fix(web): stop reporting "no update" when the update check could not run

check-update returned update_available=False whenever git failed. The banner
is the only route to the update button, so a checkout git refuses to touch
looked exactly like a current one -- permanently, with nothing on screen to
act on and only a log line recording why.

The common cause is an install performed as root. scripts/install/one-shot-install.sh
clones into ${HOME}/LEDMatrix, never consults SUDO_USER, and contains no chown
at all, while its own error text suggests running the whole thing under sudo.
The result is a root-owned checkout, and on a rig this is what every git
command in it does:

    fatal: detected dubious ownership in repository at '...'

including the fetch this endpoint runs. Verified on real hardware rather than
assumed.

A failed check now reports check_failed with a message the user can act on --
for dubious ownership, the chown that fixes it. The banner shows that message
instead of hiding itself, with the update button suppressed since updating
cannot work until the cause is fixed. The success path is untouched.

This does not fix the installer, which is the real cause; it stops the symptom
being invisible. The installer needs SUDO_USER handling and a chown, and its
suggestion to run as root should go.

Reverting the endpoint change fails four of the five new tests; the fifth
guards the success path and correctly does not move.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01STMbQE4YctTacQXfbYqKuW

src/plugin_system/plugin_manager.py

@@ -195,36 +195,18 @@ class PluginManager:
                     continue
 
                 manifest_path = item / "manifest.json"
-                if not manifest_path.exists():
-                    # A directory here that carries no manifest is not a
-                    # plugin. Said once, because the alternative is a plugin
-                    # that is enabled in config, enabled in plugin state,
-                    # present on disk, and simply absent from the running
-                    # process with nothing anywhere to say why. Working that
-                    # out afterwards means reading cache-file mtimes.
-                    self.logger.warning(
-                        "Skipping %s: no manifest.json, so it cannot be loaded "
-                        "as a plugin", item.name)
-                    continue
-                try:
-                    with open(manifest_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-                        manifest = json.load(f)
-                except (json.JSONDecodeError, PermissionError, OSError) as e:
-                    self.logger.warning("Error reading manifest from %s: %s", manifest_path, e, exc_info=True)
-                    continue
-
-                plugin_id = manifest.get('id')
-                if not plugin_id:
-                    # Parsed but unusable. This was the quietest path of all:
-                    # the manifest is read successfully and then dropped.
-                    self.logger.warning(
-                        "Skipping %s: its manifest.json has no \"id\", so there "
-                        "is nothing to register it under", item.name)
-                    continue
-
-                plugin_ids.append(plugin_id)
-                new_manifests[plugin_id] = manifest
-                new_directories[plugin_id] = item
+                if manifest_path.exists():
+                    try:
+                        with open(manifest_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+                            manifest = json.load(f)
+                            plugin_id = manifest.get('id')
+                            if plugin_id:
+                                plugin_ids.append(plugin_id)
+                                new_manifests[plugin_id] = manifest
+                                new_directories[plugin_id] = item
+                    except (json.JSONDecodeError, PermissionError, OSError) as e:
+                        self.logger.warning("Error reading manifest from %s: %s", manifest_path, e, exc_info=True)
+                        continue
         except (OSError, PermissionError) as e:
             self.logger.error("Error scanning directory %s: %s", directory, e, exc_info=True)
 

test/test_plugin_discovery_reports_skips.py

@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env python3
-"""Discovery must say when it skips a directory.
-
-A plugin can be enabled in config, enabled in plugin state, present on disk
-with a valid entry point -- and simply absent from the running process, with
-nothing in the journal to say why. Working that out afterwards meant comparing
-cache-file mtimes to find when it had last run.
-
-Two paths were silent. A directory with no manifest.json was ignored, and --
-quieter still -- a manifest that parsed but carried no "id" was read
-successfully and then dropped on the floor.
-"""
-import json
-import logging
-import sys
-from pathlib import Path
-from unittest.mock import MagicMock
-
-sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent))
-
-from src.plugin_system.plugin_manager import PluginManager  # noqa: E402
-
-
-def _manager(tmp_path):
-    pm = PluginManager.__new__(PluginManager)
-    pm.plugins_dir = tmp_path
-    pm.logger = logging.getLogger("test.discovery")
-    pm.plugin_manifests = {}
-    pm.plugin_directories = {}
-    pm._discovery_lock = __import__("threading").RLock()
-    pm.schema_manager = MagicMock()
-    return pm
-
-
-def test_a_directory_without_a_manifest_is_reported(tmp_path, caplog):
-    (tmp_path / "not-a-plugin").mkdir()
-    pm = _manager(tmp_path)
-    with caplog.at_level(logging.WARNING, logger="test.discovery"):
-        pm._scan_directory_for_plugins(tmp_path)
-    joined = " ".join(r.message for r in caplog.records)
-    assert "not-a-plugin" in joined and "manifest" in joined, (
-        f"skip was silent; log said: {joined!r}")
-
-
-def test_a_manifest_without_an_id_is_reported(tmp_path, caplog):
-    d = tmp_path / "idless"
-    d.mkdir()
-    (d / "manifest.json").write_text(json.dumps({"name": "No Id", "version": "1.0.0"}))
-    pm = _manager(tmp_path)
-    with caplog.at_level(logging.WARNING, logger="test.discovery"):
-        pm._scan_directory_for_plugins(tmp_path)
-    joined = " ".join(r.message for r in caplog.records)
-    assert "idless" in joined and "id" in joined, (
-        f"a parsed-but-unusable manifest vanished silently; log said: {joined!r}")
-
-
-def test_a_good_plugin_still_registers(tmp_path, caplog):
-    d = tmp_path / "real-plugin"
-    d.mkdir()
-    (d / "manifest.json").write_text(json.dumps(
-        {"id": "real-plugin", "name": "Real", "version": "1.0.0"}))
-    pm = _manager(tmp_path)
-    pm._scan_directory_for_plugins(tmp_path)
-    assert "real-plugin" in pm.plugin_manifests, "a valid plugin was not registered"

test/test_update_check_reports_failure.py

@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+"""A check that could not run must not be reported as "up to date".
+
+check-update returned update_available=False whenever git failed. The banner
+is the only route to the update button, so a checkout git refuses to touch
+looked exactly like a current one -- permanently, and with nothing for the
+user to act on. The usual cause is an install performed as root, after which
+every git command fails with "detected dubious ownership".
+"""
+import subprocess
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+import pytest
+from flask import Flask
+
+sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent))
+
+from web_interface.blueprints import api_v3 as mod  # noqa: E402
+from web_interface.blueprints.api_v3 import api_v3  # noqa: E402
+
+DUBIOUS = ("fatal: detected dubious ownership in repository at "
+           "'/home/pi/LEDMatrix'\nTo add an exception for this directory, call:\n"
+           "\tgit config --global --add safe.directory /home/pi/LEDMatrix\n")
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def client():
+    app = Flask(__name__)
+    app.config['TESTING'] = True
+    app.register_blueprint(api_v3, url_prefix='/api/v3')
+    mod._update_check_cache['result'] = None
+    mod._update_check_cache['ts'] = 0
+    return app.test_client()
+
+
+def _fetch_fails(stderr: bytes):
+    def fake_run(args, **kwargs):
+        if args[:2] == ['git', 'fetch']:
+            return subprocess.CompletedProcess(args, 1, stdout=b'', stderr=stderr)
+        return subprocess.CompletedProcess(args, 0, stdout='', stderr='')
+    return fake_run
+
+
+class TestFailedCheckIsNotSilence:
+    def test_dubious_ownership_is_reported_not_swallowed(self, client):
+        with patch.object(mod.subprocess, 'run', _fetch_fails(DUBIOUS.encode())):
+            data = client.get('/api/v3/system/check-update').get_json()
+        assert data['check_failed'] is True, (
+            "a git failure was reported as a successful 'no update' check")
+        assert data['update_available'] is False
+
+    def test_the_message_tells_the_user_what_to_do(self, client):
+        with patch.object(mod.subprocess, 'run', _fetch_fails(DUBIOUS.encode())):
+            data = client.get('/api/v3/system/check-update').get_json()
+        assert 'chown' in data['error'], (
+            "dubious ownership is unactionable without the fix command")
+        assert 'root' in data['error']
+
+    def test_an_ordinary_git_failure_still_surfaces(self, client):
+        with patch.object(mod.subprocess, 'run',
+                          _fetch_fails(b'fatal: some other git problem\n')):
+            data = client.get('/api/v3/system/check-update').get_json()
+        assert data['check_failed'] is True
+        assert 'some other git problem' in data['error']
+
+    def test_offline_reads_as_offline(self, client):
+        with patch.object(mod.subprocess, 'run',
+                          _fetch_fails(b'fatal: could not resolve host: github.com\n')):
+            data = client.get('/api/v3/system/check-update').get_json()
+        assert 'Could not reach GitHub' in data['error']
+
+
+class TestSuccessPathUnchanged:
+    def test_up_to_date_carries_no_failure_flag(self, client):
+        def fake_run(args, **kwargs):
+            if args[:2] == ['git', 'fetch']:
+                return subprocess.CompletedProcess(args, 0, stdout=b'', stderr=b'')
+            if args[:2] == ['git', 'rev-parse']:
+                return subprocess.CompletedProcess(args, 0, stdout='abc123\n', stderr='')
+            return subprocess.CompletedProcess(args, 0, stdout='0\n', stderr='')
+        with patch.object(mod.subprocess, 'run', fake_run):
+            data = client.get('/api/v3/system/check-update').get_json()
+        assert data['update_available'] is False
+        assert not data.get('check_failed'), "a healthy check must not look like a failure"

web_interface/blueprints/api_v3.py

@@ -1821,6 +1821,33 @@ def get_system_version():
 _update_check_cache: Dict[str, Any] = {'result': None, 'ts': 0.0}
 _UPDATE_CHECK_TTL = 300  # 5 minutes — avoids a git fetch on every page load
 
+def _update_check_failed(detail: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """A check that could not run is not the same as being up to date.
+
+    Reporting update_available=False on a git failure hides the banner, and
+    the banner is the only route to the update button -- so a checkout git
+    refuses to touch looks exactly like a current one, permanently. The most
+    common cause is an install performed as root: git then reports "dubious
+    ownership" and every command fails, including the fetch here.
+    """
+    return {'update_available': False, 'remote_sha': 'unknown',
+            'commits_behind': 0, 'check_failed': True, 'error': detail}
+
+
+def _describe_git_failure(stderr: str) -> str:
+    """Turn git's stderr into something the user can act on."""
+    text = (stderr or '').strip()
+    if 'dubious ownership' in text or 'detected dubious ownership' in text:
+        return ("This checkout is owned by a different user than the one "
+                "running the web interface, so git refuses to use it. It is "
+                "usually the result of installing as root. Fix the ownership "
+                "and the update will work: sudo chown -R $USER:$USER "
+                + str(PROJECT_ROOT))
+    if 'could not resolve host' in text.lower() or 'network is unreachable' in text.lower():
+        return "Could not reach GitHub to check for updates."
+    return "Could not check for updates: " + (text.splitlines()[0] if text else "git failed")
+
+
 @api_v3.route('/system/check-update', methods=['GET'])
 def check_for_update():
     """Check whether a newer LEDMatrix commit is available on origin/main."""
@@ -1836,12 +1863,13 @@ def check_for_update():
             capture_output=True, timeout=10, cwd=cwd,
         )
         if fetch_result.returncode != 0:
+            stderr = fetch_result.stderr.decode(errors='replace').strip()
             logger.warning("check-update: git fetch failed (rc=%d): %s",
-                           fetch_result.returncode,
-                           fetch_result.stderr.decode(errors='replace').strip())
-            _update_check_cache['result'] = _safe
+                           fetch_result.returncode, stderr)
+            failed = _update_check_failed(_describe_git_failure(stderr))
+            _update_check_cache['result'] = failed
             _update_check_cache['ts'] = now
-            return jsonify(_safe)
+            return jsonify(failed)
         local = subprocess.run(
             ['git', 'rev-parse', 'HEAD'],
             capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=5, cwd=cwd,
@@ -1869,7 +1897,8 @@ def check_for_update():
         return jsonify(result)
     except Exception as e:
         logger.warning("check-update failed: %s", e)
-        return jsonify(_safe)
+        return jsonify(_update_check_failed(
+            "Could not check for updates; see logs for details."))
 
 @api_v3.route('/system/action', methods=['POST'])
 def execute_system_action():

web_interface/templates/v3/base.html

@@ -1107,15 +1107,29 @@
         fetch('/api/v3/system/check-update')
             .then(function(r) { return r.json(); })
             .then(function(data) {
+                var banner = document.getElementById('update-banner');
+                var btn = document.getElementById('update-banner-btn');
+                if (data.check_failed) {
+                    // A check that could not run is not the same as being up
+                    // to date. Hiding the banner here made a checkout git
+                    // refuses to touch look permanently current, with no
+                    // route to the update button and nothing to act on.
+                    document.getElementById('update-banner-text').textContent =
+                        data.error || 'Could not check for updates.';
+                    if (btn) btn.style.display = 'none';
+                    banner.style.display = '';
+                    return;
+                }
+                if (btn) btn.style.display = '';
                 if (data.update_available && getDismissedSha() !== data.remote_sha) {
                     var n = data.commits_behind || 0;
                     var msg = 'A new LEDMatrix update is available';
                     if (n > 0) msg += ' (' + n + ' commit' + (n > 1 ? 's' : '') + ')';
                     document.getElementById('update-banner-text').textContent = msg;
-                    document.getElementById('update-banner').style.display = '';
+                    banner.style.display = '';
                     try { sessionStorage.setItem('update-sha', data.remote_sha); } catch(e) {}
                 } else {
-                    document.getElementById('update-banner').style.display = 'none';
+                    banner.style.display = 'none';
                 }
             })
             .catch(function() {});