a mode restarts the display service, so the panel blanks for a moment.
+- The mode list comes from `/api/v3/display/modes`, which triggers plugin
+  discovery itself. Discovery is lazy and normally happens because somebody
+  opened the dashboard; without that endpoint a bridge that never does would
+  see an empty list.
+- Brightness writes `display.hardware.brightness` through `/api/v3/config/main`.
+  The display service picks it up on its next restart, not instantly.

integrations/mqtt_bridge/bridge_config.example.json

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+{
+  "mqtt_host": "192.168.1.10",
+  "mqtt_port": 8883,
+  "mqtt_username": "ledmatrix",
+  "mqtt_password": null,
+  "mqtt_client_id": "ledmatrix-mqtt-bridge",
+  "mqtt_topic": "ledmatrix/command",
+  "mqtt_tls": true,
+  "ledmatrix_api_base": "http://localhost:5000",
+  "request_timeout": 15,
+  "on_demand_duration": null,
+  "log_level": "INFO"
+}

integrations/mqtt_bridge/ledmatrix_mqtt_bridge.py

@@ -0,0 +1,548 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Control a LEDMatrix display from Home Assistant over MQTT.
+
+The bridge owns no display logic. It subscribes to one command topic and
+turns each message into a call against the same api_v3 routes the web UI
+uses, so behaviour stays in one place and this stays a translation layer.
+
+On connect it publishes Home Assistant MQTT Discovery config, so a matrix
+appears in HA as real entities rather than something you drive with
+`mqtt.publish` by hand:
+
+    select.ledmatrix_display_mode   every mode across enabled plugins;
+                                    choosing one force-displays it
+    button.ledmatrix_stop_display   back to normal rotation
+    switch.ledmatrix_power          the display service, on or off
+    number.ledmatrix_brightness     0-100
+
+Anything the entities do not cover is still reachable by publishing JSON
+to the command topic:
+
+    {"action": "display", "mode": "nfl_live"}
+    {"action": "display", "plugin_id": "starlark-apps", "mode": "aquarium",
+     "duration": 300, "pinned": true}
+    {"action": "stop_display"}
+    {"action": "power", "state": "on" | "off"}
+    {"action": "brightness", "value": 75}
+    {"action": "refresh"}          re-publish discovery after installing a plugin
+
+Every command publishes its result to <command_topic>/status.
+
+Run it with `python3 ledmatrix_mqtt_bridge.py [--config PATH]`, or install
+ledmatrix-mqtt-bridge.service.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import json
+import logging
+import os
+import signal
+import sys
+import threading
+from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, List, Optional
+
+import requests
+
+logger = logging.getLogger("ledmatrix-mqtt-bridge")
+
+DISCOVERY_PREFIX = "homeassistant"
+DEVICE_ID = "ledmatrix"
+DEVICE_INFO = {
+    "identifiers": [DEVICE_ID],
+    "name": "LEDMatrix",
+    "manufacturer": "ChuckBuilds",
+    "model": "LEDMatrix Display",
+}
+
+DEFAULTS = {
+    "mqtt_host": "localhost",
+    "mqtt_port": 1883,
+    "mqtt_username": None,
+    "mqtt_password": None,  # nosec B105 - "no password configured", not a credential
+    "mqtt_client_id": "ledmatrix-mqtt-bridge",
+    "mqtt_topic": "ledmatrix/command",
+    "mqtt_tls": False,
+    "mqtt_tls_insecure": False,
+    "ledmatrix_api_base": "http://localhost:5000",
+    "request_timeout": 15,
+    "on_demand_duration": None,
+    "log_level": "INFO",
+}
+
+
+class ConfigError(Exception):
+    """The bridge cannot start with the configuration it was given."""
+
+
+def load_config(path: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """Read bridge_config.json, overlaid on DEFAULTS.
+
+    Every value may also come from the environment as LEDMATRIX_MQTT_<KEY>,
+    which is how a password stays out of a file that has to be world-readable
+    for the service user.
+    """
+    config = dict(DEFAULTS)
+    if os.path.isfile(path):
+        with open(path, encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+            try:
+                loaded = json.load(handle)
+            except json.JSONDecodeError as err:
+                raise ConfigError(f"{path} is not valid JSON: {err}") from err
+        if not isinstance(loaded, dict):
+            raise ConfigError(f"{path} must contain a JSON object")
+        config.update(loaded)
+    else:
+        logger.warning("No config file at %s - using defaults and environment", path)
+
+    for key in DEFAULTS:
+        env_value = os.environ.get(f"LEDMATRIX_MQTT_{key.upper()}")
+        if env_value is not None:
+            config[key] = env_value
+
+    for key in ("mqtt_port", "request_timeout"):
+        try:
+            config[key] = int(config[key])
+        except (TypeError, ValueError) as err:
+            raise ConfigError(f"{key} must be a whole number, got {config[key]!r}") from err
+    for key in ("mqtt_tls", "mqtt_tls_insecure"):
+        config[key] = str(config[key]).lower() in ("1", "true", "yes", "on")
+
+    if config.get("mqtt_password") == "REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_ACTUAL_MQTT_PASSWORD":
+        raise ConfigError(
+            "mqtt_password is still the example placeholder - set a real password, "
+            "or remove the key if your broker allows anonymous connections")
+    return config
+
+
+class LEDMatrixClient:
+    """The api_v3 calls the bridge needs, and nothing else.
+
+    Everything goes through the HTTP API rather than the filesystem, so the
+    bridge does not have to live on the Pi, does not need read access to
+    config.json, and cannot drift from the web UI's own behaviour.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, api_base: str, timeout: int = 15,
+                 session: Optional[requests.Session] = None):
+        self.api_base = api_base.rstrip("/")
+        self.timeout = timeout
+        self.session = session or requests.Session()
+
+    def _call(self, method: str, path: str, **kwargs) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        url = f"{self.api_base}/api/v3{path}"
+        response = self.session.request(method, url, timeout=self.timeout, **kwargs)
+        try:
+            body = response.json()
+        except ValueError:
+            body = {}
+        if response.status_code >= 400 or body.get("status") == "error":
+            message = body.get("message") or f"HTTP {response.status_code}"
+            raise RuntimeError(f"{method} {path} failed: {message}")
+        return body.get("data", body)
+
+    def list_modes(self) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        """Every display mode that can be force-displayed, newest discovery.
+
+        /display/modes triggers plugin discovery itself, which matters because
+        discovery is lazy: a bridge that never opens the dashboard would
+        otherwise see nothing at all.
+        """
+        return self._call("GET", "/display/modes").get("modes", [])
+
+    def display_status(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        return self._call("GET", "/display/on-demand/status")
+
+    def start_on_demand(self, mode: str, plugin_id: Optional[str] = None,
+                        duration: Optional[int] = None, pinned: bool = False) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        payload: Dict[str, Any] = {"mode": mode, "pinned": pinned}
+        if plugin_id:
+            # find_plugin_for_mode only sees modes declared in a static
+            # manifest, so a plugin whose modes are generated -- each installed
+            # Starlark app is one -- 404s when plugin_id is omitted. Sending it
+            # skips that lookup. /display/modes reports it for every mode.
+            payload["plugin_id"] = plugin_id
+        if duration:
+            payload["duration"] = int(duration)
+        return self._call("POST", "/display/on-demand/start", json=payload)
+
+    def stop_on_demand(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        return self._call("POST", "/display/on-demand/stop", json={})
+
+    def set_power(self, on: bool) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        action = "start_display" if on else "stop_display"
+        return self._call("POST", "/system/action", json={"action": action})
+
+    def get_brightness(self) -> Optional[int]:
+        config = self._call("GET", "/config/main")
+        value = config.get("display", {}).get("hardware", {}).get("brightness")
+        try:
+            return int(value)
+        except (TypeError, ValueError):
+            return None
+
+    def set_brightness(self, value: int) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        return self._call("POST", "/config/main", json={"brightness": int(value)})
+
+
+class CommandHandler:
+    """Turns one decoded MQTT payload into one API call.
+
+    Kept free of MQTT so it can be tested against a fake client: the failure
+    modes worth pinning are all in here (an unknown mode, an out-of-range
+    brightness, a mode name that needs its plugin_id attached).
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, client: LEDMatrixClient, default_duration: Optional[int] = None):
+        self.client = client
+        self.default_duration = default_duration
+        self._modes_by_name: Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]] = {}
+
+    def refresh_modes(self) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        modes = self.client.list_modes()
+        self._modes_by_name = {m["mode"]: m for m in modes}
+        # Home Assistant's select shows labels, so accept them back as well --
+        # otherwise picking "Simple Clock" in a dashboard is not a mode name.
+        for entry in modes:
+            self._modes_by_name.setdefault(entry.get("name") or entry["mode"], entry)
+        return modes
+
+    @property
+    def known_modes(self) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        return list({id(v): v for v in self._modes_by_name.values()}.values())
+
+    def handle(self, payload: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        action = payload.get("action")
+        handlers: Dict[str, Callable[[Dict[str, Any]], Dict[str, Any]]] = {
+            "display": self._display,
+            "stop_display": lambda _p: self._ok(self.client.stop_on_demand()),
+            "power": self._power,
+            "brightness": self._brightness,
+            "refresh": lambda _p: self._ok({"modes": len(self.refresh_modes())}),
+        }
+        handler = handlers.get(action)
+        if handler is None:
+            return self._error(f"Unknown action {action!r}; expected one of "
+                               f"{', '.join(sorted(handlers))}")
+        try:
+            return handler(payload)
+        except (requests.RequestException, RuntimeError) as err:
+            logger.error("Command %s failed: %s", action, err)
+            return self._error(str(err))
+
+    def _display(self, payload: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        mode = payload.get("mode")
+        plugin_id = payload.get("plugin_id")
+        if not mode and not plugin_id:
+            return self._error("display requires 'mode' or 'plugin_id'")
+
+        known = self._modes_by_name.get(mode) if mode else None
+        if known is None and mode and not plugin_id:
+            # One retry against a fresh listing: a plugin installed since the
+            # last refresh is the common reason a valid mode looks unknown.
+            self.refresh_modes()
+            known = self._modes_by_name.get(mode)
+        if known is not None:
+            mode = known["mode"]
+            plugin_id = plugin_id or known.get("plugin_id")
+
+        duration = payload.get("duration", self.default_duration)
+        pinned = bool(payload.get("pinned", False))
+        result = self.client.start_on_demand(
+            mode=mode, plugin_id=plugin_id, duration=duration, pinned=pinned)
+        return self._ok(result, mode=mode, plugin_id=plugin_id)
+
+    def _power(self, payload: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        state = str(payload.get("state", "")).strip().lower()
+        if state not in ("on", "off"):
+            return self._error("power requires 'state' of 'on' or 'off'")
+        return self._ok(self.client.set_power(state == "on"), state=state)
+
+    def _brightness(self, payload: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        raw = payload.get("value")
+        try:
+            value = int(float(raw))
+        except (TypeError, ValueError):
+            return self._error(f"brightness requires a number, got {raw!r}")
+        if not 0 <= value <= 100:
+            return self._error(f"brightness must be between 0 and 100, got {value}")
+        return self._ok(self.client.set_brightness(value), value=value)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _ok(result: Any, **extra) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        return {"status": "success", "result": result, **extra}
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _error(message: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        return {"status": "error", "message": message}
+
+
+def discovery_messages(command_topic: str, state_topic: str, availability_topic: str,
+                       mode_labels: List[str]) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+    """The retained MQTT Discovery configs, as {topic, payload} pairs.
+
+    Pure, so the entity shapes can be asserted without a broker. Every entity
+    shares one availability topic, which is also the bridge's last will -- HA
+    then shows the matrix as unavailable when the bridge dies, instead of
+    leaving stale controls that silently do nothing.
+    """
+    common = {
+        "device": DEVICE_INFO,
+        "availability_topic": availability_topic,
+        "payload_available": "online",
+        "payload_not_available": "offline",
+    }
+    return [
+        {
+            "topic": f"{DISCOVERY_PREFIX}/select/{DEVICE_ID}/display_mode/config",
+            "payload": {
+                **common,
+                "name": "Display Mode",
+                "unique_id": f"{DEVICE_ID}_display_mode",
+                "command_topic": command_topic,
+                "command_template": '{"action": "display", "mode": "{{ value }}"}',
+                "state_topic": state_topic,
+                "value_template": "{{ value_json.mode }}",
+                "options": mode_labels,
+                "icon": "mdi:view-dashboard",
+            },
+        },
+        {
+            "topic": f"{DISCOVERY_PREFIX}/button/{DEVICE_ID}/stop_display/config",
+            "payload": {
+                **common,
+                "name": "Stop Display",
+                "unique_id": f"{DEVICE_ID}_stop_display",
+                "command_topic": command_topic,
+                "payload_press": '{"action": "stop_display"}',
+                "icon": "mdi:stop",
+            },
+        },
+        {
+            "topic": f"{DISCOVERY_PREFIX}/switch/{DEVICE_ID}/power/config",
+            "payload": {
+                **common,
+                "name": "Power",
+                "unique_id": f"{DEVICE_ID}_power",
+                "command_topic": command_topic,
+                "payload_on": '{"action": "power", "state": "on"}',
+                "payload_off": '{"action": "power", "state": "off"}',
+                "state_topic": state_topic,
+                "value_template": "{{ 'ON' if value_json.power else 'OFF' }}",
+                "state_on": "ON",
+                "state_off": "OFF",
+                "icon": "mdi:power",
+            },
+        },
+        {
+            "topic": f"{DISCOVERY_PREFIX}/number/{DEVICE_ID}/brightness/config",
+            "payload": {
+                **common,
+                "name": "Brightness",
+                "unique_id": f"{DEVICE_ID}_brightness",
+                "command_topic": command_topic,
+                "command_template": '{"action": "brightness", "value": {{ value }}}',
+                "state_topic": state_topic,
+                "value_template": "{{ value_json.brightness }}",
+                "min": 0,
+                "max": 100,
+                "step": 1,
+                "icon": "mdi:brightness-6",
+            },
+        },
+    ]
+
+
+def warn_if_cleartext(config: Dict[str, Any]) -> bool:
+    """Say so, once, when a broker password is going over an unencrypted link.
+
+    The shipped example has TLS on, so reaching here means somebody turned it
+    off deliberately -- which is legitimate (the Mosquitto add-on is plaintext
+    on 1883) but should not be silent when there is a password to lose. Returns
+    whether it warned, so the decision is testable without a broker.
+    """
+    if config.get("mqtt_tls") or not config.get("mqtt_password"):
+        return False
+    logger.warning(
+        'mqtt_tls is off and a password is set: the broker password and every '
+        'command are sent unencrypted. Set "mqtt_tls": true (port 8883 on most '
+        'brokers) unless this is a trusted, isolated network.')
+    return True
+
+
+def read_state(client: LEDMatrixClient) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """The state every entity reads, so HA opens on real values.
+
+    Each field is fetched independently: a matrix with its display service
+    stopped still has a brightness worth showing, and one unreachable field
+    should not blank the rest.
+    """
+    state: Dict[str, Any] = {"power": False, "mode": None, "brightness": None}
+    try:
+        status = client.display_status()
+        state["power"] = bool(status.get("service", {}).get("active"))
+        on_demand = status.get("state", {})
+        if on_demand.get("active"):
+            state["mode"] = on_demand.get("mode")
+    except (requests.RequestException, RuntimeError) as err:
+        logger.debug("Could not read display status: %s", err)
+    try:
+        state["brightness"] = client.get_brightness()
+    except (requests.RequestException, RuntimeError) as err:
+        logger.debug("Could not read brightness: %s", err)
+    return state
+
+
+class Bridge:
+    """MQTT wiring around CommandHandler."""
+
+    def __init__(self, config: Dict[str, Any]):
+        self.config = config
+        self.command_topic = config["mqtt_topic"]
+        self.status_topic = f"{self.command_topic}/status"
+        self.state_topic = f"{self.command_topic}/state"
+        self.availability_topic = f"{self.command_topic}/availability"
+        self.client = LEDMatrixClient(config["ledmatrix_api_base"], config["request_timeout"])
+        self.handler = CommandHandler(self.client, config.get("on_demand_duration"))
+        self._stop = threading.Event()
+        self._mqtt = None
+
+    # -- MQTT callbacks (paho-mqtt 2.x VERSION2 signatures) ------------------
+
+    def _on_connect(self, client, _userdata, _flags, reason_code, _properties=None):
+        if getattr(reason_code, "is_failure", reason_code != 0):
+            logger.error("MQTT connection refused: %s", reason_code)
+            return
+        logger.info("Connected to MQTT broker; subscribing to %s", self.command_topic)
+        client.subscribe(self.command_topic, qos=1)
+        client.publish(self.availability_topic, "online", qos=1, retain=True)
+        # Re-publish on every reconnect, not just the first connect: a broker
+        # restart drops retained discovery configs, and HA would otherwise be
+        # left with entities it can no longer describe.
+        self.publish_discovery()
+        self.publish_state()
+
+    def _on_message(self, _client, _userdata, message):
+        try:
+            payload = json.loads(message.payload.decode("utf-8"))
+        except (UnicodeDecodeError, json.JSONDecodeError) as err:
+            logger.warning("Ignoring unparseable message on %s: %s", message.topic, err)
+            self._publish(self.status_topic, {"status": "error", "message": f"bad payload: {err}"})
+            return
+        if not isinstance(payload, dict):
+            self._publish(self.status_topic,
+                          {"status": "error", "message": "payload must be a JSON object"})
+            return
+
+        logger.info("Command: %s", payload)
+        result = self.handler.handle(payload)
+        self._publish(self.status_topic, result)
+        # The API applies changes asynchronously (the controller polls its
+        # mailbox), so read state back rather than assuming the command took.
+        self.publish_state()
+
+    # -- publishing ---------------------------------------------------------
+
+    def _publish(self, topic: str, payload: Any, retain: bool = False) -> None:
+        if self._mqtt is None:
+            return
+        body = payload if isinstance(payload, str) else json.dumps(payload)
+        self._mqtt.publish(topic, body, qos=1, retain=retain)
+
+    def publish_discovery(self) -> None:
+        try:
+            modes = self.handler.refresh_modes()
+        except (requests.RequestException, RuntimeError) as err:
+            logger.error("Could not list display modes: %s", err)
+            modes = self.handler.known_modes
+        labels = sorted({m.get("name") or m["mode"] for m in modes})
+        for message in discovery_messages(self.command_topic, self.state_topic,
+                                          self.availability_topic, labels):
+            self._publish(message["topic"], message["payload"], retain=True)
+        logger.info("Published discovery for %d display mode(s)", len(labels))
+
+    def publish_state(self) -> None:
+        self._publish(self.state_topic, read_state(self.client), retain=True)
+
+    # -- lifecycle ----------------------------------------------------------
+
+    def run(self) -> int:
+        try:
+            import paho.mqtt.client as mqtt
+        except ImportError:
+            logger.error("paho-mqtt is not installed: pip install -r requirements.txt")
+            return 1
+
+        # VERSION2 is the current callback API. The compatibility note in
+        # CLAUDE.md is about code written against the v1 signatures; this file
+        # is written against v2 and requires paho-mqtt >= 2.0.
+        self._mqtt = mqtt.Client(
+            mqtt.CallbackAPIVersion.VERSION2,
+            client_id=self.config["mqtt_client_id"])
+        if self.config.get("mqtt_username"):
+            self._mqtt.username_pw_set(self.config["mqtt_username"],
+                                       self.config.get("mqtt_password"))
+        if self.config.get("mqtt_tls"):
+            self._mqtt.tls_set()
+            if self.config.get("mqtt_tls_insecure"):
+                logger.warning("TLS certificate verification is disabled (mqtt_tls_insecure)")
+                self._mqtt.tls_insecure_set(True)
+        else:
+            warn_if_cleartext(self.config)
+
+        self._mqtt.will_set(self.availability_topic, "offline", qos=1, retain=True)
+        self._mqtt.on_connect = self._on_connect
+        self._mqtt.on_message = self._on_message
+
+        logger.info("Connecting to %s:%s", self.config["mqtt_host"], self.config["mqtt_port"])
+        try:
+            self._mqtt.connect(self.config["mqtt_host"], self.config["mqtt_port"], keepalive=60)
+        except OSError as err:
+            logger.error("Could not reach the MQTT broker: %s", err)
+            return 1
+
+        self._mqtt.loop_start()
+        try:
+            while not self._stop.wait(30):
+                # HA is told the truth about state that changed outside the
+                # bridge -- somebody using the web UI, or an on-demand window
+                # expiring on its own.
+                self.publish_state()
+        finally:
+            self._publish(self.availability_topic, "offline", retain=True)
+            self._mqtt.loop_stop()
+            self._mqtt.disconnect()
+        return 0
+
+    def stop(self, *_args) -> None:
+        logger.info("Shutting down")
+        self._stop.set()
+
+
+def main(argv: Optional[List[str]] = None) -> int:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__.splitlines()[0])
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--config",
+        default=os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)), "bridge_config.json"),
+        help="Path to bridge_config.json (default: alongside this script)")
+    args = parser.parse_args(argv)
+
+    logging.basicConfig(
+        level=logging.INFO,
+        format="%(asctime)s - %(levelname)s - %(name)s - %(message)s")
+    try:
+        config = load_config(args.config)
+    except ConfigError as err:
+        logger.error("%s", err)
+        return 1
+    logging.getLogger().setLevel(str(config.get("log_level", "INFO")).upper())
+
+    bridge = Bridge(config)
+    signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, bridge.stop)
+    signal.signal(signal.SIGINT, bridge.stop)
+    return bridge.run()
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())

integrations/mqtt_bridge/requirements.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Floors are security floors, not API floors. requests < 2.33.0 carries
+# CVE-2024-35195, CVE-2024-47081 and CVE-2026-25645; matches the pin in the
+# project's own requirements.txt.
+paho-mqtt>=2.0.0,<3.0.0
+requests>=2.33.0,<3.0.0

plugin-repos/starlark-apps/manager.py

@@ -194,6 +194,15 @@ class StarlarkAppsPlugin(BasePlugin):
     Each installed app becomes a dynamic display mode.
     """
 
+    #: Starlark apps are animations: a .webp render carries per-frame delays
+    #: and _display_frame advances at most one frame per call. The controller
+    #: reads this attribute to decide whether a mode needs its high-FPS loop;
+    #: without it display() was called once per rotation slot, so a multi-frame
+    #: app showed a single frame and never moved. static-image is force-run at
+    #: high FPS for the same reason (GIFs), but that plugin is special-cased by
+    #: name in the controller and this one has to declare it.
+    enable_scrolling = True
+
     def __init__(self, plugin_id: str, config: Dict[str, Any],
                  display_manager, cache_manager, plugin_manager):
         """Initialize the Starlark Apps plugin."""
@@ -211,6 +220,8 @@ class StarlarkAppsPlugin(BasePlugin):
         # App storage
         self.apps_dir = self._get_apps_directory()
         self.manifest_file = self.apps_dir / "manifest.json"
+        # A dedicated, never-replaced file to flock -- see _update_manifest_safe.
+        self.manifest_lock_file = self.apps_dir / "manifest.json.lock"
         self.apps: Dict[str, StarlarkApp] = {}
 
         # Display state
@@ -555,7 +566,8 @@ class StarlarkAppsPlugin(BasePlugin):
     def _save_manifest(self, manifest: Dict[str, Any]) -> bool:
         """
         Save apps manifest to file with file locking to prevent race conditions.
-        Acquires exclusive lock on manifest file before writing to prevent concurrent modifications.
+        Acquires exclusive lock on the manifest lock sidecar before writing to
+        prevent concurrent modifications.
         """
         temp_file = None
         lock_fd = None
@@ -563,9 +575,14 @@ class StarlarkAppsPlugin(BasePlugin):
             # Create parent directory if needed
             self.manifest_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
 
-            # Open manifest file for locking (create if doesn't exist, don't truncate)
-            # Use os.open with O_CREAT | O_RDWR to create if missing, but don't truncate
-            lock_fd = os.open(str(self.manifest_file), os.O_CREAT | os.O_RDWR, 0o644)
+            # Lock the sidecar file, not manifest_file itself: manifest_file is
+            # replaced by an atomic rename below, which swaps in a fresh inode
+            # a second locker's fresh os.open() would pick up unguarded. The
+            # sidecar is never written to or renamed over, so it always
+            # resolves to the same inode for every locker (see
+            # _update_manifest_safe and web_interface's _starlark_manifest_lock,
+            # which must lock this same file for the guarantee to hold).
+            lock_fd = os.open(str(self.manifest_lock_file), os.O_CREAT | os.O_RDWR, 0o644)
 
             # Acquire exclusive lock on manifest file BEFORE creating temp file
             # This serializes all writers and prevents concurrent races
@@ -621,8 +638,9 @@ class StarlarkAppsPlugin(BasePlugin):
             # Create parent directory if needed
             self.manifest_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
 
-            # Open manifest file for locking (create if doesn't exist, don't truncate)
-            lock_fd = os.open(str(self.manifest_file), os.O_CREAT | os.O_RDWR, 0o644)
+            # Lock the sidecar file, not manifest_file itself -- see the
+            # comment in _save_manifest for why.
+            lock_fd = os.open(str(self.manifest_lock_file), os.O_CREAT | os.O_RDWR, 0o644)
 
             # Acquire exclusive lock for entire read-modify-write cycle
             fcntl.flock(lock_fd, fcntl.LOCK_EX)
@@ -681,38 +699,62 @@ class StarlarkAppsPlugin(BasePlugin):
                 if app.is_enabled() and app.should_render(current_time):
                     self._render_app(app, force=False)
 
-    def display(self, force_clear: bool = False) -> None:
+    def display(self, display_mode: Optional[str] = None, force_clear: bool = False) -> bool:
         """
         Display current Starlark app.
 
         This method is called during the display rotation.
         Displays frames from the currently active app.
+
+        `display_mode` names the app to show when it matches an installed
+        app_id. The controller passes the mode it is rotating to and inspects
+        this signature to decide whether to, so accepting it is what lets a
+        specific app be addressed -- including by an on-demand request pinned
+        to one app. Anything else (the plugin id itself, when the plugin
+        exposes no per-app modes) falls through to normal rotation.
+
+        Returns False when there is no app to show -- which is the state of
+        every install without Pixlet, and of a fresh one before any app is
+        added. The display controller only skips a mode on a boolean False
+        (it checks isinstance(result, bool)), so returning None held a black
+        panel for the full display_duration instead of rotating on.
         """
         try:
             if force_clear:
                 self.display_manager.clear()
 
-            # If no current app, try to select one
-            if not self.current_app:
+            if display_mode and display_mode in self.apps:
+                self.current_app = self.apps[display_mode]
+            elif force_clear or not self.current_app:
+                # Advance on entry to the mode. _select_next_app only ran when
+                # current_app was unset, so the first enabled app was picked
+                # once and then shown forever -- every other installed app was
+                # rendered on schedule and never displayed. force_clear is the
+                # controller's "we just switched to you" signal (it is reset
+                # immediately after this call), so one app gets each turn.
                 self._select_next_app()
 
             if not self.current_app:
                 # No apps available
                 self.logger.debug("No Starlark apps to display")
-                return
+                return False
 
             # Render app if needed
             if not self.current_app.frames:
                 success = self._render_app(self.current_app, force=True)
                 if not success:
                     self.logger.error(f"Failed to render app: {self.current_app.app_id}")
-                    return
+                    return False
 
-            # Display current frame
-            self._display_frame()
+            # Display current frame. The result is propagated: a failed frame
+            # update is not a displayed frame, and returning True regardless
+            # told the controller the mode had rendered, so it held the dead
+            # frame for the whole display_duration instead of rotating on.
+            return self._display_frame()
 
         except Exception as e:
             self.logger.error(f"Error displaying Starlark app: {e}")
+            return False
 
     def _select_next_app(self) -> None:
         """Select the next enabled app for display."""
@@ -763,15 +805,25 @@ class StarlarkAppsPlugin(BasePlugin):
             magnify = self._get_effective_magnify()
             self.logger.debug(f"Using magnify={magnify} for {app.app_id}")
 
-            # Filter out LEDMatrix-internal timing keys before passing to pixlet
-            INTERNAL_KEYS = {'render_interval', 'display_duration'}
+            # Optional native render size for an app whose own declared canvas
+            # differs from Pixlet's 64x32 default -- without this an app
+            # declaring a wider native canvas got half its own content
+            # clipped at render time, before magnify ever got a chance to
+            # scale anything.
+            render_width = app.config.get("render_width")
+            render_height = app.config.get("render_height")
+
+            # Filter out LEDMatrix-internal timing/sizing keys before passing to pixlet
+            INTERNAL_KEYS = {'render_interval', 'display_duration', 'render_width', 'render_height'}
             pixlet_config = {k: v for k, v in app.config.items() if k not in INTERNAL_KEYS}
 
             success, error = self.pixlet.render(
                 star_file=str(app.star_file),
                 output_path=str(app.cache_file),
                 config=pixlet_config,
-                magnify=magnify
+                magnify=magnify,
+                width=render_width,
+                height=render_height
             )
 
             if not success:
@@ -835,10 +887,13 @@ class StarlarkAppsPlugin(BasePlugin):
             self.logger.error(f"Error loading frames for {app.app_id}: {e}")
             return False
 
-    def _display_frame(self) -> None:
-        """Display the current frame of the current app."""
+    def _display_frame(self) -> bool:
+        """Display the current frame of the current app.
+
+        :returns: whether a frame actually reached the display manager.
+        """
         if not self.current_app or not self.current_app.frames:
-            return
+            return False
 
         try:
             current_time = time.time()
@@ -856,8 +911,11 @@ class StarlarkAppsPlugin(BasePlugin):
                 )
                 self.current_app.last_frame_time = current_time
 
+            return True
+
         except Exception as e:
             self.logger.error(f"Error displaying frame: {e}")
+            return False
 
     def install_app(self, app_id: str, star_file_path: str, metadata: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None, assets_dir: Optional[str] = None) -> bool:
         """

plugin-repos/starlark-apps/pixlet_renderer.py

@@ -218,7 +218,9 @@ class PixletRenderer:
         star_file: str,
         output_path: str,
         config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
-        magnify: int = 1
+        magnify: int = 1,
+        width: Optional[int] = None,
+        height: Optional[int] = None
     ) -> Tuple[bool, Optional[str]]:
         """
         Render a .star file to WebP output.
@@ -228,6 +230,21 @@ class PixletRenderer:
             output_path: Where to save WebP output
             config: Configuration dictionary to pass to app
             magnify: Magnification factor (default 1)
+            width: Optional native render width in pixels. Previously
+                there was no way to tell Pixlet to render at anything
+                other than its own default (64), relying entirely on
+                magnify to scale up afterward -- fine for apps designed
+                at that native size, but wrong for an app whose own
+                declared canvas size is genuinely different (confirmed
+                on real hardware, 2026-09-06, with an imported app
+                declaring width=128: rendering at the default 64 and
+                then magnifying silently clipped half the app's own
+                content before scaling ever happened, rather than
+                producing a correctly-sized image). Passed through as
+                Pixlet's own -w flag when provided; omitted (Pixlet's
+                default) otherwise, preserving existing behavior for
+                every other app.
+            height: Same as width, for Pixlet's -t flag.
 
         Returns:
             Tuple of (success: bool, error_message: Optional[str])
@@ -264,10 +281,18 @@ class PixletRenderer:
                     else:
                         value_str = str(value)
 
-                    # Validate value doesn't contain dangerous shell metacharacters
-                    # Block: backticks, $(), pipes, redirects, semicolons, ampersands, null bytes
-                    # Allow: most printable chars including spaces, quotes, brackets, braces
-                    if re.search(r'[`$|<>&;\x00]|\$\(', value_str):
+                    # Validate value doesn't contain dangerous shell metacharacters.
+                    # Kept as defence in depth only: cmd is a list and there is no
+                    # shell=True below, so nothing here is ever interpreted by a
+                    # shell. That made the list worth trimming rather than growing
+                    # -- "|" is a normal character inside a config value, and apps
+                    # do use it as a separator (a PennDOT sign id is
+                    # "I-476 North|175659"). Blocking it dropped the whole key
+                    # silently, and the app then rendered its own "not configured"
+                    # screen with nothing to say why.
+                    # Block: backticks, $(), redirects, semicolons, ampersands, null bytes
+                    # Allow: most printable chars including spaces, quotes, brackets, braces, pipes
+                    if re.search(r'[`$<>&;\x00]|\$\(', value_str):
                         logger.warning(f"Skipping config value with unsafe shell characters for key {key}: {value_str}")
                         continue
 
@@ -279,6 +304,10 @@ class PixletRenderer:
                 "-o", output_path,
                 "-m", str(magnify)
             ])
+            if width is not None:
+                cmd.extend(["-w", str(width)])
+            if height is not None:
+                cmd.extend(["-t", str(height)])
 
             # Build sanitized command for logging (redact sensitive values)
             sanitized_cmd = [self.pixlet_binary, "render", star_file]
@@ -286,6 +315,10 @@ class PixletRenderer:
                 config_keys = list(config.keys())
                 sanitized_cmd.append(f"[{len(config_keys)} config entries: {', '.join(config_keys)}]")
             sanitized_cmd.extend(["-o", output_path, "-m", str(magnify)])
+            if width is not None:
+                sanitized_cmd.extend(["-w", str(width)])
+            if height is not None:
+                sanitized_cmd.extend(["-t", str(height)])
             logger.debug(f"Executing Pixlet: {' '.join(sanitized_cmd)}")
 
             # Execute rendering
@@ -299,13 +332,21 @@ class PixletRenderer:
             )
 
             if result.returncode == 0:
-                if os.path.isfile(output_path):
-                    logger.debug(f"Successfully rendered: {star_file} -> {output_path}")
-                    return True, None
-                else:
+                if not os.path.isfile(output_path):
                     error = "Rendering succeeded but output file not found"
                     logger.error(error)
                     return False, error
+                # Pixlet exits 0 and writes a 0-byte file when the app renders
+                # nothing -- an app whose config leaves it with no content to
+                # show does exactly that. Treating existence alone as success
+                # handed the caller a file with no frames in it, which reads
+                # downstream as a working app that draws a black panel.
+                if os.path.getsize(output_path) == 0:
+                    error = "Rendering produced an empty (0-byte) file - the app rendered no content"
+                    logger.error(error)
+                    return False, error
+                logger.debug(f"Successfully rendered: {star_file} -> {output_path}")
+                return True, None
             else:
                 error = f"Pixlet failed (exit {result.returncode}): {result.stderr}"
                 logger.error(error)
@@ -319,11 +360,76 @@ class PixletRenderer:
             logger.exception("Rendering exception")
             return False, "Rendering failed - see logs for details"
 
+    #: Schema extraction runs an app's own get_schema(), which may make a
+    #: network call. Short enough that a hung app does not stall an upload,
+    #: long enough for a real API round trip on a slow connection.
+    SCHEMA_TIMEOUT = 20
+
+    def extract_schema_via_pixlet(self, star_file: str) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        """Ask Pixlet itself for the app's schema, or None if it cannot say.
+
+        `pixlet schema` executes get_schema() instead of reading it, which is
+        the only way to see options an app computes at runtime -- a dropdown
+        whose choices come from a live API call has no option list anywhere in
+        the source for the regex parser below to find, so that parser reports
+        an empty dropdown and the config form offers nothing to pick.
+
+        Pixlet's own field keys are remapped to the ones the rest of this
+        plugin and the config UI already use ("typeOf"/"desc"), so the two
+        extractors return the same shape and callers cannot tell them apart.
+        """
+        if not self.pixlet_binary:
+            return None
+        try:
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                [self.pixlet_binary, "schema", star_file],
+                capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=self.SCHEMA_TIMEOUT,
+                cwd=self._get_safe_working_directory(star_file),
+            )
+        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+            logger.warning(
+                "pixlet schema timed out after %ss for %s - get_schema() may be "
+                "making a slow network call", self.SCHEMA_TIMEOUT, star_file)
+            return None
+        except (subprocess.SubprocessError, OSError) as e:
+            logger.warning(f"Could not run pixlet schema for {star_file}: {e}")
+            return None
+
+        if result.returncode != 0:
+            # Not an error worth failing on: older Pixlet builds have no
+            # `schema` subcommand at all, and the source parser still works.
+            logger.debug(
+                "pixlet schema exited %d for %s: %s",
+                result.returncode, star_file, (result.stderr or '').strip()[:300])
+            return None
+
+        try:
+            schema = json.loads(result.stdout)
+        except (json.JSONDecodeError, ValueError) as e:
+            logger.warning(f"pixlet schema returned unparseable output for {star_file}: {e}")
+            return None
+
+        if not isinstance(schema, dict) or not isinstance(schema.get("schema"), list):
+            logger.warning(f"pixlet schema returned an unexpected shape for {star_file}")
+            return None
+
+        for field in schema["schema"]:
+            if not isinstance(field, dict):
+                continue
+            if "type" in field and "typeOf" not in field:
+                field["typeOf"] = field.pop("type")
+            if "description" in field and "desc" not in field:
+                field["desc"] = field.pop("description")
+        return schema
+
     def extract_schema(self, star_file: str) -> Tuple[bool, Optional[Dict[str, Any]], Optional[str]]:
         """
-        Extract configuration schema from a .star file by parsing source code.
+        Extract configuration schema from a .star file.
 
-        Supports:
+        Prefers `pixlet schema`, which runs the app and therefore sees options
+        it computes at runtime. Falls back to parsing the source when Pixlet is
+        unavailable, too old to have the subcommand, or the app fails to run --
+        that parser handles:
         - Static field definitions (location, text, toggle, dropdown, color, datetime)
         - Variable-referenced dropdown options
         - Graceful degradation for unsupported field types
@@ -337,6 +443,13 @@ class PixletRenderer:
         if not os.path.isfile(star_file):
             return False, None, f"Star file not found: {star_file}"
 
+        schema = self.extract_schema_via_pixlet(star_file)
+        if schema is not None:
+            logger.debug(
+                "Extracted schema with %d field(s) from %s via pixlet schema",
+                len(schema.get('schema', [])), star_file)
+            return True, schema, None
+
         try:
             # Read .star file
             with open(star_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:

plugin-repos/starlark-apps/tronbyte_repository.py

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ Handles interaction with the Tronbyte apps repository on GitHub.
 Fetches app listings, metadata, and downloads .star files.
 """
 
+import json
 import logging
 import time
 import requests
@@ -49,6 +50,13 @@ class TronbyteRepository:
         self.base_url = "https://api.github.com"
         self.raw_url = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com"
 
+        # Why the last GitHub API call failed, in words a user can act on.
+        # _make_request used to log the reason and return a bare None, so
+        # every caller up the stack knew only that "something" went wrong --
+        # which is how an exhausted rate limit reached the store page as an
+        # empty grid with no explanation.
+        self.last_error: Optional[str] = None
+
         self.session = requests.Session()
         if github_token:
             self.session.headers.update({
@@ -70,29 +78,50 @@ class TronbyteRepository:
         Returns:
             JSON response or None on error
         """
+        self.last_error = None
         try:
             response = self.session.get(url, timeout=timeout)
 
-            if response.status_code == 403:
-                # Rate limit exceeded
-                logger.warning("[Tronbyte Repo] GitHub API rate limit exceeded")
+            if response.status_code in (403, 429):
+                # 403 is both "rate limited" and "forbidden"; the remaining
+                # counter is what tells them apart, and the difference matters
+                # to whoever reads the message -- one is fixed by waiting or
+                # adding a token, the other is not.
+                remaining = response.headers.get('X-RateLimit-Remaining')
+                if remaining == '0':
+                    self.last_error = (
+                        "GitHub API rate limit exceeded"
+                        f" ({response.headers.get('X-RateLimit-Limit', '?')} requests/hour"
+                        f"{'' if self.github_token else ', unauthenticated'})."
+                        " Add a GitHub token in settings, or wait for the limit to reset."
+                    )
+                else:
+                    self.last_error = f"GitHub refused the request ({response.status_code})"
+                logger.warning(f"[Tronbyte Repo] {self.last_error}")
                 return None
             elif response.status_code == 404:
+                self.last_error = "Not found on GitHub"
                 logger.warning(f"[Tronbyte Repo] Resource not found: {url}")
                 return None
             elif response.status_code != 200:
+                self.last_error = f"GitHub API error {response.status_code}"
                 logger.error(f"[Tronbyte Repo] GitHub API error: {response.status_code}")
                 return None
 
             return response.json()
 
         except requests.Timeout:
+            self.last_error = "Timed out reaching GitHub"
             logger.error(f"[Tronbyte Repo] Request timeout: {url}")
             return None
         except requests.RequestException as e:
+            self.last_error = f"Network error reaching GitHub: {e.__class__.__name__}"
             logger.error(f"[Tronbyte Repo] Request error: {e}", exc_info=True)
             return None
         except (json.JSONDecodeError, ValueError) as e:
+            # Reachable whenever something on the path answers with HTML --
+            # a captive portal, a proxy error page, a DNS-hijacking router.
+            self.last_error = "GitHub returned a response that was not JSON"
             logger.error(f"[Tronbyte Repo] JSON parse error for {url}: {e}", exc_info=True)
             return None
 
@@ -125,6 +154,61 @@ class TronbyteRepository:
             logger.error(f"[Tronbyte Repo] Network error fetching raw file {file_path}: {e}", exc_info=True)
             return None
 
+    def _list_app_dirs_via_trees(self) -> Optional[List[Dict[str, Any]]]:
+        """App directories via the git trees API, or None on failure.
+
+        The contents API caps a directory listing at 1000 entries and says
+        nothing about having truncated it, so the store showed the first 1000
+        apps of a repository that has more and looked complete while doing it.
+        The trees API caps far higher and sets `truncated` when it does, at
+        the cost of one extra call to resolve the `apps` tree.
+        """
+        repo = f"{self.base_url}/repos/{self.REPO_OWNER}/{self.REPO_NAME}"
+
+        root = self._make_request(f"{repo}/git/trees/{self.DEFAULT_BRANCH}")
+        if not isinstance(root, dict):
+            return None
+
+        apps_sha = next(
+            (e.get('sha') for e in root.get('tree', []) or []
+             if e.get('path') == self.APPS_PATH and e.get('type') == 'tree'),
+            None)
+        if not apps_sha:
+            self.last_error = f"No '{self.APPS_PATH}' directory in the repository"
+            return None
+
+        tree = self._make_request(f"{repo}/git/trees/{apps_sha}")
+        if not isinstance(tree, dict):
+            return None
+
+        if tree.get('truncated'):
+            logger.warning(
+                "[Tronbyte Repo] GitHub truncated the app tree; the listing is incomplete")
+
+        return [
+            {'id': e['path'], 'path': f"{self.APPS_PATH}/{e['path']}", 'url': None}
+            for e in tree.get('tree', []) or []
+            if e.get('type') == 'tree' and e.get('path') and not e['path'].startswith('.')
+        ]
+
+    def _list_app_dirs_via_contents(self) -> Optional[List[Dict[str, Any]]]:
+        """App directories via the contents API. Capped at 1000 entries."""
+        url = f"{self.base_url}/repos/{self.REPO_OWNER}/{self.REPO_NAME}/contents/{self.APPS_PATH}"
+
+        data = self._make_request(url)
+        if data is None:
+            return None
+        if not isinstance(data, list):
+            self.last_error = "GitHub returned an unexpected listing format"
+            return None
+
+        return [
+            {'id': item.get('name'), 'path': item.get('path'), 'url': item.get('url')}
+            for item in data
+            if item.get('type') == 'dir' and item.get('name')
+            and not item['name'].startswith('.')
+        ]
+
     def list_apps(self) -> Tuple[bool, Optional[List[Dict[str, Any]]], Optional[str]]:
         """
         List all available apps in the repository.
@@ -132,26 +216,17 @@ class TronbyteRepository:
         Returns:
             Tuple of (success, apps_list, error_message)
         """
-        url = f"{self.base_url}/repos/{self.REPO_OWNER}/{self.REPO_NAME}/contents/{self.APPS_PATH}"
-
-        data = self._make_request(url)
-        if data is None:
-            return False, None, "Failed to fetch repository contents"
-
-        if not isinstance(data, list):
-            return False, None, "Invalid response format"
-
-        # Filter directories (apps)
-        apps = []
-        for item in data:
-            if item.get('type') == 'dir':
-                app_id = item.get('name')
-                if app_id and not app_id.startswith('.'):
-                    apps.append({
-                        'id': app_id,
-                        'path': item.get('path'),
-                        'url': item.get('url')
-                    })
+        apps = self._list_app_dirs_via_trees()
+        if apps is None:
+            # Fall back rather than fail: the contents API was what shipped,
+            # so a trees-only outage should not take the store down with it.
+            trees_error = self.last_error
+            logger.warning(
+                f"[Tronbyte Repo] Trees listing failed ({trees_error}); "
+                "falling back to the contents API")
+            apps = self._list_app_dirs_via_contents()
+            if apps is None:
+                return False, None, self.last_error or trees_error or "Failed to fetch repository contents"
 
         logger.info(f"Found {len(apps)} apps in repository")
         return True, apps, None
@@ -267,14 +342,22 @@ class TronbyteRepository:
                     'categories': _apps_cache['categories'],
                     'authors': _apps_cache['authors'],
                     'count': len(_apps_cache['data']),
-                    'cached': True
+                    'cached': True,
+                    'error': None,
                 }
 
-        # Fetch directory listing (1 GitHub API call)
+        # Fetch directory listing (a small number of GitHub API calls)
         success, app_dirs, error = self.list_apps()
         if not success or not app_dirs:
-            logger.error(f"Failed to list apps for bulk fetch: {error}")
-            return {'apps': [], 'categories': [], 'authors': [], 'count': 0, 'cached': False}
+            # Returning an empty list here used to read downstream as "the
+            # repository has no apps", and the route reported that as a
+            # success -- so a rate limit, a DNS failure and an empty
+            # repository were all drawn as the same blank grid. Hand the
+            # reason back instead and let the caller surface it.
+            reason = error or "No apps found in the repository"
+            logger.error(f"Failed to list apps for bulk fetch: {reason}")
+            return {'apps': [], 'categories': [], 'authors': [],
+                    'count': 0, 'cached': False, 'error': reason}
 
         logger.info(f"Bulk-fetching manifests for {len(app_dirs)} apps...")
 
@@ -341,7 +424,8 @@ class TronbyteRepository:
             'categories': categories,
             'authors': authors,
             'count': len(apps_with_metadata),
-            'cached': False
+            'cached': False,
+            'error': None,
         }
 
     def download_star_file(self, app_id: str, output_path: Path, filename: Optional[str] = None) -> Tuple[bool, Optional[str]]:

requirements-test.txt

@@ -7,3 +7,8 @@ freezegun>=1.2,<2        # deterministic time for golden-image tests
 psutil>=6.0.0,<8.0.0     # optional at runtime; installed for tests so the
                          # /system/status endpoint's real path is exercised
 mypy>=1.5.0,<2.0.0       # static type checking (also pinned in .pre-commit-config.yaml)
+PyYAML>=6.0.2,<7.0.0     # not a core dependency: test_starlark_pixlet_routes loads
+                         # plugin-repos/starlark-apps/tronbyte_repository.py the way
+                         # the blueprint does, and that plugin imports yaml. The
+                         # plugin declares it in its own requirements.txt, which the
+                         # store installs on a real rig but CI never does.

requirements.txt

@@ -43,10 +43,14 @@ packaging>=23.0,<27.0
 # full feature set, or skip them for a minimal install.
 # ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 #
-# scipy             — sub-pixel interpolation in
-#                     src/common/scroll_helper.py for smoother
-#                     scrolling. Falls back to a simpler shift algorithm.
-#   pip install 'scipy>=1.10.0,<2.0.0'
+# scipy             — nothing, as of #570. It was listed for the sub-pixel
+#                     interpolation path in src/common/scroll_helper.py, but
+#                     get_visible_portion never consulted HAS_SCIPY, so that
+#                     path was dead before it was deleted. The blend that
+#                     replaced it is numpy-only. Do not install it expecting
+#                     smoother scrolling: sub-pixel blending is off by default
+#                     because it reads worse on a coarse panel, not because it
+#                     is missing a library. See docs/SCROLL_PERFORMANCE.md.
 #
 # psutil            — per-plugin resource monitoring in
 #                     src/plugin_system/resource_monitor.py. The monitor
@@ -55,6 +59,18 @@ packaging>=23.0,<27.0
 #                     range as a hard dependency — keep the two in sync.
 #   pip install 'psutil>=6.0.0,<7.0.0'
 #
+# orjson            — faster JSON for the disk cache
+#                     (src/cache/disk_cache.py). Encoding a ~1MB cache
+#                     record drops from ~12ms to ~1.6ms on a Pi 4, which
+#                     matters because that work holds the GIL and stalls
+#                     the render thread mid-scroll. Falls back to the
+#                     stdlib json when missing — see docs/SCROLL_PERFORMANCE.md.
+#                     The 3.11.6 floor is CVE-2025-67221: orjson.dumps did not
+#                     limit recursion on deeply nested documents, and the disk
+#                     cache encodes payloads parsed straight from third-party
+#                     APIs. 3.11.6 covers the Python range above.
+#   pip install 'orjson>=3.11.6,<4.0'
+#
 # Flask-Limiter     — request rate limiting in web_interface/app.py
 #                     (accidental-abuse protection, not security). The
 #                     web interface starts without rate limiting when

schema/manifest_schema.json

@@ -257,6 +257,30 @@
       },
       "description": "Web UI action definitions"
     },
+    "widgets": {
+      "type": "array",
+      "description": "Custom web-UI widgets this plugin provides. Each entry is served at /static/plugin-widgets/<plugin-id>/<name>.js from the plugin's widgets/ directory; only declared widgets are served. Reference one from config_schema.json with \"x-widget\": \"<name>\".",
+      "items": {
+        "type": "object",
+        "required": ["name"],
+        "properties": {
+          "name": {
+            "type": "string",
+            "pattern": "^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{1,64}$",
+            "description": "Widget name, as used in x-widget and in the URL."
+          },
+          "script": {
+            "type": "string",
+            "pattern": "^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{1,64}\\.js$",
+            "description": "Filename inside widgets/. Defaults to <name>.js."
+          },
+          "description": {
+            "type": "string",
+            "description": "Human-readable summary shown to plugin authors."
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    },
     "ledmatrix_version": {
       "type": "string",
       "description": "Deprecated: Use compatible_versions instead. LEDMatrix version this plugin targets"

scripts/audit_render_path.py

@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Find blocking work reachable from a plugin's render path.
+
+`display()` runs on the render thread. Anything slow reached from it stalls the
+panel for its whole duration, and on a vsync-paced loop that is immediately
+visible: a single 15ms call on a 100Hz panel drops a frame, and a network round
+trip freezes the marquee outright.
+
+This has bitten twice already. odds-ticker called `_has_live_games()` every
+frame, whose slow path read the scoreboard cache from disk and parsed JSON per
+enabled league -- one stalled frame every few minutes. soccer-scoreboard timed
+out inside `update()` during a cache refresh. Both were found by staring at
+frame-time histograms, which is a slow way to find a bug that is visible in the
+source.
+
+The audit walks the call graph from `display()` through same-class `self.*`
+methods and reports anything that reaches a known-blocking API. It is a
+heuristic, not a proof: it cannot see through indirection, and a hit is not
+automatically a bug -- a call guarded by an interval check may be fine. It is a
+list of places worth a human look.
+
+    python3 scripts/audit_render_path.py                    # all plugins
+    python3 scripts/audit_render_path.py --dir plugin-repos # a specific tree
+    python3 scripts/audit_render_path.py --plugin odds-ticker
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import ast
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+#: Calls that can block for longer than a frame. Matched on the attribute or
+#: function name, so `requests.get`, `self.session.get` and a bare `get` on a
+#: requests-ish object all register.
+BLOCKING = {
+    "get": "network or cache read",
+    "post": "network",
+    "put": "network",
+    "request": "network",
+    "urlopen": "network",
+    "read": "I/O",
+    "open": "file I/O",
+    "load": "JSON/file parse",
+    "loads": "JSON parse",
+    "dump": "file write",
+    "dumps": "serialise",
+    "sleep": "sleep on the render thread",
+    "run": "subprocess",
+    "check_output": "subprocess",
+    "connect": "network",
+    "download_logo": "network",
+    "_fetch": "fetch",
+}
+
+#: Names that make a hit far more likely to matter.
+HIGH_SIGNAL = ("requests", "urllib", "session", "cache_manager", "subprocess",
+               "socket", "http")
+
+RENDER_ENTRY = "display"
+
+
+class Analyzer:
+    def __init__(self, tree: ast.AST):
+        self.methods: dict[str, ast.FunctionDef] = {}
+        for node in ast.walk(tree):
+            if isinstance(node, (ast.FunctionDef, ast.AsyncFunctionDef)):
+                self.methods.setdefault(node.name, node)
+
+    def calls_in(self, fn: ast.AST):
+        """(self-method names called, blocking hits) inside one function."""
+        self_calls, hits = set(), []
+        for node in ast.walk(fn):
+            if not isinstance(node, ast.Call):
+                continue
+            func = node.func
+            if isinstance(func, ast.Attribute):
+                name = func.attr
+                base = ast.unparse(func.value) if hasattr(ast, "unparse") else ""
+                if base == "self" and name in self.methods:
+                    self_calls.add(name)
+                    continue
+                if name in BLOCKING:
+                    hits.append((name, base, BLOCKING[name], node.lineno))
+            elif isinstance(func, ast.Name) and func.id in BLOCKING:
+                hits.append((func.id, "", BLOCKING[func.id], node.lineno))
+        return self_calls, hits
+
+    def reachable_from(self, entry: str, max_depth: int = 3):
+        """Blocking hits reachable from `entry`, with the path that reaches them."""
+        if entry not in self.methods:
+            return []
+        found, seen = [], set()
+        stack = [(entry, [entry], 0)]
+        while stack:
+            name, path, depth = stack.pop()
+            if name in seen or depth > max_depth:
+                continue
+            seen.add(name)
+            self_calls, hits = self.calls_in(self.methods[name])
+            for hit in hits:
+                found.append((path, hit))
+            for callee in sorted(self_calls):
+                stack.append((callee, path + [callee], depth + 1))
+        return found
+
+
+def audit_file(path: Path):
+    try:
+        tree = ast.parse(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    except (OSError, SyntaxError):
+        return []
+    analyzer = Analyzer(tree)
+    return analyzer.reachable_from(RENDER_ENTRY)
+
+
+def main():
+    ap = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__,
+                                 formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter)
+    root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+    ap.add_argument("--dir", default=str(root / "plugin-repos"))
+    ap.add_argument("--plugin", help="only this plugin directory")
+    ap.add_argument("--all-hits", action="store_true",
+                    help="include low-signal hits (open/read/load on locals)")
+    args = ap.parse_args()
+
+    base = Path(args.dir)
+    if not base.is_dir():
+        sys.exit("not a directory: %s" % base)
+
+    plugins = [base / args.plugin] if args.plugin else sorted(
+        d for d in base.iterdir() if d.is_dir())
+
+    total = 0
+    for plugin in plugins:
+        rows = []
+        for src in sorted(plugin.glob("*.py")):
+            if src.name.startswith("test_"):
+                continue
+            for path, (name, s_base, why, lineno) in audit_file(src):
+                signal = any(h in s_base.lower() for h in HIGH_SIGNAL)
+                if not signal and not args.all_hits:
+                    continue
+                rows.append((src.name, lineno, "->".join(path),
+                             ("%s.%s" % (s_base, name)) if s_base else name, why))
+        if rows:
+            total += len(rows)
+            print("\n%s" % plugin.name)
+            for fname, lineno, chain, call, why in sorted(rows):
+                print("  %s:%-5d %-34s via %s" % (fname, lineno, call + "  (" + why + ")", chain))
+
+    print("\n%d blocking call(s) reachable from display() across %d plugin(s)"
+          % (total, len(plugins)))
+    print("Heuristic: a hit guarded by an interval check may be fine. Look, do "
+          "not assume.")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()

scripts/build_rgbmatrix_nogil.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,330 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# Rebuild the rgbmatrix Python binding so it releases the GIL.
+#
+# WHY THIS EXISTS
+# ---------------
+# The upstream binding declares FrameCanvas::SwapOnVSync WITHOUT `nogil`
+# (cppinc.pxd), unlike SetPixel/Clear/Fill on the lines just above it.
+# SwapOnVSync blocks until the panel's next vertical sync -- up to a full
+# refresh period on every frame -- so the render thread was holding the GIL
+# for most of every frame. Background threads (API fetches, JSON parsing,
+# image decode) were starved into long uninterruptible bursts, which in turn
+# made the render loop miss refreshes.
+#
+# Measured on a Pi 4 driving a 2x128x64 chain at limit_refresh_rate_hz=100:
+#
+#     before   ~44 fps average, 14-17% of frames 41-53ms
+#     after    100 fps, median 10.00ms, p95 10.05ms, 0% stalls
+#
+# The per-pixel blit (SetPixelsPillow) can also release the GIL and walk the
+# Pillow buffer row-major, but that is OFF by default and you almost certainly
+# want to leave it that way. Row-major changes what a partially-written frame
+# looks like: column-major tearing shows as a vertical seam, row-major tearing
+# shows as a horizontal split between the panel's upper and lower halves. On a
+# 1/32 scan panel that reads as a one-pixel "fold" across the middle of every
+# panel -- reported on hardware, and it went away when the blit was reverted.
+# Enable with RGB_PATCH_BLIT=1 only if you have measured that you need it;
+# essentially all of the gain above comes from the SwapOnVSync change alone.
+#
+# SAFETY
+# ------
+# Builds into a scratch directory; touches the installed module only in the
+# --install step, and backs up the original first. Roll back at any time with:
+#
+#     sudo bash scripts/build_rgbmatrix_nogil.sh --rollback
+#
+# USAGE
+#     bash scripts/build_rgbmatrix_nogil.sh              # build only
+#     sudo bash scripts/build_rgbmatrix_nogil.sh --install
+#     sudo bash scripts/build_rgbmatrix_nogil.sh --rollback
+#
+set -uo pipefail
+
+# Resolve the invoking user's home, not root's. --install runs under sudo,
+# where $HOME is /root, so every default path below pointed somewhere the
+# build had never written and the install died with "no built module found".
+if [ -n "${SUDO_USER:-}" ]; then
+    OWNER_HOME="$(getent passwd "$SUDO_USER" | cut -d: -f6)"
+fi
+OWNER_HOME="${OWNER_HOME:-$HOME}"
+
+SRC_TREE="${RGB_SRC_TREE:-$OWNER_HOME/LEDMatrix/rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master}"
+BUILD_DIR="${RGB_BUILD_DIR:-$OWNER_HOME/rgbmatrix-nogil-build}"
+VENV="${RGB_CYTHON_VENV:-$OWNER_HOME/.cache/ledmatrix-cython}"
+BACKUP="${RGB_BACKUP:-$OWNER_HOME/rgbmatrix-core.so.ORIGINAL}"
+PATCH_BLIT="${RGB_PATCH_BLIT:-0}"
+
+die() { echo "FATAL: $*" >&2; exit 1; }
+
+# This script runs under `set -uo pipefail` -- no -e -- so an unchecked
+# systemctl failure is silently ignored. That matters most for `stop`: leaving
+# the old service running means cp overwrites a module the running process has
+# mapped, the following `start` succeeds as a no-op, and the health check sees
+# an active unit and reports SUCCESS for a binding that was never loaded.
+# A machine with no ledmatrix.service at all is a normal build host, so that
+# case is skipped rather than treated as a failure.
+service_present() { systemctl cat ledmatrix.service >/dev/null 2>&1; }
+
+service_do() {
+    local verb="$1"
+    if ! service_present; then
+        echo "   (no ledmatrix.service installed - skipping $verb)"
+        return 0
+    fi
+    systemctl "$verb" ledmatrix || die "systemctl $verb ledmatrix failed"
+}
+
+py_site() {
+    python3 -c 'import rgbmatrix, os; print(os.path.dirname(rgbmatrix.__file__))' 2>/dev/null
+}
+
+# The extension filename the interpreter that builds -- and then loads -- this
+# module actually uses, e.g. core.cpython-313-aarch64-linux-gnu.so. The build
+# venv is made with --system-site-packages from python3, so the two agree;
+# falling back keeps --install working when the venv has been cleaned up.
+abi_name() {
+    local py="$VENV/bin/python"
+    [ -x "$py" ] || py=python3
+    "$py" -c \
+        'import sysconfig; print("core" + sysconfig.get_config_var("EXT_SUFFIX"))' \
+        2>/dev/null
+}
+
+# Exactly the current interpreter's artifact, never merely the first one that
+# sorts. Staging copies $SRC_TREE wholesale, so a core.cpython-*.so left in the
+# source tree by an earlier build comes along for the ride; build_ext --inplace
+# only ever overwrites the current ABI's name, and a glob piped to `head -1`
+# sorts cpython-311 ahead of cpython-313. That installed a stale, unpatched
+# module as core.so while the GIL check below -- which reads the freshly
+# generated core.cpp, not the .so -- still reported success.
+abi_so() {
+    local name path
+    name="$(abi_name)" || return 1
+    [ -n "$name" ] || return 1
+    path="$BUILD_DIR/bindings/python/rgbmatrix/$name"
+    [ -f "$path" ] || return 1
+    printf '%s\n' "$path"
+}
+
+do_rollback() {
+    local dst; dst="$(py_site)"
+    [ -n "$dst" ] || die "could not locate the installed rgbmatrix package"
+    [ -f "$BACKUP" ] || die "no backup at $BACKUP"
+    service_do stop
+    cp -a "$BACKUP" "$dst/core.so" || die "restore failed"
+    find "$dst" -name __pycache__ -type d -exec rm -rf {} + 2>/dev/null
+    service_do start
+    echo "rolled back to the original core.so"
+    exit 0
+}
+
+do_install() {
+    local so dst
+    so="$(abi_so)"; [ -n "$so" ] || die "no built module found - run the build first"
+    dst="$(py_site)"; [ -n "$dst" ] || die "could not locate the installed rgbmatrix package"
+
+    if [ ! -f "$BACKUP" ]; then
+        cp -a "$dst/core.so" "$BACKUP" || die "could not back up the original"
+        echo "backed up original core.so -> $BACKUP"
+    else
+        echo "backup already present at $BACKUP (keeping the true original)"
+    fi
+
+    service_do stop
+    cp "$so" "$dst/core.so" || die "install failed"
+    find "$dst" -name __pycache__ -type d -exec rm -rf {} + 2>/dev/null
+    service_do start
+
+    echo "waiting 25s for the display to come back..."
+    sleep 25
+    local healthy=1
+    systemctl is-active --quiet ledmatrix || healthy=0
+    if journalctl -u ledmatrix --since "40 sec ago" --no-pager \
+         | grep -qiE "Traceback|ImportError|Segmentation fault|undefined symbol"; then
+        healthy=0
+    fi
+    if [ "$healthy" = "1" ]; then
+        echo "SUCCESS - running on the rebuilt binding"
+    else
+        echo "UNHEALTHY - rolling back"
+        cp -a "$BACKUP" "$dst/core.so" \
+            || echo "ROLLBACK FAILED: could not restore $BACKUP -> $dst/core.so" >&2
+        if service_present && ! systemctl restart ledmatrix; then
+            echo "ROLLBACK FAILED: ledmatrix did not restart - the display is" \
+                 "down; restore manually with 'sudo bash $0 --rollback'" >&2
+        fi
+        journalctl -u ledmatrix --since "90 sec ago" --no-pager | tail -25
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    exit 0
+}
+
+case "${1:-}" in
+    --rollback) do_rollback ;;
+    --install)  do_install ;;
+    "" )        ;;
+    *)          die "unknown option: $1" ;;
+esac
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------- build ----
+[ -d "$SRC_TREE" ] || die "matrix source tree not found at $SRC_TREE (set RGB_SRC_TREE)"
+command -v g++ >/dev/null || die "g++ not installed (apt install build-essential)"
+
+echo "==> staging a scratch copy at $BUILD_DIR"
+rm -rf "$BUILD_DIR"
+cp -r "$SRC_TREE" "$BUILD_DIR" || die "copy failed"
+
+# Drop any extension artifacts that came across from the source tree. Nothing
+# downstream should be able to pick one up, and build_ext --inplace can decide
+# a copied .so is already up to date and skip the compile entirely.
+find "$BUILD_DIR/bindings/python/rgbmatrix" -maxdepth 1 \
+     -name 'core*.so' -delete 2>/dev/null
+
+echo "==> patching the bindings to release the GIL"
+python3 - "$BUILD_DIR" "$PATCH_BLIT" <<'PYEOF' || die "patch failed"
+import io
+import sys
+
+base = sys.argv[1] + "/bindings/python/rgbmatrix/"
+patch_blit = len(sys.argv) > 2 and sys.argv[2] == "1"
+
+# --- declare SwapOnVSync as nogil ---------------------------------------
+p = base + "cppinc.pxd"
+s = io.open(p, encoding="utf-8").read()
+OLD_DECL = "        FrameCanvas *SwapOnVSync(FrameCanvas*, uint8_t)\n"
+NEW_DECL = "        FrameCanvas *SwapOnVSync(FrameCanvas*, uint8_t) nogil\n"
+if OLD_DECL in s:
+    io.open(p, "w", encoding="utf-8", newline="\n").write(s.replace(OLD_DECL, NEW_DECL, 1))
+    print("   cppinc.pxd: SwapOnVSync declared nogil")
+elif NEW_DECL in s:
+    print("   cppinc.pxd: already nogil")
+else:
+    sys.exit("could not find the SwapOnVSync declaration")
+
+# --- release the GIL across the vsync wait ------------------------------
+p = base + "core.pyx"
+s = io.open(p, encoding="utf-8").read()
+
+OLD_SWAP = (
+    "    def SwapOnVSync(self, FrameCanvas newFrame, uint8_t framerate_fraction = 1):\n"
+    "        return __createFrameCanvas("
+    "self.__matrix.SwapOnVSync(newFrame.__canvas, framerate_fraction))\n"
+)
+NEW_SWAP = (
+    "    def SwapOnVSync(self, FrameCanvas newFrame, uint8_t framerate_fraction = 1):\n"
+    "        # Blocks until the panel's next vertical sync. Holding the GIL\n"
+    "        # across that wait starves every other Python thread for most of\n"
+    "        # each frame. Pointers are hoisted into C locals so the blocking\n"
+    "        # call itself needs no Python state.\n"
+    "        cdef cppinc.RGBMatrix* matrix = self.__matrix\n"
+    "        cdef cppinc.FrameCanvas* frame = newFrame.__canvas\n"
+    "        cdef uint8_t fraction = framerate_fraction\n"
+    "        cdef cppinc.FrameCanvas* swapped\n"
+    "        with nogil:\n"
+    "            swapped = matrix.SwapOnVSync(frame, fraction)\n"
+    "        return __createFrameCanvas(swapped)\n"
+)
+if OLD_SWAP in s:
+    s = s.replace(OLD_SWAP, NEW_SWAP, 1)
+    print("   core.pyx: SwapOnVSync releases the GIL")
+elif "swapped = matrix.SwapOnVSync(frame, fraction)" in s:
+    print("   core.pyx: SwapOnVSync already patched")
+else:
+    sys.exit("could not find the SwapOnVSync body")
+
+# --- optional: release the GIL across the blit --------------------------
+OLD_BLIT = (
+    "        buffer = get_pillow_buffer(image_capsule)\n"
+    "\n"
+    "        for col in range(max(0, -xstart), min(width, frame_width - xstart)):\n"
+    "            for row in range(max(0, -ystart), min(height, frame_height - ystart)):\n"
+    "                pixel = buffer[row][col]\n"
+    "                r = (pixel ) & 0xFF\n"
+    "                g = (pixel >> 8) & 0xFF\n"
+    "                b = (pixel >> 16) & 0xFF\n"
+    "                my_canvas.SetPixel(xstart+col, ystart+row, r, g, b)\n"
+)
+NEW_BLIT = (
+    "        buffer = get_pillow_buffer(image_capsule)\n"
+    "\n"
+    "        # Bounds hoisted so the blit needs no Python state and can run\n"
+    "        # without the GIL: it touches only a C buffer and a C++ canvas.\n"
+    "        # NOTE: row-major order makes a torn frame show as a horizontal\n"
+    "        # split across the panel's halves. See the header before enabling.\n"
+    "        cdef int col_start = max(0, -xstart)\n"
+    "        cdef int col_end = min(width, frame_width - xstart)\n"
+    "        cdef int row_start = max(0, -ystart)\n"
+    "        cdef int row_end = min(height, frame_height - ystart)\n"
+    "\n"
+    "        with nogil:\n"
+    "            for row in range(row_start, row_end):\n"
+    "                for col in range(col_start, col_end):\n"
+    "                    pixel = buffer[row][col]\n"
+    "                    r = (pixel ) & 0xFF\n"
+    "                    g = (pixel >> 8) & 0xFF\n"
+    "                    b = (pixel >> 16) & 0xFF\n"
+    "                    my_canvas.SetPixel(xstart+col, ystart+row, r, g, b)\n"
+)
+if patch_blit:
+    if OLD_BLIT in s:
+        s = s.replace(OLD_BLIT, NEW_BLIT, 1)
+        print("   core.pyx: pixel blit releases the GIL, row-major")
+    elif "for row in range(row_start, row_end):" in s:
+        print("   core.pyx: blit already patched")
+    else:
+        sys.exit("could not find the SetPixelsPillow loop")
+else:
+    print("   core.pyx: blit left unpatched (RGB_PATCH_BLIT=1 to enable)")
+
+io.open(p, "w", encoding="utf-8", newline="\n").write(s)
+PYEOF
+
+echo "==> building librgbmatrix.a (this takes a few minutes)"
+nice -n 10 make -C "$BUILD_DIR/lib" -j2 >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+    || die "library build failed - rerun 'make -C $BUILD_DIR/lib' to see why"
+[ -f "$BUILD_DIR/lib/librgbmatrix.a" ] || die "librgbmatrix.a was not produced"
+
+echo "==> preparing Cython"
+[ -d "$VENV" ] || python3 -m venv --system-site-packages "$VENV" || die "venv failed"
+"$VENV/bin/pip" install --quiet cython || die "cython install failed"
+
+cat > "$BUILD_DIR/bindings/python/setup.py" <<'EOF'
+from setuptools import setup, Extension
+from Cython.Build import cythonize
+
+core = Extension(
+    "rgbmatrix.core",
+    sources=["rgbmatrix/core.pyx", "rgbmatrix/shims/pillow.c"],
+    include_dirs=["../../include", "rgbmatrix/shims"],
+    extra_objects=["../../lib/librgbmatrix.a"],
+    language="c++",
+    extra_compile_args=["-O3", "-Wall", "-fno-exceptions", "-std=c++11"],
+    extra_link_args=["-lrt", "-lm", "-lpthread"],
+)
+
+setup(name="rgbmatrix",
+      ext_modules=cythonize([core], language_level="3str",
+                            compiler_directives={"binding": False}))
+EOF
+
+echo "==> compiling the extension"
+( cd "$BUILD_DIR/bindings/python" && "$VENV/bin/python" setup.py build_ext --inplace ) \
+    >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "extension build failed"
+
+SO="$(abi_so)" || true
+[ -n "$SO" ] || die "no .so produced - expected $(abi_name) in $BUILD_DIR/bindings/python/rgbmatrix"
+
+# Verify the GIL really is released before anyone installs this.
+EXPECTED=1; [ "$PATCH_BLIT" = "1" ] && EXPECTED=2
+PAIRS=$(grep -c "PyEval_SaveThread\|Py_UNBLOCK_THREADS" \
+        "$BUILD_DIR/bindings/python/rgbmatrix/core.cpp")
+[ "$PAIRS" -ge "$EXPECTED" ] \
+    || die "generated C++ has $PAIRS GIL-release sites, expected >= $EXPECTED"
+
+echo
+echo "BUILT: $SO"
+echo "       ($PAIRS GIL-release site(s) in the generated C++)"
+echo
+echo "Install with:   sudo bash $0 --install"
+echo "Roll back with: sudo bash $0 --rollback"

scripts/check_plugin.py

@@ -35,6 +35,31 @@ sys.path.insert(0, str(PROJECT_ROOT))
 
 os.environ['EMULATOR'] = 'true'
 
+
+def _make_output_encoding_safe() -> None:
+    """Stop an unencodable character from killing the run.
+
+    This script's own report is ASCII, but it echoes text it does not control
+    -- plugin ids, mode names and exception messages -- and a Windows console
+    is cp1252, which cannot encode most of what a plugin might put there. The
+    default 'strict' error handler turns that into a UnicodeEncodeError from
+    inside `print`, so a rendering run that had already succeeded exited
+    non-zero with a traceback instead of printing its results.
+
+    'replace' degrades the offending character to '?' and keeps going; the
+    encoding itself is left alone so output still matches the terminal.
+    """
+    for stream in (sys.stdout, sys.stderr):
+        try:
+            stream.reconfigure(errors='replace')
+        except (AttributeError, ValueError, OSError):
+            # Not a reconfigurable TextIOWrapper (redirected, wrapped by a
+            # test harness). Nothing to do -- this is best-effort hardening.
+            pass
+
+
+_make_output_encoding_safe()
+
 from src.logging_config import get_logger  # noqa: E402
 from src.plugin_system.testing.loading import (  # noqa: E402
     build_full_config, find_plugin_dir, load_harness_spec, load_manifest,
@@ -53,6 +78,9 @@ logger = get_logger("[Check Plugin]")
 DEFAULT_SEARCH_DIRS = [
     str(PROJECT_ROOT / 'plugins'),
     str(PROJECT_ROOT / 'plugin-repos'),
+    # The scoreboards live in the sibling ledmatrix-plugins checkout, not
+    # in this repo. Without this, --all silently skips every one of them.
+    str(PROJECT_ROOT.parent / 'ledmatrix-plugins' / 'plugins'),
 ]
 
 
@@ -178,7 +206,7 @@ def print_report(all_results: Dict[str, List[RenderResult]]) -> bool:
                 status = "PASS"
                 detail = ""
                 if r.golden_checked:
-                    detail = " (golden ✓)"
+                    detail = " (golden ok)"
                 if r.update_error is not None:
                     detail += f" (update warn: {r.update_error})"
                 if r.fill_checked and r.fill_ok is None and r.fill_extent:
@@ -196,7 +224,7 @@ def print_report(all_results: Dict[str, List[RenderResult]]) -> bool:
                     status, detail = "FAIL", f" overflow bbox={r.overflow}"
                 elif r.golden_ok is False:
                     status = "FAIL"
-                    detail = f" golden drift: {r.golden_diff_pixels}px (max Δ={r.golden_max_delta})"
+                    detail = f" golden drift: {r.golden_diff_pixels}px (max delta={r.golden_max_delta})"
                 elif r.fill_ok is False:
                     ex, ey = r.fill_extent or (0.0, 0.0)
                     status = "FAIL"

scripts/dev/vegas_audit.py

@@ -72,12 +72,8 @@ def load_main_config(path: Path) -> Dict[str, Any]:
 
 def display_size_from_config(config: Dict[str, Any]) -> tuple:
     """Derive the logical ticker size the way DisplayManager does."""
-    hw = config.get('display', {}).get('hardware', {})
-    cols = int(hw.get('cols', 64))
-    chain = int(hw.get('chain_length', 1))
-    rows = int(hw.get('rows', 32))
-    parallel = int(hw.get('parallel', 1))
-    return cols * chain, rows * parallel
+    from src.display_geometry import logical_size
+    return logical_size(config)
 
 
 def enabled_plugin_ids(config: Dict[str, Any]) -> List[str]:

scripts/dev_server.py

@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ os.environ['EMULATOR'] = 'true'
 
 from flask import Flask, render_template, request, jsonify
 
+from src.common.path_safety import resolve_under, safe_path_component
+
 app = Flask(__name__, template_folder=str(Path(__file__).parent / 'templates'))
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -118,7 +120,8 @@ def find_plugin_dir(plugin_id: str) -> Optional[Path]:
     one of the plugin search dirs, so a crafted id can never name a path
     outside them.
     """
-    if not isinstance(plugin_id, str) or not _SAFE_PLUGIN_ID_RE.match(plugin_id):
+    plugin_id = safe_path_component(plugin_id)
+    if not plugin_id or not _SAFE_PLUGIN_ID_RE.match(plugin_id):
         return None
     from src.plugin_system.plugin_loader import PluginLoader
     loader = PluginLoader()
@@ -140,8 +143,8 @@ def find_plugin_dir(plugin_id: str) -> Optional[Path]:
 
 def load_config_defaults(plugin_dir: 'str | Path') -> Dict[str, Any]:
     """Extract default values from config_schema.json."""
-    schema_path = Path(plugin_dir) / 'config_schema.json'
-    if not schema_path.exists():
+    schema_path = resolve_under(plugin_dir, 'config_schema.json')
+    if schema_path is None or not schema_path.exists():
         return {}
     with open(schema_path, 'r') as f:
         schema = json.load(f)
@@ -175,8 +178,8 @@ def api_plugin_schema(plugin_id):
     if not plugin_dir:
         return jsonify({'error': f'Plugin not found: {plugin_id}'}), 404
 
-    schema_path = plugin_dir / 'config_schema.json'
-    if not schema_path.exists():
+    schema_path = resolve_under(plugin_dir, 'config_schema.json')
+    if schema_path is None or not schema_path.exists():
         return jsonify({'schema': {'type': 'object', 'properties': {}}})
 
     with open(schema_path, 'r') as f:

scripts/install/install_dns_fix.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# DNS single-request fix installation script.
+#
+# Optional. Install this only if plugins that call external APIs (Starlark
+# apps, weather, sports, music) are timing out or feel slow to first paint
+# while the network is otherwise fine. See the header of
+# scripts/utils/apply_dns_single_request.sh for what it changes and why.
+
+set -e
+
+PROJECT_ROOT_DIR=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.." && pwd)
+SERVICE_NAME="ledmatrix-dns-fix"
+UNIT_SRC="$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/$SERVICE_NAME.service"
+UNIT_DEST="/etc/systemd/system/$SERVICE_NAME.service"
+DROPIN_DIR="/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix.service.d"
+
+if [ "$EUID" -eq 0 ]; then
+    SYSTEMCTL_CMD="systemctl"
+    SUDO=""
+else
+    SYSTEMCTL_CMD="sudo systemctl"
+    SUDO="sudo"
+fi
+
+echo "Installing LED Matrix DNS fix service"
+echo "Project root directory: $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR"
+
+if [ ! -f "$UNIT_SRC" ]; then
+    echo "✗ Missing unit file: $UNIT_SRC"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+chmod +x "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/utils/apply_dns_single_request.sh"
+
+echo "Installing $UNIT_DEST..."
+sed "s|__PROJECT_ROOT_DIR__|$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR|g" "$UNIT_SRC" \
+    | $SUDO tee "$UNIT_DEST" > /dev/null
+
+# Order ledmatrix.service after the fix. `Before=` in the unit itself only
+# orders units already in the same transaction, so a plain
+# `systemctl restart ledmatrix` would not wait for it -- and since this fix is
+# opt-in, ledmatrix.service cannot carry the dependency in the repo.
+# Wants=, not Requires=: a DNS workaround failing should not stop the display.
+echo "Installing the ledmatrix.service ordering drop-in..."
+$SUDO mkdir -p "$DROPIN_DIR"
+printf '[Unit]\nWants=%s.service\nAfter=%s.service\n' "$SERVICE_NAME" "$SERVICE_NAME" \
+    | $SUDO tee "$DROPIN_DIR/10-dns-fix.conf" > /dev/null
+
+$SYSTEMCTL_CMD daemon-reload
+$SYSTEMCTL_CMD enable "$SERVICE_NAME.service"
+
+# Do not mask a failure here. The unit exits non-zero when it could not apply
+# the option -- a systemd-resolved host, an unwritable resolv.conf, a failed
+# `resolvconf -u` -- and reporting "installation complete" over that would
+# leave the operator believing a workaround is active when it is not.
+START_STATUS=0
+$SYSTEMCTL_CMD start "$SERVICE_NAME.service" || START_STATUS=$?
+
+echo ""
+if grep -qs "^options single-request$" /etc/resolv.conf; then
+    echo "✓ 'options single-request' is active in /etc/resolv.conf"
+elif [ "$START_STATUS" -ne 0 ]; then
+    echo "✗ The DNS fix could not be applied on this host."
+    echo "  The service reported why:"
+    echo "    journalctl -u $SERVICE_NAME -n 20"
+    echo ""
+    echo "  The unit is installed and will try again on the next boot. Nothing"
+    echo "  else about your install has changed."
+    exit "$START_STATUS"
+else
+    echo "⚠ 'options single-request' is not in /etc/resolv.conf yet."
+    echo "  Check what the service reported:"
+    echo "    journalctl -u $SERVICE_NAME -n 20"
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "DNS fix installation complete."
+echo ""
+echo "Useful commands:"
+echo "  sudo systemctl status $SERVICE_NAME   # Check status"
+echo "  sudo journalctl -u $SERVICE_NAME -n 50  # View logs"
+echo "  sudo systemctl disable --now $SERVICE_NAME  # Undo the service"
+echo "  sudo rm $DROPIN_DIR/10-dns-fix.conf        # Undo the ordering drop-in"
+echo "  # then remove the 'options single-request' line from /etc/resolv.conf"
+echo ""

scripts/install/install_mqtt_bridge.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Home Assistant MQTT bridge installation script.
+#
+# Optional. Installs integrations/mqtt_bridge as a service so Home Assistant
+# can force display modes, toggle power and set brightness over MQTT.
+# See integrations/mqtt_bridge/README.md.
+
+set -e
+
+PROJECT_ROOT_DIR=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.." && pwd)
+BRIDGE_DIR="$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/integrations/mqtt_bridge"
+SERVICE_NAME="ledmatrix-mqtt-bridge"
+UNIT_SRC="$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/$SERVICE_NAME.service"
+UNIT_DEST="/etc/systemd/system/$SERVICE_NAME.service"
+
+if [ "$EUID" -eq 0 ]; then
+    SYSTEMCTL_CMD="systemctl"
+    SUDO=""
+else
+    SYSTEMCTL_CMD="sudo systemctl"
+    SUDO="sudo"
+fi
+
+echo "Installing LED Matrix MQTT bridge"
+echo "Project root directory: $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR"
+
+if [ ! -f "$BRIDGE_DIR/bridge_config.json" ]; then
+    cp "$BRIDGE_DIR/bridge_config.example.json" "$BRIDGE_DIR/bridge_config.json"
+    chmod 600 "$BRIDGE_DIR/bridge_config.json"
+    echo ""
+    echo "⚠ Created $BRIDGE_DIR/bridge_config.json from the example."
+    echo "  Edit it with your broker details, then re-run this script."
+    echo "  The service will refuse to start until the placeholder password is replaced."
+    echo ""
+fi
+
+echo "Installing Python dependencies..."
+python3 -m pip install -r "$BRIDGE_DIR/requirements.txt" 2>/dev/null \
+    || python3 -m pip install --break-system-packages -r "$BRIDGE_DIR/requirements.txt"
+
+echo "Installing $UNIT_DEST..."
+sed "s|__PROJECT_ROOT_DIR__|$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR|g" "$UNIT_SRC" \
+    | $SUDO tee "$UNIT_DEST" > /dev/null
+
+$SYSTEMCTL_CMD daemon-reload
+$SYSTEMCTL_CMD enable "$SERVICE_NAME.service"
+$SYSTEMCTL_CMD restart "$SERVICE_NAME.service" || true
+
+echo ""
+if $SYSTEMCTL_CMD is-active --quiet "$SERVICE_NAME.service" 2>/dev/null; then
+    echo "✓ MQTT bridge is running"
+    echo "  The matrix should appear in Home Assistant under Settings > Devices > MQTT."
+else
+    echo "⚠ MQTT bridge is not running. Check the logs:"
+    echo "  sudo journalctl -u $SERVICE_NAME -n 50"
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "Useful commands:"
+echo "  sudo systemctl status $SERVICE_NAME"
+echo "  sudo journalctl -u $SERVICE_NAME -f"
+echo "  sudo systemctl disable --now $SERVICE_NAME   # Undo"
+echo ""

scripts/install/install_service.sh

@@ -16,20 +16,39 @@ USER_HOME=$(eval echo ~$ACTUAL_USER)
 # Determine the Project Root Directory (parent of scripts/install/)
 PROJECT_ROOT_DIR=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.." && pwd)
 
+# shellcheck source=scripts/install/lib_systemd_render.sh
+source "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install/lib_systemd_render.sh"
+
 echo "Installing LED Matrix Display Service for user: $ACTUAL_USER"
 echo "Using home directory: $USER_HOME"
 echo "Project root directory: $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR"
 
-# Create a temporary service file for the main display with the correct paths
-# Assuming ledmatrix.service template exists and uses /home/ledpi as a placeholder for user home
+# Render the main display unit from its template. The display service runs as
+# root (it needs GPIO), so __USER__ is always root here -- unlike the web unit
+# below, which runs as whoever installed it.
+#
+# A missing template or a failed render is fatal: falling through would leave
+# whatever unit already sits at /etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix.service (from a
+# previous install) untouched, and the enable/start step below would then
+# silently reuse that stale unit instead of the one this run was asked to
+# install.
 if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/ledmatrix.service" ]; then
-    sed "s|/home/ledpi|$USER_HOME|g; s|__PROJECT_ROOT_DIR__|$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR|g; s|__USER__|root|g" "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/ledmatrix.service" > /tmp/ledmatrix.service.tmp
+    ESCAPED_PROJECT_ROOT_DIR=$(sed_escape_replacement "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR")
+    MAIN_UNIT_TMP=$(mktemp)
+    trap 'rm -f "$MAIN_UNIT_TMP"' EXIT
+    if ! sed "s|__PROJECT_ROOT_DIR__|$ESCAPED_PROJECT_ROOT_DIR|g; s|__USER__|root|g" \
+        "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/ledmatrix.service" > "$MAIN_UNIT_TMP"; then
+        echo "ERROR: failed to render ledmatrix.service from its template." >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
     # Copy the service file to the systemd directory
-    sudo cp /tmp/ledmatrix.service.tmp /etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix.service
+    sudo cp "$MAIN_UNIT_TMP" /etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix.service
     # Clean up
-    rm /tmp/ledmatrix.service.tmp
+    rm -f "$MAIN_UNIT_TMP"
+    trap - EXIT
 else
-    echo "WARNING: ledmatrix.service template not found at $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/ledmatrix.service. Main display service not configured."
+    echo "ERROR: ledmatrix.service template not found at $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/ledmatrix.service." >&2
+    exit 1
 fi
 
 
@@ -48,42 +67,67 @@ fi
 # === LEDMatrix Web Interface service (ledmatrix-web.service) ===
 echo "Installing LEDMatrix Web Interface service (ledmatrix-web.service)..."
 
-WEB_SERVICE_FILE_CONTENT=$(cat <<EOF
-[Unit]
-Description=LED Matrix Web Interface (Conditional Start)
-After=network.target
-# Wants=ledmatrix.service
-# After=network.target ledmatrix.service
+# Rendered from systemd/ledmatrix-web.service, the same template
+# install_web_service.sh uses. This was an inline heredoc until it drifted from
+# the template: it had lost Wants=network-online.target, RestartSec,
+# SyslogIdentifier, CacheDirectory and Environment=USE_THREADING. Because
+# src/startup_validator.py compares the installed unit against the template,
+# every boot warned "re-run install_service.sh" -- and doing so reinstalled the
+# same stale copy, so the warning could never clear.
+#
+# As with the main unit above, a missing template or a failed render is
+# fatal -- otherwise the enable/start check below would fall back to
+# whatever unit (possibly stale) already exists at the destination path.
+if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/ledmatrix-web.service" ]; then
+    ESCAPED_ACTUAL_USER=$(sed_escape_replacement "$ACTUAL_USER")
+    WEB_UNIT_TMP=$(mktemp)
+    trap 'rm -f "$WEB_UNIT_TMP"' EXIT
+    if ! sed "s|__PROJECT_ROOT_DIR__|$ESCAPED_PROJECT_ROOT_DIR|g; s|__USER__|$ESCAPED_ACTUAL_USER|g" \
+        "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/ledmatrix-web.service" > "$WEB_UNIT_TMP"; then
+        echo "ERROR: failed to render ledmatrix-web.service from its template." >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    sudo cp "$WEB_UNIT_TMP" /etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-web.service
+    rm -f "$WEB_UNIT_TMP"
+    trap - EXIT
+else
+    echo "ERROR: ledmatrix-web.service template not found at $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/ledmatrix-web.service." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
 
-[Service]
-Type=simple
-ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 ${PROJECT_ROOT_DIR}/scripts/utils/start_web_conditionally.py
-WorkingDirectory=${PROJECT_ROOT_DIR}
-StandardOutput=journal
-StandardError=journal
-User=${ACTUAL_USER}
-Restart=on-failure
-# Environment="PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1"
-
-[Install]
-WantedBy=multi-user.target
-EOF
-)
-
-# Write the new service file
-echo "$WEB_SERVICE_FILE_CONTENT" | sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-web.service > /dev/null
+# Health check / rollback units for automatic updates; see install_web_service.sh.
+for VERIFY_UNIT in ledmatrix-update-verify.service ledmatrix-update-verify.path; do
+    if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/$VERIFY_UNIT" ]; then
+        VERIFY_UNIT_TMP=$(mktemp)
+        if sed "s|__PROJECT_ROOT_DIR__|$ESCAPED_PROJECT_ROOT_DIR|g; s|__USER__|$ESCAPED_ACTUAL_USER|g" "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/$VERIFY_UNIT" > "$VERIFY_UNIT_TMP"; then
+            sudo cp "$VERIFY_UNIT_TMP" "/etc/systemd/system/$VERIFY_UNIT"
+        else
+            echo "WARNING: failed to render $VERIFY_UNIT; automatic code updates will stay paused." >&2
+        fi
+        rm -f "$VERIFY_UNIT_TMP"
+    fi
+done
 
 echo "Reloading systemd daemon for web service..."
 sudo systemctl daemon-reload
 
-echo "Enabling ledmatrix-web.service to start on boot..."
-sudo systemctl enable ledmatrix-web.service
+if [ -f "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-web.service" ]; then
+    echo "Enabling ledmatrix-web.service to start on boot..."
+    sudo systemctl enable ledmatrix-web.service
 
-echo "Starting ledmatrix-web.service..."
-sudo systemctl start ledmatrix-web.service
+    if [ -f /etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-update-verify.path ]; then
+        echo "Enabling ledmatrix-update-verify.path (automatic update health check)..."
+        sudo systemctl enable --now ledmatrix-update-verify.path || echo "WARNING: could not enable ledmatrix-update-verify.path; automatic code updates will stay paused" >&2
+    fi
 
-echo "LEDMatrix Web Interface service (ledmatrix-web.service) installation complete."
-echo "It will start based on the 'web_display_autostart' setting in config/config.json."
+    echo "Starting ledmatrix-web.service..."
+    sudo systemctl start ledmatrix-web.service
+
+    echo "LEDMatrix Web Interface service (ledmatrix-web.service) installation complete."
+    echo "It will start based on the 'web_display_autostart' setting in config/config.json."
+else
+    echo "Skipping enable/start for ledmatrix-web.service as it was not configured."
+fi
 # === End of LEDMatrix Web Interface service ===
 
 

scripts/install/install_web_service.sh

@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ fi
 # Determine the Project Root Directory (parent of scripts/install/)
 PROJECT_ROOT_DIR=$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/../.." && pwd)
 
+# shellcheck source=scripts/install/lib_systemd_render.sh
+source "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install/lib_systemd_render.sh"
+
 echo "Installing for user: $ACTUAL_USER"
 echo "Project root directory: $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR"
 
@@ -26,37 +29,38 @@ if [ "$EUID" -ne 0 ]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
-# Generate the service file dynamically with the correct paths
-echo "Generating service file with dynamic paths..."
-WEB_SERVICE_FILE_CONTENT=$(cat <<EOF
-[Unit]
-Description=LED Matrix Web Interface Service
-After=network-online.target
-Wants=network-online.target
+# Render the unit from systemd/ledmatrix-web.service. That template is the
+# only description of the unit; this script used to carry its own heredoc copy,
+# and install_service.sh a third, which is how the installed unit on real rigs
+# ended up missing RestartSec, SyslogIdentifier and CacheDirectory while
+# src/startup_validator.py warned about drift on every boot.
+TEMPLATE="$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/ledmatrix-web.service"
+if [ ! -f "$TEMPLATE" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: unit template not found at $TEMPLATE"
+    exit 1
+fi
 
-[Service]
-Type=simple
-User=${ACTUAL_USER}
-WorkingDirectory=${PROJECT_ROOT_DIR}
-Environment=USE_THREADING=1
-ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 ${PROJECT_ROOT_DIR}/scripts/utils/start_web_conditionally.py
-Restart=on-failure
-RestartSec=10
-StandardOutput=syslog
-StandardError=syslog
-SyslogIdentifier=ledmatrix-web
-# Automatically create and manage cache directory
-CacheDirectory=ledmatrix
-CacheDirectoryMode=0775
-
-[Install]
-WantedBy=multi-user.target
-EOF
-)
-
-# Write the service file to systemd directory
 echo "Writing service file to /etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-web.service"
-echo "$WEB_SERVICE_FILE_CONTENT" > /etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-web.service
+ESCAPED_PROJECT_ROOT_DIR=$(sed_escape_replacement "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR")
+ESCAPED_ACTUAL_USER=$(sed_escape_replacement "$ACTUAL_USER")
+sed "s|__PROJECT_ROOT_DIR__|$ESCAPED_PROJECT_ROOT_DIR|g; s|__USER__|$ESCAPED_ACTUAL_USER|g" \
+    "$TEMPLATE" > /etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-web.service
+
+# Health check and rollback for the web UI's automatic updates. Its own unit so
+# it survives the web service restart it performs; never enabled -- the web
+# interface starts it after an update. Without it, automatic code updates
+# stay paused rather than running with nothing to undo them.
+for VERIFY_UNIT in ledmatrix-update-verify.service ledmatrix-update-verify.path; do
+    VERIFY_TEMPLATE="$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/$VERIFY_UNIT"
+    if [ -f "$VERIFY_TEMPLATE" ]; then
+        echo "Writing unit file to /etc/systemd/system/$VERIFY_UNIT"
+        sed "s|__PROJECT_ROOT_DIR__|$ESCAPED_PROJECT_ROOT_DIR|g; s|__USER__|$ESCAPED_ACTUAL_USER|g" \
+            "$VERIFY_TEMPLATE" > "/etc/systemd/system/$VERIFY_UNIT"
+        chmod 644 "/etc/systemd/system/$VERIFY_UNIT"
+    else
+        echo "WARNING: $VERIFY_TEMPLATE not found; automatic code updates will stay paused"
+    fi
+done
 
 # Ensure cache directory exists with proper permissions
 # This is a fallback for older systemd versions that don't support CacheDirectory
@@ -92,6 +96,13 @@ systemctl daemon-reload
 echo "Enabling ledmatrix-web.service..."
 systemctl enable ledmatrix-web.service
 
+# The path unit is what starts the health check after an automatic update.
+if [ -f /etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-update-verify.path ]; then
+    echo "Enabling ledmatrix-update-verify.path..."
+    systemctl enable --now ledmatrix-update-verify.path || \
+        echo "WARNING: could not enable ledmatrix-update-verify.path; automatic code updates will stay paused"
+fi
+
 # Start the service
 echo "Starting ledmatrix-web.service..."
 systemctl start ledmatrix-web.service

scripts/install/install_wifi_monitor.sh

@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ USER_HOME=$(eval echo ~$ACTUAL_USER)
 # Determine the Project Root Directory (parent of scripts/install/)
 PROJECT_ROOT_DIR=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.." && pwd)
 
+# shellcheck source=scripts/install/lib_systemd_render.sh
+source "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install/lib_systemd_render.sh"
+
 echo "Installing LED Matrix WiFi Monitor Service for user: $ACTUAL_USER"
 echo "Using home directory: $USER_HOME"
 echo "Project root directory: $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR"
@@ -64,30 +67,19 @@ if [ ${#MISSING_PACKAGES[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
     echo "✓ Package installation completed"
 fi
 
-# Create service file with correct paths
+# Render the unit from systemd/ledmatrix-wifi-monitor.service rather than
+# inlining a second copy here. The copy this replaced had already drifted --
+# it wrote StandardOutput/StandardError=syslog where the template says journal.
 echo ""
 echo "Creating systemd service file..."
-SERVICE_FILE_CONTENT=$(cat <<EOF
-[Unit]
-Description=LED Matrix WiFi Monitor Daemon
-After=network.target
-Wants=network.target
+TEMPLATE="$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/systemd/ledmatrix-wifi-monitor.service"
+if [ ! -f "$TEMPLATE" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: unit template not found at $TEMPLATE"
+    exit 1
+fi
 
-[Service]
-Type=simple
-User=root
-WorkingDirectory=$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR
-ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/utils/wifi_monitor_daemon.py --interval 30
-Restart=on-failure
-RestartSec=10
-StandardOutput=syslog
-StandardError=syslog
-SyslogIdentifier=ledmatrix-wifi-monitor
-
-[Install]
-WantedBy=multi-user.target
-EOF
-)
+ESCAPED_PROJECT_ROOT_DIR=$(sed_escape_replacement "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR")
+SERVICE_FILE_CONTENT=$(sed "s|__PROJECT_ROOT_DIR__|$ESCAPED_PROJECT_ROOT_DIR|g; s|__USER__|root|g" "$TEMPLATE")
 
 if [ "$EUID" -eq 0 ]; then
     echo "$SERVICE_FILE_CONTENT" | tee /etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-wifi-monitor.service > /dev/null

scripts/install/lib_systemd_render.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Shared helper for rendering systemd unit templates via sed.
+#
+# Sourced by install_service.sh, install_web_service.sh and
+# install_wifi_monitor.sh so all three escape sed replacement text the same
+# way instead of carrying three copies of the same fix.
+
+# sed_escape_replacement VALUE
+#
+# Print VALUE escaped for safe use as the replacement side of `sed
+# s|pattern|replacement|`. Every one of these scripts builds its sed
+# expression by interpolating a shell variable (a path, a username, ...)
+# straight into the replacement text. sed gives three characters special
+# meaning there: backslash (escape character), & (whole match) and the
+# delimiter itself (here `|`). A value containing any of them -- e.g. a
+# username or path with an `&`, a literal backslash, or a `|` -- would
+# otherwise corrupt the rendered unit file instead of being substituted
+# literally. Escape the backslash first so the later escapes aren't
+# double-escaped.
+sed_escape_replacement() {
+    local value="$1"
+    value="${value//\\/\\\\}"
+    value="${value//&/\\&}"
+    value="${value//|/\\|}"
+    printf '%s' "$value"
+}

scripts/install/one-shot-install.sh

@@ -408,6 +408,7 @@ main() {
         # which would silently reinstate the duplicate apt update.
         sudo -E env TMPDIR=/tmp LEDMATRIX_ASSUME_YES=1 \
             LEDMATRIX_APT_UPDATED="${LEDMATRIX_APT_UPDATED:-0}" \
+            LEDMATRIX_AUTO_UPDATE="${LEDMATRIX_AUTO_UPDATE:-}" \
             bash ./first_time_install.sh -y </dev/null
     fi
     INSTALL_EXIT_CODE=$?

scripts/run_plugin_tests.py

@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ Discovers and runs tests for LEDMatrix plugins.
 Supports both unittest and pytest.
 """
 
+import os
+import re
+import subprocess  # nosec B404 - list-form argv only, no shell  # nosemgrep
 import sys
 import argparse
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -68,6 +71,79 @@ def _find_tests_in_dir(directory: Path) -> list:
     return sorted(set(test_files))
 
 
+def _is_script_style(path) -> bool:
+    """True when a test file is a standalone script, not a pytest module.
+
+    Most plugin tests are written as `def main()` plus an `if __name__ ==
+    "__main__"` guard and signal through an exit code. pytest collects zero
+    items from those, so handing them to pytest printed "no tests ran" and this
+    runner reported success over work it had not done -- 151 of 248 files on a
+    fully populated rig.
+    """
+    try:
+        src = Path(path).read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
+    except OSError:
+        return False
+    has_pytest_items = re.search(r"^\s*(def test_|class Test|async def test_)", src, re.M)
+    has_main_guard = "__main__" in src and "__name__" in src
+    return bool(has_main_guard and not has_pytest_items)
+
+
+def run_script_tests(test_files: list, verbose: bool = False) -> int:
+    """Run standalone test scripts, honouring the 0 pass / 2 skip / 1 fail
+    convention that ledmatrix-plugins' own runner established.
+
+    Scripts opt into skipping by printing "SKIP: <reason>" and exiting 2 --
+    a script that needs a tty or an LED matrix is not a regression.
+    """
+    env = dict(os.environ)
+    # Prepend rather than setdefault. An inherited PYTHONPATH -- a developer's
+    # shell, a tox run, another checkout -- otherwise wins outright, and the
+    # subprocess imports a different copy of the core than the one under test.
+    # That is exactly the failure ledmatrix-plugins#467 describes, and it is
+    # invisible: the tests pass or fail against a tree nobody meant to test.
+    inherited = env.get("PYTHONPATH")
+    env["PYTHONPATH"] = (f"{PROJECT_ROOT}{os.pathsep}{inherited}"
+                         if inherited else str(PROJECT_ROOT))
+    env["LEDMATRIX_CORE"] = str(PROJECT_ROOT)
+
+    passed = skipped = failed = 0
+    failures = []
+    for path in test_files:
+        try:
+            # Fixed interpreter (sys.executable) plus a test path this script
+            # discovered by globbing the repo; argument list, no shell, so
+            # nothing is word-split or expanded. Same suppression pair the
+            # rest of the repo uses for this shape (see permission_utils.py).
+            proc = subprocess.run(  # noqa: S603  # nosec B603 - no shell invoked (list-form argv)  # nosemgrep
+                [sys.executable, str(path)],  # nosemgrep
+                cwd=str(Path(path).parent),
+                capture_output=True, text=True, env=env,
+                stdin=subprocess.DEVNULL, timeout=300,
+            )
+            rc = proc.returncode
+            tail = " | ".join((proc.stdout or proc.stderr or "").strip().splitlines()[-2:])[:200]
+        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+            rc, tail = 1, "timed out after 300s"
+        if rc == 0:
+            passed += 1
+            label = "pass"
+        elif rc == 2:
+            skipped += 1
+            label = "SKIP"
+        else:
+            failed += 1
+            label = "FAIL"
+            failures.append(f"{Path(path).name}: exit {rc} | {tail}")
+        if verbose or rc != 0:
+            print(f"  [{label}] {Path(path).name}" + (f" -- {tail}" if rc != 0 else ""))
+
+    print(f"\n{passed} passed, {skipped} skipped, {failed} failed (scripts)")
+    for f in failures:
+        print(f"  - {f}", file=sys.stderr)
+    return 1 if failed else 0
+
+
 def run_unittest_tests(test_files: list, verbose: bool = False) -> int:
     """
     Run tests using unittest.
@@ -186,7 +262,12 @@ def main():
             print("No test files found in plugins directory")
         return 0
     
-    print(f"Found {len(test_files)} test file(s)")
+    scripts = [f for f in test_files if _is_script_style(f)]
+    modules = [f for f in test_files if f not in scripts]
+
+    print(f"Found {len(test_files)} test file(s)"
+          + (f" -- {len(modules)} collectable, {len(scripts)} standalone script(s)"
+             if scripts else ""))
     for test_file in test_files:
         print(f"  - {test_file}")
     print()
@@ -200,11 +281,20 @@ def main():
         except ImportError:
             runner = 'unittest'
 
-    # Run tests
+    # Standalone scripts cannot be collected by pytest or unittest -- run them
+    # as the scripts they are. Doing this rather than silently collecting zero
+    # items is the whole point: this runner used to report success having
+    # executed nothing.
+    rc = 0
+    if scripts:
+        rc |= run_script_tests(scripts, args.verbose)
+
+    if modules:
         if runner == 'pytest':
-        return run_pytest_tests(test_files, args.verbose, args.coverage)
+            rc |= run_pytest_tests(modules, args.verbose, args.coverage)
         else:
-        return run_unittest_tests(test_files, args.verbose)
+            rc |= run_unittest_tests(modules, args.verbose)
+    return rc
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':

scripts/scroll_speeds.py

@@ -0,0 +1,243 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Show and try the scroll speeds your panel can display cleanly.
+
+Motion looks smooth when the strip advances a WHOLE number of pixels per panel
+refresh. Anything else has to blend two columns (which on pixel-font text reads
+as shimmer) or repeat frames unevenly (which reads as judder). So the speeds
+worth using are not arbitrary -- they are
+
+    refresh_hz / frame_hold * pixels_per_frame
+
+for whole numbers of frame_hold and pixels_per_frame, and that ladder depends
+on how fast YOUR panel actually refreshes. A Pi Zero driving a big chain will
+have a completely different set of good speeds from a Pi 4 driving a small one.
+
+    # what can this panel do? (no hardware needed, uses your configured rate)
+    python3 scripts/scroll_speeds.py
+
+    # measure what the panel ACTUALLY manages, rather than what is configured
+    sudo systemctl stop ledmatrix
+    sudo python3 scripts/scroll_speeds.py --measure
+    sudo systemctl start ledmatrix
+
+    # what would a 60Hz panel offer?
+    python3 scripts/scroll_speeds.py --hz 60
+
+    # try one on the panel
+    sudo systemctl stop ledmatrix
+    sudo python3 scripts/scroll_speeds.py --demo 50
+    sudo systemctl start ledmatrix
+
+This script never starts or stops the display service itself -- that is left to
+you, so a crash here can never leave the panel dark.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import json
+import os
+import sys
+import time
+from pathlib import Path
+
+sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent))
+
+from src.common import scroll_config  # noqa: E402
+
+CONFIG = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / "config" / "config.json"
+
+
+def load_hardware():
+    try:
+        with open(CONFIG, encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+            return (json.load(handle).get("display") or {}).get("hardware") or {}
+    except (OSError, ValueError):
+        return {}
+
+
+def build_options(hardware, refresh_override=None):
+    from rgbmatrix import RGBMatrixOptions
+
+    o = RGBMatrixOptions()
+    from src.display_geometry import (
+        DEFAULT_CHAIN_LENGTH, DEFAULT_COLS, DEFAULT_PARALLEL, DEFAULT_ROWS,
+    )
+    o.rows = int(hardware.get("rows", DEFAULT_ROWS))
+    o.cols = int(hardware.get("cols", DEFAULT_COLS))
+    o.chain_length = int(hardware.get("chain_length", DEFAULT_CHAIN_LENGTH))
+    o.parallel = int(hardware.get("parallel", DEFAULT_PARALLEL))
+    o.brightness = int(hardware.get("brightness", 80))
+    o.hardware_mapping = hardware.get("hardware_mapping", "regular")
+    o.pwm_bits = int(hardware.get("pwm_bits", 11))
+    o.pwm_dither_bits = int(hardware.get("pwm_dither_bits", 0))
+    o.pwm_lsb_nanoseconds = int(hardware.get("pwm_lsb_nanoseconds", 130))
+    o.led_rgb_sequence = hardware.get("led_rgb_sequence", "RGB")
+    o.scan_mode = int(hardware.get("scan_mode", 0))
+    o.row_address_type = int(hardware.get("row_address_type", 0))
+    o.multiplexing = int(hardware.get("multiplexing", 0))
+    o.gpio_slowdown = int(hardware.get("gpio_slowdown", 2))
+    o.limit_refresh_rate_hz = (
+        int(refresh_override) if refresh_override is not None
+        else int(hardware.get("limit_refresh_rate_hz", 0))
+    )
+    return o
+
+
+def open_matrix(hardware, refresh_override=None):
+    """Construct the matrix, or explain why it will not open."""
+    if os.geteuid() != 0:
+        sys.exit("this needs root for GPIO access - rerun with sudo")
+    try:
+        from rgbmatrix import RGBMatrix
+    except ImportError:
+        sys.exit("rgbmatrix is not installed on this machine")
+    try:
+        return RGBMatrix(options=build_options(hardware, refresh_override))
+    except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover - hardware dependent
+        sys.exit(
+            "could not open the panel ({}).\n"
+            "If the display service is running it owns the GPIO - stop it first:\n"
+            "    sudo systemctl stop ledmatrix".format(exc)
+        )
+
+
+def measure_refresh(hardware, seconds=6.0):
+    """Actual refresh rate, by running uncapped and timing the swaps.
+
+    SwapOnVSync blocks until the panel's next refresh, so an unthrottled loop
+    runs at exactly the panel's rate. This is what an older Pi or a longer
+    chain will really give you, as opposed to whatever limit_refresh_rate_hz
+    optimistically asks for.
+    """
+    matrix = open_matrix(hardware, refresh_override=0)
+    canvas = matrix.CreateFrameCanvas()
+    canvas = matrix.SwapOnVSync(canvas)  # discard the first, it includes setup
+    frames = 0
+    started = time.perf_counter()
+    while time.perf_counter() - started < seconds:
+        canvas = matrix.SwapOnVSync(canvas)
+        frames += 1
+    measured = frames / (time.perf_counter() - started)
+    matrix.Clear()
+    return measured
+
+
+def demo(hardware, target, seconds):
+    """Scroll text at the crisp speed nearest `target`."""
+    from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont
+
+    from src.common.font_layout import load_truetype
+
+    hz = float(hardware.get("limit_refresh_rate_hz") or scroll_config.DEFAULT_REFRESH_HZ)
+    choice = scroll_config.solve_crisp(target, hz)
+    print("asked for {:.0f} px/s -> {}".format(target, choice.describe()))
+
+    matrix = open_matrix(hardware)
+    canvas = matrix.CreateFrameCanvas()
+    W, H = canvas.width, canvas.height
+
+    font = None
+    for path, size in (
+        (str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / "assets/fonts/PressStart2P-Regular.ttf"), 16),
+        ("/usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSansMono-Bold.ttf", 26),
+    ):
+        try:
+            font = load_truetype(path, size)
+            break
+        except OSError:
+            continue
+    if font is None:
+        font = ImageFont.load_default()
+
+    text = "  {:.0f} px/s  ***  THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG  ***".format(
+        choice.pixels_per_second)
+    box = ImageDraw.Draw(Image.new("RGB", (8, 8))).textbbox((0, 0), text, font=font)
+    tw, th = box[2] - box[0], box[3] - box[1]
+    reps = max(2, (W * 3) // max(tw, 1) + 1)
+    strip = Image.new("RGB", (tw * reps, H), (0, 0, 0))
+    draw = ImageDraw.Draw(strip)
+    for i in range(reps):
+        draw.text((i * tw, (H - th) // 2 - box[1]), text, font=font, fill=(255, 210, 60))
+
+    offset = 0
+    frames = 0
+    started = time.time()
+    while time.time() - started < seconds:
+        window = strip.crop((offset, 0, offset + W, H))
+        if window.width < W:
+            whole = Image.new("RGB", (W, H), (0, 0, 0))
+            head = strip.crop((offset, 0, strip.width, H))
+            whole.paste(head, (0, 0))
+            whole.paste(strip.crop((0, 0, W - head.width, H)), (head.width, 0))
+            window = whole
+        canvas.SetImage(window)
+        canvas = matrix.SwapOnVSync(canvas, choice.frame_hold)
+        offset = (offset + choice.pixels_per_frame) % strip.width
+        frames += 1
+    elapsed = time.time() - started
+    print("  {} frames in {:.1f}s = {:.1f} fps = {:.1f} px/s actual".format(
+        frames, elapsed, frames / elapsed, frames * choice.pixels_per_frame / elapsed))
+    matrix.Clear()
+
+
+def print_ladder(hz, highlight=None):
+    print("")
+    print("Whole-pixel scroll speeds at {:.1f}Hz refresh".format(hz))
+    print("(the panel refreshes at {:.0f}Hz for every one of these - holding a "
+          "frame costs no flicker)".format(hz))
+    print("")
+    for entry in scroll_config.crisp_ladder(hz):
+        if entry.pixels_per_second > hz * 3:
+            break
+        mark = " <-- nearest to {:.0f}".format(highlight) if (
+            highlight is not None
+            and entry.pixels_per_second == scroll_config.solve_crisp(highlight, hz).pixels_per_second
+        ) else ""
+        print("  " + entry.describe() + mark)
+    print("")
+    print("Set one in config.json as pixels per second, e.g.")
+    print('  "display_options": {{"scroll_pixels_per_second": {:.0f}}}'.format(
+        scroll_config.solve_crisp(highlight if highlight else hz / 2, hz).pixels_per_second))
+
+
+def main():
+    ap = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__,
+                                 formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter)
+    ap.add_argument("--hz", type=float,
+                    help="refresh rate to compute the ladder for (default: your config)")
+    ap.add_argument("--measure", action="store_true",
+                    help="measure the panel's real refresh rate (needs root, service stopped)")
+    ap.add_argument("--demo", type=float, metavar="PXPS",
+                    help="scroll text at the crisp speed nearest this (needs root)")
+    ap.add_argument("--seconds", type=float, default=15.0, help="demo duration")
+    ap.add_argument("--want", type=float, metavar="PXPS",
+                    help="highlight the entry nearest this speed")
+    args = ap.parse_args()
+
+    hardware = load_hardware()
+    configured = float(hardware.get("limit_refresh_rate_hz") or 0)
+
+    if args.demo is not None:
+        demo(hardware, args.demo, args.seconds)
+        return
+
+    if args.measure:
+        measured = measure_refresh(hardware)
+        print("measured panel refresh: {:.1f}Hz".format(measured))
+        if configured:
+            print("configured limit_refresh_rate_hz: {:.0f}".format(configured))
+            if measured < configured * 0.95:
+                print("  -> the panel cannot reach the configured rate; the ladder")
+                print("     below uses what it actually manages")
+        print_ladder(measured, args.want)
+        return
+
+    hz = args.hz or configured or scroll_config.DEFAULT_REFRESH_HZ
+    if not args.hz and not configured:
+        print("no limit_refresh_rate_hz in config; assuming {:.0f}Hz".format(hz))
+        print("run with --measure to find your panel's real rate")
+    print_ladder(hz, args.want)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()

scripts/sports_scroll_check.py

@@ -0,0 +1,196 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Drive a sports scoreboard scroll on the panel and report what it did.
+
+The eight sports scoreboards scroll through ``src/common/sports_scroll.py``,
+and that path is per-league opt-in: a rig showing static game cards never
+constructs a SportsScrollDisplay at all, so nothing about its pacing can be
+observed from a normal run. This drives it directly, with synthetic games, so
+the pacing can be measured without changing anyone's configuration.
+
+What it checks is what the shared resolver is supposed to buy:
+
+* the requested speed lands on a whole number of pixels per refresh
+* the frame hold that makes that true is published to the display manager
+* frames actually arrive at the interval the hold implies
+
+    sudo systemctl stop ledmatrix
+    sudo python3 scripts/sports_scroll_check.py --seconds 20
+    sudo systemctl start ledmatrix
+
+Like scripts/scroll_speeds.py, this never starts or stops the display service
+itself -- that is left to the caller, so a crash here cannot leave the panel
+dark.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import json
+import statistics
+import subprocess  # nosec B404 - list-form argv only, no shell  # nosemgrep
+import sys
+import time
+from pathlib import Path
+
+sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent))
+
+from PIL import Image  # noqa: E402
+
+from src.common.sports_scroll import SportsScrollDisplay  # noqa: E402
+from src.display_manager import DisplayManager  # noqa: E402
+
+
+class _Check(SportsScrollDisplay):
+    """A scoreboard whose cards are plain blocks -- pacing is what matters."""
+
+    SCROLL_LEAGUE_KEYS = ("nfl",)
+
+    def prepare_scroll_content(self, games, game_type, leagues, rankings_cache=None):
+        width = self.display_height * 2
+        cards = []
+        for i, _ in enumerate(games):
+            card = Image.new("RGB", (width, self.display_height), (0, 0, 0))
+            shade = 40 + (i * 37) % 180
+            for x in range(2, width - 2):
+                for y in range(2, self.display_height - 2):
+                    card.putpixel((x, y), (shade, 90, 220 - shade // 2))
+            cards.append(card)
+        self._current_games = list(games)
+        self._current_game_type = game_type
+        self._current_leagues = list(leagues)
+        self.scroll_helper.create_scrolling_image(content_items=cards, item_gap=24)
+        return bool(cards)
+
+
+class _HoldSpy:
+    """Records what the scroll publishes, without changing what it does."""
+
+    def __init__(self, display_manager):
+        self.dm = display_manager
+        self.calls = []
+        self._real = display_manager.set_scrolling_state
+
+    def __enter__(self):
+        def spy(is_scrolling, frame_hold=1):
+            self.calls.append((is_scrolling, frame_hold))
+            return self._real(is_scrolling, frame_hold=frame_hold)
+        self.dm.set_scrolling_state = spy
+        return self
+
+    def __exit__(self, *exc):
+        self.dm.set_scrolling_state = self._real
+        return False
+
+
+MESSAGE = """ledmatrix is running and owns the panel's GPIO.
+
+Stop it first, or this run can leave the display dark:
+
+    sudo systemctl stop ledmatrix
+    sudo python3 scripts/sports_scroll_check.py
+    sudo systemctl start ledmatrix
+
+Use --fallback to check the pacing logic without the panel, or --force if
+you really mean it."""
+
+
+def _refuse_if_the_service_is_running(force):
+    """Refuse to touch the panel while ledmatrix has it.
+
+    rpi-rgb-led-matrix configures GPIO directions and the hardware PWM inside
+    RGBMatrix(), and on the root check it calls exit() from C -- no cleanup.
+    Do that while the service is driving those same pins and the panel goes
+    dark while the service carries on rendering happily: fresh framebuffer,
+    every pixel lit, "RGB Matrix initialized successfully", nothing in the log.
+    A restart brings it back, but only once you work out that is what happened.
+
+    The module docstring says to stop the service first. This makes it true.
+    """
+    if force:
+        return
+    try:
+        active = subprocess.run(  # nosec B603 B607 - hardcoded systemctl args  # nosemgrep
+            ["systemctl", "is-active", "ledmatrix"],
+            capture_output=True, text=True).stdout.strip()
+    except OSError:
+        return  # not a systemd box; nothing to protect
+    if active == "active":
+        sys.exit(MESSAGE)
+
+
+def main():
+    ap = argparse.ArgumentParser(
+        description=__doc__, formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter)
+    ap.add_argument("--seconds", type=float, default=20.0)
+    ap.add_argument("--speed", type=float, default=None,
+                    help="px/s to request; default is the module's own")
+    ap.add_argument("--games", type=int, default=6)
+    ap.add_argument("--force", action="store_true",
+                    help="run even though the display service is up. It owns "
+                         "the GPIO; expect a dark panel until you restart it.")
+    ap.add_argument("--fallback", action="store_true",
+                    help="run without the panel. Driving the real matrix needs "
+                         "root; this checks everything except the vsync pacing "
+                         "-- what speed resolves to, that the hold is published, "
+                         "and that it is released afterwards.")
+    args = ap.parse_args()
+
+    if not args.fallback:
+        _refuse_if_the_service_is_running(args.force)
+
+    root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+    config = json.loads((root / "config" / "config.json").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+
+    display_manager = DisplayManager(config, force_fallback=args.fallback)
+    settings = {} if args.speed is None else {
+        "nfl": {"scroll_settings": {"scroll_speed": args.speed}}}
+
+    display = _Check(display_manager, settings, global_config=config)
+    resolved = display._scroll_settings
+    print("resolved: %s" % resolved.describe())
+    print("frame hold: %d refresh(es) per frame" % resolved.frame_hold)
+    if resolved.warning:
+        print("warning: %s" % resolved.warning)
+
+    display.prepare_scroll_content(
+        [{"id": "g%d" % i} for i in range(args.games)], "live", ["nfl"])
+
+    gaps, drawn = [], 0
+    last = None
+    with _HoldSpy(display_manager) as spy:
+        started = time.perf_counter()
+        while time.perf_counter() - started < args.seconds:
+            if not display.display_scroll_frame():
+                break
+            now = time.perf_counter()
+            if last is not None:
+                gaps.append((now - last) * 1000.0)
+            last = now
+            drawn += 1
+        display.clear()
+
+    if not gaps:
+        sys.exit("no frames were drawn -- the scroll never started")
+
+    gaps.sort()
+    expected = 1000.0 * resolved.frame_hold / (resolved.crisp.refresh_hz
+                                               if resolved.crisp else 100.0)
+    print("\n%d frames in %.1fs -> %.1f fps" % (
+        drawn, args.seconds, drawn / args.seconds))
+    print("frame gap  median %.2fms  p95 %.2fms  max %.2fms  (hold implies %.2fms)"
+          % (statistics.median(gaps), gaps[int(len(gaps) * 0.95)], gaps[-1], expected))
+
+    holds = {h for on, h in spy.calls if on}
+    print("published while scrolling: frame_hold=%s" % (sorted(holds) or "NOTHING"))
+    print("released on clear: %s" % any(not on for on, _ in spy.calls))
+    print("display manager hold now: %d (1 means released)"
+          % getattr(display_manager, "_frame_hold", -1))
+
+    if not holds:
+        sys.exit("FAIL: the scroll never told the core it was scrolling")
+    if holds != {resolved.frame_hold}:
+        sys.exit("FAIL: published %s but resolved %d" % (holds, resolved.frame_hold))
+    print("\nOK: the resolved hold reached the panel and was released after")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()

scripts/utils/README.md

@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ This directory contains utility scripts for maintenance and system operations.
 - **`wifi_monitor_daemon.py`** - Background daemon that monitors WiFi/Ethernet connection and manages access point mode
 - **`cleanup_venv.sh`** - Cleans up Python virtual environment files
 - **`clear_python_cache.sh`** - Clears Python cache files (__pycache__, *.pyc, etc.)
+- **`pixlet_config_editor.sh`** - Opens Pixlet's own config UI for one installed Starlark app
+- **`apply_dns_single_request.sh`** - Adds `options single-request` to the resolver (run by `ledmatrix-dns-fix.service`)
 
 ## Usage
 
@@ -25,3 +27,31 @@ This script is typically called by the systemd service (`ledmatrix-web.service`)
 ### WiFi Monitor Daemon
 This daemon is typically run as a systemd service (`ledmatrix-wifi-monitor.service`) and automatically manages WiFi access point mode based on network connectivity.
 
+
+### Pixlet Config Editor
+Run it when you want Pixlet's own config form for a Starlark app -- live
+render preview, cascading dropdowns -- rather than the LEDMatrix one.
+
+```bash
+./scripts/utils/pixlet_config_editor.sh                 # list installed apps
+./scripts/utils/pixlet_config_editor.sh penndot_signs   # edit, on localhost:8080
+```
+
+Deliberately not a service. It stops the display for the length of the
+session and `pixlet serve` listens with no authentication, so it should only
+be running while you are actually editing. It backs the config up first and
+restarts the display on exit, however it exits.
+
+It binds loopback only, with no flag to change that: anything that can reach
+`pixlet serve` can rewrite the app's config, and a printed warning is not
+access control. To edit from another machine, forward the port -- SSH does the
+authenticating and nothing is left listening on the LAN:
+
+```bash
+ssh -L 8080:localhost:8080 pi@ledpi.local
+```
+
+### Apply DNS Single-Request Fix
+Installed and run by `ledmatrix-dns-fix.service`; see `systemd/README.md`.
+Safe to run by hand (`sudo ./scripts/utils/apply_dns_single_request.sh`) and
+idempotent.

scripts/utils/apply_dns_single_request.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Add `options single-request` to the system resolver configuration.
+#
+# glibc's getaddrinfo() sends the A and AAAA queries for a name in
+# parallel on one socket. Some routers answer the A query and drop the
+# AAAA one, so the resolver waits out its full timeout -- about five
+# seconds -- before returning an address that was already available.
+# Disabling IPv6 in the kernel does not help: the resolver still asks.
+#
+# `single-request` makes it send the two queries one after the other,
+# which those routers answer correctly. Anything on the matrix that
+# calls an external API pays that five seconds per lookup otherwise, and
+# a Starlark app with a render timeout will simply fail instead.
+#
+# Idempotent, and safe to run on a machine that does not need it. Run by
+# ledmatrix-dns-fix.service on every boot, because whatever manages
+# resolv.conf regenerates it and drops the option again.
+#
+# Usage: sudo ./scripts/utils/apply_dns_single_request.sh
+
+set -eu
+
+OPTION="options single-request"
+RESOLVCONF_TAIL="/etc/resolvconf/resolv.conf.d/tail"
+RESOLV_CONF="/etc/resolv.conf"
+
+log() { echo "[dns-single-request] $*"; }
+
+already_applied() {
+    grep -qs "^${OPTION}\$" "$1"
+}
+
+# resolvconf regenerates /etc/resolv.conf from these fragments, so the
+# tail file is the only place an addition survives. Prefer it when the
+# directory exists, whether or not resolvconf has run yet.
+if [ -d "$(dirname "$RESOLVCONF_TAIL")" ]; then
+    if already_applied "$RESOLVCONF_TAIL"; then
+        log "already present in $RESOLVCONF_TAIL"
+    else
+        echo "$OPTION" >> "$RESOLVCONF_TAIL"
+        log "added to $RESOLVCONF_TAIL"
+    fi
+    # Only a missing resolvconf is ignorable. If it is present and the
+    # regeneration fails, /etc/resolv.conf still lacks the option, and
+    # reporting success would be a lie.
+    if command -v resolvconf >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        if ! resolvconf -u; then
+            log "resolvconf -u failed; $RESOLV_CONF was not regenerated"
+            exit 1
+        fi
+    fi
+fi
+
+# systemd-resolved owns its stub file and rewrites anything appended to it,
+# and `single-request` is a glibc resolv.conf option with no resolved.conf
+# equivalent -- so there is nothing this script can do here. Exit non-zero:
+# the unit would otherwise record success while the workaround is inactive,
+# which is the failure mode this whole script exists to avoid.
+if [ -L "$RESOLV_CONF" ] && readlink -f "$RESOLV_CONF" | grep -q "systemd"; then
+    log "$RESOLV_CONF is managed by systemd-resolved."
+    log "'options single-request' is a glibc resolv.conf option and has no"
+    log "resolved.conf equivalent, so it cannot be applied on this host."
+    log "If external API calls are slow, the workaround is to stop using the"
+    log "systemd-resolved stub (see 'man systemd-resolved', NSS/resolv.conf modes)."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+if already_applied "$RESOLV_CONF"; then
+    log "already present in $RESOLV_CONF"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+if [ ! -w "$RESOLV_CONF" ] && [ -e "$RESOLV_CONF" ]; then
+    log "cannot write $RESOLV_CONF (run with sudo?)"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# A NetworkManager-generated resolv.conf is regenerated on every connection
+# change, not only at boot -- and this unit is oneshot with RemainAfterExit,
+# so it will not re-run within the same boot to put the option back. Say so
+# rather than implying the fix is permanent. Nothing is silently swallowed:
+# the append below still happens and still works until the next renewal.
+if grep -qs "Generated by NetworkManager" "$RESOLV_CONF" \
+        && [ ! -d "$(dirname "$RESOLVCONF_TAIL")" ]; then
+    log "NOTE: $RESOLV_CONF is generated by NetworkManager and has no"
+    log "resolvconf tail directory to write to. The option is being added, but"
+    log "NetworkManager will drop it on the next connection renewal, and this"
+    log "unit does not run again until the next boot. If lookups go slow again"
+    log "before a reboot, re-run this script."
+fi
+
+echo "$OPTION" >> "$RESOLV_CONF"
+log "added to $RESOLV_CONF"

scripts/utils/auto_update_verify.py

@@ -0,0 +1,277 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Check that an automatic LEDMatrix update left the device working; roll it back if not.
+
+Started by the web interface's weekly updater (web_interface/auto_update.py)
+through ledmatrix-update-verify.service, right after it pulls new code. It has
+to run outside the web service: checking the update means restarting that
+service, and a check running inside it would be killed by its own restart.
+
+It must not be the code it is checking, either. The updater copies this file
+to data/auto_update_verifier.py *before* pulling and the unit runs that copy,
+so a broken update cannot break its own rollback. Standard library only for
+the same reason: the rollback cannot depend on packages the update changed.
+
+The updater leaves data/auto_update_pending.json:
+
+    {"status": "pending", "old_head": ..., "new_head": ...,
+     "display_was_active": bool, "dependency_failures": [...], "created_at": ...}
+
+This moves its status to "verifying" and then to one of "success",
+"rolled_back" or "rollback_failed", with "reason" and "detail" saying why.
+The web interface reports that outcome and raises a banner for anything but
+success.
+"""
+import json
+import os
+import subprocess  # nosec B404 - list-form argv only, no shell  # nosemgrep
+import sys
+from collections import namedtuple
+import tempfile
+import time
+import traceback
+import urllib.error
+import urllib.request
+from pathlib import Path
+
+PENDING_NAME = 'auto_update_pending.json'
+REQUIREMENT_FILES = ('requirements.txt', 'web_interface/requirements.txt')
+WEB_HEALTH_URL = 'http://127.0.0.1:5000/api/v3/system/version'
+#: How long the services get to come up after a restart...
+HEALTH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 180
+#: ...and how long they must then stay up. Restart=on-failure makes a crash
+#: loop look healthy between attempts, so a single "is-active" proves nothing.
+STABLE_SECONDS = 45
+POLL_SECONDS = 5
+PIP_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 600
+#: sudoers matches the exact command line, so bash is named by path, the same
+#: candidates src/common/permission_utils.install_requirements_file tries.
+BASH_CANDIDATES = ('/usr/bin/bash', '/bin/bash')
+
+#: What a command that could not run at all reports: its callers only read
+#: these three fields, the same ones a completed subprocess has.
+_Failed = namedtuple('_Failed', 'returncode stdout stderr')
+
+
+def pending_path(project_root):
+    return Path(project_root) / 'data' / PENDING_NAME
+
+
+def read_pending(path):
+    try:
+        with open(path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+            data = json.load(f)
+        return data if isinstance(data, dict) else None
+    except (OSError, ValueError):
+        return None
+
+
+def write_pending(path, data):
+    path = Path(path)
+    path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    fd, tmp = tempfile.mkstemp(dir=str(path.parent), prefix='.auto_update_pending_')
+    try:
+        with os.fdopen(fd, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+            json.dump(data, f, indent=2)
+        os.replace(tmp, path)
+    except BaseException:
+        try:
+            os.unlink(tmp)
+        except OSError:
+            pass
+        raise
+
+
+def _web_responds(url=WEB_HEALTH_URL):
+    try:
+        with urllib.request.urlopen(url, timeout=5) as resp:  # nosec B310 - fixed loopback URL
+            return resp.status == 200
+    except (urllib.error.URLError, OSError, ValueError):
+        return False
+
+
+def _short(sha):
+    return (sha or 'unknown')[:7]
+
+
+class Verifier:
+    def __init__(self, project_root, run=subprocess.run, sleep=time.sleep,
+                 clock=time.monotonic, web_responds=_web_responds, log=None):
+        self.project_root = Path(project_root)
+        self.pending_file = pending_path(project_root)
+        self.run = run
+        self.sleep = sleep
+        self.clock = clock
+        self.web_responds = web_responds
+        self.log = log or (lambda msg: print(f'[auto-update-verify] {msg}', flush=True))
+
+    def _run(self, args, timeout=60):
+        try:
+            return self.run(args, cwd=str(self.project_root), capture_output=True,
+                            text=True, timeout=timeout)
+        except (subprocess.SubprocessError, OSError) as e:
+            return _Failed(returncode=1, stdout='', stderr=str(e))
+
+    # -- services ---------------------------------------------------------
+
+    def service_active(self, unit):
+        return self._run(['systemctl', 'is-active', unit], timeout=10).stdout.strip() == 'active'
+
+    def restart_count(self, unit):
+        out = self._run(['systemctl', 'show', '-p', 'NRestarts', '--value', unit],
+                        timeout=10).stdout.strip()
+        return int(out) if out.isdigit() else None
+
+    def restart(self, unit):
+        result = self._run(['sudo', '-n', 'systemctl', 'restart', f'{unit}.service'], timeout=90)
+        if result.returncode != 0:
+            self.log(f'restarting {unit} failed: {(result.stderr or "").strip()}')
+        return result.returncode == 0
+
+    def restart_services(self, display):
+        """Restart what should be running. False if any restart command failed."""
+        ok = True
+        # A display the user had stopped stays stopped.
+        if display:
+            ok = self.restart('ledmatrix') and ok
+        return self.restart('ledmatrix-web') and ok
+
+    def wait_healthy(self, display):
+        """None once the services are up and stay up, else what went wrong."""
+        deadline = self.clock() + HEALTH_TIMEOUT_SECONDS + STABLE_SECONDS
+        healthy_since = baseline = None
+        web = disp = False
+        count_known = True
+        while self.clock() < deadline:
+            web = self.web_responds()
+            disp = self.service_active('ledmatrix') if display else True
+            restarts = self.restart_count('ledmatrix') if display else None
+            # Without a restart count a crash loop looks healthy between
+            # attempts, so an unreadable count never counts as stable.
+            count_known = not display or restarts is not None
+            if web and disp and count_known and (healthy_since is None or restarts == baseline):
+                if healthy_since is None:
+                    healthy_since, baseline = self.clock(), restarts
+                elif self.clock() - healthy_since >= STABLE_SECONDS:
+                    return None
+            else:
+                healthy_since = None
+            self.sleep(POLL_SECONDS)
+        problems = []
+        if not web:
+            problems.append('the web interface did not respond')
+        if not disp:
+            problems.append('the display service did not stay running')
+        if web and disp and not count_known:
+            problems.append("the display service's restart count could not be read")
+        return '; '.join(problems) or 'the display service kept restarting'
+
+    # -- rollback ---------------------------------------------------------
+
+    def changed_requirements(self, old, new):
+        result = self._run(['git', 'diff', '--name-only', old, new])
+        # If the diff is unavailable, reinstall both rather than guess.
+        changed = set(result.stdout.split()) if result.returncode == 0 else set(REQUIREMENT_FILES)
+        return [rel for rel in REQUIREMENT_FILES if rel in changed]
+
+    def install_requirements(self, rel):
+        wrapper = self.project_root / 'scripts' / 'fix_perms' / 'safe_pip_install.sh'
+        req = self.project_root / rel
+        if not req.exists():
+            return True
+        for bash in BASH_CANDIDATES:
+            result = self._run(['sudo', '-n', bash, str(wrapper), str(req)],
+                               timeout=PIP_TIMEOUT_SECONDS)
+            if result.returncode == 0:
+                return True
+        return False
+
+    def rollback(self, pending):
+        """Reset to the previous commit and its dependencies. Returns (ok, detail)."""
+        old, new = pending.get('old_head'), pending.get('new_head')
+        if not old:
+            return False, 'the commit to roll back to is unknown'
+        requirements = self.changed_requirements(old, new) if new else list(REQUIREMENT_FILES)
+        # Safe to --hard: the updater refuses to run with local edits to
+        # tracked files, so the only thing this discards is the update.
+        result = self._run(['git', 'reset', '--hard', old], timeout=120)
+        if result.returncode != 0:
+            return False, (f'"git reset --hard {old}" failed: '
+                           f'{(result.stderr or result.stdout or "").strip()}')
+        failed = [rel for rel in requirements if not self.install_requirements(rel)]
+        if failed:
+            return True, ('reinstalling the previous dependencies from ' + ', '.join(failed)
+                          + ' failed; run Install Base Requirements from the Tools tab')
+        return True, ''
+
+    # -- the check itself -------------------------------------------------
+
+    def _finish(self, pending, status, reason=None, detail=None):
+        pending.update({'status': status, 'reason': reason, 'detail': detail or None,
+                        'finished_at': time.time()})
+        write_pending(self.pending_file, pending)
+        self.log(' '.join(p for p in (status, reason or '', detail or '') if p))
+
+    def verify(self):
+        pending = read_pending(self.pending_file)
+        if not pending or pending.get('status') != 'pending':
+            self.log('no update is waiting to be verified')
+            return 0
+        pending['status'] = 'verifying'
+        write_pending(self.pending_file, pending)
+
+        display = bool(pending.get('display_was_active'))
+        dependency_failures = pending.get('dependency_failures') or []
+        if dependency_failures:
+            # Never restart onto code whose packages did not install.
+            reason = 'installing its dependencies failed (' + ', '.join(dependency_failures) + ')'
+        elif not self.restart_services(display):
+            # The old process may still be answering; checking it would pass
+            # an update that never started.
+            reason = 'restarting the services failed'
+        else:
+            reason = self.wait_healthy(display)
+            if reason is None:
+                self._finish(pending, 'success')
+                return 0
+
+        self.log(f'update to {_short(pending.get("new_head"))} is unhealthy ({reason}); '
+                 f'rolling back to {_short(pending.get("old_head"))}')
+        ok, detail = self.rollback(pending)
+        if not ok:
+            self._finish(pending, 'rollback_failed', reason, detail)
+            return 1
+        still = (self.wait_healthy(display) if self.restart_services(display)
+                 else 'restarting the services failed')
+        if still:
+            self._finish(pending, 'rollback_failed', reason,
+                         f'still unhealthy after rolling back: {still}'
+                         + (f'; {detail}' if detail else ''))
+            return 1
+        self._finish(pending, 'rolled_back', reason, detail)
+        return 0
+
+
+def main(argv):
+    if len(argv) != 2:
+        print('usage: auto_update_verify.py PROJECT_ROOT', file=sys.stderr)
+        return 2
+    verifier = Verifier(Path(argv[1]))
+    try:
+        return verifier.verify()
+    except Exception as e:
+        traceback.print_exc()
+        # Whatever happened, the web interface must not be left thinking the
+        # check is still running.
+        try:
+            pending = read_pending(verifier.pending_file) or {}
+            if pending.get('status') in ('pending', 'verifying'):
+                pending.update({'status': 'rollback_failed', 'reason': 'the health check crashed',
+                                'detail': str(e), 'finished_at': time.time()})
+                write_pending(verifier.pending_file, pending)
+        except OSError:
+            pass
+        return 1
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    sys.exit(main(sys.argv))

scripts/utils/pixlet_config_editor.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,223 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Edit an installed Starlark app's config in Pixlet's own config UI.
+#
+# `pixlet serve` runs the app for real, so its form has working cascading
+# dropdowns and option lists fetched live -- useful for an app whose choices
+# only exist at runtime, or when you want to see the render change as you
+# type. The LEDMatrix config form now reads the same runtime schema (see
+# PixletRenderer.extract_schema_via_pixlet), so reach for this when you want
+# Pixlet's live preview, not because the normal form is missing options.
+#
+# Deliberately a script you run and then Ctrl+C, not a service: it stops the
+# display for the length of the session, and `pixlet serve` listens on a port
+# with no authentication. Nothing here should be listening when you are not
+# actually editing.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   ./scripts/utils/pixlet_config_editor.sh            # list installed apps
+#   ./scripts/utils/pixlet_config_editor.sh <app_id>   # edit
+#
+# Binds the LAN by default, matching the web interface, which already serves
+# 0.0.0.0:5000 with no authentication -- anything that can reach this can
+# already reconfigure the display there. `pixlet serve` has no authentication
+# either, so treat both the same way: fine on a home network, not on an open
+# one. Override the bind and the session length with:
+#
+#   PIXLET_EDITOR_HOST=127.0.0.1 ./scripts/utils/pixlet_config_editor.sh <app>
+#   PIXLET_EDITOR_TIMEOUT=600    ./scripts/utils/pixlet_config_editor.sh <app>
+#
+# For loopback-only editing from another machine, forward the port instead:
+#
+#   ssh -L 8080:localhost:8080 pi@ledpi.local
+#
+# The session always ends by itself after PIXLET_EDITOR_TIMEOUT seconds
+# (default 30 minutes). The display is stopped while editing, so a session
+# left open would otherwise leave the panel dark indefinitely -- the timeout
+# is what makes it safe to start one from the web interface.
+
+set -eu
+
+PROJECT_ROOT_DIR=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.." && pwd)
+APPS_DIR="$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/starlark-apps"
+PORT="${PIXLET_EDITOR_PORT:-8080}"
+# LAN by default; see the header for why, and how to force loopback.
+BIND_HOST="${PIXLET_EDITOR_HOST:-0.0.0.0}"
+# Hard stop, so the display cannot be left off by a forgotten session.
+EDITOR_TIMEOUT="${PIXLET_EDITOR_TIMEOUT:-1800}"
+
+APP_ID="${1:-}"
+
+list_apps() {
+    if [ -d "$APPS_DIR" ]; then
+        find "$APPS_DIR" -maxdepth 1 -mindepth 1 -type d -printf '  %f\n' 2>/dev/null | sort
+    fi
+}
+
+if [ -z "$APP_ID" ]; then
+    echo "Usage: $0 <app_id>"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Installed apps:"
+    list_apps || true
+    [ -n "$(list_apps)" ] || echo "  (none found in $APPS_DIR)"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+APP_DIR="$APPS_DIR/$APP_ID"
+if [ ! -d "$APP_DIR" ]; then
+    echo "No such app: $APP_ID"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Installed apps:"
+    list_apps
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+STAR_FILE=$(find "$APP_DIR" -maxdepth 1 -iname "*.star" | head -1)
+if [ -z "$STAR_FILE" ]; then
+    echo "No .star file found in $APP_DIR"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Same search order the plugin itself uses: the bundled binary for this
+# architecture first, then PATH -- so this works on an install that never put
+# pixlet on PATH.
+find_pixlet() {
+    local arch bundled
+    case "$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" in
+        Linux-aarch64|Linux-arm64)  arch="pixlet-linux-arm64" ;;
+        Linux-x86_64|Linux-amd64)   arch="pixlet-linux-amd64" ;;
+        Darwin-arm64)               arch="pixlet-darwin-arm64" ;;
+        Darwin-x86_64)              arch="pixlet-darwin-amd64" ;;
+        *)                          arch="" ;;
+    esac
+    bundled="$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/bin/pixlet/$arch"
+    if [ -n "$arch" ] && [ -x "$bundled" ]; then
+        echo "$bundled"
+        return 0
+    fi
+    command -v pixlet 2>/dev/null || return 1
+}
+
+PIXLET_BIN=$(find_pixlet) || {
+    echo "Pixlet not found. Install it with:"
+    echo "  ./scripts/download_pixlet.sh"
+    exit 1
+}
+
+# find_pixlet supports Darwin, so this script has to as well. macOS ships no
+# timeout(1); GNU coreutils installs it as gtimeout. Resolve whichever exists
+# and fail here with instructions rather than at the invocation far below,
+# where the failure would land after the display has already been stopped.
+find_timeout() {
+    local candidate
+    for candidate in timeout gtimeout; do
+        if command -v "$candidate" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            command -v "$candidate"
+            return 0
+        fi
+    done
+    return 1
+}
+
+TIMEOUT_BIN=$(find_timeout) || {
+    echo "Neither 'timeout' nor 'gtimeout' was found on PATH."
+    echo "This script needs one to bound the editing session."
+    echo "On macOS, install GNU coreutils:"
+    echo "  brew install coreutils"
+    exit 1
+}
+
+CONFIG_FILE="$APP_DIR/config.json"
+if [ -f "$CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
+    cp "$CONFIG_FILE" "$CONFIG_FILE.backup"
+    echo "Backed up existing config to $CONFIG_FILE.backup"
+else
+    echo "{}" > "$CONFIG_FILE"
+fi
+
+DISPLAY_WAS_RUNNING=false
+if systemctl is-active --quiet ledmatrix 2>/dev/null; then
+    DISPLAY_WAS_RUNNING=true
+fi
+
+# Restart the display however this exits -- Ctrl+C, an error, or pixlet
+# dying on its own. Leaving the panel dark because the editor crashed is the
+# failure worth guarding against.
+cleanup() {
+    echo ""
+    # Kill the serve child explicitly. `timeout` is started with --foreground so
+    # it shares this script's process group (without that it makes its own, and
+    # a group signal aimed at this script would orphan pixlet with the port
+    # still bound). Belt and braces: signal the recorded pid too, because a
+    # group signal only reaches it while the group is shared.
+    if [ -n "${SERVE_PID:-}" ] && kill -0 "$SERVE_PID" 2>/dev/null; then
+        kill -TERM "$SERVE_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
+        for _ in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10; do
+            kill -0 "$SERVE_PID" 2>/dev/null || break
+            sleep 0.3
+        done
+        kill -KILL "$SERVE_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
+    fi
+    if [ "$DISPLAY_WAS_RUNNING" = true ]; then
+        echo "Restarting the display service..."
+        sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix || echo "⚠ Could not restart ledmatrix - do it by hand"
+    fi
+    echo "Your config as it was before this session: $CONFIG_FILE.backup"
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT INT TERM
+
+if [ "$DISPLAY_WAS_RUNNING" = true ]; then
+    echo "Stopping the display service so it does not read config.json mid-write..."
+    sudo systemctl stop ledmatrix
+fi
+
+# Wildcard, loopback and an explicit interface address are three different
+# cases. Collapsing the last two into "localhost" printed a URL pointing at the
+# user's own machine whenever PIXLET_EDITOR_HOST named a LAN address.
+case "$BIND_HOST" in
+    0.0.0.0|::|"")            REACH_HOST="$(hostname).local" ;;
+    127.0.0.1|::1|localhost)  REACH_HOST="localhost" ;;
+    *)                        REACH_HOST="$BIND_HOST" ;;
+esac
+
+echo ""
+echo "Editing:  $APP_ID"
+echo "App file: $STAR_FILE"
+echo "URL:      http://$REACH_HOST:$PORT/"
+echo ""
+if [ "$BIND_HOST" = "0.0.0.0" ]; then
+    echo "Reachable on the LAN, and pixlet serve has no authentication -- the"
+    echo "same footing as the web interface on port 5000. Set"
+    echo "PIXLET_EDITOR_HOST=127.0.0.1 to keep it to this machine."
+else
+    echo "Listening on $BIND_HOST only. From another machine, forward the port:"
+    echo "  ssh -L $PORT:localhost:$PORT $(whoami)@$(hostname)"
+fi
+echo ""
+echo "Changes save straight to the real config as you make them."
+echo "Press Ctrl+C when finished - the display restarts automatically."
+echo "This session stops on its own after ${EDITOR_TIMEOUT}s regardless."
+echo ""
+
+cd "$APP_DIR"
+# `timeout` owns the hard stop rather than the caller: the trap above restarts
+# the display however this exits, so a session that outlives the person who
+# started it still gives the panel back. Exit 124 is timeout's own code for
+# "expired", which is a normal end here, not a failure.
+# --foreground: stay in this script's process group so one signal reaches the
+# whole session. Backgrounded + `wait` so the EXIT trap can run while the child
+# is still alive; a foreground child would leave bash waiting on it instead.
+"$TIMEOUT_BIN" --foreground "$EDITOR_TIMEOUT" "$PIXLET_BIN" serve "$(basename "$STAR_FILE")" \
+    --host "$BIND_HOST" \
+    --port "$PORT" \
+    --no-browser \
+    --saveconfig "$CONFIG_FILE" &
+SERVE_PID=$!
+
+status=0
+wait "$SERVE_PID" || status=$?
+if [ "$status" -eq 124 ]; then
+    echo "Session reached its ${EDITOR_TIMEOUT}s limit."
+    status=0
+fi
+exit "$status"

scripts/utils/start_web_conditionally.py

@@ -74,23 +74,41 @@ def install_dependencies():
         print(f"Failed to install dependencies: {e}")
         return False
 
+#: String spellings that turn autostart OFF. Anything else -- including the key
+#: being absent entirely -- leaves it on.
+DISABLED_STRINGS = ("off", "false", "no", "0")
+
+
+def autostart_enabled(config_data):
+    """Whether to bring the web interface up. Defaults to True.
+
+    config.template.json and first_time_install.sh both ship
+    ``web_display_autostart`` as true, so a config that lacks the key is an
+    older or hand-edited one rather than a request to stay down. Defaulting to
+    False meant any such config silently got no web interface -- and because
+    the "not starting" path exits 0, systemd reported the unit as successfully
+    started while nothing was listening. Only an explicit false/off disables it.
+    """
+    value = config_data.get("web_display_autostart", True)
+    if isinstance(value, str):
+        return value.strip().lower() not in DISABLED_STRINGS
+    return bool(value)
+
+
 def main():
     try:
         with open(CONFIG_FILE, 'r') as f:
             config_data = json.load(f)
     except FileNotFoundError:
-        print(f"Config file {CONFIG_FILE} not found. Web interface will not start.")
-        sys.exit(0) # Exit gracefully, don't start
-    except Exception as e:
-        print(f"Error reading config file {CONFIG_FILE}: {e}. Web interface will not start.")
-        sys.exit(1) # Exit with error, service might restart depending on config
+        # The web interface is how a config gets created and repaired, so a
+        # missing one is the case where the user needs it most.
+        print(f"Config file {CONFIG_FILE} not found. Starting the web interface so it can be configured.")
+        config_data = {}
+    except (json.JSONDecodeError, OSError) as e:
+        print(f"Error reading config file {CONFIG_FILE}: {e}. Starting the web interface anyway so the config can be repaired.")
+        config_data = {}
 
-    autostart_enabled = config_data.get("web_display_autostart", False)
-
-    # Handle both boolean True and string "on"/"true" values
-    is_enabled = (autostart_enabled is True) or (isinstance(autostart_enabled, str) and autostart_enabled.lower() in ("on", "true", "yes", "1"))
-
-    if is_enabled:
+    if autostart_enabled(config_data):
         print("Configuration 'web_display_autostart' is enabled. Starting web interface...")
 
         # Only install dependencies if not already done during first-time setup
@@ -116,7 +134,7 @@ def main():
             print(f"Failed to exec web interface: {e}")
             sys.exit(1) # Failed to start
     else:
-        print("Configuration 'web_display_autostart' is false or not set. Web interface will not be started.")
+        print("Configuration 'web_display_autostart' is explicitly disabled. Web interface will not be started.")
         sys.exit(0) # Exit gracefully, service considered successful
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':

scripts/validate_skin.py

@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ sys.path.insert(0, str(PROJECT_ROOT))
 
 from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont  # noqa: E402
 
+from src.common.font_layout import load_truetype  # noqa: E402
+
 FIXTURES_DIR = PROJECT_ROOT / "src" / "skin_system" / "fixtures"
 MODES = ("live", "recent", "upcoming")
 SPORTS = ("baseball", "basketball", "football", "hockey")
@@ -52,12 +54,12 @@ class FixtureHost:
         try:
             press = str(PROJECT_ROOT / "assets/fonts/PressStart2P-Regular.ttf")
             small = str(PROJECT_ROOT / "assets/fonts/4x6-font.ttf")
-            fonts['score'] = ImageFont.truetype(press, 10)
-            fonts['time'] = ImageFont.truetype(press, 8)
-            fonts['team'] = ImageFont.truetype(press, 8)
-            fonts['status'] = ImageFont.truetype(small, 6)
-            fonts['detail'] = ImageFont.truetype(small, 6)
-            fonts['rank'] = ImageFont.truetype(press, 10)
+            fonts['score'] = load_truetype(press, 10)
+            fonts['time'] = load_truetype(press, 8)
+            fonts['team'] = load_truetype(press, 8)
+            fonts['status'] = load_truetype(small, 6)
+            fonts['detail'] = load_truetype(small, 6)
+            fonts['rank'] = load_truetype(press, 10)
         except IOError:
             default = ImageFont.load_default()
             for key in ('score', 'time', 'team', 'status', 'detail', 'rank'):

skins/README.md

@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 # skins/
 
+> **Not supported yet.** The current scoreboard plugins don't render skins,
+> so a skin placed here and selected in config has no effect, and the web UI
+> and Plugin Store don't offer them. See
+> [docs/SKIN_SYSTEM.md](../docs/SKIN_SYSTEM.md#status-not-supported-yet).
+
 User-installable **visual skins** for the sports scoreboards. Each
 subdirectory is one skin:
 
@@ -10,10 +15,10 @@ skins/<skin-id>/
   preview.png   # optional
 ```
 
-- Install a skin: `git clone <skin repo> skins/<skin-id>` (or via the Plugin
-  Store for registry entries with `"type": "skin"`).
+- Install a skin: `git clone <skin repo> skins/<skin-id>`. The Plugin Store
+  refuses registry entries with `"type": "skin"` while skins don't render.
 - Select it: set `"skin": "<skin-id>"` in the plugin's section of
-  `config/config.json`, or use the web UI's Visual Skin dropdown.
+  `config/config.json`. The web UI no longer shows a Visual Skin dropdown.
 - Build one: start from `example-classic-baseball/` and read
   [docs/CREATING_SKINS.md](../docs/CREATING_SKINS.md). Validate with
   `python scripts/validate_skin.py --skin <skin-id>`.

src/__init__.py

@@ -4,5 +4,5 @@ LEDMatrix Display System
 Core source package for the LED Matrix Display project.
 """
 
-__version__ = "3.3.0"
+__version__ = "3.4.0"
 

src/auto_update_setup.py

@@ -0,0 +1,221 @@
+"""Install the automatic-update health check, from the display service.
+
+The weekly updater (web_interface/auto_update.py) will not update LEDMatrix
+code unless ledmatrix-update-verify.path and .service are installed: they
+restart the services after an update and roll it back if the device is
+unhealthy. Installing units takes root and the web interface is not root, and
+"SSH in and run an installer" means most people never get updates with a
+safety net.
+
+The display service already runs this repository's code as root, so it
+installs them -- but only while the user has automatic updates turned on, only
+these two units, rendered from the repository's templates for the web
+interface's own user, and it reports what happened in
+data/auto_update_setup.json for the General tab. It grants nothing new: the
+units run as the web user, who can already change the code this process runs.
+
+Called at display startup; the web interface restarts the display service
+when the toggle is switched on, so setup happens straight away. Refreshing a
+unit whose template changed happens the same way, which is why this compares
+content rather than only checking that the files exist.
+"""
+import json
+import logging
+import os
+import re
+import subprocess  # nosec B404 - list-form argv only, no shell  # nosemgrep
+import tempfile
+import time
+from pathlib import Path
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+SYSTEMD_DIR = Path('/etc/systemd/system')
+SERVICE_UNIT = 'ledmatrix-update-verify.service'
+PATH_UNIT = 'ledmatrix-update-verify.path'
+UNITS = (SERVICE_UNIT, PATH_UNIT)
+WEB_UNIT = 'ledmatrix-web.service'
+RESULT_REL = Path('data') / 'auto_update_setup.json'
+_USER_RE = re.compile(r'^[a-z_][a-z0-9_-]{0,31}$')
+
+
+class SetupError(Exception):
+    """A reason setup cannot proceed, worded for the General tab."""
+
+
+def _is_root():
+    return hasattr(os, 'geteuid') and os.geteuid() == 0
+
+
+def _lookup_ids(user):
+    try:
+        import pwd
+        entry = pwd.getpwnam(user)
+        return entry.pw_uid, entry.pw_gid
+    except (ImportError, KeyError):
+        return None
+
+
+def _directive(text, key):
+    match = re.search(rf'^{key}=(.*)$', text or '', re.M)
+    return match.group(1).strip() if match else None
+
+
+def _read(path):
+    try:
+        return Path(path).read_text(encoding='utf-8')
+    except OSError:
+        return None
+
+
+def is_enabled(config):
+    return bool((config.get('auto_update') or {}).get('enabled', False))
+
+
+class UpdateHelperSetup:
+    def __init__(self, project_root=PROJECT_ROOT, systemd_dir=SYSTEMD_DIR, run=subprocess.run,
+                 is_root=_is_root, lookup_ids=_lookup_ids, clock=time.time):
+        self.project_root = Path(project_root)
+        self.systemd_dir = Path(systemd_dir)
+        self.run = run
+        self.is_root = is_root
+        self.lookup_ids = lookup_ids
+        self.clock = clock
+        self.result_file = self.project_root / RESULT_REL
+        self._web_ids = None
+
+    def _systemctl(self, *args):
+        return self.run(['systemctl', *args], capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=60)
+
+    def _check(self, result, what):
+        if result.returncode != 0:
+            raise SetupError(f'"{what}" failed: {(result.stderr or result.stdout or "").strip()}')
+
+    def path_active(self):
+        try:
+            return self._systemctl('is-active', PATH_UNIT).stdout.strip() == 'active'
+        except (subprocess.SubprocessError, OSError):
+            return False
+
+    def ensure(self, config):
+        """Install or refresh the units while automatic updates are on.
+
+        Returns the result recorded for the General tab, or None when there
+        was nothing to do (updates off, or not a systemd host at all).
+        """
+        if not is_enabled(config) or not self.systemd_dir.is_dir():
+            return None
+        try:
+            changed = self._install()
+        except SetupError as e:
+            return self._report('failed', str(e))
+        except (OSError, subprocess.SubprocessError) as e:
+            return self._report('failed', f'Could not install the update health check: {e}')
+        if changed:
+            return self._report('installed', 'Installed the update health check.')
+        return self._report('installed', 'The update health check is installed.', quiet=True)
+
+    def _install(self):
+        if not self.is_root():
+            raise SetupError('The display service is not running as root, so it cannot install the '
+                             'update health check. Run "sudo ./scripts/install/install_web_service.sh" once.')
+
+        web_text = _read(self.systemd_dir / WEB_UNIT)
+        if web_text is None:
+            raise SetupError('The web interface service (ledmatrix-web.service) is not installed.')
+        user = _directive(web_text, 'User') or 'root'
+        ids = self.lookup_ids(user) if _USER_RE.match(user) else None
+        if ids is None:
+            raise SetupError(f'The web interface runs as "{user}", which is not a usable account.')
+        self._web_ids = ids
+        workdir = _directive(web_text, 'WorkingDirectory')
+        if not workdir or Path(workdir).resolve() != self.project_root.resolve():
+            raise SetupError(f'The web interface service runs from {workdir or "an unknown folder"}, '
+                             f'not {self.project_root}.')
+        # Spaces are fine -- the templates quote every command-line path --
+        # but systemd expands % specifiers, and a quote, backslash or line
+        # break would be reinterpreted in a unit file. (On Windows, where the
+        # tests also run, a backslash is the path separator, not a name.)
+        root_text = str(self.project_root)
+        unsafe = set('%"') | ({'\\'} if os.sep == '/' else set())
+        if any(ch in unsafe or ord(ch) < 32 for ch in root_text):
+            raise SetupError(f'LEDMatrix is installed in {root_text!r}, a folder name systemd cannot use '
+                             'in a unit file. Move it to a path without %, quotes, backslashes or '
+                             'control characters.')
+
+        rendered = {}
+        for name in UNITS:
+            template = _read(self.project_root / 'systemd' / name)
+            if template is None:
+                raise SetupError(f'The unit template systemd/{name} is missing.')
+            rendered[name] = (template.replace('__PROJECT_ROOT_DIR__', str(self.project_root))
+                              .replace('__USER__', user))
+        # The templates are ordinary repository files. Whatever they say,
+        # this root process only installs a service that runs as the web user
+        # and a path unit that starts exactly that service.
+        if _directive(rendered[SERVICE_UNIT], 'User') != user:
+            raise SetupError(f'systemd/{SERVICE_UNIT} does not run as the web interface user; '
+                             'refusing to install it.')
+        if _directive(rendered[PATH_UNIT], 'Unit') != SERVICE_UNIT:
+            raise SetupError(f'systemd/{PATH_UNIT} does not start {SERVICE_UNIT}; refusing to install it.')
+
+        changed = [name for name in UNITS if _read(self.systemd_dir / name) != rendered[name]]
+        for name in changed:
+            self._write_unit(self.systemd_dir / name, rendered[name])
+        if changed:
+            self._check(self._systemctl('daemon-reload'), 'systemctl daemon-reload')
+            self._check(self._systemctl('enable', PATH_UNIT), f'systemctl enable {PATH_UNIT}')
+            self._check(self._systemctl('restart', PATH_UNIT), f'systemctl restart {PATH_UNIT}')
+        elif not self.path_active():
+            self._check(self._systemctl('enable', '--now', PATH_UNIT), f'systemctl enable --now {PATH_UNIT}')
+            changed = [PATH_UNIT]
+        if not self.path_active():
+            raise SetupError(f'{PATH_UNIT} did not start; see "journalctl -u {PATH_UNIT}".')
+        return bool(changed)
+
+    def _write_unit(self, path, text):
+        fd, tmp = tempfile.mkstemp(dir=str(path.parent), prefix=f'.{path.name}.')
+        try:
+            with os.fdopen(fd, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+                f.write(text)
+            os.chmod(tmp, 0o644)
+            os.replace(tmp, path)
+        except BaseException:
+            try:
+                os.unlink(tmp)
+            except OSError:
+                pass
+            raise
+
+    def _report(self, status, message, quiet=False):
+        previous = None
+        try:
+            previous = json.loads(_read(self.result_file) or 'null')
+        except ValueError:
+            pass
+        if quiet and isinstance(previous, dict) and previous.get('status') == status:
+            return previous  # nothing new; don't rewrite it on every boot
+        result = {'status': status, 'message': message, 'at': self.clock()}
+        (logger.info if status == 'installed' else logger.warning)("Automatic update setup: %s", message)
+        try:
+            self.result_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+            fd, tmp = tempfile.mkstemp(dir=str(self.result_file.parent), prefix='.auto_update_setup_')
+            with os.fdopen(fd, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+                json.dump(result, f, indent=2)
+            os.chmod(tmp, 0o644)
+            if self._web_ids and hasattr(os, 'chown'):
+                # Only root can give the file away; the result is readable
+                # (0644) either way, so a failed chown must not lose it.
+                try:
+                    os.chown(tmp, *self._web_ids)
+                except OSError:
+                    pass
+            os.replace(tmp, self.result_file)
+        except OSError as e:
+            logger.warning("Could not record automatic update setup result: %s", e)
+        return result
+
+
+def ensure_update_helper(config):
+    return UpdateHelperSetup().ensure(config)

src/base_classes/baseball.py

@@ -37,51 +37,6 @@ class Baseball(SportsCore):
         self.data_source = ESPNDataSource(logger)
         self.sport = "baseball"
 
-    def _get_baseball_display_text(self, game: Dict) -> str:
-        """Get baseball-specific display text."""
-        try:
-            display_parts = []
-
-            # Inning information
-            if self.show_innings:
-                inning = game.get("inning", "")
-                if inning:
-                    display_parts.append(f"Inning: {inning}")
-
-            # Outs information
-            if self.show_outs:
-                outs = game.get("outs", 0)
-                if outs is not None:
-                    display_parts.append(f"Outs: {outs}")
-
-            # Bases information
-            if self.show_bases:
-                bases = game.get("bases", "")
-                if bases:
-                    display_parts.append(f"Bases: {bases}")
-
-            # Count information
-            if self.show_count:
-                strikes = game.get("strikes", 0)
-                balls = game.get("balls", 0)
-                if strikes is not None and balls is not None:
-                    display_parts.append(f"Count: {balls}-{strikes}")
-
-            # Pitcher/Batter information
-            if self.show_pitcher_batter:
-                pitcher = game.get("pitcher", "")
-                batter = game.get("batter", "")
-                if pitcher:
-                    display_parts.append(f"Pitcher: {pitcher}")
-                if batter:
-                    display_parts.append(f"Batter: {batter}")
-
-            return " | ".join(display_parts) if display_parts else ""
-
-        except Exception as e:
-            self.logger.error(f"Error getting baseball display text: {e}")
-            return ""
-
     def _is_baseball_game_live(self, game: Dict) -> bool:
         """Check if a baseball game is currently live."""
         try:

src/base_classes/sports/core.py

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import os
 import tempfile
 import time
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
+from collections import OrderedDict
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
@@ -15,6 +16,7 @@ from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
 import pytz
 import requests
 from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont
+from src.common.font_layout import load_truetype
 from requests.adapters import HTTPAdapter
 from urllib3.util.retry import Retry
 
@@ -166,7 +168,14 @@ class SportsCore(ABC):
         self.session.mount("https://", adapter)
         self.session.mount("http://", adapter)
 
-        self._logo_cache = {}
+        # LRU-bounded: entries are decoded RGBA thumbnails, not file bytes.
+        # Each is up to display_width*1.5 x display_height*1.5 -- about 36KB on
+        # a 256x64 panel, more for wide wordmarks. The key is a team
+        # abbreviation and assets/sports/ncaa_logos alone ships 307 of them, so
+        # an unbounded dict here held the whole league: ~11-18MB per manager
+        # instance, and a league runs three (live/recent/upcoming) each with
+        # its own cache. That is real money on a 1GB Pi.
+        self._logo_cache: "OrderedDict[str, Image.Image]" = OrderedDict()
 
         # Font caches for _load_custom_font_from_element_config: per-frame
         # callers (font-ladder walks) resolve the same (name, size) over and
@@ -449,12 +458,12 @@ class SportsCore(ABC):
         press_start = self._resolve_font_path("PressStart2P-Regular.ttf")
         four_by_six = self._resolve_font_path("4x6-font.ttf")
         try:
-            fonts['score'] = ImageFont.truetype(press_start, 10)
-            fonts['time'] = ImageFont.truetype(press_start, 8)
-            fonts['team'] = ImageFont.truetype(press_start, 8)
-            fonts['status'] = ImageFont.truetype(four_by_six, 6) # Using 4x6 for status
-            fonts['detail'] = ImageFont.truetype(four_by_six, 6) # Added detail font
-            fonts['rank'] = ImageFont.truetype(press_start, 10)
+            fonts['score'] = load_truetype(press_start, 10)
+            fonts['time'] = load_truetype(press_start, 8)
+            fonts['team'] = load_truetype(press_start, 8)
+            fonts['status'] = load_truetype(four_by_six, 6) # Using 4x6 for status
+            fonts['detail'] = load_truetype(four_by_six, 6) # Added detail font
+            fonts['rank'] = load_truetype(press_start, 10)
             self.logger.info("Successfully loaded fonts")
         except OSError:
             # Name the directory we searched: the usual cause is an install
@@ -559,11 +568,17 @@ class SportsCore(ABC):
             draw.text((x + dx, y + dy), text, font=font, fill=outline_color)
         draw.text((x, y), text, font=font, fill=fill)
 
+    #: Decoded logos to keep. A scroll of "other games" shows on the order of
+    #: 20 games (40 teams), so this holds a full cycle without thrashing while
+    #: capping the cache well below a 307-team league.
+    _LOGO_CACHE_MAX = 64
+
     def _load_and_resize_logo(self, team_id: str, team_abbrev: str, logo_path: Path, logo_url: str | None ) -> Optional[Image.Image]:
         """Load and resize a team logo, with caching and automatic download if missing."""
         self.logger.debug(f"Logo path: {logo_path}")
         if team_abbrev in self._logo_cache:
             self.logger.debug(f"Using cached logo for {team_abbrev}")
+            self._logo_cache.move_to_end(team_abbrev)
             return self._logo_cache[team_abbrev]
 
         try:
@@ -603,6 +618,8 @@ class SportsCore(ABC):
             max_height = int(self.display_height * 1.5)
             logo.thumbnail((max_width, max_height), Image.Resampling.LANCZOS)
             self._logo_cache[team_abbrev] = logo
+            while len(self._logo_cache) > self._LOGO_CACHE_MAX:
+                self._logo_cache.popitem(last=False)
             return logo
 
         except Exception as e:
@@ -1031,7 +1048,7 @@ class SportsCore(ABC):
             if os.path.exists(font_path):
                 # Try loading as TTF first (works for both TTF and some BDF files with PIL)
                 if font_path.lower().endswith('.ttf'):
-                    font = ImageFont.truetype(font_path, font_size)
+                    font = load_truetype(font_path, font_size)
                     self.logger.debug(f"Loaded font: {font_name} at size {font_size}")
                     self._font_cache[cache_key] = font
                     return font
@@ -1049,7 +1066,7 @@ class SportsCore(ABC):
                     # correct one: the newer copies call truetype() on a BDF at
                     # any size (which simply fails) or refuse BDF outright.
                     try:
-                        font = ImageFont.truetype(font_path, font_size)
+                        font = load_truetype(font_path, font_size)
                         self.logger.debug(f"Loaded BDF font: {font_name} at size {font_size}")
                         self._font_cache[cache_key] = font
                         return font
@@ -1061,7 +1078,7 @@ class SportsCore(ABC):
                             self._bdf_native_size_cache[font_path] = native_size
                         if native_size and native_size != font_size:
                             try:
-                                font = ImageFont.truetype(font_path, native_size)
+                                font = load_truetype(font_path, native_size)
                                 self.logger.debug(
                                     f"Loaded BDF font: {font_name} at its native size {native_size} "
                                     f"(requested {font_size} isn't a valid strike for this file)"
@@ -1089,7 +1106,7 @@ class SportsCore(ABC):
             _resolve_font_family_alias(base_default))
         try:
             if os.path.exists(default_font_path):
-                font = ImageFont.truetype(default_font_path, font_size)
+                font = load_truetype(default_font_path, font_size)
             else:
                 self.logger.warning("Default font not found, using PIL default")
                 font = ImageFont.load_default()

src/cache/disk_cache.py

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ Handles persistent disk-based caching with atomic writes and error recovery.
 """
 
 import json
+import math
 import os
 import time
 import tempfile
@@ -14,6 +15,13 @@ import zlib
 from typing import Dict, Any, Optional, Protocol
 from datetime import datetime
 
+from src.common.path_safety import safe_path_component
+
+try:  # optional: large speedup on the cache write path, see _dumps below
+    import orjson
+except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - exercised on hosts without the wheel
+    orjson = None
+
 # How old an abandoned write's temp file must be before the sweep removes it.
 # A real write holds its temp file for milliseconds, so an hour is far beyond
 # any in-flight write while still clearing the same day's debris. Deliberately
@@ -40,13 +48,97 @@ class CacheStrategyProtocol(Protocol):
 
 
 class DateTimeEncoder(json.JSONEncoder):
-    """JSON encoder that handles datetime objects."""
+    """JSON encoder that handles datetime objects.
+
+    Retained for the stdlib fallback path and for any caller importing it.
+    """
     def default(self, obj: Any) -> Any:
         if isinstance(obj, datetime):
             return obj.isoformat()
         return super().default(obj)
 
 
+def _datetime_default(obj: Any) -> Any:
+    """Serialise datetimes exactly as DateTimeEncoder did."""
+    if isinstance(obj, datetime):
+        return obj.isoformat()
+    raise TypeError(f"Object of type {type(obj).__name__} is not JSON serializable")
+
+
+def _replace_nonfinite(obj: Any) -> Any:
+    """Non-finite floats -> None, matching what ``orjson.dumps`` writes.
+
+    Only reached once a strict pass has proved there is something to replace,
+    so the ordinary write path never pays for this walk.
+    """
+    if isinstance(obj, float):
+        return obj if math.isfinite(obj) else None
+    if isinstance(obj, dict):
+        return {k: _replace_nonfinite(v) for k, v in obj.items()}
+    if isinstance(obj, (list, tuple)):
+        return [_replace_nonfinite(v) for v in obj]
+    return obj
+
+
+# NON-FINITE FLOATS
+# -----------------
+# JSON has no NaN or Infinity. The stdlib emits them anyway as an extension;
+# orjson refuses to and writes null. That divergence is not acceptable in a
+# cache whose files outlive the decision of which encoder is installed, so the
+# policy here is one behaviour on both paths:
+#
+#   writing  non-finite floats become null, whichever encoder is in use
+#   reading  files already on disk that carry the stdlib's NaN/Infinity
+#            tokens stay readable, whichever encoder is in use
+#
+# Without the write half, installing orjson silently changed cached values.
+# Without the read half, installing orjson turned every legacy record holding a
+# NaN into a "corrupted cache file" that DiskCache.get logged as an error and
+# deleted. Both halves are covered by test/test_cache_nonfinite_floats.py.
+
+
+if orjson is not None:
+    # Encoding the cache record dominated the background fetch worker: on a
+    # Pi 4, stdlib json.dumps runs ~12ms per MB and holds the GIL for all of
+    # it, which stalls the render thread mid-scroll. orjson measures ~7x
+    # faster on the same payloads (11.9ms -> 1.6ms for 985KB). Decoding gains
+    # far less (~1.3x on large payloads) because the cost there is building
+    # the Python objects, not scanning the text, but it is still free to take.
+    #
+    # OPT_NON_STR_KEYS: stdlib json coerces int/float dict keys to strings;
+    # orjson raises without this, and cache records do carry numeric keys.
+    # OPT_PASSTHROUGH_DATETIME: orjson would otherwise emit its own RFC 3339
+    # form for datetimes instead of calling default(). Routing them through
+    # _datetime_default keeps byte-for-byte parity with the records already
+    # on disk.
+    _DUMPS_OPTS = orjson.OPT_NON_STR_KEYS | orjson.OPT_PASSTHROUGH_DATETIME
+
+    def _dumps(data: Any) -> bytes:
+        return orjson.dumps(data, default=_datetime_default, option=_DUMPS_OPTS)
+
+    def _loads(raw: bytes) -> Any:
+        try:
+            return orjson.loads(raw)
+        except orjson.JSONDecodeError:
+            # Legacy record written by the stdlib path, carrying NaN or
+            # Infinity. Genuinely malformed files raise again from here, as
+            # json.JSONDecodeError, which is what DiskCache.get expects.
+            return json.loads(raw)
+else:
+    def _dumps(data: Any) -> bytes:
+        try:
+            return json.dumps(data, cls=DateTimeEncoder,
+                              allow_nan=False).encode("utf-8")
+        except ValueError:
+            # allow_nan=False is what detects the non-finite values; the walk
+            # runs only now that we know there is one to replace.
+            return json.dumps(_replace_nonfinite(data), cls=DateTimeEncoder,
+                              allow_nan=False).encode("utf-8")
+
+    def _loads(raw: bytes) -> Any:
+        return json.loads(raw)
+
+
 class DiskCache:
     """Manages persistent disk-based cache."""
     
@@ -71,15 +163,29 @@ class DiskCache:
         """
         Get the path for a cache file.
 
+        The key becomes a filename, so it has to be one. Keys reach this
+        method from the web API -- POST /api/v3/cache/delete passes the
+        request body's ``key`` straight through CacheManager.clear_cache to
+        os.remove -- and a key of ``../../../../etc/whatever`` named a file
+        well outside the cache directory. Every real key is the stem of a
+        file already sitting flat in cache_dir (that is how list_cache_files
+        derives them), so rejecting anything with a path component turns
+        away only inputs that could never have been written here.
+
         Args:
             key: Cache key
 
         Returns:
-            Path to cache file or None if cache is disabled
+            Path to cache file, or None if cache is disabled or the key is
+            not a usable filename
         """
         if not self.cache_dir:
             return None
-        return os.path.join(self.cache_dir, f"{key}.json")
+        safe_key = safe_path_component(key)
+        if safe_key is None:
+            self.logger.warning("Rejected unsafe cache key %r", key)
+            return None
+        return os.path.join(self.cache_dir, f"{safe_key}.json")
     
     def get(self, key: str, max_age: Optional[int] = 300) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
         """
@@ -99,8 +205,8 @@ class DiskCache:
         
         try:
             with self._lock:
-                with open(cache_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-                    record = json.load(f)
+                with open(cache_path, 'rb') as f:
+                    record = _loads(f.read())
             
             # Determine record timestamp (prefer embedded, else file mtime)
             record_ts = None
@@ -189,12 +295,12 @@ class DiskCache:
         # write path below, and cache files are machine-read only — indenting
         # them just multiplied the bytes written to the SD card.
         try:
-            payload = json.dumps(data, cls=DateTimeEncoder)
+            payload = _dumps(data)
         except (TypeError, ValueError) as e:
             self.logger.warning("Cache data for key '%s' not serializable: %s", key, e)
             return
 
-        digest = zlib.adler32(payload.encode('utf-8'))
+        digest = zlib.adler32(payload)
 
         try:
             # Atomic write to avoid partial/corrupt files
@@ -242,7 +348,7 @@ class DiskCache:
                         # wear source (dozens of fsyncs/min on API-heavy
                         # installs) for data that can be re-downloaded.
                         try:
-                            with os.fdopen(fd, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as tmp_file:
+                            with os.fdopen(fd, 'wb') as tmp_file:
                                 tmp_file.write(payload)
                             os.replace(tmp_path, cache_path)
                             self._write_digests[key] = digest
@@ -260,7 +366,7 @@ class DiskCache:
                     else:
                         # Fallback: direct write (not atomic, but better than failing)
                         try:
-                            with open(cache_path, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as cache_file:
+                            with open(cache_path, 'wb') as cache_file:
                                 cache_file.write(payload)
                             self._write_digests[key] = digest
                             # Set proper permissions: 660 (rw-rw----) for group-readable cache files
@@ -290,7 +396,7 @@ class DiskCache:
                             # is a different path, so future sets must keep
                             # retrying the primary location.
                             fallback_path = os.path.join(fallback_dir, os.path.basename(cache_path))
-                            with open(fallback_path, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as tmp_file:
+                            with open(fallback_path, 'wb') as tmp_file:
                                 tmp_file.write(payload)
                             # Set proper permissions: 660 (rw-rw----) for group-readable cache files
                             try:

src/common/__init__.py

@@ -23,6 +23,13 @@ from src.common.error_handler import (
 )
 from src.common.api_helper import APIHelper
 from src.common.scroll_helper import ScrollHelper
+from src.common import scroll_config
+from src.common.scroll_config import (
+    ScrollSettings,
+    configure as configure_scroll,
+    resolve as resolve_scroll_settings,
+    refresh_hz_from_config,
+)
 from src.common.logo_helper import LogoHelper
 from src.common.text_helper import TextHelper
 
@@ -60,6 +67,11 @@ __all__ = [
     'log_and_raise',
     'APIHelper',
     'ScrollHelper',
+    'scroll_config',
+    'ScrollSettings',
+    'configure_scroll',
+    'resolve_scroll_settings',
+    'refresh_hz_from_config',
     'LogoHelper',
     'TextHelper',
     # adaptive layout & images

src/common/font_layout.py

@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+"""One text layout engine, everywhere.
+
+``PIL.ImageFont.truetype`` picks its layout engine at load time: Raqm when the
+host Pillow was built with libraqm, Basic otherwise. The two disagree about
+fractional glyph advances, so the *same* Pillow version renders the *same*
+string differently depending on a build option of the host.
+
+That is invisible for ``PressStart2P-Regular.ttf`` at 8px, whose advances are
+whole pixels either way — which is why most of the fleet's golden images
+matched on every machine. It is not invisible for ``4x6-font.ttf`` at 6px,
+where the advances are fractional: glyph positions drift cumulatively along a
+run, and the committed goldens for geochron, of-the-day, christmas-countdown
+and ledmatrix-weather's almanac passed on the machine that generated them and
+failed everywhere else (ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-plugins#371, #375, #378, #391).
+
+Pinning the Basic engine makes a render depend on the font file and the size,
+and nothing else. Basic gives up complex-script shaping (Arabic, Indic) and
+kerning pairs; neither applies to the bitmap-grid faces this project draws
+with on an LED panel.
+
+Use :func:`load_truetype` in place of ``ImageFont.truetype`` anywhere the
+result is drawn to a panel or compared against a golden image.
+
+The module also owns the other two things that decide whether a bundled face
+renders reproducibly, for the same reason — they are properties of the font
+file, not of whoever is drawing with it:
+
+* :func:`crisp_size` and :data:`FONT_PIXEL_GRID` — the size each face renders
+  on whole pixels at. ``4x6-font.ttf`` has a 7px grid, which is why the 6 that
+  reads as its natural size is the wrong number everywhere it appears.
+* :func:`resolve_asset_path` — ``assets/fonts/...`` resolved against the
+  install root rather than the process cwd.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any, Dict, Union
+
+from PIL import ImageFont
+
+#: The engine every core font load pins. Named once so the reason above has a
+#: single referent, and so a future change is one line.
+LAYOUT_ENGINE = ImageFont.Layout.BASIC
+
+
+def load_truetype(font: Union[str, Any], size: int, **kwargs: Any) -> ImageFont.FreeTypeFont:
+    """``ImageFont.truetype`` with the layout engine pinned.
+
+    Same signature and same exceptions as the PIL call it replaces, so it is a
+    drop-in at every call site.
+    """
+    kwargs.setdefault("layout_engine", LAYOUT_ENGINE)
+    return ImageFont.truetype(font, size, **kwargs)
+
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Bundled-asset path resolution
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#: The install root, derived from this module's own location
+#: (``<root>/src/common/font_layout.py``) rather than from the process cwd.
+_INSTALL_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+
+
+def resolve_asset_path(relative_path: str) -> str:
+    """Resolve a repo-relative asset path independently of the process cwd.
+
+    Prefers the path as given — so an absolute path is returned untouched and
+    behaviour is unchanged wherever the cwd already happened to be the install
+    root — then the install root derived above, then the original string so a
+    caller that wants to raise and fall back still can.
+
+    Without the fallback, any process started outside the install root (the
+    plugin safety harness, a manual ``python run.py`` from ``$HOME``, a unit
+    file written without ``WorkingDirectory``) silently loses every font and
+    degrades to PIL's default face.
+    """
+    if os.path.isabs(relative_path) and os.path.exists(relative_path):
+        return relative_path
+    candidate = _INSTALL_ROOT / relative_path
+    if candidate.exists():
+        return str(candidate)
+    return relative_path
+
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Pixel-grid snapping
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#: Family aliases the web UI may write, mapped to the shipped filename.
+FONT_NAME_ALIASES: Dict[str, str] = {
+    "press_start": "PressStart2P-Regular.ttf",
+    "four_by_six": "4x6-font.ttf",
+}
+
+#: Pixel grid each face renders crisply on. Off-grid sizes anti-alias, which
+#: on an LED matrix is a dim lamp rather than a soft edge — and worse under
+#: ``draw.fontmode = "1"``, where the mono rasteriser thresholds each glyph at
+#: 50% coverage: an off-grid 4x6 glyph renders 3px wide instead of 4, so W/M
+#: and 0/8 stop being distinguishable. Off-grid sizes also make ``getlength``
+#: return a FreeType-dependent fractional advance, which is how two panels on
+#: one config centre the same string differently.
+FONT_PIXEL_GRID: Dict[str, int] = {
+    "PressStart2P-Regular.ttf": 8,
+    "4x6-font.ttf": 7,
+}
+
+
+def crisp_size(font_file, desired, aliases=None, grid_table=None):
+    """Snap *desired* to the nearest size *font_file* renders crisply at.
+
+    A face with no known grid is returned unchanged, so a user-supplied font is
+    never second-guessed.
+
+    ``aliases`` and ``grid_table`` default to the shared tables; a plugin that
+    ships an extra face can pass its own without forking this.
+    """
+    aliases = FONT_NAME_ALIASES if aliases is None else aliases
+    grid_table = FONT_PIXEL_GRID if grid_table is None else grid_table
+    font_file = aliases.get(font_file, font_file)
+    grid = grid_table.get(font_file)
+    if not grid or not desired or desired <= 0:
+        return desired
+    return max(grid, int(round(float(desired) / grid)) * grid)

src/common/logo_helper.py

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ Extracted from LEDMatrix core to provide reusable functionality for plugins.
 import logging
 import os
 import tempfile
+import time
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Union
 
@@ -20,6 +21,44 @@ from src.common.permission_utils import (
     get_assets_file_mode
 )
 
+# How long a missing logo stays remembered as missing.
+#
+# This was 600s, and measured on a live rig that turned out to suppress nothing:
+# the display rotation is ~618s, so every recheck landed just as the plugin came
+# round again and the warning rate was unchanged at ~6/hour. A TTL has to be long
+# relative to the loop that does the asking, not merely "a while".
+#
+# An hour is safe because the TTL is not the main way an entry clears. A download
+# through load_logo_with_download() drops it immediately, and clear_cache() drops
+# all of them; the TTL only covers a file that appeared some other way -- someone
+# copying one in by hand. Waiting up to an hour for that, or restarting, is a fair
+# trade for not re-warning about a file nobody is going to add.
+MISSING_LOGO_RECHECK_SECONDS = 3600.0
+
+#: Bounds on a user-supplied logo scale. Wide enough to be useful, closed
+#: enough that a typo cannot ask for a 4000px image on a 64px panel.
+MIN_LOGO_SCALE = 0.05
+MAX_LOGO_SCALE = 8.0
+
+
+def _usable_scale(scale) -> float:
+    """A scale that can be applied, or 1.0.
+
+    Anything unusable -- None, a string, zero, a negative, NaN, infinity --
+    means "as shipped", because the alternative is a blank panel from a
+    mistyped number.
+    """
+    try:
+        value = float(scale)
+    except (TypeError, ValueError):
+        return 1.0
+    if value != value or value in (float('inf'), float('-inf')):
+        return 1.0
+    if value < MIN_LOGO_SCALE or value > MAX_LOGO_SCALE:
+        return 1.0
+    return value
+
+
 
 # Well above any real team logo; bounds what a remote URL can write to disk.
 MAX_LOGO_BYTES = 10 * 1024 * 1024
@@ -57,6 +96,14 @@ class LogoHelper:
         self._logo_cache: Dict[str, Image.Image] = {}
         self._cache_order: List[str] = []  # For LRU cache management
 
+        # Misses, so an absent file is stat'd and warned about once rather than
+        # on every call. Without this a permanently missing logo produced a
+        # warning per rotation forever -- measured at 114 lines in 24 hours for
+        # a single missing ticker icon, for a file nobody was going to add.
+        # Time-bounded rather than permanent so a logo that appears later (the
+        # downloader writes them at runtime) is still picked up.
+        self._missing_logos: Dict[str, float] = {}
+        
         # Session for HTTP requests
         self.session = requests.Session()
         self.session.headers.update({
@@ -66,7 +113,8 @@ class LogoHelper:
     
     def load_logo(self, team_abbr: str, logo_path: Union[str, Path],
                   max_width: Optional[int] = None,
-                  max_height: Optional[int] = None) -> Optional[Image.Image]:
+                  max_height: Optional[int] = None,
+                  scale: float = 1.0) -> Optional[Image.Image]:
         """
         Load and resize a team logo.
 
@@ -75,6 +123,10 @@ class LogoHelper:
             logo_path: Path to the logo file
             max_width: Maximum width (defaults to display_width * 1.5)
             max_height: Maximum height (defaults to display_height * 1.5)
+            scale: User's size multiplier for this image, from
+                ``customization.layout.<element>.scale``. 1.0 is untouched and
+                takes exactly the path it always did. Callers hold the config,
+                so they resolve the element name; this only applies the number.
 
         Returns:
             PIL Image object or None if loading fails
@@ -91,6 +143,12 @@ class LogoHelper:
             max_width = int(self.display_width * 1.5)
         if max_height is None:
             max_height = int(self.display_height * 1.5)
+        scale = _usable_scale(scale)
+        if scale != 1.0:
+            max_width = max(1, int(round(max_width * scale)))
+            max_height = max(1, int(round(max_height * scale)))
+        # The key carries the scaled box, so two elements scaled differently
+        # cannot be served each other's image.
         cache_key = f"{team_abbr}_{logo_path}_{max_width}x{max_height}"
         if cache_key in self._logo_cache:
             self.logger.debug(f"Using cached logo for {team_abbr}")
@@ -100,9 +158,19 @@ class LogoHelper:
             self._cache_order.append(cache_key)
             return self._logo_cache[cache_key]
         
+        # A known-missing file: skip the stat and stay quiet until the entry
+        # ages out. Checked after the positive cache so a logo that has since
+        # been loaded always wins.
+        missed_at = self._missing_logos.get(cache_key)
+        if missed_at is not None:
+            if time.time() - missed_at < MISSING_LOGO_RECHECK_SECONDS:
+                return None
+            del self._missing_logos[cache_key]
+
         try:
             logo_path = Path(logo_path)
             if not logo_path.exists():
+                self._missing_logos[cache_key] = time.time()
                 self.logger.warning(f"Logo not found for {team_abbr} at {logo_path}")
                 return None
             
@@ -112,7 +180,8 @@ class LogoHelper:
                 logo = logo.convert('RGBA')
             
             # Resize if needed
-            logo = self._resize_logo(logo, max_width, max_height)
+            logo = self._resize_logo(logo, max_width, max_height,
+                                     allow_upscale=scale > 1.0)
             
             # Cache the logo
             self._cache_logo(cache_key, logo)
@@ -127,7 +196,8 @@ class LogoHelper:
     def load_logo_with_download(self, team_abbr: str, logo_path: Union[str, Path],
                                logo_url: Optional[str] = None,
                                max_width: Optional[int] = None,
-                               max_height: Optional[int] = None) -> Optional[Image.Image]:
+                               max_height: Optional[int] = None,
+                               scale: float = 1.0) -> Optional[Image.Image]:
         """
         Load logo with automatic download if missing.
         
@@ -147,7 +217,8 @@ class LogoHelper:
         # failed download does not count: it wears the real logo's filename, so
         # trusting the file's existence is what left teams as grey boxes.
         if logo_path.exists() and not self._is_stale_placeholder(logo_path):
-            return self.load_logo(team_abbr, logo_path, max_width, max_height)
+            return self.load_logo(team_abbr, logo_path, max_width, max_height,
+                                  scale)
         
         # Download if URL provided and file doesn't exist
         if logo_url:
@@ -159,7 +230,8 @@ class LogoHelper:
                 # from the cache before touching the disk -- so without this the
                 # real logo would not appear until the process restarted.
                 self._invalidate_cached_logo(team_abbr, logo_path)
-                return self.load_logo(team_abbr, logo_path, max_width, max_height)
+                return self.load_logo(team_abbr, logo_path, max_width, max_height,
+                                  scale)
             except Exception as e:
                 self.logger.error(f"Failed to download logo for {team_abbr}: {e}")
                 # The retry failed, so restart the back-off. The stale
@@ -179,6 +251,11 @@ class LogoHelper:
             self._logo_cache.pop(key, None)
             if key in self._cache_order:
                 self._cache_order.remove(key)
+        # The file exists now, so any record of it being missing is wrong --
+        # and load_logo() consults that record before it stats the disk, so
+        # leaving it would hide a logo we just downloaded.
+        for key in [k for k in self._missing_logos if k.startswith(prefix)]:
+            del self._missing_logos[key]
 
     @staticmethod
     def _refresh_stale_placeholder(logo_path: Path) -> None:
@@ -270,6 +347,7 @@ class LogoHelper:
         """Clear the logo cache."""
         self._logo_cache.clear()
         self._cache_order.clear()
+        self._missing_logos.clear()
         self.logger.debug("Logo cache cleared")
     
     def get_cache_stats(self) -> Dict[str, int]:
@@ -289,8 +367,14 @@ class LogoHelper:
         }
     
     def _resize_logo(self, logo: Image.Image, max_width: Optional[int] = None,
-                    max_height: Optional[int] = None) -> Image.Image:
-        """Resize logo to fit display dimensions."""
+                    max_height: Optional[int] = None,
+                    allow_upscale: bool = False) -> Image.Image:
+        """Resize logo to fit display dimensions.
+
+        ``allow_upscale`` is only set when the user asked for a scale above 1:
+        the fit rule is "never larger than the box", and growing an image
+        nobody asked to grow would change every existing render.
+        """
         if max_width is None:
             max_width = int(self.display_width * 1.5)
         if max_height is None:
@@ -298,7 +382,14 @@ class LogoHelper:
 
         # Only resize if necessary
         if logo.width <= max_width and logo.height <= max_height:
+            if not allow_upscale or not logo.width or not logo.height:
                 return logo
+            ratio = min(max_width / logo.width, max_height / logo.height)
+            if ratio <= 1:
+                return logo
+            return logo.resize((max(1, int(logo.width * ratio)),
+                                max(1, int(logo.height * ratio))),
+                               Image.Resampling.LANCZOS)
 
         # Maintain aspect ratio
         logo.thumbnail((max_width, max_height), Image.Resampling.LANCZOS)

src/common/path_safety.py

@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+"""One place to turn a request-supplied name into a path you can open.
+
+Every web handler that opens a file under a fixed directory had grown its own
+version of this: a regex here, an ``os.path.basename`` there, a
+``str(x).startswith(str(base))`` somewhere else. They were not equivalent.
+``startswith`` says ``plugin-repos/foo-evil`` is inside ``plugin-repos/foo``;
+validating a name in one place and rebuilding the path from the *raw* value in
+another leaves the guard checking something the filesystem never sees.
+
+Two functions, used the same way everywhere:
+
+``safe_path_component(value)``
+    ``value`` if it is one harmless path segment, otherwise ``None``.
+
+``resolve_under(base, *parts)``
+    the resolved path, or ``None`` if any part is unsafe or the result would
+    land outside ``base``.
+
+Both *return the sanitised value* rather than a boolean, so a caller cannot
+validate one string and then open another -- and so a scanner can follow what
+actually reaches ``open()``. ``os.path.basename`` does the stripping because it
+is the sanitiser CodeQL's path-injection query recognises; the equality check
+after it means an input with a directory part is rejected outright instead of
+being silently truncated to something the caller did not ask for.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any, List, Optional, Union
+
+__all__ = [
+    'safe_path_component',
+    'safe_relative_parts',
+    'resolve_under',
+]
+
+# Names that are a path component syntactically but never name a real entry a
+# caller means to reach.
+_RESERVED_COMPONENTS = frozenset({'', '.', '..'})
+
+
+def safe_path_component(value: Any) -> Optional[str]:
+    """Return ``value`` when it is a single, harmless path segment.
+
+    Returns ``None`` for anything else: a non-string, an empty string, ``.`` or
+    ``..``, a value carrying a directory separator (either platform's), a drive
+    letter, or an embedded NUL.
+
+    The return value is what callers must join -- not the argument.
+    """
+    if not isinstance(value, str) or not value:
+        return None
+    if '\x00' in value:
+        return None
+
+    # basename strips any directory component, so what a caller joins cannot
+    # carry one. Comparing the result against the input rejects rather than
+    # truncates: "../etc/passwd" is an error, not a request for "passwd".
+    name = os.path.basename(value)
+    if name != value or name in _RESERVED_COMPONENTS:
+        return None
+
+    # basename only knows the host platform's separator. On POSIX a backslash
+    # is an ordinary character, and "C:" is a plausible-looking name that
+    # os.path.join would treat as a drive on Windows. Rule both out everywhere
+    # so behaviour does not depend on where the service happens to run.
+    if '/' in name or '\\' in name or os.sep in name or (os.altsep and os.altsep in name):
+        return None
+    if ':' in name and len(name) >= 2 and name[1] == ':':
+        return None
+
+    return name
+
+
+def safe_relative_parts(value: Any) -> Optional[List[str]]:
+    """Split a multi-segment relative path into safe components.
+
+    For Flask's ``<path:...>`` converter, where ``a/b/c.json`` is legitimate but
+    ``../../config/config_secrets.json`` is not. Returns the component list, or
+    ``None`` if any component fails :func:`safe_path_component`.
+    """
+    if not isinstance(value, str) or not value:
+        return None
+    if value.startswith('/') or value.startswith('\\'):
+        return None
+
+    parts: List[str] = []
+    for raw in value.replace('\\', '/').split('/'):
+        if raw == '':
+            # A trailing or doubled slash names nothing; skip it rather than
+            # rejecting a path a browser may well send.
+            continue
+        part = safe_path_component(raw)
+        if part is None:
+            return None
+        parts.append(part)
+
+    return parts or None
+
+
+def resolve_under(base: Union[str, Path], *parts: Any) -> Optional[Path]:
+    """Resolve ``base/parts...``, or ``None`` if that would escape ``base``.
+
+    Each part is validated with :func:`safe_path_component` first, so the value
+    that reaches the filesystem is the sanitised one. The containment check is
+    kept as well: it is what catches a symlink inside ``base`` pointing out of
+    it, which no amount of name validation can see.
+    """
+    safe_parts: List[str] = []
+    for part in parts:
+        component = safe_path_component(part)
+        if component is None:
+            return None
+        safe_parts.append(component)
+
+    try:
+        base_resolved = Path(base).resolve()
+        candidate = base_resolved.joinpath(*safe_parts).resolve()
+        candidate.relative_to(base_resolved)
+    except (OSError, ValueError, TypeError):
+        return None
+
+    return candidate

src/common/scroll_config.py

@@ -0,0 +1,452 @@
+"""One place that turns plugin config into a configured ScrollHelper.
+
+Five ticker plugins each hand-rolled this resolution (odds-ticker, news and
+ledmatrix-leaderboard reference the deprecated ``scroll_pixels_per_second``
+key 16-18 times apiece), and they disagreed in ways that were invisible until
+someone watched the panel:
+
+* odds-ticker read ``scroll_pixels_per_second`` on the *recommended* config
+  path and let it override ``scroll_speed``/``scroll_delay``. Because that key
+  carries a schema default, the documented settings were dead for every user
+  -- see ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-plugins#408.
+* ledmatrix-leaderboard read the same key only as a fallback, so identical
+  config produced different speeds in the two plugins.
+* stock-news derived px/frame from it via its own arithmetic.
+
+What matters on the hardware
+----------------------------
+Motion is smooth when the strip advances a **whole number of pixels per panel
+refresh**. On a 100Hz panel that means 100 px/s, 200 px/s, and so on. Anything
+else has to either blend adjacent columns (which on pixel-font text reads as
+shimmer) or repeat frames (which reads as judder). :func:`resolve` warns when
+the requested speed will not divide evenly, because that is a real display
+artefact and not a rounding detail.
+
+Speed is always expressed to the helper as pixels per second and applied in
+time-based mode. Frame-based stepping gates motion on a wall clock at
+``1/scroll_delay`` steps per second; plugins set ``scroll_delay`` to the frame
+period, which puts that comparison exactly on its own threshold and makes the
+step count flip on sub-millisecond jitter. Accumulating elapsed time keeps
+position proportional to real time instead.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import logging
+from dataclasses import dataclass, replace
+from typing import Any, Dict, Optional
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+#: Speed used when a plugin supplies nothing usable. One pixel per refresh on a
+#: 100Hz panel, which is the slowest crisp scroll that hardware can show.
+DEFAULT_PIXELS_PER_SECOND = 100.0
+
+#: Bounds accepted from config. Below the floor a marquee appears frozen;
+#: above the ceiling it outruns any panel's refresh and tears.
+MIN_PIXELS_PER_SECOND = 1.0
+MAX_PIXELS_PER_SECOND = 500.0
+
+#: Assumed refresh when the caller does not say. Matches the usual
+#: ``display.hardware.limit_refresh_rate_hz``.
+DEFAULT_REFRESH_HZ = 100.0
+
+#: How far px/s may sit from a whole number of pixels per refresh before it is
+#: worth warning about. 0.05px per frame is invisible; a third of a pixel is not.
+_WHOLE_PIXEL_TOLERANCE = 0.05
+
+
+#: Longest a frame may be held before motion reads as a slideshow rather than
+#: a scroll. 6 refreshes at 100Hz is ~17px/s, already visibly stepped.
+MAX_FRAME_HOLD = 8
+
+#: Largest whole-pixel jump per presented frame before motion looks like it is
+#: teleporting rather than sliding.
+MAX_PIXELS_PER_FRAME = 6
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class CrispSpeed:
+    """A speed the panel can show with whole-pixel motion.
+
+    ``pixels_per_second`` is always ``refresh_hz / frame_hold * pixels_per_frame``
+    exactly -- no rounding, no fractional pixel positions, so nothing has to be
+    blended or repeated unevenly.
+
+    :param frame_hold: refreshes each frame is held for. This is rgbmatrix's
+        ``SwapOnVSync(canvas, framerate_fraction)``. The panel keeps refreshing
+        at full rate either way, so holding a frame costs nothing in flicker.
+    :param pixels_per_frame: whole pixels advanced per presented frame.
+    """
+
+    pixels_per_second: float
+    frame_hold: int
+    pixels_per_frame: int
+    refresh_hz: float
+
+    @property
+    def frames_per_second(self) -> float:
+        """Distinct frames per second: the refresh divided by the hold."""
+        return self.refresh_hz / self.frame_hold
+
+    @property
+    def steppiness(self) -> str:
+        """Rough readability hint for this combination."""
+        if self.pixels_per_frame > 2:
+            return "jumpy"
+        if self.frames_per_second < 20:
+            return "stepped"
+        if self.frames_per_second < 30:
+            return "slightly stepped"
+        return "smooth"
+
+    def describe(self) -> str:
+        """This speed as a line for the speed ladder, aligned for a column."""
+        return (
+            f"{self.pixels_per_second:6.1f} px/s  "
+            f"({self.pixels_per_frame}px every {self.frame_hold} refresh"
+            f"{'es' if self.frame_hold != 1 else ' '} = "
+            f"{self.frames_per_second:5.1f} fps, {self.steppiness})"
+        )
+
+
+def crisp_ladder(
+    refresh_hz: float = DEFAULT_REFRESH_HZ,
+    max_frame_hold: int = MAX_FRAME_HOLD,
+    max_pixels_per_frame: int = MAX_PIXELS_PER_FRAME,
+):
+    """Every whole-pixel speed this panel can show, slowest first.
+
+    Duplicates are collapsed keeping the gentlest option: 100 px/s is reachable
+    as 1px every refresh or 2px every 2nd refresh, and the former moves in
+    smaller increments, so that is the one worth offering.
+    """
+    best = {}
+    for hold in range(1, max_frame_hold + 1):
+        for ppf in range(1, max_pixels_per_frame + 1):
+            pps = refresh_hz / hold * ppf
+            key = round(pps, 3)
+            candidate = CrispSpeed(pps, hold, ppf, refresh_hz)
+            incumbent = best.get(key)
+            if incumbent is None or ppf < incumbent.pixels_per_frame:
+                best[key] = candidate
+    return [best[k] for k in sorted(best)]
+
+
+#: How much a bigger pixel step costs, as a fraction of the target speed.
+#: Tuned so 66.7px/s (2px at 33fps) beats 50px/s (1px at 50fps) when 60 was
+#: asked for, but 33.3px/s (1px, smooth) still beats 28.6px/s (2px at 14fps)
+#: when 30 was asked for -- being 11% slow is worth far less than looking bad.
+_STEP_PENALTY = 0.05
+_SLOW_FPS_PENALTY = 0.25   # below 20fps
+_LOWISH_FPS_PENALTY = 0.10  # below 25fps
+
+
+def _quality_cost(candidate: "CrispSpeed", target: float) -> float:
+    """Lower is better. Numeric closeness alone picks bad-looking speeds.
+
+    Nearest-by-value would answer "30 px/s" with 28.6 px/s -- which is 2px
+    jumps at 14fps -- over 33.3 px/s, which is single-pixel motion at 33fps and
+    obviously better on the panel. Proximity has to be traded against how the
+    motion actually reads.
+    """
+    error = abs(candidate.pixels_per_second - target) / max(target, 1e-6)
+    cost = error + _STEP_PENALTY * (candidate.pixels_per_frame - 1)
+    fps = candidate.frames_per_second
+    if fps < 20:
+        cost += _SLOW_FPS_PENALTY
+    elif fps < 25:
+        cost += _LOWISH_FPS_PENALTY
+    return cost
+
+
+def solve_crisp(
+    target_pixels_per_second: float,
+    refresh_hz: float = DEFAULT_REFRESH_HZ,
+    max_frame_hold: int = MAX_FRAME_HOLD,
+    max_pixels_per_frame: int = MAX_PIXELS_PER_FRAME,
+) -> CrispSpeed:
+    """The whole-pixel speed that will look best for what was asked for.
+
+    Not simply the nearest -- see :func:`_quality_cost`. Ties break toward the
+    smaller pixel step and the shorter hold.
+    """
+    ladder = crisp_ladder(refresh_hz, max_frame_hold, max_pixels_per_frame)
+    # Clamp into the ladder's range first. Relative error saturates near 1.0
+    # for a target far outside it, so the quality penalty would dominate and
+    # answer "10000 px/s" with the *slowest* entry -- smooth, and useless.
+    target = min(max(target_pixels_per_second, ladder[0].pixels_per_second),
+                 ladder[-1].pixels_per_second)
+    return min(
+        ladder,
+        key=lambda c: (round(_quality_cost(c, target), 6),
+                       c.pixels_per_frame, c.frame_hold),
+    )
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class ScrollSettings:
+    """The resolved outcome, and which config key produced it."""
+
+    pixels_per_second: float
+    source: str
+    target_fps: Optional[float] = None
+    pixels_per_frame: Optional[float] = None
+    warning: Optional[str] = None
+    #: The whole-pixel speed actually applied, when snapping was enabled.
+    crisp: Optional[CrispSpeed] = None
+    #: What the config asked for, before snapping.
+    requested_pixels_per_second: Optional[float] = None
+
+    @property
+    def frame_hold(self) -> int:
+        """Refreshes to hold each frame for; pass to set_scrolling_state()."""
+        return self.crisp.frame_hold if self.crisp else 1
+
+    def describe(self) -> str:
+        """One log line: the speed applied, and which config key produced it."""
+        text = f"{self.pixels_per_second:.1f} px/s (from {self.source})"
+        if self.pixels_per_frame is not None:
+            text += f" = {self.pixels_per_frame:.2f} px/frame"
+        if self.target_fps:
+            text += f" at {self.target_fps:.0f} fps"
+        return text
+
+
+def _coerce(value: Any) -> Optional[float]:
+    """A positive float, or None. Config reaches us with nulls and strings."""
+    if value is None or isinstance(value, bool):
+        return None
+    try:
+        number = float(value)
+    except (TypeError, ValueError):
+        return None
+    return number if number > 0 else None
+
+
+def _from_speed_and_delay(block: Any) -> Optional[float]:
+    """px/s from a ``scroll_speed`` (px/frame) + ``scroll_delay`` (s) pair."""
+    if not isinstance(block, dict):
+        return None
+    speed = _coerce(block.get("scroll_speed"))
+    delay = _coerce(block.get("scroll_delay"))
+    if speed is None or delay is None:
+        return None
+    return speed / delay
+
+
+def resolve(
+    plugin_config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
+    global_config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
+    default_pixels_per_second: float = DEFAULT_PIXELS_PER_SECOND,
+    refresh_hz: Optional[float] = None,
+) -> ScrollSettings:
+    """Resolve one scroll speed from the several shapes plugins accept.
+
+    Precedence, highest first. The deprecated flat key sits *below* the
+    explicit pairs deliberately: it carries schema defaults in some plugins, so
+    ranking it above them silently disables the documented settings.
+
+    1. ``display_options.scroll_speed`` + ``scroll_delay``  (current)
+    2. ``display.scroll_speed`` + ``scroll_delay``          (deprecated shape)
+    3. ``scroll_speed`` + ``scroll_delay`` at the root      (legacy flat)
+    4. ``scroll_pixels_per_second``, nested or flat         (deprecated)
+    5. the global ``display`` block
+    6. ``default_pixels_per_second``
+
+    :param refresh_hz: panel refresh, used only to check whether the resolved
+        speed lands on whole pixels per frame and to fill in ``target_fps``.
+    """
+    plugin_config = plugin_config or {}
+    global_config = global_config or {}
+    refresh = _coerce(refresh_hz) or DEFAULT_REFRESH_HZ
+
+    display_options = plugin_config.get("display_options")
+    display_block = plugin_config.get("display")
+
+    candidates = [
+        (_from_speed_and_delay(display_options), "display_options.scroll_speed/delay"),
+        (_from_speed_and_delay(display_block), "display.scroll_speed/delay"),
+        (_from_speed_and_delay(plugin_config), "scroll_speed/delay (root)"),
+    ]
+    for block, label in (
+        (display_options, "display_options.scroll_pixels_per_second"),
+        (display_block, "display.scroll_pixels_per_second"),
+        (plugin_config, "scroll_pixels_per_second"),
+    ):
+        if isinstance(block, dict):
+            candidates.append((_coerce(block.get("scroll_pixels_per_second")), label))
+
+    global_display = global_config.get("display")
+    candidates.append((_from_speed_and_delay(global_display), "global display.scroll_speed/delay"))
+
+    pixels_per_second = None
+    source = "default"
+    for value, label in candidates:
+        if value is not None:
+            pixels_per_second, source = value, label
+            break
+    if pixels_per_second is None:
+        pixels_per_second = default_pixels_per_second
+
+    clamped = max(MIN_PIXELS_PER_SECOND, min(MAX_PIXELS_PER_SECOND, pixels_per_second))
+    warning = None
+    if clamped != pixels_per_second:
+        warning = (
+            f"scroll speed {pixels_per_second:.1f} px/s out of range, "
+            f"clamped to {clamped:.1f}"
+        )
+        pixels_per_second = clamped
+
+    pixels_per_frame = pixels_per_second / refresh if refresh > 0 else None
+    if warning is None and pixels_per_frame is not None:
+        offset = abs(pixels_per_frame - round(pixels_per_frame))
+        if pixels_per_frame < 1.0 - _WHOLE_PIXEL_TOLERANCE or offset > _WHOLE_PIXEL_TOLERANCE:
+            suggestion = max(1.0, round(pixels_per_frame)) * refresh
+            warning = (
+                f"{pixels_per_second:.1f} px/s is {pixels_per_frame:.2f} px per "
+                f"refresh at {refresh:.0f}Hz, so some frames repeat and the "
+                f"scroll will judder; {suggestion:.0f} px/s divides evenly"
+            )
+
+    return ScrollSettings(
+        pixels_per_second=pixels_per_second,
+        source=source,
+        target_fps=refresh,
+        pixels_per_frame=pixels_per_frame,
+        warning=warning,
+    )
+
+
+def configure(
+    scroll_helper: Any,
+    plugin_config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
+    global_config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
+    default_pixels_per_second: float = DEFAULT_PIXELS_PER_SECOND,
+    refresh_hz: Optional[float] = None,
+    plugin_logger: Optional[logging.Logger] = None,
+    display_manager: Any = None,
+    snap_to_crisp: bool = True,
+) -> ScrollSettings:
+    """Resolve the config and apply it to ``scroll_helper``.
+
+    Applied in time-based mode: see the module docstring for why frame-based
+    stepping is not used. ``hasattr`` guards keep this usable against older
+    ScrollHelper builds that a plugin may be running on.
+
+    :param display_manager: consulted for the panel's refresh rate only (it can
+        see display.hardware; a plugin cannot). The frame hold is NOT applied
+        here -- see the note in the body. The caller must pass
+        ``settings.frame_hold`` to ``display_manager.set_scrolling_state(True,
+        ...)`` when it starts scrolling, or a sub-refresh speed still presents
+        a new frame every refresh and the motion falls back to fractional
+        pixels.
+    :param snap_to_crisp: move the requested speed to the nearest speed the
+        panel can show in whole pixels. On by default because a speed that does
+        not divide evenly has no good rendering, only a choice of artefacts.
+
+    :returns: the settings applied, so the caller can log or assert on them.
+    """
+    log = plugin_logger or logger
+
+    # Refresh rate, most authoritative first: what the caller passed, then the
+    # display manager (which can see display.hardware; a plugin cannot), then
+    # the global config, then the default.
+    #
+    # This has to be settled BEFORE resolve(), not after. resolve() uses the
+    # refresh to fill in target_fps, pixels_per_frame and the judder warning,
+    # so deriving it afterwards described a 100Hz panel to everyone running at
+    # 60 -- and with snap_to_crisp=False nothing downstream corrected it, so
+    # set_target_fps() paced the helper to 100 FPS on a 60Hz panel.
+    hz = _coerce(refresh_hz)
+    if hz is None and display_manager is not None:
+        hz = _coerce(getattr(display_manager, "refresh_hz", None))
+    if hz is None:
+        hz = refresh_hz_from_config(global_config)
+
+    settings = resolve(
+        plugin_config,
+        global_config,
+        default_pixels_per_second=default_pixels_per_second,
+        refresh_hz=hz,
+    )
+    applied = settings.pixels_per_second
+    choice = None
+
+    if snap_to_crisp:
+        choice = solve_crisp(settings.pixels_per_second, hz)
+        applied = choice.pixels_per_second
+        settings = replace(
+            settings,
+            pixels_per_second=applied,
+            requested_pixels_per_second=settings.pixels_per_second,
+            crisp=choice,
+            pixels_per_frame=float(choice.pixels_per_frame),
+            # Snapping resolves the whole-pixel problem the warning describes.
+            warning=None if settings.warning and "judder" in settings.warning
+            else settings.warning,
+        )
+
+    if hasattr(scroll_helper, "set_frame_based_scrolling"):
+        scroll_helper.set_frame_based_scrolling(False)
+    scroll_helper.set_scroll_speed(applied)
+
+    # A crisp speed is a whole number of pixels per presented frame, so step by
+    # that number rather than by speed * elapsed time. Snapping alone only
+    # fixes the average: the wall clock puts the accumulator back on an integer
+    # boundary every frame, where jitter of a fraction of a millisecond decides
+    # whether the pixel moves. That is what the ladder was bought to prevent.
+    if hasattr(scroll_helper, "set_pixels_per_frame"):
+        scroll_helper.set_pixels_per_frame(
+            choice.pixels_per_frame if choice else None)
+    if choice and hasattr(scroll_helper, "set_target_fps"):
+        scroll_helper.set_target_fps(choice.frames_per_second)
+    elif settings.target_fps and hasattr(scroll_helper, "set_target_fps"):
+        scroll_helper.set_target_fps(settings.target_fps)
+
+    # Deliberately NOT applied here. The hold belongs to a scroll, not to a
+    # plugin's lifetime: plugins share one display manager, and one left set at
+    # construction is reset the moment any other plugin finishes scrolling.
+    # Callers pass settings.frame_hold to set_scrolling_state(True, ...) when
+    # they start scrolling. configure() only reports what is needed.
+
+    if choice:
+        requested = settings.requested_pixels_per_second
+        if abs(requested - applied) > 0.05:
+            log.info(
+                "Scroll configured: %s (asked for %.1f px/s from %s; "
+                "nearest whole-pixel speed on a %.0fHz panel)",
+                choice.describe(), requested, settings.source, hz,
+            )
+        else:
+            log.info("Scroll configured: %s (from %s)",
+                     choice.describe(), settings.source)
+        if choice.frame_hold > 1:
+            log.debug(
+                "Scroll needs a frame hold of %d - pass settings.frame_hold to "
+                "display_manager.set_scrolling_state(True, ...) each scroll",
+                choice.frame_hold,
+            )
+    else:
+        log.info("Scroll configured: %s", settings.describe())
+
+    if settings.warning:
+        log.warning("Scroll speed: %s", settings.warning)
+    return settings
+
+
+def refresh_hz_from_config(global_config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]]) -> float:
+    """The panel's refresh cap from the global config, or the default."""
+    if not isinstance(global_config, dict):
+        return DEFAULT_REFRESH_HZ
+    # Each level is checked for being a mapping rather than merely truthy: a
+    # malformed config where display or display.hardware is a string or a list
+    # raised AttributeError out of what is meant to be a total function with a
+    # default, taking down every caller that asked for the refresh rate.
+    display = global_config.get("display")
+    if not isinstance(display, dict):
+        return DEFAULT_REFRESH_HZ
+    hardware = display.get("hardware")
+    if not isinstance(hardware, dict):
+        return DEFAULT_REFRESH_HZ
+    return _coerce(hardware.get("limit_refresh_rate_hz")) or DEFAULT_REFRESH_HZ

src/common/scroll_helper.py

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ Features:
 """
 
 import logging
+import math
 import time
 from typing import Optional, Dict, Any
 from PIL import Image
@@ -29,6 +30,55 @@ except ImportError:
     HAS_SCIPY = False
 
 
+# How often the frame-stats line is emitted, and therefore also the ceiling
+# on a believable frame time: a scroll that renders at all cannot take this
+# long over one frame, so a sample this large is an idle gap between scrolls.
+FPS_LOG_INTERVAL = 5.0
+
+
+def frame_stats(frame_times: list) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """Summary statistics over one window of frame durations (seconds).
+
+    Split out of log_frame_rate() so the arithmetic can be tested without a
+    clock. Median and p95 are the real ones: the median takes both middle
+    samples on an even window, and p95 is nearest-rank, so a 100-frame window
+    reports the 95th sorted sample rather than the 96th. That matters twice
+    over, because the median is also the threshold the stall and skip counts
+    are measured against.
+    """
+    window = sorted(frame_times)
+    n = len(window)
+    median = (window[n // 2] if n % 2
+              else (window[n // 2 - 1] + window[n // 2]) / 2.0)
+    mean = sum(window) / n
+    # Anything past 1.5x the median missed a panel refresh; anything under
+    # half of it never reached the panel at all (dirty tracking skipped the
+    # swap, so the frame did not wait for vsync).
+    return {
+        "frames": n,
+        "fps": (1.0 / mean) if mean > 0 else 0.0,
+        "median": median,
+        "p95": window[max(0, math.ceil(0.95 * n) - 1)],
+        "max": window[-1],
+        "min": window[0],
+        "stalls": sum(1 for f in window if f > median * 1.5),
+        "skips": sum(1 for f in window if f < median * 0.5),
+    }
+
+
+def format_frame_stats(frame_times: list) -> str:
+    """The one-line rendering of frame_stats(), in milliseconds."""
+    s = frame_stats(frame_times)
+    n = s["frames"]
+    return (
+        f"{s['fps']:.1f} fps over {n} frames | "
+        f"median {s['median'] * 1000:.2f}ms p95 {s['p95'] * 1000:.2f}ms "
+        f"max {s['max'] * 1000:.2f}ms min {s['min'] * 1000:.2f}ms | "
+        f"stalls {s['stalls']} ({100.0 * s['stalls'] / n:.1f}%) "
+        f"skips {s['skips']} ({100.0 * s['skips'] / n:.1f}%)"
+    )
+
+
 class ScrollHelper:
     """
     Helper class for scrolling text and image content on LED displays.
@@ -75,12 +125,26 @@ class ScrollHelper:
         # Pre-allocated buffer for output frame (reused to avoid allocations)
         self._frame_buffer: Optional[np.ndarray] = None
         
-        # Sub-pixel scrolling settings (disabled - using high FPS integer scrolling instead)
-        self.sub_pixel_scrolling = False  # Disabled - use high frame rate for smoothness
+        # Sub-pixel scrolling: OFF by default, and that is deliberate.
+        # Blending renders a half-step by mixing two adjacent columns 50/50.
+        # On a high-resolution screen that reads as smooth motion; on a coarse
+        # LED matrix showing pixel-font text it does not. A one-pixel stroke
+        # becomes two half-brightness pixels, so frames alternate between crisp
+        # and smeared and the text appears to shimmer and jump a pixel ahead --
+        # tested on a 2x128x64 panel and clearly worse than integer stepping.
+        #
+        # The rule this display obeys: motion is smooth when it advances a
+        # whole number of pixels per refresh. Anything slower must either
+        # blend (blur) or repeat frames (judder); blending is the worse of the
+        # two here. Vegas mode still opts in via set_sub_pixel_scrolling().
+        self.sub_pixel_scrolling = False
         self._last_integer_position = 0  # Cache for integer position to avoid repeated calculations
         
         # Frame-based scrolling settings
-        self.frame_based_scrolling = False  # If True, use scroll_delay to throttle and move scroll_speed pixels
+        self.frame_based_scrolling = False
+        #: Whole pixels to advance per presented frame, or None to pace
+        #: off elapsed time. See set_pixels_per_frame.
+        self.fixed_pixels_per_frame = None  # If True, use scroll_delay to throttle and move scroll_speed pixels
         self.last_step_time = 0.0  # Track last step time for frame-based throttling
         
         # Time tracking for scroll updates
@@ -100,11 +164,16 @@ class ScrollHelper:
         self.last_progress_log_time: Optional[float] = None
         self.progress_log_interval = 5.0  # seconds
         
-        # Frame rate tracking
+        # Frame rate tracking. last_frame_time is None until the first frame
+        # of a scroll is rendered -- see log_frame_rate() for why timing from
+        # construction (or from the end of the previous scroll) is wrong.
         self.frame_count = 0
-        self.last_frame_time = time.time()
+        self.last_frame_time: Optional[float] = None
         self.last_fps_log_time = time.time()
         self.frame_times = []
+        # Every frame time since the last stats line, so the 5s summary can
+        # report the tail rather than one arbitrary sample. Cleared on log.
+        self._window: list = []
         
         # Scrolling state management
         self.is_scrolling = False
@@ -237,26 +306,44 @@ class ScrollHelper:
             self.last_progress_log_time = current_time
         
         # Update scroll position
-        if self.frame_based_scrolling:
+        if self.fixed_pixels_per_frame:
+            # One presented frame, one fixed whole-pixel step. No clock is
+            # consulted, so no jitter reaches the position and every frame
+            # moves the eye by the same amount. See set_pixels_per_frame.
+            pixels_to_move = self.fixed_pixels_per_frame
+            self.last_step_time = current_time
+        elif self.frame_based_scrolling:
             # Frame-based: move fixed amount when scroll_delay has passed
             # This matches stock ticker behavior: move pixels, then wait scroll_delay
             # Initialize last_step_time on first call to prevent huge initial jump
             if self.last_step_time == 0.0:
                 self.last_step_time = current_time
             
-            # Check if scroll_delay has passed
-            time_since_last_step = current_time - self.last_step_time
-            if time_since_last_step >= self.scroll_delay:
-                # Move pixels (can move multiple steps if lag occurred, but cap to prevent huge jumps)
-                steps = int(time_since_last_step / self.scroll_delay)
-                # Cap at reasonable number to prevent huge jumps from lag
-                max_steps = max(1, int(0.04 / self.scroll_delay))  # Limit to 0.04s (2 steps at 50 FPS) for smoother scrolling
-                steps = min(steps, max_steps)
-                pixels_to_move = self.scroll_speed * steps
-                # Update last_step_time, preserving fractional delay for smooth timing
-                self.last_step_time = current_time - (time_since_last_step % self.scroll_delay)
+            # Frame-based mode advances by elapsed time, exactly like the
+            # time-based branch below, at the same configured speed
+            # (scroll_speed px per scroll_delay seconds).
+            #
+            # It used to step discretely: 0, 1 or 2 whole pixels depending on
+            # whether a wall clock had passed scroll_delay. Plugins set
+            # scroll_delay to the target frame period, so that comparison sits
+            # exactly on its own threshold and the decision flips on sub-
+            # millisecond jitter -- a frame a hair early moved nothing and
+            # rendered an identical frame, a frame a hair late moved two
+            # pixels. Rounding the step count fixed the stalls but still
+            # discarded the remainder, so the error never corrected.
+            #
+            # Accumulating elapsed time keeps position exactly proportional to
+            # real time: jitter shifts a pixel boundary by a fraction of a
+            # frame instead of flipping a whole step, and nothing is lost or
+            # gained. This is what the one visibly smooth scroller on the
+            # hardware (the stock ticker) was already doing by virtue of never
+            # enabling frame-based mode.
+            if self.scroll_delay > 0:
+                pixels_per_second = self.scroll_speed / self.scroll_delay
             else:
-                pixels_to_move = 0.0
+                pixels_per_second = self.scroll_speed * 100.0
+            pixels_to_move = pixels_per_second * delta_time
+            self.last_step_time = current_time
         else:
             # Time-based: move based on time delta (correct speed over time)
             # scroll_speed is pixels per second
@@ -455,168 +542,6 @@ class ScrollHelper:
 
             return Image.frombytes('RGB', _size, self._frame_buffer.tobytes())
     
-    def _get_visible_portion_subpixel(self, start_x_int: int, fractional: float) -> Image.Image:
-        """
-        Get visible portion with sub-pixel interpolation for smooth scrolling.
-        Uses bilinear interpolation to blend between pixels.
-        """
-        # We need to extract a region that's 1 pixel wider to allow for interpolation
-        start_x = start_x_int
-        end_x = start_x_int + self.display_width + 1
-        
-        # Check if we need wrap-around
-        if end_x <= self.cached_image.width:
-            # Normal case: extract region with 1 extra pixel for interpolation
-            source_region = self.cached_array[:, start_x:end_x]
-            
-            # Use bilinear interpolation for sub-pixel shifting
-            if HAS_SCIPY:
-                # Use scipy for high-quality sub-pixel shifting
-                shifted = shift(source_region, (0, -fractional, 0), mode='nearest', order=1, prefilter=False)
-                # Extract the display_width portion
-                frame_array = shifted[:, :self.display_width].astype(np.uint8)
-            else:
-                # Fallback: simple linear interpolation using numpy
-                # Blend between current and next pixel based on fractional part
-                frame_array = self._interpolate_subpixel(source_region, fractional)
-            
-            return Image.fromarray(frame_array)
-        else:
-            # Wrap-around case with sub-pixel
-            # Use pre-allocated buffer
-            if self._frame_buffer is None or self._frame_buffer.shape != (self.display_height, self.display_width, 3):
-                self._frame_buffer = np.zeros((self.display_height, self.display_width, 3), dtype=np.uint8)
-            
-            width1 = self.cached_image.width - start_x
-            if width1 > 0:
-                # First part from end of image
-                # Need width1 + 1 pixels for interpolation
-                source1_width = min(width1 + 1, self.cached_image.width - start_x)
-                source1 = self.cached_array[:, start_x:start_x + source1_width]
-                if HAS_SCIPY:
-                    shifted1 = shift(source1, (0, -fractional, 0), mode='nearest', order=1, prefilter=False)
-                    # Ensure we get exactly width1 pixels, padding if necessary
-                    if shifted1.shape[1] >= width1:
-                        self._frame_buffer[:, :width1] = shifted1[:, :width1].astype(np.uint8)
-                    else:
-                        # Shifted array is smaller - pad with zeros or repeat last pixel
-                        actual_width = shifted1.shape[1]
-                        self._frame_buffer[:, :actual_width] = shifted1.astype(np.uint8)
-                        if actual_width < width1:
-                            # Pad with last pixel
-                            self._frame_buffer[:, actual_width:width1] = shifted1[:, -1:].astype(np.uint8)
-                else:
-                    interpolated1 = self._interpolate_subpixel(source1, fractional, output_width=width1)
-                    # Ensure exact width match
-                    if interpolated1.shape[1] == width1:
-                        self._frame_buffer[:, :width1] = interpolated1
-                    else:
-                        # Handle size mismatch
-                        copy_width = min(width1, interpolated1.shape[1])
-                        self._frame_buffer[:, :copy_width] = interpolated1[:, :copy_width]
-                        if copy_width < width1:
-                            self._frame_buffer[:, copy_width:width1] = interpolated1[:, -1:]
-                
-                # Second part from beginning
-                remaining_width = self.display_width - width1
-                if remaining_width > 0:
-                    source2 = self.cached_array[:, :remaining_width + 1]
-                    if HAS_SCIPY:
-                        shifted2 = shift(source2, (0, -fractional, 0), mode='nearest', order=1, prefilter=False)
-                        # Ensure we get exactly remaining_width pixels
-                        if shifted2.shape[1] >= remaining_width:
-                            self._frame_buffer[:, width1:width1 + remaining_width] = shifted2[:, :remaining_width].astype(np.uint8)
-                        else:
-                            # Shifted array is smaller - pad if necessary
-                            actual_width = shifted2.shape[1]
-                            self._frame_buffer[:, width1:width1 + actual_width] = shifted2.astype(np.uint8)
-                            if actual_width < remaining_width:
-                                self._frame_buffer[:, width1 + actual_width:width1 + remaining_width] = shifted2[:, -1:].astype(np.uint8)
-                    else:
-                        interpolated2 = self._interpolate_subpixel(source2, fractional, output_width=remaining_width)
-                        # Ensure exact width match
-                        if interpolated2.shape[1] == remaining_width:
-                            self._frame_buffer[:, width1:] = interpolated2
-                        else:
-                            copy_width = min(remaining_width, interpolated2.shape[1])
-                            self._frame_buffer[:, width1:width1 + copy_width] = interpolated2[:, :copy_width]
-                            if copy_width < remaining_width:
-                                self._frame_buffer[:, width1 + copy_width:width1 + remaining_width] = interpolated2[:, -1:]
-            else:
-                # Edge case: wrap to beginning
-                source = self.cached_array[:, :self.display_width + 1]
-                if HAS_SCIPY:
-                    shifted = shift(source, (0, -fractional, 0), mode='nearest', order=1, prefilter=False)
-                    # Ensure we get exactly display_width pixels
-                    if shifted.shape[1] >= self.display_width:
-                        self._frame_buffer = shifted[:, :self.display_width].astype(np.uint8)
-                    else:
-                        # Shifted array is smaller - pad if necessary
-                        actual_width = shifted.shape[1]
-                        self._frame_buffer[:, :actual_width] = shifted.astype(np.uint8)
-                        if actual_width < self.display_width:
-                            self._frame_buffer[:, actual_width:] = shifted[:, -1:].astype(np.uint8)
-                else:
-                    interpolated = self._interpolate_subpixel(source, fractional, output_width=self.display_width)
-                    # _interpolate_subpixel now always returns exact width, so this should work
-                    self._frame_buffer = interpolated
-            
-            return Image.fromarray(self._frame_buffer)
-    
-    def _interpolate_subpixel(self, source: np.ndarray, fractional: float, output_width: Optional[int] = None) -> np.ndarray:
-        """
-        Simple linear interpolation for sub-pixel positioning.
-        Blends between adjacent pixels based on fractional offset.
-        
-        Args:
-            source: Source array to interpolate (width should be at least output_width + 1)
-            fractional: Fractional part of scroll position (0.0-1.0)
-            output_width: Desired output width (defaults to display_width)
-        
-        Returns:
-            Interpolated array of shape (height, output_width, 3) - ALWAYS exactly output_width
-        """
-        if output_width is None:
-            output_width = self.display_width
-        
-        # Always return exactly output_width pixels, padding if necessary
-        result = np.zeros((source.shape[0], output_width, 3), dtype=np.uint8)
-        
-        # Ensure we have enough source pixels for interpolation
-        if source.shape[1] < 2:
-            # Very small source - just copy what we have and pad
-            copy_width = min(source.shape[1], output_width)
-            result[:, :copy_width] = source[:, :copy_width].astype(np.uint8)
-            if copy_width < output_width:
-                # Pad with last pixel
-                result[:, copy_width:] = source[:, -1:].astype(np.uint8)
-            return result
-        
-        # Calculate how many pixels we can actually interpolate
-        # Need at least 2 pixels to interpolate, so max output is source.shape[1] - 1
-        max_interpolated_width = source.shape[1] - 1
-        interpolated_width = min(output_width, max_interpolated_width)
-        
-        if interpolated_width > 0:
-            # Extract pixels at x and x+1 for interpolation
-            pixels_x = source[:, :interpolated_width].astype(np.float32)
-            pixels_x1 = source[:, 1:interpolated_width + 1].astype(np.float32)
-            
-            # Linear interpolation
-            interpolated = pixels_x * (1.0 - fractional) + pixels_x1 * fractional
-            
-            # Clip and convert back to uint8
-            interpolated = np.clip(interpolated, 0, 255).astype(np.uint8)
-            
-            # Copy interpolated portion to result
-            result[:, :interpolated_width] = interpolated
-        
-        # If we need more pixels than we can interpolate, pad with last pixel
-        if interpolated_width < output_width:
-            result[:, interpolated_width:] = source[:, -1:].astype(np.uint8)
-        
-        return result
-    
     def calculate_dynamic_duration(self) -> int:
         """
         Calculate display duration based on content width and scroll settings.
@@ -847,6 +772,10 @@ class ScrollHelper:
         # Reset last_update_time to prevent large delta_time on next update
         # This ensures smooth scrolling after reset without jumping ahead
         self.last_update_time = now
+        # Same reasoning for the frame-rate clock: the first frame after a
+        # reset has no predecessor in this scroll, and timing it against the
+        # last frame of the previous one measures the idle gap between them.
+        self.last_frame_time = None
         self.logger.debug("Scroll position reset")
 
     def reset(self) -> None:
@@ -909,6 +838,13 @@ class ScrollHelper:
         Args:
             speed: Scroll speed (interpretation depends on frame_based_scrolling mode)
         """
+        # A speed set directly is a request to pace off that speed, so drop any
+        # fixed per-frame step left by an earlier configure(). scroll_config
+        # calls this first and set_pixels_per_frame second, so the crisp path
+        # is unaffected; what this protects is a legacy caller changing speed
+        # on a helper that scroll_config had already put in fixed-step mode,
+        # where the new speed would otherwise be silently ignored.
+        self.fixed_pixels_per_frame = None
         if self.frame_based_scrolling:
             # In frame-based mode, clamp to reasonable pixels per frame (0.1-5)
             # Higher values cause visible jumps - 1-2 pixels/frame is ideal for smoothness
@@ -929,6 +865,35 @@ class ScrollHelper:
         self.scroll_delay = max(0.001, min(1.0, delay))
         self.logger.debug(f"Scroll delay set to: {self.scroll_delay}")
     
+    def set_pixels_per_frame(self, pixels) -> None:
+        """Advance exactly `pixels` per presented frame, ignoring the clock.
+
+        Pass None to go back to pacing off elapsed time.
+
+        Smooth motion is not a frame-rate property. The strip has to advance
+        the same number of WHOLE pixels every frame, and deriving that from a
+        wall clock cannot deliver it: the position accumulates
+        ``speed * delta_time`` and is then truncated to a pixel, so any jitter
+        in delta_time lands either side of an integer boundary. Measured on
+        hardware at a rock-steady 100.0 fps, individual frames still ranged
+        5.6ms to 15.2ms -- 0.57px to 1.44px of movement -- and 53% of frames
+        advanced by something other than one pixel: about half moved nothing
+        at all and then jumped two. That is the micro-stutter, and it survived
+        every frame-timing fix because frame timing was never the problem.
+
+        It is worst precisely at a crisp speed. At 100 px/s on a 100Hz panel
+        the accumulator sits exactly on integer boundaries, so sub-millisecond
+        jitter flips it either way and the motion beats at around 50Hz.
+
+        Stepping per frame is only correct because SwapOnVSync blocks until
+        the panel has taken the frame, which makes the frame count a truer
+        clock than time.time(). Before the swap was locked to vsync this would
+        have run at whatever speed the loop happened to spin at.
+        """
+        self.fixed_pixels_per_frame = int(pixels) if pixels else None
+        self.logger.debug("Fixed step set to: %s px/frame",
+                          self.fixed_pixels_per_frame)
+
     def set_target_fps(self, fps: float) -> None:
         """
         Set the target frames per second for scrolling.
@@ -1010,25 +975,62 @@ class ScrollHelper:
         """
         current_time = time.time()
 
+        # The first frame of a scroll has no predecessor, so it has no frame
+        # time. Measuring one anyway records the whole idle gap since the last
+        # scroll as a single frame: on hardware that produced windows reading
+        # "0.0 fps over 1 frames | median 136776.02ms", and -- worse, because
+        # it is not obviously wrong -- put that gap in the max field of
+        # otherwise healthy windows and counted it as one stall per scroll.
+        # At ~500 frames to a window that is ~0.2%, which is the same order as
+        # the real stall rates being measured, so the number could not be
+        # trusted at all. Seed the clock and take no sample.
+        if self.last_frame_time is None:
+            self.last_frame_time = current_time
+            # Restart the window with the scroll. Otherwise the boundary is
+            # already long overdue when the second frame arrives, and the new
+            # scroll opens by reporting a window of exactly one frame.
+            self.last_fps_log_time = current_time
+            return
+
         # Calculate instantaneous frame time
         frame_time = current_time - self.last_frame_time
+
+        # A caller that scrolls without ever calling reset_scroll() never arms
+        # the sentinel above, so catch the same gap by its size. Nothing that
+        # renders a scroll produces a frame longer than the log interval; a
+        # sample that large is an idle period, not a frame.
+        if frame_time >= FPS_LOG_INTERVAL:
+            self.last_frame_time = current_time
+            return
+
         self.frame_times.append(frame_time)
 
         # Keep only last 100 frames for average
         if len(self.frame_times) > 100:
             self.frame_times.pop(0)
 
-        # Log FPS every 5 seconds to avoid spam
-        if current_time - self.last_fps_log_time >= 5.0:
-            avg_frame_time = sum(self.frame_times) / len(self.frame_times)
-            avg_fps = 1.0 / avg_frame_time if avg_frame_time > 0 else 0
-            instant_fps = 1.0 / frame_time if frame_time > 0 else 0
+        # Every frame since the last log, not just the last 100 and not just
+        # the one that happens to land on the 5s boundary. The old line
+        # reported a single instantaneous sample -- roughly 1 frame in 500 --
+        # which cannot see a stall that hits 1% of frames, and reported it
+        # next to an average that hides the same stall by construction (a 2ms
+        # duplicate and a 21ms double-wait mean exactly 10ms). Chasing scroll
+        # judder needs the tail, so keep the window and report percentiles.
+        self._window.append(frame_time)
 
-            self.logger.info(f"Scroll frame stats - Avg FPS: {avg_fps:.1f}, "
-                           f"Current FPS: {instant_fps:.1f}, "
-                           f"Frame time: {frame_time*1000:.2f}ms")
+        # Log FPS every 5 seconds to avoid spam
+        if current_time - self.last_fps_log_time >= FPS_LOG_INTERVAL:
+            # An empty window means every sample in this interval was dropped
+            # as an idle gap. There is nothing to report, and reporting the
+            # gap itself is the bug above.
+            if self._window:
+                self.logger.info(
+                    "Scroll frame stats - %s",
+                    format_frame_stats(self._window),
+                )
             self.last_fps_log_time = current_time
             self.frame_count = 0
+            self._window = []
 
         self.last_frame_time = current_time
         self.frame_count += 1

src/common/sports_card.py

@@ -22,6 +22,10 @@ from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from typing import Any, Dict, Optional, Tuple
 from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
 
+from src.common.font_layout import (  # noqa: F401 - re-exported, see below
+    FONT_NAME_ALIASES, FONT_PIXEL_GRID, crisp_size,
+)
+
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 __all__ = [
@@ -52,18 +56,12 @@ FAVORITE_RESULT_COLOR_DEFAULTS: Dict[str, Tuple[int, int, int]] = {
     "tie": (255, 200, 0),
 }
 
-#: Family aliases the web UI may write, mapped to the shipped filename.
-FONT_NAME_ALIASES: Dict[str, str] = {
-    "press_start": "PressStart2P-Regular.ttf",
-    "four_by_six": "4x6-font.ttf",
-}
-
-#: Pixel grid each face renders crisply on. Off-grid sizes anti-alias, which
-#: on an LED matrix is a dim lamp rather than a soft edge.
-FONT_PIXEL_GRID: Dict[str, int] = {
-    "PressStart2P-Regular.ttf": 8,
-    "4x6-font.ttf": 7,
-}
+# Re-exported rather than defined: the grid tables and the snapping rule are
+# properties of the font files, which the display core needs too (it loads the
+# same two faces in DisplayManager._load_fonts). They live in
+# src/common/font_layout.py so there is one definition; they stay in this
+# module's namespace and __all__ so the eight scoreboards that delegate to
+# `sports_card.crisp_size` are untouched.
 
 MONTH_ABBR = ("Jan", "Feb", "Mar", "Apr", "May", "Jun",
               "Jul", "Aug", "Sep", "Oct", "Nov", "Dec")
@@ -99,38 +97,71 @@ def upcoming_center_mode(config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]]) -> str:
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 def element_color(config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]], element: str,
-                  default: Tuple[int, int, int] = (255, 255, 255)):
-    """Per-element text colour from customization.<element>.text_color."""
+                  default: Tuple[int, int, int] = (255, 255, 255),
+                  mode: Optional[str] = None):
+    """Per-element text colour from customization.<element>.text_color.
+
+    Delegated rather than reimplemented: there were two copies of this
+    read and three of the offset read, and the shared one also resolves
+    the element under the names plugins actually use (the layout block
+    says `score` where the style block says `score_text`) and honours a
+    per-mode override. Hex strings are still accepted.
+    """
+    from src.element_style import element_color as _shared
+    return _shared(config, element, default, mode)
+
+
+def resolve_font_color(config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]],
+                       fonts: Optional[Dict[str, Any]], font,
+                       default: Tuple[int, int, int],
+                       element_for_font: Dict[str, str],
+                       mode: Optional[str] = None):
+    """Colour for whichever element owns this face.
+
+    Identity matching is a stand-in for the element name, used where the draw
+    site only ever received a font. Prefer ``element=`` on the draw call; this
+    is the fallback for the sites that have not been annotated yet.
+
+    One object can legitimately belong to several elements -- a size resolver
+    can land two of them on the same face, and a BDF face cannot be un-shared
+    at all because ``freetype.Face`` objects cannot be rebuilt from a path.
+    Those draws used to go out white, which is how an element rendered in any
+    of the 32 shipped bitmap fonts could silently lose a colour the user had
+    set. So ambiguity is now narrowed before it is given up on: among the
+    elements sharing a face, a single configured colour is the only thing the
+    user can have meant, and several that agree mean the same thing. Only a
+    genuine disagreement falls back to *default*.
+
+    The element vocabulary is a parameter because the two callers disagree
+    about it -- the mixin's map says ``team_text`` where this module's says
+    ``team_name`` -- and quietly re-pointing either at the other's names would
+    change which colour setting a live install honours.
+    """
     try:
-        cfg = (config or {}).get("customization", {}).get(element, {})
-        value = cfg.get("text_color")
-        if isinstance(value, (list, tuple)) and len(value) == 3:
-            return tuple(max(0, min(255, int(c))) for c in value)
-        if isinstance(value, str) and value.startswith("#") and len(value) == 7:
-            return tuple(int(value[i:i + 2], 16) for i in (1, 3, 5))
-    except (TypeError, ValueError):
+        fonts = fonts or {}
+        matches = [element for key, element in element_for_font.items()
+                   if fonts.get(key) is font]
+        if len(matches) == 1:
+            return element_color(config, matches[0], default, mode)
+        if len(matches) > 1:
+            configured = []
+            for element in matches:
+                colour = element_color(config, element, None, mode)
+                if colour is not None and colour not in configured:
+                    configured.append(colour)
+            if len(configured) == 1:
+                return configured[0]
+    except (AttributeError, TypeError):
         pass
     return default
 
 
 def font_color(config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]], fonts: Optional[Dict[str, Any]],
-               font, default: Tuple[int, int, int] = (255, 255, 255)):
-    """Colour for whichever element owns this face.
-
-    Matched on identity, and deliberately gives up when one object is
-    shared: the last-resort font path can hand the same face to several
-    keys, and there is no right answer for which element's colour that is.
-    White is what those draws used before, so ambiguity costs nothing.
-    """
-    try:
-        fonts = fonts or {}
-        matches = [element for key, element in ELEMENT_FOR_FONT.items()
-                   if fonts.get(key) is font]
-        if len(matches) == 1:
-            return element_color(config, matches[0], default)
-    except (AttributeError, TypeError):
-        pass
-    return default
+               font, default: Tuple[int, int, int] = (255, 255, 255),
+               mode: Optional[str] = None):
+    """Colour for whichever element owns this face, by this module's map."""
+    return resolve_font_color(config, fonts, font, default, ELEMENT_FOR_FONT,
+                              mode)
 
 
 def coerce_rgb(value, fallback):
@@ -357,24 +388,6 @@ def format_game_time(config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]], time_text: str) -> str:
 _SCHEMA_FONT_SIZE_CACHE: Dict[str, Dict[str, int]] = {}
 
 
-def crisp_size(font_file, desired, aliases=None, grid_table=None):
-    """Snap *desired* to the nearest size *font_file* renders crisply at.
-
-    A face with no known grid is returned unchanged, so a user-supplied
-    font is never second-guessed.
-
-    ``aliases`` and ``grid_table`` default to the shared tables; a plugin
-    that ships an extra face can pass its own without forking this.
-    """
-    aliases = FONT_NAME_ALIASES if aliases is None else aliases
-    grid_table = FONT_PIXEL_GRID if grid_table is None else grid_table
-    font_file = aliases.get(font_file, font_file)
-    grid = grid_table.get(font_file)
-    if not grid or not desired or desired <= 0:
-        return desired
-    return max(grid, int(round(float(desired) / grid)) * grid)
-
-
 def schema_font_size(schema_path: str, element_key) -> Optional[int]:
     """The font_size this plugin's config_schema.json declares, or None.
 
@@ -448,7 +461,7 @@ def unshare_element_fonts(logger, fonts):
     path) are left shared, and their draws stay white as before.
     """
     try:
-        from PIL import ImageFont as _IF
+        from src.common.font_layout import load_truetype as _load
     except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover
         return fonts
     seen = {}
@@ -463,7 +476,7 @@ def unshare_element_fonts(logger, fonts):
         if not path or not size:
             continue
         try:
-            fonts[key] = _IF.truetype(path, size)
+            fonts[key] = _load(path, size)
         except (OSError, ValueError, TypeError):
             logger.debug(
                 "Could not un-share the %s face; it keeps the default colour", key)

src/common/sports_game_renderer.py

@@ -134,19 +134,9 @@ class SportsGameRendererMixin:
         the element on the scroll/Vegas card too -- previously the schema
         advertised these offsets but this renderer ignored them.
         """
-        try:
-            layout = (self.config or {}).get("customization", {}).get("layout", {})
-            value = (layout.get(element) or {}).get(axis, default)
-            if isinstance(value, bool):
-                return default
-            if isinstance(value, (int, float)):
-                return int(value) if math.isfinite(value) else default
-            if isinstance(value, str):
-                parsed = float(value)
-                return int(parsed) if math.isfinite(parsed) else default
-        except (TypeError, ValueError, OverflowError):
-            pass
-        return default
+        from src.element_style import layout_offset
+        return layout_offset(self.config, element, axis, default,
+                             getattr(self, "SKIN_MODE", None))
 
     # ---- upcoming cards ------------------------------------------------
 

src/common/sports_helpers.py

@@ -0,0 +1,408 @@
+"""Sports helpers every scoreboard's ``sports.py`` carries an identical copy of.
+
+Ten helpers are byte-identical (executable AST, docstrings stripped) in the
+scoreboard plugins' ``sports.py`` and have no equivalent elsewhere in
+``src/common``. The bodies below were copied from those plugin copies -- not
+from ``src/base_classes`` -- at ledmatrix-plugins ``f09bff2`` (origin/main,
+2026-09-14):
+
+- In all nine (afl, baseball, basketball, football, hockey, lacrosse, nrl,
+  soccer, ufc): ``_clamp_window``, ``_clamp_seconds``, ``_logo_needs_refresh``
+  (with ``_MIN_WINDOW_DAYS`` / ``_MAX_WINDOW_DAYS``), and the ``SportsCore``
+  methods ``_mode_customization``, ``_setting_int``,
+  ``_reset_dwell_on_reentry`` (with ``_DWELL_REENTRY_GAP_SECONDS``),
+  ``_next_switch_index`` and ``_spread_weighted_order``.
+- In the eight that share a lineage (all but ufc, which has neither):
+  ``_odds_color`` and ``_upcoming_date_and_time_text``.
+
+The module-level helpers become public free functions here (``clamp_window``,
+``clamp_seconds``, ``logo_needs_refresh``, ``spread_weighted_order``,
+``MIN_WINDOW_DAYS``, ``MAX_WINDOW_DAYS``); the methods keep the plugins' exact
+names and signatures on ``SportsHelpersMixin`` so adopting it is deleting the
+copies and adding one base. ``test/test_sports_helpers.py`` compares every body
+here against every plugin copy when a plugins checkout is available
+(``LEDMATRIX_PLUGINS``), so drift in either direction fails a test.
+
+WHY A NEW MODULE, NOT MORE METHODS ON sports_shared
+---------------------------------------------------
+A plugin that deletes its copy of a method and relies on an *existing* module
+having grown it fails at runtime on an older core: ``AttributeError`` mid-render,
+usually swallowed into a blank board. The plugin loader cannot see that, and
+neither can the plugins' ``scripts/check_min_core_version.py``, which checks
+modules. A plugin importing a module that does not exist yet fails at load,
+where both can. Plugins import this and floor ``ledmatrix_min_version`` on the
+first core release that ships it (see ``CHANGELOG.md``).
+
+``_favorite_key`` is the one method not taken from the plugins: it is the
+override point from ``src/base_classes/sports/core.py``, carried here so later
+phases (shared celebrations and game selection) have a hardware-free home for
+the seam. No plugin defines it today and nothing in this module calls it.
+
+WHAT A HOST MUST PROVIDE
+------------------------
+Derived by walking every ``self.<attr>`` the mixin reads; the host-contract
+test in ``test/test_sports_helpers.py`` fails if a read is added without being
+listed here.
+
+- ``config`` (dict) -- ``_mode_customization``.
+- ``mode_config`` (dict) and ``logger`` -- ``_setting_int``. ``league`` is
+  read with ``getattr`` for the warning text only.
+- ``games_list`` and ``current_game_index`` -- ``_next_switch_index``; plus
+  ``_is_favorite_game`` (called with a game), which stays per-plugin and is
+  only called when
+  ``favorite_rotation_boost`` is above 1. ``favorite_rotation_boost`` itself
+  defaults to 1 on the mixin.
+- ``last_game_switch`` -- ``_reset_dwell_on_reentry``, read with ``getattr``
+  and written back.
+- ``_card_option``, ``_format_game_date`` and ``_format_game_time`` --
+  ``_upcoming_date_and_time_text``. All three are on
+  ``SportsCoreSharedMixin`` (``src/common/sports_shared.py``).
+- ``_element_color`` -- ``_odds_color``, looked up with ``getattr`` and falling
+  back to green, so a host without it still works. Also on
+  ``SportsCoreSharedMixin``.
+- ``SKIN_MODE`` -- optional, read with ``getattr`` by ``_mode_customization``;
+  without it the mode overrides are simply not merged.
+
+State the mixin keeps on the host, created on first use (all read with
+``getattr``, so nothing needs initialising): ``_last_display_call_monotonic``,
+``_switch_order``, ``_switch_order_key``, ``_switch_position``.
+
+Class-level defaults: ``_DWELL_REENTRY_GAP_SECONDS = 5.0`` and
+``favorite_rotation_boost = 1``, matching the plugins. A host's own value
+shadows them.
+
+MRO
+---
+No ``__init__`` and no bare ``super()``, so base order does not change what
+runs. By convention list it after ``SportsCoreSharedMixin``::
+
+    class SportsCore(SportsCoreSharedMixin, SportsHelpersMixin, ABC):
+
+HARDWARE-FREE
+-------------
+Nothing here may import ``src.display_manager``, ``src.base_classes``,
+``src.plugin_system`` or anything else that reaches ``rgbmatrix`` at module
+level; ``test/test_common_is_hardware_free.py`` enforces that for all of
+``src/common``. ``logo_needs_refresh`` imports ``src.logo_downloader`` lazily,
+exactly as the plugin copy does.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import time
+from typing import Any, ClassVar, Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
+
+__all__ = [
+    "MIN_WINDOW_DAYS",
+    "MAX_WINDOW_DAYS",
+    "clamp_window",
+    "clamp_seconds",
+    "logo_needs_refresh",
+    "spread_weighted_order",
+    "SportsHelpersMixin",
+]
+
+MIN_WINDOW_DAYS = 1
+MAX_WINDOW_DAYS = 60
+
+
+def clamp_window(value: Any, fallback: int) -> int:
+    """Days for one side of the schedule window, or the default if unusable."""
+    try:
+        days = int(value)
+    except (TypeError, ValueError, OverflowError):
+        # OverflowError: json parses a bare Infinity and int(inf) raises,
+        # which crashed manager init from a hand-edited config.
+        return fallback
+    return max(MIN_WINDOW_DAYS, min(MAX_WINDOW_DAYS, days))
+
+
+def clamp_seconds(value: Any, fallback: int, low: int = 5,
+                  high: int = 86400) -> int:
+    """An interval in seconds, or the fallback when the value is unusable."""
+    try:
+        seconds = int(value)
+    except (TypeError, ValueError, OverflowError):
+        # OverflowError: json parses bare Infinity by default and int(inf)
+        # raises -- the same gap clamp_window above already covers.
+        return fallback
+    return max(low, min(high, seconds))
+
+
+def logo_needs_refresh(logo_file) -> bool:
+    """True if this file is a placeholder stale enough to retry the real logo.
+
+    A failed logo download is cached as a placeholder wearing the real logo's
+    filename, so "the file exists" is not proof the logo was ever fetched.
+    Without this check one transient failure leaves a team a grey box forever.
+
+    Returns False on a core that predates placeholder marking, which keeps the
+    previous behaviour rather than breaking the load.
+    """
+    # Imported from the core by its full path, never as a bare name: a
+    # deferred bare-name import can bind another plugin's vendored
+    # logo_downloader once the core isolates top-level plugin modules.
+    try:
+        from src.logo_downloader import (
+            PLACEHOLDER_RETRY_SECONDS,
+            is_placeholder_logo,
+            placeholder_age_seconds,
+        )
+    except ImportError:
+        return False
+
+    try:
+        if not is_placeholder_logo(logo_file):
+            return False
+        age = placeholder_age_seconds(logo_file)
+        return age is None or age >= PLACEHOLDER_RETRY_SECONDS
+    except Exception:
+        return False
+
+
+def spread_weighted_order(weights: List[int]) -> List[int]:
+    """Indices into ``weights``, each repeated by its weight and spread out.
+
+    Each index keeps its own slot and places its extra turns at even
+    fractions of the rotation after it, wrapping round. That keeps the
+    list's schedule order for everything else and spaces a favourite's
+    repeats evenly *around the loop* -- the live rotation's smooth
+    weighted round-robin schedules a boosted game first and last, so a
+    rotation that wraps shows it back to back. Equal weights come back in
+    plain order, so a boost that applies to no card changes nothing.
+
+    Repeats are kept apart only where the ratio leaves room: once one
+    weight exceeds all the others combined, no cyclic order can separate
+    its turns ([3, 1, 1] gives [0, 1, 0, 2, 0]). Each index still gets
+    exactly its weight in turns -- the configured ratio wins over spacing.
+    """
+    count = len(weights)
+    slots = []
+    for index, weight in enumerate(weights):
+        for turn in range(weight):
+            slots.append(((index + turn * count / weight) % count, turn > 0, index))
+    return [index for _, _, index in sorted(slots)]
+
+
+class SportsHelpersMixin:
+    """The ``SportsCore`` methods identical across the scoreboards' sports.py.
+
+    Constructor-free; keeps lazy state on its host (see the module docstring
+    for that state, the host contract and base-order guidance).
+    """
+
+    #: Longest gap between two display() calls that still counts as one
+    #: on-screen stint. Frames arrive many times a second while a mode is on
+    #: the panel; between mode blocks the gap is the length of every other
+    #: mode's block -- a minute or more. Anything past a few seconds can only
+    #: be a block boundary, or the very first frame after startup.
+    _DWELL_REENTRY_GAP_SECONDS: ClassVar[float] = 5.0
+
+    #: Turns a favourite's card gets per turn of any other card in switch
+    #: mode. The plugins set it per instance from config; this default keeps
+    #: a host that does not on the plain rotation.
+    favorite_rotation_boost: int = 1
+
+    def _favorite_key(self, game: Dict, side: str) -> Optional[str]:
+        """Override point: which view-model field identifies a team when
+        matching against ``favorite_teams``.
+
+        ``side`` is ``"home"`` or ``"away"``. The default is the team
+        abbreviation -- what eight of the nine scoreboards match on, and what
+        users type into their favorites list.
+
+        NRL needs the team **id** instead, because NRL abbreviations are not
+        unique: "NEW" is both Newcastle Knights and New Zealand Warriors,
+        "CAN" both Canberra Raiders and Canterbury Bulldogs. It is a seam
+        rather than a branch so core never has to learn the string "nrl"::
+
+            def _favorite_key(self, game, side):
+                return str(game.get(f"{side}_id"))
+
+        An override that stringifies should note that a missing id becomes the
+        literal ``"None"``, which would spuriously match a favorites list
+        containing that string. The default returns ``None`` for a missing
+        abbreviation, which never matches.
+
+        Carried from ``src/base_classes/sports/core.py`` for later phases;
+        nothing in this module calls it yet.
+        """
+        return game.get(f"{side}_abbr")
+
+    def _mode_customization(self) -> dict:
+        """``customization`` with this mode's overrides merged over it.
+
+        SportsUpcoming / SportsRecent / SportsLive are separate instances
+        with their own SKIN_MODE, so merging once here makes every
+        per-element lookup mode-aware without changing one of them.
+
+        ``None`` in a mode block means "inherit", which is what lets a user
+        restyle one element on live cards and leave everything else
+        following the settings above. It has to stay distinct from 0: a mode
+        y_offset of 0 means "sit at the base position", not "no preference".
+        """
+        customization = self.config.get('customization', {})
+        if not isinstance(customization, dict):
+            return {}
+        mode = getattr(self, 'SKIN_MODE', None)
+        if not mode:
+            return customization
+        modes = customization.get('modes')
+        block = modes.get(mode) if isinstance(modes, dict) else None
+        if not isinstance(block, dict):
+            return customization
+
+        merged = dict(customization)
+        for element, override in block.items():
+            if element == 'layout' or not isinstance(override, dict):
+                continue
+            base = merged.get(element)
+            base = dict(base) if isinstance(base, dict) else {}
+            base.update({k: v for k, v in override.items() if v is not None})
+            merged[element] = base
+
+        mode_layout = block.get('layout')
+        if isinstance(mode_layout, dict):
+            base_layout = merged.get('layout')
+            new_layout = dict(base_layout) if isinstance(base_layout, dict) else {}
+            for element, axes in mode_layout.items():
+                if not isinstance(axes, dict):
+                    continue
+                current = new_layout.get(element)
+                current = dict(current) if isinstance(current, dict) else {}
+                current.update({k: v for k, v in axes.items() if v is not None})
+                new_layout[element] = current
+            merged['layout'] = new_layout
+        return merged
+
+    def _setting_int(self, key: str, default: int, low: int, high: int) -> int:
+        """A count from config, clamped to the range its schema declares.
+
+        The schema constrains these, but config.json can be hand-edited or
+        written by an older tool, and a string or a negative here does not
+        raise where anyone would see it -- it raises inside update()'s own
+        try/except, which shows up as a mode that silently renders nothing.
+        Same shape as the favorite_live_boost clamp in the plugins.
+        """
+        try:
+            return max(low, min(high, int(self.mode_config.get(key, default))))
+        except (TypeError, ValueError, OverflowError):
+            # OverflowError: json parses a bare Infinity, and int(inf) raises
+            # -- from __init__, outside any try/except, so the manager would
+            # fail to construct instead of falling back.
+            self.logger.warning(
+                "%s: ignoring unusable %s=%r, using %s",
+                getattr(self, "league", "?"), key,
+                self.mode_config.get(key), default,
+            )
+            return default
+
+    def _reset_dwell_on_reentry(self) -> bool:
+        """Give the current card a full turn when this mode (re)takes the panel.
+
+        The dwell clock (last_game_switch) keeps running while the mode is off
+        screen, so on re-entry it was always long expired and the first
+        display() call advanced immediately: the card cut off by the end of
+        the previous block was skipped instead of shown -- measured at one in
+        five card transitions on a 30s block of 15s cards -- and after a
+        service restart the clock started at manager construction, seconds
+        before the first frame, shaving that much off the first card. Both are
+        the same defect: the dwell clock counting time the viewer never saw.
+
+        Returns True when the dwell was reset, so the caller forces a redraw.
+        The one-frame card at the end of a block (the advance that races the
+        controller's mode switch) still renders -- this reset is what turns it
+        into the card that opens the next block with a full turn, instead of
+        one the rotation skipped.
+        """
+        # getattr, and zero treated as "never displayed": the managers are
+        # constructed in several places -- the plugin tests among them -- not
+        # all of which set every attribute, and a freshly booted Pi can reach
+        # the first frame while time.monotonic() itself is still under the
+        # gap threshold, which would make `now - 0.0` look like one stint.
+        last = getattr(self, "_last_display_call_monotonic", 0.0)
+        now = time.monotonic()
+        self._last_display_call_monotonic = now
+        if last > 0.0 and now - last < self._DWELL_REENTRY_GAP_SECONDS:
+            return False
+        if getattr(self, "last_game_switch", 0) <= 0:
+            # Zero is the live screen's "no game shown yet" sentinel with its
+            # own handling; overwriting it here would hide the first game's
+            # arrival from that logic.
+            return False
+        self.last_game_switch = time.time()
+        return True
+
+    _spread_weighted_order = staticmethod(spread_weighted_order)
+
+    def _next_switch_index(self) -> int:
+        """The games_list index switch mode shows next.
+
+        favorite_rotation_boost gives a favourite's card that many turns for
+        every one turn another card gets, spread through the rotation and kept
+        apart wherever the other cards leave room (a boost above the number of
+        other cards makes some repeats adjacent; the ratio is kept either way).
+        games_list itself stays one entry per game -- the
+        cycle-duration count, the scroll strip and the other-games re-cut all
+        read it -- so the weighting is an order walked over it instead.
+
+        The order is rebuilt whenever the list's games change, and the walk
+        resyncs from current_game_index whenever the two disagree: update()
+        and the other-games rotation both set the index directly when they
+        swap a list in, and the card on screen is where the walk resumes.
+
+        Called with _games_lock held and games_list non-empty.
+        """
+        count = len(self.games_list)
+        boost = getattr(self, "favorite_rotation_boost", 1)
+        if boost <= 1 or count < 2:
+            return (self.current_game_index + 1) % count
+        key = (boost, tuple(g.get("id") for g in self.games_list))
+        if getattr(self, "_switch_order_key", None) != key:
+            self._switch_order = self._spread_weighted_order(
+                [boost if self._is_favorite_game(g) else 1 for g in self.games_list]
+            )
+            self._switch_order_key = key
+            self._switch_position = -1
+        order = self._switch_order
+        position = getattr(self, "_switch_position", -1)
+        if not 0 <= position < len(order) or order[position] != self.current_game_index:
+            position = (order.index(self.current_game_index)
+                        if self.current_game_index in order else -1)
+        position = (position + 1) % len(order)
+        self._switch_position = position
+        return order[position]
+
+    def _odds_color(self) -> Tuple[int, int, int]:
+        """Colour for the odds text; the green it always drew unless configured.
+
+        Guarded with getattr because not every class that reaches
+        _draw_dynamic_odds carries the element-colour helper -- the plugins'
+        own test harnesses build minimal manager objects, and a bare
+        AttributeError here is swallowed by the surrounding except, which
+        drops the odds off the card instead of failing loudly.
+        """
+        getter = getattr(self, "_element_color", None)
+        if getter is None:
+            return (0, 255, 0)
+        try:
+            return getter("odds_text", (0, 255, 0))  # pylint: disable=not-callable
+        except Exception:
+            return (0, 255, 0)
+
+    def _upcoming_date_and_time_text(self, game_date: str, game_time: str,
+                                     game: Optional[Dict] = None) -> Tuple[str, str]:
+        """The formatted (date, time) pair, blanked by switch_show_date/_time.
+
+        Deliberately not the shared show_date/show_time: those governed only
+        the scroll and Vegas cards before this display read the block, so a
+        config that had turned them off there would silently blank a scorebug
+        that has always drawn both lines. The switch keys default to True for
+        the same reason switch_upcoming_center defaults to "date_time" -- an
+        untouched panel keeps rendering exactly what it rendered before.
+        """
+        date_text = (self._format_game_date(game_date, game)
+                     if self._card_option("switch_show_date", True) else "")
+        time_text = (self._format_game_time(game_time)
+                     if self._card_option("switch_show_time", True) else "")
+        return date_text, time_text

src/common/sports_scroll.py

@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional
 
 from PIL import Image
 
+from src.common import scroll_config
 from src.common.scroll_helper import ScrollHelper
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -58,13 +59,9 @@ DEFAULT_SCROLL_SETTINGS: Dict[str, Any] = {
     "dynamic_duration": True,
 }
 
-#: Bounds on the px/second -> px/frame conversion, applied before the helper
-#: sees the value. FPS is *not* clamped here — ScrollHelper.set_target_fps
-#: already does that, and a second copy of the range would drift from it.
-MIN_PIXELS_PER_FRAME = 0.1
-MAX_PIXELS_PER_FRAME = 5.0
-
 #: Pacing to assume when scroll_delay is 0, i.e. the plugin has not set one.
+#: Only used to interpret this module's own px/frame config shape; the speed
+#: bounds and the px/s -> px/frame conversion belong to scroll_config now.
 ASSUMED_FPS_WHEN_UNPACED = 100.0
 
 
@@ -236,51 +233,75 @@ class SportsScrollDisplay:
         """Apply config to the scroll helper. Safe to call again after a change."""
         settings = self._get_scroll_settings()
 
-        scroll_speed = self._coerce_float(settings.get("scroll_speed"), 50.0)
-        scroll_delay = self._coerce_float(settings.get("scroll_delay"), 0.01)
         dynamic_duration = bool(settings.get("dynamic_duration", True))
-
-        self.scroll_helper.set_scroll_delay(scroll_delay)
         self.scroll_helper.set_dynamic_duration_settings(
             enabled=dynamic_duration,
             min_duration=settings.get("min_duration", 30),
             max_duration=settings.get("max_duration", 600),
             buffer=0.2,  # ensure the strip clears the panel completely
         )
-        # Frame-based scrolling: motion advances per rendered frame rather than
-        # per wall-clock second, which is what makes the pacing stable.
-        self.scroll_helper.set_frame_based_scrolling(True)
 
-        # Config states speed in px/second; frame-based mode wants px/frame.
-        if scroll_delay > 0:
-            pixels_per_frame = scroll_speed * scroll_delay
-        else:
-            pixels_per_frame = scroll_speed / ASSUMED_FPS_WHEN_UNPACED
-        pixels_per_frame = max(
-            MIN_PIXELS_PER_FRAME, min(MAX_PIXELS_PER_FRAME, pixels_per_frame)
-        )
-        self.scroll_helper.set_scroll_speed(pixels_per_frame)
+        # Speed goes through scroll_config, which every other scrolling plugin
+        # already uses. What must NOT happen is handing it this module's
+        # settings dict: the two read the same key names with different
+        # meanings, and the collision is a factor of 1/scroll_delay.
+        #
+        #   sports_scroll: scroll_speed is px/SECOND; scroll_delay is only the
+        #                  frame period used to reach px/frame.
+        #   scroll_config: scroll_speed is px per STEP, so px/s = speed/delay.
+        #
+        # Passing {"scroll_speed": 50.0, "scroll_delay": 0.01} straight through
+        # resolves to 5000 px/s (clamped to 500) instead of 50. So this module
+        # keeps ownership of reading its own config -- _get_scroll_settings
+        # merges the league overrides -- and hands the resolver a plain px/s.
+        pixels_per_second = self._resolve_pixels_per_second(settings)
 
-        effective_pps = (
-            pixels_per_frame / scroll_delay
-            if scroll_delay > 0
-            else pixels_per_frame * ASSUMED_FPS_WHEN_UNPACED
+        resolved = scroll_config.configure(
+            self.scroll_helper,
+            plugin_config=None,
+            global_config=self.global_config,
+            default_pixels_per_second=pixels_per_second,
+            display_manager=self.display_manager,
+            plugin_logger=self.logger,
+            refresh_hz=self._resolve_refresh_hz(),
         )
+        self._scroll_settings = resolved
         self.logger.info(
-            f"ScrollHelper configured: {pixels_per_frame:.2f} px/frame, "
-            f"delay={scroll_delay}s (effective {effective_pps:.1f} px/s from "
-            f"{scroll_speed} px/s config), dynamic_duration={dynamic_duration}"
+            "ScrollHelper configured: %s (requested %.1f px/s), "
+            "dynamic_duration=%s",
+            resolved.describe(),
+            pixels_per_second, dynamic_duration,
         )
 
-        # The reason this module exists upstream: the bundled copies hardcode
-        # ~100 FPS via scroll_delay and never consult the global target.
-        # No hasattr guard here, unlike the plugin copies: they probe because
-        # they may run against an older core, whereas this module ships in the
-        # same release as the ScrollHelper it calls. The helper clamps.
-        target_fps = self._resolve_target_fps()
-        if target_fps:
-            self.scroll_helper.set_target_fps(target_fps)
-            self.logger.info(f"Target FPS set to {target_fps}")
+    def _resolve_pixels_per_second(self, settings: Dict[str, Any]) -> float:
+        """This module's config shape, expressed as plain pixels per second.
+
+        ``scroll_speed`` is already px/s here. ``scroll_delay`` only matters
+        when a caller supplied px/frame instead, which the 0 case covers.
+        """
+        scroll_speed = self._coerce_float(settings.get("scroll_speed"), 50.0)
+        scroll_delay = self._coerce_float(settings.get("scroll_delay"), 0.01)
+        if scroll_delay <= 0:
+            return scroll_speed * ASSUMED_FPS_WHEN_UNPACED
+        return scroll_speed
+
+    def _resolve_refresh_hz(self) -> Optional[float]:
+        """The panel refresh the crisp ladder should be computed against.
+
+        Prefers the configured hardware refresh. Falls back to the global
+        ``target_fps``/``scroll_target_fps`` this module has always honoured:
+        under the old model that key *was* the rate frames were presented at,
+        so it is the faithful translation for anyone who set it. Returning
+        None lets scroll_config apply its own default.
+        """
+        hardware = scroll_config.refresh_hz_from_config(self.global_config)
+        if hardware and hardware != scroll_config.DEFAULT_REFRESH_HZ:
+            return hardware
+        return self._resolve_target_fps() or hardware or None
+
+    def _scroll_frame_hold(self) -> int:
+        """Refreshes to hold each frame for, from the resolved settings."""
+        return getattr(getattr(self, "_scroll_settings", None), "frame_hold", 1)
 
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
     # Frame pumping
@@ -305,6 +326,16 @@ class SportsScrollDisplay:
             if not visible:
                 return False
 
+            # Tell the core the panel is scrolling, and for how many
+            # refreshes to hold each frame. Without this the frame hold is
+            # never applied -- so a speed the ladder made crisp still presents
+            # a new frame every refresh and judders -- and, because deferred
+            # updates only run while nothing is scrolling, core would run
+            # blocking work in the middle of this scroll.
+            if hasattr(self.display_manager, "set_scrolling_state"):
+                self.display_manager.set_scrolling_state(
+                    True, frame_hold=self._scroll_frame_hold())
+
             self.display_manager.image = visible
             self.display_manager.update_display()
             self._frame_count += 1
@@ -331,7 +362,19 @@ class SportsScrollDisplay:
 
     def is_scroll_complete(self) -> bool:
         """True when the strip has scrolled fully past the panel."""
-        return self.scroll_helper.is_scroll_complete()
+        complete = self.scroll_helper.is_scroll_complete()
+        if complete:
+            self._release_scrolling_state()
+        return complete
+
+    def _release_scrolling_state(self) -> None:
+        """Tell the core this display is no longer scrolling.
+
+        The scrolling flag and the frame hold are global to the display
+        manager, so leaving them set holds every other plugin's frames too.
+        """
+        if hasattr(self.display_manager, "set_scrolling_state"):
+            self.display_manager.set_scrolling_state(False)
 
     def reset_scroll(self) -> None:
         """Return the strip to its starting position, keeping the content."""
@@ -349,6 +392,7 @@ class SportsScrollDisplay:
         self._vegas_content_items = []
         self._is_scrolling = False
         self._scroll_start_time = None
+        self._release_scrolling_state()
         self.logger.debug("Scroll display cleared")
 
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------

src/common/sports_shared.py

@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ from typing import Any, ClassVar, Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
 import pytz
 import requests
 from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont
+from src.common.font_layout import load_truetype
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -190,7 +191,8 @@ class SportsCoreSharedMixin:
             img = Image.new("RGB", (self.display_width, self.display_height), (0, 0, 0))
             draw = ImageDraw.Draw(img)
             status = game.get("status_text", "N/A")
-            self._draw_text_with_outline(draw, status, (2, 2), self.fonts["status"])
+            self._draw_text_with_outline(draw, status, (2, 2), self.fonts["status"],
+                                         element="status_text")
             self.display_manager.image.paste(img, (0, 0))
             # Don't call update_display here, let subclasses handle it after drawing
         except Exception as e:
@@ -506,8 +508,10 @@ class SportsCoreSharedMixin:
                         + self._get_layout_offset('score', 'x_offset'))
                 vs_y = (center_y - 3
                         + self._get_layout_offset('score', 'y_offset'))
+                vs_x = self._aligned_x('score_text', vs_width, width, vs_x)
                 self._draw_text_with_outline(
-                    draw, vs_text, (vs_x, vs_y), self.fonts["score"]
+                    draw, vs_text, (vs_x, vs_y), self.fonts["score"],
+                    element="score_text"
                 )
 
         # "vs" and "none" both push the date and time out to the edges, time
@@ -712,11 +716,11 @@ class SportsCoreSharedMixin:
                 while size > grid:
                     if probe.textlength(
                             self._SCORE_PROBE_TEXT,
-                            font=ImageFont.truetype(path, size)) <= budget:
+                            font=load_truetype(path, size)) <= budget:
                         break
                     size -= grid
                 if size != getattr(fonts['score'], 'size', size):
-                    fonts['score'] = ImageFont.truetype(path, size)
+                    fonts['score'] = load_truetype(path, size)
                     self._score_grew = True
 
             if not self._score_grew and not self._user_chose_size('score_text') \
@@ -736,7 +740,7 @@ class SportsCoreSharedMixin:
                     if _size <= current:
                         continue
                     _path = _resolve_font_path(f"assets/fonts/{_name}")
-                    _candidate = ImageFont.truetype(_path, _size)
+                    _candidate = load_truetype(_path, _size)
                     if probe.textlength(self._SCORE_PROBE_TEXT,
                                         font=_candidate) <= budget:
                         fonts['score'] = _candidate
@@ -751,23 +755,76 @@ class SportsCoreSharedMixin:
                 if ceiling and size >= ceiling:
                     size = max(grid, ceiling - grid)
                 if size != getattr(fonts['time'], 'size', size):
-                    fonts['time'] = ImageFont.truetype(path, size)
+                    fonts['time'] = load_truetype(path, size)
         except Exception:
             self.logger.debug("Headline font scaling skipped", exc_info=True)
         return fonts
 
+    def _get_layout_offset(self, element: str, axis: str,
+                           default: int = 0) -> int:
+        """X/Y nudge for one element, from ``customization.layout``.
+
+        Promoted here so every scoreboard reads offsets the same way the
+        scroll card does. Each plugin still carries its own copy in its
+        bundled sports.py, which wins by MRO until that copy is deleted --
+        deleting it is what buys the alias handling (a plugin asking for
+        ``score_text`` finds the ``score`` its users configured) and the
+        per-mode overrides, since this resolves through SKIN_MODE.
+        """
+        from src.element_style import layout_offset
+        return layout_offset(self.config, element, axis, default,
+                             getattr(self, "SKIN_MODE", None))
+
     def _element_color(self, element: str, default: Tuple[int, int, int] = (255, 255, 255)):
-        """Per-element text colour from customization.<element>.text_color."""
-        try:
-            cfg = (self.config or {}).get("customization", {}).get(element, {})
-            value = cfg.get("text_color")
-            if isinstance(value, (list, tuple)) and len(value) == 3:
-                return tuple(max(0, min(255, int(c))) for c in value)
-            if isinstance(value, str) and value.startswith("#") and len(value) == 7:
-                return tuple(int(value[i:i + 2], 16) for i in (1, 3, 5))
-        except (TypeError, ValueError):
-            pass
-        return default
+        """Per-element text colour from customization.<element>.text_color.
+
+        Mode-aware through SKIN_MODE, so Live and Recent instances of the
+        same scoreboard resolve their own colours without any call site
+        passing a mode.
+        """
+        from src.element_style import element_color as _shared
+        return _shared(self.config, element, default,
+                       getattr(self, "SKIN_MODE", None))
+
+    def _element_visible(self, element: str, default: bool = True) -> bool:
+        """Whether ``customization.<element>.visible`` allows this draw.
+
+        Mode-aware like the colour read, so a user can hide the records on the
+        recent card and keep them on the upcoming one.
+        """
+        from src.element_style import element_visible
+        return element_visible(self.config, element, default,
+                               getattr(self, "SKIN_MODE", None))
+
+    def _element_align(self, element: str, default: Optional[str] = None):
+        """``customization.<element>.align``: 'left', 'center' or 'right'."""
+        from src.element_style import element_align
+        return element_align(self.config, element, default,
+                             getattr(self, "SKIN_MODE", None))
+
+    def _element_scale(self, element: str, default: float = 1.0) -> float:
+        """``customization.layout.<element>.scale`` -- logos, mostly."""
+        from src.element_style import element_scale
+        return element_scale(self.config, element, default,
+                             getattr(self, "SKIN_MODE", None))
+
+    def _aligned_x(self, element: str, text_width: float, container_width: int,
+                   centered_x: float) -> float:
+        """Where a run of text starts, honouring ``align``.
+
+        Unset means "leave it exactly where it was", so this returns the
+        caller's own x rather than re-deriving a centre: these draws have
+        accumulated per-sport nudges and a centre computed here would not be
+        the same pixel.
+        """
+        align = self._element_align(element)
+        if not align:
+            return centered_x
+        if align == 'left':
+            return 0
+        if align == 'right':
+            return max(0, container_width - text_width)
+        return centered_x
 
     def _unshare_element_fonts(self, fonts):
         """Give each colourable element its own face object.
@@ -786,7 +843,7 @@ class SportsCoreSharedMixin:
         path) are left shared, and their draws stay white as before.
         """
         try:
-            from PIL import ImageFont as _IF
+            from src.common.font_layout import load_truetype as _load
         except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover
             return fonts
         seen = {}
@@ -801,7 +858,7 @@ class SportsCoreSharedMixin:
             if not path or not size:
                 continue
             try:
-                fonts[key] = _IF.truetype(path, size)
+                fonts[key] = _load(path, size)
             except (OSError, ValueError, TypeError):
                 self.logger.debug(
                     "Could not un-share the %s face; it keeps the default colour", key)
@@ -810,25 +867,31 @@ class SportsCoreSharedMixin:
     def _font_color(self, font, default: Tuple[int, int, int] = (255, 255, 255)):
         """Colour for whichever element owns this face.
 
-        Matched on identity, and deliberately gives up when one object is
-        shared: the last-resort font path can hand the same face to several
-        keys, and there is no right answer for which element's colour that is.
-        White is what those draws used before, so ambiguity costs nothing.
+        The fallback for draw sites that were only ever handed a font. Prefer
+        ``element=`` on :meth:`_draw_text_with_outline`, which needs none of
+        this. Shared with the scroll card's copy so the narrowing rule that
+        rescues bitmap-font colours lives in one place; the element vocabulary
+        stays this class's own, because its map says ``team_text`` where
+        sports_card's says ``team_name``.
         """
-        try:
-            fonts = getattr(self, "fonts", None) or {}
-            matches = [element for key, element in self._ELEMENT_FOR_FONT.items()
-                       if fonts.get(key) is font]
-            if len(matches) == 1:
-                return self._element_color(matches[0], default)
-        except (AttributeError, TypeError):
-            pass
-        return default
+        from src.common.sports_card import resolve_font_color
+        return resolve_font_color(
+            getattr(self, "config", None), getattr(self, "fonts", None), font,
+            default, self._ELEMENT_FOR_FONT, getattr(self, "SKIN_MODE", None))
 
     def _draw_text_with_outline(
-        self, draw, text, position, font, fill=None, outline_color=(0, 0, 0)
+        self, draw, text, position, font, fill=None, outline_color=(0, 0, 0),
+        element=None
     ):
-        """Draw text with a black outline for better readability."""
+        """Draw text with a black outline for better readability.
+
+        Pass ``element`` (``"score_text"``, ``"status_text"``, ...) wherever the
+        caller knows what it is drawing: the colour is then read by name, which
+        is exact. Without it the colour has to be inferred from the identity of
+        the font object, which cannot tell two elements apart when they share a
+        face -- the case every bitmap font is in, because a ``freetype.Face``
+        cannot be re-instantiated.
+        """
         # Disable anti-aliasing: pixel/bitmap fonts (e.g. PressStart2P) get
         # anti-aliased into dim partial-lit pixels on a 1:1 LED matrix, muddying
         # glyphs. 1-bit mode keeps strokes crisp.
@@ -838,7 +901,14 @@ class SportsCoreSharedMixin:
         # and they only ever changed the font. An explicit fill still wins:
         # the odds colours and the favourite-result score tint mean something
         # the palette does not.
+        if element is not None:
+            # Named, so both questions can be answered exactly: whether this
+            # element is meant to be on screen at all, and what colour it is.
+            if not self._element_visible(element):
+                return
             if fill is None:
+                fill = self._element_color(element)
+        elif fill is None:
             fill = self._font_color(font)
         draw.fontmode = "1"
         x, y = position

src/common/sync_manager.py

@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ from typing import Callable, Optional
 import numpy as np
 from PIL import Image
 
+from src.display_geometry import DEFAULT_CHAIN_LENGTH
+
 # Raw-frame wire format: 8-byte magic + 4-byte header + raw RGB pixels
 # Much faster than PNG: no encode/decode, negligible CPU, same UDP packet size
 _RAW_MAGIC = b'SYNC_RAW'
@@ -194,7 +196,7 @@ class DisplaySyncManager:
         local_cols = hw.get("cols", 64)
         peer_rows = int(msg.get("rows", 0))
         peer_cols = int(msg.get("cols", 0))
-        peer_chain = int(msg.get("chain", 1))
+        peer_chain = int(msg.get("chain", DEFAULT_CHAIN_LENGTH))
 
         compatible = peer_rows == local_rows and peer_cols == local_cols
 
@@ -589,7 +591,7 @@ class DisplaySyncManager:
             "t": "hello",
             "rows": hw.get("rows", 32),
             "cols": hw.get("cols", 64),
-            "chain": hw.get("chain_length", 1),
+            "chain": hw.get("chain_length", DEFAULT_CHAIN_LENGTH),
         }).encode("utf-8")
         heartbeat = json.dumps({"t": "hb"}).encode("utf-8")
         dest = ("<broadcast>", self.port)
@@ -660,7 +662,7 @@ class DisplaySyncManager:
             "port": self.port,
             "local_rows": hw.get("rows", 32),
             "local_cols": hw.get("cols", 64),
-            "local_chain": hw.get("chain_length", 1),
+            "local_chain": hw.get("chain_length", DEFAULT_CHAIN_LENGTH),
         }
 
         if self.role == SyncRole.STANDALONE:

src/common/text_helper.py

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Tuple, Union
 
 from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont
+from src.common.font_layout import load_truetype
 
 # Shared throwaway draw surface for measuring text without a target canvas.
 _measure_draw = ImageDraw.Draw(Image.new("RGB", (1, 1)))
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ class TextHelper:
                 size = config['size']
                 
                 if font_path.exists():
-                    font = ImageFont.truetype(str(font_path), size)
+                    font = load_truetype(str(font_path), size)
                     fonts[font_name] = font
                     self.logger.debug(f"Loaded font: {font_name} ({font_path}, size {size})")
                 else:

src/config_manager_atomic.py

@@ -7,9 +7,10 @@ and enable recovery from failed saves.
 
 import json
 import os
+import re
 import shutil
 import tempfile
-from datetime import datetime
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Dict, Any, Optional, List, Tuple
 from dataclasses import dataclass
@@ -19,6 +20,19 @@ from src.exceptions import ConfigError
 from src.logging_config import get_logger
 from src.common.permission_utils import ensure_shared_group_ownership
 
+# Version stamp in a backup's filename: config.json.backup.<version>.
+BACKUP_VERSION_FORMAT = "%Y%m%d_%H%M%S_%f"
+
+# Backups written before the format gained microseconds. Still read, never
+# written, so existing restore points on a rig stay usable after an upgrade.
+LEGACY_BACKUP_VERSION_FORMAT = "%Y%m%d_%H%M%S"
+
+# The numeric collision suffix _create_backup() appends to break a same-tick
+# tie: config.json.backup.<version>-<N>. Only digits count as this suffix, so
+# a hand-copied or renamed backup that happens to end in "-something" isn't
+# mistaken for one and silently mis-parsed.
+_BACKUP_COLLISION_SUFFIX_RE = re.compile(r"^(?P<base>.+)-(?P<collision>\d+)$")
+
 
 class SaveResultStatus(Enum):
     """Status of a save operation."""
@@ -246,22 +260,33 @@ class AtomicConfigManager:
         if not self.backup_dir.exists():
             return backups
         
-        # Look for backup files (format: config.json.backup.YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS)
+        # Look for backup files (format: config.json.backup.<version>)
         config_name = self.config_path.name
         backup_pattern = f"{config_name}.backup.*"
 
         for backup_file in self.backup_dir.glob(backup_pattern):
             try:
-                # Extract timestamp from filename
-                # Format: config.json.backup.20240101_120000
-                parts = backup_file.stem.split('.')
-                if len(parts) >= 3 and parts[-2] == 'backup':
-                    timestamp_str = parts[-1]
-                    timestamp = datetime.strptime(timestamp_str, "%Y%m%d_%H%M%S")
-                else:
-                    # Fallback: use file modification time
+                # The version reported here is what rollback_config() matches
+                # against, so it has to be the exact string in the filename.
+                #
+                # It did not used to be. This read .stem, which drops only the
+                # last dot-component, so for config.json.backup.20240101_120000
+                # parts was ['config', 'json', 'backup'] and parts[-2] was
+                # 'json' -- never 'backup'. The filename branch could not be
+                # reached, every backup fell through to the mtime fallback, and
+                # the version was a second-granularity restamp of the mtime
+                # rather than the name on disk. Two backups a second apart could
+                # therefore report the same version, and rollback would pick
+                # whichever the glob happened to yield first.
+                # Strip the exact prefix the glob just matched, so a config
+                # whose own name contains '.backup.' can't shift the split.
+                timestamp_str = backup_file.name[len(f"{config_name}.backup."):]
+                timestamp = self._parse_backup_version(timestamp_str)
+                if timestamp is None:
+                    # Not a version this code wrote (hand-copied, renamed).
+                    # Order it by mtime, but keep the on-disk version string so
+                    # it can still be named in a rollback.
                     timestamp = datetime.fromtimestamp(backup_file.stat().st_mtime)
-                    timestamp_str = timestamp.strftime("%Y%m%d_%H%M%S")
 
                 # Validate backup file
                 is_valid = self._validate_backup_file(backup_file)
@@ -283,6 +308,35 @@ class AtomicConfigManager:
         
         return backups
     
+    @staticmethod
+    def _parse_backup_version(version: str) -> Optional[datetime]:
+        """
+        Parse the ``<version>`` of a ``config.json.backup.<version>`` filename
+        into the time the backup was taken, or None if it is not a version this
+        class wrote.
+
+        Accepts the current microsecond format and the legacy second-granularity
+        one, with or without the ``-N`` suffix _create_backup() appends to break
+        a collision. When that suffix is present, N is folded into the result
+        as extra microseconds so same-tick collisions still sort in the order
+        they were created rather than tying.
+        """
+        if not version:
+            return None
+        base = version
+        collision = 0
+        match = _BACKUP_COLLISION_SUFFIX_RE.match(version)
+        if match:
+            base = match.group('base')
+            collision = int(match.group('collision'))
+        for fmt in (BACKUP_VERSION_FORMAT, LEGACY_BACKUP_VERSION_FORMAT):
+            try:
+                parsed = datetime.strptime(base, fmt)
+            except ValueError:
+                continue
+            return parsed + timedelta(microseconds=collision) if collision else parsed
+        return None
+
     def validate_config_file(self, config_path: Optional[str] = None) -> ValidationResult:
         """
         Validate a configuration file.
@@ -303,19 +357,55 @@ class AtomicConfigManager:
             return None
         
         try:
-            # Generate backup filename with timestamp
-            timestamp = datetime.now().strftime("%Y%m%d_%H%M%S")
+            # Generate backup filename with timestamp.
+            #
+            # This id is the backup's identity: save_config_atomic() returns the
+            # path, rollback_config(backup_version=...) looks the version up, and
+            # the paired secrets backup is found by reusing the same string. At
+            # second granularity two saves inside the same second produced the
+            # same filename, so the second copy2() below silently overwrote the
+            # first backup -- the path a caller was still holding then pointed at
+            # different content, and rolling back to it restored the wrong
+            # config. Microseconds make that collision vanishingly unlikely.
             config_name = self.config_path.name
-            backup_filename = f"{config_name}.backup.{timestamp}"
-            backup_path = self.backup_dir / backup_filename
+            backup_secrets = bool(self.secrets_path and self.secrets_path.exists())
+
+            # exists() then copy2() is two steps: two concurrent callers can
+            # both see the path as free and pick the same one, so the second
+            # copy2() silently destroys the first call's restore point.
+            # Reserve the filename(s) with exclusive creation instead -- that
+            # is atomic, so only one caller can ever win a given timestamp.
+            # Each retry bumps the collision suffix, so this always
+            # terminates and stays compatible with _parse_backup_version().
+            collision = 0
+            while True:
+                timestamp = datetime.now().strftime(BACKUP_VERSION_FORMAT)
+                if collision:
+                    timestamp = f"{timestamp}-{collision}"
+                backup_path = self.backup_dir / f"{config_name}.backup.{timestamp}"
+                secrets_backup_path = (
+                    self.backup_dir / f"{self.secrets_path.name}.backup.{timestamp}"
+                    if backup_secrets else None
+                )
+                try:
+                    backup_path.touch(exist_ok=False)
+                except FileExistsError:
+                    collision += 1
+                    continue
+                if secrets_backup_path is not None:
+                    try:
+                        secrets_backup_path.touch(exist_ok=False)
+                    except FileExistsError:
+                        backup_path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+                        collision += 1
+                        continue
+                break
 
             # Copy config file to backup
             shutil.copy2(self.config_path, backup_path)
 
             # Also backup secrets file if it exists
-            if self.secrets_path and self.secrets_path.exists():
-                secrets_backup_filename = f"{self.secrets_path.name}.backup.{timestamp}"
-                secrets_backup_path = self.backup_dir / secrets_backup_filename
+            if secrets_backup_path is not None:
                 shutil.copy2(self.secrets_path, secrets_backup_path)
             
             # Rotate old backups

src/display_controller.py

@@ -120,6 +120,15 @@ class DisplayController:
         except Exception as e:
             logger.warning(f"Startup validation could not be completed: {e}")
 
+        # Automatic updates need their health-check units, and this is the
+        # one root process running project code, so it installs them while
+        # automatic updates are on. See src/auto_update_setup.py.
+        try:
+            from src.auto_update_setup import ensure_update_helper
+            ensure_update_helper(self.config)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.warning("Automatic update setup could not be completed: %s", e)
+        
         config_time = time.time()
         self.display_manager = DisplayManager(self.config)
         logger.info("DisplayManager initialized in %.3f seconds", time.time() - config_time)
@@ -198,6 +207,10 @@ class DisplayController:
         # the main run loop reconciles (loads/unloads) on its own thread so
         # mutating available_modes never races with rendering.
         self._pending_plugin_reconcile = False
+        # Monotonic stamp of the last mailbox disk read; see
+        # _poll_on_demand_requests. None means "never polled", so the first
+        # call always goes through.
+        self._last_on_demand_poll: Optional[float] = None
         self.on_demand_active = False
         self.on_demand_mode: Optional[str] = None
         self.on_demand_modes: List[str] = []  # All modes for the on-demand plugin
@@ -303,39 +316,7 @@ class DisplayController:
 
             # Check for on-demand plugin filter from cache
             on_demand_config = self.cache_manager.get('display_on_demand_config', max_age=3600)
-            on_demand_plugin_id = on_demand_config.get('plugin_id') if on_demand_config else None
-
-            if on_demand_plugin_id:
-                logger.info("On-demand mode detected during initialization: filtering to plugin '%s' only", on_demand_plugin_id)
-                # Only load the on-demand plugin, but ensure it's enabled
-                if on_demand_plugin_id not in discovered_plugins:
-                    error_msg = f"On-demand plugin '{on_demand_plugin_id}' not found in discovered plugins"
-                    logger.error(error_msg)
-                    logger.warning("Falling back to normal mode (all enabled plugins)")
-                    on_demand_plugin_id = None
-                    enabled_plugins = [p for p in discovered_plugins if self.config.get(p, {}).get('enabled', False)]
-                else:
-                    plugin_config = self.config.get(on_demand_plugin_id, {})
-                    was_disabled = not plugin_config.get('enabled', False)
-                    if was_disabled:
-                        logger.info("Temporarily enabling plugin '%s' for on-demand mode", on_demand_plugin_id)
-                        if on_demand_plugin_id not in self.config:
-                            self.config[on_demand_plugin_id] = {}
-                        self.config[on_demand_plugin_id]['enabled'] = True
-                    enabled_plugins = [on_demand_plugin_id]
-                    # Set on-demand state from cached config
-                    self.on_demand_active = True
-                    self.on_demand_plugin_id = on_demand_plugin_id
-                    self.on_demand_mode = on_demand_config.get('mode')
-                    self.on_demand_duration = on_demand_config.get('duration')
-                    self.on_demand_pinned = on_demand_config.get('pinned', False)
-                    self.on_demand_requested_at = on_demand_config.get('requested_at')
-                    self.on_demand_expires_at = on_demand_config.get('expires_at')
-                    self.on_demand_status = 'active'
-                    self.on_demand_schedule_override = True
-                    logger.info("On-demand mode: loading only plugin '%s'", on_demand_plugin_id)
-            else:
-                enabled_plugins = [p for p in discovered_plugins if self.config.get(p, {}).get('enabled', False)]
+            enabled_plugins = self._select_startup_plugins(discovered_plugins, on_demand_config)
 
             # Count enabled plugins for progress tracking
             enabled_count = len(enabled_plugins)
@@ -1267,12 +1248,119 @@ class DisplayController:
         self.on_demand_schedule_override = False
         self._publish_on_demand_state()
 
+    #: Shortest gap between mailbox disk reads. This is called after every
+    #: frame -- about 125 times a second on a scrolling mode -- and the read
+    #: below is deliberately uncached, so without a floor it was 125 disk reads
+    #: per second to find nothing. An on-demand request comes from a person
+    #: clicking in the web UI, so a quarter second of latency is not
+    #: perceptible, and it cuts the read rate by 30x.
+    ON_DEMAND_POLL_INTERVAL = 0.25
+
+    def _select_startup_plugins(self, discovered_plugins: List[str],
+                                on_demand_config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]]) -> List[str]:
+        """Which plugins to load at startup, restoring on-demand state if any.
+
+        Every normally-enabled plugin loads, on-demand or not. Loading only the
+        on-demand plugin left every other plugin unavailable for the rest of
+        the process's life whenever the service was restarted while on-demand
+        was still active -- and a restart during an on-demand session is
+        routine, since that is how updates and config changes are applied. The
+        panel came back cycling that one plugin's modes and nothing else, with
+        no way out but clearing the on-demand cache by hand.
+
+        On-demand still resumes on its saved mode; this only widens what gets
+        loaded, so normal rotation has somewhere to return to when it ends.
+        A plugin that is disabled in config but named by the on-demand request
+        is still enabled and added, since otherwise the mode being resumed
+        would have nothing behind it.
+        """
+        enabled_plugins = [p for p in discovered_plugins
+                           if self.config.get(p, {}).get('enabled', False)]
+
+        on_demand_plugin_id = on_demand_config.get('plugin_id') if on_demand_config else None
+        if not on_demand_plugin_id:
+            return enabled_plugins
+
+        if on_demand_plugin_id not in discovered_plugins:
+            logger.error("On-demand plugin '%s' not found in discovered plugins",
+                         on_demand_plugin_id)
+            logger.warning("Falling back to normal mode (all enabled plugins)")
+            return enabled_plugins
+
+        if not self.config.get(on_demand_plugin_id, {}).get('enabled', False):
+            logger.info("Temporarily enabling plugin '%s' for on-demand mode", on_demand_plugin_id)
+            self.config.setdefault(on_demand_plugin_id, {})['enabled'] = True
+            if on_demand_plugin_id not in enabled_plugins:
+                enabled_plugins.append(on_demand_plugin_id)
+
+        # Restore on-demand state from the cached request so it resumes.
+        self.on_demand_active = True
+        self.on_demand_plugin_id = on_demand_plugin_id
+        self.on_demand_mode = on_demand_config.get('mode')
+        self.on_demand_duration = on_demand_config.get('duration')
+        self.on_demand_pinned = on_demand_config.get('pinned', False)
+        self.on_demand_requested_at = on_demand_config.get('requested_at')
+        self.on_demand_expires_at = on_demand_config.get('expires_at')
+        self.on_demand_status = 'active'
+        self.on_demand_schedule_override = True
+        logger.info("On-demand mode detected during initialization: resuming on plugin '%s'; "
+                    "all %d enabled plugin(s) still load normally",
+                    on_demand_plugin_id, len(enabled_plugins))
+        return enabled_plugins
+
+    def _consume_on_demand_request(self, request_id: str) -> None:
+        """Remove the request we just handled from the mailbox.
+
+        Leaving it on disk meant a restart replayed the previous request: the
+        fresh controller read it, activated it and cached it, so the request
+        the caller had just made was ignored and the panel silently showed the
+        earlier plugin.
+
+        Compare before deleting. The web process can post a newer request
+        between the read and this delete; an unconditional delete threw that
+        one away and it was never processed -- the user's second click did
+        nothing. Re-reading uncached and only deleting our own request_id
+        leaves a newer request in the mailbox for the next poll instead.
+
+        This narrows the window rather than closing it: a request landing
+        between the re-read and the delete is still lost. Closing it properly
+        needs an atomic claim (a rename, or a compare-and-delete primitive)
+        that the cache layer does not currently offer, so the honest fix is a
+        smaller window plus this note, not a bigger lock. For start requests
+        processed_id still guards against reprocessing if the delete fails.
+        """
+        try:
+            current = self.cache_manager.get('display_on_demand_request',
+                                             max_age=3600, memory_ttl=0)
+            if not current or current.get('request_id') == request_id:
+                self.cache_manager.delete('display_on_demand_request')
+            else:
+                logger.debug("Newer on-demand request %s arrived while processing "
+                             "%s; leaving it in the mailbox",
+                             current.get('request_id'), request_id)
+        except (OSError, AttributeError, KeyError) as err:
+            logger.debug("Could not clear the on-demand request mailbox: %s", err)
+
     def _poll_on_demand_requests(self) -> None:
         """Poll cache for new on-demand requests from external controllers."""
+        now = time.monotonic()
+        if (self._last_on_demand_poll is not None
+                and now - self._last_on_demand_poll < self.ON_DEMAND_POLL_INTERVAL):
+            return
+        self._last_on_demand_poll = now
+
         try:
             # Use a long max_age (1 hour) to ensure requests aren't expired before processing
-            # The request_id check prevents duplicate processing
-            request = self.cache_manager.get('display_on_demand_request', max_age=3600)
+            # The request_id check prevents duplicate processing.
+            #
+            # memory_ttl=0 is required, not optional: this key is a mailbox the
+            # web process writes and this process reads. get() defaults the
+            # in-memory TTL to max_age, so without it the first request read was
+            # pinned in memory for the full hour and every later poll returned
+            # that stale copy -- meaning no second on-demand request was honoured
+            # for an hour, while the API still reported success.
+            request = self.cache_manager.get('display_on_demand_request',
+                                             max_age=3600, memory_ttl=0)
         except (OSError, RuntimeError, ValueError, TypeError) as err:
             logger.error("Failed to read on-demand request: %s", err, exc_info=True)
             return
@@ -1299,6 +1387,13 @@ class DisplayController:
                 logger.debug("Stop request %s received but on-demand is not active", request_id)
                 # Still update request_id to acknowledge the request
                 self.on_demand_request_id = request_id
+            # Stop requests are deliberately exempt from the request_id/
+            # processed_id guards above, so that a second click stops a mode
+            # that a race left running. Consuming the mailbox is therefore the
+            # only thing that ends the request: without it the same stop was
+            # re-read and re-processed on every poll, forever, logging at
+            # ON_DEMAND_POLL_INTERVAL for the life of the process.
+            self._consume_on_demand_request(request_id)
             return
 
         # For start requests, check if already processed
@@ -1318,6 +1413,7 @@ class DisplayController:
         # Mark as processed BEFORE processing (to prevent duplicate processing)
         self.cache_manager.set('display_on_demand_processed_id', request_id, ttl=3600)
         self.on_demand_request_id = request_id
+        self._consume_on_demand_request(request_id)
 
         if action == 'start':
             logger.info("Processing on-demand start request for plugin: %s", request.get('plugin_id'))
@@ -1360,17 +1456,14 @@ class DisplayController:
                 return modes[0]
         return plugin_id
 
-    def _populate_on_demand_modes_from_plugin(self) -> None:
-        """
-        Populate on_demand_modes from the on-demand plugin's display modes.
-        Called after plugin loading completes when on-demand state is restored from cache.
-        """
-        if not self.on_demand_active or not self.on_demand_plugin_id:
-            return
+    def _on_demand_modes_for_plugin(self, plugin_id: str) -> List[str]:
+        """Every loaded display mode belonging to `plugin_id`, in rotation order.
 
-        plugin_id = self.on_demand_plugin_id
-        
-        # Get all modes for this plugin
+        Live modes that actually have content lead, then the rest, then live
+        modes with nothing to show -- so an on-demand request for a sports
+        plugin opens on a game in progress rather than an empty live screen.
+        Returns an empty list when the plugin has no loaded modes.
+        """
         plugin_modes = self.plugin_display_modes.get(plugin_id, [])
         if not plugin_modes:
             # Fallback: find all modes that belong to this plugin
@@ -1378,11 +1471,8 @@ class DisplayController:
 
         # Filter to only include modes that exist in plugin_modes
         available_plugin_modes = [m for m in plugin_modes if m in self.plugin_modes]
-        
         if not available_plugin_modes:
-            logger.warning("No valid display modes found for on-demand plugin '%s' after restoration", plugin_id)
-            self.on_demand_modes = []
-            return
+            return []
 
         # Prioritize live modes if they exist and have content
         live_modes = [m for m in available_plugin_modes if m.endswith('_live')]
@@ -1410,6 +1500,45 @@ class DisplayController:
             # Only live modes available but no content - use them anyway
             ordered_modes = live_modes
 
+        return ordered_modes
+
+    def _apply_on_demand_pin(self, ordered_modes: List[str], resolved_mode: Optional[str],
+                             pinned: bool) -> List[str]:
+        """Narrow an on-demand rotation to the single requested mode when pinned.
+
+        `pinned` reaches the controller from the API and was stored and
+        republished but never acted on, so a pinned request still rotated
+        through every mode the resolved plugin owns. That is the right default
+        for a sports plugin, whose modes are views of one subject
+        (nfl_live/nfl_recent/nfl_upcoming), and the wrong one for a plugin
+        whose modes are unrelated -- each Starlark app is its own widget, so
+        asking for one and getting all of them is not what was requested.
+        """
+        if not pinned or not resolved_mode or resolved_mode not in ordered_modes:
+            return ordered_modes
+        return [resolved_mode]
+
+    def _populate_on_demand_modes_from_plugin(self) -> None:
+        """
+        Populate on_demand_modes from the on-demand plugin's display modes.
+        Called after plugin loading completes when on-demand state is restored from cache.
+        """
+        if not self.on_demand_active or not self.on_demand_plugin_id:
+            return
+
+        plugin_id = self.on_demand_plugin_id
+
+        ordered_modes = self._on_demand_modes_for_plugin(plugin_id)
+        if not ordered_modes:
+            logger.warning("No valid display modes found for on-demand plugin '%s' after restoration", plugin_id)
+            self.on_demand_modes = []
+            return
+
+        # A restart must not silently un-pin: the pin is part of the request
+        # being resumed, and it is restored from the same cached config above.
+        ordered_modes = self._apply_on_demand_pin(
+            ordered_modes, self.on_demand_mode, self.on_demand_pinned)
+
         self.on_demand_modes = ordered_modes
         # Set index to match the restored mode if available, otherwise start at 0
         if self.on_demand_mode and self.on_demand_mode in ordered_modes:
@@ -1464,45 +1593,13 @@ class DisplayController:
         if resolved_mode in self.available_modes:
             self.current_mode_index = self.available_modes.index(resolved_mode)
 
-        # Get all modes for this plugin
-        plugin_modes = self.plugin_display_modes.get(resolved_plugin_id, [])
-        if not plugin_modes:
-            # Fallback: find all modes that belong to this plugin
-            plugin_modes = [mode for mode, pid in self.mode_to_plugin_id.items() if pid == resolved_plugin_id]
-        
-        # Filter to only include modes that exist in plugin_modes
-        available_plugin_modes = [m for m in plugin_modes if m in self.plugin_modes]
-        
-        if not available_plugin_modes:
+        ordered_modes = self._on_demand_modes_for_plugin(resolved_plugin_id)
+        if not ordered_modes:
             logger.error("No valid display modes found for plugin '%s'", resolved_plugin_id)
             self._set_on_demand_error("no-modes")
             return
 
-        # Prioritize live modes if they exist and have content
-        live_modes = [m for m in available_plugin_modes if m.endswith('_live')]
-        other_modes = [m for m in available_plugin_modes if not m.endswith('_live')]
-        
-        # Check if live modes have content
-        live_with_content = []
-        for live_mode in live_modes:
-            plugin_instance = self.plugin_modes.get(live_mode)
-            if plugin_instance and hasattr(plugin_instance, 'has_live_content'):
-                try:
-                    if plugin_instance.has_live_content():
-                        live_with_content.append(live_mode)
-                except Exception:
-                    pass
-        
-        # Build mode list: live modes with content first, then other modes, then live modes without content
-        if live_with_content:
-            ordered_modes = live_with_content + other_modes + [m for m in live_modes if m not in live_with_content]
-        else:
-            # No live content, skip live modes
-            ordered_modes = other_modes
-        
-        if not ordered_modes:
-            # Only live modes available but no content - use them anyway
-            ordered_modes = live_modes
+        ordered_modes = self._apply_on_demand_pin(ordered_modes, resolved_mode, pinned)
 
         self.on_demand_active = True
         self.on_demand_mode = resolved_mode  # Keep for backward compatibility
@@ -2081,7 +2178,14 @@ class DisplayController:
                                         types.SimpleNamespace(display=_display_target),
                                         plugin_id,
                                         force_clear=self.force_change,
-                                        display_mode=active_mode if _accepts_display_mode else None
+                                        display_mode=active_mode if _accepts_display_mode else None,
+                                        # Already resolved and cached above.
+                                        # Without this the executor re-derives
+                                        # it with inspect.signature() against
+                                        # the SimpleNamespace built two lines
+                                        # up -- a fresh callable every call, so
+                                        # nothing there can ever cache.
+                                        accepts_display_mode=_accepts_display_mode
                                     )
                                 except Exception:  # pragma: no cover - defensive;
                                     # execute_display catches everything
@@ -2404,7 +2508,17 @@ class DisplayController:
                                 1.0 / display_interval
                             )
 
+                            # Deliberate: frames after the first call
+                            # display() directly rather than through
+                            # PluginExecutor. The executor spawns a thread per
+                            # call, which at this loop's frame rate would cost
+                            # more than the advisory timeout it buys -- and
+                            # that timeout cannot cancel a hung plugin anyway
+                            # (see execute_with_timeout). The first dispatch
+                            # above still goes through it, so load-time
+                            # failures are still caught and recorded.
                             while True:
+                                _frame_start = time.perf_counter()
                                 try:
                                     with self._display_lock_or_skip(plugin_id) as can_display:
                                         if can_display:
@@ -2425,11 +2539,26 @@ class DisplayController:
                                 # Multi-display sync: send follower frame after each render
                                 self._send_follower_frame(manager_to_display)
 
-                                time.sleep(display_interval)
                                 self._tick_plugin_updates()
                                 self._poll_on_demand_requests()
                                 self._check_on_demand_expiration()
 
+                                # Pace to the frame deadline rather than sleeping a flat
+                                # interval on top of the work. display() has already
+                                # blocked on the panel's vsync by this point, so an
+                                # unconditional sleep is added to a wait that already
+                                # happened. Measured on a 2x128x64 chain at
+                                # limit_refresh_rate_hz=100: ~4ms of render plus a flat
+                                # 8ms put each iteration at ~12ms against a 10ms refresh
+                                # grid, so every swap missed a refresh and the loop
+                                # settled at 50fps where display_interval asks for 125 --
+                                # and with zero headroom, ~14% of frames slipped a
+                                # further refresh, which is what reads as scroll stutter.
+                                _remaining = display_interval - (time.perf_counter() - _frame_start)
+                                # Yield even when the frame overran its budget, so plugin
+                                # update threads and the web UI are not starved of the GIL.
+                                time.sleep(_remaining if _remaining > 0 else 0.001)
+
                                 if self.current_display_mode != active_mode:
                                     logger.debug("Mode changed during high-FPS loop, breaking early")
                                     break
@@ -2460,6 +2589,15 @@ class DisplayController:
                                 display_interval
                             )
 
+                            # Deliberate: frames after the first call
+                            # display() directly rather than through
+                            # PluginExecutor. The executor spawns a thread per
+                            # call, which at this loop's frame rate would cost
+                            # more than the advisory timeout it buys -- and
+                            # that timeout cannot cancel a hung plugin anyway
+                            # (see execute_with_timeout). The first dispatch
+                            # above still goes through it, so load-time
+                            # failures are still caught and recorded.
                             while True:
                                 time.sleep(display_interval)
                                 self._tick_plugin_updates()

src/display_geometry.py

@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+"""Display size from config: the one computation every caller shares.
+
+``DisplayManager`` sizes its canvas from ``display.hardware`` plus
+``display.double_sided``. The web preview, the Starlark magnify default and
+the multi-display sync handshake used to re-derive that size themselves,
+each with its own defaults (``chain_length`` fell back to 2 in one place and
+1 in three others) and none of them applying double-sided mode. They now all
+call this module.
+
+Kept free of hardware imports on purpose: the web interface imports it, and
+``display_manager`` pulls in ``rgbmatrix``.
+"""
+
+import logging
+from typing import Any, Dict, Mapping, Optional, Tuple
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+# Match config/config.template.json's display.hardware block.
+DEFAULT_ROWS = 32
+DEFAULT_COLS = 64
+DEFAULT_CHAIN_LENGTH = 2
+DEFAULT_PARALLEL = 1
+
+
+def _display(config: Optional[Mapping[str, Any]]) -> Mapping[str, Any]:
+    # A hand-edited config.json can hold anything here; treat a non-mapping
+    # like a missing block so callers get the defaults, not AttributeError.
+    display = (config or {}).get('display')
+    return display if isinstance(display, Mapping) else {}
+
+
+def _hardware(config: Optional[Mapping[str, Any]]) -> Mapping[str, Any]:
+    hw = _display(config).get('hardware')
+    return hw if isinstance(hw, Mapping) else {}
+
+
+def physical_size(config: Optional[Mapping[str, Any]]) -> Tuple[int, int]:
+    """Width and height of the whole panel chain, in pixels.
+
+    ``cols * chain_length`` by ``rows * parallel``. Raises ``ValueError`` or
+    ``TypeError`` on a non-numeric value, as ``DisplayManager`` does; callers
+    decide their own fallback.
+
+    A non-finite value (``Infinity``, which Python's JSON parser accepts in a
+    hand-edited config.json) raises ``ValueError`` too, not ``OverflowError``,
+    so every caller's existing fallback catches it.
+    """
+    hw = _hardware(config)
+    try:
+        rows = int(hw.get('rows', DEFAULT_ROWS))
+        cols = int(hw.get('cols', DEFAULT_COLS))
+        chain_length = int(hw.get('chain_length', DEFAULT_CHAIN_LENGTH))
+        parallel = int(hw.get('parallel', DEFAULT_PARALLEL))
+    except OverflowError as e:
+        raise ValueError(f"display.hardware size is not finite: {e}") from e
+    return max(1, cols * chain_length), max(1, rows * parallel)
+
+
+def resolve_double_sided(physical_width: int, physical_height: int,
+                         ds_config: Dict[str, Any],
+                         quiet: bool = False) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
+    """Validate the ``display.double_sided`` config against the physical size.
+
+    Returns a dict ``{copies, axis, logical_width, logical_height}`` when the
+    feature is enabled and the physical panel divides evenly into ``copies``
+    along the chosen axis, otherwise ``None`` (single-screen behaviour). Bad
+    config is logged and disabled rather than raised — a misconfigured panel
+    should still light up.
+
+    Only pixels are checked, not whole panels: ``chain_length`` and
+    ``parallel`` don't say which axis a panel lies on once an orientation
+    ``Rotate:`` or U-mapper ``pixel_mapper_config`` rearranges the chain.
+
+    ``quiet`` suppresses the log lines, for callers that run on every web
+    request and would otherwise repeat them on each poll.
+    """
+    def _log(level, *args):
+        if not quiet:
+            logger.log(level, *args)
+
+    if not isinstance(ds_config, dict) or not ds_config.get('enabled', False):
+        return None
+
+    copies = ds_config.get('copies', 2)
+    if not isinstance(copies, int) or copies < 2:
+        _log(logging.WARNING,
+             "double_sided: 'copies' must be an integer >= 2 (got %r); "
+             "disabling double-sided mode", copies)
+        return None
+
+    axis = ds_config.get('axis', 'horizontal')
+    if axis not in ('horizontal', 'vertical'):
+        _log(logging.WARNING,
+             "double_sided: 'axis' must be 'horizontal' or 'vertical' "
+             "(got %r); defaulting to 'horizontal'", axis)
+        axis = 'horizontal'
+
+    # Horizontal splits the chain (panels side by side); vertical splits the
+    # parallel outputs (panels stacked). The split axis must divide evenly.
+    if axis == 'horizontal':
+        if physical_width % copies != 0:
+            _log(logging.WARNING,
+                 "double_sided: physical width %d is not divisible by copies "
+                 "%d; disabling double-sided mode", physical_width, copies)
+            return None
+        logical_width = physical_width // copies
+        logical_height = physical_height
+    else:
+        if physical_height % copies != 0:
+            _log(logging.WARNING,
+                 "double_sided: physical height %d is not divisible by copies "
+                 "%d; disabling double-sided mode", physical_height, copies)
+            return None
+        logical_width = physical_width
+        logical_height = physical_height // copies
+
+    _log(logging.INFO,
+         "double_sided enabled: %d copies on %s axis — logical screen %dx%d "
+         "tiled across physical %dx%d", copies, axis, logical_width,
+         logical_height, physical_width, physical_height)
+    return {
+        'copies': copies,
+        'axis': axis,
+        'logical_width': logical_width,
+        'logical_height': logical_height,
+    }
+
+
+def logical_size(config: Optional[Mapping[str, Any]],
+                 quiet: bool = True) -> Tuple[int, int]:
+    """The size plugins draw at and the web preview shows.
+
+    The physical size, divided by ``double_sided.copies`` along its axis when
+    double-sided mode is enabled and valid — the same answer
+    ``DisplayManager.width``/``height`` give.
+    """
+    width, height = physical_size(config)
+    ds = resolve_double_sided(width, height,
+                              _display(config).get('double_sided') or {},
+                              quiet=quiet)
+    if ds is not None:
+        return ds['logical_width'], ds['logical_height']
+    return width, height

src/display_manager.py

@@ -34,6 +34,11 @@ else:
 from contextlib import contextmanager
 from pathlib import Path
 from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont
+from src.common.font_layout import crisp_size, load_truetype, resolve_asset_path
+from src.display_geometry import (
+    DEFAULT_CHAIN_LENGTH, DEFAULT_COLS, DEFAULT_PARALLEL, DEFAULT_ROWS,
+    physical_size, resolve_double_sided,
+)
 import threading
 import time
 from collections import OrderedDict
@@ -55,6 +60,31 @@ from src.common.permission_utils import (
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 logger.setLevel(logging.INFO)  # Set to INFO level
 
+#: The strike 5x7.bdf is drawn at. FreeType renders a BDF at its own fixed
+#: size regardless, but a Face needs an active size before its metrics --
+#: and therefore get_font_height() -- report anything but 0.
+_CALENDAR_FONT_PX = 7
+
+
+def _bdf_native_size(face) -> int:
+    """The pixel height a BDF Face declares, or 0 if it does not say.
+
+    Used only to rescue a Face that was built without ``set_char_size``, so a
+    zero line height never reaches layout code.
+    """
+    try:
+        sizes = getattr(face, "available_sizes", None) or []
+        if sizes:
+            return int(getattr(sizes[0], "height", 0) or 0)
+    except (AttributeError, IndexError, TypeError, ValueError) as exc:
+        # This runs on the measurement path for a face the caller already
+        # holds, so a malformed strike table must degrade to "unknown" rather
+        # than take the display down. Say which face, so a font that is
+        # actually broken is diagnosable rather than silently 8px.
+        logger.debug("Could not read BDF strike size from %r: %s", face, exc)
+    return 0
+
+
 
 class _LogicalMatrix:
     """Proxy that reports a logical (per-screen) size for a physical matrix.
@@ -97,62 +127,10 @@ class _LogicalMatrix:
         setattr(object.__getattribute__(self, "_matrix"), name, value)
 
 
-def _resolve_double_sided(physical_width: int, physical_height: int,
-                          ds_config: Dict[str, Any]) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
-    """Validate the ``display.double_sided`` config against the physical size.
-
-    Returns a dict ``{copies, axis, logical_width, logical_height}`` when the
-    feature is enabled and the physical panel divides evenly into ``copies``
-    along the chosen axis, otherwise ``None`` (single-screen behaviour). Bad
-    config is logged and disabled rather than raised — a misconfigured panel
-    should still light up.
-    """
-    if not isinstance(ds_config, dict) or not ds_config.get('enabled', False):
-        return None
-
-    copies = ds_config.get('copies', 2)
-    if not isinstance(copies, int) or copies < 2:
-        logger.warning(
-            "double_sided: 'copies' must be an integer >= 2 (got %r); "
-            "disabling double-sided mode", copies)
-        return None
-
-    axis = ds_config.get('axis', 'horizontal')
-    if axis not in ('horizontal', 'vertical'):
-        logger.warning(
-            "double_sided: 'axis' must be 'horizontal' or 'vertical' "
-            "(got %r); defaulting to 'horizontal'", axis)
-        axis = 'horizontal'
-
-    # Horizontal splits the chain (panels side by side); vertical splits the
-    # parallel outputs (panels stacked). The split axis must divide evenly.
-    if axis == 'horizontal':
-        if physical_width % copies != 0:
-            logger.warning(
-                "double_sided: physical width %d is not divisible by copies "
-                "%d; disabling double-sided mode", physical_width, copies)
-            return None
-        logical_width = physical_width // copies
-        logical_height = physical_height
-    else:
-        if physical_height % copies != 0:
-            logger.warning(
-                "double_sided: physical height %d is not divisible by copies "
-                "%d; disabling double-sided mode", physical_height, copies)
-            return None
-        logical_width = physical_width
-        logical_height = physical_height // copies
-
-    logger.info(
-        "double_sided enabled: %d copies on %s axis — logical screen %dx%d "
-        "tiled across physical %dx%d", copies, axis, logical_width,
-        logical_height, physical_width, physical_height)
-    return {
-        'copies': copies,
-        'axis': axis,
-        'logical_width': logical_width,
-        'logical_height': logical_height,
-    }
+# Moved to src/display_geometry.py so the web preview, Starlark magnify and
+# sync handshake compute the display size exactly as DisplayManager does
+# without importing rgbmatrix. Aliased here for existing callers.
+_resolve_double_sided = resolve_double_sided
 
 
 class DisplayManager:
@@ -240,6 +218,14 @@ class DisplayManager:
         self._update_lock = threading.RLock()
         
         # Scrolling state tracking for graceful updates
+        # How many panel refreshes each pushed frame is held for. 1 means a new
+        # frame every refresh. Higher values are how a scroll runs slower than
+        # one pixel per refresh WITHOUT fractional pixel positions: the panel
+        # keeps refreshing at full rate (so flicker is unchanged) but motion
+        # advances a whole pixel every Nth refresh instead of every one.
+        # See src/common/scroll_config.py and scripts/scroll_speeds.py.
+        self._frame_hold = 1
+
         self._scrolling_state = {
             'is_scrolling': False,
             'last_scroll_activity': 0,
@@ -293,10 +279,10 @@ class DisplayManager:
             runtime_config = self.config.get('display', {}).get('runtime', {})
             
             # Basic hardware settings
-            options.rows = hardware_config.get('rows', 32)
-            options.cols = hardware_config.get('cols', 64)
-            options.chain_length = hardware_config.get('chain_length', 2)
-            options.parallel = hardware_config.get('parallel', 1)
+            options.rows = hardware_config.get('rows', DEFAULT_ROWS)
+            options.cols = hardware_config.get('cols', DEFAULT_COLS)
+            options.chain_length = hardware_config.get('chain_length', DEFAULT_CHAIN_LENGTH)
+            options.parallel = hardware_config.get('parallel', DEFAULT_PARALLEL)
             options.hardware_mapping = hardware_config.get('hardware_mapping', 'adafruit-hat-pwm')
             
             # Performance and stability settings
@@ -369,7 +355,9 @@ class DisplayManager:
             
             # Initialize font with Press Start 2P
             try:
-                self.font = ImageFont.truetype("assets/fonts/PressStart2P-Regular.ttf", 8)
+                self.font = load_truetype(
+                    self._font_asset(self._PRESS_START),
+                    crisp_size(self._PRESS_START, 8))
                 logger.info("Initial Press Start 2P font loaded successfully")
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.error(f"Failed to load initial font: {e}")
@@ -385,13 +373,7 @@ class DisplayManager:
             # Create a fallback image for web preview using configured dimensions when available
             self.matrix = None
             try:
-                hardware_config = self.config.get('display', {}).get('hardware', {}) if self.config else {}
-                rows = int(hardware_config.get('rows', 32))
-                cols = int(hardware_config.get('cols', 64))
-                chain_length = int(hardware_config.get('chain_length', 2))
-                parallel = int(hardware_config.get('parallel', 1))
-                fallback_width = max(1, cols * chain_length)
-                fallback_height = max(1, rows * parallel)
+                fallback_width, fallback_height = physical_size(self.config)
                 # Mirror double-sided in fallback so the preview shows one screen.
                 ds_config = self.config.get('display', {}).get('double_sided', {}) if self.config else {}
                 ds = _resolve_double_sided(fallback_width, fallback_height, ds_config)
@@ -549,19 +531,43 @@ class DisplayManager:
                     pass
 
     def _fitting_font(self, lines, width):
-        """The largest font from the usual ladder that fits every line."""
+        """The largest font from the usual ladder that fits every line.
+
+        The ladder ends at 4x6 at 5px because a full dotted-quad address --
+        "255.255.255.255", the widest this screen ever shows -- is 66px at
+        6px and a 64px panel has 62 to give it. That used to squeak in only
+        because the measurement depended on which text layout engine the host
+        Pillow had; with the engine pinned it does not, so the rung the
+        worst case actually needs is here rather than implied.
+        """
+        # The middle rung is on the 7px grid; the bottom one is deliberately
+        # not. 4x6 advances the same whether it is asked for 6 or 7 -- the
+        # dotted quad is 66px at both -- so the middle rung costs no width and
+        # gains the fourth column in every glyph, which is the difference
+        # between reading an address off a wall and guessing at it. The 5 rung
+        # is the exception this screen needs: it drops the advance to 4px and
+        # the quad to 51px, the only rung that fits a 64px panel, and no
+        # on-grid size does that. It is the one place in the core that draws
+        # 4x6 off-grid on purpose.
         candidates = [self.font,
-                      ("assets/fonts/4x6-font.ttf", 6)]
+                      (self._font_asset(self._FOUR_BY_SIX),
+                       crisp_size(self._FOUR_BY_SIX, 6)),
+                      (self._font_asset(self._FOUR_BY_SIX), 5)]
+        narrowest = None
         for candidate in candidates:
             try:
                 font = candidate
                 if isinstance(candidate, tuple):
-                    font = ImageFont.truetype(candidate[0], candidate[1])
+                    font = load_truetype(candidate[0], candidate[1])
+                narrowest = font
                 if all(self.draw.textlength(t, font=font) <= width for t in lines):
                     return font
             except (OSError, ValueError, AttributeError):
                 continue
-        return self.font
+        # Nothing fit. Return the smallest face that loaded, not self.font --
+        # falling back to the widest option is how "Initializing" ran off the
+        # side of a 64px panel in the first place.
+        return narrowest or self.font
 
     def _draw_startup_banner(self, lines, width: int, height: int) -> None:
         """Centre `lines` over whatever the test pattern already drew.
@@ -771,16 +777,33 @@ class DisplayManager:
                     return  # Skip hardware write — content is being captured off-screen
 
                 digest = None
+                frame_checksum = None
                 if self._dirty_tracking_enabled:
                     try:
                         brightness = getattr(self.matrix, 'brightness', None)
                     except AttributeError:
                         brightness = None
-                    digest = (zlib.adler32(self.image.tobytes()), brightness)
-                    if digest == self._last_pushed_digest:
+                    frame_checksum = zlib.adler32(self.image.tobytes())
+                    digest = (frame_checksum, brightness)
+                    if digest == self._last_pushed_digest and not self.is_currently_scrolling():
                         # Nothing changed since the last push — the panel is
                         # already showing exactly this frame.
-                        self._write_snapshot_if_due()
+                        #
+                        # Never taken mid-scroll, and that exception is the
+                        # point. SwapOnVSync is what paces the render loop, so
+                        # skipping it also skips the wait: a duplicate frame
+                        # returns in ~8ms instead of ~10ms on a 100Hz panel,
+                        # advances only 0.8px instead of 1.0px, and so makes
+                        # the *next* frame more likely to repeat as well. That
+                        # is self-sustaining -- measured at ~20% duplicate
+                        # frames mid-scroll on the odds ticker, against
+                        # essentially zero on a lighter plugin with identical
+                        # scroll settings. Swapping an identical frame costs
+                        # one canvas copy and keeps the loop locked to the
+                        # panel; falling out of that lock costs smooth motion.
+                        # Static content is unaffected: is_currently_scrolling()
+                        # expires on its own inactivity threshold.
+                        self._write_snapshot_if_due(frame_checksum)
                         return
 
                 # Copy the current image to the offscreen canvas. In double-sided
@@ -790,8 +813,10 @@ class DisplayManager:
                 else:
                     self.offscreen_canvas.SetImage(self.image)
 
-                # Swap buffers immediately
-                self.matrix.SwapOnVSync(self.offscreen_canvas)
+                # Swap buffers immediately. framerate_fraction holds the frame
+                # for N refreshes; SwapOnVSync blocks for all of them, which is
+                # what paces the render loop to the chosen frame rate.
+                self.matrix.SwapOnVSync(self.offscreen_canvas, self._frame_hold)
 
                 # Swap our canvas references
                 self.offscreen_canvas, self.current_canvas = self.current_canvas, self.offscreen_canvas
@@ -799,7 +824,7 @@ class DisplayManager:
                 self._last_pushed_digest = digest
 
                 # Write a snapshot for the web preview (throttled)
-                self._write_snapshot_if_due()
+                self._write_snapshot_if_due(frame_checksum)
         except Exception as e:
             logger.error(f"Error updating display: {e}")
 
@@ -899,6 +924,28 @@ class DisplayManager:
         except Exception as e:
             logger.error(f"Error drawing BDF text: {e}", exc_info=True)
 
+    #: The bundled faces, and the size each is *asked* for. Every size here is
+    #: run through `crisp_size`, so a number that drifts off the face's pixel
+    #: grid is snapped rather than rendered anti-aliased -- see the note on
+    #: `extra_small_font` below.
+    _FONT_DIR = "assets/fonts"
+    _PRESS_START = "PressStart2P-Regular.ttf"
+    _FOUR_BY_SIX = "4x6-font.ttf"
+
+    @classmethod
+    def _font_asset(cls, filename: str) -> str:
+        """Install-root-relative path to a bundled face.
+
+        `_load_fonts` named these relative to the process cwd, which holds
+        under the packaged systemd unit (WorkingDirectory is the install root)
+        and nowhere else: the plugin safety harness, `python run.py` from
+        $HOME, or a unit file written without WorkingDirectory all loaded
+        nothing and fell through to `ImageFont.load_default()`. That failure is
+        silent -- the panel just renders in PIL's default face at whatever size
+        the layout was computed for.
+        """
+        return resolve_asset_path(f"{cls._FONT_DIR}/{filename}")
+
     def _load_fonts(self):
         """Load fonts with proper error handling."""
         # Font objects get new id()s after reload, so the text-width cache would
@@ -906,16 +953,17 @@ class DisplayManager:
         self._text_width_cache.clear()
         try:
             # Load Press Start 2P font
-            self.regular_font = ImageFont.truetype("assets/fonts/PressStart2P-Regular.ttf", 8)
+            press_start = self._font_asset(self._PRESS_START)
+            self.regular_font = load_truetype(press_start, crisp_size(self._PRESS_START, 8))
             logger.info("Press Start 2P font loaded successfully")
             
             # Use the same font for small text (currently same size; adjust size here if needed)
-            self.small_font = ImageFont.truetype("assets/fonts/PressStart2P-Regular.ttf", 8)
+            self.small_font = load_truetype(press_start, crisp_size(self._PRESS_START, 8))
             logger.info("Press Start 2P small font loaded successfully")
 
             # Load 5x7 BDF font for calendar events
             try:
-                self.calendar_font_path = "assets/fonts/5x7.bdf"
+                self.calendar_font_path = self._font_asset("5x7.bdf")
                 logger.info(f"Attempting to load 5x7 font from: {self.calendar_font_path}")
                 
                 if not os.path.exists(self.calendar_font_path):
@@ -923,6 +971,17 @@ class DisplayManager:
                 
                 # Load with freetype for proper BDF handling
                 face = freetype.Face(self.calendar_font_path)
+                # A freshly constructed Face has no active size, so
+                # face.size.height is 0 until set_char_size is called -- and
+                # get_font_height() reads exactly that. Without this, every
+                # caller measuring the 5x7 face got 0 and stacked rows on top
+                # of one another; the "Calendar font size: 0 pixels" line
+                # below has been printing the symptom on every start-up.
+                # font_manager._load_bdf_font already does this; the two paths
+                # disagreed about whether a Face was usable for measurement.
+                # 5x7.bdf is a fixed strike, so FreeType renders 7px whatever
+                # is asked for -- this sets the metrics, not the raster.
+                face.set_char_size(_CALENDAR_FONT_PX * 64, _CALENDAR_FONT_PX * 64, 72, 72)
                 logger.info(f"5x7 calendar font loaded successfully from {self.calendar_font_path}")
                 logger.info(f"Calendar font size: {face.size.height >> 6} pixels")
                 
@@ -939,11 +998,26 @@ class DisplayManager:
             self.bdf_5x7_font = self.calendar_font 
             logger.info(f"Assigned calendar_font (type: {type(self.bdf_5x7_font).__name__}) to bdf_5x7_font.")
 
-            # Load 4x6 font as extra_small_font
+            # Load 4x6 font as extra_small_font.
+            #
+            # Asked for 6 -- the size the face's name suggests -- for years,
+            # and 6 is off its 7px pixel grid. Plugins draw this face with
+            # `draw.fontmode = "1"`, and the mono rasteriser thresholds each
+            # glyph at 50% coverage, so off-grid every glyph came out 3px wide
+            # instead of 4. The lost column deforms the letterforms rather than
+            # merely thinning them: christmas-countdown rendered "UNTIL" as
+            # "VM1JL" and "CHRISTMAS" as "CHAJS1MAS", and zero loses the left
+            # half of its bowl. Those renders were committed as golden images.
+            #
+            # `crisp_size` snaps it to 7. The advance is unchanged -- 5px per
+            # glyph at either size -- so nothing reflows and no layout gets
+            # tighter; a string is at most a pixel or two wider because the
+            # last glyph finally occupies the width it was always given.
             try:
-                font_path = "assets/fonts/4x6-font.ttf"
-                logger.info(f"Attempting to load 4x6 TTF font from: {font_path} at size 6")
-                self.extra_small_font = ImageFont.truetype(font_path, 6)
+                font_path = self._font_asset(self._FOUR_BY_SIX)
+                size = crisp_size(self._FOUR_BY_SIX, 6)
+                logger.info(f"Attempting to load 4x6 TTF font from: {font_path} at size {size}")
+                self.extra_small_font = load_truetype(font_path, size)
                 logger.info(f"4x6 TTF extra small font loaded successfully from {font_path}")
             except Exception as font_err:
                 logger.error(f"Failed to load 4x6 TTF font: {font_err}. Falling back.")
@@ -1001,7 +1075,13 @@ class DisplayManager:
         try:
             if isinstance(font, freetype.Face):
                 # For FreeType faces (BDF), the 'height' metric gives the recommended line spacing.
-                return font.size.height >> 6
+                height = font.size.height >> 6
+                if height:
+                    return height
+                # A Face constructed without set_char_size reports 0, and a
+                # zero line height collapses every stacked row onto one line.
+                # Fall back to the strike the file declares.
+                return _bdf_native_size(font) or 8
             else:
                 # For PIL TTF fonts, getmetrics() provides ascent and descent.
                 # The line height is the sum of ascent and descent.
@@ -1280,12 +1360,65 @@ class DisplayManager:
         
         return dt.strftime(f"%b %-d{suffix}") 
 
-    def set_scrolling_state(self, is_scrolling: bool):
-        """Set the current scrolling state. Call this when a display starts/stops scrolling."""
+    @property
+    def refresh_hz(self) -> float:
+        """The panel's refresh rate in Hz, from the hardware config.
+
+        The authoritative place to ask, because a plugin only receives its own
+        config section and cannot see display.hardware. Scroll pacing needs
+        this: the speeds a panel can show in whole pixels are refresh_hz
+        divided by the frame hold, so getting it wrong silently produces
+        fractional-pixel motion. See src/common/scroll_config.py.
+
+        Note this is the configured *cap*, not necessarily what the panel
+        achieves -- scripts/scroll_speeds.py --measure reports the real rate.
+        """
+        hardware = (self.config.get('display') or {}).get('hardware') or {}
+        try:
+            value = float(hardware.get('limit_refresh_rate_hz') or 0)
+        except (TypeError, ValueError):
+            value = 0.0
+        return value if value > 0 else 100.0
+
+    def set_frame_hold(self, refreshes: int) -> None:
+        """Hold each pushed frame for this many panel refreshes (>=1).
+
+        Set by the scroll configuration so a plugin can run at, say, 50px/s on
+        a 100Hz panel as one whole pixel every second refresh, rather than half
+        a pixel every refresh (which has to be blended or repeated unevenly).
+
+        Reset to 1 whenever scrolling stops, so one plugin's pacing cannot
+        leak into the next thing on screen.
+        """
+        try:
+            value = int(refreshes)
+        except (TypeError, ValueError):
+            logger.warning("Ignoring unusable frame hold: %r", refreshes)
+            return
+        self._frame_hold = max(1, min(255, value))
+
+    def set_scrolling_state(self, is_scrolling: bool, frame_hold: int = 1):
+        """Set the current scrolling state, and this scroll's frame pacing.
+
+        Call this when a display starts or stops scrolling. ``frame_hold`` is
+        how many panel refreshes each frame is held for -- 2 gives one whole
+        pixel every second refresh, which is how a scroll runs at half the
+        refresh rate without fractional pixel positions.
+
+        The hold is set here rather than once at plugin construction because
+        it must not outlive the scroll that asked for it: plugins share one
+        display manager, so a hold left set by whoever scrolled last would
+        silently re-pace the next plugin. Passing it alongside the state makes
+        the lifetime exactly the scroll, and the default of 1 means any caller
+        that does not care gets a new frame every refresh.
+        """
         current_time = time.time()
         self._scrolling_state['is_scrolling'] = is_scrolling
         if is_scrolling:
             self._scrolling_state['last_scroll_activity'] = current_time
+            self.set_frame_hold(frame_hold)
+        else:
+            self._frame_hold = 1
         logger.debug(f"Scrolling state set to: {is_scrolling}")
 
     def is_currently_scrolling(self) -> bool:
@@ -1299,6 +1432,14 @@ class DisplayManager:
         # If we've been inactive for the threshold period, consider it not scrolling
         if current_time - self._scrolling_state['last_scroll_activity'] > self._scrolling_state['scroll_inactivity_threshold']:
             self._scrolling_state['is_scrolling'] = False
+            # Drop the hold with the state, exactly as set_scrolling_state(False)
+            # does. This path is the one a scroll takes when it ends without
+            # saying so -- the rotation moves on mid-scroll, or the plugin is
+            # torn down -- and leaving the hold set there means every later
+            # plugin, scrolling or static, is presented at refresh/N until
+            # somebody calls set_scrolling_state(False). The hold must not
+            # outlive the scroll that asked for it, however that scroll ends.
+            self._frame_hold = 1
             return False
             
         return True
@@ -1416,11 +1557,20 @@ class DisplayManager:
                 self._viewer_fresh = False
         return self._viewer_fresh
 
-    def _write_snapshot_if_due(self) -> None:
+    def _write_snapshot_if_due(self, frame_checksum: Optional[int] = None) -> None:
         """Mirror the current frame to the preview snapshot when the policy
         says it's worth it — see src/common/snapshot_policy.py. Unchanged
         frames are never re-encoded; without viewers the cadence drops to
-        the idle keepalive."""
+        the idle keepalive.
+
+        Args:
+            frame_checksum: adler32 of the current frame, when the caller has
+                already computed one. Dirty tracking checksums every frame a
+                few lines above the call site, and re-deriving it here meant a
+                second tobytes() plus a second pass over the whole framebuffer
+                on every single frame — ~0.17ms per frame of the two combined
+                at 256x64, paid 100 times a second to reach the same number.
+        """
         try:
             now = time.time()
             viewer_fresh = self._viewer_is_fresh(now)
@@ -1430,7 +1580,8 @@ class DisplayManager:
                 self._last_snapshot_ts = 0.0
             self._viewer_was_fresh = viewer_fresh
 
-            digest = zlib.adler32(self.image.tobytes())
+            digest = (frame_checksum if frame_checksum is not None
+                      else zlib.adler32(self.image.tobytes()))
             action = snapshot_policy.decide(
                 now, self._last_snapshot_ts, self._last_snapshot_touch_ts,
                 viewer_fresh, digest != self._last_snapshot_digest)
@@ -1453,12 +1604,30 @@ class DisplayManager:
                 if parent_dir and str(parent_dir) != '/tmp':  # nosec B108 - guard to skip /tmp for permission ops
                     ensure_directory_permissions(parent_dir, get_assets_dir_mode())
                 self._snapshot_dir_prepared = True
-            # Write atomically: temp then replace
-            tmp_path = f"{self._snapshot_path}.tmp"
-            self.image.save(tmp_path, format='PNG')
+            # Write atomically: temp then replace. The temp name must be
+            # unique, not "<snapshot>.tmp": /tmp is world-writable and sticky,
+            # and this file is written by whichever user the display service
+            # runs as while tests and tooling run as someone else. A leftover
+            # fixed-name temp owned by another user is then unopenable even by
+            # root (fs.protected_regular refuses O_CREAT on a foreign file in a
+            # sticky dir), which froze the preview and the health check's
+            # liveness proxy until somebody deleted it by hand. Same pattern as
+            # the hardware-status write above.
+            _fd, tmp_path = tempfile.mkstemp(
+                dir=str(snapshot_path_obj.parent),
+                prefix=f".{snapshot_path_obj.name}.", suffix=".tmp")
             try:
+                with os.fdopen(_fd, "wb") as _f:
+                    self.image.save(_f, format='PNG')
+                os.chmod(tmp_path, 0o644)
                 os.replace(tmp_path, self._snapshot_path)
             except Exception:
+                # Never leave the temp behind -- that is what made the failure
+                # permanent rather than transient.
+                try:
+                    os.unlink(tmp_path)
+                except OSError:
+                    pass
                 # Fallback to direct save if replace not supported
                 self.image.save(self._snapshot_path, format='PNG')
             # Set proper file permissions after saving

src/font_manager.py

@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import time
 from collections import OrderedDict
 from pathlib import Path
 from PIL import ImageFont
+from src.common.font_layout import load_truetype, resolve_asset_path
 from typing import Dict, Tuple, Optional, Union, Any, List
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -96,7 +97,8 @@ class FontManager:
         self.common_fonts = {
             "press_start": "assets/fonts/PressStart2P-Regular.ttf",
             "four_by_six": "assets/fonts/4x6-font.ttf",
-            "five_by_seven": "assets/fonts/5x7.bdf"
+            "five_by_seven": "assets/fonts/5x7.bdf",
+            "tom_thumb": "assets/fonts/tom-thumb.bdf"
             # Note: cozette_bdf removed - font file not available
             # To re-enable: download cozette.bdf from https://github.com/the-moonwitch/Cozette
             # and add: "cozette_bdf": "assets/fonts/cozette.bdf"
@@ -478,7 +480,7 @@ class FontManager:
                 if font_path.endswith('.bdf'):
                     font = self._load_bdf_font(font_path, size_px)
                 else:
-                    font = ImageFont.truetype(font_path, size_px)
+                    font = load_truetype(font_path, size_px)
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.error(f"Error loading font {font_path}: {e}")
                 self.performance_stats["failed_loads"] += 1
@@ -663,20 +665,14 @@ class FontManager:
     def _resolve_asset_path(relative_path: str) -> str:
         """Resolve a repo-relative asset path independently of the process cwd.
 
-        Prefers the working directory (preserving behavior when the process
-        runs from the install root), then falls back to the install root
-        derived from this module's own location. Without the fallback, any
-        process started outside the install root (e.g. the plugin safety
-        harness on CI) silently loses every font and degrades to PIL's
-        default face.
+        Thin delegate to :func:`src.common.font_layout.resolve_asset_path`,
+        which holds the one definition (``DisplayManager._load_fonts`` needs
+        the same resolution and must not import this class for it). The method
+        stays because plugins probe for it by name to share the core's notion
+        of "install root" -- see the `_resolve_font_path` helpers in the
+        scoreboard plugins.
         """
-        if os.path.exists(relative_path):
-            return relative_path
-        install_root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
-        candidate = install_root / relative_path
-        if candidate.exists():
-            return str(candidate)
-        return relative_path
+        return resolve_asset_path(relative_path)
 
     def _initialize_fonts(self):
         """Initialize font catalog and validate configuration."""
@@ -858,7 +854,7 @@ class FontManager:
                 return {"valid": True, "type": "bdf", "family": "unknown"}
             elif font_path.endswith('.ttf'):
                 # Try to load TTF font
-                ImageFont.truetype(font_path, 12)
+                load_truetype(font_path, 12)
                 return {"valid": True, "type": "ttf", "family": "unknown"}
             else:
                 return {"valid": False, "error": "Unsupported font format"}

src/logo_downloader.py

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import json
 from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
 from pathlib import Path
 from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont
+from src.common.font_layout import load_truetype
 from PIL.PngImagePlugin import PngInfo
 from requests.adapters import HTTPAdapter
 from urllib3.util.retry import Retry
@@ -747,7 +748,7 @@ class LogoDownloader:
             
             # Try to load a font, fallback to default
             try:
-                font = ImageFont.truetype("assets/fonts/PressStart2P-Regular.ttf", 12)
+                font = load_truetype("assets/fonts/PressStart2P-Regular.ttf", 12)
             except (OSError, IOError):
                 try:
                     font = ImageFont.load_default()

src/plugin_system/base_plugin.py

@@ -12,11 +12,47 @@ from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 from enum import Enum
 from typing import Dict, Any, Optional, List
 import logging
+import os
+import sys
 from src.logging_config import get_logger
 
 
 _shared_fallback_font_manager: Optional[Any] = None
 
+#: Distinguishes "not looked up yet" from "looked up and not found", so a
+#: plugin with no schema does not re-scan the disk on every frame.
+_UNSET_SCHEMA_PATH = object()
+
+
+class _NullStyleResolver:
+    """Stand-in for ElementStyleResolver when the module is unavailable.
+
+    Only reachable on a core that predates src.element_style, which
+    ``styles`` degrades to rather than raising: every lookup returns the
+    caller's classic values, which is what the plugin drew before styling
+    existed.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, config: Any) -> None:
+        self._config = config
+
+    def style(self, element_key: str, classic_font: str = None,
+              classic_size: int = 8, classic_color: Any = None,
+              mode: Optional[str] = None) -> Any:
+        from types import SimpleNamespace
+        return SimpleNamespace(
+            font=None, color=classic_color or (255, 255, 255), offset=(0, 0),
+            font_name=classic_font, font_size=classic_size,
+            user_forced=False, user_forced_color=False,
+            visible=True, align=None, scale=1.0)
+
+    def offset(self, element_key: str, mode: Optional[str] = None) -> tuple:
+        return (0, 0)
+
+    def offset_value(self, element_key: str, axis: str, default: int = 0,
+                     mode: Optional[str] = None) -> int:
+        return default
+
 
 def _fallback_font_manager() -> Any:
     """Shared FontManager for environments (unit tests, mocks) where the
@@ -63,6 +99,12 @@ class BasePlugin(ABC):
 
     API_VERSION = "1.0.0"
 
+    #: Which ``customization.modes.<mode>`` overrides :attr:`styles` applies.
+    #: A plugin with one instance per display mode (the scoreboards' live /
+    #: upcoming / recent classes) sets this and every existing style lookup
+    #: becomes mode-aware without changing a call site.
+    STYLE_MODE: Optional[str] = None
+
     def __init__(
         self,
         plugin_id: str,
@@ -260,6 +302,128 @@ class BasePlugin(ABC):
         self._layout_font_generation = generation
         return context
 
+    @property
+    def styles(self) -> Any:
+        """
+        The user's per-element styling: fonts, sizes, colours, offsets,
+        visibility, alignment and scale, resolved against this plugin's own
+        config_schema.json.
+
+        Every consumer of src.element_style used to repeat the same three
+        things -- a guarded import, finding its own schema file, and
+        rebuilding the resolver when on_config_change swapped the config
+        dict. This is those three things, once.
+
+        Ask for a style by element name, passing what the plugin drew before
+        the user could customise anything::
+
+            title = self.styles.style('title_text',
+                                      classic_font='PressStart2P-Regular.ttf',
+                                      classic_size=8,
+                                      classic_color=(255, 255, 255))
+            x, y = title.offset
+            self.display_manager.draw_text(text, x=x, y=y,
+                                           font=title.font, color=title.color)
+
+        The classic_* arguments matter: when the user has chosen nothing,
+        they come back verbatim, so a plugin that adopts this renders
+        identically until someone actually changes a setting.
+
+        A plugin whose display has modes (a scoreboard's live/upcoming/
+        recent, weather's current/hourly/daily) sets ``STYLE_MODE`` on the
+        class, and every lookup here honours the matching
+        ``customization.modes.<mode>`` overrides without any call site
+        passing a mode. Use :meth:`styles_for` for a one-off mode.
+
+        Never raises: with no schema on disk, or with the element-style
+        module unavailable, lookups fall back to the classic values.
+        """
+        resolver = getattr(self, "_style_resolver", None)
+        # The config dict is swapped wholesale by on_config_change, so
+        # identity is the invalidation signal -- the same check the sports
+        # base classes use.
+        if resolver is not None and resolver._config is self.config:
+            return resolver
+        resolver = self._build_style_resolver(getattr(self, "STYLE_MODE", None))
+        self._style_resolver = resolver
+        return resolver
+
+    def styles_for(self, mode: Optional[str]) -> Any:
+        """:attr:`styles`, bound to ``mode`` instead of ``STYLE_MODE``.
+
+        For a plugin that renders more than one mode from one instance. A
+        plugin with an instance per mode should set ``STYLE_MODE`` instead
+        and leave its call sites alone.
+        """
+        cache = getattr(self, "_style_resolvers_by_mode", None)
+        if cache is None or getattr(self, "_style_resolver_config", None) is not self.config:
+            cache = {}
+            self._style_resolvers_by_mode = cache
+            self._style_resolver_config = self.config
+        if mode not in cache:
+            cache[mode] = self._build_style_resolver(mode)
+        return cache[mode]
+
+    def _build_style_resolver(self, mode: Optional[str]) -> Any:
+        """Construct a resolver for this plugin's config and schema."""
+        try:
+            from src.element_style import (ElementStyleResolver,
+                                           defaults_from_schema_file)
+        except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - core always ships it
+            return _NullStyleResolver(self.config)
+
+        schema_path = self._config_schema_path()
+        defaults = (defaults_from_schema_file(schema_path) if schema_path
+                    else {})
+        return ElementStyleResolver(self.config, defaults, mode=mode)
+
+    def _config_schema_path(self) -> Optional[str]:
+        """This plugin's config_schema.json, or None.
+
+        Looked up from the concrete class's own module rather than from this
+        file: a plugin's subclass lives in its plugin directory, while this
+        module lives in src/plugin_system, where no plugin schema exists.
+        Falls back to the configured plugins directory, including the
+        ledmatrix- prefix form the loader accepts.
+
+        Returning None is safe, not fatal -- the resolver then has no
+        defaults to compare against, so every configured value counts as a
+        deliberate override, which is the conservative reading.
+        """
+        cached = getattr(self, "_config_schema_path_cache", _UNSET_SCHEMA_PATH)
+        if cached is not _UNSET_SCHEMA_PATH:
+            return cached
+
+        path = None
+        try:
+            for candidate in self._schema_path_candidates():
+                if candidate and os.path.isfile(candidate):
+                    path = candidate
+                    break
+        except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover - defensive
+            self.logger.debug("Could not locate config_schema.json: %s", exc)
+        self._config_schema_path_cache = path
+        return path
+
+    def _schema_path_candidates(self) -> list:
+        """Where a plugin's schema might be, best guess first."""
+        candidates = []
+
+        module = sys.modules.get(type(self).__module__)
+        module_file = getattr(module, "__file__", None)
+        if module_file:
+            candidates.append(os.path.join(
+                os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(module_file)),
+                "config_schema.json"))
+
+        plugins_dir = getattr(self.plugin_manager, "plugins_dir", None)
+        if plugins_dir:
+            for plugin_id in (self.plugin_id, f"ledmatrix-{self.plugin_id}"):
+                candidates.append(os.path.join(
+                    str(plugins_dir), os.path.basename(plugin_id),
+                    "config_schema.json"))
+        return candidates
+
     def draw_fit(self, text: str, box: Any,
                  color: tuple = (255, 255, 255),
                  ladder: Optional[Any] = None,
@@ -520,6 +684,38 @@ class BasePlugin(ABC):
         """
         return
 
+    def get_update_interval(self) -> Optional[float]:
+        """
+        How often this plugin wants update() called, right now, in seconds.
+
+        The manifest's ``update_interval`` is a single static number, which
+        cannot say "poll me every 15 seconds while a game is in progress and
+        every 15 minutes when nothing is on". Only the plugin knows which is
+        true at any moment, so override this to say so.
+
+        Return None (the default) to accept the manifest/config value.
+
+        Two constraints, both because the scheduler calls this on every tick of
+        the render loop:
+
+        - It must be cheap. Attribute reads only -- no config lookups, no I/O,
+          no locks that a fetch might be holding.
+        - It must not raise. A raising hook is ignored and the static interval
+          used, but a hook that raises every tick also logs every tick.
+
+        Values below PluginManager.MIN_DYNAMIC_UPDATE_INTERVAL are clamped up:
+        a plugin asking for 0 would otherwise busy-wait against its own API.
+
+        Example::
+
+            def get_update_interval(self):
+                # Fast while something is actually live, manifest default otherwise.
+                if any(m.live_games for m in self._live_managers):
+                    return self.config.get("live_update_interval", 15)
+                return None
+        """
+        return None
+
     def has_live_priority(self) -> bool:
         """
         Check if this plugin has live priority enabled.

src/plugin_system/plugin_executor.py

@@ -76,6 +76,13 @@ class PluginExecutor:
         thread.start()
         thread.join(timeout=timeout)
         
+        # NB: this timeout is advisory. Nothing cancels the thread -- Python
+        # has no way to -- so on expiry the operation keeps running to
+        # completion in the background and only this caller gives up waiting.
+        # A plugin that hangs permanently leaks one daemon thread per attempt.
+        # Callers that hold a resource across the call must release it from
+        # inside the wrapped callable rather than after this returns; see the
+        # _release_display_lock guard inside DisplayController.run().
         if not result_container['completed']:
             error_msg = f"{plugin_context} operation timed out after {timeout}s"
             self.logger.error(error_msg)
@@ -148,7 +155,8 @@ class PluginExecutor:
         plugin_id: str,
         force_clear: bool = False,
         display_mode: Optional[str] = None,
-        timeout: Optional[float] = None
+        timeout: Optional[float] = None,
+        accepts_display_mode: Optional[bool] = None
     ) -> bool:
         """
         Execute plugin display() method with error handling.
@@ -159,6 +167,9 @@ class PluginExecutor:
             force_clear: Whether to force clear display
             display_mode: Optional display mode parameter
             timeout: Timeout in seconds (None = use default)
+            accepts_display_mode: Whether plugin.display() takes a
+                display_mode keyword. Pass it when the caller already knows;
+                None falls back to inspecting the callable.
             
         Returns:
             True if display succeeded, False otherwise
@@ -166,10 +177,20 @@ class PluginExecutor:
         try:
             start_time = time.time()
             
-            # Check if plugin accepts display_mode parameter
+            # Does display() take a display_mode keyword? The caller usually
+            # knows and caches the answer, so prefer what it passed.
+            #
+            # Inspecting here was not merely redundant, it could never be
+            # cached: display_controller wraps the real plugin in a fresh
+            # SimpleNamespace per call, so inspect.signature() saw a new
+            # callable every time and paid ~55us on a Pi 4 to re-derive a
+            # value the caller had computed one line earlier and stored in
+            # self._plugin_accepts_display_mode.
+            if accepts_display_mode is None:
                 import inspect
-            sig = inspect.signature(plugin.display)
-            has_display_mode = 'display_mode' in sig.parameters
+                accepts_display_mode = (
+                    'display_mode' in inspect.signature(plugin.display).parameters)
+            has_display_mode = accepts_display_mode
             
             # Capture the return value from the plugin's display() method
             if has_display_mode and display_mode:

src/plugin_system/plugin_manager.py

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ API Version: 1.0.0
 """
 
 import json
+import math
 import queue
 import sys
 import time
@@ -779,15 +780,68 @@ class PluginManager:
 
         return None
 
+    def _dynamic_update_interval(self, plugin_id: str, plugin_instance: Any) -> Optional[float]:
+        """The interval a plugin asks for right now, or None if it has no view."""
+        hook = getattr(plugin_instance, 'get_update_interval', None)
+        if not callable(hook):
+            return None
+        try:
+            requested = hook()
+        except Exception as exc:  # pylint: disable=broad-except
+            self.logger.debug(
+                "get_update_interval() failed for %s, using the static interval: %s",
+                plugin_id, exc)
+            return None
+        if requested is None:
+            return None
+        if isinstance(requested, bool):
+            self.logger.debug(
+                "get_update_interval() returned a bool for %s, which is not a number",
+                plugin_id)
+            return None
+        try:
+            requested = float(requested)
+        except (TypeError, ValueError):
+            self.logger.debug(
+                "get_update_interval() returned %r for %s, which is not a number",
+                requested, plugin_id)
+            return None
+        if not math.isfinite(requested):  # NaN / +inf / -inf
+            return None
+        return max(requested, self.MIN_DYNAMIC_UPDATE_INTERVAL)
+
+    #: Floor for a plugin-requested interval. A plugin asking for 0 (or a
+    #: negative) would otherwise be re-entered on every tick of the render
+    #: loop, which is a busy-wait against whatever API it fetches.
+    MIN_DYNAMIC_UPDATE_INTERVAL = 5.0
+
     def _get_plugin_update_interval(self, plugin_id: str, plugin_instance: Any) -> Optional[float]:
         """
         Get the data-fetch interval for a plugin (seconds between update() calls).
 
-        Result is cached per plugin_id after the first lookup to avoid calling
-        config_manager.get_config() — which returns a full dict copy — on every
-        tick of the 30-fps display loop.  The cache is invalidated when a plugin
-        is loaded or unloaded.
+        A plugin may implement ``get_update_interval()`` to vary its own cadence
+        at runtime, which the static manifest value cannot express. The case
+        this exists for: a sports scoreboard needs to poll every 15s while a
+        game is in progress and every 15 minutes when nothing is on, and only
+        the plugin knows which is true right now. Returning None from the hook
+        means "no opinion", and the static resolution below applies.
+
+        The hook is called on every scheduling tick, so implementations must be
+        cheap — attribute reads, no config lookups and no I/O. A raising or
+        non-numeric hook is ignored rather than allowed to stop the plugin
+        updating, since a scheduler that propagates a plugin bug stops every
+        other plugin too.
+
+        The static result is cached per plugin_id after the first lookup to
+        avoid calling config_manager.get_config() — which returns a full dict
+        copy — on every tick of the 30-fps display loop. The cache is
+        invalidated when a plugin is loaded or unloaded. The dynamic hook is
+        deliberately *not* cached: caching it would defeat its only purpose.
         """
+        dynamic = self._dynamic_update_interval(plugin_id, plugin_instance)
+        if dynamic is not None:
+            return dynamic
+
         if plugin_id in self._update_interval_cache:
             return self._update_interval_cache[plugin_id]
 

src/plugin_system/state_reconciliation.py

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ Detects and fixes inconsistencies between:
 - State manager state
 """
 
+import json
 from typing import Dict, Any, List, Set
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from enum import Enum
@@ -55,6 +56,100 @@ class ReconciliationResult:
     message: str
 
 
+def secrets_top_level_keys(config_manager) -> Set[str]:
+    """Top-level keys load_config() merges in from the secrets file.
+
+    Deliberately fail-safe: an unreadable, absent, malformed or non-path
+    secrets location narrows this set rather than raising, because a failure
+    here must never break reconciliation.
+    """
+    try:
+        path = config_manager.get_secrets_path()
+        with open(path, 'r') as f:
+            secrets = json.load(f)
+    except (AttributeError, OSError, TypeError, ValueError):
+        return set()
+    return set(secrets) if isinstance(secrets, dict) else set()
+
+
+def ignored_config_keys(config_manager) -> Set[str]:
+    """Config keys that are not plugin ids: system keys plus secrets keys."""
+    return set(StateReconciliation._SYSTEM_CONFIG_KEYS) | secrets_top_level_keys(config_manager)
+
+
+def config_plugin_ids(config: Dict[str, Any], ignored_keys: Set[str]) -> Set[str]:
+    """Plugin ids a loaded config declares.
+
+    Shared with the web interface so a stored verdict is re-checked against the
+    same definition that produced it. ``set(config)`` is NOT equivalent: it also
+    contains system keys, the secrets-file keys load_config() merges in, and
+    non-dict values. Counting any of those as a plugin is exactly what turned a
+    'data' key in the secrets file into a phantom plugin, and using the loose
+    set to re-check findings would clear ones that are still true.
+    """
+    return {k for k, v in (config or {}).items()
+            if isinstance(v, dict) and k not in ignored_keys}
+
+
+def disk_plugin_ids(plugins_dir) -> Set[str]:
+    """Plugin ids actually installed on disk.
+
+    A directory counts only when it is not a standalone backup and its
+    manifest.json parses. A corrupt manifest must not read as installed, or a
+    live "in config but not on disk" finding gets cleared on the strength of an
+    unreadable file.
+    """
+    ids: Set[str] = set()
+    root = Path(plugins_dir)
+    try:
+        if not root.exists():
+            return ids
+        for entry in root.iterdir():
+            if not entry.is_dir() or '.standalone-backup-' in entry.name:
+                continue
+            manifest = entry / "manifest.json"
+            if not manifest.exists():
+                continue
+            try:
+                with open(manifest, 'r') as f:
+                    json.load(f)
+            except (OSError, ValueError):
+                continue
+            ids.add(entry.name)
+    except OSError:
+        return ids
+    return ids
+
+
+def still_unresolved(entries: List[Dict[str, Any]],
+                     config_keys: Set[str],
+                     installed_ids: Set[str]) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+    """Drop stored reconciliation findings that are no longer true.
+
+    The verdict is written once to a status file and served to the web UI from
+    there, and a run that fails to apply a fix also declares it "will not retry
+    automatically". Together those froze a single moment forever: a device whose
+    plugins were all present in config kept being told, for hours, that four of
+    them were missing and should be removed from config.json.
+
+    Entry kinds this cannot re-check are kept, so filtering only ever removes
+    findings that are provably stale.
+    """
+    live: List[Dict[str, Any]] = []
+    for entry in entries:
+        kind = entry.get('type')
+        plugin_id = entry.get('plugin_id')
+        if kind == InconsistencyType.PLUGIN_MISSING_IN_CONFIG.value:
+            if plugin_id not in config_keys:
+                live.append(entry)
+        elif kind == InconsistencyType.PLUGIN_MISSING_ON_DISK.value:
+            if plugin_id not in installed_ids:
+                live.append(entry)
+        else:
+            live.append(entry)
+    return live
+
+
 class StateReconciliation:
     """
     State reconciliation system.
@@ -200,16 +295,26 @@ class StateReconciliation:
         'github', 'youtube',
     })
 
+    def _secrets_top_level_keys(self) -> Set[str]:
+        """Top-level keys that load_config() merges in from the secrets file.
+
+        load_config() merges config_secrets.json into the config it returns, so
+        those keys sit alongside plugin ids. _SYSTEM_CONFIG_KEYS named them
+        individually ('github', 'youtube'), which broke the moment anything else
+        was written there: a 'data' key became a phantom plugin, permanently
+        reported as "in config but not on disk". Reading the file keeps this
+        correct no matter what it holds.
+        """
+        return secrets_top_level_keys(self.config_manager)
+
     def _get_config_state(self) -> Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]]:
         """Get plugin state from config file."""
         state = {}
         try:
             config = self.config_manager.load_config()
-            for plugin_id, plugin_config in config.items():
-                if not isinstance(plugin_config, dict):
-                    continue
-                if plugin_id in self._SYSTEM_CONFIG_KEYS:
-                    continue
+            ignored = self._SYSTEM_CONFIG_KEYS | self._secrets_top_level_keys()
+            for plugin_id in config_plugin_ids(config, ignored):
+                plugin_config = config[plugin_id]
                 state[plugin_id] = {
                     'enabled': plugin_config.get('enabled', True),
                     'version': plugin_config.get('version'),
@@ -223,25 +328,21 @@ class StateReconciliation:
         """Get plugin state from disk (installed plugins)."""
         state = {}
         try:
-            if self.plugins_dir.exists():
-                for plugin_dir in self.plugins_dir.iterdir():
-                    if plugin_dir.is_dir():
-                        plugin_id = plugin_dir.name
-                        if '.standalone-backup-' in plugin_id:
-                            continue
-                        manifest_path = plugin_dir / "manifest.json"
-                        if manifest_path.exists():
-                            import json
+            # Membership comes from the shared extractor so the web interface
+            # re-checks stored findings against this same definition; the
+            # manifest is then re-read here only for version/name.
+            for plugin_id in disk_plugin_ids(self.plugins_dir):
+                manifest_path = self.plugins_dir / plugin_id / "manifest.json"
                 try:
                     with open(manifest_path, 'r') as f:
                         manifest = json.load(f)
+                except (OSError, ValueError):  # nosec B112 - raced or corrupt; skip
+                    continue
                 state[plugin_id] = {
                     'exists_on_disk': True,
                     'version': manifest.get('version'),
                     'name': manifest.get('name')
                 }
-                            except Exception:  # nosec B110 - corrupt/unreadable manifest; skip this plugin, outer except logs
-                                pass
         except Exception as e:
             self.logger.warning(f"Error reading disk state: {e}")
         return state
@@ -367,8 +468,18 @@ class StateReconciliation:
         """Attempt to fix an inconsistency."""
         try:
             if inconsistency.inconsistency_type == InconsistencyType.PLUGIN_MISSING_IN_CONFIG:
-                # Add plugin to config with default disabled state
                 config = self.config_manager.load_config()
+                if inconsistency.plugin_id in config:
+                    # Detection said "not in config" but it is there -- the
+                    # config changed under us, or the id came from a key merged
+                    # in from elsewhere. Assigning the stub below would replace
+                    # the real entry: one reported case would have traded 4.9KB
+                    # of league settings for {'enabled': False}. Nothing to fix.
+                    self.logger.info(
+                        "Skipped: %s is already in config; not overwriting it",
+                        inconsistency.plugin_id)
+                    return True
+                # Add plugin to config with default disabled state
                 config[inconsistency.plugin_id] = {
                     'enabled': False
                 }

src/plugin_system/store_manager.py

@@ -1338,9 +1338,16 @@ class PluginStoreManager:
             self.logger.error(f"Plugin not found in registry: {plugin_id}")
             return False
 
-        # Visual skins share the registry but install to skins/, not to a
-        # plugin directory (docs/SKIN_SYSTEM.md)
+        # Visual skins share the registry. _install_skin_from_info can put one
+        # in skins/, but no current scoreboard plugin renders skins, so the
+        # store refuses them rather than installing something that does
+        # nothing (docs/SKIN_SYSTEM.md). Manual installs under skins/ and
+        # uninstall_skin are unaffected.
         if (plugin_info.get('type') or 'plugin') == 'skin':
+            from src.skin_system import SKINS_RENDER_SUPPORTED, SKINS_UNSUPPORTED_MESSAGE
+            if not SKINS_RENDER_SUPPORTED:
+                self.logger.error(f"Not installing skin {plugin_id}: {SKINS_UNSUPPORTED_MESSAGE}")
+                return False
             return self._install_skin_from_info(plugin_id, plugin_info, branch)
 
         repo_url = plugin_info.get('repo')
@@ -1589,6 +1596,7 @@ class PluginStoreManager:
             with open(manifest_path, 'r') as f:
                 manifest = json.load(f)
             
+            requested_id = plugin_id
             plugin_id = plugin_id or manifest.get('id')
             if not plugin_id:
                 return {
@@ -1664,6 +1672,15 @@ class PluginStoreManager:
             
             branch_info = f" (branch: {branch_used})" if branch_used else ""
             self.logger.info(f"Successfully installed plugin from URL: {plugin_id}{branch_info}")
+            # User deliberately (re)installed this plugin -- clear any persistent
+            # uninstall record, exactly as install_plugin() does. Without this the
+            # id stays in config/uninstalled_plugins.json and
+            # purge_uninstalled_plugins(), which runs at every web-app startup,
+            # deletes the directory again: the plugin works for the rest of the
+            # session and is gone after the next reboot.
+            self.forget_uninstalled_plugin(
+                *(pid for pid in (requested_id, plugin_id, manifest.get('id')) if pid)
+            )
             result = {
                 'success': True,
                 'plugin_id': plugin_id,
@@ -2424,6 +2441,65 @@ class PluginStoreManager:
         except (OSError, ValueError):
             pass
 
+        # Last resort: the directory name may differ from the id being looked
+        # up. install_plugin() deliberately renames a plugin's directory to the
+        # MANIFEST id when it differs from the REGISTRY id (see the rename near
+        # "doesn't match registry ID" above), so `stocks` in the registry lands
+        # in `ledmatrix-stocks/`. Every lookup above is by directory name, so
+        # update_plugin("stocks") found nothing and reported the plugin as not
+        # installed -- silently, and for good: the user sees no error and stays
+        # on a stale version. Four installed plugins hit this in practice
+        # (leaderboard, music, stocks, weather).
+        #
+        # Deliberately last so the two lookups above keep their exact meaning;
+        # this only runs when a direct hit already failed. See
+        # test_discovery_path_contract.py, which pins that ordering.
+        for search_dir in self._candidate_plugin_dirs():
+            match = self._find_by_manifest_id(search_dir, plugin_id)
+            if match is not None:
+                self.logger.debug(
+                    "Resolved plugin '%s' to %s via its manifest id "
+                    "(directory name differs from the id)", plugin_id, match)
+                return match
+
+        return None
+
+    def _candidate_plugin_dirs(self) -> List[Path]:
+        """Directories that may hold installed plugins, configured one first."""
+        dirs = [self.plugins_dir]
+        try:
+            base = self.plugins_dir if self.plugins_dir.is_absolute()                 else self.plugins_dir.resolve()
+            sibling = base.parent / 'plugins'
+            if sibling != self.plugins_dir:
+                dirs.append(sibling)
+        except (OSError, ValueError):
+            pass
+        return [d for d in dirs if d.exists()]
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _find_by_manifest_id(search_dir: Path, plugin_id: str) -> Optional[Path]:
+        """A subdirectory of `search_dir` whose manifest declares `plugin_id`.
+
+        Skips half-finished installs: store_manager renames a directory aside
+        with '.standalone-backup-' during install and rollback, and treating
+        one as installed would resurrect a ghost plugin.
+        """
+        try:
+            entries = sorted(search_dir.iterdir())
+        except (OSError, ValueError):
+            return None
+        for entry in entries:
+            if not entry.is_dir() or '.standalone-backup-' in entry.name:
+                continue
+            manifest = entry / 'manifest.json'
+            if not manifest.is_file():
+                continue
+            try:
+                with open(manifest, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as handle:
+                    if json.load(handle).get('id') == plugin_id:
+                        return entry
+            except (OSError, ValueError):
+                continue
         return None
     
     _SKIN_ID_PATTERN = re.compile(r'^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._-]{0,63}$')

src/plugin_system/testing/harness.py

@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ via BoundsCheckingDisplayManager, and golden-image comparison.
 import contextlib
 import http.client
 import inspect
+import time
+from datetime import timedelta
 import socket
 import ssl
 import urllib.error
@@ -25,7 +27,7 @@ from PIL import Image, ImageChops
 
 from src.logging_config import get_logger
 from .bounds_display_manager import BoundsCheckingDisplayManager
-from .loading import load_config_defaults, load_manifest
+from .loading import load_config_defaults, load_manifest, merge_config
 from .sizes import DEFAULT_TEST_SIZES, safe_mode_filename, size_label
 
 logger = get_logger("[Plugin Harness]")
@@ -116,11 +118,20 @@ def list_modes(plugin_instance: Any, manifest: Dict[str, Any], plugin_id: str) -
 
 def _instantiate(plugin_id: str, manifest: Dict[str, Any], plugin_dir: Path,
                  config: Dict[str, Any], mock_data: Dict[str, Any],
-                 display_manager: Any) -> Any:
-    """Load and construct a plugin instance with mocked managers."""
+                 display_manager: Any, cache_manager: Any = None) -> Any:
+    """Load and construct a plugin instance with mocked managers.
+
+    Pass ``cache_manager`` to share one cache across the renders of a plugin.
+    Building a fresh one per (size, mode) made every render a cold start, so a
+    plugin that fetches per game or per player re-fetched everything N times --
+    baseball-scoreboard took 840s for nine renders where ~72s was the arithmetic
+    -- and the cache-hit path, which is what a running rig executes almost
+    always, was never exercised.
+    """
     from src.plugin_system.plugin_loader import PluginLoader
     from src.plugin_system.testing import MockCacheManager, MockPluginManager
 
+    if cache_manager is None:
         cache_manager = MockCacheManager()
         for key, value in (mock_data or {}).items():
             cache_manager.set(key, value)
@@ -160,6 +171,107 @@ def _render_mode(plugin_instance: Any, mode: str) -> Any:
     return plugin_instance.display(force_clear=False)
 
 
+# How many extra frames to drive before believing a mode really draws nothing.
+# A scroll starts with its content off-panel, so frame 1 is legitimately blank;
+# measured across the fleet, content appears by frame 2-4 (f1-scoreboard),
+# frame 4 (ledmatrix-elections) and frame 38 at 64px (ledmatrix-leaderboard).
+EMPTY_RECHECK_FRAMES = 48
+# Seconds to advance the clock between those frames. Scroll position is usually
+# driven by elapsed time, which a frozen clock never provides.
+EMPTY_RECHECK_STEP = 0.05
+
+
+def _has_content(image) -> bool:
+    """True when any pixel is lit above the threshold."""
+    if image is None:
+        return False
+    return image.convert("L").point(
+        lambda p: 255 if p > _LIT_THRESHOLD else 0).getbbox() is not None
+
+
+def _render_mode_again(plugin_instance: Any, mode: str) -> Any:
+    """Draw one more frame WITHOUT force_clear.
+
+    _render_mode passes force_clear=True, which for a scrolling plugin means
+    "reset the scroll to the start" -- so repeating it would redraw frame 1 for
+    ever. The re-check needs the plugin to advance.
+    """
+    sig = inspect.signature(plugin_instance.display)
+    if "display_mode" in sig.parameters:
+        return plugin_instance.display(force_clear=False, display_mode=mode)
+    return plugin_instance.display(force_clear=False)
+
+
+def _settle_empty_frame(inst, mode, dm, result, freezer) -> None:
+    """Give an apparently-empty mode a few frames to draw before believing it.
+
+    One frame is not evidence: a scroll's first frame is its blank scroll-in
+    buffer. Without this, every scrolling plugin was warned about -- 60 of 76
+    warnings on a 44-plugin rig were false, which is the rate at which people
+    stop reading a warning.
+    """
+    if result.error is not None or result.display_returned is False:
+        return
+    if _has_content(result.image):
+        return
+    # The frozen clock is shared by every render in the matrix, so any time this
+    # probe borrows has to be given back -- otherwise a mode that scrolls in
+    # leaves the clock advanced and every later mode renders at the wrong
+    # instant, drifting its golden. Seen as 5 spurious f1_upcoming drifts.
+    resume_at = None
+    if freezer is not None:
+        try:
+            resume_at = freezer()
+        except (AttributeError, TypeError, ValueError):
+            # Not a freezegun factory, or a version whose factory is not
+            # callable. Only used to restore the clock, never load-bearing.
+            resume_at = None
+    try:
+        _settle_loop(inst, mode, dm, result, freezer)
+    finally:
+        if resume_at is not None:
+            try:
+                freezer.move_to(resume_at)
+            except (AttributeError, TypeError, ValueError):
+                pass
+
+
+def _settle_loop(inst, mode, dm, result, freezer) -> None:
+    tick = getattr(freezer, "tick", None) if freezer is not None else None
+    for _ in range(EMPTY_RECHECK_FRAMES):
+        if tick is not None:
+            # timedelta rather than a bare float: freezegun has accepted a
+            # number only since 1.x, and a stale pin would raise here.
+            try:
+                tick(timedelta(seconds=EMPTY_RECHECK_STEP))
+            except (AttributeError, TypeError, ValueError):
+                # Pacing is best-effort; a freezegun that will not take a
+                # timedelta just means this probe runs without advancing time.
+                pass
+        else:
+            # No frozen clock, so the real one has to do the advancing. Without
+            # this the 48 frames run in microseconds, elapsed time stays ~0, and
+            # a scroll driven by elapsed time never moves -- which is exactly
+            # the plugin this check is trying not to slander.
+            time.sleep(EMPTY_RECHECK_STEP)
+        try:
+            result.display_returned = _render_mode_again(inst, mode)
+        except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001
+            # Deliberately broad: this calls a plugin's display(), which can
+            # raise anything. Recorded rather than swallowed -- a mode that
+            # renders one good frame and then crashes on the next is broken,
+            # and returning silently here reported it as passing. The frame
+            # already captured stays on the result so the failure is still
+            # inspectable.
+            result.error = repr(e)
+            return
+        image = dm.get_image()
+        if _has_content(image):
+            result.image = image
+            result.overflow = dm.check_overflow()
+            return
+
+
 def _freeze(freeze_time: Optional[str]):
     """Context manager that freezes wall-clock time when freeze_time is given,
     so time-dependent plugins (clocks, countdowns) render deterministic goldens."""
@@ -193,7 +305,9 @@ def render_plugin_matrix(
     manifest = load_manifest(plugin_dir)
     # Start from config_schema.json defaults so the plugin behaves like a real
     # install; explicit caller config still wins over a schema default.
-    config = {"enabled": True, **load_config_defaults(plugin_dir), **(config or {})}
+    config = merge_config(
+        merge_config({"enabled": True}, load_config_defaults(plugin_dir)),
+        config or {})
     sizes = sizes or DEFAULT_TEST_SIZES
     results: List[RenderResult] = []
 
@@ -202,25 +316,35 @@ def render_plugin_matrix(
     # rendering a smaller one, instead of being clipped into a false pass.
     extent = (max(w for w, _ in sizes), max(h for _, h in sizes))
 
-    with _freeze(freeze_time):
+    # One cache for the whole matrix: see _instantiate. The display manager
+    # stays per-render (the bounds checking depends on that); only fetched data
+    # is shared.
+    from src.plugin_system.testing import MockCacheManager
+    cache_manager = MockCacheManager()
+    for key, value in (mock_data or {}).items():
+        cache_manager.set(key, value)
+
+    with _freeze(freeze_time) as freezer:
         for width, height in sizes:
             results.extend(_render_size(
                 plugin_id, manifest, plugin_dir, config, mock_data or {},
-                width, height, run_update, extent,
+                width, height, run_update, extent, cache_manager, freezer,
             ))
 
     return results
 
 
 def _render_size(plugin_id, manifest, plugin_dir, config, mock_data,
-                 width, height, run_update, extent) -> List[RenderResult]:
+                 width, height, run_update, extent,
+                 cache_manager=None, freezer=None) -> List[RenderResult]:
     """Render every mode at one size. A fresh instance per mode avoids state leaks."""
     results: List[RenderResult] = []
 
     # Discover modes once per size (instance build can depend on config).
     try:
         probe_dm = BoundsCheckingDisplayManager(width=width, height=height, overflow_extent=extent)
-        probe = _instantiate(plugin_id, manifest, plugin_dir, config, mock_data, probe_dm)
+        probe = _instantiate(plugin_id, manifest, plugin_dir, config, mock_data, probe_dm,
+                             cache_manager)
         modes = list_modes(probe, manifest, plugin_id)
     except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001 — surface any load failure as a result
         return [RenderResult(plugin_id, width, height, "<load>", error=repr(e))]
@@ -229,7 +353,8 @@ def _render_size(plugin_id, manifest, plugin_dir, config, mock_data,
         result = RenderResult(plugin_id, width, height, mode)
         dm = BoundsCheckingDisplayManager(width=width, height=height, overflow_extent=extent)
         try:
-            inst = _instantiate(plugin_id, manifest, plugin_dir, config, mock_data, dm)
+            inst = _instantiate(plugin_id, manifest, plugin_dir, config, mock_data, dm,
+                                cache_manager)
             if run_update:
                 try:
                     inst.update()
@@ -248,6 +373,9 @@ def _render_size(plugin_id, manifest, plugin_dir, config, mock_data,
                 result.display_returned = _render_mode(inst, mode)
                 result.image = dm.get_image()
                 result.overflow = dm.check_overflow()
+                # A blank first frame is not proof of a blank mode; see
+                # _settle_empty_frame.
+                _settle_empty_frame(inst, mode, dm, result, freezer)
         except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001 — a display crash is a real failure
             result.error = repr(e)
         results.append(result)

src/plugin_system/testing/loading.py

@@ -25,26 +25,70 @@ def find_plugin_dir(plugin_id: str, search_dirs: Sequence[Union[str, Path]]) ->
 
 
 def load_manifest(plugin_dir: Union[str, Path]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
-    """Load and return manifest.json from a plugin directory."""
+    """Load and return manifest.json from a plugin directory.
+
+    Read as UTF-8 explicitly, not in the platform default encoding: JSON is
+    UTF-8 by RFC 8259, but `open()` honours the locale, which is cp1252 on
+    Windows. A manifest carrying any non-ASCII byte (an em dash in a
+    description, a degree sign in a mode name) therefore raised
+    UnicodeDecodeError and aborted the whole `check_plugin.py --all` run on the
+    byte rather than failing just that plugin. The three sibling loaders below
+    read JSON from the same plugin trees and had the same bug.
+    """
     manifest_path = Path(plugin_dir) / 'manifest.json'
     if not manifest_path.exists():
         raise FileNotFoundError(f"No manifest.json in {plugin_dir}")
-    with open(manifest_path, 'r') as f:
+    with open(manifest_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
         return json.load(f)
 
 
+def _defaults_from_properties(properties: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """Defaults for one `properties` block, recursing into nested objects.
+
+    An object property carries its defaults on its children, not on itself, so
+    reading only the top level dropped everything nested. That is most of the
+    fleet: config organised by league, or under customization/display_options,
+    lost 2,386 defaults across 37 of 44 plugins -- soccer-scoreboard alone lost
+    539 of 565 -- and the harness rendered them with a config no install would
+    ever have.
+    """
+    defaults: Dict[str, Any] = {}
+    for key, prop in (properties or {}).items():
+        if not isinstance(prop, dict):
+            continue
+        if prop.get('type') == 'object' and isinstance(prop.get('properties'), dict):
+            nested = _defaults_from_properties(prop['properties'])
+            if nested:
+                defaults[key] = nested
+        elif 'default' in prop:
+            defaults[key] = prop['default']
+    return defaults
+
+
+def merge_config(base: Dict[str, Any], override: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """Deep-merge override onto base, without dropping sibling defaults.
+
+    A shallow merge would let `-c '{"nhl": {"enabled": true}}'` replace the whole
+    nhl subtree and silently discard every other nhl default -- the same class of
+    bug this function exists to fix.
+    """
+    merged = dict(base)
+    for key, value in (override or {}).items():
+        if isinstance(value, dict) and isinstance(merged.get(key), dict):
+            merged[key] = merge_config(merged[key], value)
+        else:
+            merged[key] = value
+    return merged
+
+
 def load_config_defaults(plugin_dir: Union[str, Path]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
     """Extract default values from a plugin's config_schema.json (empty if none)."""
     schema_path = Path(plugin_dir) / 'config_schema.json'
     if not schema_path.exists():
         return {}
-    with open(schema_path, 'r') as f:
+    with open(schema_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
         schema = json.load(f)
-    defaults: Dict[str, Any] = {}
-    for key, prop in schema.get('properties', {}).items():
-        if isinstance(prop, dict) and 'default' in prop:
-            defaults[key] = prop['default']
-    return defaults
+    return _defaults_from_properties(schema.get('properties', {}))
 
 
 def load_harness_spec(plugin_dir: Union[str, Path]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
@@ -71,7 +115,7 @@ def load_harness_spec(plugin_dir: Union[str, Path]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
     spec_path = Path(plugin_dir) / 'test' / 'harness.json'
     if not spec_path.exists():
         return {}
-    with open(spec_path, 'r') as f:
+    with open(spec_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
         spec = json.load(f)
 
     # Resolve mock_data path and inline its contents for convenience.
@@ -85,7 +129,7 @@ def load_harness_spec(plugin_dir: Union[str, Path]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
                 f"harness.json references mock_data '{mock_rel}' but "
                 f"{mock_path} does not exist"
             )
-        with open(mock_path, 'r') as mf:
+        with open(mock_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as mf:
             spec['mock_data_contents'] = json.load(mf)
     return spec
 

src/plugin_system/testing/visual_display_manager.py

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any, List, Optional, Tuple
 
 from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont
+from src.common.font_layout import crisp_size, load_truetype
 
 from src.logging_config import get_logger
 
@@ -140,9 +141,10 @@ class VisualTestDisplayManager:
             fonts_dir = project_root / 'assets' / 'fonts'
 
             # Press Start 2P — regular and small (both 8px)
-            ttf_path = str(fonts_dir / 'PressStart2P-Regular.ttf')
-            self.regular_font = ImageFont.truetype(ttf_path, 8)
-            self.small_font = ImageFont.truetype(ttf_path, 8)
+            press_start = 'PressStart2P-Regular.ttf'
+            ttf_path = str(fonts_dir / press_start)
+            self.regular_font = load_truetype(ttf_path, crisp_size(press_start, 8))
+            self.small_font = load_truetype(ttf_path, crisp_size(press_start, 8))
             self.font = self.regular_font  # alias used by some code paths
 
             # 5x7 BDF font via freetype
@@ -159,10 +161,15 @@ class VisualTestDisplayManager:
                 self.calendar_font = self.small_font
                 self.bdf_5x7_font = self.small_font
 
-            # 4x6 extra small TTF
+            # 4x6 extra small TTF, snapped to the face's 7px grid exactly as
+            # DisplayManager._load_fonts does. Sizing this independently is how
+            # the harness would render -- and bless goldens -- in a face the
+            # panel never uses: at the off-grid 6 this asked for, every glyph
+            # loses its fourth column under `draw.fontmode = "1"`.
             try:
-                xs_path = str(fonts_dir / '4x6-font.ttf')
-                self.extra_small_font = ImageFont.truetype(xs_path, 6)
+                four_by_six = '4x6-font.ttf'
+                xs_path = str(fonts_dir / four_by_six)
+                self.extra_small_font = load_truetype(xs_path, crisp_size(four_by_six, 6))
             except (FileNotFoundError, OSError) as e:
                 logger.debug("Extra small font not available, using fallback: %s", e)
                 self.extra_small_font = self.small_font
@@ -506,9 +513,18 @@ class VisualTestDisplayManager:
     # Scrolling state (no-op interface compat)
     # ------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-    def set_scrolling_state(self, is_scrolling: bool):
-        """Set the current scrolling state (no-op for testing)."""
+    def set_scrolling_state(self, is_scrolling: bool, frame_hold: int = 1):
+        """Set the current scrolling state (no-op for testing).
+
+        ``frame_hold`` mirrors the DisplayManager signature this change adds.
+        The two are kept in step deliberately: a double that accepts arguments
+        production does not lets a call pass every harness run and then raise
+        TypeError on the panel, and a double that lacks one production has
+        fails every render of a plugin that legitimately paces its scroll.
+        Plugins begin passing it in ledmatrix-plugins#462.
+        """
         self._scrolling_state['is_scrolling'] = is_scrolling
+        self._scrolling_state['frame_hold'] = frame_hold
         if is_scrolling:
             self._scrolling_state['last_scroll_activity'] = time.time()
 

src/skin_system/__init__.py

@@ -6,7 +6,19 @@ upcoming) while the host plugin keeps doing data fetching, scheduling,
 caching, live priority, and vegas mode. See docs/SKIN_SYSTEM.md.
 """
 
-from src.skin_system.skin_base import (
+# Skins are not offered to users yet. The only render hook is
+# SportsCore._render_game in src/base_classes/sports/core.py, and none of the
+# current scoreboard plugins (monorepo or third-party) build on
+# src.base_classes, so a selected skin never draws. The web UI and store
+# read these instead of offering install/selection; stored "skin" config
+# values still load and save. See docs/SKIN_SYSTEM.md.
+SKINS_RENDER_SUPPORTED = False
+SKINS_UNSUPPORTED_MESSAGE = (
+    "Skins aren't supported yet: the current scoreboard plugins don't render "
+    "them. Installed skins and saved skin settings are kept but have no effect."
+)
+
+from src.skin_system.skin_base import (  # noqa: E402
     SKIN_API_VERSION,
     VIEW_MODEL_VERSION,
     ScoreboardSkin,

src/startup_validator.py

@@ -81,6 +81,8 @@ class StartupValidator:
     _UNITS = (
         ("systemd/ledmatrix.service", "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix.service"),
         ("systemd/ledmatrix-web.service", "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-web.service"),
+        ("systemd/ledmatrix-update-verify.service", "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-update-verify.service"),
+        ("systemd/ledmatrix-update-verify.path", "/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-update-verify.path"),
     )
 
     def _validate_systemd_units(self) -> None:
@@ -111,17 +113,25 @@ class StartupValidator:
                 if not template.is_file() or not installed.is_file():
                     continue
 
-                # The template carries placeholders the installer substitutes,
-                # so compare the substituted form rather than the raw file.
-                expected = template.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
-                expected = expected.replace("__PROJECT_ROOT_DIR__", str(project_root))
-                expected = expected.replace("__USER__", "root")
-
                 try:
                     actual = installed.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
                 except PermissionError:
                     continue
 
+                # The template carries placeholders the installer substitutes,
+                # so compare the substituted form rather than the raw file.
+                expected = template.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+                expected = expected.replace("__PROJECT_ROOT_DIR__", str(project_root))
+                # User= is an install-time decision, not something the template
+                # dictates: the installers write whoever ran them, which on a
+                # non-root install is never "root". Substituting a fixed "root"
+                # here reported drift on every such install, permanently -- and
+                # re-running the installer, which is what the warning tells you
+                # to do, could not clear it. Taking the installed unit's own
+                # value keeps the comparison on the directives the template
+                # actually controls.
+                expected = expected.replace("__USER__", self._installed_user(actual))
+
                 if self._unit_body(expected) != self._unit_body(actual):
                     self.warnings.append(
                         f"{installed.name} differs from {template_rel}; the "
@@ -132,6 +142,19 @@ class StartupValidator:
         except OSError as e:
             self.logger.debug("Could not compare systemd units: %s", e)
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _installed_user(unit_text: str) -> str:
+        """The installed unit's ``User=``, or "root" when it does not set one.
+
+        systemd itself defaults to root for a system unit with no User=, so that
+        is the right fallback rather than an empty string.
+        """
+        for line in unit_text.splitlines():
+            stripped = line.strip()
+            if stripped.startswith("User="):
+                return stripped.split("=", 1)[1].strip()
+        return "root"
+
     @staticmethod
     def _unit_body(text: str) -> str:
         """A unit's meaningful lines, in order: no comments, no blanks.

src/web_interface/api_helpers.py

@@ -105,27 +105,3 @@ def validate_request_json(required_fields: list, data: Optional[Dict] = None) ->
         )
     
     return data, None
-
-
-def validate_request_params(required_params: list) -> Tuple[Optional[Dict], Optional[Any]]:
-    """
-    Validate request has required query parameters.
-    
-    Args:
-        required_params: List of required parameter names
-    
-    Returns:
-        Tuple of (params_dict, error_response) or (params_dict, None) if valid
-    """
-    missing_params = [param for param in required_params if param not in request.args]
-    if missing_params:
-        return None, error_response(
-            ErrorCode.INVALID_INPUT,
-            f"Missing required parameters: {', '.join(missing_params)}",
-            context={'missing_params': missing_params},
-            status_code=400
-        )
-    
-    params = {param: request.args.get(param) for param in required_params}
-    return params, None
-