fix(starlark): logging improvements and code quality fixes

Logging improvements (pages_v3.py):
- Add logging import and create module logger
- Replace print() calls with logger.warning() with "[Pages V3]" prefix
- Use logger.exception() for outer try/catch with exc_info=True
- Narrow exception handling to OSError, json.JSONDecodeError for file operations

API improvements (api_v3.py):
- Remove unnecessary f-strings (Ruff F541) from ImportError messages
- Narrow upload exception handling to ValueError, OSError, IOError
- Use logger.exception() with context for better debugging
- Remove early return in get_starlark_status() to allow standalone mode fallback
- Sanitize error messages returned to client (don't expose internal details)

Benefits:
- Better log context with consistent prefixes
- More specific exception handling prevents masking unexpected errors
- Standalone/web-service-only mode now works for status endpoint
- Stack traces preserved for debugging without exposing to clients

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

.gitignore

@@ -40,3 +40,10 @@ htmlcov/
 # See docs/MULTI_ROOT_WORKSPACE_SETUP.md for details
 plugins/*
 !plugins/.gitkeep
+
+# Binary files and backups
+bin/pixlet/
+config/backups/
+
+# Starlark apps runtime storage (installed .star files and cached renders)
+/starlark-apps/

.gitmodules

@@ -1,66 +1,3 @@
-[submodule "plugins/odds-ticker"]
-	path = plugins/odds-ticker
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-odds-ticker.git
-[submodule "plugins/clock-simple"]
-	path = plugins/clock-simple
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-clock-simple.git
-[submodule "plugins/text-display"]
-	path = plugins/text-display
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-text-display.git
 [submodule "rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master"]
 	path = rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master
 	url = https://github.com/hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix.git
-[submodule "plugins/basketball-scoreboard"]
-	path = plugins/basketball-scoreboard
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-basketball-scoreboard.git
-[submodule "plugins/soccer-scoreboard"]
-	path = plugins/soccer-scoreboard
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-soccer-scoreboard.git
-[submodule "plugins/calendar"]
-	path = plugins/calendar
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-calendar.git
-[submodule "plugins/mqtt-notifications"]
-	path = plugins/mqtt-notifications
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-mqtt-notifications.git
-[submodule "plugins/olympics-countdown"]
-	path = plugins/olympics-countdown
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-olympics-countdown.git
-[submodule "plugins/ledmatrix-stocks"]
-	path = plugins/ledmatrix-stocks
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-stocks.git
-[submodule "plugins/ledmatrix-music"]
-	path = plugins/ledmatrix-music
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-music.git
-[submodule "plugins/static-image"]
-	path = plugins/static-image
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-static-image.git
-[submodule "plugins/football-scoreboard"]
-	path = plugins/football-scoreboard
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-football-scoreboard.git
-[submodule "plugins/hockey-scoreboard"]
-	path = plugins/hockey-scoreboard
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-hockey-scoreboard.git
-[submodule "plugins/baseball-scoreboard"]
-	path = plugins/baseball-scoreboard
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-baseball-scoreboard.git
-[submodule "plugins/christmas-countdown"]
-	path = plugins/christmas-countdown
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-christmas-countdown.git
-[submodule "plugins/ledmatrix-flights"]
-	path = plugins/ledmatrix-flights
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-flights.git
-[submodule "plugins/ledmatrix-leaderboard"]
-	path = plugins/ledmatrix-leaderboard
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-leaderboard.git
-[submodule "plugins/ledmatrix-weather"]
-	path = plugins/ledmatrix-weather
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-weather.git
-[submodule "plugins/ledmatrix-news"]
-	path = plugins/ledmatrix-news
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-news.git
-[submodule "plugins/ledmatrix-of-the-day"]
-	path = plugins/ledmatrix-of-the-day
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-of-the-day.git
-[submodule "plugins/youtube-stats"]
-	path = plugins/youtube-stats
-	url = https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-youtube-stats.git

.pre-commit-config.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+# Pre-commit hooks for LEDMatrix
+# Install: pip install pre-commit && pre-commit install
+# Run manually: pre-commit run --all-files
+
+repos:
+  - repo: https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit-hooks
+    rev: v4.5.0
+    hooks:
+      - id: trailing-whitespace
+      - id: end-of-file-fixer
+      - id: check-yaml
+      - id: check-json
+      - id: check-added-large-files
+        args: ['--maxkb=1000']
+      - id: check-merge-conflict
+
+  - repo: https://github.com/PyCQA/flake8
+    rev: 7.0.0
+    hooks:
+      - id: flake8
+        args: ['--select=E9,F63,F7,F82,B', '--ignore=E501']
+        additional_dependencies: [flake8-bugbear]
+
+  - repo: local
+    hooks:
+      - id: no-bare-except
+        name: Check for bare except clauses
+        entry: bash -c 'if grep -rn "except:\s*pass" src/; then echo "Found bare except:pass - please handle exceptions properly"; exit 1; fi'
+        language: system
+        types: [python]
+        pass_filenames: false
+
+      - id: no-hardcoded-paths
+        name: Check for hardcoded user paths
+        entry: bash -c 'if grep -rn "/home/chuck/" src/; then echo "Found hardcoded user paths - please use relative paths or config"; exit 1; fi'
+        language: system
+        types: [python]
+        pass_filenames: false
+
+  - repo: https://github.com/pre-commit/mirrors-mypy
+    rev: v1.8.0
+    hooks:
+      - id: mypy
+        additional_dependencies: [types-requests, types-pytz]
+        args: [--ignore-missing-imports, --no-error-summary]
+        pass_filenames: false
+        files: ^src/

CLAUDE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+# LEDMatrix
+
+## Project Structure
+- `src/plugin_system/` — Plugin loader, manager, store manager, base plugin class
+- `web_interface/` — Flask web UI (blueprints, templates, static JS)
+- `config/config.json` — User plugin configuration (persists across plugin reinstalls)
+- `plugins/` — Installed plugins directory (gitignored)
+- `plugin-repos/` — Development symlinks to monorepo plugin dirs
+
+## Plugin System
+- Plugins inherit from `BasePlugin` in `src/plugin_system/base_plugin.py`
+- Required abstract methods: `update()`, `display(force_clear=False)`
+- 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`
+
+## Plugin Store Architecture
+- Official plugins live in the `ledmatrix-plugins` monorepo (not individual repos)
+- Plugin repo naming convention: `ledmatrix-<plugin-id>` (e.g., `ledmatrix-football-scoreboard`)
+- `plugins.json` registry at `https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-plugins/main/plugins.json`
+- Store manager (`src/plugin_system/store_manager.py`) handles install/update/uninstall
+- Monorepo plugins are installed via ZIP extraction (no `.git` directory)
+- Update detection for monorepo plugins uses version comparison (manifest version vs registry latest_version)
+- 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`
+
+## Common Pitfalls
+- paho-mqtt 2.x needs `callback_api_version=mqtt.CallbackAPIVersion.VERSION1` for v1 compat
+- BasePlugin uses `get_logger()` from `src.logging_config`, not standard `logging.getLogger()`
+- When modifying a plugin in the monorepo, you MUST bump `version` in its `manifest.json` and run `python update_registry.py` — otherwise users won't receive the update

LEDMatrix.code-workspace

@@ -4,89 +4,9 @@
 			"path": ".",
 			"name": "LEDMatrix (Main)"
 		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-odds-ticker",
-			"name": "Odds Ticker"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-clock-simple",
-			"name": "Clock Simple"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-text-display",
-			"name": "Text Display"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-basketball-scoreboard",
-			"name": "Basketball Scoreboard"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-soccer-scoreboard",
-			"name": "Soccer Scoreboard"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-calendar",
-			"name": "Calendar"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-olympics-countdown",
-			"name": "Olympics Countdown"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-stocks",
-			"name": "Stocks"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-music",
-			"name": "Music"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-static-image",
-			"name": "Static Image"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-football-scoreboard",
-			"name": "Football Scoreboard"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-hockey-scoreboard",
-			"name": "Hockey Scoreboard"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-baseball-scoreboard",
-			"name": "Baseball Scoreboard"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-christmas-countdown",
-			"name": "Christmas Countdown"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-flights",
-			"name": "Flights"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-leaderboard",
-			"name": "Leaderboard"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-weather",
-			"name": "Weather"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-news",
-			"name": "News"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-of-the-day",
-			"name": "Of The Day"
-		},
-		{
-			"path": "../ledmatrix-youtube-stats",
-			"name": "YouTube Stats"
-		},
 		{
 			"path": "../ledmatrix-plugins",
-			"name": "Plugin Registry"
+			"name": "Plugins (Monorepo)"
 		}
 	],
 	"settings": {

README.md

@@ -14,8 +14,12 @@ I'm very new to all of this and am *heavily* relying on AI development tools to
 I'm trying to be open to constructive criticism and support, as long as it's a realistic ask and aligns with my priorities on this project. If you have ideas for improvements, find bugs, or want to add features to the base project, please don't hesitate to reach out on Discord or submit a pull request. Similarly, if you want to develop a plugin of your own, please do so! I'd love to see what you create.
 
 
+### Installing the LEDMatrix project on a pi video:
+[![Installing LEDMatrix on a Pi](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bkT0f1tZI0Y/hqdefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkT0f1tZI0Y)
+
 ### Setup video and feature walkthrough on Youtube (Outdated but still useful) : 
-[![IMAGE ALT TEXT HERE](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_HaqfJy1Y54/0.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HaqfJy1Y54)
+[![Outdated Video about the project](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_HaqfJy1Y54/hqdefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HaqfJy1Y54)
+
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ### Connect with ChuckBuilds
@@ -23,7 +27,7 @@ I'm trying to be open to constructive criticism and support, as long as it's a r
 - Show support on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChuckBuilds
 - Check out the write-up on my website: https://www.chuck-builds.com/led-matrix/
 - Stay in touch on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ChuckBuilds/
-- Want to chat? Reach out on the ChuckBuilds Discord: https://discord.com/invite/uW36dVAtcT
+- Want to chat? Reach out on the LEDMatrix Discord: [https://discord.com/invite/uW36dVAtcT](https://discord.gg/dfFwsasa6W)
 - Feeling Generous? Consider sponsoring this project or sending a donation (these AI credits aren't cheap!)          
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

assets/fonts/AUTHORS

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+The identity of the designer(s) of the original ASCII repertoire and
+the later Latin-1 extension of the misc-fixed BDF fonts appears to
+have been lost in history. (It is likely that many of these 7-bit
+ASCII fonts were created in the early or mid 1980s as part of MIT's
+Project Athena, or at its industrial partner, DEC.)
+
+In 1997, Markus Kuhn at the University of Cambridge Computer
+Laboratory initiated and headed a project to extend the misc-fixed BDF
+fonts to as large a subset of Unicode/ISO 10646 as is feasible for
+each of the available font sizes, as part of a wider effort to
+encourage users of POSIX systems to migrate from ISO 8859 to UTF-8.
+
+Robert Brady <rwb197@ecs.soton.ac.uk> and Birger Langkjer
+<birger.langkjer@image.dk> contributed thousands of glyphs and made
+very substantial contributions and improvements on almost all fonts.
+Constantine Stathopoulos <cstath@irismedia.gr> contributed all the
+Greek characters. Markus Kuhn <http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/> did
+most 6x13 glyphs and the italic fonts and provided many more glyphs,
+coordination, and quality assurance for the other fonts. Mark Leisher
+<mleisher@crl.nmsu.edu> contributed to 6x13 Armenian, Georgian, the
+first version of Latin Extended Block A and some Cyrillic. Serge V.
+Vakulenko <vak@crox.net.kiae.su> donated the original Cyrillic glyphs
+from his 6x13 ISO 8859-5 font. Nozomi Ytow <nozomi@biol.tsukuba.ac.jp>
+contributed 6x13 halfwidth Katakana. Henning Brunzel
+<hbrunzel@meta-systems.de> contributed glyphs to 10x20.bdf. Theppitak
+Karoonboonyanan <thep@linux.thai.net> contributed Thai for 7x13,
+7x13B, 7x13O, 7x14, 7x14B, 8x13, 8x13B, 8x13O, 9x15, 9x15B, and 10x20.
+Karl Koehler <koehler@or.uni-bonn.de> contributed Arabic to 9x15,
+9x15B, and 10x20 and Roozbeh Pournader <roozbeh@sharif.ac.ir> and
+Behdad Esfahbod revised and extended Arabic in 10x20. Raphael Finkel
+<raphael@cs.uky.edu> revised Hebrew/Yiddish in 10x20. Jungshik Shin
+<jshin@pantheon.yale.edu> prepared 18x18ko.bdf. Won-kyu Park
+<wkpark@chem.skku.ac.kr> prepared the Hangul glyphs used in 12x13ja.
+Janne V. Kujala <jvk@iki.fi> contributed 4x6. Daniel Yacob
+<perl@geez.org> revised some Ethiopic glyphs. Ted Zlatanov
+<tzz@lifelogs.com> did some 7x14. Mikael Öhman <micketeer@gmail.com>
+worked on 6x12.
+
+The fonts are still maintained by Markus Kuhn and the original
+distribution can be found at:
+
+  http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/ucs-fonts.html

assets/fonts/README

@@ -0,0 +1,369 @@
+
+Unicode versions of the X11 "misc-fixed-*" fonts
+------------------------------------------------
+
+Markus Kuhn <http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/> -- 2008-04-21
+
+
+This package contains the X Window System bitmap fonts
+
+   -Misc-Fixed-*-*-*--*-*-*-*-C-*-ISO10646-1
+
+These are Unicode (ISO 10646-1) extensions of the classic ISO 8859-1
+X11 terminal fonts that are widely used with many X11 applications
+such as xterm, emacs, etc.
+
+COVERAGE
+--------
+
+None of these fonts covers Unicode completely. Complete coverage
+simply would not make much sense here. Unicode 5.1 contains over
+100000 characters, and the large majority of them are
+Chinese/Japanese/Korean Han ideographs (~70000) and Korean Hangul
+Syllables (~11000) that cannot adequately be displayed in the small
+pixel sizes of the fixed fonts. Similarly, Arabic characters are
+difficult to fit nicely together with European characters into the
+fixed character cells and X11 lacks the ligature substitution
+mechanisms required for using Indic scripts.
+
+Therefore these fonts primarily attempt to cover Unicode subsets that
+fit together with European scripts. This includes the Latin, Greek,
+Cyrillic, Armenian, Georgian, and Hebrew scripts, plus a lot of
+linguistic, technical and mathematical symbols. Some of the fixed
+fonts now also cover Arabic, Thai, Ethiopian, halfwidth Katakana, and
+some other non-European scripts.
+
+We have defined 3 different target character repertoires (ISO 10646-1
+subsets) that the various fonts were checked against for minimal
+guaranteed coverage:
+
+  TARGET1    617 characters
+             Covers all characters of ISO 8859 part 1-5,7-10,13-16,
+             CEN MES-1, ISO 6937, Microsoft CP1251/CP1252, DEC VT100
+             graphics symbols, and the replacement and default
+             character. It is intended for small bold, italic, and
+             proportional fonts, for which adding block graphics
+             characters would make little sense. This repertoire
+             covers the following ISO 10646-1:2000 collections
+             completely: 1-3, 8, 12.
+
+  TARGET2    886 characters
+             Adds to TARGET1 the characters of the Adobe/Microsoft
+             Windows Glyph List 4 (WGL4), plus a selected set of
+             mathematical characters (covering most of ISO 31-11
+             high-school level math symbols) and some combining
+             characters. It is intended to be covered by all normal
+             "fixed" fonts and covers all European IBM, Microsoft, and
+             Macintosh character sets. This repertoire covers the
+             following ISO 10646-1:2000 (including Amd 1:2002)
+             collections completely: 1-3, 8, 12, 33, 45.
+
+  TARGET3    3282 characters
+
+             Adds to TARGET2 all characters of all European scripts
+             (Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Armenian, Georgian), all
+             phonetic alphabet symbols, many mathematical symbols
+             (including all those available in LaTeX), all typographic
+             punctuation, all box-drawing characters, control code
+             pictures, graphical shapes and some more that you would
+             expect in a very comprehensive Unicode 4.0 font for
+             European users. It is intended for some of the more
+             useful and more widely used normal "fixed" fonts. This
+             repertoire is, with two exceptions, a superset of all
+             graphical characters in CEN MES-3A and covers the
+             following ISO 10646-1:2000 (including Amd 1:2002)
+             collections completely: 1-12, 27, 30-31, 32 (only
+             graphical characters), 33-42, 44-47, 63, 65, 70 (only
+             graphical characters).
+
+             [The two MES-3A characters deliberately omitted are the
+             angle bracket characters U+2329 and U+232A. ISO and CEN
+             appears to have included these into collection 40 and
+             MES-3A by accident, because there they are the only
+             characters in the Unicode EastAsianWidth "wide" class.]
+
+CURRENT STATUS:
+
+   6x13.bdf 8x13.bdf 9x15.bdf 9x18.bdf 10x20.bdf:
+
+     Complete (TARGET3 reached and checked)
+
+   5x7.bdf 5x8.bdf 6x9.bdf 6x10.bdf 6x12.bdf 7x13.bdf 7x14.bdf clR6x12.bdf:
+
+     Complete (TARGET2 reached and checked)
+
+   6x13B.bdf 7x13B.bdf 7x14B.bdf 8x13B.bdf 9x15B.bdf 9x18B.bdf:
+
+     Complete (TARGET1 reached and checked)
+
+   6x13O.bdf 7x13O.bdf 8x13O.bdf
+
+     Complete (TARGET1 minus Hebrew and block graphics)
+
+[None of the above fonts contains any character that has in Unicode
+the East Asian Width Property "W" or "F" assigned. This way, the
+desired combination of "half-width" and "full-width" glyphs can be
+achieved easily. Most font mechanisms display a character that is not
+covered in a font by using a glyph from another font that appears
+later in a priority list, which can be arranged to be a "full-width"
+font.]
+
+The supplement package
+
+  http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/download/ucs-fonts-asian.tar.gz
+
+contains the following additional square fonts with Han characters for
+East Asian users:
+
+   12x13ja.bdf:
+
+     Covers TARGET2, JIS X 0208, Hangul, and a few more. This font is
+     primarily intended to provide Japanese full-width Hiragana,
+     Katakana, and Kanji for applications that take the remaining
+     ("halfwidth") characters from 6x13.bdf. The Greek lowercase
+     characters in it are still a bit ugly and will need some work.
+
+  18x18ja.bdf:
+
+     Covers all JIS X 0208, JIS X 0212, GB 2312-80, KS X 1001:1992,
+     ISO 8859-1,2,3,4,5,7,9,10,15, CP437, CP850 and CP1252 characters,
+     plus a few more, where priority was given to Japanese han style
+     variants. This font should have everything needed to cover the
+     full ISO-2022-JP-2 (RFC 1554) repertoire. This font is primarily
+     intended to provide Japanese full-width Hiragana, Katakana, and
+     Kanji for applications that take the remaining ("halfwidth")
+     characters from 9x18.bdf.
+
+  18x18ko.bdf:
+
+     Covers the same repertoire as 18x18ja plus full coverage of all
+     Hangul syllables and priority was given to Hanja glyphs in the
+     unified CJK area as they are used for writing Korean.
+
+The 9x18 and 6x12 fonts are recommended for use with overstriking
+combining characters.
+
+Bug reports, suggestions for improvement, and especially contributed
+extensions are very welcome!
+
+INSTALLATION
+------------
+
+You install the fonts under Unix roughly like this (details depending
+on your system of course):
+
+System-wide installation (root access required):
+
+  cd submission/
+  make
+  su
+  mv -b *.pcf.gz /usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc/
+  cd /usr/lib/X11/fonts/misc/
+  mkfontdir
+  xset fp rehash
+
+Alternative: Installation in your private user directory:
+
+  cd submission/
+  make
+  mkdir -p ~/local/lib/X11/fonts/
+  mv *.pcf.gz ~/local/lib/X11/fonts/
+  cd ~/local/lib/X11/fonts/
+  mkfontdir
+  xset +fp ~/local/lib/X11/fonts   (put this last line also in ~/.xinitrc)
+
+Now you can have a look at say the 6x13 font with the command
+
+  xfd -fn '-misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-120-75-75-c-60-iso10646-1'
+
+If you want to have short names for the Unicode fonts, you can also
+append the fonts.alias file to that in the directory where you install
+the fonts, call "mkfontdir" and "xset fp rehash" again, and then you
+can also write
+
+  xfd -fn 6x13U
+
+Note: If you use an old version of xfontsel, you might notice that it
+treats every font that contains characters >0x00ff as a Japanese JIS
+font and therefore selects inappropriate sample characters for display
+of ISO 10646-1 fonts. An updated xfontsel version with this bug fixed
+comes with XFree86 4.0 / X11R6.8 or newer.
+
+If you use the Exceed X server on Microsoft Windows, then you will
+have to convert the BDF files into Microsoft FON files using the
+"Compile Fonts" function of Exceed xconfig. See the file exceed.txt
+for more information.
+
+There is one significant efficiency problem that X11R6 has with the
+sparsely populated ISO10646-1 fonts. X11 transmits and allocates 12
+bytes with the XFontStruct data structure for the difference between
+the lowest and the highest code value found in a font, no matter
+whether the code positions in between are used for characters or not.
+Even a tiny font that contains only two glyphs at positions 0x0000 and
+0xfffd causes 12 bytes * 65534 codes = 786 kbytes to be requested and
+stored by the client. Since all the ISO10646-1 BDF files provided in
+this package contain characters in the U+00xx (ASCII) and U+ffxx
+(ligatures, etc.) range, all of them would result in 786 kbyte large
+XCharStruct arrays in the per_char array of the corresponding
+XFontStruct (even for CharCell fonts!) when loaded by an X client.
+Until this problem is fixed by extending the X11 font protocol and
+implementation, non-CJK ISO10646-1 fonts that lack the (anyway not
+very interesting) characters above U+31FF seem to be the best
+compromise. The bdftruncate.pl program in this package can be used to
+deactivate any glyphs above a threshold code value in BDF files. This
+way, we get relatively memory-economic ISO10646-1 fonts that cause
+"only" 150 kbyte large XCharStruct arrays to be allocated. The
+deactivated glyphs are still present in the BDF files, but with an
+encoding value of -1 that causes them to be ignored.
+
+The ISO10646-1 fonts can not only be used directly by Unicode aware
+software, they can also be used to create any 8-bit font. The
+ucs2any.pl Perl script converts a ISO10646-1 BDF font into a BDF font
+file with some different encoding. For instance the command
+
+  perl ucs2any.pl 6x13.bdf MAPPINGS/8859-7.TXT ISO8859-7
+
+will generate the file 6x13-ISO8859-7.bdf according to the 8859-7.TXT
+Latin/Greek mapping table, which available from
+<ftp://ftp.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/>. [The shell script
+./map_fonts automatically generates a subdirectory derived-fonts/ with
+many *.bdf and *.pcf.gz 8-bit versions of all the
+-misc-fixed-*-iso10646-1 fonts.]
+
+When you do a "make" in the submission/ subdirectory as suggested in
+the installation instructions above, this will generate exactly the
+set of fonts that have been submitted to the XFree86 project for
+inclusion into XFree86 4.0. These consists of all the ISO10646-1 fonts
+processed with "bdftruncate.pl U+3200" plus a selected set of derived
+8-bit fonts generated with ucs2any.pl.
+
+Every font comes with a *.repertoire-utf8 file that lists all the
+characters in this font.
+
+
+CONTRIBUTING
+------------
+
+If you want to help me in extending or improving the fonts, or if you
+want to start your own ISO 10646-1 font project, you will have to edit
+BDF font files. This is most comfortably done with the gbdfed font
+editor (version 1.3 or higher), which is available from
+
+    http://crl.nmsu.edu/~mleisher/gbdfed.html
+
+Once you are familiar with gbdfed, you will notice that it is no
+problem to design up to 100 nice characters per hour (even more if
+only placing accents is involved).
+
+Information about other X11 font tools and Unicode fonts for X11 in
+general can be found on
+
+    http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/ucs-fonts.html
+
+The latest version of this package is available from
+
+    http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/download/ucs-fonts.tar.gz
+
+If you want to contribute, then get the very latest version of this
+package, check which glyphs are still missing or inappropriate for
+your needs, and send me whatever you had the time to add and fix. Just
+email me the extended BDF-files back, or even better, send me a patch
+file of what you changed. The best way of preparing a patch file is
+
+  ./touch_id newfile.bdf
+  diff -d -u -F STARTCHAR oldfile.bdf newfile.bdf >file.diff
+
+which ensures that the patch file preserves information about which
+exact version you worked on and what character each "hunk" changes.
+
+I will try to update this packet on a daily basis. By sending me
+extensions to these fonts, you agree that the resulting improved font
+files will remain in the public domain for everyone's free use. Always
+make sure to load the very latest version of the package immediately
+before your start, and send me your results as soon as you are done,
+in order to avoid revision overlaps with other contributors.
+
+Please try to be careful with the glyphs you generate:
+
+  - Always look first at existing similar characters in order to
+    preserve a consistent look and feel for the entire font and
+    within the font family. For block graphics characters and geometric
+    symbols, take care of correct alignment.
+
+  - Read issues.txt, which contains some design hints for certain
+    characters.
+
+  - All characters of CharCell (C) fonts must strictly fit into
+    the pixel matrix and absolutely no out-of-box ink is allowed.
+
+  - The character cells will be displayed directly next to each other,
+    without any additional pixels in between. Therefore, always make
+    sure that at least the rightmost pixel column remains white, as
+    otherwise letters will stick together, except of course for
+    characters -- like Arabic or block graphics -- that are supposed to
+    stick together.
+
+  - Place accents as low as possible on the Latin characters.
+
+  - Try to keep the shape of accents consistent among each other and
+    with the combining characters in the U+03xx range.
+
+  - Use gbdfed only to edit the BDF file directly and do not import
+    the font that you want to edit from the X server. Use gbdfed 1.3
+    or higher.
+
+  - The glyph names should be the Adobe names for Unicode characters
+    defined at
+
+      http://www.adobe.com/devnet/opentype/archives/glyph.html
+
+    which gbdfed can set automatically. To make the Edit/Rename Glyphs/
+    Adobe Names function work, you have to download the file
+
+      http://www.adobe.com/devnet/opentype/archives/glyphlist.txt
+
+    and configure its location either in Edit/Preferences/Editing Options/
+    Adobe Glyph List, or as "adobe_name_file" in "~/.gbdfed".
+
+  - Be careful to not change the FONTBOUNDINGBOX box accidentally in
+    a patch.
+
+You should have a copy of the ISO 10646 standard
+
+  ISO/IEC 10646:2003, Information technology -- Universal
+  Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set (UCS),
+  International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, 2003.
+  http://standards.iso.org/ittf/PubliclyAvailableStandards/
+
+and/or the Unicode 5.0 book:
+
+  The Unicode Consortium: The Unicode Standard, Version 5.0,
+  Reading, MA, Addison-Wesley, 2006,
+  ISBN 9780321480910.
+  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321480910/mgk25
+
+All these fonts are from time to time resubmitted to the X.Org
+project, XFree86 (they have been in there since XFree86 4.0), and to
+other X server developers for inclusion into their normal X11
+distributions.
+
+Starting with XFree86 4.0, xterm has included UTF-8 support. This
+version is also available from
+
+  http://dickey.his.com/xterm/xterm.html
+
+Please make the developer of your favourite software aware of the
+UTF-8 definition in RFC 2279 and of the existence of this font
+collection. For more information on how to use UTF-8, please check out
+
+  http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/unicode.html
+  ftp://ftp.ilog.fr/pub/Users/haible/utf8/Unicode-HOWTO.html
+
+where you will also find information on joining the
+linux-utf8@nl.linux.org mailing list.
+
+A number of UTF-8 example text files can be found in the examples/
+subdirectory or on 
+
+  http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/ucs/examples/
+

assets/fonts/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+## Provided fonts
+These are BDF fonts, a simple bitmap font-format that can be created
+by many font tools. Given that these are bitmap fonts, they will look good on
+very low resolution screens such as the LED displays.
+
+Fonts in this directory (except tom-thumb.bdf) are public domain (see the [README](./README)) and
+help you to get started with the font support in the API or the `text-util`
+from the utils/ directory.
+
+Tom-Thumb.bdf is included in this directory under [MIT license](http://vt100.tarunz.org/LICENSE). Tom-thumb.bdf was created by [@robey](http://twitter.com/robey) and originally published at https://robey.lag.net/2010/01/23/tiny-monospace-font.html
+
+The texgyre-27.bdf font was created using the [otf2bdf] tool from the TeX Gyre font.
+```bash
+otf2bdf -v -o texgyre-27.bdf -r 72 -p 27 texgyreadventor-regular.otf
+```
+
+## Create your own
+
+Fonts are in a human-readable and editable `*.bdf` format, but unless you
+like reading and writing pixels in hex, generating them is probably easier :)
+
+You can use any font-editor to generate a BDF font or use the conversion
+tool [otf2bdf] to create one from some other font format.
+
+Here is an example how you could create a 30-pixel high BDF font from some
+TrueType font:
+
+```bash
+otf2bdf -v -o myfont.bdf -r 72 -p 30 /path/to/font-Bold.ttf
+```
+
+## Getting otf2bdf
+
+Installing the tool should be fairly straightforward.
+
+```bash
+sudo apt-get install otf2bdf
+```
+
+## Compiling otf2bdf
+
+If you like to compile otf2bdf, you might notice that the configure script
+uses some old way of getting the freetype configuration. There does not seem
+to be much activity on the mature code, so let's patch that first:
+
+```bash
+sudo apt-get install -y libfreetype6-dev pkg-config autoconf
+git clone https://github.com/jirutka/otf2bdf.git   # check it out
+cd otf2bdf
+patch -p1 <<"EOF"
+--- a/configure.in
++++ b/configure.in
+@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ AC_INIT(otf2bdf.c)
+ AC_PROG_CC
+
+ OLDLIBS=$LIBS
+-LIBS="$LIBS `freetype-config --libs`"
+-CPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS `freetype-config --cflags`"
++LIBS="$LIBS `pkg-config freetype2 --libs`"
++CPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS `pkg-config freetype2 --cflags`"
+ AC_CHECK_LIB(freetype, FT_Init_FreeType, LIBS="$LIBS -lfreetype",[
+              AC_MSG_ERROR([Can't find Freetype library! Compile FreeType first.])])
+ AC_SUBST(LIBS)
+EOF
+
+autoconf       # rebuild configure script
+./configure    # run configure
+make           # build the software
+sudo make install   # install it
+```
+
+[otf2bdf]: https://github.com/jirutka/otf2bdf

config/config.template.json

@@ -43,6 +43,50 @@
             }
         }
     },
+    "dim_schedule": {
+        "enabled": false,
+        "dim_brightness": 30,
+        "mode": "global",
+        "start_time": "20:00",
+        "end_time": "07:00",
+        "days": {
+            "monday": {
+                "enabled": true,
+                "start_time": "20:00",
+                "end_time": "07:00"
+            },
+            "tuesday": {
+                "enabled": true,
+                "start_time": "20:00",
+                "end_time": "07:00"
+            },
+            "wednesday": {
+                "enabled": true,
+                "start_time": "20:00",
+                "end_time": "07:00"
+            },
+            "thursday": {
+                "enabled": true,
+                "start_time": "20:00",
+                "end_time": "07:00"
+            },
+            "friday": {
+                "enabled": true,
+                "start_time": "20:00",
+                "end_time": "07:00"
+            },
+            "saturday": {
+                "enabled": true,
+                "start_time": "20:00",
+                "end_time": "07:00"
+            },
+            "sunday": {
+                "enabled": true,
+                "start_time": "20:00",
+                "end_time": "07:00"
+            }
+        }
+    },
     "timezone": "America/Chicago",
     "location": {
         "city": "Dallas",
@@ -64,15 +108,23 @@
             "disable_hardware_pulsing": false,
             "inverse_colors": false,
             "show_refresh_rate": false,
+            "led_rgb_sequence": "RGB",
             "limit_refresh_rate_hz": 100
         },
         "runtime": {
             "gpio_slowdown": 3
         },
-        "display_durations": {
-            "calendar": 30
-        },
-        "use_short_date_format": true
+        "display_durations": {},
+        "use_short_date_format": true,
+        "vegas_scroll": {
+            "enabled": false,
+            "scroll_speed": 50,
+            "separator_width": 32,
+            "plugin_order": [],
+            "excluded_plugins": [],
+            "target_fps": 125,
+            "buffer_ahead": 2
+        }
     },
     "plugin_system": {
         "plugins_directory": "plugin-repos",

docs/CONFIG_DEBUGGING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,306 @@
+# Configuration Debugging Guide
+
+This guide helps troubleshoot configuration issues in LEDMatrix.
+
+## Configuration Files
+
+### Main Files
+
+| File | Purpose |
+|------|---------|
+| `config/config.json` | Main configuration |
+| `config/config_secrets.json` | API keys and sensitive data |
+| `config/config.template.json` | Template for new installations |
+
+### Plugin Configuration
+
+Each plugin's configuration is a top-level key in `config.json`:
+
+```json
+{
+  "football-scoreboard": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "display_duration": 30,
+    "nfl": {
+      "enabled": true,
+      "live_priority": false
+    }
+  },
+  "odds-ticker": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "display_duration": 15
+  }
+}
+```
+
+## Schema Validation
+
+Plugins define their configuration schema in `config_schema.json`. This enables:
+- Automatic default value population
+- Configuration validation
+- Web UI form generation
+
+### Missing Schema Warning
+
+If a plugin doesn't have `config_schema.json`, you'll see:
+
+```
+WARNING - Plugin 'my-plugin' has no config_schema.json - configuration will not be validated.
+```
+
+**Fix**: Add a `config_schema.json` to your plugin directory.
+
+### Schema Example
+
+```json
+{
+  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
+  "type": "object",
+  "properties": {
+    "enabled": {
+      "type": "boolean",
+      "default": true,
+      "description": "Enable or disable this plugin"
+    },
+    "display_duration": {
+      "type": "number",
+      "default": 15,
+      "minimum": 1,
+      "description": "How long to display in seconds"
+    },
+    "api_key": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "description": "API key for data access"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": ["api_key"]
+}
+```
+
+## Common Configuration Issues
+
+### 1. Type Mismatches
+
+**Problem**: String value where number expected
+
+```json
+{
+  "display_duration": "30"  // Wrong: string
+}
+```
+
+**Fix**: Use correct types
+
+```json
+{
+  "display_duration": 30    // Correct: number
+}
+```
+
+**Logged Warning**:
+```
+WARNING - Config display_duration has invalid string value '30', using default 15.0
+```
+
+### 2. Missing Required Fields
+
+**Problem**: Required field not in config
+
+```json
+{
+  "football-scoreboard": {
+    "enabled": true
+    // Missing api_key which is required
+  }
+}
+```
+
+**Logged Error**:
+```
+ERROR - Plugin football-scoreboard configuration validation failed: 'api_key' is a required property
+```
+
+### 3. Invalid Nested Objects
+
+**Problem**: Wrong structure for nested config
+
+```json
+{
+  "football-scoreboard": {
+    "nfl": "enabled"  // Wrong: should be object
+  }
+}
+```
+
+**Fix**: Use correct structure
+
+```json
+{
+  "football-scoreboard": {
+    "nfl": {
+      "enabled": true
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+### 4. Invalid JSON Syntax
+
+**Problem**: Malformed JSON
+
+```json
+{
+  "plugin": {
+    "enabled": true,  // Trailing comma
+  }
+}
+```
+
+**Fix**: Remove trailing commas, ensure valid JSON
+
+```json
+{
+  "plugin": {
+    "enabled": true
+  }
+}
+```
+
+**Tip**: Validate JSON at https://jsonlint.com/
+
+## Debugging Configuration Loading
+
+### Enable Debug Logging
+
+Set environment variable:
+```bash
+export LEDMATRIX_DEBUG=1
+python run.py
+```
+
+### Check Merged Configuration
+
+The configuration is merged with schema defaults. To see the final merged config:
+
+1. Enable debug logging
+2. Look for log entries like:
+   ```
+   DEBUG - Merged config with schema defaults for football-scoreboard
+   ```
+
+### Configuration Load Order
+
+1. Load `config.json`
+2. Load `config_secrets.json`
+3. Merge secrets into main config
+4. For each plugin:
+   - Load plugin's `config_schema.json`
+   - Extract default values from schema
+   - Merge user config with defaults
+   - Validate merged config against schema
+
+## Web Interface Issues
+
+### Changes Not Saving
+
+1. Check file permissions on `config/` directory
+2. Check disk space
+3. Look for errors in browser console
+4. Check server logs for save errors
+
+### Form Fields Not Appearing
+
+1. Plugin may not have `config_schema.json`
+2. Schema may have syntax errors
+3. Check browser console for JavaScript errors
+
+### Checkboxes Not Working
+
+Boolean values from checkboxes should be actual booleans, not strings:
+
+```json
+{
+  "enabled": true,     // Correct
+  "enabled": "true"    // Wrong
+}
+```
+
+## Config Key Collision Detection
+
+LEDMatrix detects potential config key conflicts:
+
+### Reserved Keys
+
+These plugin IDs will trigger a warning:
+- `display`, `schedule`, `timezone`, `plugin_system`
+- `display_modes`, `system`, `hardware`, `debug`
+- `log_level`, `emulator`, `web_interface`
+
+**Warning**:
+```
+WARNING - Plugin ID 'display' conflicts with reserved config key.
+```
+
+### Case Collisions
+
+Plugin IDs that differ only in case:
+```
+WARNING - Plugin ID 'Football-Scoreboard' may conflict with 'football-scoreboard' on case-insensitive file systems.
+```
+
+## Checking Configuration via API
+
+```bash
+# Get current config
+curl http://localhost:5000/api/v3/config
+
+# Get specific plugin config
+curl http://localhost:5000/api/v3/config/plugin/football-scoreboard
+
+# Validate config without saving
+curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/v3/config/validate \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"football-scoreboard": {"enabled": true}}'
+```
+
+## Backup and Recovery
+
+### Manual Backup
+
+```bash
+cp config/config.json config/config.backup.json
+```
+
+### Automatic Backups
+
+LEDMatrix creates backups before saves:
+- Location: `config/backups/`
+- Format: `config_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.json`
+
+### Recovery
+
+```bash
+# List backups
+ls -la config/backups/
+
+# Restore from backup
+cp config/backups/config_20240115_120000.json config/config.json
+```
+
+## Troubleshooting Checklist
+
+- [ ] JSON syntax is valid (no trailing commas, quotes correct)
+- [ ] Data types match schema (numbers are numbers, not strings)
+- [ ] Required fields are present
+- [ ] Nested objects have correct structure
+- [ ] File permissions allow read/write
+- [ ] No reserved config key collisions
+- [ ] Plugin has `config_schema.json` for validation
+
+## Getting Help
+
+1. Check logs: `tail -f logs/ledmatrix.log`
+2. Enable debug: `LEDMATRIX_DEBUG=1`
+3. Check error dashboard: `/api/v3/errors/summary`
+4. Validate JSON: https://jsonlint.com/
+5. File an issue: https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/LEDMatrix/issues

docs/GETTING_STARTED.md

@@ -0,0 +1,324 @@
+# Getting Started with LEDMatrix
+
+## Welcome
+
+This guide will help you set up your LEDMatrix display for the first time and get it running in under 30 minutes.
+
+---
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+**Hardware:**
+- Raspberry Pi (3, 4, or 5 recommended)
+- RGB LED Matrix panel (32x64 or 64x64)
+- Adafruit RGB Matrix HAT or similar
+- Power supply (5V, 4A minimum recommended)
+- MicroSD card (16GB minimum)
+
+**Network:**
+- WiFi network (or Ethernet cable)
+- Computer with web browser on same network
+
+---
+
+## Quick Start (5 Minutes)
+
+### 1. First Boot
+
+1. Insert the MicroSD card with LEDMatrix installed
+2. Connect the LED matrix to your Raspberry Pi
+3. Plug in the power supply
+4. Wait for the Pi to boot (about 60 seconds)
+
+**Expected Behavior:**
+- LED matrix will light up
+- Display will show default plugins (clock, weather, etc.)
+- Pi creates WiFi network "LEDMatrix-Setup" if not connected
+
+### 2. Connect to WiFi
+
+**If you see "LEDMatrix-Setup" WiFi network:**
+1. Connect your device to "LEDMatrix-Setup" (open network, no password)
+2. Open browser to: `http://192.168.4.1:5050`
+3. Navigate to the WiFi tab
+4. Click "Scan" to find your WiFi network
+5. Select your network, enter password
+6. Click "Connect"
+7. Wait for connection (LED matrix will show confirmation)
+
+**If already connected to WiFi:**
+1. Find your Pi's IP address (check your router, or run `hostname -I` on the Pi)
+2. Open browser to: `http://your-pi-ip:5050`
+
+### 3. Access the Web Interface
+
+Once connected, access the web interface:
+
+```
+http://your-pi-ip:5050
+```
+
+You should see:
+- Overview tab with system stats
+- Live display preview
+- Quick action buttons
+
+---
+
+## Initial Configuration (15 Minutes)
+
+### Step 1: Configure Display Hardware
+
+1. Navigate to Settings → **Display Settings**
+2. Set your matrix configuration:
+   - **Rows**: 32 or 64 (match your hardware)
+   - **Columns**: 64, 128, or 256 (match your hardware)
+   - **Chain Length**: Number of panels chained together
+   - **Brightness**: 50-75% recommended for indoor use
+3. Click **Save Configuration**
+4. Click **Restart Display** to apply changes
+
+**Tip:** If the display doesn't look right, try different hardware mapping options.
+
+### Step 2: Set Timezone and Location
+
+1. Navigate to Settings → **General Settings**
+2. Set your timezone (e.g., "America/New_York")
+3. Set your location (city, state, country)
+4. Click **Save Configuration**
+
+**Why it matters:** Correct timezone ensures accurate time display. Location enables weather and location-based features.
+
+### Step 3: Install Plugins
+
+1. Navigate to **Plugin Store** tab
+2. Browse available plugins:
+   - **Time & Date**: Clock, calendar
+   - **Weather**: Weather forecasts
+   - **Sports**: NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB scores
+   - **Finance**: Stocks, crypto
+   - **Custom**: Community plugins
+3. Click **Install** on desired plugins
+4. Wait for installation to complete
+5. Navigate to **Plugin Management** tab
+6. Enable installed plugins (toggle switch)
+7. Click **Restart Display**
+
+**Popular First Plugins:**
+- `clock-simple` - Simple digital clock
+- `weather` - Weather forecast
+- `nhl-scores` - NHL scores (if you're a hockey fan)
+
+### Step 4: Configure Plugins
+
+1. Navigate to **Plugin Management** tab
+2. Find a plugin you installed
+3. Click the ⚙️ **Configure** button
+4. Edit settings (e.g., favorite teams, update intervals)
+5. Click **Save**
+6. Click **Restart Display**
+
+**Example: Weather Plugin**
+- Set your location (city, state, country)
+- Add API key from OpenWeatherMap (free signup)
+- Set update interval (300 seconds recommended)
+
+---
+
+## Testing Your Display
+
+### Quick Test
+
+1. Navigate to **Overview** tab
+2. Click **Test Display** button
+3. You should see a test pattern on your LED matrix
+
+### Manual Plugin Trigger
+
+1. Navigate to **Plugin Management** tab
+2. Find a plugin
+3. Click **Show Now** button
+4. The plugin should display immediately
+5. Click **Stop** to return to rotation
+
+### Check Logs
+
+1. Navigate to **Logs** tab
+2. Watch real-time logs
+3. Look for any ERROR messages
+4. Normal operation shows INFO messages about plugin rotation
+
+---
+
+## Common First-Time Issues
+
+### Display Not Showing Anything
+
+**Check:**
+1. Power supply connected and adequate (5V, 4A minimum)
+2. LED matrix connected to GPIO pins correctly
+3. Display service running: `sudo systemctl status ledmatrix`
+4. Hardware configuration matches your matrix (rows/columns)
+
+**Fix:**
+1. Restart display: Settings → Overview → Restart Display
+2. Or via SSH: `sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix`
+
+### Web Interface Won't Load
+
+**Check:**
+1. Pi is connected to network: `ping your-pi-ip`
+2. Web service running: `sudo systemctl status ledmatrix-web`
+3. Correct port: Use `:5050` not `:5000`
+4. Firewall not blocking port 5050
+
+**Fix:**
+1. Restart web service: `sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix-web`
+2. Check logs: `sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix-web -n 50`
+
+### Plugins Not Showing
+
+**Check:**
+1. Plugins are enabled (toggle switch in Plugin Management)
+2. Display has been restarted after enabling
+3. Plugin duration is reasonable (not too short)
+4. No errors in logs for the plugin
+
+**Fix:**
+1. Enable plugin in Plugin Management
+2. Restart display
+3. Check logs for plugin-specific errors
+
+### Weather Plugin Shows "No Data"
+
+**Check:**
+1. API key configured (OpenWeatherMap)
+2. Location is correct (city, state, country)
+3. Internet connection working
+
+**Fix:**
+1. Sign up at openweathermap.org (free)
+2. Add API key to config_secrets.json or plugin config
+3. Restart display
+
+---
+
+## Next Steps
+
+### Customize Your Display
+
+**Adjust Display Durations:**
+- Navigate to Settings → Durations
+- Set how long each plugin displays
+- Save and restart
+
+**Organize Plugin Order:**
+- Use Plugin Management to enable/disable plugins
+- Display cycles through enabled plugins in order
+
+**Add More Plugins:**
+- Check Plugin Store regularly for new plugins
+- Install from GitHub URLs for custom/community plugins
+
+### Enable Advanced Features
+
+**Vegas Scroll Mode:**
+- Continuous scrolling ticker display
+- See [ADVANCED_FEATURES.md](ADVANCED_FEATURES.md) for details
+
+**On-Demand Display:**
+- Manually trigger specific plugins
+- Pin important information
+- See [ADVANCED_FEATURES.md](ADVANCED_FEATURES.md) for details
+
+**Background Services:**
+- Non-blocking data fetching
+- Faster plugin rotation
+- See [ADVANCED_FEATURES.md](ADVANCED_FEATURES.md) for details
+
+### Explore Documentation
+
+- [WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md](WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md) - Complete web interface guide
+- [WIFI_NETWORK_SETUP.md](WIFI_NETWORK_SETUP.md) - WiFi configuration details
+- [PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md) - Installing and managing plugins
+- [TROUBLESHOOTING.md](TROUBLESHOOTING.md) - Solving common issues
+- [ADVANCED_FEATURES.md](ADVANCED_FEATURES.md) - Advanced functionality
+
+### Join the Community
+
+- Report issues on GitHub
+- Share your custom plugins
+- Help others in discussions
+- Contribute improvements
+
+---
+
+## Quick Reference
+
+### Service Commands
+
+```bash
+# Check status
+sudo systemctl status ledmatrix
+sudo systemctl status ledmatrix-web
+
+# Restart services
+sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix
+sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix-web
+
+# View logs
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix -f
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix-web -f
+```
+
+### File Locations
+
+```
+/home/ledpi/LEDMatrix/
+├── config/
+│   ├── config.json           # Main configuration
+│   ├── config_secrets.json   # API keys and secrets
+│   └── wifi_config.json      # WiFi settings
+├── plugins/                  # Installed plugins
+├── cache/                    # Cached data
+└── web_interface/            # Web interface files
+```
+
+### Web Interface
+
+```
+Main Interface: http://your-pi-ip:5050
+
+Tabs:
+- Overview: System stats and quick actions
+- General Settings: Timezone, location, autostart
+- Display Settings: Hardware configuration
+- Durations: Plugin display times
+- Sports Configuration: Per-league settings
+- Plugin Management: Enable/disable, configure
+- Plugin Store: Install new plugins
+- Font Management: Upload and manage fonts
+- Logs: Real-time log viewing
+```
+
+### WiFi Access Point
+
+```
+Network Name: LEDMatrix-Setup
+Password: (none - open network)
+URL when connected: http://192.168.4.1:5050
+```
+
+---
+
+## Congratulations!
+
+Your LEDMatrix display is now set up and running. Explore the web interface, try different plugins, and customize it to your liking.
+
+**Need Help?**
+- Check [TROUBLESHOOTING.md](TROUBLESHOOTING.md)
+- Review detailed guides for specific features
+- Report issues on GitHub
+- Ask questions in community discussions
+
+Enjoy your LED matrix display!

docs/PLUGIN_ERROR_HANDLING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,243 @@
+# Plugin Error Handling Guide
+
+This guide covers best practices for error handling in LEDMatrix plugins.
+
+## Custom Exception Hierarchy
+
+LEDMatrix provides typed exceptions for different error categories. Use these instead of generic `Exception`:
+
+```python
+from src.exceptions import PluginError, ConfigError, CacheError, DisplayError
+
+# Plugin-related errors
+raise PluginError("Failed to fetch data", plugin_id=self.plugin_id, context={"api": "ESPN"})
+
+# Configuration errors
+raise ConfigError("Invalid API key format", field="api_key")
+
+# Cache errors
+raise CacheError("Cache write failed", cache_key="game_data")
+
+# Display errors
+raise DisplayError("Failed to render", display_mode="live")
+```
+
+### Exception Context
+
+All LEDMatrix exceptions support a `context` dict for additional debugging info:
+
+```python
+raise PluginError(
+    "API request failed",
+    plugin_id=self.plugin_id,
+    context={
+        "url": api_url,
+        "status_code": response.status_code,
+        "retry_count": 3
+    }
+)
+```
+
+## Logging Best Practices
+
+### Use the Plugin Logger
+
+Every plugin has access to `self.logger`:
+
+```python
+class MyPlugin(BasePlugin):
+    def update(self):
+        self.logger.info("Starting data fetch")
+        self.logger.debug("API URL: %s", api_url)
+        self.logger.warning("Rate limit approaching")
+        self.logger.error("API request failed", exc_info=True)
+```
+
+### Log Levels
+
+- **DEBUG**: Detailed info for troubleshooting (API URLs, parsed data)
+- **INFO**: Normal operation milestones (plugin loaded, data fetched)
+- **WARNING**: Recoverable issues (rate limits, cache miss, fallback used)
+- **ERROR**: Failures that need attention (API down, display error)
+
+### Include exc_info for Exceptions
+
+```python
+try:
+    response = requests.get(url)
+except requests.RequestException as e:
+    self.logger.error("API request failed: %s", e, exc_info=True)
+```
+
+## Error Handling Patterns
+
+### Never Use Bare except
+
+```python
+# BAD - swallows all errors including KeyboardInterrupt
+try:
+    self.fetch_data()
+except:
+    pass
+
+# GOOD - catch specific exceptions
+try:
+    self.fetch_data()
+except requests.RequestException as e:
+    self.logger.warning("Network error, using cached data: %s", e)
+    self.data = self.get_cached_data()
+```
+
+### Graceful Degradation
+
+```python
+def update(self):
+    try:
+        self.data = self.fetch_live_data()
+    except requests.RequestException as e:
+        self.logger.warning("Live data unavailable: %s", e)
+        # Fall back to cache
+        cached = self.cache_manager.get(self.cache_key)
+        if cached:
+            self.logger.info("Using cached data")
+            self.data = cached
+        else:
+            self.logger.error("No cached data available")
+            self.data = None
+```
+
+### Validate Configuration Early
+
+```python
+def validate_config(self) -> bool:
+    """Validate configuration at load time."""
+    api_key = self.config.get("api_key")
+    if not api_key:
+        self.logger.error("api_key is required but not configured")
+        return False
+
+    if not isinstance(api_key, str) or len(api_key) < 10:
+        self.logger.error("api_key appears to be invalid")
+        return False
+
+    return True
+```
+
+### Handle Display Errors
+
+```python
+def display(self, force_clear: bool = False) -> bool:
+    if not self.data:
+        if force_clear:
+            self.display_manager.clear()
+            self.display_manager.update_display()
+        return False
+
+    try:
+        self._render_content()
+        return True
+    except Exception as e:
+        self.logger.error("Display error: %s", e, exc_info=True)
+        # Clear display on error to prevent stale content
+        self.display_manager.clear()
+        self.display_manager.update_display()
+        return False
+```
+
+## Error Aggregation
+
+LEDMatrix automatically tracks plugin errors. Access error data via the API:
+
+```bash
+# Get error summary
+curl http://localhost:5000/api/v3/errors/summary
+
+# Get plugin-specific health
+curl http://localhost:5000/api/v3/errors/plugin/my-plugin
+
+# Clear old errors
+curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/v3/errors/clear
+```
+
+### Error Patterns
+
+When the same error occurs repeatedly (5+ times in 60 minutes), it's detected as a pattern and logged as a warning. This helps identify systemic issues.
+
+## Common Error Scenarios
+
+### API Rate Limiting
+
+```python
+def fetch_data(self):
+    try:
+        response = requests.get(self.api_url)
+        if response.status_code == 429:
+            retry_after = int(response.headers.get("Retry-After", 60))
+            self.logger.warning("Rate limited, retry after %ds", retry_after)
+            self._rate_limited_until = time.time() + retry_after
+            return None
+        response.raise_for_status()
+        return response.json()
+    except requests.RequestException as e:
+        self.logger.error("API error: %s", e)
+        return None
+```
+
+### Timeout Handling
+
+```python
+def fetch_data(self):
+    try:
+        response = requests.get(self.api_url, timeout=10)
+        return response.json()
+    except requests.Timeout:
+        self.logger.warning("Request timed out, will retry next update")
+        return None
+    except requests.RequestException as e:
+        self.logger.error("Request failed: %s", e)
+        return None
+```
+
+### Missing Data Gracefully
+
+```python
+def get_team_logo(self, team_id):
+    logo_path = self.logos_dir / f"{team_id}.png"
+    if not logo_path.exists():
+        self.logger.debug("Logo not found for team %s, using default", team_id)
+        return self.default_logo
+    return Image.open(logo_path)
+```
+
+## Testing Error Handling
+
+```python
+def test_handles_api_error(mock_requests):
+    """Test plugin handles API errors gracefully."""
+    mock_requests.get.side_effect = requests.RequestException("Network error")
+
+    plugin = MyPlugin(...)
+    plugin.update()
+
+    # Should not raise, should log warning, should have no data
+    assert plugin.data is None
+
+def test_handles_invalid_json(mock_requests):
+    """Test plugin handles invalid JSON response."""
+    mock_requests.get.return_value.json.side_effect = ValueError("Invalid JSON")
+
+    plugin = MyPlugin(...)
+    plugin.update()
+
+    assert plugin.data is None
+```
+
+## Checklist
+
+- [ ] No bare `except:` clauses
+- [ ] All exceptions logged with appropriate level
+- [ ] `exc_info=True` for error-level logs
+- [ ] Graceful degradation with cache fallbacks
+- [ ] Configuration validated in `validate_config()`
+- [ ] Display clears on error to prevent stale content
+- [ ] Timeouts configured for all network requests

docs/PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,493 @@
+# Plugin Store Guide
+
+## Overview
+
+The LEDMatrix Plugin Store allows you to discover, install, and manage display plugins for your LED matrix. Install curated plugins from the official registry or add custom plugins directly from any GitHub repository.
+
+---
+
+## Quick Reference
+
+### Install from Store
+```bash
+# Web UI: Plugin Store → Search → Click Install
+# API:
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/install \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"plugin_id": "clock-simple"}'
+```
+
+### Install from GitHub URL
+```bash
+# Web UI: Plugin Store → "Install from URL" → Paste URL
+# API:
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/install-from-url \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"repo_url": "https://github.com/user/ledmatrix-plugin"}'
+```
+
+### Manage Plugins
+```bash
+# List installed
+curl "http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/installed"
+
+# Enable/disable
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/toggle \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"plugin_id": "clock-simple", "enabled": true}'
+
+# Update
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/update \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"plugin_id": "clock-simple"}'
+
+# Uninstall
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/uninstall \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"plugin_id": "clock-simple"}'
+```
+
+---
+
+## Installation Methods
+
+### Method 1: From Official Plugin Store (Recommended)
+
+The official plugin store contains curated, verified plugins that have been reviewed by maintainers.
+
+**Via Web Interface:**
+1. Open the web interface at http://your-pi-ip:5050
+2. Navigate to the "Plugin Store" tab
+3. Browse or search for plugins
+4. Click "Install" on the desired plugin
+5. Wait for installation to complete
+6. Restart the display to activate the plugin
+
+**Via REST API:**
+```bash
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/install \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"plugin_id": "clock-simple"}'
+```
+
+**Via Python:**
+```python
+from src.plugin_system.store_manager import PluginStoreManager
+
+store = PluginStoreManager()
+success = store.install_plugin('clock-simple')
+if success:
+    print("Plugin installed!")
+```
+
+### Method 2: From Custom GitHub URL
+
+Install any plugin directly from a GitHub repository, even if it's not in the official store. This method is useful for:
+- Testing your own plugins during development
+- Installing community plugins before they're in the official store
+- Using private plugins
+- Sharing plugins with specific users
+
+**Via Web Interface:**
+1. Open the web interface
+2. Navigate to the "Plugin Store" tab
+3. Find the "Install from URL" section
+4. Paste the GitHub repository URL (e.g., `https://github.com/user/ledmatrix-my-plugin`)
+5. Click "Install from URL"
+6. Review the warning about unverified plugins
+7. Confirm installation
+8. Wait for installation to complete
+9. Restart the display
+
+**Via REST API:**
+```bash
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/install-from-url \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"repo_url": "https://github.com/user/ledmatrix-my-plugin"}'
+```
+
+**Via Python:**
+```python
+from src.plugin_system.store_manager import PluginStoreManager
+
+store = PluginStoreManager()
+result = store.install_from_url('https://github.com/user/ledmatrix-my-plugin')
+
+if result['success']:
+    print(f"Installed: {result['plugin_id']}")
+else:
+    print(f"Error: {result['error']}")
+```
+
+---
+
+## Searching for Plugins
+
+**Via Web Interface:**
+- Use the search bar to search by name, description, or author
+- Filter by category (sports, weather, time, finance, etc.)
+- Click on tags to filter by specific tags
+
+**Via REST API:**
+```bash
+# Search by query
+curl "http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/store/search?q=hockey"
+
+# Filter by category
+curl "http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/store/search?category=sports"
+
+# Filter by tags
+curl "http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/store/search?tags=nhl&tags=hockey"
+```
+
+**Via Python:**
+```python
+from src.plugin_system.store_manager import PluginStoreManager
+
+store = PluginStoreManager()
+
+# Search by query
+results = store.search_plugins(query="hockey")
+
+# Filter by category
+results = store.search_plugins(category="sports")
+
+# Filter by tags
+results = store.search_plugins(tags=["nhl", "hockey"])
+```
+
+---
+
+## Managing Installed Plugins
+
+### List Installed Plugins
+
+**Via Web Interface:**
+- Navigate to the "Plugin Manager" tab
+- View all installed plugins with their status
+
+**Via REST API:**
+```bash
+curl "http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/installed"
+```
+
+**Via Python:**
+```python
+from src.plugin_system.store_manager import PluginStoreManager
+
+store = PluginStoreManager()
+installed = store.list_installed_plugins()
+
+for plugin_id in installed:
+    info = store.get_installed_plugin_info(plugin_id)
+    print(f"{info['name']} (Last updated: {info.get('last_updated', 'unknown')})")
+```
+
+### Enable/Disable Plugins
+
+**Via Web Interface:**
+1. Navigate to the "Plugin Manager" tab
+2. Use the toggle switch next to each plugin
+3. Restart the display to apply changes
+
+**Via REST API:**
+```bash
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/toggle \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"plugin_id": "clock-simple", "enabled": true}'
+```
+
+### Update Plugins
+
+**Via Web Interface:**
+1. Navigate to the "Plugin Manager" tab
+2. Click the "Update" button next to the plugin
+3. Wait for the update to complete
+4. Restart the display
+
+**Via REST API:**
+```bash
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/update \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"plugin_id": "clock-simple"}'
+```
+
+**Via Python:**
+```python
+from src.plugin_system.store_manager import PluginStoreManager
+
+store = PluginStoreManager()
+success = store.update_plugin('clock-simple')
+```
+
+### Uninstall Plugins
+
+**Via Web Interface:**
+1. Navigate to the "Plugin Manager" tab
+2. Click the "Uninstall" button next to the plugin
+3. Confirm removal
+4. Restart the display
+
+**Via REST API:**
+```bash
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/plugins/uninstall \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"plugin_id": "clock-simple"}'
+```
+
+**Via Python:**
+```python
+from src.plugin_system.store_manager import PluginStoreManager
+
+store = PluginStoreManager()
+success = store.uninstall_plugin('clock-simple')
+```
+
+---
+
+## Configuring Plugins
+
+Each plugin can have its own configuration in `config/config.json`:
+
+```json
+{
+  "clock-simple": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "display_duration": 15,
+    "color": [255, 255, 255],
+    "time_format": "12h"
+  },
+  "nhl-scores": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "favorite_teams": ["TBL", "FLA"],
+    "show_favorite_teams_only": true
+  }
+}
+```
+
+**Via Web Interface:**
+1. Navigate to the "Plugin Manager" tab
+2. Click the Configure (⚙️) button next to the plugin
+3. Edit the configuration in the form
+4. Save changes
+5. Restart the display to apply changes
+
+---
+
+## Safety and Security
+
+### Verified vs Unverified Plugins
+
+- **Verified Plugins**: Reviewed by maintainers, follow best practices, no known security issues
+- **Unverified Plugins**: User-contributed, not reviewed, install at your own risk
+
+When installing from a custom GitHub URL, you'll see a warning about installing an unverified plugin. The plugin will have access to your display manager, cache manager, configuration files, and network access.
+
+### Best Practices
+
+1. Only install plugins from trusted sources
+2. Review plugin code before installing (click "View on GitHub")
+3. Keep plugins updated for security patches
+4. Report suspicious plugins to maintainers
+
+---
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### Plugin Won't Install
+
+**Problem:** Installation fails with "Failed to clone or download repository"
+
+**Solutions:**
+- Check that git is installed: `which git`
+- Verify the GitHub URL is correct
+- Check your internet connection
+- The system will automatically try ZIP download as fallback
+
+### Plugin Won't Load
+
+**Problem:** Plugin installed but doesn't appear in rotation
+
+**Solutions:**
+1. Check that the plugin is enabled in config: `"enabled": true`
+2. Verify manifest.json exists and is valid
+3. Check logs for errors: `sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix -f`
+4. Restart the display service: `sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix`
+
+### Dependencies Failed
+
+**Problem:** "Error installing dependencies" message
+
+**Solutions:**
+- Check that pip3 is installed
+- Manually install: `pip3 install --break-system-packages -r plugins/plugin-id/requirements.txt`
+- Check for conflicting package versions
+
+### Plugin Shows Errors
+
+**Problem:** Plugin loads but shows error message on display
+
+**Solutions:**
+1. Check that the plugin configuration is correct
+2. Verify API keys are set (if the plugin requires them)
+3. Check plugin logs: `sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix -f | grep plugin-id`
+4. Report the issue to the plugin developer on GitHub
+
+---
+
+## API Reference
+
+All API endpoints return JSON with this structure:
+
+```json
+{
+  "status": "success" | "error",
+  "message": "Human-readable message",
+  "data": { ... }
+}
+```
+
+### Endpoints
+
+| Method | Endpoint | Description |
+|--------|----------|-------------|
+| GET | `/api/plugins/store/list` | List all plugins in store |
+| GET | `/api/plugins/store/search` | Search for plugins |
+| GET | `/api/plugins/installed` | List installed plugins |
+| POST | `/api/plugins/install` | Install from registry |
+| POST | `/api/plugins/install-from-url` | Install from GitHub URL |
+| POST | `/api/plugins/uninstall` | Uninstall plugin |
+| POST | `/api/plugins/update` | Update plugin |
+| POST | `/api/plugins/toggle` | Enable/disable plugin |
+| POST | `/api/plugins/config` | Update plugin config |
+
+---
+
+## Examples
+
+### Example 1: Install Clock Plugin
+
+```bash
+# Install
+curl -X POST http://192.168.1.100:5050/api/plugins/install \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"plugin_id": "clock-simple"}'
+
+# Configure in config/config.json
+{
+  "clock-simple": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "display_duration": 20,
+    "time_format": "24h"
+  }
+}
+
+# Restart display
+sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix
+```
+
+### Example 2: Install Custom Plugin from GitHub
+
+```bash
+# Install your own plugin during development
+curl -X POST http://192.168.1.100:5050/api/plugins/install-from-url \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"repo_url": "https://github.com/myusername/ledmatrix-my-custom-plugin"}'
+
+# Enable it
+curl -X POST http://192.168.1.100:5050/api/plugins/toggle \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"plugin_id": "my-custom-plugin", "enabled": true}'
+
+# Restart
+sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix
+```
+
+### Example 3: Share Plugin with Others
+
+As a plugin developer, you can share your plugin with others even before it's in the official store:
+
+1. Push your plugin to GitHub: `https://github.com/yourusername/ledmatrix-awesome-plugin`
+2. Share the URL with users
+3. Users install via:
+   - Open the LEDMatrix web interface
+   - Click "Plugin Store" tab
+   - Scroll to "Install from URL"
+   - Paste the URL
+   - Click "Install from URL"
+
+---
+
+## Command-Line Usage
+
+For advanced users, manage plugins via command line:
+
+```bash
+# Install from registry
+python3 -c "
+from src.plugin_system.store_manager import PluginStoreManager
+store = PluginStoreManager()
+store.install_plugin('clock-simple')
+"
+
+# Install from URL
+python3 -c "
+from src.plugin_system.store_manager import PluginStoreManager
+store = PluginStoreManager()
+result = store.install_from_url('https://github.com/user/plugin')
+print(result)
+"
+
+# List installed
+python3 -c "
+from src.plugin_system.store_manager import PluginStoreManager
+store = PluginStoreManager()
+for plugin_id in store.list_installed_plugins():
+    info = store.get_installed_plugin_info(plugin_id)
+    print(f'{plugin_id}: {info[\"name\"]} (Last updated: {info.get(\"last_updated\", \"unknown\")})')
+"
+
+# Uninstall
+python3 -c "
+from src.plugin_system.store_manager import PluginStoreManager
+store = PluginStoreManager()
+store.uninstall_plugin('clock-simple')
+"
+```
+
+---
+
+## FAQ
+
+**Q: Do I need to restart the display after installing a plugin?**
+A: Yes, plugins are loaded when the display controller starts.
+
+**Q: Can I install plugins while the display is running?**
+A: Yes, you can install anytime, but you must restart the display to load them.
+
+**Q: What happens if I install a plugin with the same ID as an existing one?**
+A: The existing copy will be replaced with the latest code from the repository.
+
+**Q: Can I install multiple versions of the same plugin?**
+A: No, each plugin ID maps to a single checkout of the repository's default branch.
+
+**Q: How do I update all plugins at once?**
+A: Currently, you need to update each plugin individually. Bulk update is planned for a future release.
+
+**Q: Can plugins access my API keys from config_secrets.json?**
+A: Yes, if a plugin needs API keys, it can access them like core managers do.
+
+**Q: How much disk space do plugins use?**
+A: Most plugins are small (1-5MB). Check individual plugin documentation for specific requirements.
+
+**Q: Can I create my own plugin?**
+A: Yes! See [PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md](PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md) for instructions.
+
+---
+
+## Related Documentation
+
+- [PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md](PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md) - Create your own plugins
+- [PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md](PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md) - Plugin API documentation
+- [PLUGIN_ARCHITECTURE.md](PLUGIN_ARCHITECTURE.md) - Plugin system architecture
+- [REST_API_REFERENCE.md](REST_API_REFERENCE.md) - Complete REST API reference

docs/README.md

@@ -4,174 +4,196 @@ Welcome to the LEDMatrix documentation! This directory contains comprehensive gu
 
 ## 📚 Documentation Overview
 
-This documentation has been consolidated and organized to reduce redundancy while maintaining comprehensive coverage. Recent improvements include complete API references, enhanced plugin development guides, and better organization for both end users and developers.
+This documentation has been recently consolidated (January 2026) to reduce redundancy while maintaining comprehensive coverage. We've reduced from 51 main documents to 16-17 well-organized files (~68% reduction) by merging duplicates, archiving ephemeral content, and unifying writing styles.
 
 ## 📖 Quick Start
 
 ### For New Users
 1. **Installation**: Follow the main [README.md](../README.md) in the project root
-2. **First Setup**: Run `first_time_install.sh` for initial configuration
-3. **Basic Usage**: See [TROUBLESHOOTING_QUICK_START.md](TROUBLESHOOTING_QUICK_START.md) for common issues
+2. **First Setup**: See [GETTING_STARTED.md](GETTING_STARTED.md) for first-time setup guide
+3. **Web Interface**: Use [WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md](WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md) to learn the control panel
+4. **Troubleshooting**: Check [TROUBLESHOOTING.md](TROUBLESHOOTING.md) for common issues
 
 ### For Developers
-1. **Plugin System**: Read [PLUGIN_QUICK_REFERENCE.md](PLUGIN_QUICK_REFERENCE.md) for an overview
-2. **Plugin Development**: See [PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT_GUIDE.md) for development workflow
+1. **Plugin Development**: See [PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT_GUIDE.md) for complete guide
+2. **Advanced Patterns**: Read [ADVANCED_PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md](ADVANCED_PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md) for advanced techniques
 3. **API Reference**: Check [PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md](PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md) for available methods
-4. **Configuration**: Check [PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_GUIDE.md)
+4. **Configuration**: See [PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_GUIDE.md) for config schemas
 
 ### For API Integration
-1. **REST API**: See [API_REFERENCE.md](API_REFERENCE.md) for all web interface endpoints
+1. **REST API**: See [REST_API_REFERENCE.md](REST_API_REFERENCE.md) for all web interface endpoints
 2. **Plugin API**: See [PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md](PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md) for plugin developer APIs
-3. **Quick Reference**: See [DEVELOPER_QUICK_REFERENCE.md](DEVELOPER_QUICK_REFERENCE.md) for common tasks
+3. **Developer Reference**: See [DEVELOPER_QUICK_REFERENCE.md](DEVELOPER_QUICK_REFERENCE.md) for common tasks
 
 ## 📋 Documentation Categories
 
-### 🚀 Getting Started & Setup
-- [EMULATOR_SETUP_GUIDE.md](EMULATOR_SETUP_GUIDE.md) - Set up development environment with emulator
-- [TRIXIE_UPGRADE_GUIDE.md](TRIXIE_UPGRADE_GUIDE.md) - Upgrade to Raspbian OS 13 "Trixie"
-- [TROUBLESHOOTING_QUICK_START.md](TROUBLESHOOTING_QUICK_START.md) - Common issues and solutions
+### 🚀 Getting Started & User Guides
+- [GETTING_STARTED.md](GETTING_STARTED.md) - First-time setup and quick start guide
+- [WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md](WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md) - Complete web interface user guide
+- [WIFI_NETWORK_SETUP.md](WIFI_NETWORK_SETUP.md) - WiFi configuration and AP mode setup
+- [PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md) - Installing and managing plugins
+- [TROUBLESHOOTING.md](TROUBLESHOOTING.md) - Common issues and solutions
 
-### 🏗️ Architecture & Design
-- [PLUGIN_ARCHITECTURE_SPEC.md](PLUGIN_ARCHITECTURE_SPEC.md) - Complete plugin system specification
-- [PLUGIN_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md](PLUGIN_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md) - Plugin system implementation details
-- [FEATURE_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md](FEATURE_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md) - Major feature implementations
-- [NESTED_CONFIG_SCHEMAS.md](NESTED_CONFIG_SCHEMAS.md) - Configuration schema design
-- [NESTED_SCHEMA_IMPLEMENTATION.md](NESTED_SCHEMA_IMPLEMENTATION.md) - Schema implementation details
-- [NESTED_SCHEMA_VISUAL_COMPARISON.md](NESTED_SCHEMA_VISUAL_COMPARISON.md) - Schema comparison visuals
-
-### ⚙️ Configuration & Management
-- [PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_GUIDE.md) - Complete plugin configuration guide
-- [PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_TABS.md](PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_TABS.md) - Configuration tabs feature
-- [PLUGIN_CONFIG_QUICK_START.md](PLUGIN_CONFIG_QUICK_START.md) - Quick configuration guide
+### ⚡ Advanced Features
+- [ADVANCED_FEATURES.md](ADVANCED_FEATURES.md) - Vegas scroll mode, on-demand display, cache management, background services, permissions
 
 ### 🔌 Plugin Development
-- [PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT_GUIDE.md) - Complete plugin development guide
+- [PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT_GUIDE.md) - Complete plugin development workflow
 - [PLUGIN_QUICK_REFERENCE.md](PLUGIN_QUICK_REFERENCE.md) - Plugin development quick reference
-- [PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md](PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md) - Complete API reference for plugin developers
 - [ADVANCED_PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md](ADVANCED_PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md) - Advanced patterns and examples
-- [PLUGIN_REGISTRY_SETUP_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_REGISTRY_SETUP_GUIDE.md) - Setting up plugin registry
+- [PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_GUIDE.md) - Configuration schema design
+- [PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_TABS.md](PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_TABS.md) - Configuration tabs feature
+- [PLUGIN_CONFIG_QUICK_START.md](PLUGIN_CONFIG_QUICK_START.md) - Quick configuration guide
 - [PLUGIN_DEPENDENCY_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_DEPENDENCY_GUIDE.md) - Managing plugin dependencies
 - [PLUGIN_DEPENDENCY_TROUBLESHOOTING.md](PLUGIN_DEPENDENCY_TROUBLESHOOTING.md) - Dependency troubleshooting
 
-### 🎮 Plugin Features
-- [ON_DEMAND_DISPLAY_QUICK_START.md](ON_DEMAND_DISPLAY_QUICK_START.md) - Manual display triggering
-- [PLUGIN_LIVE_PRIORITY_QUICK_START.md](PLUGIN_LIVE_PRIORITY_QUICK_START.md) - Live content priority
-- [PLUGIN_LIVE_PRIORITY_API.md](PLUGIN_LIVE_PRIORITY_API.md) - Live priority API reference
-- [PLUGIN_CUSTOM_ICONS_FEATURE.md](PLUGIN_CUSTOM_ICONS_FEATURE.md) - Custom plugin icons
-- [PLUGIN_DISPATCH_IMPLEMENTATION.md](PLUGIN_DISPATCH_IMPLEMENTATION.md) - Plugin dispatch system
-- [PLUGIN_TABS_FEATURE_COMPLETE.md](PLUGIN_TABS_FEATURE_COMPLETE.md) - Plugin tabs feature
+### 🏗️ Plugin Features & Extensions
+- [PLUGIN_CUSTOM_ICONS.md](PLUGIN_CUSTOM_ICONS.md) - Custom plugin icons
+- [PLUGIN_CUSTOM_ICONS_FEATURE.md](PLUGIN_CUSTOM_ICONS_FEATURE.md) - Custom icons implementation
+- [PLUGIN_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md](PLUGIN_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md) - Plugin system implementation
+- [PLUGIN_REGISTRY_SETUP_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_REGISTRY_SETUP_GUIDE.md) - Setting up plugin registry
+- [PLUGIN_WEB_UI_ACTIONS.md](PLUGIN_WEB_UI_ACTIONS.md) - Web UI actions for plugins
 
 ### 📡 API Reference
-- [API_REFERENCE.md](API_REFERENCE.md) - Complete REST API documentation for web interface
-- [PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md](PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md) - Plugin developer API reference (Display Manager, Cache Manager, Plugin Manager)
+- [REST_API_REFERENCE.md](REST_API_REFERENCE.md) - Complete REST API documentation (71+ endpoints)
+- [PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md](PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md) - Plugin developer API (Display Manager, Cache Manager, Plugin Manager)
 - [DEVELOPER_QUICK_REFERENCE.md](DEVELOPER_QUICK_REFERENCE.md) - Quick reference for common developer tasks
-- [ON_DEMAND_DISPLAY_API.md](ON_DEMAND_DISPLAY_API.md) - On-demand display API reference
+
+### 🏛️ Architecture & Design
+- [PLUGIN_ARCHITECTURE_SPEC.md](PLUGIN_ARCHITECTURE_SPEC.md) - Complete plugin system specification
+- [PLUGIN_CONFIG_ARCHITECTURE.md](PLUGIN_CONFIG_ARCHITECTURE.md) - Configuration system architecture
+- [PLUGIN_CONFIG_CORE_PROPERTIES.md](PLUGIN_CONFIG_CORE_PROPERTIES.md) - Core configuration properties
 
 ### 🛠️ Development & Tools
-- [BACKGROUND_SERVICE_README.md](BACKGROUND_SERVICE_README.md) - Background service architecture
-- [FONT_MANAGER_USAGE.md](FONT_MANAGER_USAGE.md) - Font management system
+- [DEVELOPMENT.md](DEVELOPMENT.md) - Development environment setup
+- [EMULATOR_SETUP_GUIDE.md](EMULATOR_SETUP_GUIDE.md) - Set up development environment with emulator
+- [HOW_TO_RUN_TESTS.md](HOW_TO_RUN_TESTS.md) - Testing documentation
+- [MULTI_ROOT_WORKSPACE_SETUP.md](MULTI_ROOT_WORKSPACE_SETUP.md) - Multi-workspace development
+- [FONT_MANAGER.md](FONT_MANAGER.md) - Font management system
 
-### 🔍 Analysis & Compatibility
-- [RASPBIAN_TRIXIE_COMPATIBILITY_ANALYSIS.md](RASPBIAN_TRIXIE_COMPATIBILITY_ANALYSIS.md) - Detailed Trixie compatibility analysis
-- [CONFIGURATION_CLEANUP_SUMMARY.md](CONFIGURATION_CLEANUP_SUMMARY.md) - Configuration cleanup details
-- [football_plugin_comparison.md](football_plugin_comparison.md) - Football plugin analysis
+### 🔄 Migration & Updates
+- [MIGRATION_GUIDE.md](MIGRATION_GUIDE.md) - Breaking changes and migration instructions
+- [SSH_UNAVAILABLE_AFTER_INSTALL.md](SSH_UNAVAILABLE_AFTER_INSTALL.md) - SSH troubleshooting after install
 
-### 📊 Utility & Scripts
-- [README_broadcast_logo_analyzer.md](README_broadcast_logo_analyzer.md) - Broadcast logo analysis tool
-- [README_soccer_logos.md](README_soccer_logos.md) - Soccer logo management
-- [WEB_INTERFACE_TROUBLESHOOTING.md](WEB_INTERFACE_TROUBLESHOOTING.md) - Web interface troubleshooting
-
-## 🔄 Migration & Updates
-
-### Recent Consolidations (October 2025)
-- **Implementation Summaries**: Consolidated 7 separate implementation summaries into 2 comprehensive guides:
-  - `FEATURE_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md` (AP Top 25, Plugin System, Configuration, Web Interface, Trixie Compatibility)
-  - `PLUGIN_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md` (Plugin system technical details)
-- **Trixie Documentation**: Merged 4 Trixie-related documents into `TRIXIE_UPGRADE_GUIDE.md`
-- **Removed Redundancy**: Eliminated duplicate documents and outdated debug guides
-- **Total Reduction**: 53 → 39 documents (26% reduction)
-
-### Migration Notes
-- Old implementation summary documents have been consolidated
-- Trixie upgrade information is now centralized in one guide
-- Deprecated manager documentation has been removed (no longer applicable)
-- Very specific debug documents have been archived or removed
+### 📚 Miscellaneous
+- [widget-guide.md](widget-guide.md) - Widget development guide
+- Template files:
+  - [plugin_registry_template.json](plugin_registry_template.json) - Plugin registry template
+  - [PLUGIN_WEB_UI_ACTIONS_EXAMPLE.json](PLUGIN_WEB_UI_ACTIONS_EXAMPLE.json) - Web UI actions example
 
 ## 🎯 Key Resources by Use Case
 
 ### I'm new to LEDMatrix
-1. [Main README](../README.md) - Installation and setup
-2. [EMULATOR_SETUP_GUIDE.md](EMULATOR_SETUP_GUIDE.md) - Development environment
-3. [PLUGIN_QUICK_REFERENCE.md](PLUGIN_QUICK_REFERENCE.md) - Understanding the system
+1. [GETTING_STARTED.md](GETTING_STARTED.md) - Start here for first-time setup
+2. [WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md](WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md) - Learn the control panel
+3. [PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md) - Install plugins
 
 ### I want to create a plugin
 1. [PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT_GUIDE.md) - Complete development guide
 2. [PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md](PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md) - Available methods and APIs
-3. [ADVANCED_PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md](ADVANCED_PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md) - Advanced patterns and examples
+3. [ADVANCED_PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md](ADVANCED_PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT.md) - Advanced patterns
 4. [PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION_GUIDE.md) - Configuration setup
 5. [PLUGIN_ARCHITECTURE_SPEC.md](PLUGIN_ARCHITECTURE_SPEC.md) - Complete specification
 
-### I want to upgrade to Trixie
-1. [TRIXIE_UPGRADE_GUIDE.md](TRIXIE_UPGRADE_GUIDE.md) - Complete upgrade guide
-2. [RASPBIAN_TRIXIE_COMPATIBILITY_ANALYSIS.md](RASPBIAN_TRIXIE_COMPATIBILITY_ANALYSIS.md) - Technical details
-
 ### I need to troubleshoot an issue
-1. [TROUBLESHOOTING_QUICK_START.md](TROUBLESHOOTING_QUICK_START.md) - Common issues
-2. [WEB_INTERFACE_TROUBLESHOOTING.md](WEB_INTERFACE_TROUBLESHOOTING.md) - Web interface problems
+1. [TROUBLESHOOTING.md](TROUBLESHOOTING.md) - Comprehensive troubleshooting guide
+2. [WIFI_NETWORK_SETUP.md](WIFI_NETWORK_SETUP.md) - WiFi/network issues
 3. [PLUGIN_DEPENDENCY_TROUBLESHOOTING.md](PLUGIN_DEPENDENCY_TROUBLESHOOTING.md) - Dependency issues
 
+### I want to use advanced features
+1. [ADVANCED_FEATURES.md](ADVANCED_FEATURES.md) - Vegas scroll, on-demand display, background services
+2. [FONT_MANAGER.md](FONT_MANAGER.md) - Font management
+3. [REST_API_REFERENCE.md](REST_API_REFERENCE.md) - API integration
+
 ### I want to understand the architecture
 1. [PLUGIN_ARCHITECTURE_SPEC.md](PLUGIN_ARCHITECTURE_SPEC.md) - System architecture
-2. [FEATURE_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md](FEATURE_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md) - Feature overview
+2. [PLUGIN_CONFIG_ARCHITECTURE.md](PLUGIN_CONFIG_ARCHITECTURE.md) - Configuration architecture
 3. [PLUGIN_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md](PLUGIN_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md) - Implementation details
 
+## 🔄 Recent Consolidations (January 2026)
+
+### Major Consolidation Effort
+- **Before**: 51 main documentation files
+- **After**: 16-17 well-organized files
+- **Reduction**: ~68% fewer files
+- **Archived**: 33 files (consolidated sources + ephemeral docs)
+
+### New Consolidated Guides
+- **GETTING_STARTED.md** - New first-time user guide
+- **WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md** - Consolidated web interface documentation
+- **WIFI_NETWORK_SETUP.md** - Consolidated WiFi setup (5 files → 1)
+- **PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md** - Consolidated plugin store guides (2 files → 1)
+- **TROUBLESHOOTING.md** - Consolidated troubleshooting (4 files → 1)
+- **ADVANCED_FEATURES.md** - Consolidated advanced features (6 files → 1)
+
+### What Was Archived
+- Ephemeral debug documents (DEBUG_WEB_ISSUE.md, BROWSER_ERRORS_EXPLANATION.md, etc.)
+- Implementation summaries (PLUGIN_CONFIG_TABS_SUMMARY.md, STARTUP_OPTIMIZATION_SUMMARY.md, etc.)
+- Consolidated source files (WIFI_SETUP.md, V3_INTERFACE_README.md, etc.)
+- Testing documentation (CAPTIVE_PORTAL_TESTING.md, etc.)
+
+All archived files are preserved in `docs/archive/` with full git history.
+
+### Benefits
+- ✅ Easier to find information (fewer files to search)
+- ✅ No duplicate content
+- ✅ Consistent writing style (professional technical)
+- ✅ Updated outdated references
+- ✅ Fixed broken internal links
+- ✅ Better organization for users vs developers
+
 ## 📝 Contributing to Documentation
 
 ### Documentation Standards
 - Use Markdown format with consistent headers
+- Professional technical writing style
+- Minimal emojis (1-2 per major section for navigation)
 - Include code examples where helpful
 - Provide both quick start and detailed reference sections
-- Keep implementation summaries focused on what was built, not how to use
+- Cross-reference related documentation
 
 ### Adding New Documentation
-1. Place in appropriate category (see sections above)
-2. Update this README.md with the new document
-3. Follow naming conventions (FEATURE_NAME.md)
-4. Consider if content should be consolidated with existing docs
+1. Consider if content should be added to existing docs first
+2. Place in appropriate category (see sections above)
+3. Update this README.md with the new document
+4. Follow naming conventions (FEATURE_NAME.md)
+5. Use consistent formatting and voice
 
 ### Consolidation Guidelines
-- **Implementation Summaries**: Consolidate into feature-specific summaries
-- **Quick References**: Keep if they provide unique value, otherwise merge
-- **Debug Documents**: Remove after issues are resolved
-- **Migration Guides**: Consolidate when migrations are complete
+- **User Guides**: Consolidate by topic (WiFi, troubleshooting, etc.)
+- **Developer Guides**: Keep development vs reference vs architecture separate
+- **Debug Documents**: Archive after issues are resolved
+- **Implementation Summaries**: Archive completed implementation details
+- **Ephemeral Content**: Archive, don't keep in main docs
 
 ## 🔗 Related Documentation
 
 - [Main Project README](../README.md) - Installation and basic usage
 - [Web Interface README](../web_interface/README.md) - Web interface details
-- [LEDMatrix Wiki](../LEDMatrix.wiki/) - Extended documentation and guides
 - [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/LEDMatrix/issues) - Bug reports and feature requests
 - [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/LEDMatrix/discussions) - Community support
 
 ## 📊 Documentation Statistics
 
-- **Total Documents**: ~35 (after consolidation)
-- **Categories**: 8 major sections (including new API Reference section)
-- **Primary Languages**: English
+- **Main Documents**: 16-17 files (after consolidation)
+- **Archived Documents**: 33 files (in docs/archive/)
+- **Categories**: 9 major sections
+- **Primary Language**: English
 - **Format**: Markdown (.md)
-- **Last Update**: December 2025
-- **Coverage**: Installation, development, troubleshooting, architecture, API references
+- **Last Major Update**: January 2026
+- **Coverage**: Installation, user guides, development, troubleshooting, architecture, API references
 
-### Recent Improvements (December 2025)
-- ✅ Complete REST API documentation (50+ endpoints)
+### Documentation Highlights
+- ✅ Comprehensive user guides for first-time setup
+- ✅ Complete REST API documentation (71+ endpoints)
 - ✅ Complete Plugin API reference (Display Manager, Cache Manager, Plugin Manager)
 - ✅ Advanced plugin development guide with examples
-- ✅ Consolidated plugin configuration documentation
-- ✅ Developer quick reference guide
-- ✅ Better organization for end users and developers
+- ✅ Consolidated configuration documentation
+- ✅ Professional technical writing throughout
+- ✅ ~68% reduction in file count while maintaining coverage
 
 ---
 
-*This documentation index was last updated: December 2025*
+*This documentation index was last updated: January 2026*
 
 *For questions or suggestions about the documentation, please open an issue or start a discussion on GitHub.*

docs/STARLARK_APPS_GUIDE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,500 @@
+# Starlark Apps Guide
+
+## Overview
+
+The Starlark Apps plugin for LEDMatrix enables you to run **Tidbyt/Tronbyte community apps** on your LED matrix display without modification. This integration allows you to access hundreds of pre-built widgets and apps from the vibrant Tidbyt community ecosystem.
+
+## Important: Third-Party Content
+
+**⚠️ Apps are NOT managed by the LEDMatrix project**
+
+- Starlark apps are developed and maintained by the **Tidbyt/Tronbyte community**
+- LEDMatrix provides the runtime environment but does **not** create, maintain, or support these apps
+- All apps originate from the [Tronbyte Apps Repository](https://github.com/tronbyt/apps)
+- App quality, functionality, and security are the responsibility of individual app authors
+- LEDMatrix is not affiliated with Tidbyt Inc. or the Tronbyte project
+
+## What is Starlark?
+
+[Starlark](https://github.com/bazelbuild/starlark) is a Python-like language originally developed by Google for the Bazel build system. Tidbyt adopted Starlark for building LED display apps because it's:
+
+- **Sandboxed**: Apps run in a safe, restricted environment
+- **Simple**: Python-like syntax that's easy to learn
+- **Deterministic**: Apps produce consistent output
+- **Fast**: Compiled and optimized for performance
+
+## How It Works
+
+### Architecture
+
+```text
+┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
+│                    LEDMatrix System                      │
+│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
+│  │         Starlark Apps Plugin (manager.py)          │ │
+│  │  • Manages app lifecycle (install/uninstall)       │ │
+│  │  • Handles app configuration                       │ │
+│  │  • Schedules app rendering                         │ │
+│  └─────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘ │
+│                    │                                     │
+│  ┌─────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────┐ │
+│  │      Pixlet Renderer (pixlet_renderer.py)          │ │
+│  │  • Executes .star files using Pixlet CLI           │ │
+│  │  • Extracts configuration schemas                  │ │
+│  │  • Outputs WebP animations                         │ │
+│  └─────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘ │
+│                    │                                     │
+│  ┌─────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────┐ │
+│  │      Frame Extractor (frame_extractor.py)          │ │
+│  │  • Decodes WebP animations into frames             │ │
+│  │  • Scales/centers output for display size          │ │
+│  │  • Manages frame timing                            │ │
+│  └─────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘ │
+│                    │                                     │
+│  ┌─────────────────▼──────────────────────────────────┐ │
+│  │            LED Matrix Display                       │ │
+│  │  • Renders final output to physical display        │ │
+│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
+└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
+
+                    ▲
+                    │
+         Downloads apps from
+                    │
+┌───────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────┐
+│         Tronbyte Apps Repository (GitHub)                │
+│  • 974+ community-built apps                             │
+│  • Weather, sports, stocks, games, clocks, etc.          │
+│  • https://github.com/tronbyt/apps                       │
+└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
+```
+
+### Rendering Pipeline
+
+1. **User installs app** from the Tronbyte repository via web UI
+2. **Plugin downloads** the `.star` file (and any assets like images/fonts)
+3. **Schema extraction** parses configuration options from the `.star` source
+4. **User configures** the app through the web UI (timezone, location, API keys, etc.)
+5. **Pixlet renders** the app with user config → produces WebP animation
+6. **Frame extraction** decodes WebP → individual PIL Image frames
+7. **Display scaling** adapts 64x32 Tidbyt output to your matrix size
+8. **Rotation** cycles through your installed apps based on schedule
+
+## Getting Started
+
+### 1. Install Pixlet
+
+Pixlet is the rendering engine that executes Starlark apps. The plugin will attempt to use:
+
+1. **Bundled binary** (recommended): Downloaded to `bin/pixlet/pixlet-{platform}-{arch}`
+2. **System installation**: If `pixlet` is available in your PATH
+
+#### Auto-Install via Web UI
+
+Navigate to: **Plugins → Starlark Apps → Status → Install Pixlet**
+
+This runs the bundled installation script which downloads the appropriate binary for your platform.
+
+#### Manual Installation
+
+```bash
+cd /path/to/LEDMatrix
+bash scripts/download_pixlet.sh
+```
+
+Verify installation:
+```bash
+./bin/pixlet/pixlet-linux-amd64 version
+# Pixlet 0.50.2 (or later)
+```
+
+### 2. Enable the Starlark Apps Plugin
+
+1. Open the web UI
+2. Navigate to **Plugins**
+3. Find **Starlark Apps** in the installed plugins list
+4. Enable the plugin
+5. Configure settings:
+   - **Magnify**: Auto-calculated based on your display size (or set manually)
+   - **Render Interval**: How often apps re-render (default: 300s)
+   - **Display Duration**: How long each app shows (default: 15s)
+   - **Cache Output**: Enable to reduce re-rendering (recommended)
+
+### 3. Browse and Install Apps
+
+1. Navigate to **Plugins → Starlark Apps → App Store**
+2. Browse available apps (974+ options)
+3. Filter by category: Weather, Sports, Finance, Games, Clocks, etc.
+4. Click **Install** on desired apps
+5. Configure each app:
+   - Set location/timezone
+   - Enter API keys if required
+   - Customize display preferences
+
+### 4. Configure Apps
+
+Each app may have different configuration options:
+
+#### Common Configuration Types
+
+- **Location** (lat/lng/timezone): For weather, clocks, transit
+- **API Keys**: For services like weather, stocks, sports scores
+- **Display Preferences**: Colors, units, layouts
+- **Dropdown Options**: Team selections, language, themes
+- **Toggles**: Enable/disable features
+
+Configuration is stored in `starlark-apps/{app-id}/config.json` and persists across app updates.
+
+## App Sources and Categories
+
+All apps are sourced from the [Tronbyte Apps Repository](https://github.com/tronbyt/apps). Popular categories include:
+
+### 🌤️ Weather
+- Analog Clock (with weather)
+- Current Weather
+- Weather Forecast
+- Air Quality Index
+
+### 🏈 Sports
+- NFL Scores
+- NBA Scores
+- MLB Scores
+- NHL Scores
+- Soccer/Football Scores
+- Formula 1 Results
+
+### 💰 Finance
+- Stock Tickers
+- Cryptocurrency Prices
+- Market Indices
+
+### 🎮 Games & Fun
+- Conway's Game of Life
+- Pong
+- Nyan Cat
+- Retro Animations
+
+### 🕐 Clocks
+- Analog Clock
+- Fuzzy Clock
+- Binary Clock
+- Word Clock
+
+### 📰 Information
+- News Headlines
+- RSS Feeds
+- GitHub Activity
+- Reddit Feed
+
+### 🚌 Transit & Travel
+- Transit Arrivals
+- Flight Tracker
+- Train Schedules
+
+## Display Size Compatibility
+
+Tronbyte/Tidbyt apps are designed for **64×32 displays**. LEDMatrix automatically adapts content for different display sizes:
+
+### Magnification
+
+The plugin calculates optimal magnification based on your display:
+
+```text
+magnify = floor(min(display_width / 64, display_height / 32))
+```
+
+Examples:
+- **64×32**: magnify = 1 (native, pixel-perfect)
+- **128×64**: magnify = 2 (2x scaling, crisp)
+- **192×64**: magnify = 2 (2x + horizontal centering)
+- **256×64**: magnify = 2 (2x + centering)
+
+### Scaling Modes
+
+**Config → Starlark Apps → Scale Method:**
+- `nearest` (default): Sharp pixels, retro look
+- `bilinear`: Smooth scaling, slight blur
+- `bicubic`: Higher quality smooth scaling
+- `lanczos`: Best quality, most processing
+
+**Center vs Scale:**
+- `scale_output=true`: Stretch to fill display (may distort aspect ratio)
+- `center_small_output=true`: Center output without stretching (preserves aspect ratio)
+
+## Configuration Schema Extraction
+
+LEDMatrix automatically extracts configuration schemas from Starlark apps by parsing the `get_schema()` function in the `.star` source code.
+
+### Supported Field Types
+
+| Starlark Type | Web UI Rendering |
+|--------------|------------------|
+| `schema.Location` | Lat/Lng/Timezone picker |
+| `schema.Text` | Text input field |
+| `schema.Toggle` | Checkbox/switch |
+| `schema.Dropdown` | Select dropdown |
+| `schema.Color` | Color picker |
+| `schema.DateTime` | Date/time picker |
+| `schema.OAuth2` | Warning message (not supported) |
+| `schema.PhotoSelect` | Warning message (not supported) |
+| `schema.LocationBased` | Text fallback with note |
+| `schema.Typeahead` | Text fallback with note |
+
+### Schema Coverage
+
+- **90-95%** of apps: Full schema support
+- **5%**: Partial extraction (complex/dynamic schemas)
+- **<1%**: No schema (apps without configuration)
+
+Apps without extracted schemas can still run with default settings.
+
+## File Structure
+
+```text
+LEDMatrix/
+├── plugin-repos/starlark-apps/     # Plugin source code
+│   ├── manager.py                  # Main plugin logic
+│   ├── pixlet_renderer.py          # Pixlet CLI wrapper
+│   ├── frame_extractor.py          # WebP decoder
+│   ├── tronbyte_repository.py      # GitHub API client
+│   └── requirements.txt            # Python dependencies
+│
+├── starlark-apps/                  # Installed apps (user data)
+│   ├── manifest.json               # App registry
+│   │
+│   └── analogclock/                # Example app
+│       ├── analogclock.star        # Starlark source
+│       ├── config.json             # User configuration
+│       ├── schema.json             # Extracted schema
+│       ├── cached_render.webp      # Rendered output cache
+│       └── images/                 # App assets (if any)
+│           ├── hour_hand.png
+│           └── minute_hand.png
+│
+├── bin/pixlet/                     # Pixlet binaries
+│   ├── pixlet-linux-amd64
+│   ├── pixlet-linux-arm64
+│   └── pixlet-darwin-arm64
+│
+└── scripts/
+    └── download_pixlet.sh          # Pixlet installer
+```
+
+## API Keys and External Services
+
+Many apps require API keys for external services:
+
+### Common API Services
+
+- **Weather**: OpenWeatherMap, Weather.gov, Dark Sky
+- **Sports**: ESPN, The Sports DB, SportsData.io
+- **Finance**: Alpha Vantage, CoinGecko, Yahoo Finance
+- **Transit**: TransitLand, NextBus, local transit APIs
+- **News**: NewsAPI, Reddit, RSS feeds
+
+### Security Note
+
+- API keys are stored in `config.json` files on disk
+- The LEDMatrix web interface does NOT encrypt API keys
+- Ensure your Raspberry Pi is on a trusted network
+- Use read-only or limited-scope API keys when possible
+- **Never commit `starlark-apps/*/config.json` to version control**
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### Pixlet Not Found
+
+**Symptom**: "Pixlet binary not found" error
+
+**Solutions**:
+1. Run auto-installer: **Plugins → Starlark Apps → Install Pixlet**
+2. Manual install: `bash scripts/download_pixlet.sh`
+3. Check permissions: `chmod +x bin/pixlet/pixlet-*`
+4. Verify architecture: `uname -m` matches binary name
+
+### App Fails to Render
+
+**Symptom**: "Rendering failed" error in logs
+
+**Solutions**:
+1. Check logs: `journalctl -u ledmatrix | grep -i pixlet`
+2. Verify config: Ensure all required fields are filled
+3. Test manually: `./bin/pixlet/pixlet-linux-amd64 render starlark-apps/{app-id}/{app-id}.star`
+4. Missing assets: Some apps need images/fonts that may fail to download
+5. API issues: Check API keys and rate limits
+
+### Schema Not Extracted
+
+**Symptom**: App installs but shows no configuration options
+
+**Solutions**:
+1. App may not have a `get_schema()` function (normal for some apps)
+2. Schema extraction failed: Check logs for parse errors
+3. Manual config: Edit `starlark-apps/{app-id}/config.json` directly
+4. Report issue: File bug with app details at LEDMatrix GitHub
+
+### Apps Show Distorted/Wrong Size
+
+**Symptom**: Content appears stretched, squished, or cropped
+
+**Solutions**:
+1. Check magnify setting: **Plugins → Starlark Apps → Config**
+2. Try `center_small_output=true` to preserve aspect ratio
+3. Adjust `magnify` manually (1-8) for your display size
+4. Some apps assume 64×32 - may not scale perfectly to all sizes
+
+### App Shows Outdated Data
+
+**Symptom**: Weather, sports scores, etc. don't update
+
+**Solutions**:
+1. Check render interval: **App Config → Render Interval** (300s default)
+2. Force re-render: **Plugins → Starlark Apps → {App} → Render Now**
+3. Clear cache: Restart LEDMatrix service
+4. API rate limits: Some services throttle requests
+5. Check app logs for API errors
+
+## Performance Considerations
+
+### Render Intervals
+
+- Apps re-render on a schedule (default: 300s = 5 minutes)
+- Lower intervals = more CPU/API usage
+- Recommended minimums:
+  - Static content (clocks): 30-60s
+  - Weather: 300s (5min)
+  - Sports scores: 60-120s
+  - Stock tickers: 60s
+
+### Caching
+
+Enable caching to reduce CPU load:
+- `cache_rendered_output=true` (recommended)
+- `cache_ttl=300` (5 minutes)
+
+Cached WebP files are stored in `starlark-apps/{app-id}/cached_render.webp`
+
+### Display Rotation
+
+Balance number of enabled apps with display duration:
+- 5 apps × 15s = 75s full cycle
+- 20 apps × 15s = 300s (5 min) cycle
+
+Long cycles may cause apps to render before being displayed.
+
+## Limitations
+
+### Unsupported Features
+
+- **OAuth2 Authentication**: Apps requiring OAuth login won't work
+- **PhotoSelect**: Image upload from mobile device not supported
+- **Push Notifications**: Apps can't receive real-time events
+- **Background Jobs**: No persistent background tasks
+
+### API Rate Limits
+
+Many apps use free API tiers with rate limits:
+- Rendering too frequently may exceed limits
+- Use appropriate `render_interval` settings
+- Consider paid API tiers for heavy usage
+
+### Display Size Constraints
+
+Apps designed for 64×32 may not utilize larger displays fully:
+- Content may appear small on 128×64+ displays
+- Magnification helps but doesn't add detail
+- Some apps hard-code 64×32 dimensions
+
+## Advanced Usage
+
+### Manual App Installation
+
+Upload custom `.star` files:
+1. Navigate to **Starlark Apps → Upload**
+2. Select `.star` file from disk
+3. Configure app ID and metadata
+4. Set render/display timing
+
+### Custom App Development
+
+While LEDMatrix runs Tronbyte apps, you can also create your own:
+
+1. **Learn Starlark**: [Tidbyt Developer Docs](https://tidbyt.dev/)
+2. **Write `.star` file**: Use Pixlet APIs for rendering
+3. **Test locally**: `pixlet render myapp.star`
+4. **Upload**: Use LEDMatrix web UI to install
+5. **Share**: Contribute to [Tronbyte Apps](https://github.com/tronbyt/apps) repo
+
+### Configuration Reference
+
+**Plugin Config** (`config/config.json` → `plugins.starlark-apps`):
+
+```json
+{
+  "enabled": true,
+  "magnify": 0,                    // 0 = auto, 1-8 = manual
+  "render_timeout": 30,            // Max seconds for Pixlet render
+  "cache_rendered_output": true,   // Cache WebP files
+  "cache_ttl": 300,                // Cache duration (seconds)
+  "scale_output": true,            // Scale to display size
+  "scale_method": "nearest",       // nearest|bilinear|bicubic|lanczos
+  "center_small_output": false,    // Center instead of scale
+  "default_frame_delay": 50,       // Frame timing (ms)
+  "max_frames": null,              // Limit frames (null = unlimited)
+  "auto_refresh_apps": true        // Auto re-render on interval
+}
+```
+
+**App Config** (`starlark-apps/{app-id}/config.json`):
+
+```json
+{
+  "location": "{\"lat\":\"40.7128\",\"lng\":\"-74.0060\",\"timezone\":\"America/New_York\"}",
+  "units": "imperial",
+  "api_key": "your-api-key-here",
+  "render_interval": 300,          // App-specific override
+  "display_duration": 15           // App-specific override
+}
+```
+
+## Resources
+
+### Official Documentation
+
+- **Tidbyt Developer Docs**: https://tidbyt.dev/
+- **Starlark Language**: https://github.com/bazelbuild/starlark
+- **Pixlet Repository**: https://github.com/tidbyt/pixlet
+- **Tronbyte Apps**: https://github.com/tronbyt/apps
+
+### LEDMatrix Documentation
+
+- [Plugin Development Guide](PLUGIN_DEVELOPMENT_GUIDE.md)
+- [REST API Reference](REST_API_REFERENCE.md)
+- [Troubleshooting Guide](TROUBLESHOOTING.md)
+
+### Community
+
+- **Tidbyt Community**: https://discuss.tidbyt.com/
+- **Tronbyte Apps Issues**: https://github.com/tronbyt/apps/issues
+- **LEDMatrix Issues**: https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/LEDMatrix/issues
+
+## License and Legal
+
+- **LEDMatrix**: MIT License (see project root)
+- **Starlark Apps Plugin**: MIT License (part of LEDMatrix)
+- **Pixlet**: Apache 2.0 License (Tidbyt Inc.)
+- **Tronbyte Apps**: Various licenses (see individual app headers)
+- **Starlark Language**: Apache 2.0 License (Google/Bazel)
+
+**Disclaimer**: LEDMatrix is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Tidbyt Inc. The Starlark Apps plugin enables interoperability with Tidbyt's open-source ecosystem but does not imply any official relationship.
+
+## Support
+
+For issues with:
+- **LEDMatrix integration**: File issues at [LEDMatrix GitHub](https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/LEDMatrix/issues)
+- **Specific apps**: File issues at [Tronbyte Apps](https://github.com/tronbyt/apps/issues)
+- **Pixlet rendering**: File issues at [Pixlet Repository](https://github.com/tidbyt/pixlet/issues)
+
+---
+
+**Ready to get started?** Install the Starlark Apps plugin and explore 974+ community apps! 🎨

docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,915 @@
+# Troubleshooting Guide
+
+## Quick Diagnosis Steps
+
+Run these checks first to quickly identify common issues:
+
+### 1. Check Service Status
+
+```bash
+# Check all LEDMatrix services
+sudo systemctl status ledmatrix
+sudo systemctl status ledmatrix-web
+sudo systemctl status ledmatrix-wifi-monitor
+
+# Check AP mode services (if using WiFi)
+sudo systemctl status hostapd
+sudo systemctl status dnsmasq
+```
+
+**Note:** Look for `active (running)` status and check for error messages in the output.
+
+### 2. View Service Logs
+
+**IMPORTANT:** The web service logs to **syslog**, NOT stdout. Use `journalctl` to view logs:
+
+```bash
+# View all recent logs
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix -n 50
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix-web -n 50
+
+# Follow logs in real-time
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix -f
+
+# View logs from last hour
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix-web --since "1 hour ago"
+
+# Filter for errors only
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix -p err
+```
+
+### 3. Run Diagnostic Scripts
+
+```bash
+# Web interface diagnostics
+bash scripts/diagnose_web_interface.sh
+
+# WiFi setup verification
+./scripts/verify_wifi_setup.sh
+
+# Weather plugin troubleshooting
+./troubleshoot_weather.sh
+
+# Captive portal troubleshooting
+./scripts/troubleshoot_captive_portal.sh
+```
+
+### 4. Check Configuration
+
+```bash
+# Verify web interface autostart
+cat config/config.json | grep web_display_autostart
+
+# Check plugin enabled status
+cat config/config.json | grep -A 2 "plugin-id"
+
+# Verify API keys present
+ls -l config/config_secrets.json
+```
+
+### 5. Test Manual Startup
+
+```bash
+# Test web interface manually
+python3 web_interface/start.py
+
+# If it works manually but not as a service, check systemd service file
+```
+
+---
+
+## Common Issues by Category
+
+### Web Interface & Service Issues
+
+#### Service Not Running/Starting
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- Cannot access web interface at http://your-pi-ip:5050
+- `systemctl status ledmatrix-web` shows `inactive (dead)`
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Start the service:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo systemctl start ledmatrix-web
+   ```
+
+2. **Enable on boot:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo systemctl enable ledmatrix-web
+   ```
+
+3. **Check why it failed:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix-web -n 50
+   ```
+
+#### web_display_autostart is False
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- Service exists but web interface doesn't start automatically
+- Logs show service starting but nothing happens
+
+**Solution:**
+
+```bash
+# Edit config.json
+nano config/config.json
+
+# Set web_display_autostart to true
+{
+  "web_display_autostart": true,
+  ...
+}
+
+# Restart service
+sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix-web
+```
+
+#### Import or Dependency Errors
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- Logs show `ModuleNotFoundError` or `ImportError`
+- Service fails to start with Python errors
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Install dependencies:**
+   ```bash
+   pip3 install --break-system-packages -r requirements.txt
+   pip3 install --break-system-packages -r web_interface/requirements.txt
+   ```
+
+2. **Test imports step-by-step:**
+   ```bash
+   python3 -c "from src.config_manager import ConfigManager; print('OK')"
+   python3 -c "from src.plugin_system.plugin_manager import PluginManager; print('OK')"
+   python3 -c "from web_interface.app import app; print('OK')"
+   ```
+
+3. **Check Python path:**
+   ```bash
+   python3 -c "import sys; print(sys.path)"
+   ```
+
+#### Port Already in Use
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- Error: `Address already in use`
+- Service fails to bind to port 5050
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Check what's using the port:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo lsof -i :5050
+   ```
+
+2. **Kill the conflicting process:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo kill -9 <PID>
+   ```
+
+3. **Or change the port in start.py:**
+   ```python
+   app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=5051)
+   ```
+
+#### Permission Issues
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- `Permission denied` errors in logs
+- Cannot read/write configuration files
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+```bash
+# Fix ownership of LEDMatrix directory
+sudo chown -R ledpi:ledpi /home/ledpi/LEDMatrix
+
+# Fix config file permissions
+sudo chmod 644 config/config.json
+sudo chmod 640 config/config_secrets.json
+
+# Verify service runs as correct user
+sudo systemctl cat ledmatrix-web | grep User
+```
+
+#### Flask/Blueprint Import Errors
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- `ImportError: cannot import name 'app'`
+- `ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'blueprints'`
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Verify file structure:**
+   ```bash
+   ls -l web_interface/app.py
+   ls -l web_interface/blueprints/api_v3.py
+   ls -l web_interface/blueprints/pages_v3.py
+   ```
+
+2. **Check for __init__.py files:**
+   ```bash
+   ls -l web_interface/__init__.py
+   ls -l web_interface/blueprints/__init__.py
+   ```
+
+3. **Test import manually:**
+   ```bash
+   cd /home/ledpi/LEDMatrix
+   python3 -c "from web_interface.app import app"
+   ```
+
+---
+
+### WiFi & AP Mode Issues
+
+#### AP Mode Not Activating
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- WiFi disconnected but AP mode doesn't start
+- Cannot find "LEDMatrix-Setup" network
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Check auto-enable setting:**
+   ```bash
+   cat config/wifi_config.json | grep auto_enable_ap_mode
+   # Should show: "auto_enable_ap_mode": true
+   ```
+
+2. **Verify WiFi monitor service is running:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo systemctl status ledmatrix-wifi-monitor
+   ```
+
+3. **Wait for grace period (90 seconds):**
+   - AP mode requires 3 consecutive disconnected checks at 30-second intervals
+   - Total wait time: 90 seconds after WiFi disconnects
+
+4. **Check if Ethernet is connected:**
+   ```bash
+   nmcli device status
+   # If Ethernet is connected, AP mode won't activate
+   ```
+
+5. **Check required services:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo systemctl status hostapd
+   sudo systemctl status dnsmasq
+   ```
+
+6. **Manually enable AP mode:**
+   ```bash
+   # Via API
+   curl -X POST http://localhost:5050/api/wifi/ap/enable
+
+   # Via Python
+   python3 -c "
+   from src.wifi_manager import WiFiManager
+   wm = WiFiManager()
+   wm.enable_ap_mode()
+   "
+   ```
+
+#### Cannot Connect to AP Mode / Connection Refused
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- Can see "LEDMatrix-Setup" network but can't connect to web interface
+- Browser shows "Connection Refused" or "Can't connect to server"
+- AP mode active but web interface not accessible
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Verify web server is running:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo systemctl status ledmatrix-web
+   # Should be active (running)
+   ```
+
+2. **Use correct IP address and port:**
+   - Correct: `http://192.168.4.1:5050`
+   - NOT: `http://192.168.4.1` (port 80)
+   - NOT: `http://192.168.4.1:5000`
+
+3. **Check wlan0 has correct IP:**
+   ```bash
+   ip addr show wlan0
+   # Should show: inet 192.168.4.1/24
+   ```
+
+4. **Verify hostapd and dnsmasq are running:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo systemctl status hostapd
+   sudo systemctl status dnsmasq
+   ```
+
+5. **Test from the Pi itself:**
+   ```bash
+   curl http://192.168.4.1:5050
+   # Should return HTML
+   ```
+
+#### DNS Resolution Failures
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- Captive portal doesn't redirect automatically
+- DNS lookups fail when connected to AP mode
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Check dnsmasq status:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo systemctl status dnsmasq
+   sudo journalctl -u dnsmasq -n 20
+   ```
+
+2. **Verify DNS configuration:**
+   ```bash
+   cat /etc/dnsmasq.conf | grep -v "^#" | grep -v "^$"
+   ```
+
+3. **Test DNS resolution:**
+   ```bash
+   nslookup captive.apple.com
+   # Should resolve to 192.168.4.1 when in AP mode
+   ```
+
+4. **Manual captive portal testing:**
+   - Try these URLs manually:
+     - `http://192.168.4.1:5050`
+     - `http://captive.apple.com`
+     - `http://connectivitycheck.gstatic.com/generate_204`
+
+#### Firewall Blocking Port 5050
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- Services running but cannot connect
+- Works from Pi but not from other devices
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Check UFW status:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo ufw status
+   ```
+
+2. **Allow port 5050:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo ufw allow 5050/tcp
+   ```
+
+3. **Check iptables:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo iptables -L -n
+   ```
+
+4. **Temporarily disable firewall to test:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo ufw disable
+   # Test if it works, then re-enable and add rule
+   sudo ufw enable
+   sudo ufw allow 5050/tcp
+   ```
+
+---
+
+### Plugin Issues
+
+#### Plugin Not Enabled
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- Plugin installed but doesn't appear in rotation
+- Plugin shows in web interface but is greyed out
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Enable in configuration:**
+   ```json
+   {
+     "plugin-id": {
+       "enabled": true,
+       ...
+     }
+   }
+   ```
+
+2. **Restart display:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix
+   ```
+
+3. **Verify in web interface:**
+   - Navigate to Plugin Management tab
+   - Toggle the switch to enable
+   - Restart display
+
+#### Plugin Not Loading
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- Plugin enabled but not showing
+- Errors in logs about plugin
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Check plugin directory exists:**
+   ```bash
+   ls -ld plugins/plugin-id/
+   ```
+
+2. **Verify manifest.json:**
+   ```bash
+   cat plugins/plugin-id/manifest.json
+   # Verify all required fields present
+   ```
+
+3. **Check dependencies installed:**
+   ```bash
+   if [ -f plugins/plugin-id/requirements.txt ]; then
+     pip3 install --break-system-packages -r plugins/plugin-id/requirements.txt
+   fi
+   ```
+
+4. **Check logs for plugin errors:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix -f | grep plugin-id
+   ```
+
+5. **Test plugin import:**
+   ```bash
+   python3 -c "
+   import sys
+   sys.path.insert(0, 'plugins/plugin-id')
+   from manager import PluginClass
+   print('Plugin imports successfully')
+   "
+   ```
+
+#### Stale Cache Data
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- Plugin shows old data
+- Data doesn't update even after restarting
+- Clearing cache in web interface doesn't help
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Manual cache clearing:**
+   ```bash
+   # Remove plugin-specific cache
+   rm -rf cache/plugin-id*
+
+   # Or remove all cache
+   rm -rf cache/*
+
+   # Restart display
+   sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix
+   ```
+
+2. **Check cache permissions:**
+   ```bash
+   ls -ld cache/
+   sudo chown -R ledpi:ledpi cache/
+   ```
+
+---
+
+### Weather Plugin Specific Issues
+
+#### Missing or Invalid API Key
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- "No Weather Data" message on display
+- Logs show API authentication errors
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Get OpenWeatherMap API key:**
+   - Sign up at https://openweathermap.org/api
+   - Free tier: 1,000 calls/day, 60 calls/minute
+   - Copy your API key
+
+2. **Add to config_secrets.json (recommended):**
+   ```json
+   {
+     "openweathermap_api_key": "your-api-key-here"
+   }
+   ```
+
+3. **Or add to config.json:**
+   ```json
+   {
+     "ledmatrix-weather": {
+       "enabled": true,
+       "openweathermap_api_key": "your-api-key-here",
+       ...
+     }
+   }
+   ```
+
+4. **Secure the API key file:**
+   ```bash
+   chmod 640 config/config_secrets.json
+   ```
+
+5. **Restart display:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix
+   ```
+
+#### API Rate Limits Exceeded
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- Weather works initially then stops
+- Logs show HTTP 429 errors (Too Many Requests)
+- Error message: "Rate limit exceeded"
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Increase update interval:**
+   ```json
+   {
+     "ledmatrix-weather": {
+       "update_interval": 300,
+       ...
+     }
+   }
+   ```
+   **Note:** Minimum recommended: 300 seconds (5 minutes)
+
+2. **Check current rate limit usage:**
+   - OpenWeatherMap free tier: 1,000 calls/day, 60 calls/minute
+   - With 300s interval: 288 calls/day (well within limits)
+
+3. **Monitor API calls:**
+   ```bash
+   sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix -f | grep "openweathermap"
+   ```
+
+#### Invalid Location Configuration
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- "No Weather Data" message
+- Logs show location not found errors
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Use correct location format:**
+   ```json
+   {
+     "ledmatrix-weather": {
+       "city": "Tampa",
+       "state": "FL",
+       "country": "US"
+     }
+   }
+   ```
+
+2. **Use ISO country codes:**
+   - US = United States
+   - GB = United Kingdom
+   - CA = Canada
+   - etc.
+
+3. **Test API call manually:**
+   ```bash
+   API_KEY="your-key-here"
+   curl "http://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?q=Tampa,FL,US&appid=${API_KEY}"
+   ```
+
+#### Network Connectivity to OpenWeatherMap
+
+**Symptoms:**
+- Other internet features work
+- Weather specifically fails
+- Connection timeout errors
+
+**Solutions:**
+
+1. **Test connectivity:**
+   ```bash
+   ping api.openweathermap.org
+   ```
+
+2. **Test DNS resolution:**
+   ```bash
+   nslookup api.openweathermap.org
+   ```
+
+3. **Test API endpoint:**
+   ```bash
+   curl -I https://api.openweathermap.org
+   # Should return HTTP 200 or 301
+   ```
+
+4. **Check firewall:**
+   ```bash
+   # Ensure HTTPS (443) is allowed for outbound connections
+   sudo ufw status
+   ```
+
+---
+
+## Diagnostic Commands Reference
+
+### Service Commands
+
+```bash
+# Check status
+sudo systemctl status ledmatrix
+sudo systemctl status ledmatrix-web
+sudo systemctl status ledmatrix-wifi-monitor
+
+# Start service
+sudo systemctl start <service-name>
+
+# Stop service
+sudo systemctl stop <service-name>
+
+# Restart service
+sudo systemctl restart <service-name>
+
+# Enable on boot
+sudo systemctl enable <service-name>
+
+# Disable on boot
+sudo systemctl disable <service-name>
+
+# View service file
+sudo systemctl cat <service-name>
+
+# Reload systemd after editing service files
+sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+```
+
+### Log Viewing Commands
+
+```bash
+# View recent logs (last 50 lines)
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix -n 50
+
+# Follow logs in real-time
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix -f
+
+# View logs from specific time
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix --since "1 hour ago"
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix --since "2024-01-01 10:00:00"
+
+# View logs until specific time
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix --until "2024-01-01 12:00:00"
+
+# Filter by priority (errors only)
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix -p err
+
+# Filter by priority (warnings and errors)
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix -p warning
+
+# Search logs for specific text
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix | grep "error"
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix | grep -i "plugin"
+
+# View logs for multiple services
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix -u ledmatrix-web -n 50
+
+# Export logs to file
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix > ledmatrix.log
+```
+
+### Network Testing Commands
+
+```bash
+# Test connectivity
+ping -c 4 8.8.8.8
+ping -c 4 api.openweathermap.org
+
+# Test DNS resolution
+nslookup api.openweathermap.org
+dig api.openweathermap.org
+
+# Test HTTP endpoint
+curl -I http://your-pi-ip:5050
+curl http://192.168.4.1:5050
+
+# Check listening ports
+sudo lsof -i :5050
+sudo netstat -tuln | grep 5050
+
+# Check network interfaces
+ip addr show
+nmcli device status
+```
+
+### File/Directory Verification
+
+```bash
+# Check file exists
+ls -l config/config.json
+ls -l plugins/plugin-id/manifest.json
+
+# Check directory structure
+ls -la web_interface/
+ls -la plugins/
+
+# Check file permissions
+ls -l config/config_secrets.json
+
+# Check file contents
+cat config/config.json | jq .
+cat config/wifi_config.json | grep auto_enable
+```
+
+### Python Import Testing
+
+```bash
+# Test core imports
+python3 -c "from src.config_manager import ConfigManager; print('OK')"
+python3 -c "from src.plugin_system.plugin_manager import PluginManager; print('OK')"
+python3 -c "from src.display_manager import DisplayManager; print('OK')"
+
+# Test web interface imports
+python3 -c "from web_interface.app import app; print('OK')"
+python3 -c "from web_interface.blueprints.api_v3 import api_v3; print('OK')"
+
+# Test WiFi manager
+python3 -c "from src.wifi_manager import WiFiManager; print('OK')"
+
+# Test plugin import
+python3 -c "
+import sys
+sys.path.insert(0, 'plugins/plugin-id')
+from manager import PluginClass
+print('Plugin imports OK')
+"
+```
+
+---
+
+## Service File Template
+
+If your systemd service file is corrupted or missing, use this template:
+
+```ini
+[Unit]
+Description=LEDMatrix Web Interface
+After=network.target
+
+[Service]
+Type=simple
+User=ledpi
+Group=ledpi
+WorkingDirectory=/home/ledpi/LEDMatrix
+Environment="PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1"
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /home/ledpi/LEDMatrix/web_interface/start.py
+Restart=on-failure
+RestartSec=5s
+StandardOutput=journal
+StandardError=journal
+SyslogIdentifier=ledmatrix-web
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
+```
+
+Save to `/etc/systemd/system/ledmatrix-web.service` and run:
+
+```bash
+sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+sudo systemctl enable ledmatrix-web
+sudo systemctl start ledmatrix-web
+```
+
+---
+
+## Complete Diagnostic Script
+
+Run this script for comprehensive diagnostics:
+
+```bash
+#!/bin/bash
+
+echo "=== LEDMatrix Diagnostic Report ==="
+echo ""
+
+echo "1. Service Status:"
+systemctl status ledmatrix --no-pager -n 5
+systemctl status ledmatrix-web --no-pager -n 5
+echo ""
+
+echo "2. Recent Logs:"
+journalctl -u ledmatrix -n 20 --no-pager
+echo ""
+
+echo "3. Configuration:"
+cat config/config.json | grep -E "(web_display_autostart|enabled)"
+echo ""
+
+echo "4. Network Status:"
+ip addr show | grep -E "(wlan|eth|inet )"
+curl -s http://localhost:5050 > /dev/null && echo "Web interface: OK" || echo "Web interface: FAILED"
+echo ""
+
+echo "5. File Structure:"
+ls -la web_interface/ | head -10
+ls -la plugins/ | head -10
+echo ""
+
+echo "6. Python Imports:"
+python3 -c "from src.config_manager import ConfigManager" && echo "ConfigManager: OK" || echo "ConfigManager: FAILED"
+python3 -c "from web_interface.app import app" && echo "Web app: OK" || echo "Web app: FAILED"
+echo ""
+
+echo "=== End Diagnostic Report ==="
+```
+
+---
+
+## Success Indicators
+
+A properly functioning system should show:
+
+1. **Services Running:**
+   ```
+   ● ledmatrix.service - active (running)
+   ● ledmatrix-web.service - active (running)
+   ```
+
+2. **Web Interface Accessible:**
+   - Navigate to http://your-pi-ip:5050
+   - Page loads successfully
+   - Display preview visible
+
+3. **Logs Show Normal Operation:**
+   ```
+   INFO: Web interface started on port 5050
+   INFO: Loaded X plugins
+   INFO: Display rotation active
+   ```
+
+4. **Process Listening on Port:**
+   ```bash
+   $ sudo lsof -i :5050
+   COMMAND   PID USER   FD   TYPE DEVICE SIZE/OFF NODE NAME
+   python3  1234 ledpi  3u   IPv4  12345      0t0  TCP *:5050 (LISTEN)
+   ```
+
+5. **Plugins Loading:**
+   - Logs show plugin initialization
+   - Plugins appear in web interface
+   - Display cycles through enabled plugins
+
+---
+
+## Emergency Recovery
+
+If the system is completely broken:
+
+### 1. Git Rollback
+
+```bash
+# View recent commits
+git log --oneline -10
+
+# Rollback to previous commit
+git reset --hard HEAD~1
+
+# Or rollback to specific commit
+git reset --hard <commit-hash>
+
+# Restart all services
+sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix
+sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix-web
+```
+
+### 2. Fresh Service Installation
+
+```bash
+# Reinstall WiFi monitor
+sudo ./scripts/install/install_wifi_monitor.sh
+
+# Recreate service files from templates
+sudo cp templates/ledmatrix.service /etc/systemd/system/
+sudo cp templates/ledmatrix-web.service /etc/systemd/system/
+
+# Reload and restart
+sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix ledmatrix-web
+```
+
+### 3. Full System Reboot
+
+```bash
+# As a last resort
+sudo reboot
+```
+
+---
+
+## Related Documentation
+
+- [WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md](WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md) - Web interface usage
+- [WIFI_NETWORK_SETUP.md](WIFI_NETWORK_SETUP.md) - WiFi configuration
+- [PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md) - Plugin installation
+- [REST_API_REFERENCE.md](REST_API_REFERENCE.md) - API documentation

docs/WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,442 @@
+# Web Interface Guide
+
+## Overview
+
+The LEDMatrix web interface provides a complete control panel for managing your LED matrix display. Access all features through a modern, responsive web interface that works on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.
+
+---
+
+## Quick Start
+
+### Accessing the Interface
+
+1. Find your Raspberry Pi's IP address:
+   ```bash
+   hostname -I
+   ```
+
+2. Open a web browser and navigate to:
+   ```
+   http://your-pi-ip:5050
+   ```
+
+3. The interface will load with the Overview tab displaying system stats and a live display preview.
+
+**Note:** If the interface doesn't load, verify the web service is running:
+```bash
+sudo systemctl status ledmatrix-web
+```
+
+---
+
+## Navigation
+
+The interface uses a tab-based layout for easy navigation between features:
+
+- **Overview** - System stats, quick actions, and display preview
+- **General Settings** - Timezone, location, and autostart configuration
+- **Display Settings** - Hardware configuration, brightness, and display options
+- **Durations** - Display rotation timing configuration
+- **Sports Configuration** - Per-league settings and on-demand modes
+- **Plugin Management** - Install, configure, enable/disable plugins
+- **Plugin Store** - Discover and install plugins
+- **Font Management** - Upload fonts, manage overrides, and preview
+- **Logs** - Real-time log streaming with filtering and search
+
+---
+
+## Features and Usage
+
+### Overview Tab
+
+The Overview tab provides at-a-glance information and quick actions:
+
+**System Stats:**
+- CPU usage and temperature
+- Memory usage
+- Disk usage
+- Network status
+
+**Quick Actions:**
+- **Start/Stop Display** - Control the display service
+- **Restart Display** - Restart to apply configuration changes
+- **Test Display** - Run a quick test pattern
+
+**Display Preview:**
+- Live preview of what's currently shown on the LED matrix
+- Updates in real-time
+- Useful for remote monitoring
+
+### General Settings Tab
+
+Configure basic system settings:
+
+**Timezone:**
+- Set your local timezone for accurate time display
+- Auto-detects common timezones
+
+**Location:**
+- Set latitude/longitude for location-based features
+- Used by weather plugins and sunrise/sunset calculations
+
+**Autostart:**
+- Enable/disable display autostart on boot
+- Configure systemd service settings
+
+**Save Changes:**
+- Click "Save Configuration" to apply changes
+- Restart the display for changes to take effect
+
+### Display Settings Tab
+
+Configure your LED matrix hardware:
+
+**Matrix Configuration:**
+- Rows: Number of LED rows (typically 32 or 64)
+- Columns: Number of LED columns (typically 64, 128, or 256)
+- Chain Length: Number of chained panels
+- Parallel Chains: Number of parallel chains
+
+**Display Options:**
+- Brightness: Adjust LED brightness (0-100%)
+- Hardware Mapping: GPIO pin mapping
+- Slowdown GPIO: Timing adjustment for compatibility
+
+**Save and Apply:**
+- Changes require a display restart
+- Use "Test Display" to verify configuration
+
+### Durations Tab
+
+Control how long each plugin displays:
+
+**Global Settings:**
+- Default Duration: Default time for plugins without specific durations
+- Transition Speed: Speed of transitions between plugins
+
+**Per-Plugin Durations:**
+- Set custom display duration for each plugin
+- Override global default for specific plugins
+- Measured in seconds
+
+### Sports Configuration Tab
+
+Configure sports-specific settings:
+
+**Per-League Settings:**
+- Favorite teams
+- Show favorite teams only
+- Include scores/standings
+- Refresh intervals
+
+**On-Demand Modes:**
+- Live Priority: Show live games immediately
+- Game Day Mode: Enhanced display during game days
+- Score Alerts: Highlight score changes
+
+### Plugin Management Tab
+
+Manage installed plugins:
+
+**Plugin List:**
+- View all installed plugins
+- See plugin status (enabled/disabled)
+- Check last update time
+
+**Actions:**
+- **Enable/Disable**: Toggle plugin using the switch
+- **Configure**: Click ⚙️ to edit plugin settings
+- **Update**: Update plugin to latest version
+- **Uninstall**: Remove plugin completely
+
+**Configuration:**
+- Edit plugin-specific settings
+- Changes are saved to `config/config.json`
+- Restart display to apply changes
+
+**Note:** See [PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md) for information on installing plugins.
+
+### Plugin Store Tab
+
+Discover and install new plugins:
+
+**Browse Plugins:**
+- View available plugins in the official store
+- Filter by category (sports, weather, time, finance, etc.)
+- Search by name, description, or author
+
+**Install Plugins:**
+- Click "Install" next to any plugin
+- Wait for installation to complete
+- Restart the display to activate
+
+**Install from URL:**
+- Install plugins from any GitHub repository
+- Paste the repository URL in the "Install from URL" section
+- Review the warning about unverified plugins
+- Click "Install from URL"
+
+**Plugin Information:**
+- View plugin descriptions, ratings, and screenshots
+- Check compatibility and requirements
+- Read user reviews (when available)
+
+### Font Management Tab
+
+Manage fonts for your display:
+
+**Upload Fonts:**
+- Drag and drop font files (.ttf, .otf, .bdf)
+- Upload multiple files at once
+- Progress indicator shows upload status
+
+**Font Catalog:**
+- View all available fonts
+- See font previews
+- Check font sizes and styles
+
+**Plugin Font Overrides:**
+- Set custom fonts for specific plugins
+- Override default font choices
+- Preview font changes
+
+**Delete Fonts:**
+- Remove unused fonts
+- Free up disk space
+
+### Logs Tab
+
+View real-time system logs:
+
+**Log Viewer:**
+- Streaming logs from the display service
+- Auto-scroll to latest entries
+- Timestamps for each log entry
+
+**Filtering:**
+- Filter by log level (INFO, WARNING, ERROR)
+- Search for specific text
+- Filter by plugin or component
+
+**Actions:**
+- **Clear**: Clear the current view
+- **Download**: Download logs for offline analysis
+- **Pause**: Pause auto-scrolling
+
+---
+
+## Common Tasks
+
+### Changing Display Brightness
+
+1. Navigate to the **Display Settings** tab
+2. Adjust the **Brightness** slider (0-100%)
+3. Click **Save Configuration**
+4. Restart the display for changes to take effect
+
+### Installing a New Plugin
+
+1. Navigate to the **Plugin Store** tab
+2. Browse or search for the desired plugin
+3. Click **Install** next to the plugin
+4. Wait for installation to complete
+5. Restart the display
+6. Enable the plugin in the **Plugin Management** tab
+
+### Configuring a Plugin
+
+1. Navigate to the **Plugin Management** tab
+2. Find the plugin you want to configure
+3. Click the ⚙️ **Configure** button
+4. Edit the settings in the form
+5. Click **Save**
+6. Restart the display to apply changes
+
+### Setting Favorite Sports Teams
+
+1. Navigate to the **Sports Configuration** tab
+2. Select the league (NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL)
+3. Choose your favorite teams from the dropdown
+4. Enable "Show favorite teams only" if desired
+5. Click **Save Configuration**
+6. Restart the display
+
+### Troubleshooting Display Issues
+
+1. Navigate to the **Logs** tab
+2. Look for ERROR or WARNING messages
+3. Filter by the problematic plugin or component
+4. Check the error message for clues
+5. See [TROUBLESHOOTING.md](TROUBLESHOOTING.md) for common solutions
+
+---
+
+## Real-Time Features
+
+The web interface uses Server-Sent Events (SSE) for real-time updates:
+
+**Live Updates:**
+- System stats refresh automatically every few seconds
+- Display preview updates in real-time
+- Logs stream continuously
+- No page refresh required
+
+**Performance:**
+- Minimal bandwidth usage
+- Server-side rendering for fast load times
+- Progressive enhancement - works without JavaScript
+
+---
+
+## Mobile Access
+
+The interface is fully responsive and works on mobile devices:
+
+**Mobile Features:**
+- Touch-friendly interface
+- Responsive layout adapts to screen size
+- All features available on mobile
+- Swipe navigation between tabs
+
+**Tips for Mobile:**
+- Use landscape mode for better visibility
+- Pinch to zoom on display preview
+- Long-press for context menus
+
+---
+
+## Keyboard Shortcuts
+
+Use keyboard shortcuts for faster navigation:
+
+- **Tab**: Navigate between form fields
+- **Enter**: Submit forms
+- **Esc**: Close modals
+- **Ctrl+F**: Search in logs
+
+---
+
+## API Access
+
+The web interface is built on a REST API that you can access programmatically:
+
+**API Base URL:**
+```
+http://your-pi-ip:5050/api
+```
+
+**Common Endpoints:**
+- `GET /api/config/main` - Get configuration
+- `POST /api/config/main` - Update configuration
+- `GET /api/system/status` - Get system status
+- `POST /api/system/action` - Control display (start/stop/restart)
+- `GET /api/plugins/installed` - List installed plugins
+
+**Note:** See [REST_API_REFERENCE.md](REST_API_REFERENCE.md) for complete API documentation.
+
+---
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### Interface Won't Load
+
+**Problem:** Browser shows "Unable to connect" or "Connection refused"
+
+**Solutions:**
+1. Verify the web service is running:
+   ```bash
+   sudo systemctl status ledmatrix-web
+   ```
+
+2. Start the service if stopped:
+   ```bash
+   sudo systemctl start ledmatrix-web
+   ```
+
+3. Check that port 5050 is not blocked by firewall
+4. Verify the Pi's IP address is correct
+
+### Changes Not Applying
+
+**Problem:** Configuration changes don't take effect
+
+**Solutions:**
+1. Ensure you clicked "Save Configuration"
+2. Restart the display service for changes to apply:
+   ```bash
+   sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix
+   ```
+3. Check logs for error messages
+
+### Display Preview Not Updating
+
+**Problem:** Display preview shows old content or doesn't update
+
+**Solutions:**
+1. Refresh the browser page (F5)
+2. Check that the display service is running
+3. Verify SSE streams are working (check browser console)
+
+### Plugin Configuration Not Saving
+
+**Problem:** Plugin settings revert after restart
+
+**Solutions:**
+1. Check file permissions on `config/config.json`:
+   ```bash
+   ls -l config/config.json
+   ```
+2. Ensure the web service has write permissions
+3. Check logs for permission errors
+
+---
+
+## Security Considerations
+
+**Network Access:**
+- The interface is accessible to anyone on your local network
+- No authentication is currently implemented
+- Recommended for trusted networks only
+
+**Best Practices:**
+1. Run on a private network (not exposed to internet)
+2. Use a firewall to restrict access if needed
+3. Consider VPN access for remote control
+4. Keep the system updated
+
+---
+
+## Technical Details
+
+### Architecture
+
+The web interface uses modern web technologies:
+
+- **Backend:** Flask with Blueprint-based modular design
+- **Frontend:** HTMX for dynamic content, Alpine.js for reactive components
+- **Styling:** Tailwind CSS for responsive design
+- **Real-Time:** Server-Sent Events (SSE) for live updates
+
+### File Locations
+
+**Configuration:**
+- Main config: `/config/config.json`
+- Secrets: `/config/config_secrets.json`
+- WiFi config: `/config/wifi_config.json`
+
+**Logs:**
+- Display service: `sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix -f`
+- Web service: `sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix-web -f`
+
+**Plugins:**
+- Plugin directory: `/plugins/`
+- Plugin config: `/config/config.json` (per-plugin sections)
+
+---
+
+## Related Documentation
+
+- [PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md](PLUGIN_STORE_GUIDE.md) - Installing and managing plugins
+- [REST_API_REFERENCE.md](REST_API_REFERENCE.md) - Complete REST API documentation
+- [TROUBLESHOOTING.md](TROUBLESHOOTING.md) - Troubleshooting common issues
+- [FONT_MANAGER.md](FONT_MANAGER.md) - Font management details

docs/WIFI_NETWORK_SETUP.md

@@ -0,0 +1,631 @@
+# WiFi Network Setup Guide
+
+## Overview
+
+The LEDMatrix WiFi system provides automatic network configuration with intelligent failover to Access Point (AP) mode. When your Raspberry Pi loses network connectivity, it automatically creates a WiFi access point for easy configuration—ensuring you can always connect to your device.
+
+### Key Features
+
+- **Automatic AP Mode**: Creates a WiFi access point when network connection is lost
+- **Intelligent Failover**: Only activates after a grace period to prevent false positives
+- **Dual Connectivity**: Supports both WiFi and Ethernet with automatic priority management
+- **Web Interface**: Configure WiFi through an easy-to-use web interface
+- **Network Scanning**: Scan and connect to available WiFi networks
+- **Secure Storage**: WiFi credentials stored securely
+
+---
+
+## Quick Start
+
+### Accessing WiFi Setup
+
+**If not connected to WiFi:**
+1. Wait 90 seconds after boot (AP mode activation grace period)
+2. Connect to WiFi network: **LEDMatrix-Setup** (open network)
+3. Open browser to: `http://192.168.4.1:5050`
+4. Navigate to the WiFi tab
+5. Scan, select your network, and connect
+
+**If already connected:**
+1. Open browser to: `http://your-pi-ip:5050`
+2. Navigate to the WiFi tab
+3. Configure as needed
+
+---
+
+## Installation
+
+### Prerequisites
+
+The following packages are required:
+- **hostapd** - Access point software
+- **dnsmasq** - DHCP server for AP mode
+- **NetworkManager** - WiFi management
+
+### Install WiFi Monitor Service
+
+```bash
+cd /home/ledpi/LEDMatrix
+sudo ./scripts/install/install_wifi_monitor.sh
+```
+
+This script will:
+- Check for required packages and offer to install them
+- Create the systemd service file
+- Enable and start the WiFi monitor service
+- Configure the service to start on boot
+
+### Verify Installation
+
+```bash
+# Check service status
+sudo systemctl status ledmatrix-wifi-monitor
+
+# Run verification script
+./scripts/verify_wifi_setup.sh
+```
+
+---
+
+## Configuration
+
+### Configuration File
+
+WiFi settings are stored in `config/wifi_config.json`:
+
+```json
+{
+  "ap_ssid": "LEDMatrix-Setup",
+  "ap_password": "",
+  "ap_channel": 7,
+  "auto_enable_ap_mode": true,
+  "saved_networks": [
+    {
+      "ssid": "YourNetwork",
+      "password": "your-password",
+      "saved_at": 1234567890.0
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+### Configuration Options
+
+| Setting | Default | Description |
+|---------|---------|-------------|
+| `ap_ssid` | `LEDMatrix-Setup` | Network name for AP mode |
+| `ap_password` | `` (empty) | AP password (empty = open network) |
+| `ap_channel` | `7` | WiFi channel (use 1, 6, or 11 for non-overlapping) |
+| `auto_enable_ap_mode` | `true` | Automatically enable AP mode when disconnected |
+| `saved_networks` | `[]` | Array of saved WiFi credentials |
+
+### Auto-Enable AP Mode Behavior
+
+**When enabled (`true` - recommended):**
+- AP mode activates automatically after 90-second grace period
+- Only when both WiFi AND Ethernet are disconnected
+- Automatically disables when either WiFi or Ethernet connects
+- Best for portable devices or unreliable network environments
+
+**When disabled (`false`):**
+- AP mode must be manually enabled through web interface
+- Prevents unnecessary AP activation
+- Best for devices with stable network connections
+
+---
+
+## Using WiFi Setup
+
+### Connecting to a WiFi Network
+
+**Via Web Interface:**
+1. Navigate to the **WiFi** tab
+2. Click **Scan** to search for networks
+3. Select a network from the dropdown (or enter SSID manually)
+4. Enter the WiFi password (leave empty for open networks)
+5. Click **Connect**
+6. System will attempt connection
+7. AP mode automatically disables once connected
+
+**Via API:**
+```bash
+# Scan for networks
+curl "http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/wifi/scan"
+
+# Connect to network
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/wifi/connect \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"ssid": "YourNetwork", "password": "your-password"}'
+```
+
+### Manual AP Mode Control
+
+**Via Web Interface:**
+- **Enable AP Mode**: Click "Enable AP Mode" button (only when WiFi/Ethernet disconnected)
+- **Disable AP Mode**: Click "Disable AP Mode" button (when AP is active)
+
+**Via API:**
+```bash
+# Enable AP mode
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/wifi/ap/enable
+
+# Disable AP mode
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/wifi/ap/disable
+```
+
+**Note:** Manual enable still requires both WiFi and Ethernet to be disconnected.
+
+---
+
+## Understanding AP Mode Failover
+
+### How the Grace Period Works
+
+The system uses a **grace period mechanism** to prevent false positives from temporary network hiccups:
+
+```
+Check Interval: 30 seconds (default)
+Required Checks: 3 consecutive
+Grace Period: 90 seconds total
+```
+
+**Timeline Example:**
+```
+Time 0s:   WiFi disconnects
+Time 30s:  Check 1 - Disconnected (counter = 1)
+Time 60s:  Check 2 - Disconnected (counter = 2)
+Time 90s:  Check 3 - Disconnected (counter = 3) → AP MODE ENABLED
+```
+
+If WiFi or Ethernet reconnects at any point, the counter resets to 0.
+
+### Why Grace Period is Important
+
+Without a grace period, AP mode would activate during:
+- Brief network hiccups
+- Router reboots
+- Temporary signal interference
+- NetworkManager reconnection attempts
+
+The 90-second grace period ensures AP mode only activates during **sustained disconnection**.
+
+### Connection Priority
+
+The system checks connections in this order:
+1. **WiFi Connection** (highest priority)
+2. **Ethernet Connection** (fallback)
+3. **AP Mode** (last resort - only when both WiFi and Ethernet disconnected)
+
+### Behavior Summary
+
+| WiFi Status | Ethernet Status | Auto-Enable | AP Mode Behavior |
+|-------------|-----------------|-------------|------------------|
+| Any | Any | `false` | Manual enable only |
+| Connected | Any | `true` | Disabled |
+| Disconnected | Connected | `true` | Disabled (Ethernet available) |
+| Disconnected | Disconnected | `true` | Auto-enabled after 90s |
+
+---
+
+## Access Point Configuration
+
+### AP Mode Settings
+
+- **SSID**: LEDMatrix-Setup (configurable)
+- **Network**: Open (no password by default)
+- **IP Address**: 192.168.4.1
+- **DHCP Range**: 192.168.4.2 - 192.168.4.20
+- **Channel**: 7 (configurable)
+
+### Accessing Services in AP Mode
+
+When AP mode is active:
+- Web Interface: `http://192.168.4.1:5050`
+- SSH: `ssh ledpi@192.168.4.1`
+- Captive portal may automatically redirect browsers
+
+---
+
+## Best Practices
+
+### Security Recommendations
+
+**1. Change AP Password (Optional):**
+```json
+{
+  "ap_password": "your-strong-password"
+}
+```
+
+**Note:** The default is an open network for easy initial setup. For deployments in public areas, consider adding a password.
+
+**2. Use Non-Overlapping WiFi Channels:**
+- Channels 1, 6, 11 are non-overlapping (2.4GHz)
+- Choose a channel that doesn't conflict with your primary network
+- Example: If primary uses channel 1, use channel 11 for AP mode
+
+**3. Secure WiFi Credentials:**
+```bash
+sudo chmod 600 config/wifi_config.json
+```
+
+### Network Configuration Tips
+
+**Save Multiple Networks:**
+```json
+{
+  "saved_networks": [
+    {
+      "ssid": "Home-Network",
+      "password": "home-password"
+    },
+    {
+      "ssid": "Office-Network",
+      "password": "office-password"
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+**Adjust Check Interval:**
+
+Edit the systemd service file to change grace period:
+```bash
+sudo systemctl edit ledmatrix-wifi-monitor
+```
+
+Add:
+```ini
+[Service]
+ExecStart=
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /path/to/LEDMatrix/scripts/utils/wifi_monitor_daemon.py --interval 20
+```
+
+**Note:** Interval affects grace period:
+- 20-second interval = 60-second grace period (3 × 20)
+- 30-second interval = 90-second grace period (3 × 30) ← Default
+- 60-second interval = 180-second grace period (3 × 60)
+
+---
+
+## Configuration Scenarios
+
+### Scenario 1: Portable Device with Auto-Failover (Recommended)
+
+**Use Case:** Device may lose WiFi connection
+
+**Configuration:**
+```json
+{
+  "auto_enable_ap_mode": true
+}
+```
+
+**Behavior:**
+- AP mode activates automatically after 90 seconds of disconnection
+- Always provides a way to connect
+- Best for devices that move or have unreliable WiFi
+
+### Scenario 2: Stable Network Connection
+
+**Use Case:** Ethernet or reliable WiFi connection
+
+**Configuration:**
+```json
+{
+  "auto_enable_ap_mode": false
+}
+```
+
+**Behavior:**
+- AP mode must be manually enabled
+- Prevents unnecessary activation
+- Best for stationary devices with stable connections
+
+### Scenario 3: Ethernet Primary with WiFi Backup
+
+**Use Case:** Primary Ethernet, WiFi as backup
+
+**Configuration:**
+```json
+{
+  "auto_enable_ap_mode": true
+}
+```
+
+**Behavior:**
+- Ethernet connection prevents AP mode activation
+- If Ethernet disconnects, WiFi is attempted
+- If both disconnect, AP mode activates after grace period
+- Best for devices with both Ethernet and WiFi
+
+---
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### AP Mode Not Activating
+
+**Check 1: Auto-Enable Setting**
+```bash
+cat config/wifi_config.json | grep auto_enable_ap_mode
+```
+Should show `"auto_enable_ap_mode": true`
+
+**Check 2: Service Status**
+```bash
+sudo systemctl status ledmatrix-wifi-monitor
+```
+Service should be `active (running)`
+
+**Check 3: Grace Period**
+- Wait at least 90 seconds after disconnection
+- Check logs: `sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix-wifi-monitor -f`
+
+**Check 4: Ethernet Connection**
+- If Ethernet is connected, AP mode won't activate
+- Verify: `nmcli device status`
+- Disconnect Ethernet to test AP mode
+
+**Check 5: Required Packages**
+```bash
+# Verify hostapd is installed
+which hostapd
+
+# Verify dnsmasq is installed
+which dnsmasq
+```
+
+### Cannot Access AP Mode
+
+**Check 1: AP Mode Active**
+```bash
+sudo systemctl status hostapd
+sudo systemctl status dnsmasq
+```
+Both should be running
+
+**Check 2: Network Interface**
+```bash
+ip addr show wlan0
+```
+Should show IP `192.168.4.1`
+
+**Check 3: WiFi Interface Available**
+```bash
+ip link show wlan0
+```
+Interface should exist
+
+**Check 4: Try Manual Enable**
+- Use web interface: WiFi tab → Enable AP Mode
+- Or via API: `curl -X POST http://localhost:5050/api/wifi/ap/enable`
+
+### Cannot Connect to WiFi Network
+
+**Check 1: Verify Credentials**
+- Ensure SSID and password are correct
+- Check for hidden networks (manual SSID entry required)
+
+**Check 2: Check Logs**
+```bash
+# WiFi monitor logs
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix-wifi-monitor -f
+
+# NetworkManager logs
+sudo journalctl -u NetworkManager -n 50
+```
+
+**Check 3: Network Compatibility**
+- Verify network is 2.4GHz (5GHz may not be supported on all Pi models)
+- Check if network requires special authentication
+
+### AP Mode Not Disabling After WiFi Connect
+
+**Check 1: WiFi Connection Status**
+```bash
+nmcli device status
+```
+
+**Check 2: Manually Disable**
+- Use web interface: WiFi tab → Disable AP Mode
+- Or restart service: `sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix-wifi-monitor`
+
+**Check 3: Check Logs**
+```bash
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix-wifi-monitor -n 50
+```
+
+### AP Mode Activating Unexpectedly
+
+**Check 1: Network Stability**
+- Verify WiFi connection is stable
+- Check router status
+- Check signal strength
+
+**Check 2: Disable Auto-Enable**
+```bash
+nano config/wifi_config.json
+# Change: "auto_enable_ap_mode": false
+sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix-wifi-monitor
+```
+
+**Check 3: Increase Grace Period**
+- Edit service file to increase check interval
+- Longer interval = longer grace period
+- See "Best Practices" section above
+
+---
+
+## Monitoring and Diagnostics
+
+### Check WiFi Status
+
+**Via Python:**
+```python
+from src.wifi_manager import WiFiManager
+
+wm = WiFiManager()
+status = wm.get_wifi_status()
+
+print(f'Connected: {status.connected}')
+print(f'SSID: {status.ssid}')
+print(f'IP Address: {status.ip_address}')
+print(f'AP Mode Active: {status.ap_mode_active}')
+print(f'Auto-Enable: {wm.config.get("auto_enable_ap_mode", False)}')
+```
+
+**Via NetworkManager:**
+```bash
+# View device status
+nmcli device status
+
+# View connections
+nmcli connection show
+
+# View available WiFi networks
+nmcli device wifi list
+```
+
+### View Service Logs
+
+```bash
+# Real-time logs
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix-wifi-monitor -f
+
+# Recent logs (last 50 lines)
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix-wifi-monitor -n 50
+
+# Logs from specific time
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix-wifi-monitor --since "1 hour ago"
+```
+
+### Run Verification Script
+
+```bash
+cd /home/ledpi/LEDMatrix
+./scripts/verify_wifi_setup.sh
+```
+
+Checks:
+- Required packages installed
+- WiFi monitor service running
+- Configuration files valid
+- WiFi interface available
+- Current connection status
+- AP mode status
+
+---
+
+## Service Management
+
+### Useful Commands
+
+```bash
+# Check service status
+sudo systemctl status ledmatrix-wifi-monitor
+
+# Start the service
+sudo systemctl start ledmatrix-wifi-monitor
+
+# Stop the service
+sudo systemctl stop ledmatrix-wifi-monitor
+
+# Restart the service
+sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix-wifi-monitor
+
+# View logs
+sudo journalctl -u ledmatrix-wifi-monitor -f
+
+# Disable service from starting on boot
+sudo systemctl disable ledmatrix-wifi-monitor
+
+# Enable service to start on boot
+sudo systemctl enable ledmatrix-wifi-monitor
+```
+
+---
+
+## API Reference
+
+The WiFi setup feature exposes the following API endpoints:
+
+| Method | Endpoint | Description |
+|--------|----------|-------------|
+| GET | `/api/wifi/status` | Get current WiFi connection status |
+| GET | `/api/wifi/scan` | Scan for available WiFi networks |
+| POST | `/api/wifi/connect` | Connect to a WiFi network |
+| POST | `/api/wifi/ap/enable` | Enable access point mode |
+| POST | `/api/wifi/ap/disable` | Disable access point mode |
+| GET | `/api/wifi/ap/auto-enable` | Get auto-enable setting |
+| POST | `/api/wifi/ap/auto-enable` | Set auto-enable setting |
+
+### Example Usage
+
+```bash
+# Get WiFi status
+curl "http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/wifi/status"
+
+# Scan for networks
+curl "http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/wifi/scan"
+
+# Connect to network
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/wifi/connect \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"ssid": "MyNetwork", "password": "mypassword"}'
+
+# Enable AP mode
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/wifi/ap/enable
+
+# Check auto-enable setting
+curl "http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/wifi/ap/auto-enable"
+
+# Set auto-enable
+curl -X POST http://your-pi-ip:5050/api/wifi/ap/auto-enable \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+  -d '{"auto_enable_ap_mode": true}'
+```
+
+---
+
+## Technical Details
+
+### WiFi Monitor Daemon
+
+The WiFi monitor daemon (`wifi_monitor_daemon.py`) runs as a background service that:
+
+1. Checks WiFi and Ethernet connection status every 30 seconds (configurable)
+2. Maintains disconnected check counter for grace period
+3. Automatically enables AP mode when:
+   - `auto_enable_ap_mode` is enabled AND
+   - Both WiFi and Ethernet disconnected AND
+   - Grace period elapsed (3 consecutive checks)
+4. Automatically disables AP mode when WiFi or Ethernet connects
+5. Logs all state changes
+
+### WiFi Detection Methods
+
+The WiFi manager tries multiple methods:
+
+1. **NetworkManager (nmcli)** - Preferred method
+2. **iwconfig** - Fallback for systems without NetworkManager
+
+### Network Scanning Methods
+
+1. **nmcli** - Fast, preferred method
+2. **iwlist** - Fallback for older systems
+
+### Access Point Implementation
+
+- Uses `hostapd` for WiFi access point functionality
+- Uses `dnsmasq` for DHCP and DNS services
+- Configures wlan0 interface with IP 192.168.4.1
+- Provides DHCP range: 192.168.4.2-20
+- Captive portal with DNS redirection
+
+---
+
+## Related Documentation
+
+- [WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md](WEB_INTERFACE_GUIDE.md) - Using the web interface
+- [TROUBLESHOOTING.md](TROUBLESHOOTING.md) - General troubleshooting
+- [GETTING_STARTED.md](GETTING_STARTED.md) - Initial setup guide

docs/archive/VEGAS_SCROLL_MODE.md

@@ -0,0 +1,388 @@
+# Vegas Scroll Mode - Plugin Developer Guide
+
+Vegas scroll mode displays content from multiple plugins in a continuous horizontal scroll, similar to the news tickers seen in Las Vegas casinos. This guide explains how to integrate your plugin with Vegas mode.
+
+## Overview
+
+When Vegas mode is enabled, the display controller composes content from all enabled plugins into a single continuous scroll. Each plugin can control how its content appears in the scroll using one of three **display modes**:
+
+| Mode | Behavior | Best For |
+|------|----------|----------|
+| **SCROLL** | Content scrolls continuously within the stream | Multi-item plugins (sports scores, odds, news) |
+| **FIXED_SEGMENT** | Fixed-width block that scrolls by | Static info (clock, weather, current temp) |
+| **STATIC** | Scroll pauses, plugin displays for duration, then resumes | Important alerts, detailed views |
+
+## Quick Start
+
+### Minimal Integration (Zero Code Changes)
+
+If you do nothing, your plugin will work with Vegas mode using these defaults:
+
+- Plugins with `get_vegas_content_type() == 'multi'` use **SCROLL** mode
+- Plugins with `get_vegas_content_type() == 'static'` use **FIXED_SEGMENT** mode
+- Content is captured by calling your plugin's `display()` method
+
+### Basic Integration
+
+To provide optimized Vegas content, implement `get_vegas_content()`:
+
+```python
+from PIL import Image
+
+class MyPlugin(BasePlugin):
+    def get_vegas_content(self):
+        """Return content for Vegas scroll mode."""
+        # Return a single image for fixed content
+        return self._render_current_view()
+
+        # OR return multiple images for multi-item content
+        # return [self._render_item(item) for item in self.items]
+```
+
+### Full Integration
+
+For complete control over Vegas behavior, implement these methods:
+
+```python
+from src.plugin_system.base_plugin import BasePlugin, VegasDisplayMode
+
+class MyPlugin(BasePlugin):
+    def get_vegas_content_type(self) -> str:
+        """Legacy method - determines default mode mapping."""
+        return 'multi'  # or 'static' or 'none'
+
+    def get_vegas_display_mode(self) -> VegasDisplayMode:
+        """Specify how this plugin behaves in Vegas scroll."""
+        return VegasDisplayMode.SCROLL
+
+    def get_supported_vegas_modes(self) -> list:
+        """Return list of modes users can configure."""
+        return [VegasDisplayMode.SCROLL, VegasDisplayMode.FIXED_SEGMENT]
+
+    def get_vegas_content(self):
+        """Return PIL Image(s) for the scroll."""
+        return [self._render_game(g) for g in self.games]
+
+    def get_vegas_segment_width(self) -> int:
+        """For FIXED_SEGMENT: width in panels (optional)."""
+        return 2  # Use 2 panels width
+```
+
+## Display Modes Explained
+
+### SCROLL Mode
+
+Content scrolls continuously within the Vegas stream. Best for plugins with multiple items.
+
+```python
+def get_vegas_display_mode(self):
+    return VegasDisplayMode.SCROLL
+
+def get_vegas_content(self):
+    # Return list of images - each scrolls individually
+    images = []
+    for game in self.games:
+        img = Image.new('RGB', (200, 32))
+        # ... render game info ...
+        images.append(img)
+    return images
+```
+
+**When to use:**
+- Sports scores with multiple games
+- Stock/odds tickers with multiple items
+- News feeds with multiple headlines
+
+### FIXED_SEGMENT Mode
+
+Content is rendered as a fixed-width block that scrolls by with other content.
+
+```python
+def get_vegas_display_mode(self):
+    return VegasDisplayMode.FIXED_SEGMENT
+
+def get_vegas_content(self):
+    # Return single image at your preferred width
+    img = Image.new('RGB', (128, 32))  # 2 panels wide
+    # ... render clock/weather/etc ...
+    return img
+
+def get_vegas_segment_width(self):
+    # Optional: specify width in panels
+    return 2
+```
+
+**When to use:**
+- Clock display
+- Current weather/temperature
+- System status indicators
+- Any "at a glance" information
+
+### STATIC Mode
+
+Scroll pauses completely, your plugin displays using its normal `display()` method for its configured duration, then scroll resumes.
+
+```python
+def get_vegas_display_mode(self):
+    return VegasDisplayMode.STATIC
+
+def get_display_duration(self):
+    # How long to pause and show this plugin
+    return 10.0  # 10 seconds
+```
+
+**When to use:**
+- Important alerts that need attention
+- Detailed information that's hard to read while scrolling
+- Interactive or animated content
+- Content that requires the full display
+
+## User Configuration
+
+Users can override the default display mode per-plugin in their config:
+
+```json
+{
+  "my_plugin": {
+    "enabled": true,
+    "vegas_mode": "static",       // Override: "scroll", "fixed", or "static"
+    "vegas_panel_count": 2,       // Width in panels for fixed mode
+    "display_duration": 10        // Duration for static mode
+  }
+}
+```
+
+The `get_vegas_display_mode()` method checks config first, then falls back to your implementation.
+
+## Content Rendering Guidelines
+
+### Image Dimensions
+
+- **Height**: Must match display height (typically 32 pixels)
+- **Width**:
+  - SCROLL: Any width, content will scroll
+  - FIXED_SEGMENT: `panels × single_panel_width` (e.g., 2 × 64 = 128px)
+
+### Color Mode
+
+Always use RGB mode for images:
+
+```python
+img = Image.new('RGB', (width, 32), color=(0, 0, 0))
+```
+
+### Performance Tips
+
+1. **Cache rendered images** - Don't re-render on every call
+2. **Pre-render on update()** - Render images when data changes, not when Vegas requests them
+3. **Keep images small** - Memory adds up with multiple plugins
+
+```python
+class MyPlugin(BasePlugin):
+    def __init__(self, ...):
+        super().__init__(...)
+        self._cached_vegas_images = None
+        self._cache_valid = False
+
+    def update(self):
+        # Fetch new data
+        self.data = self._fetch_data()
+        # Invalidate cache so next Vegas request re-renders
+        self._cache_valid = False
+
+    def get_vegas_content(self):
+        if not self._cache_valid:
+            self._cached_vegas_images = self._render_all_items()
+            self._cache_valid = True
+        return self._cached_vegas_images
+```
+
+## Fallback Behavior
+
+If your plugin doesn't implement `get_vegas_content()`, Vegas mode will:
+
+1. Create a temporary canvas matching display dimensions
+2. Call your `display()` method
+3. Capture the resulting image
+4. Use that image in the scroll
+
+This works but is less efficient than providing native Vegas content.
+
+## Excluding from Vegas Mode
+
+To exclude your plugin from Vegas scroll entirely:
+
+```python
+def get_vegas_content_type(self):
+    return 'none'
+```
+
+Or users can exclude via config:
+
+```json
+{
+  "display": {
+    "vegas_scroll": {
+      "excluded_plugins": ["my_plugin"]
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+## Complete Example
+
+Here's a complete example of a weather plugin with full Vegas integration:
+
+```python
+from PIL import Image, ImageDraw
+from src.plugin_system.base_plugin import BasePlugin, VegasDisplayMode
+
+class WeatherPlugin(BasePlugin):
+    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
+        self.temperature = None
+        self.conditions = None
+        self._vegas_image = None
+
+    def update(self):
+        """Fetch weather data."""
+        data = self._fetch_weather_api()
+        self.temperature = data['temp']
+        self.conditions = data['conditions']
+        self._vegas_image = None  # Invalidate cache
+
+    def display(self, force_clear=False):
+        """Standard display for normal rotation."""
+        if force_clear:
+            self.display_manager.clear()
+
+        # Full weather display with details
+        self.display_manager.draw_text(
+            f"{self.temperature}°F",
+            x=10, y=8, color=(255, 255, 255)
+        )
+        self.display_manager.draw_text(
+            self.conditions,
+            x=10, y=20, color=(200, 200, 200)
+        )
+        self.display_manager.update_display()
+
+    # --- Vegas Mode Integration ---
+
+    def get_vegas_content_type(self):
+        """Legacy compatibility."""
+        return 'static'
+
+    def get_vegas_display_mode(self):
+        """Use FIXED_SEGMENT for compact weather display."""
+        # Allow user override via config
+        return super().get_vegas_display_mode()
+
+    def get_supported_vegas_modes(self):
+        """Weather can work as fixed or static."""
+        return [VegasDisplayMode.FIXED_SEGMENT, VegasDisplayMode.STATIC]
+
+    def get_vegas_segment_width(self):
+        """Weather needs 2 panels to show clearly."""
+        return self.config.get('vegas_panel_count', 2)
+
+    def get_vegas_content(self):
+        """Render compact weather for Vegas scroll."""
+        if self._vegas_image is not None:
+            return self._vegas_image
+
+        # Create compact display (2 panels = 128px typical)
+        panel_width = 64  # From display.hardware.cols
+        panels = self.get_vegas_segment_width() or 2
+        width = panel_width * panels
+        height = 32
+
+        img = Image.new('RGB', (width, height), color=(0, 0, 40))
+        draw = ImageDraw.Draw(img)
+
+        # Draw compact weather
+        temp_text = f"{self.temperature}°"
+        draw.text((10, 8), temp_text, fill=(255, 255, 255))
+        draw.text((60, 8), self.conditions[:10], fill=(200, 200, 200))
+
+        self._vegas_image = img
+        return img
+```
+
+## API Reference
+
+### VegasDisplayMode Enum
+
+```python
+from src.plugin_system.base_plugin import VegasDisplayMode
+
+VegasDisplayMode.SCROLL        # "scroll" - continuous scrolling
+VegasDisplayMode.FIXED_SEGMENT # "fixed" - fixed block in scroll
+VegasDisplayMode.STATIC        # "static" - pause scroll to display
+```
+
+### BasePlugin Vegas Methods
+
+| Method | Returns | Description |
+|--------|---------|-------------|
+| `get_vegas_content()` | `Image` or `List[Image]` or `None` | Content for Vegas scroll |
+| `get_vegas_content_type()` | `str` | Legacy: 'multi', 'static', or 'none' |
+| `get_vegas_display_mode()` | `VegasDisplayMode` | How plugin behaves in Vegas |
+| `get_supported_vegas_modes()` | `List[VegasDisplayMode]` | Modes available for user config |
+| `get_vegas_segment_width()` | `int` or `None` | Width in panels for FIXED_SEGMENT |
+
+### Configuration Options
+
+**Per-plugin config:**
+```json
+{
+  "plugin_id": {
+    "vegas_mode": "scroll|fixed|static",
+    "vegas_panel_count": 2,
+    "display_duration": 15
+  }
+}
+```
+
+**Global Vegas config:**
+```json
+{
+  "display": {
+    "vegas_scroll": {
+      "enabled": true,
+      "scroll_speed": 50,
+      "separator_width": 32,
+      "plugin_order": ["clock", "weather", "sports"],
+      "excluded_plugins": ["debug_plugin"],
+      "target_fps": 125,
+      "buffer_ahead": 2
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### Plugin not appearing in Vegas scroll
+
+1. Check `get_vegas_content_type()` doesn't return `'none'`
+2. Verify plugin is not in `excluded_plugins` list
+3. Ensure plugin is enabled
+
+### Content looks wrong in scroll
+
+1. Verify image height matches display height (32px typical)
+2. Check image mode is 'RGB'
+3. Test with `get_vegas_content()` returning a simple test image
+
+### STATIC mode not pausing
+
+1. Verify `get_vegas_display_mode()` returns `VegasDisplayMode.STATIC`
+2. Check user hasn't overridden with `vegas_mode` in config
+3. Ensure `display()` method works correctly
+
+### Performance issues
+
+1. Implement image caching in `get_vegas_content()`
+2. Pre-render images in `update()` instead of on-demand
+3. Reduce image dimensions if possible

first_time_install.sh

@@ -220,11 +220,13 @@ echo "1. Install system dependencies"
 echo "2. Fix cache permissions"
 echo "3. Fix assets directory permissions"
 echo "3.1. Fix plugin directory permissions"
-echo "4. Install main LED Matrix service"
+echo "4. Ensure configuration files exist"
 echo "5. Install Python project dependencies (requirements.txt)"
 echo "6. Build and install rpi-rgb-led-matrix and test import"
 echo "7. Install web interface dependencies"
+echo "7.5. Install main LED Matrix service"
 echo "8. Install web interface service"
+echo "8.1. Harden systemd unit file permissions"
 echo "8.5. Install WiFi monitor service"
 echo "9. Configure web interface permissions"
 echo "10. Configure passwordless sudo access"
@@ -271,7 +273,7 @@ apt_update
 
 # Install required system packages
 echo "Installing Python packages and dependencies..."
-apt_install python3-pip python3-venv python3-dev python3-pil python3-pil.imagetk python3-pillow build-essential python3-setuptools python3-wheel cython3 scons cmake ninja-build
+apt_install python3-pip python3-venv python3-dev python3-pil python3-pil.imagetk build-essential python3-setuptools python3-wheel cython3 scons cmake ninja-build
 
 # Install additional system dependencies that might be needed
 echo "Installing additional system dependencies..."
@@ -511,43 +513,9 @@ find "$PLUGIN_REPOS_DIR" -type f -exec chmod 664 {} \;
 echo "✓ Plugin-repos directory permissions fixed"
 echo ""
 
-CURRENT_STEP="Install main LED Matrix service"
-echo "Step 4: Installing main LED Matrix service..."
-echo "---------------------------------------------"
-
-# Run the main service installation (idempotent)
-# Note: install_service.sh always overwrites the service file, so it will update paths automatically
-if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install/install_service.sh" ]; then
-    echo "Running main service installation/update..."
-    bash "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install/install_service.sh"
-    echo "✓ Main LED Matrix service installed/updated"
-else
-    echo "✗ Main service installation script not found at $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install/install_service.sh"
-    echo "Please ensure you are running this script from the project root: $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR"
-    exit 1
-fi
-
-# Configure Python capabilities for hardware timing
-echo "Configuring Python capabilities for hardware timing..."
-if [ -f "/usr/bin/python3.13" ]; then
-    sudo setcap 'cap_sys_nice=eip' /usr/bin/python3.13 2>/dev/null || echo "⚠ Could not set cap_sys_nice on python3.13 (may need manual setup)"
-    echo "✓ Python3.13 capabilities configured"
-elif [ -f "/usr/bin/python3" ]; then
-    PYTHON_VER=$(python3 --version 2>&1 | grep -oP '(?<=Python )\d\.\d+' || echo "unknown")
-    if command -v setcap >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        sudo setcap 'cap_sys_nice=eip' /usr/bin/python3 2>/dev/null || echo "⚠ Could not set cap_sys_nice on python3"
-        echo "✓ Python3 capabilities configured (version: $PYTHON_VER)"
-    else
-        echo "⚠ setcap not found, skipping capability configuration"
-    fi
-else
-    echo "⚠ Python3 not found, skipping capability configuration"
-fi
-echo ""
-
 CURRENT_STEP="Ensure configuration files exist"
-echo "Step 4.1: Ensuring configuration files exist..."
-echo "------------------------------------------------"
+echo "Step 4: Ensuring configuration files exist..."
+echo "----------------------------------------------"
 
 # Ensure config directory exists
 mkdir -p "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/config"
@@ -661,32 +629,15 @@ CURRENT_STEP="Install project Python dependencies"
 echo "Step 5: Installing Python project dependencies..."
 echo "-----------------------------------------------"
 
-# Install numpy via apt first (pre-built binary, much faster than building from source)
-echo "Installing numpy via apt (pre-built binary for faster installation)..."
-if ! python3 -c "import numpy" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-    apt_install python3-numpy
-    echo "✓ numpy installed via apt"
-else
-    NUMPY_VERSION=$(python3 -c "import numpy; print(numpy.__version__)" 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
-    echo "✓ numpy already installed (version: $NUMPY_VERSION)"
-fi
-echo ""
-
-# Install main project Python dependencies
+# Install main project Python dependencies (numpy will be installed via pip from requirements.txt)
 cd "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR"
 if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/requirements.txt" ]; then
     echo "Reading requirements from: $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/requirements.txt"
     
-    # Check pip version and upgrade if needed
+    # Check pip version (apt-installed pip is sufficient, no upgrade needed)
     echo "Checking pip version..."
     python3 -m pip --version
-    
-    # Upgrade pip, setuptools, and wheel for better compatibility
-    echo "Upgrading pip, setuptools, and wheel..."
-    python3 -m pip install --break-system-packages --upgrade pip setuptools wheel || {
-        echo "⚠ Warning: Failed to upgrade pip/setuptools/wheel, continuing anyway..."
-    }
-    
+
     # Count total packages for progress
     TOTAL_PACKAGES=$(grep -v '^#' "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/requirements.txt" | grep -v '^$' | wc -l)
     echo "Found $TOTAL_PACKAGES package(s) to install"
@@ -812,6 +763,22 @@ else
 fi
 echo ""
 
+# Install web interface dependencies
+echo "Installing web interface dependencies..."
+if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/web_interface/requirements.txt" ]; then
+    if python3 -m pip install --break-system-packages -r "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/web_interface/requirements.txt"; then
+        echo "✓ Web interface dependencies installed"
+        # Create marker file to indicate dependencies are installed
+        touch "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/.web_deps_installed"
+    else
+        echo "⚠ Warning: Some web interface dependencies failed to install"
+        echo "  The web interface may not work correctly until dependencies are installed"
+    fi
+else
+    echo "⚠ web_interface/requirements.txt not found; skipping"
+fi
+echo ""
+
 CURRENT_STEP="Build and install rpi-rgb-led-matrix"
 echo "Step 6: Building and installing rpi-rgb-led-matrix..."
 echo "-----------------------------------------------------"
@@ -903,24 +870,82 @@ CURRENT_STEP="Install web interface dependencies"
 echo "Step 7: Installing web interface dependencies..."
 echo "------------------------------------------------"
 
-# Install web interface dependencies
-echo "Installing Python dependencies for web interface..."
-cd "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR"
-
-# Try to install dependencies using the smart installer if available
-if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install_dependencies_apt.py" ]; then
-    echo "Using smart dependency installer..."
-    python3 "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install_dependencies_apt.py"
+# Check if web dependencies were already installed (marker created in Step 5)
+if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/.web_deps_installed" ]; then
+    echo "✓ Web interface dependencies already installed (marker file found)"
 else
-    echo "Using pip to install dependencies..."
-    if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/requirements_web_v2.txt" ]; then
-        python3 -m pip install --break-system-packages -r requirements_web_v2.txt
+    # Install web interface dependencies
+    echo "Installing Python dependencies for web interface..."
+    cd "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR"
+
+    # Try to install dependencies using the smart installer if available
+    if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install_dependencies_apt.py" ]; then
+        echo "Using smart dependency installer..."
+        python3 "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install_dependencies_apt.py"
     else
-        echo "⚠ requirements_web_v2.txt not found; skipping web dependency install"
+        echo "Using pip to install dependencies..."
+        if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/requirements_web_v2.txt" ]; then
+            python3 -m pip install --break-system-packages -r requirements_web_v2.txt
+        else
+            echo "⚠ requirements_web_v2.txt not found; skipping web dependency install"
+        fi
     fi
+
+    # Create marker file to indicate dependencies are installed
+    touch "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/.web_deps_installed"
+    echo "✓ Web interface dependencies installed"
+fi
+echo ""
+
+CURRENT_STEP="Install main LED Matrix service"
+echo "Step 7.5: Installing main LED Matrix service..."
+echo "------------------------------------------------"
+
+# Run the main service installation (idempotent)
+# Note: install_service.sh always overwrites the service file, so it will update paths automatically
+# This step runs AFTER all Python dependencies are installed (Steps 5-7)
+if [ -f "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install/install_service.sh" ]; then
+    echo "Running main service installation/update..."
+    bash "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install/install_service.sh"
+    echo "✓ Main LED Matrix service installed/updated"
+else
+    echo "✗ Main service installation script not found at $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/install/install_service.sh"
+    echo "Please ensure you are running this script from the project root: $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR"
+    exit 1
 fi
 
-echo "✓ Web interface dependencies installed"
+# Configure Python capabilities for hardware timing
+echo "Configuring Python capabilities for hardware timing..."
+
+# Check if setcap is available first
+if ! command -v setcap >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "⚠ setcap not found, skipping capability configuration"
+    echo "  Install libcap2-bin if you need hardware timing capabilities"
+else
+    # Find the Python binary and resolve symlinks to get the real binary
+    PYTHON_BIN=""
+    PYTHON_VER=""
+    if [ -f "/usr/bin/python3.13" ]; then
+        PYTHON_BIN=$(readlink -f /usr/bin/python3.13)
+        PYTHON_VER="3.13"
+    elif [ -f "/usr/bin/python3" ]; then
+        PYTHON_BIN=$(readlink -f /usr/bin/python3)
+        PYTHON_VER=$(python3 --version 2>&1 | grep -oP '(?<=Python )\d+\.\d+' || echo "unknown")
+    fi
+
+    if [ -n "$PYTHON_BIN" ] && [ -f "$PYTHON_BIN" ]; then
+        echo "Setting cap_sys_nice on $PYTHON_BIN (Python $PYTHON_VER)..."
+        if sudo setcap 'cap_sys_nice=eip' "$PYTHON_BIN" 2>/dev/null; then
+            echo "✓ Python $PYTHON_VER capabilities configured ($PYTHON_BIN)"
+        else
+            echo "⚠ Could not set cap_sys_nice on $PYTHON_BIN"
+            echo "  This may require manual setup or running as root"
+            echo "  The LED display may have timing issues without this capability"
+        fi
+    else
+        echo "⚠ Python3 not found, skipping capability configuration"
+    fi
+fi
 echo ""
 
 CURRENT_STEP="Install web interface service"
@@ -1212,19 +1237,21 @@ CURRENT_STEP="Normalize project file permissions"
 echo "Step 11.1: Normalizing project file and directory permissions..."
 echo "--------------------------------------------------------------"
 
-# Normalize directory permissions (exclude VCS metadata and plugin directories)
+# Normalize directory permissions (exclude VCS metadata, plugin directories, and compiled libraries)
 find "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR" \
     -path "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/plugins" -prune -o \
     -path "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/plugin-repos" -prune -o \
     -path "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/dev/plugins" -prune -o \
+    -path "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master" -prune -o \
     -path "*/.git*" -prune -o \
     -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \; 2>/dev/null || true
 
-# Set default file permissions (exclude plugin directories)
+# Set default file permissions (exclude plugin directories and compiled libraries)
 find "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR" \
     -path "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/plugins" -prune -o \
     -path "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/plugin-repos" -prune -o \
     -path "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/scripts/dev/plugins" -prune -o \
+    -path "$PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master" -prune -o \
     -path "*/.git*" -prune -o \
     -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \; 2>/dev/null || true
 
@@ -1541,26 +1568,31 @@ echo "=========================================="
 echo "Important Notes"
 echo "=========================================="
 echo ""
-echo "1. For group changes to take effect:"
+echo "1. PLEASE BE PATIENT after reboot!"
+echo "   - The web interface may take up to 5 minutes to start on first boot"
+echo "   - Services need time to initialize after installation"
+echo "   - Wait at least 2-3 minutes before checking service status"
+echo ""
+echo "2. For group changes to take effect:"
 echo "   - Log out and log back in to your SSH session, OR"
 echo "   - Run: newgrp systemd-journal"
 echo ""
-echo "2. If you cannot access the web UI:"
+echo "3. If you cannot access the web UI:"
 echo "   - Check that the web service is running: sudo systemctl status ledmatrix-web"
 echo "   - Verify firewall allows port 5000: sudo ufw status (if using UFW)"
 echo "   - Check network connectivity: ping -c 3 8.8.8.8"
 echo "   - If WiFi is not connected, connect to LEDMatrix-Setup AP network"
 echo ""
-echo "3. SSH Access:"
+echo "4. SSH Access:"
 echo "   - SSH must be configured during initial Pi setup (via Raspberry Pi Imager or raspi-config)"
 echo "   - This installation script does not configure SSH credentials"
 echo ""
-echo "4. Useful Commands:"
+echo "5. Useful Commands:"
 echo "   - Check service status: sudo systemctl status ledmatrix.service"
 echo "   - View logs: journalctl -u ledmatrix-web.service -f"
 echo "   - Start/stop display: sudo systemctl start/stop ledmatrix.service"
 echo ""
-echo "5. Configuration Files:"
+echo "6. Configuration Files:"
 echo "   - Main config: $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/config/config.json"
 echo "   - Secrets: $PROJECT_ROOT_DIR/config/config_secrets.json"
 echo ""

plugin-repos/starlark-apps/__init__.py

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+"""
+Starlark Apps Plugin Package
+
+Seamlessly import and manage Starlark (.star) widgets from the Tronbyte/Tidbyt community.
+"""
+
+__version__ = "1.0.0"

plugin-repos/starlark-apps/config_schema.json

@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
+  "type": "object",
+  "title": "Starlark Apps Plugin Configuration",
+  "description": "Configuration for managing Starlark (.star) apps",
+  "properties": {
+    "enabled": {
+      "type": "boolean",
+      "description": "Enable or disable the Starlark apps system",
+      "default": true
+    },
+    "pixlet_path": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "description": "Path to Pixlet binary (auto-detected if empty)",
+      "default": ""
+    },
+    "render_timeout": {
+      "type": "number",
+      "description": "Maximum time in seconds for rendering a .star app",
+      "default": 30,
+      "minimum": 5,
+      "maximum": 120
+    },
+    "cache_rendered_output": {
+      "type": "boolean",
+      "description": "Cache rendered WebP output to reduce CPU usage",
+      "default": true
+    },
+    "cache_ttl": {
+      "type": "number",
+      "description": "Cache time-to-live in seconds",
+      "default": 300,
+      "minimum": 60,
+      "maximum": 3600
+    },
+    "default_frame_delay": {
+      "type": "number",
+      "description": "Default delay between frames in milliseconds (if not specified by app)",
+      "default": 50,
+      "minimum": 16,
+      "maximum": 1000
+    },
+    "scale_output": {
+      "type": "boolean",
+      "description": "Scale app output to match display dimensions",
+      "default": true
+    },
+    "scale_method": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "enum": ["nearest", "bilinear", "bicubic", "lanczos"],
+      "description": "Scaling algorithm (nearest=pixel-perfect, lanczos=smoothest)",
+      "default": "nearest"
+    },
+    "magnify": {
+      "type": "integer",
+      "description": "Pixlet magnification factor (0=auto, 1=64x32, 2=128x64, 3=192x96, etc.)",
+      "default": 0,
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "maximum": 8
+    },
+    "center_small_output": {
+      "type": "boolean",
+      "description": "Center small apps on large displays instead of stretching",
+      "default": false
+    },
+    "background_render": {
+      "type": "boolean",
+      "description": "Render apps in background to avoid display delays",
+      "default": true
+    },
+    "auto_refresh_apps": {
+      "type": "boolean",
+      "description": "Automatically refresh apps at their specified intervals",
+      "default": true
+    },
+    "transition": {
+      "type": "object",
+      "description": "Transition settings for app display",
+      "properties": {
+        "type": {
+          "type": "string",
+          "enum": ["redraw", "fade", "slide", "wipe"],
+          "default": "fade"
+        },
+        "speed": {
+          "type": "integer",
+          "description": "Transition speed (1-10)",
+          "default": 3,
+          "minimum": 1,
+          "maximum": 10
+        },
+        "enabled": {
+          "type": "boolean",
+          "default": true
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  },
+  "additionalProperties": false
+}

plugin-repos/starlark-apps/frame_extractor.py

@@ -0,0 +1,285 @@
+"""
+Frame Extractor Module for Starlark Apps
+
+Extracts individual frames from WebP animations produced by Pixlet.
+Handles both static images and animated WebP files.
+"""
+
+import logging
+from typing import List, Tuple, Optional
+from PIL import Image
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class FrameExtractor:
+    """
+    Extracts frames from WebP animations.
+
+    Handles:
+    - Static WebP images (single frame)
+    - Animated WebP files (multiple frames with delays)
+    - Frame timing and duration extraction
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, default_frame_delay: int = 50):
+        """
+        Initialize frame extractor.
+
+        Args:
+            default_frame_delay: Default delay in milliseconds if not specified
+        """
+        self.default_frame_delay = default_frame_delay
+
+    def load_webp(self, webp_path: str) -> Tuple[bool, Optional[List[Tuple[Image.Image, int]]], Optional[str]]:
+        """
+        Load WebP file and extract all frames with their delays.
+
+        Args:
+            webp_path: Path to WebP file
+
+        Returns:
+            Tuple of:
+            - success: bool
+            - frames: List of (PIL.Image, delay_ms) tuples, or None on failure
+            - error: Error message, or None on success
+        """
+        try:
+            with Image.open(webp_path) as img:
+                # Check if animated
+                is_animated = getattr(img, "is_animated", False)
+
+                if not is_animated:
+                    # Static image - single frame
+                    # Convert to RGB (LED matrix needs RGB) to match animated branch format
+                    logger.debug(f"Loaded static WebP: {webp_path}")
+                    rgb_img = img.convert("RGB")
+                    return True, [(rgb_img.copy(), self.default_frame_delay)], None
+
+                # Animated WebP - extract all frames
+                frames = []
+                frame_count = getattr(img, "n_frames", 1)
+
+                logger.debug(f"Extracting {frame_count} frames from animated WebP: {webp_path}")
+
+                for frame_index in range(frame_count):
+                    try:
+                        img.seek(frame_index)
+
+                        # Get frame duration (in milliseconds)
+                        # WebP stores duration in milliseconds
+                        duration = img.info.get("duration", self.default_frame_delay)
+
+                        # Ensure minimum frame delay (prevent too-fast animations)
+                        if duration < 16:  # Less than ~60fps
+                            duration = 16
+
+                        # Convert frame to RGB (LED matrix needs RGB)
+                        frame = img.convert("RGB")
+                        frames.append((frame.copy(), duration))
+
+                    except EOFError:
+                        logger.warning(f"Reached end of frames at index {frame_index}")
+                        break
+                    except Exception as e:
+                        logger.warning(f"Error extracting frame {frame_index}: {e}")
+                        continue
+
+                if not frames:
+                    error = "No frames extracted from WebP"
+                    logger.error(error)
+                    return False, None, error
+
+                logger.debug(f"Successfully extracted {len(frames)} frames")
+                return True, frames, None
+
+        except FileNotFoundError:
+            error = f"WebP file not found: {webp_path}"
+            logger.error(error)
+            return False, None, error
+        except Exception as e:
+            error = f"Error loading WebP: {e}"
+            logger.error(error)
+            return False, None, error
+
+    def scale_frames(
+        self,
+        frames: List[Tuple[Image.Image, int]],
+        target_width: int,
+        target_height: int,
+        method: Image.Resampling = Image.Resampling.NEAREST
+    ) -> List[Tuple[Image.Image, int]]:
+        """
+        Scale all frames to target dimensions.
+
+        Args:
+            frames: List of (image, delay) tuples
+            target_width: Target width in pixels
+            target_height: Target height in pixels
+            method: Resampling method (default: NEAREST for pixel-perfect scaling)
+
+        Returns:
+            List of scaled (image, delay) tuples
+        """
+        scaled_frames = []
+
+        for frame, delay in frames:
+            try:
+                # Only scale if dimensions don't match
+                if frame.width != target_width or frame.height != target_height:
+                    scaled_frame = frame.resize(
+                        (target_width, target_height),
+                        resample=method
+                    )
+                    scaled_frames.append((scaled_frame, delay))
+                else:
+                    scaled_frames.append((frame, delay))
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.warning(f"Error scaling frame: {e}")
+                # Keep original frame on error
+                scaled_frames.append((frame, delay))
+
+        logger.debug(f"Scaled {len(scaled_frames)} frames to {target_width}x{target_height}")
+        return scaled_frames
+
+    def center_frames(
+        self,
+        frames: List[Tuple[Image.Image, int]],
+        target_width: int,
+        target_height: int,
+        background_color: tuple = (0, 0, 0)
+    ) -> List[Tuple[Image.Image, int]]:
+        """
+        Center frames on a larger canvas instead of scaling.
+        Useful for displaying small widgets on large displays without distortion.
+
+        Args:
+            frames: List of (image, delay) tuples
+            target_width: Target canvas width
+            target_height: Target canvas height
+            background_color: RGB tuple for background (default: black)
+
+        Returns:
+            List of centered (image, delay) tuples
+        """
+        centered_frames = []
+
+        for frame, delay in frames:
+            try:
+                # If frame is already the right size, no centering needed
+                if frame.width == target_width and frame.height == target_height:
+                    centered_frames.append((frame, delay))
+                    continue
+
+                # Create black canvas at target size
+                canvas = Image.new('RGB', (target_width, target_height), background_color)
+
+                # Calculate position to center the frame
+                x_offset = (target_width - frame.width) // 2
+                y_offset = (target_height - frame.height) // 2
+
+                # Paste frame onto canvas
+                canvas.paste(frame, (x_offset, y_offset))
+                centered_frames.append((canvas, delay))
+
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.warning(f"Error centering frame: {e}")
+                # Keep original frame on error
+                centered_frames.append((frame, delay))
+
+        logger.debug(f"Centered {len(centered_frames)} frames on {target_width}x{target_height} canvas")
+        return centered_frames
+
+    def get_total_duration(self, frames: List[Tuple[Image.Image, int]]) -> int:
+        """
+        Calculate total animation duration in milliseconds.
+
+        Args:
+            frames: List of (image, delay) tuples
+
+        Returns:
+            Total duration in milliseconds
+        """
+        return sum(delay for _, delay in frames)
+
+    def optimize_frames(
+        self,
+        frames: List[Tuple[Image.Image, int]],
+        max_frames: Optional[int] = None,
+        target_duration: Optional[int] = None
+    ) -> List[Tuple[Image.Image, int]]:
+        """
+        Optimize frame list by reducing frame count or adjusting timing.
+
+        Args:
+            frames: List of (image, delay) tuples
+            max_frames: Maximum number of frames to keep
+            target_duration: Target total duration in milliseconds
+
+        Returns:
+            Optimized list of (image, delay) tuples
+        """
+        if not frames:
+            return frames
+
+        optimized = frames.copy()
+
+        # Limit frame count if specified
+        if max_frames is not None and max_frames > 0 and len(optimized) > max_frames:
+            # Sample frames evenly
+            step = len(optimized) / max_frames
+            indices = [int(i * step) for i in range(max_frames)]
+            optimized = [optimized[i] for i in indices]
+            logger.debug(f"Reduced frames from {len(frames)} to {len(optimized)}")
+
+        # Adjust timing to match target duration
+        if target_duration:
+            current_duration = self.get_total_duration(optimized)
+            if current_duration > 0:
+                scale_factor = target_duration / current_duration
+                optimized = [
+                    (frame, max(16, int(delay * scale_factor)))
+                    for frame, delay in optimized
+                ]
+                logger.debug(f"Adjusted timing: {current_duration}ms -> {target_duration}ms")
+
+        return optimized
+
+    def frames_to_gif_data(self, frames: List[Tuple[Image.Image, int]]) -> Optional[bytes]:
+        """
+        Convert frames to GIF byte data for caching or transmission.
+
+        Args:
+            frames: List of (image, delay) tuples
+
+        Returns:
+            GIF bytes, or None on error
+        """
+        if not frames:
+            return None
+
+        try:
+            from io import BytesIO
+
+            output = BytesIO()
+
+            # Prepare frames for PIL
+            images = [frame for frame, _ in frames]
+            durations = [delay for _, delay in frames]
+
+            # Save as GIF
+            images[0].save(
+                output,
+                format="GIF",
+                save_all=True,
+                append_images=images[1:],
+                duration=durations,
+                loop=0,  # Infinite loop
+                optimize=False  # Skip optimization for speed
+            )
+
+            return output.getvalue()
+
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error(f"Error converting frames to GIF: {e}")
+            return None

plugin-repos/starlark-apps/manifest.json

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+{
+  "id": "starlark-apps",
+  "name": "Starlark Apps",
+  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "author": "LEDMatrix",
+  "description": "Manages and displays Starlark (.star) apps from Tronbyte/Tidbyt community. Import widgets seamlessly without modification.",
+  "entry_point": "manager.py",
+  "class_name": "StarlarkAppsPlugin",
+  "category": "system",
+  "tags": [
+    "starlark",
+    "widgets",
+    "tronbyte",
+    "tidbyt",
+    "apps",
+    "community"
+  ],
+  "display_modes": [],
+  "update_interval": 60,
+  "default_duration": 15,
+  "dependencies": [
+    "Pillow>=10.0.0",
+    "PyYAML>=6.0",
+    "requests>=2.31.0"
+  ]
+}

plugin-repos/starlark-apps/pixlet_renderer.py

@@ -0,0 +1,659 @@
+"""
+Pixlet Renderer Module for Starlark Apps
+
+Handles execution of Pixlet CLI to render .star files into WebP animations.
+Supports bundled binaries and system-installed Pixlet.
+"""
+
+import json
+import logging
+import os
+import platform
+import re
+import shutil
+import subprocess
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Dict, Any, Optional, Tuple, List
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class PixletRenderer:
+    """
+    Wrapper for Pixlet CLI rendering.
+
+    Handles:
+    - Auto-detection of bundled or system Pixlet binary
+    - Rendering .star files with configuration
+    - Schema extraction from .star files
+    - Timeout and error handling
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, pixlet_path: Optional[str] = None, timeout: int = 30):
+        """
+        Initialize the Pixlet renderer.
+
+        Args:
+            pixlet_path: Optional explicit path to Pixlet binary
+            timeout: Maximum seconds to wait for rendering
+        """
+        self.timeout = timeout
+        self.pixlet_binary = self._find_pixlet_binary(pixlet_path)
+
+        if self.pixlet_binary:
+            logger.info(f"[Starlark Pixlet] Pixlet renderer initialized with binary: {self.pixlet_binary}")
+        else:
+            logger.warning("[Starlark Pixlet] Pixlet binary not found - rendering will fail")
+
+    def _find_pixlet_binary(self, explicit_path: Optional[str] = None) -> Optional[str]:
+        """
+        Find Pixlet binary using the following priority:
+        1. Explicit path provided
+        2. Bundled binary for current architecture
+        3. System PATH
+
+        Args:
+            explicit_path: User-specified path to Pixlet
+
+        Returns:
+            Path to Pixlet binary, or None if not found
+        """
+        # 1. Check explicit path
+        if explicit_path and os.path.isfile(explicit_path):
+            if os.access(explicit_path, os.X_OK):
+                logger.debug(f"Using explicit Pixlet path: {explicit_path}")
+                return explicit_path
+            else:
+                logger.warning(f"Explicit Pixlet path not executable: {explicit_path}")
+
+        # 2. Check bundled binary
+        try:
+            bundled_path = self._get_bundled_binary_path()
+            if bundled_path and os.path.isfile(bundled_path):
+                # Ensure executable
+                if not os.access(bundled_path, os.X_OK):
+                    try:
+                        os.chmod(bundled_path, 0o755)
+                        logger.debug(f"Made bundled binary executable: {bundled_path}")
+                    except OSError:
+                        logger.exception(f"Could not make bundled binary executable: {bundled_path}")
+
+                if os.access(bundled_path, os.X_OK):
+                    logger.debug(f"Using bundled Pixlet binary: {bundled_path}")
+                    return bundled_path
+        except OSError:
+            logger.exception("Could not locate bundled binary")
+
+        # 3. Check system PATH
+        system_pixlet = shutil.which("pixlet")
+        if system_pixlet:
+            logger.debug(f"Using system Pixlet: {system_pixlet}")
+            return system_pixlet
+
+        logger.error("Pixlet binary not found in any location")
+        return None
+
+    def _get_bundled_binary_path(self) -> Optional[str]:
+        """
+        Get path to bundled Pixlet binary for current architecture.
+
+        Returns:
+            Path to bundled binary, or None if not found
+        """
+        try:
+            # Determine project root (parent of plugin-repos)
+            current_dir = Path(__file__).resolve().parent
+            project_root = current_dir.parent.parent
+            bin_dir = project_root / "bin" / "pixlet"
+
+            # Detect architecture
+            system = platform.system().lower()
+            machine = platform.machine().lower()
+
+            # Map architecture to binary name
+            if system == "linux":
+                if "aarch64" in machine or "arm64" in machine:
+                    binary_name = "pixlet-linux-arm64"
+                elif "x86_64" in machine or "amd64" in machine:
+                    binary_name = "pixlet-linux-amd64"
+                else:
+                    logger.warning(f"Unsupported Linux architecture: {machine}")
+                    return None
+            elif system == "darwin":
+                if "arm64" in machine:
+                    binary_name = "pixlet-darwin-arm64"
+                else:
+                    binary_name = "pixlet-darwin-amd64"
+            elif system == "windows":
+                binary_name = "pixlet-windows-amd64.exe"
+            else:
+                logger.warning(f"Unsupported system: {system}")
+                return None
+
+            binary_path = bin_dir / binary_name
+            if binary_path.exists():
+                return str(binary_path)
+
+            logger.debug(f"Bundled binary not found at: {binary_path}")
+            return None
+
+        except OSError:
+            logger.exception("Error finding bundled binary")
+            return None
+
+    def _get_safe_working_directory(self, star_file: str) -> Optional[str]:
+        """
+        Get a safe working directory for subprocess execution.
+
+        Args:
+            star_file: Path to .star file
+
+        Returns:
+            Resolved parent directory, or None if empty or invalid
+        """
+        try:
+            resolved_parent = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(star_file))
+            # Return None if empty string to avoid FileNotFoundError
+            if not resolved_parent:
+                logger.debug(f"Empty parent directory for star_file: {star_file}")
+                return None
+            return resolved_parent
+        except (OSError, ValueError):
+            logger.debug(f"Could not resolve working directory for: {star_file}")
+            return None
+
+    def is_available(self) -> bool:
+        """
+        Check if Pixlet is available and functional.
+
+        Returns:
+            True if Pixlet can be executed
+        """
+        if not self.pixlet_binary:
+            return False
+
+        try:
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                [self.pixlet_binary, "version"],
+                capture_output=True,
+                text=True,
+                timeout=5
+            )
+            return result.returncode == 0
+        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+            logger.debug("Pixlet version check timed out")
+            return False
+        except (subprocess.SubprocessError, OSError):
+            logger.exception("Pixlet not available")
+            return False
+
+    def get_version(self) -> Optional[str]:
+        """
+        Get Pixlet version string.
+
+        Returns:
+            Version string, or None if unavailable
+        """
+        if not self.pixlet_binary:
+            return None
+
+        try:
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                [self.pixlet_binary, "version"],
+                capture_output=True,
+                text=True,
+                timeout=5
+            )
+            if result.returncode == 0:
+                return result.stdout.strip()
+        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+            logger.debug("Pixlet version check timed out")
+        except (subprocess.SubprocessError, OSError):
+            logger.exception("Could not get Pixlet version")
+
+        return None
+
+    def render(
+        self,
+        star_file: str,
+        output_path: str,
+        config: Optional[Dict[str, Any]] = None,
+        magnify: int = 1
+    ) -> Tuple[bool, Optional[str]]:
+        """
+        Render a .star file to WebP output.
+
+        Args:
+            star_file: Path to .star file
+            output_path: Where to save WebP output
+            config: Configuration dictionary to pass to app
+            magnify: Magnification factor (default 1)
+
+        Returns:
+            Tuple of (success: bool, error_message: Optional[str])
+        """
+        if not self.pixlet_binary:
+            return False, "Pixlet binary not found"
+
+        if not os.path.isfile(star_file):
+            return False, f"Star file not found: {star_file}"
+
+        try:
+            # Build command - config params must be POSITIONAL between star_file and flags
+            # Format: pixlet render <file.star> [key=value]... [flags]
+            cmd = [
+                self.pixlet_binary,
+                "render",
+                star_file
+            ]
+
+            # Add configuration parameters as positional arguments (BEFORE flags)
+            if config:
+                for key, value in config.items():
+                    # Validate key format (alphanumeric + underscore only)
+                    if not re.match(r'^[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*$', key):
+                        logger.warning(f"Skipping invalid config key: {key}")
+                        continue
+
+                    # Convert value to string for CLI
+                    if isinstance(value, bool):
+                        value_str = "true" if value else "false"
+                    elif isinstance(value, str) and (value.startswith('{') or value.startswith('[')):
+                        # JSON string - keep as-is, will be properly quoted by subprocess
+                        value_str = value
+                    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):
+                        logger.warning(f"Skipping config value with unsafe shell characters for key {key}: {value_str}")
+                        continue
+
+                    # Add as positional argument (not -c flag)
+                    cmd.append(f"{key}={value_str}")
+
+            # Add flags AFTER positional config arguments
+            cmd.extend([
+                "-o", output_path,
+                "-m", str(magnify)
+            ])
+
+            # Build sanitized command for logging (redact sensitive values)
+            sanitized_cmd = [self.pixlet_binary, "render", star_file]
+            if config:
+                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)])
+            logger.debug(f"Executing Pixlet: {' '.join(sanitized_cmd)}")
+
+            # Execute rendering
+            safe_cwd = self._get_safe_working_directory(star_file)
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                cmd,
+                capture_output=True,
+                text=True,
+                timeout=self.timeout,
+                cwd=safe_cwd  # Run in .star file directory (or None if relative path)
+            )
+
+            if result.returncode == 0:
+                if os.path.isfile(output_path):
+                    logger.debug(f"Successfully rendered: {star_file} -> {output_path}")
+                    return True, None
+                else:
+                    error = "Rendering succeeded but output file not found"
+                    logger.error(error)
+                    return False, error
+            else:
+                error = f"Pixlet failed (exit {result.returncode}): {result.stderr}"
+                logger.error(error)
+                return False, error
+
+        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+            error = f"Rendering timeout after {self.timeout}s"
+            logger.error(error)
+            return False, error
+        except (subprocess.SubprocessError, OSError):
+            logger.exception("Rendering exception")
+            return False, "Rendering failed - see logs for details"
+
+    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.
+
+        Supports:
+        - Static field definitions (location, text, toggle, dropdown, color, datetime)
+        - Variable-referenced dropdown options
+        - Graceful degradation for unsupported field types
+
+        Args:
+            star_file: Path to .star file
+
+        Returns:
+            Tuple of (success: bool, schema: Optional[Dict], error: Optional[str])
+        """
+        if not os.path.isfile(star_file):
+            return False, None, f"Star file not found: {star_file}"
+
+        try:
+            # Read .star file
+            with open(star_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+                content = f.read()
+
+            # Parse schema from source
+            schema = self._parse_schema_from_source(content, star_file)
+
+            if schema:
+                field_count = len(schema.get('schema', []))
+                logger.debug(f"Extracted schema with {field_count} field(s) from: {star_file}")
+                return True, schema, None
+            else:
+                # No schema found - not an error, app just doesn't have configuration
+                logger.debug(f"No schema found in: {star_file}")
+                return True, None, None
+
+        except UnicodeDecodeError as e:
+            error = f"File encoding error: {e}"
+            logger.warning(error)
+            return False, None, error
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.exception(f"Schema extraction failed for {star_file}")
+            return False, None, f"Schema extraction error: {str(e)}"
+
+    def _parse_schema_from_source(self, content: str, file_path: str) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        """
+        Parse get_schema() function from Starlark source code.
+
+        Args:
+            content: .star file content
+            file_path: Path to file (for logging)
+
+        Returns:
+            Schema dict with format {"version": "1", "schema": [...]}, or None
+        """
+        # Extract variable definitions (for dropdown options)
+        var_table = self._extract_variable_definitions(content)
+
+        # Extract get_schema() function body
+        schema_body = self._extract_get_schema_body(content)
+        if not schema_body:
+            logger.debug(f"No get_schema() function found in {file_path}")
+            return None
+
+        # Extract version
+        version_match = re.search(r'version\s*=\s*"([^"]+)"', schema_body)
+        version = version_match.group(1) if version_match else "1"
+
+        # Extract fields array from schema.Schema(...) - handle nested brackets
+        fields_start_match = re.search(r'fields\s*=\s*\[', schema_body)
+        if not fields_start_match:
+            # Empty schema or no fields
+            return {"version": version, "schema": []}
+
+        # Find matching closing bracket
+        bracket_count = 1
+        i = fields_start_match.end()
+        while i < len(schema_body) and bracket_count > 0:
+            if schema_body[i] == '[':
+                bracket_count += 1
+            elif schema_body[i] == ']':
+                bracket_count -= 1
+            i += 1
+
+        if bracket_count != 0:
+            # Unmatched brackets
+            logger.warning(f"Unmatched brackets in schema fields for {file_path}")
+            return {"version": version, "schema": []}
+
+        fields_text = schema_body[fields_start_match.end():i-1]
+
+        # Parse individual fields
+        schema_fields = []
+        # Match schema.FieldType(...) patterns
+        field_pattern = r'schema\.(\w+)\s*\((.*?)\)'
+
+        # Find all field definitions (handle nested parentheses)
+        pos = 0
+        while pos < len(fields_text):
+            match = re.search(field_pattern, fields_text[pos:], re.DOTALL)
+            if not match:
+                break
+
+            field_type = match.group(1)
+            field_start = pos + match.start()
+            field_end = pos + match.end()
+
+            # Handle nested parentheses properly
+            paren_count = 1
+            i = pos + match.start() + len(f'schema.{field_type}(')
+            while i < len(fields_text) and paren_count > 0:
+                if fields_text[i] == '(':
+                    paren_count += 1
+                elif fields_text[i] == ')':
+                    paren_count -= 1
+                i += 1
+
+            field_params_text = fields_text[pos + match.start() + len(f'schema.{field_type}('):i-1]
+
+            # Parse field
+            field_dict = self._parse_schema_field(field_type, field_params_text, var_table)
+            if field_dict:
+                schema_fields.append(field_dict)
+
+            pos = i
+
+        return {
+            "version": version,
+            "schema": schema_fields
+        }
+
+    def _extract_variable_definitions(self, content: str) -> Dict[str, List[Dict]]:
+        """
+        Extract top-level variable assignments (for dropdown options).
+
+        Args:
+            content: .star file content
+
+        Returns:
+            Dict mapping variable names to their option lists
+        """
+        var_table = {}
+
+        # Find variable definitions like: variableName = [schema.Option(...), ...]
+        var_pattern = r'^(\w+)\s*=\s*\[(.*?schema\.Option.*?)\]'
+        matches = re.finditer(var_pattern, content, re.MULTILINE | re.DOTALL)
+
+        for match in matches:
+            var_name = match.group(1)
+            options_text = match.group(2)
+
+            # Parse schema.Option entries
+            options = self._parse_schema_options(options_text, {})
+            if options:
+                var_table[var_name] = options
+
+        return var_table
+
+    def _extract_get_schema_body(self, content: str) -> Optional[str]:
+        """
+        Extract get_schema() function body using indentation-aware parsing.
+
+        Args:
+            content: .star file content
+
+        Returns:
+            Function body text, or None if not found
+        """
+        # Find def get_schema(): line
+        pattern = r'^(\s*)def\s+get_schema\s*\(\s*\)\s*:'
+        match = re.search(pattern, content, re.MULTILINE)
+
+        if not match:
+            return None
+
+        # Get the indentation level of the function definition
+        func_indent = len(match.group(1))
+        func_start = match.end()
+
+        # Split content into lines starting after the function definition
+        lines_after = content[func_start:].split('\n')
+        body_lines = []
+
+        for line in lines_after:
+            # Skip empty lines
+            if not line.strip():
+                body_lines.append(line)
+                continue
+
+            # Calculate indentation of current line
+            stripped = line.lstrip()
+            line_indent = len(line) - len(stripped)
+
+            # If line has same or less indentation than function def, check if it's a top-level def
+            if line_indent <= func_indent:
+                # This is a line at the same or outer level - check if it's a function
+                if re.match(r'def\s+\w+', stripped):
+                    # Found next top-level function, stop here
+                    break
+                # Otherwise it might be a comment or other top-level code, stop anyway
+                break
+
+            # Line is indented more than function def, so it's part of the body
+            body_lines.append(line)
+
+        if body_lines:
+            return '\n'.join(body_lines)
+        return None
+
+    def _parse_schema_field(self, field_type: str, params_text: str, var_table: Dict) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        """
+        Parse individual schema field definition.
+
+        Args:
+            field_type: Field type (Location, Text, Toggle, etc.)
+            params_text: Field parameters text
+            var_table: Variable lookup table
+
+        Returns:
+            Field dict, or None if parse fails
+        """
+        # Map Pixlet field types to JSON typeOf
+        type_mapping = {
+            'Location': 'location',
+            'Text': 'text',
+            'Toggle': 'toggle',
+            'Dropdown': 'dropdown',
+            'Color': 'color',
+            'DateTime': 'datetime',
+            'OAuth2': 'oauth2',
+            'PhotoSelect': 'photo_select',
+            'LocationBased': 'location_based',
+            'Typeahead': 'typeahead',
+            'Generated': 'generated',
+        }
+
+        type_of = type_mapping.get(field_type, field_type.lower())
+
+        # Skip Generated fields (invisible meta-fields)
+        if type_of == 'generated':
+            return None
+
+        field_dict = {"typeOf": type_of}
+
+        # Extract common parameters
+        # id
+        id_match = re.search(r'id\s*=\s*"([^"]+)"', params_text)
+        if id_match:
+            field_dict['id'] = id_match.group(1)
+        else:
+            # id is required, skip field if missing
+            return None
+
+        # name
+        name_match = re.search(r'name\s*=\s*"([^"]+)"', params_text)
+        if name_match:
+            field_dict['name'] = name_match.group(1)
+
+        # desc
+        desc_match = re.search(r'desc\s*=\s*"([^"]+)"', params_text)
+        if desc_match:
+            field_dict['desc'] = desc_match.group(1)
+
+        # icon
+        icon_match = re.search(r'icon\s*=\s*"([^"]+)"', params_text)
+        if icon_match:
+            field_dict['icon'] = icon_match.group(1)
+
+        # default (can be string, bool, or variable reference)
+        # First try to match quoted strings (which may contain commas)
+        default_match = re.search(r'default\s*=\s*"([^"]*)"', params_text)
+        if not default_match:
+            # Try single quotes
+            default_match = re.search(r"default\s*=\s*'([^']*)'", params_text)
+        if not default_match:
+            # Fall back to unquoted value (stop at comma or closing paren)
+            default_match = re.search(r'default\s*=\s*([^,\)]+)', params_text)
+
+        if default_match:
+            default_value = default_match.group(1).strip()
+            # Handle boolean
+            if default_value in ('True', 'False'):
+                field_dict['default'] = default_value.lower()
+            # Handle string literal from first two patterns (already extracted without quotes)
+            elif re.search(r'default\s*=\s*["\']', params_text):
+                # This was a quoted string, use the captured content directly
+                field_dict['default'] = default_value
+            # Handle variable reference (can't resolve, use as-is)
+            else:
+                # Try to extract just the value if it's like options[0].value
+                if '.' in default_value or '[' in default_value:
+                    # Complex expression, skip default
+                    pass
+                else:
+                    field_dict['default'] = default_value
+
+        # For dropdown, extract options
+        if type_of == 'dropdown':
+            options_match = re.search(r'options\s*=\s*([^,\)]+)', params_text)
+            if options_match:
+                options_ref = options_match.group(1).strip()
+                # Check if it's a variable reference
+                if options_ref in var_table:
+                    field_dict['options'] = var_table[options_ref]
+                # Or inline options
+                elif options_ref.startswith('['):
+                    # Find the full options array (handle nested brackets)
+                    # This is tricky, for now try to extract inline options
+                    inline_match = re.search(r'options\s*=\s*(\[.*?\])', params_text, re.DOTALL)
+                    if inline_match:
+                        options_text = inline_match.group(1)
+                        field_dict['options'] = self._parse_schema_options(options_text, var_table)
+
+        return field_dict
+
+    def _parse_schema_options(self, options_text: str, var_table: Dict) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
+        """
+        Parse schema.Option list.
+
+        Args:
+            options_text: Text containing schema.Option(...) entries
+            var_table: Variable lookup table (not currently used)
+
+        Returns:
+            List of {"display": "...", "value": "..."} dicts
+        """
+        options = []
+
+        # Match schema.Option(display = "...", value = "...")
+        option_pattern = r'schema\.Option\s*\(\s*display\s*=\s*"([^"]+)"\s*,\s*value\s*=\s*"([^"]+)"\s*\)'
+        matches = re.finditer(option_pattern, options_text)
+
+        for match in matches:
+            options.append({
+                "display": match.group(1),
+                "value": match.group(2)
+            })
+
+        return options

plugin-repos/starlark-apps/requirements.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Pillow>=10.4.0
+PyYAML>=6.0.2
+requests>=2.32.0

plugin-repos/starlark-apps/tronbyte_repository.py

@@ -0,0 +1,601 @@
+"""
+Tronbyte Repository Module
+
+Handles interaction with the Tronbyte apps repository on GitHub.
+Fetches app listings, metadata, and downloads .star files.
+"""
+
+import logging
+import time
+import requests
+import yaml
+import threading
+from typing import Dict, Any, Optional, List, Tuple
+from pathlib import Path
+from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor, as_completed
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+# Module-level cache for bulk app listing (survives across requests)
+_apps_cache = {'data': None, 'timestamp': 0, 'categories': [], 'authors': []}
+_CACHE_TTL = 7200  # 2 hours
+_cache_lock = threading.Lock()
+
+
+class TronbyteRepository:
+    """
+    Interface to the Tronbyte apps repository.
+
+    Provides methods to:
+    - List available apps
+    - Fetch app metadata
+    - Download .star files
+    - Parse manifest.yaml files
+    """
+
+    REPO_OWNER = "tronbyt"
+    REPO_NAME = "apps"
+    DEFAULT_BRANCH = "main"
+    APPS_PATH = "apps"
+
+    def __init__(self, github_token: Optional[str] = None):
+        """
+        Initialize repository interface.
+
+        Args:
+            github_token: Optional GitHub personal access token for higher rate limits
+        """
+        self.github_token = github_token
+        self.base_url = "https://api.github.com"
+        self.raw_url = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com"
+
+        self.session = requests.Session()
+        if github_token:
+            self.session.headers.update({
+                'Authorization': f'token {github_token}'
+            })
+        self.session.headers.update({
+            'Accept': 'application/vnd.github.v3+json',
+            'User-Agent': 'LEDMatrix-Starlark-Plugin'
+        })
+
+    def _make_request(self, url: str, timeout: int = 10) -> Optional[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        """
+        Make a request to GitHub API with error handling.
+
+        Args:
+            url: API URL to request
+            timeout: Request timeout in seconds
+
+        Returns:
+            JSON response or None on error
+        """
+        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")
+                return None
+            elif response.status_code == 404:
+                logger.warning(f"[Tronbyte Repo] Resource not found: {url}")
+                return None
+            elif response.status_code != 200:
+                logger.error(f"[Tronbyte Repo] GitHub API error: {response.status_code}")
+                return None
+
+            return response.json()
+
+        except requests.Timeout:
+            logger.error(f"[Tronbyte Repo] Request timeout: {url}")
+            return None
+        except requests.RequestException as e:
+            logger.error(f"[Tronbyte Repo] Request error: {e}", exc_info=True)
+            return None
+        except (json.JSONDecodeError, ValueError) as e:
+            logger.error(f"[Tronbyte Repo] JSON parse error for {url}: {e}", exc_info=True)
+            return None
+
+    def _fetch_raw_file(self, file_path: str, branch: Optional[str] = None, binary: bool = False):
+        """
+        Fetch raw file content from repository.
+
+        Args:
+            file_path: Path to file in repository
+            branch: Branch name (default: DEFAULT_BRANCH)
+            binary: If True, return bytes; if False, return text
+
+        Returns:
+            File content as string/bytes, or None on error
+        """
+        branch = branch or self.DEFAULT_BRANCH
+        url = f"{self.raw_url}/{self.REPO_OWNER}/{self.REPO_NAME}/{branch}/{file_path}"
+
+        try:
+            response = self.session.get(url, timeout=10)
+            if response.status_code == 200:
+                return response.content if binary else response.text
+            else:
+                logger.warning(f"[Tronbyte Repo] Failed to fetch raw file: {file_path} ({response.status_code})")
+                return None
+        except requests.Timeout:
+            logger.error(f"[Tronbyte Repo] Timeout fetching raw file: {file_path}")
+            return None
+        except requests.RequestException as e:
+            logger.error(f"[Tronbyte Repo] Network error fetching raw file {file_path}: {e}", exc_info=True)
+            return None
+
+    def list_apps(self) -> Tuple[bool, Optional[List[Dict[str, Any]]], Optional[str]]:
+        """
+        List all available apps in the repository.
+
+        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')
+                    })
+
+        logger.info(f"Found {len(apps)} apps in repository")
+        return True, apps, None
+
+    def get_app_metadata(self, app_id: str) -> Tuple[bool, Optional[Dict[str, Any]], Optional[str]]:
+        """
+        Fetch metadata for a specific app.
+
+        Reads the manifest.yaml file for the app and parses it.
+
+        Args:
+            app_id: App identifier
+
+        Returns:
+            Tuple of (success, metadata_dict, error_message)
+        """
+        manifest_path = f"{self.APPS_PATH}/{app_id}/manifest.yaml"
+
+        content = self._fetch_raw_file(manifest_path)
+        if not content:
+            return False, None, f"Failed to fetch manifest for {app_id}"
+
+        try:
+            metadata = yaml.safe_load(content)
+
+            # Validate that metadata is a dict before mutating
+            if not isinstance(metadata, dict):
+                if metadata is None:
+                    logger.warning(f"Manifest for {app_id} is empty or None, initializing empty dict")
+                    metadata = {}
+                else:
+                    logger.error(f"Manifest for {app_id} is not a dict (got {type(metadata).__name__}), skipping")
+                    return False, None, f"Invalid manifest format: expected dict, got {type(metadata).__name__}"
+
+            # Enhance with app_id
+            metadata['id'] = app_id
+
+            # Parse schema if present
+            if 'schema' in metadata:
+                # Schema is already parsed from YAML
+                pass
+
+            return True, metadata, None
+
+        except (yaml.YAMLError, TypeError) as e:
+            logger.error(f"Failed to parse manifest for {app_id}: {e}")
+            return False, None, f"Invalid manifest format: {e}"
+
+    def list_apps_with_metadata(self, max_apps: Optional[int] = None) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        """
+        List all apps with their metadata.
+
+        This is slower as it fetches manifest.yaml for each app.
+
+        Args:
+            max_apps: Optional limit on number of apps to fetch
+
+        Returns:
+            List of app metadata dictionaries
+        """
+        success, apps, error = self.list_apps()
+
+        if not success:
+            logger.error(f"Failed to list apps: {error}")
+            return []
+
+        if max_apps is not None:
+            apps = apps[:max_apps]
+
+        apps_with_metadata = []
+        for app_info in apps:
+            app_id = app_info['id']
+            success, metadata, error = self.get_app_metadata(app_id)
+
+            if success and metadata:
+                # Merge basic info with metadata
+                metadata.update({
+                    'repository_path': app_info['path']
+                })
+                apps_with_metadata.append(metadata)
+            else:
+                # Add basic info even if metadata fetch failed
+                apps_with_metadata.append({
+                    'id': app_id,
+                    'name': app_id.replace('_', ' ').title(),
+                    'summary': 'No description available',
+                    'repository_path': app_info['path'],
+                    'metadata_error': error
+                })
+
+        return apps_with_metadata
+
+    def list_all_apps_cached(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        """
+        Fetch ALL apps with metadata, using a module-level cache.
+
+        On first call (or after cache TTL expires), fetches the directory listing
+        via the GitHub API (1 call) then fetches all manifests in parallel via
+        raw.githubusercontent.com (not rate-limited). Results are cached for 2 hours.
+
+        Returns:
+            Dict with keys: apps, categories, authors, count, cached
+        """
+        global _apps_cache
+
+        now = time.time()
+
+        # Check cache with lock (read-only check)
+        with _cache_lock:
+            if _apps_cache['data'] is not None and (now - _apps_cache['timestamp']) < _CACHE_TTL:
+                return {
+                    'apps': _apps_cache['data'],
+                    'categories': _apps_cache['categories'],
+                    'authors': _apps_cache['authors'],
+                    'count': len(_apps_cache['data']),
+                    'cached': True
+                }
+
+        # Fetch directory listing (1 GitHub API call)
+        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}
+
+        logger.info(f"Bulk-fetching manifests for {len(app_dirs)} apps...")
+
+        def fetch_one(app_info):
+            """Fetch a single app's manifest (runs in thread pool)."""
+            app_id = app_info['id']
+            manifest_path = f"{self.APPS_PATH}/{app_id}/manifest.yaml"
+            content = self._fetch_raw_file(manifest_path)
+            if content:
+                try:
+                    metadata = yaml.safe_load(content)
+                    if not isinstance(metadata, dict):
+                        metadata = {}
+                    metadata['id'] = app_id
+                    metadata['repository_path'] = app_info.get('path', '')
+                    return metadata
+                except (yaml.YAMLError, TypeError) as e:
+                    logger.warning(f"Failed to parse manifest for {app_id}: {e}")
+            # Fallback: minimal entry
+            return {
+                'id': app_id,
+                'name': app_id.replace('_', ' ').replace('-', ' ').title(),
+                'summary': 'No description available',
+                'repository_path': app_info.get('path', ''),
+            }
+
+        # Parallel manifest fetches via raw.githubusercontent.com (high rate limit)
+        apps_with_metadata = []
+        with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=5) as executor:
+            futures = {executor.submit(fetch_one, info): info for info in app_dirs}
+            for future in as_completed(futures):
+                try:
+                    result = future.result(timeout=30)
+                    if result:
+                        apps_with_metadata.append(result)
+                except Exception as e:
+                    app_info = futures[future]
+                    logger.warning(f"Failed to fetch manifest for {app_info['id']}: {e}")
+                    apps_with_metadata.append({
+                        'id': app_info['id'],
+                        'name': app_info['id'].replace('_', ' ').replace('-', ' ').title(),
+                        'summary': 'No description available',
+                        'repository_path': app_info.get('path', ''),
+                    })
+
+        # Sort by name for consistent ordering
+        apps_with_metadata.sort(key=lambda a: (a.get('name') or a.get('id', '')).lower())
+
+        # Extract unique categories and authors
+        categories = sorted({a.get('category', '') for a in apps_with_metadata if a.get('category')})
+        authors = sorted({a.get('author', '') for a in apps_with_metadata if a.get('author')})
+
+        # Update cache with lock
+        with _cache_lock:
+            _apps_cache['data'] = apps_with_metadata
+            _apps_cache['timestamp'] = now
+            _apps_cache['categories'] = categories
+            _apps_cache['authors'] = authors
+
+        logger.info(f"Cached {len(apps_with_metadata)} apps ({len(categories)} categories, {len(authors)} authors)")
+
+        return {
+            'apps': apps_with_metadata,
+            'categories': categories,
+            'authors': authors,
+            'count': len(apps_with_metadata),
+            'cached': False
+        }
+
+    def download_star_file(self, app_id: str, output_path: Path, filename: Optional[str] = None) -> Tuple[bool, Optional[str]]:
+        """
+        Download the .star file for an app.
+
+        Args:
+            app_id: App identifier (directory name)
+            output_path: Where to save the .star file
+            filename: Optional specific filename from manifest (e.g., "analog_clock.star")
+                     If not provided, assumes {app_id}.star
+
+        Returns:
+            Tuple of (success, error_message)
+        """
+        # Validate inputs for path traversal
+        if '..' in app_id or '/' in app_id or '\\' in app_id:
+            return False, f"Invalid app_id: contains path traversal characters"
+
+        star_filename = filename or f"{app_id}.star"
+        if '..' in star_filename or '/' in star_filename or '\\' in star_filename:
+            return False, f"Invalid filename: contains path traversal characters"
+
+        # Validate output_path to prevent path traversal
+        import tempfile
+        try:
+            resolved_output = output_path.resolve()
+            temp_dir = Path(tempfile.gettempdir()).resolve()
+
+            # Check if output_path is within the system temp directory
+            # Use try/except for compatibility with Python < 3.9 (is_relative_to)
+            try:
+                is_safe = resolved_output.is_relative_to(temp_dir)
+            except AttributeError:
+                # Fallback for Python < 3.9: compare string paths
+                is_safe = str(resolved_output).startswith(str(temp_dir) + '/')
+
+            if not is_safe:
+                logger.warning(f"Path traversal attempt in download_star_file: app_id={app_id}, output_path={output_path}")
+                return False, f"Invalid output_path for {app_id}: must be within temp directory"
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error(f"Error validating output_path for {app_id}: {e}")
+            return False, f"Invalid output_path for {app_id}"
+
+        # Use provided filename or fall back to app_id.star
+        star_path = f"{self.APPS_PATH}/{app_id}/{star_filename}"
+
+        content = self._fetch_raw_file(star_path)
+        if not content:
+            return False, f"Failed to download .star file for {app_id} (tried {star_filename})"
+
+        try:
+            output_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+            with open(output_path, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+                f.write(content)
+
+            logger.info(f"Downloaded {app_id}.star to {output_path}")
+            return True, None
+
+        except OSError as e:
+            logger.exception(f"Failed to save .star file: {e}")
+            return False, f"Failed to save file: {e}"
+
+    def get_app_files(self, app_id: str) -> Tuple[bool, Optional[List[str]], Optional[str]]:
+        """
+        List all files in an app directory.
+
+        Args:
+            app_id: App identifier
+
+        Returns:
+            Tuple of (success, file_list, error_message)
+        """
+        url = f"{self.base_url}/repos/{self.REPO_OWNER}/{self.REPO_NAME}/contents/{self.APPS_PATH}/{app_id}"
+
+        data = self._make_request(url)
+        if not data:
+            return False, None, "Failed to fetch app files"
+
+        if not isinstance(data, list):
+            return False, None, "Invalid response format"
+
+        files = [item['name'] for item in data if item.get('type') == 'file']
+        return True, files, None
+
+    def download_app_assets(self, app_id: str, output_dir: Path) -> Tuple[bool, Optional[str]]:
+        """
+        Download all asset files (images, sources, etc.) for an app.
+
+        Args:
+            app_id: App identifier
+            output_dir: Directory to save assets to
+
+        Returns:
+            Tuple of (success, error_message)
+        """
+        # Validate app_id for path traversal
+        if '..' in app_id or '/' in app_id or '\\' in app_id:
+            return False, f"Invalid app_id: contains path traversal characters"
+
+        try:
+            # Get directory listing for the app
+            url = f"{self.base_url}/repos/{self.REPO_OWNER}/{self.REPO_NAME}/contents/{self.APPS_PATH}/{app_id}"
+            data = self._make_request(url)
+            if not data:
+                return False, f"Failed to fetch app directory listing"
+
+            if not isinstance(data, list):
+                return False, f"Invalid directory listing format"
+
+            # Find directories that contain assets (images, sources, etc.)
+            asset_dirs = []
+            for item in data:
+                if item.get('type') == 'dir':
+                    dir_name = item.get('name')
+                    # Common asset directory names in Tronbyte apps
+                    if dir_name in ('images', 'sources', 'fonts', 'assets'):
+                        asset_dirs.append((dir_name, item.get('url')))
+
+            if not asset_dirs:
+                # No asset directories, this is fine
+                return True, None
+
+            # Download each asset directory
+            for dir_name, dir_url in asset_dirs:
+                # Validate directory name for path traversal
+                if '..' in dir_name or '/' in dir_name or '\\' in dir_name:
+                    logger.warning(f"Skipping potentially unsafe directory: {dir_name}")
+                    continue
+
+                # Get files in this directory
+                dir_data = self._make_request(dir_url)
+                if not dir_data or not isinstance(dir_data, list):
+                    logger.warning(f"Could not list files in {app_id}/{dir_name}")
+                    continue
+
+                # Create local directory
+                local_dir = output_dir / dir_name
+                local_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+
+                # Download each file
+                for file_item in dir_data:
+                    if file_item.get('type') == 'file':
+                        file_name = file_item.get('name')
+
+                        # Ensure file_name is a non-empty string before validation
+                        if not file_name or not isinstance(file_name, str):
+                            logger.warning(f"Skipping file with invalid name in {dir_name}: {file_item}")
+                            continue
+
+                        # Validate filename for path traversal
+                        if '..' in file_name or '/' in file_name or '\\' in file_name:
+                            logger.warning(f"Skipping potentially unsafe file: {file_name}")
+                            continue
+
+                        file_path = f"{self.APPS_PATH}/{app_id}/{dir_name}/{file_name}"
+                        content = self._fetch_raw_file(file_path, binary=True)
+                        if content:
+                            # Write binary content to file
+                            output_path = local_dir / file_name
+                            try:
+                                with open(output_path, 'wb') as f:
+                                    f.write(content)
+                                logger.debug(f"[Tronbyte Repo] Downloaded asset: {dir_name}/{file_name}")
+                            except OSError as e:
+                                logger.warning(f"[Tronbyte Repo] Failed to save {dir_name}/{file_name}: {e}", exc_info=True)
+                        else:
+                            logger.warning(f"Failed to download {dir_name}/{file_name}")
+
+            logger.info(f"[Tronbyte Repo] Downloaded assets for {app_id} ({len(asset_dirs)} directories)")
+            return True, None
+
+        except (OSError, ValueError) as e:
+            logger.exception(f"[Tronbyte Repo] Error downloading assets for {app_id}: {e}")
+            return False, f"Error downloading assets: {e}"
+
+    def search_apps(self, query: str, apps_with_metadata: List[Dict[str, Any]]) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        """
+        Search apps by name, summary, or description.
+
+        Args:
+            query: Search query string
+            apps_with_metadata: List of apps with metadata
+
+        Returns:
+            Filtered list of apps matching query
+        """
+        if not query:
+            return apps_with_metadata
+
+        query_lower = query.lower()
+        results = []
+
+        for app in apps_with_metadata:
+            # Search in name, summary, description, author
+            searchable = ' '.join([
+                app.get('name', ''),
+                app.get('summary', ''),
+                app.get('desc', ''),
+                app.get('author', ''),
+                app.get('id', '')
+            ]).lower()
+
+            if query_lower in searchable:
+                results.append(app)
+
+        return results
+
+    def filter_by_category(self, category: str, apps_with_metadata: List[Dict[str, Any]]) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        """
+        Filter apps by category.
+
+        Args:
+            category: Category name (or 'all' for no filtering)
+            apps_with_metadata: List of apps with metadata
+
+        Returns:
+            Filtered list of apps
+        """
+        if not category or category.lower() == 'all':
+            return apps_with_metadata
+
+        category_lower = category.lower()
+        results = []
+
+        for app in apps_with_metadata:
+            app_category = app.get('category', '').lower()
+            if app_category == category_lower:
+                results.append(app)
+
+        return results
+
+    def get_rate_limit_info(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        """
+        Get current GitHub API rate limit information.
+
+        Returns:
+            Dictionary with rate limit info
+        """
+        url = f"{self.base_url}/rate_limit"
+        data = self._make_request(url)
+
+        if data:
+            core = data.get('resources', {}).get('core', {})
+            return {
+                'limit': core.get('limit', 0),
+                'remaining': core.get('remaining', 0),
+                'reset': core.get('reset', 0),
+                'used': core.get('used', 0)
+            }
+
+        return {
+            'limit': 0,
+            'remaining': 0,
+            'reset': 0,
+            'used': 0
+        }

run.py

@@ -4,6 +4,11 @@ import sys
 import os
 import argparse
 
+# Prevent Python from creating __pycache__ directories in plugin dirs.
+# The root service loads plugins via importlib, and root-owned __pycache__
+# files block the web service (non-root) from updating/uninstalling plugins.
+sys.dont_write_bytecode = True
+
 # Add project directory to Python path (needed before importing src modules)
 project_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
 if project_dir not in sys.path:

scripts/download_pixlet.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,139 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Download Pixlet binaries for bundled distribution
+#
+# This script downloads Pixlet binaries from the Tronbyte fork
+# for multiple architectures to support various platforms.
+
+set -e
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_ROOT="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
+BIN_DIR="$PROJECT_ROOT/bin/pixlet"
+
+# Pixlet version to download (use 'latest' to auto-detect)
+PIXLET_VERSION="${PIXLET_VERSION:-latest}"
+
+# GitHub repository (Tronbyte fork)
+REPO="tronbyt/pixlet"
+
+echo "========================================"
+echo "Pixlet Binary Download Script"
+echo "========================================"
+
+# Auto-detect latest version if needed
+if [ "$PIXLET_VERSION" = "latest" ]; then
+    echo "Detecting latest version..."
+    PIXLET_VERSION=$(curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/${REPO}/releases/latest" | grep '"tag_name"' | sed -E 's/.*"([^"]+)".*/\1/')
+    if [ -z "$PIXLET_VERSION" ]; then
+        echo "Failed to detect latest version, using fallback"
+        PIXLET_VERSION="v0.50.2"
+    fi
+fi
+
+echo "Version: $PIXLET_VERSION"
+echo "Target directory: $BIN_DIR"
+echo ""
+
+# Create bin directory if it doesn't exist
+mkdir -p "$BIN_DIR"
+
+# New naming convention: pixlet_v0.50.2_linux-arm64.tar.gz
+# Only download ARM64 Linux binary for Raspberry Pi
+declare -A ARCHITECTURES=(
+    ["linux-arm64"]="pixlet_${PIXLET_VERSION}_linux-arm64.tar.gz"
+)
+
+download_binary() {
+    local arch="$1"
+    local archive_name="$2"
+    local binary_name="pixlet-${arch}"
+
+    local output_path="$BIN_DIR/$binary_name"
+
+    # Skip if already exists
+    if [ -f "$output_path" ]; then
+        echo "✓ $binary_name already exists, skipping..."
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    echo "→ Downloading $arch..."
+
+    # Construct download URL
+    local url="https://github.com/${REPO}/releases/download/${PIXLET_VERSION}/${archive_name}"
+
+    # Download to temp directory (use project-local temp to avoid /tmp permission issues)
+    local temp_dir
+    temp_dir=$(mktemp -d -p "$PROJECT_ROOT" -t pixlet_download.XXXXXXXXXX)
+    local temp_file="$temp_dir/$archive_name"
+
+    if ! curl -L -o "$temp_file" "$url" 2>/dev/null; then
+        echo "✗ Failed to download $arch"
+        rm -rf "$temp_dir"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    # Extract binary
+    echo "  Extracting..."
+    if ! tar -xzf "$temp_file" -C "$temp_dir"; then
+        echo "✗ Failed to extract archive: $temp_file"
+        rm -rf "$temp_dir"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    # Find the pixlet binary in extracted files
+    local extracted_binary
+    extracted_binary=$(find "$temp_dir" -name "pixlet" | head -n 1)
+
+    if [ -z "$extracted_binary" ]; then
+        echo "✗ Binary not found in archive"
+        rm -rf "$temp_dir"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    # Move to final location
+    mv "$extracted_binary" "$output_path"
+
+    # Make executable
+    chmod +x "$output_path"
+
+    # Clean up
+    rm -rf "$temp_dir"
+
+    # Verify
+    local size
+    size=$(stat -f%z "$output_path" 2>/dev/null || stat -c%s "$output_path" 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
+    if [ "$size" = "unknown" ]; then
+        echo "✓ Downloaded $binary_name"
+    else
+        echo "✓ Downloaded $binary_name ($(numfmt --to=iec-i --suffix=B $size 2>/dev/null || echo "${size} bytes"))"
+    fi
+
+    return 0
+}
+
+# Download binaries for each architecture
+success_count=0
+total_count=${#ARCHITECTURES[@]}
+
+for arch in "${!ARCHITECTURES[@]}"; do
+    if download_binary "$arch" "${ARCHITECTURES[$arch]}"; then
+        ((success_count++))
+    fi
+done
+
+echo ""
+echo "========================================"
+echo "Download complete: $success_count/$total_count succeeded"
+echo "========================================"
+
+# List downloaded binaries
+echo ""
+echo "Installed binaries:"
+if compgen -G "$BIN_DIR/*" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    ls -lh "$BIN_DIR"/*
+else
+    echo "No binaries found"
+fi
+
+exit 0

scripts/fix_perms/safe_plugin_rm.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# safe_plugin_rm.sh — Safely remove a plugin directory after validating
+# that the resolved path is inside an allowed base directory.
+#
+# This script is intended to be called via sudo from the web interface.
+# It prevents path traversal attacks by resolving symlinks and verifying
+# the target is a child of plugin-repos/ or plugins/.
+#
+# Usage: safe_plugin_rm.sh <target_path>
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+if [ $# -ne 1 ]; then
+    echo "Usage: $0 <target_path>" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+TARGET="$1"
+
+# Determine the project root (parent of scripts/fix_perms/)
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/../.." && pwd)"
+
+# Allowed base directories (resolved, no trailing slash)
+# Use --canonicalize-missing so this works even if the dirs don't exist yet
+ALLOWED_BASES=(
+    "$(realpath --canonicalize-missing "$PROJECT_ROOT/plugin-repos")"
+    "$(realpath --canonicalize-missing "$PROJECT_ROOT/plugins")"
+)
+
+# Resolve the target path (follow symlinks)
+# Use realpath --canonicalize-missing so it works even if the path
+# doesn't fully exist (e.g., partially deleted directory)
+RESOLVED_TARGET="$(realpath --canonicalize-missing "$TARGET")"
+
+# Validate: resolved target must be a strict child of an allowed base
+# (must not BE the base itself — only children are allowed)
+ALLOWED=false
+for BASE in "${ALLOWED_BASES[@]}"; do
+    if [[ "$RESOLVED_TARGET" == "$BASE/"* ]]; then
+        ALLOWED=true
+        break
+    fi
+done
+
+if [ "$ALLOWED" = false ]; then
+    echo "DENIED: $RESOLVED_TARGET is not inside an allowed plugin directory" >&2
+    echo "Allowed bases: ${ALLOWED_BASES[*]}" >&2
+    exit 2
+fi
+
+# Safety check: refuse to delete the base directories themselves
+for BASE in "${ALLOWED_BASES[@]}"; do
+    if [ "$RESOLVED_TARGET" = "$BASE" ]; then
+        echo "DENIED: cannot remove plugin base directory itself: $BASE" >&2
+        exit 2
+    fi
+done
+
+# All checks passed — remove the target
+rm -rf -- "$RESOLVED_TARGET"

scripts/install/configure_web_sudo.sh

@@ -10,9 +10,11 @@ echo "Configuring passwordless sudo access for LED Matrix Web Interface..."
 # Get the current user (should be the user running the web interface)
 WEB_USER=$(whoami)
 PROJECT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "$PROJECT_DIR/../.." && pwd)"
 
 echo "Detected web interface user: $WEB_USER"
 echo "Project directory: $PROJECT_DIR"
+echo "Project root: $PROJECT_ROOT"
 
 # Check if running as root
 if [ "$EUID" -eq 0 ]; then
@@ -21,50 +23,92 @@ if [ "$EUID" -eq 0 ]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
-# Get the full paths to commands
-PYTHON_PATH=$(which python3)
-SYSTEMCTL_PATH=$(which systemctl)
-REBOOT_PATH=$(which reboot)
-POWEROFF_PATH=$(which poweroff)
-BASH_PATH=$(which bash)
-JOURNALCTL_PATH=$(which journalctl)
+# Get the full paths to commands and validate each one
+MISSING_CMDS=()
+
+PYTHON_PATH=$(command -v python3)   || true
+SYSTEMCTL_PATH=$(command -v systemctl) || true
+REBOOT_PATH=$(command -v reboot)    || true
+POWEROFF_PATH=$(command -v poweroff)  || true
+BASH_PATH=$(command -v bash)        || true
+JOURNALCTL_PATH=$(command -v journalctl) || true
+SAFE_RM_PATH="$PROJECT_ROOT/scripts/fix_perms/safe_plugin_rm.sh"
+
+# Validate required commands (systemctl, bash, python3 are essential)
+for CMD_NAME in SYSTEMCTL_PATH BASH_PATH PYTHON_PATH; do
+    CMD_VAL="${!CMD_NAME}"
+    if [ -z "$CMD_VAL" ]; then
+        MISSING_CMDS+=("$CMD_NAME")
+    fi
+done
+
+if [ ${#MISSING_CMDS[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
+    echo "Error: Required commands not found: ${MISSING_CMDS[*]}" >&2
+    echo "Cannot generate valid sudoers configuration without these." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Validate helper script exists
+if [ ! -f "$SAFE_RM_PATH" ]; then
+    echo "Error: Safe plugin removal helper not found: $SAFE_RM_PATH" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
 
 echo "Command paths:"
 echo "  Python: $PYTHON_PATH"
 echo "  Systemctl: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH"
-echo "  Reboot: $REBOOT_PATH"
-echo "  Poweroff: $POWEROFF_PATH"
+echo "  Reboot: ${REBOOT_PATH:-(not found, skipping)}"
+echo "  Poweroff: ${POWEROFF_PATH:-(not found, skipping)}"
 echo "  Bash: $BASH_PATH"
-echo "  Journalctl: $JOURNALCTL_PATH"
+echo "  Journalctl: ${JOURNALCTL_PATH:-(not found, skipping)}"
+echo "  Safe plugin rm: $SAFE_RM_PATH"
 
 # Create a temporary sudoers file
 TEMP_SUDOERS="/tmp/ledmatrix_web_sudoers_$$"
 
-cat > "$TEMP_SUDOERS" << EOF
-# LED Matrix Web Interface passwordless sudo configuration
-# This allows the web interface user to run specific commands without a password
+{
+    echo "# LED Matrix Web Interface passwordless sudo configuration"
+    echo "# This allows the web interface user to run specific commands without a password"
+    echo ""
+    echo "# Allow $WEB_USER to run specific commands without a password for the LED Matrix web interface"
 
-# Allow $WEB_USER to run specific commands without a password for the LED Matrix web interface
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $REBOOT_PATH
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $POWEROFF_PATH
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH start ledmatrix.service
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH stop ledmatrix.service
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH restart ledmatrix.service
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH enable ledmatrix.service
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH disable ledmatrix.service
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH status ledmatrix.service
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH is-active ledmatrix
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH is-active ledmatrix.service
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH start ledmatrix-web
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH stop ledmatrix-web
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH restart ledmatrix-web
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $JOURNALCTL_PATH -u ledmatrix.service *
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $JOURNALCTL_PATH -u ledmatrix *
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $JOURNALCTL_PATH -t ledmatrix *
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $PYTHON_PATH $PROJECT_DIR/display_controller.py
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $BASH_PATH $PROJECT_DIR/start_display.sh
-$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $BASH_PATH $PROJECT_DIR/stop_display.sh
-EOF
+    # Optional: reboot/poweroff (non-critical — skip if not found)
+    if [ -n "$REBOOT_PATH" ]; then
+        echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $REBOOT_PATH"
+    fi
+    if [ -n "$POWEROFF_PATH" ]; then
+        echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $POWEROFF_PATH"
+    fi
+
+    # Required: systemctl
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH start ledmatrix.service"
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH stop ledmatrix.service"
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH restart ledmatrix.service"
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH enable ledmatrix.service"
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH disable ledmatrix.service"
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH status ledmatrix.service"
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH is-active ledmatrix"
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH is-active ledmatrix.service"
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH start ledmatrix-web"
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH stop ledmatrix-web"
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $SYSTEMCTL_PATH restart ledmatrix-web"
+
+    # Optional: journalctl (non-critical — skip if not found)
+    if [ -n "$JOURNALCTL_PATH" ]; then
+        echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $JOURNALCTL_PATH -u ledmatrix.service *"
+        echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $JOURNALCTL_PATH -u ledmatrix *"
+        echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $JOURNALCTL_PATH -t ledmatrix *"
+    fi
+
+    # Required: python3, bash
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $PYTHON_PATH $PROJECT_DIR/display_controller.py"
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $BASH_PATH $PROJECT_DIR/start_display.sh"
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $BASH_PATH $PROJECT_DIR/stop_display.sh"
+    echo ""
+    echo "# Allow web user to remove plugin directories via vetted helper script"
+    echo "# The helper validates that the target path resolves inside plugin-repos/ or plugins/"
+    echo "$WEB_USER ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: $BASH_PATH $SAFE_RM_PATH *"
+} > "$TEMP_SUDOERS"
 
 echo ""
 echo "Generated sudoers configuration:"
@@ -81,6 +125,7 @@ echo "- View system logs via journalctl"
 echo "- Run display_controller.py directly"
 echo "- Execute start_display.sh and stop_display.sh"
 echo "- Reboot and shutdown the system"
+echo "- Remove plugin directories (for update/uninstall when root-owned files block deletion)"
 echo ""
 
 # Ask for confirmation
@@ -94,6 +139,15 @@ fi
 
 # Apply the configuration using visudo
 echo "Applying sudoers configuration..."
+# Harden the helper script: root-owned, not writable by web user
+echo "Hardening safe_plugin_rm.sh ownership..."
+if ! sudo chown root:root "$SAFE_RM_PATH"; then
+    echo "Warning: Could not set ownership on $SAFE_RM_PATH"
+fi
+if ! sudo chmod 755 "$SAFE_RM_PATH"; then
+    echo "Warning: Could not set permissions on $SAFE_RM_PATH"
+fi
+
 if sudo cp "$TEMP_SUDOERS" /etc/sudoers.d/ledmatrix_web; then
     echo "Configuration applied successfully!"
     echo ""

scripts/normalize_plugin_submodules.sh

@@ -1,343 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-# Script to normalize all plugins as git submodules
-# This ensures uniform plugin management across the repository
-
-set -euo pipefail
-
-SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
-PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/../.." && pwd)"
-PLUGINS_DIR="$PROJECT_ROOT/plugins"
-GITMODULES="$PROJECT_ROOT/.gitmodules"
-
-# Colors for output
-RED='\033[0;31m'
-GREEN='\033[0;32m'
-YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
-BLUE='\033[0;34m'
-NC='\033[0m' # No Color
-
-log_info() {
-    echo -e "${BLUE}[INFO]${NC} $1"
-}
-
-log_success() {
-    echo -e "${GREEN}[SUCCESS]${NC} $1"
-}
-
-log_warn() {
-    echo -e "${YELLOW}[WARN]${NC} $1"
-}
-
-log_error() {
-    echo -e "${RED}[ERROR]${NC} $1"
-}
-
-# Check if a plugin is in .gitmodules
-is_in_gitmodules() {
-    local plugin_path="$1"
-    git config -f "$GITMODULES" --get-regexp "^submodule\." | grep -q "path = $plugin_path$" || return 1
-}
-
-# Get submodule URL from .gitmodules
-get_submodule_url() {
-    local plugin_path="$1"
-    git config -f "$GITMODULES" "submodule.$plugin_path.url" 2>/dev/null || echo ""
-}
-
-# Check if directory is a git repo
-is_git_repo() {
-    [[ -d "$1/.git" ]]
-}
-
-# Get git remote URL
-get_git_remote() {
-    local plugin_dir="$1"
-    if is_git_repo "$plugin_dir"; then
-        (cd "$plugin_dir" && git remote get-url origin 2>/dev/null || echo "")
-    else
-        echo ""
-    fi
-}
-
-# Check if directory is a symlink
-is_symlink() {
-    [[ -L "$1" ]]
-}
-
-# Check if plugin has GitHub repo
-has_github_repo() {
-    local plugin_name="$1"
-    local url="https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-$plugin_name"
-    local status=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" "$url" 2>/dev/null || echo "0")
-    [[ "$status" == "200" ]]
-}
-
-# Update .gitignore to allow a plugin submodule
-update_gitignore() {
-    local plugin_name="$1"
-    local plugin_path="plugins/$plugin_name"
-    local gitignore="$PROJECT_ROOT/.gitignore"
-    
-    # Check if already in .gitignore exceptions
-    if grep -q "!plugins/$plugin_name$" "$gitignore" 2>/dev/null; then
-        log_info "Plugin $plugin_name already in .gitignore exceptions"
-        return 0
-    fi
-    
-    # Find the line with the last plugin exception
-    local last_line=$(grep -n "!plugins/" "$gitignore" | tail -1 | cut -d: -f1)
-    
-    if [[ -z "$last_line" ]]; then
-        log_warn "Could not find plugin exceptions in .gitignore"
-        return 1
-    fi
-    
-    # Add exceptions after the last plugin exception
-    log_info "Updating .gitignore to allow $plugin_name submodule"
-    sed -i "${last_line}a!plugins/$plugin_name\n!plugins/$plugin_name/" "$gitignore"
-    
-    log_success "Updated .gitignore for $plugin_name"
-}
-
-# Re-initialize a submodule that appears as regular directory
-reinit_submodule() {
-    local plugin_name="$1"
-    local plugin_path="plugins/$plugin_name"
-    local plugin_dir="$PLUGINS_DIR/$plugin_name"
-    
-    log_info "Re-initializing submodule: $plugin_name"
-    
-    if ! is_in_gitmodules "$plugin_path"; then
-        log_error "Plugin $plugin_name is not in .gitmodules"
-        return 1
-    fi
-    
-    local submodule_url=$(get_submodule_url "$plugin_path")
-    if [[ -z "$submodule_url" ]]; then
-        log_error "Could not find URL for $plugin_name in .gitmodules"
-        return 1
-    fi
-    
-    # If it's a symlink, remove it first
-    if is_symlink "$plugin_dir"; then
-        log_warn "Removing symlink: $plugin_dir"
-        rm "$plugin_dir"
-    fi
-    
-    # If it's a regular directory with .git, we need to handle it carefully
-    if is_git_repo "$plugin_dir"; then
-        local remote_url=$(get_git_remote "$plugin_dir")
-        if [[ "$remote_url" == "$submodule_url" ]] || [[ "$remote_url" == "${submodule_url%.git}" ]] || [[ "${submodule_url%.git}" == "$remote_url" ]]; then
-            log_info "Directory is already the correct git repo, re-initializing submodule..."
-            # Remove from git index and re-add as submodule
-            git rm --cached "$plugin_path" 2>/dev/null || true
-            rm -rf "$plugin_dir"
-        else
-            log_warn "Directory has different remote ($remote_url vs $submodule_url)"
-            log_warn "Backing up to ${plugin_dir}.backup"
-            mv "$plugin_dir" "${plugin_dir}.backup"
-        fi
-    fi
-    
-    # Re-add as submodule (use -f to force if needed)
-    if git submodule add -f "$submodule_url" "$plugin_path" 2>/dev/null; then
-        log_info "Submodule added successfully"
-    else
-        log_info "Submodule already exists, updating..."
-        git submodule update --init "$plugin_path"
-    fi
-    
-    log_success "Re-initialized submodule: $plugin_name"
-}
-
-# Convert standalone git repo to submodule
-convert_to_submodule() {
-    local plugin_name="$1"
-    local plugin_path="plugins/$plugin_name"
-    local plugin_dir="$PLUGINS_DIR/$plugin_name"
-    
-    log_info "Converting to submodule: $plugin_name"
-    
-    if is_in_gitmodules "$plugin_path"; then
-        log_warn "Plugin $plugin_name is already in .gitmodules, re-initializing instead"
-        reinit_submodule "$plugin_name"
-        return 0
-    fi
-    
-    if ! is_git_repo "$plugin_dir"; then
-        log_error "Plugin $plugin_name is not a git repository"
-        return 1
-    fi
-    
-    local remote_url=$(get_git_remote "$plugin_dir")
-    if [[ -z "$remote_url" ]]; then
-        log_error "Plugin $plugin_name has no remote URL"
-        return 1
-    fi
-    
-    # If it's a symlink, we need to handle it differently
-    if is_symlink "$plugin_dir"; then
-        local target=$(readlink -f "$plugin_dir")
-        log_warn "Plugin is a symlink to $target"
-        log_warn "Removing symlink and adding as submodule"
-        rm "$plugin_dir"
-        
-        # Update .gitignore first
-        update_gitignore "$plugin_name"
-        
-        # Add as submodule
-        if git submodule add -f "$remote_url" "$plugin_path"; then
-            log_success "Added submodule: $plugin_name"
-            return 0
-        else
-            log_error "Failed to add submodule"
-            return 1
-        fi
-    fi
-    
-    # Backup the directory
-    log_info "Backing up existing directory to ${plugin_dir}.backup"
-    mv "$plugin_dir" "${plugin_dir}.backup"
-    
-    # Remove from git index
-    git rm --cached "$plugin_path" 2>/dev/null || true
-    
-    # Update .gitignore first
-    update_gitignore "$plugin_name"
-    
-    # Add as submodule (use -f to force if .gitignore blocks it)
-    if git submodule add -f "$remote_url" "$plugin_path"; then
-        log_success "Converted to submodule: $plugin_name"
-        log_warn "Backup saved at ${plugin_dir}.backup - you can remove it after verifying"
-    else
-        log_error "Failed to add submodule"
-        log_warn "Restoring backup..."
-        mv "${plugin_dir}.backup" "$plugin_dir"
-        return 1
-    fi
-}
-
-# Add new submodule for plugin with GitHub repo
-add_new_submodule() {
-    local plugin_name="$1"
-    local plugin_path="plugins/$plugin_name"
-    local plugin_dir="$PLUGINS_DIR/$plugin_name"
-    local repo_url="https://github.com/ChuckBuilds/ledmatrix-$plugin_name.git"
-    
-    log_info "Adding new submodule: $plugin_name"
-    
-    if is_in_gitmodules "$plugin_path"; then
-        log_warn "Plugin $plugin_name is already in .gitmodules"
-        return 0
-    fi
-    
-    if [[ -e "$plugin_dir" ]]; then
-        if is_symlink "$plugin_dir"; then
-            log_warn "Removing symlink: $plugin_dir"
-            rm "$plugin_dir"
-        elif is_git_repo "$plugin_dir"; then
-            log_warn "Directory exists as git repo, converting instead"
-            convert_to_submodule "$plugin_name"
-            return 0
-        else
-            log_warn "Backing up existing directory to ${plugin_dir}.backup"
-            mv "$plugin_dir" "${plugin_dir}.backup"
-        fi
-    fi
-    
-    # Remove from git index if it exists
-    git rm --cached "$plugin_path" 2>/dev/null || true
-    
-    # Update .gitignore first
-    update_gitignore "$plugin_name"
-    
-    # Add as submodule (use -f to force if .gitignore blocks it)
-    if git submodule add -f "$repo_url" "$plugin_path"; then
-        log_success "Added new submodule: $plugin_name"
-    else
-        log_error "Failed to add submodule"
-        if [[ -e "${plugin_dir}.backup" ]]; then
-            log_warn "Restoring backup..."
-            mv "${plugin_dir}.backup" "$plugin_dir"
-        fi
-        return 1
-    fi
-}
-
-# Main processing function
-main() {
-    cd "$PROJECT_ROOT"
-    
-    log_info "Normalizing all plugins as git submodules..."
-    echo
-    
-    # Step 1: Re-initialize submodules that appear as regular directories
-    log_info "Step 1: Re-initializing existing submodules..."
-    for plugin in basketball-scoreboard calendar clock-simple odds-ticker olympics-countdown soccer-scoreboard text-display mqtt-notifications; do
-        if [[ -d "$PLUGINS_DIR/$plugin" ]] && is_in_gitmodules "plugins/$plugin"; then
-            if ! git submodule status "plugins/$plugin" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-                reinit_submodule "$plugin"
-            else
-                log_info "Submodule $plugin is already properly initialized"
-            fi
-        fi
-    done
-    echo
-    
-    # Step 2: Convert standalone git repos to submodules
-    log_info "Step 2: Converting standalone git repos to submodules..."
-    for plugin in baseball-scoreboard ledmatrix-stocks; do
-        if [[ -d "$PLUGINS_DIR/$plugin" ]] && is_git_repo "$PLUGINS_DIR/$plugin"; then
-            if ! is_in_gitmodules "plugins/$plugin"; then
-                convert_to_submodule "$plugin"
-            fi
-        fi
-    done
-    echo
-    
-    # Step 2b: Convert symlinks to submodules
-    log_info "Step 2b: Converting symlinks to submodules..."
-    for plugin in christmas-countdown ledmatrix-music static-image; do
-        if [[ -L "$PLUGINS_DIR/$plugin" ]]; then
-            if ! is_in_gitmodules "plugins/$plugin"; then
-                convert_to_submodule "$plugin"
-            fi
-        fi
-    done
-    echo
-    
-    # Step 3: Add new submodules for plugins with GitHub repos
-    log_info "Step 3: Adding new submodules for plugins with GitHub repos..."
-    for plugin in football-scoreboard hockey-scoreboard; do
-        if [[ -d "$PLUGINS_DIR/$plugin" ]] && has_github_repo "$plugin"; then
-            if ! is_in_gitmodules "plugins/$plugin"; then
-                add_new_submodule "$plugin"
-            fi
-        fi
-    done
-    echo
-    
-    # Step 4: Report on plugins without GitHub repos
-    log_info "Step 4: Checking plugins without GitHub repos..."
-    for plugin in ledmatrix-flights ledmatrix-leaderboard ledmatrix-weather; do
-        if [[ -d "$PLUGINS_DIR/$plugin" ]]; then
-            if ! is_in_gitmodules "plugins/$plugin" && ! is_git_repo "$PLUGINS_DIR/$plugin"; then
-                log_warn "Plugin $plugin has no GitHub repo and is not a git repo"
-                log_warn "  This plugin may be local-only or needs a repository created"
-            fi
-        fi
-    done
-    echo
-    
-    # Final: Initialize all submodules
-    log_info "Finalizing: Initializing all submodules..."
-    git submodule update --init --recursive
-    
-    log_success "Plugin normalization complete!"
-    log_info "Run 'git status' to see changes"
-    log_info "Run 'git submodule status' to verify all submodules"
-}
-
-main "$@"
-

scripts/setup_plugin_repos.py

@@ -1,151 +1,93 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
 """
-Setup plugin repository references for multi-root workspace.
+Setup plugin repository symlinks for local development.
 
-This script creates symlinks in plugin-repos/ pointing to the actual
-plugin repositories in the parent directory, allowing the system to
-find plugins without modifying the LEDMatrix project structure.
+Creates symlinks in plugin-repos/ pointing to plugin directories
+in the ledmatrix-plugins monorepo.
 """
 
 import json
 import os
+import re
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 
-# Paths
 PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).parent.parent
 PLUGIN_REPOS_DIR = PROJECT_ROOT / "plugin-repos"
-GITHUB_DIR = PROJECT_ROOT.parent
-CONFIG_FILE = PROJECT_ROOT / "config" / "config.json"
+MONOREPO_PLUGINS = PROJECT_ROOT.parent / "ledmatrix-plugins" / "plugins"
 
 
-def get_workspace_plugins():
-    """Get list of plugins from workspace file."""
-    workspace_file = PROJECT_ROOT / "LEDMatrix.code-workspace"
-    if not workspace_file.exists():
-        return []
-    
-    try:
-        with open(workspace_file, 'r') as f:
-            workspace = json.load(f)
-    except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
-        print(f"Error: Failed to parse workspace file {workspace_file}: {e}")
-        print("Please check that the workspace file contains valid JSON.")
-        return []
-    
-    plugins = []
-    for folder in workspace.get('folders', []):
-        path = folder.get('path', '')
-        if path.startswith('../') and path != '../ledmatrix-plugins':
-            plugin_name = path.replace('../', '')
-            plugins.append({
-                'name': plugin_name,
-                'workspace_path': path,
-                'actual_path': GITHUB_DIR / plugin_name,
-                'link_path': PLUGIN_REPOS_DIR / plugin_name
-            })
-    
-    return plugins
+def parse_json_with_trailing_commas(text: str) -> dict:
+    """Parse JSON that may have trailing commas.
+
+    Note: The regex also matches commas inside string values (e.g., "hello, }").
+    This is fine for manifest files but may corrupt complex JSON with such patterns.
+    """
+    text = re.sub(r",\s*([}\]])", r"\1", text)
+    return json.loads(text)
 
 
-def create_symlinks():
-    """Create symlinks in plugin-repos/ pointing to actual repos."""
-    plugins = get_workspace_plugins()
-    
-    if not plugins:
-        print("No plugins found in workspace configuration")
+def create_symlinks() -> bool:
+    """Create symlinks in plugin-repos/ pointing to monorepo plugin dirs."""
+    if not MONOREPO_PLUGINS.exists():
+        print(f"Error: Monorepo plugins directory not found: {MONOREPO_PLUGINS}")
         return False
-    
-    # Ensure plugin-repos directory exists
+
     PLUGIN_REPOS_DIR.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
-    
+
     created = 0
     skipped = 0
-    errors = 0
-    
-    print(f"Setting up plugin repository links...")
-    print(f"  Source: {GITHUB_DIR}")
+
+    print("Setting up plugin symlinks...")
+    print(f"  Source: {MONOREPO_PLUGINS}")
     print(f"  Links:  {PLUGIN_REPOS_DIR}")
     print()
-    
-    for plugin in plugins:
-        actual_path = plugin['actual_path']
-        link_path = plugin['link_path']
-        
-        if not actual_path.exists():
-            print(f"  ⚠️  {plugin['name']} - source not found: {actual_path}")
-            errors += 1
+
+    for plugin_dir in sorted(MONOREPO_PLUGINS.iterdir()):
+        if not plugin_dir.is_dir():
             continue
-        
-        # Remove existing link/file if it exists
+        manifest_path = plugin_dir / "manifest.json"
+        if not manifest_path.exists():
+            continue
+
+        try:
+            with open(manifest_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+                manifest = parse_json_with_trailing_commas(f.read())
+        except (OSError, json.JSONDecodeError) as e:
+            print(f"  {plugin_dir.name} - failed to read {manifest_path}: {e}")
+            continue
+        plugin_id = manifest.get("id", plugin_dir.name)
+        link_path = PLUGIN_REPOS_DIR / plugin_id
+
         if link_path.exists() or link_path.is_symlink():
             if link_path.is_symlink():
-                # Check if it points to the right place
                 try:
-                    if link_path.resolve() == actual_path.resolve():
-                        print(f"  ✓  {plugin['name']} - link already exists")
+                    if link_path.resolve() == plugin_dir.resolve():
                         skipped += 1
                         continue
                     else:
-                        # Remove old symlink pointing elsewhere
                         link_path.unlink()
-                except Exception as e:
-                    print(f"  ⚠️  {plugin['name']} - error checking link: {e}")
+                except OSError:
                     link_path.unlink()
             else:
-                # It's a directory/file, not a symlink
-                print(f"  ⚠️  {plugin['name']} - {link_path.name} exists but is not a symlink")
-                print(f"      Skipping (manual cleanup required)")
+                print(f"  {plugin_id} - exists but is not a symlink, skipping")
                 skipped += 1
                 continue
-        
-        # Create symlink
-        try:
-            # Use relative path for symlink portability
-            relative_path = os.path.relpath(actual_path, link_path.parent)
-            link_path.symlink_to(relative_path)
-            print(f"  ✓  {plugin['name']} - linked")
-            created += 1
-        except Exception as e:
-            print(f"  ✗  {plugin['name']} - failed to create link: {e}")
-            errors += 1
-    
-    print()
-    print(f"✅ Created {created} links, skipped {skipped}, errors {errors}")
-    
-    return errors == 0
 
+        relative_path = os.path.relpath(plugin_dir, link_path.parent)
+        link_path.symlink_to(relative_path)
+        print(f"  {plugin_id} - linked")
+        created += 1
 
-def update_config_path():
-    """Update config to use absolute path to parent directory (alternative approach)."""
-    # This is an alternative - set plugins_directory to absolute path
-    # Currently not implemented as symlinks are preferred
-    pass
+    print(f"\nCreated {created} links, skipped {skipped}")
+    return True
 
 
 def main():
-    """Main function."""
-    print("🔗 Setting up plugin repository symlinks...")
-    print()
-    
-    if not GITHUB_DIR.exists():
-        print(f"Error: GitHub directory not found: {GITHUB_DIR}")
-        return 1
-    
-    success = create_symlinks()
-    
-    if success:
-        print()
-        print("✅ Plugin repository setup complete!")
-        print()
-        print("Plugins are now accessible via symlinks in plugin-repos/")
-        print("You can update plugins independently in their git repos.")
-        return 0
-    else:
-        print()
-        print("⚠️  Setup completed with some errors. Check output above.")
-        return 1
+    print("Setting up plugin repository symlinks from monorepo...\n")
+    if not create_symlinks():
+        sys.exit(1)
 
 
-if __name__ == '__main__':
-    sys.exit(main())
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()

scripts/update_plugin_repos.py

@@ -1,123 +1,43 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
 """
-Update all plugin repositories by pulling the latest changes.
-This script updates all plugin repos without needing to modify
-the LEDMatrix project itself.
+Update the ledmatrix-plugins monorepo by pulling latest changes.
 """
 
-import json
-import os
 import subprocess
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 
-# Paths
-WORKSPACE_FILE = Path(__file__).parent.parent / "LEDMatrix.code-workspace"
-GITHUB_DIR = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent
-
-
-def load_workspace_plugins():
-    """Load plugin paths from workspace file."""
-    try:
-        with open(WORKSPACE_FILE, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-            workspace = json.load(f)
-    except FileNotFoundError:
-        print(f"Error: Workspace file not found: {WORKSPACE_FILE}")
-        return []
-    except PermissionError as e:
-        print(f"Error: Permission denied reading workspace file {WORKSPACE_FILE}: {e}")
-        return []
-    except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
-        print(f"Error: Invalid JSON in workspace file {WORKSPACE_FILE}: {e}")
-        return []
-    
-    plugins = []
-    for folder in workspace.get('folders', []):
-        path = folder.get('path', '')
-        name = folder.get('name', '')
-        
-        # Only process plugin folders (those starting with ../)
-        if path.startswith('../') and path != '../ledmatrix-plugins':
-            plugin_name = path.replace('../', '')
-            plugin_path = GITHUB_DIR / plugin_name
-            if plugin_path.exists():
-                plugins.append({
-                    'name': plugin_name,
-                    'display_name': name,
-                    'path': plugin_path
-                })
-    
-    return plugins
-
-
-def update_repo(repo_path):
-    """Update a git repository by pulling latest changes."""
-    if not (repo_path / '.git').exists():
-        print(f"  ⚠️  {repo_path.name} is not a git repository, skipping")
-        return False
-    
-    try:
-        # Fetch latest changes
-        fetch_result = subprocess.run(['git', 'fetch', 'origin'],
-                                     cwd=repo_path, capture_output=True, text=True)
-        
-        if fetch_result.returncode != 0:
-            print(f"  ✗  Failed to fetch {repo_path.name}: {fetch_result.stderr.strip()}")
-            return False
-        
-        # Get current branch
-        branch_result = subprocess.run(['git', 'rev-parse', '--abbrev-ref', 'HEAD'],
-                                      cwd=repo_path, capture_output=True, text=True)
-        current_branch = branch_result.stdout.strip() if branch_result.returncode == 0 else 'main'
-        
-        # Pull latest changes
-        pull_result = subprocess.run(['git', 'pull', 'origin', current_branch],
-                                    cwd=repo_path, capture_output=True, text=True)
-        
-        if pull_result.returncode == 0:
-            # Check if there were actual updates
-            if 'Already up to date' in pull_result.stdout:
-                print(f"  ✓  {repo_path.name} is up to date")
-            else:
-                print(f"  ✓  Updated {repo_path.name}")
-            return True
-        else:
-            print(f"  ✗  Failed to update {repo_path.name}: {pull_result.stderr.strip()}")
-            return False
-    except (subprocess.SubprocessError, OSError) as e:
-        print(f"  ✗  Error updating {repo_path.name}: {e}")
-        return False
+MONOREPO_DIR = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "ledmatrix-plugins"
 
 
 def main():
-    """Main function."""
-    print("🔍 Finding plugin repositories...")
-    
-    plugins = load_workspace_plugins()
-    
-    if not plugins:
-        print("  No plugin repositories found!")
+    if not MONOREPO_DIR.exists():
+        print(f"Error: Monorepo not found: {MONOREPO_DIR}")
         return 1
-    
-    print(f"  Found {len(plugins)} plugin repositories")
-    print(f"\n🚀 Updating plugins in {GITHUB_DIR}...")
-    print()
-    
-    success_count = 0
-    for plugin in plugins:
-        print(f"Updating {plugin['name']}...")
-        if update_repo(plugin['path']):
-            success_count += 1
-        print()
-    
-    print(f"\n✅ Updated {success_count}/{len(plugins)} plugins successfully!")
-    
-    if success_count < len(plugins):
-        print("⚠️  Some plugins failed to update. Check the errors above.")
+
+    if not (MONOREPO_DIR / ".git").exists():
+        print(f"Error: {MONOREPO_DIR} is not a git repository")
+        return 1
+
+    print(f"Updating {MONOREPO_DIR}...")
+    try:
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "-C", str(MONOREPO_DIR), "pull"],
+            capture_output=True,
+            text=True,
+            timeout=120,
+        )
+    except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+        print(f"Error: git pull timed out after 120 seconds for {MONOREPO_DIR}")
+        return 1
+
+    if result.returncode == 0:
+        print(result.stdout.strip())
+        return 0
+    else:
+        print(f"Error: {result.stderr.strip()}")
         return 1
-    
-    return 0
 
 
-if __name__ == '__main__':
+if __name__ == "__main__":
     sys.exit(main())

scripts/utils/start_web_conditionally.py

@@ -8,6 +8,13 @@ from pathlib import Path
 PROJECT_DIR = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))
 CONFIG_FILE = os.path.join(PROJECT_DIR, 'config', 'config.json')
 WEB_INTERFACE_SCRIPT = os.path.join(PROJECT_DIR, 'web_interface', 'start.py')
+# Marker file created by first_time_install.sh to indicate dependencies are installed
+DEPS_MARKER = os.path.join(PROJECT_DIR, '.web_deps_installed')
+
+
+def dependencies_installed():
+    """Check if dependencies were installed during first-time setup."""
+    return os.path.exists(DEPS_MARKER)
 
 def install_dependencies():
     """Install required dependencies using system Python."""
@@ -85,11 +92,18 @@ def main():
 
     if is_enabled:
         print("Configuration 'web_display_autostart' is enabled. Starting web interface...")
-        
-        # Install dependencies
-        if not install_dependencies():
-            print("Failed to install dependencies. Exiting.")
-            sys.exit(1)
+
+        # Only install dependencies if not already done during first-time setup
+        if not dependencies_installed():
+            print("First run detected: Installing dependencies...")
+            if not install_dependencies():
+                print("Failed to install dependencies. Exiting.")
+                sys.exit(1)
+            # Create marker file after successful install
+            Path(DEPS_MARKER).touch()
+            print("Dependencies installed and marker file created.")
+        else:
+            print("Dependencies already installed (marker file found). Skipping installation.")
         
         try:
             # Replace the current process with web_interface.py using system Python

src/base_classes/football.py

@@ -387,43 +387,8 @@ class FootballLive(Football, SportsLive):
             main_img = main_img.convert('RGB') # Convert for display
 
             # Display the final image
-            # #region agent log
-            import json
-            import time
-            try:
-                with open('/home/chuck/Github/LEDMatrix/.cursor/debug.log', 'a') as f:
-                    f.write(json.dumps({
-                        "sessionId": "debug-session",
-                        "runId": "run1",
-                        "hypothesisId": "C",
-                        "location": "football.py:390",
-                        "message": "About to update display",
-                        "data": {
-                            "force_clear": force_clear,
-                            "game": game.get('away_abbr', '') + "@" + game.get('home_abbr', '')
-                        },
-                        "timestamp": int(time.time() * 1000)
-                    }) + "\n")
-            except: pass
-            # #endregion
             self.display_manager.image.paste(main_img, (0, 0))
             self.display_manager.update_display() # Update display here for live
-            # #region agent log
-            try:
-                with open('/home/chuck/Github/LEDMatrix/.cursor/debug.log', 'a') as f:
-                    f.write(json.dumps({
-                        "sessionId": "debug-session",
-                        "runId": "run1",
-                        "hypothesisId": "C",
-                        "location": "football.py:392",
-                        "message": "After update display",
-                        "data": {
-                            "force_clear": force_clear
-                        },
-                        "timestamp": int(time.time() * 1000)
-                    }) + "\n")
-            except: pass
-            # #endregion
 
         except Exception as e:
             self.logger.error(f"Error displaying live Football game: {e}", exc_info=True) # Changed log prefix

src/base_classes/sports.py

@@ -207,25 +207,6 @@ class SportsCore(ABC):
 
     def display(self, force_clear: bool = False) -> bool:
         """Common display method for all NCAA FB managers""" # Updated docstring
-        # #region agent log
-        import json
-        try:
-            with open('/home/chuck/Github/LEDMatrix/.cursor/debug.log', 'a') as f:
-                f.write(json.dumps({
-                    "sessionId": "debug-session",
-                    "runId": "run1",
-                    "hypothesisId": "D",
-                    "location": "sports.py:208",
-                    "message": "Display called",
-                    "data": {
-                        "force_clear": force_clear,
-                        "has_current_game": self.current_game is not None,
-                        "current_game": self.current_game['away_abbr'] + "@" + self.current_game['home_abbr'] if self.current_game else None
-                    },
-                    "timestamp": int(time.time() * 1000)
-                }) + "\n")
-        except: pass
-        # #endregion
         if not self.is_enabled: # Check if module is enabled
              return False
 
@@ -248,40 +229,7 @@ class SportsCore(ABC):
             return False
 
         try:
-            # #region agent log
-            try:
-                with open('/home/chuck/Github/LEDMatrix/.cursor/debug.log', 'a') as f:
-                    f.write(json.dumps({
-                        "sessionId": "debug-session",
-                        "runId": "run1",
-                        "hypothesisId": "D",
-                        "location": "sports.py:232",
-                        "message": "About to draw scorebug",
-                        "data": {
-                            "force_clear": force_clear,
-                            "game": self.current_game['away_abbr'] + "@" + self.current_game['home_abbr'] if self.current_game else None
-                        },
-                        "timestamp": int(time.time() * 1000)
-                    }) + "\n")
-            except: pass
-            # #endregion
             self._draw_scorebug_layout(self.current_game, force_clear)
-            # #region agent log
-            try:
-                with open('/home/chuck/Github/LEDMatrix/.cursor/debug.log', 'a') as f:
-                    f.write(json.dumps({
-                        "sessionId": "debug-session",
-                        "runId": "run1",
-                        "hypothesisId": "D",
-                        "location": "sports.py:235",
-                        "message": "After draw scorebug",
-                        "data": {
-                            "force_clear": force_clear
-                        },
-                        "timestamp": int(time.time() * 1000)
-                    }) + "\n")
-            except: pass
-            # #endregion
             # display_manager.update_display() should be called within subclass draw methods
             # or after calling display() in the main loop. Let's keep it out of the base display.
             return True
@@ -942,7 +890,7 @@ class SportsUpcoming(SportsCore):
                             away_text = ''
                     elif self.show_ranking:
                         # Show ranking only if available
-                        away_rank = rankself._team_rankings_cacheings.get(away_abbr, 0)
+                        away_rank = self._team_rankings_cache.get(away_abbr, 0)
                         if away_rank > 0:
                             away_text = f"#{away_rank}"
                         else:
@@ -1443,48 +1391,9 @@ class SportsLive(SportsCore):
                             self.live_games = sorted(new_live_games, key=lambda g: g.get('start_time_utc') or datetime.now(timezone.utc)) # Sort by start time
                             # Reset index if current game is gone or list is new
                             if not self.current_game or self.current_game['id'] not in new_game_ids:
-                                # #region agent log
-                                import json
-                                try:
-                                    with open('/home/chuck/Github/LEDMatrix/.cursor/debug.log', 'a') as f:
-                                        f.write(json.dumps({
-                                            "sessionId": "debug-session",
-                                            "runId": "run1",
-                                            "hypothesisId": "B",
-                                            "location": "sports.py:1393",
-                                            "message": "Games loaded - resetting index and last_game_switch",
-                                            "data": {
-                                                "current_game_before": self.current_game['id'] if self.current_game else None,
-                                                "live_games_count": len(self.live_games),
-                                                "last_game_switch_before": self.last_game_switch,
-                                                "current_time": current_time,
-                                                "time_since_init": current_time - self.last_game_switch if self.last_game_switch > 0 else None
-                                            },
-                                            "timestamp": int(time.time() * 1000)
-                                        }) + "\n")
-                                except: pass
-                                # #endregion
                                 self.current_game_index = 0
                                 self.current_game = self.live_games[0] if self.live_games else None
                                 self.last_game_switch = current_time
-                                # #region agent log
-                                try:
-                                    with open('/home/chuck/Github/LEDMatrix/.cursor/debug.log', 'a') as f:
-                                        f.write(json.dumps({
-                                            "sessionId": "debug-session",
-                                            "runId": "run1",
-                                            "hypothesisId": "B",
-                                            "location": "sports.py:1396",
-                                            "message": "Games loaded - after setting last_game_switch",
-                                            "data": {
-                                                "current_game_after": self.current_game['id'] if self.current_game else None,
-                                                "last_game_switch_after": self.last_game_switch,
-                                                "first_game": self.current_game['away_abbr'] + "@" + self.current_game['home_abbr'] if self.current_game else None
-                                            },
-                                            "timestamp": int(time.time() * 1000)
-                                        }) + "\n")
-                                except: pass
-                                # #endregion
                             else:
                                 # Find current game's new index if it still exists
                                 try:
@@ -1530,70 +1439,9 @@ class SportsLive(SportsCore):
             # Handle game switching (outside test mode check)
             # Fix: Don't check for switching if last_game_switch is still 0 (games haven't been loaded yet)
             # This prevents immediate switching when the system has been running for a while before games load
-            # #region agent log
-            import json
-            try:
-                with open('/home/chuck/Github/LEDMatrix/.cursor/debug.log', 'a') as f:
-                    f.write(json.dumps({
-                        "sessionId": "debug-session",
-                        "runId": "run1",
-                        "hypothesisId": "A",
-                        "location": "sports.py:1432",
-                        "message": "Game switch check - before condition",
-                        "data": {
-                            "test_mode": self.test_mode,
-                            "live_games_count": len(self.live_games),
-                            "current_time": current_time,
-                            "last_game_switch": self.last_game_switch,
-                            "time_since_switch": current_time - self.last_game_switch,
-                            "game_display_duration": self.game_display_duration,
-                            "current_game_index": self.current_game_index,
-                            "will_switch": not self.test_mode and len(self.live_games) > 1 and self.last_game_switch > 0 and (current_time - self.last_game_switch) >= self.game_display_duration
-                        },
-                        "timestamp": int(time.time() * 1000)
-                    }) + "\n")
-            except: pass
-            # #endregion
             if not self.test_mode and len(self.live_games) > 1 and self.last_game_switch > 0 and (current_time - self.last_game_switch) >= self.game_display_duration:
-                # #region agent log
-                try:
-                    with open('/home/chuck/Github/LEDMatrix/.cursor/debug.log', 'a') as f:
-                        f.write(json.dumps({
-                            "sessionId": "debug-session",
-                            "runId": "run1",
-                            "hypothesisId": "A",
-                            "location": "sports.py:1433",
-                            "message": "Game switch triggered",
-                            "data": {
-                                "old_index": self.current_game_index,
-                                "old_game": self.current_game['away_abbr'] + "@" + self.current_game['home_abbr'] if self.current_game else None,
-                                "time_since_switch": current_time - self.last_game_switch,
-                                "last_game_switch_before": self.last_game_switch
-                            },
-                            "timestamp": int(time.time() * 1000)
-                        }) + "\n")
-                except: pass
-                # #endregion
                 self.current_game_index = (self.current_game_index + 1) % len(self.live_games)
                 self.current_game = self.live_games[self.current_game_index]
                 self.last_game_switch = current_time
-                # #region agent log
-                try:
-                    with open('/home/chuck/Github/LEDMatrix/.cursor/debug.log', 'a') as f:
-                        f.write(json.dumps({
-                            "sessionId": "debug-session",
-                            "runId": "run1",
-                            "hypothesisId": "A",
-                            "location": "sports.py:1436",
-                            "message": "Game switch completed",
-                            "data": {
-                                "new_index": self.current_game_index,
-                                "new_game": self.current_game['away_abbr'] + "@" + self.current_game['home_abbr'] if self.current_game else None,
-                                "last_game_switch_after": self.last_game_switch
-                            },
-                            "timestamp": int(time.time() * 1000)
-                        }) + "\n")
-                except: pass
-                # #endregion
                 self.logger.info(f"Switched live view to: {self.current_game['away_abbr']}@{self.current_game['home_abbr']}") # Changed log prefix
                 # Force display update via flag or direct call if needed, but usually let main loop handle

src/common/permission_utils.py

@@ -8,32 +8,70 @@ files that need to be accessible by both root service and web user.
 
 import os
 import logging
+import shutil as _shutil
+import subprocess
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Optional
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+# System directories that should never have their permissions modified
+# These directories have special system-level permissions that must be preserved
+PROTECTED_SYSTEM_DIRECTORIES = {
+    '/tmp',
+    '/var/tmp',
+    '/dev',
+    '/proc',
+    '/sys',
+    '/run',
+    '/var/run',
+    '/etc',
+    '/boot',
+    '/var',
+    '/usr',
+    '/lib',
+    '/lib64',
+    '/bin',
+    '/sbin',
+}
+
 
 def ensure_directory_permissions(path: Path, mode: int = 0o775) -> None:
     """
     Create directory and set permissions.
-    
+
     If the directory already exists and we cannot change its permissions,
     we check if it's usable (readable/writable). If so, we continue without
     raising an exception. This allows the system to work even when running
     as a non-root user who cannot change permissions on existing directories.
-    
+
+    Protected system directories (like /tmp, /etc, /var) are never modified
+    to prevent breaking system functionality.
+
     Args:
         path: Directory path to create/ensure
         mode: Permission mode (default: 0o775 for group-writable directories)
-    
+
     Raises:
         OSError: If directory creation fails or directory exists but is not usable
     """
     try:
+        # Never modify permissions on system directories
+        path_str = str(path.resolve() if path.is_absolute() else path)
+        if path_str in PROTECTED_SYSTEM_DIRECTORIES:
+            logger.debug(f"Skipping permission modification on protected system directory: {path_str}")
+            # Verify the directory is usable
+            if path.exists() and os.access(path, os.R_OK | os.W_OK):
+                return
+            elif path.exists():
+                logger.warning(f"Protected system directory {path_str} exists but is not writable")
+                return
+            else:
+                raise OSError(f"Protected system directory {path_str} does not exist")
+
         # Create directory if it doesn't exist
         path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-        
+
         # Try to set permissions
         try:
             os.chmod(path, mode)
@@ -156,9 +194,96 @@ def get_plugin_dir_mode() -> int:
 def get_cache_dir_mode() -> int:
     """
     Return permission mode for cache directories.
-    
+
     Returns:
         Permission mode: 0o2775 (rwxrwxr-x + sticky bit) for group-writable cache directories
     """
     return 0o2775  # rwxrwsr-x (setgid + group writable)
 
+
+def sudo_remove_directory(path: Path, allowed_bases: Optional[list] = None) -> bool:
+    """
+    Remove a directory using sudo as a last resort.
+
+    Used when normal removal fails due to root-owned files (e.g., __pycache__
+    directories created by the root ledmatrix service). Delegates to the
+    safe_plugin_rm.sh helper which validates the path is inside allowed
+    plugin directories.
+
+    Before invoking sudo, this function also validates that the resolved
+    path is a descendant of at least one allowed base directory.
+
+    Args:
+        path: Directory path to remove
+        allowed_bases: List of allowed parent directories. If None, defaults
+            to plugin-repos/ and plugins/ under the project root.
+
+    Returns:
+        True if removal succeeded, False otherwise
+    """
+    # Determine project root (permission_utils.py is at src/common/)
+    project_root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent.parent
+
+    if allowed_bases is None:
+        allowed_bases = [
+            project_root / "plugin-repos",
+            project_root / "plugins",
+        ]
+
+    # Resolve the target path to prevent symlink/traversal tricks
+    try:
+        resolved = path.resolve()
+    except (OSError, ValueError) as e:
+        logger.error(f"Cannot resolve path {path}: {e}")
+        return False
+
+    # Validate the resolved path is a strict child of an allowed base
+    is_allowed = False
+    for base in allowed_bases:
+        try:
+            base_resolved = base.resolve()
+            if resolved != base_resolved and resolved.is_relative_to(base_resolved):
+                is_allowed = True
+                break
+        except (OSError, ValueError):
+            continue
+
+    if not is_allowed:
+        logger.error(
+            f"sudo_remove_directory DENIED: {resolved} is not inside "
+            f"allowed bases {[str(b) for b in allowed_bases]}"
+        )
+        return False
+
+    # Use the safe_plugin_rm.sh helper which does its own validation
+    helper_script = project_root / "scripts" / "fix_perms" / "safe_plugin_rm.sh"
+    if not helper_script.exists():
+        logger.error(f"Safe removal helper not found: {helper_script}")
+        return False
+
+    bash_path = _shutil.which('bash') or '/bin/bash'
+
+    try:
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            ['sudo', '-n', bash_path, str(helper_script), str(resolved)],
+            capture_output=True,
+            text=True,
+            timeout=30
+        )
+        if result.returncode == 0 and not resolved.exists():
+            logger.info(f"Successfully removed {path} via sudo helper")
+            return True
+        else:
+            stderr = result.stderr.strip()
+            logger.error(f"sudo helper failed for {path}: {stderr}")
+            return False
+    except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+        logger.error(f"sudo helper timed out for {path}")
+        return False
+    except FileNotFoundError:
+        logger.error("sudo command not found on system")
+        return False
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.error(f"Unexpected error during sudo helper for {path}: {e}")
+        return False
+

src/common/scroll_helper.py

@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ class ScrollHelper:
                 # 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(0.1 / self.scroll_delay))  # Allow up to 0.1s of catch-up
+                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

src/display_controller.py

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Dict, Any, List, Optional
 from datetime import datetime
 from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor, as_completed  # pylint: disable=no-name-in-module
+import pytz
 
 # Core system imports only - all functionality now handled via plugins
 from src.display_manager import DisplayManager
@@ -18,6 +19,10 @@ from src.logging_config import get_logger
 
 # Get logger with consistent configuration
 logger = get_logger(__name__)
+
+# Vegas mode import (lazy loaded to avoid circular imports)
+_vegas_mode_imported = False
+VegasModeCoordinator = None
 DEFAULT_DYNAMIC_DURATION_CAP = 180.0
 
 # WiFi status message file path (same as used in wifi_manager.py)
@@ -330,7 +335,12 @@ class DisplayController:
         # Schedule management
         self.is_display_active = True
         self._was_display_active = True  # Track previous state for schedule change detection
-        
+
+        # Brightness state tracking for dim schedule
+        self.current_brightness = self.config.get('display', {}).get('hardware', {}).get('brightness', 90)
+        self.is_dimmed = False
+        self._was_dimmed = False
+
         # Publish initial on-demand state
         try:
             self._publish_on_demand_state()
@@ -343,8 +353,87 @@ class DisplayController:
         self._update_modules()
         logger.info("Initial plugin update completed in %.3f seconds", time.time() - update_start)
 
+        # Initialize Vegas mode coordinator
+        self.vegas_coordinator = None
+        self._initialize_vegas_mode()
+
         logger.info("DisplayController initialization completed in %.3f seconds", time.time() - start_time)
 
+    def _initialize_vegas_mode(self):
+        """Initialize Vegas mode coordinator if enabled."""
+        global _vegas_mode_imported, VegasModeCoordinator
+
+        vegas_config = self.config.get('display', {}).get('vegas_scroll', {})
+        if not vegas_config.get('enabled', False):
+            logger.debug("Vegas mode disabled in config")
+            return
+
+        if self.plugin_manager is None:
+            logger.warning("Vegas mode skipped: plugin_manager is None")
+            return
+
+        try:
+            # Lazy import to avoid circular imports
+            if not _vegas_mode_imported:
+                try:
+                    from src.vegas_mode import VegasModeCoordinator as VMC
+                    VegasModeCoordinator = VMC
+                    _vegas_mode_imported = True
+                except ImportError:
+                    logger.exception("Failed to import Vegas mode module")
+                    return
+
+            self.vegas_coordinator = VegasModeCoordinator(
+                config=self.config,
+                display_manager=self.display_manager,
+                plugin_manager=self.plugin_manager
+            )
+
+            # Set up live priority checker
+            self.vegas_coordinator.set_live_priority_checker(self._check_live_priority)
+
+            # Set up interrupt checker for on-demand/wifi status
+            self.vegas_coordinator.set_interrupt_checker(
+                self._check_vegas_interrupt,
+                check_interval=10  # Check every 10 frames (~80ms at 125 FPS)
+            )
+
+            logger.info("Vegas mode coordinator initialized")
+
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error("Failed to initialize Vegas mode: %s", e, exc_info=True)
+            self.vegas_coordinator = None
+
+    def _is_vegas_mode_active(self) -> bool:
+        """Check if Vegas mode should be running."""
+        if not self.vegas_coordinator:
+            return False
+        if not self.vegas_coordinator.is_enabled:
+            return False
+        if self.on_demand_active:
+            return False  # On-demand takes priority
+        return True
+
+    def _check_vegas_interrupt(self) -> bool:
+        """
+        Check if Vegas should yield control for higher priority events.
+
+        Called periodically by Vegas coordinator to allow responsive
+        handling of on-demand requests, wifi status, etc.
+
+        Returns:
+            True if Vegas should yield control, False to continue
+        """
+        # Check for pending on-demand request
+        if self.on_demand_active:
+            return True
+
+        # Check for wifi status that needs display
+        if self._check_wifi_status_message():
+            return True
+
+        return False
+
     def _check_schedule(self):
         """Check if display should be active based on schedule."""
         schedule_config = self.config.get('schedule', {})
@@ -362,8 +451,17 @@ class DisplayController:
             self._was_display_active = True  # Track previous state for schedule change detection
             logger.debug("Schedule is disabled - display always active")
             return
-            
-        current_time = datetime.now()
+
+        # Get configured timezone, default to UTC
+        timezone_str = self.config.get('timezone', 'UTC')
+        try:
+            tz = pytz.timezone(timezone_str)
+        except pytz.UnknownTimeZoneError:
+            logger.warning(f"Unknown timezone '{timezone_str}', using UTC")
+            tz = pytz.UTC
+
+        # Use timezone-aware current time
+        current_time = datetime.now(tz)
         current_day = current_time.strftime('%A').lower()  # Get day name (monday, tuesday, etc.)
         current_time_only = current_time.time()
         
@@ -440,11 +538,96 @@ class DisplayController:
             self._was_display_active = self.is_display_active
                 
         except ValueError as e:
-            logger.warning("Invalid schedule format for %s schedule: %s (start: %s, end: %s). Defaulting to active.", 
+            logger.warning("Invalid schedule format for %s schedule: %s (start: %s, end: %s). Defaulting to active.",
                          schedule_type, e, start_time_str, end_time_str)
             self.is_display_active = True
             self._was_display_active = True  # Track previous state for schedule change detection
 
+    def _check_dim_schedule(self) -> int:
+        """
+        Check if display should be dimmed based on dim schedule.
+
+        Returns:
+            Target brightness level (dim_brightness if in dim period,
+            normal brightness otherwise)
+        """
+        # Get normal brightness from config
+        normal_brightness = self.config.get('display', {}).get('hardware', {}).get('brightness', 90)
+
+        # If display is OFF via schedule, don't process dim schedule
+        if not self.is_display_active:
+            self.is_dimmed = False
+            return normal_brightness
+
+        dim_config = self.config.get('dim_schedule', {})
+
+        # If dim schedule doesn't exist or is disabled, use normal brightness
+        if not dim_config or not dim_config.get('enabled', False):
+            self.is_dimmed = False
+            return normal_brightness
+
+        # Get configured timezone
+        timezone_str = self.config.get('timezone', 'UTC')
+        try:
+            tz = pytz.timezone(timezone_str)
+        except pytz.UnknownTimeZoneError:
+            logger.warning(f"Unknown timezone '{timezone_str}' in dim schedule, using UTC")
+            tz = pytz.UTC
+
+        current_time = datetime.now(tz)
+        current_day = current_time.strftime('%A').lower()
+        current_time_only = current_time.time()
+
+        # Determine if using per-day or global dim schedule
+        # Normalize mode to handle both "per-day" and "per_day" variants
+        mode = dim_config.get('mode', 'global')
+        mode_normalized = mode.replace('_', '-') if mode else 'global'
+        days_config = dim_config.get('days')
+        use_per_day = mode_normalized == 'per-day' and days_config and current_day in days_config
+
+        if use_per_day:
+            day_config = days_config[current_day]
+            if not day_config.get('enabled', True):
+                self.is_dimmed = False
+                return normal_brightness
+            start_time_str = day_config.get('start_time', '20:00')
+            end_time_str = day_config.get('end_time', '07:00')
+        else:
+            start_time_str = dim_config.get('start_time', '20:00')
+            end_time_str = dim_config.get('end_time', '07:00')
+
+        try:
+            start_time = datetime.strptime(start_time_str, '%H:%M').time()
+            end_time = datetime.strptime(end_time_str, '%H:%M').time()
+
+            # Determine if currently in dim period
+            if start_time <= end_time:
+                # Same-day schedule (e.g., 10:00 to 18:00)
+                in_dim_period = start_time <= current_time_only <= end_time
+            else:
+                # Overnight schedule (e.g., 20:00 to 07:00)
+                in_dim_period = current_time_only >= start_time or current_time_only <= end_time
+
+            if in_dim_period:
+                self.is_dimmed = True
+                target_brightness = dim_config.get('dim_brightness', 30)
+            else:
+                self.is_dimmed = False
+                target_brightness = normal_brightness
+
+            # Log state changes
+            if self.is_dimmed and not self._was_dimmed:
+                logger.info(f"Dim schedule activated: brightness set to {target_brightness}%")
+            elif not self.is_dimmed and self._was_dimmed:
+                logger.info(f"Dim schedule deactivated: brightness restored to {target_brightness}%")
+
+            self._was_dimmed = self.is_dimmed
+            return target_brightness
+
+        except ValueError as e:
+            logger.warning(f"Invalid dim schedule time format: {e}")
+            return normal_brightness
+
     def _update_modules(self):
         """Update all plugin modules."""
         if not self.plugin_manager:
@@ -1101,6 +1284,13 @@ class DisplayController:
                 elif not self.on_demand_active and self.on_demand_schedule_override:
                     self.on_demand_schedule_override = False
 
+                # Check dim schedule and apply brightness (only when display is active)
+                if self.is_display_active:
+                    target_brightness = self._check_dim_schedule()
+                    if target_brightness != self.current_brightness:
+                        if self.display_manager.set_brightness(target_brightness):
+                            self.current_brightness = target_brightness
+
                 if not self.is_display_active:
                     # Clear display when schedule makes it inactive to ensure blank screen
                     # (not showing initialization screen)
@@ -1152,6 +1342,23 @@ class DisplayController:
                         except ValueError:
                             pass
 
+                # Vegas scroll mode - continuous ticker across all plugins
+                # Priority: on-demand > wifi-status > live-priority > vegas > normal rotation
+                if self._is_vegas_mode_active() and not wifi_status_data:
+                    live_mode = self._check_live_priority()
+                    if not live_mode:
+                        try:
+                            # Run Vegas mode iteration
+                            if self.vegas_coordinator.run_iteration():
+                                # Vegas completed an iteration, continue to next loop
+                                continue
+                            else:
+                                # Vegas was interrupted (live priority), fall through to normal handling
+                                logger.debug("Vegas mode interrupted, falling back to normal rotation")
+                        except Exception:
+                            logger.exception("Vegas mode error")
+                            # Fall through to normal rotation on error
+
                 if self.on_demand_active:
                     # Guard against empty on_demand_modes
                     if not self.on_demand_modes:

src/display_manager.py

@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ class DisplayManager:
             options.pixel_mapper_config = hardware_config.get('pixel_mapper_config', '')
             options.row_address_type = hardware_config.get('row_address_type', 0)
             options.multiplexing = hardware_config.get('multiplexing', 0)
+            options.panel_type = hardware_config.get('panel_type', '')
             options.disable_hardware_pulsing = hardware_config.get('disable_hardware_pulsing', False)
             options.show_refresh_rate = hardware_config.get('show_refresh_rate', False)
             options.limit_refresh_rate_hz = hardware_config.get('limit_refresh_rate_hz', 90)
@@ -174,6 +175,57 @@ class DisplayManager:
         else:
             return 32  # Default fallback height
 
+    def set_brightness(self, brightness: int) -> bool:
+        """
+        Set display brightness at runtime.
+
+        Args:
+            brightness: Brightness level (0-100)
+
+        Returns:
+            True if brightness was set successfully, False otherwise
+        """
+        # Fail fast: validate input type
+        if not isinstance(brightness, (int, float)):
+            logger.error(f"[BRIGHTNESS] Invalid brightness type: {type(brightness).__name__}, expected int")
+            return False
+
+        if self.matrix is None:
+            logger.warning("[BRIGHTNESS] Cannot set brightness in fallback mode")
+            return False
+
+        # Clamp to valid range
+        brightness = max(0, min(100, int(brightness)))
+
+        try:
+            # RGBMatrix accepts brightness as a property
+            self.matrix.brightness = brightness
+            logger.info(f"[BRIGHTNESS] Display brightness set to {brightness}%")
+            return True
+        except AttributeError as e:
+            logger.error(f"[BRIGHTNESS] Matrix does not support brightness property: {e}", exc_info=True)
+            return False
+        except (TypeError, ValueError) as e:
+            logger.error(f"[BRIGHTNESS] Invalid brightness value rejected by hardware: {e}", exc_info=True)
+            return False
+
+    def get_brightness(self) -> int:
+        """
+        Get current display brightness.
+
+        Returns:
+            Current brightness level (0-100), or -1 if unavailable
+        """
+        if self.matrix is None:
+            logger.debug("[BRIGHTNESS] Cannot get brightness in fallback mode")
+            return -1
+
+        try:
+            return self.matrix.brightness
+        except AttributeError as e:
+            logger.warning(f"[BRIGHTNESS] Matrix does not support brightness property: {e}", exc_info=True)
+            return -1
+
     def _draw_test_pattern(self):
         """Draw a test pattern to verify the display is working."""
         try:
@@ -816,8 +868,12 @@ class DisplayManager:
                 get_assets_file_mode
             )
             snapshot_path_obj = Path(self._snapshot_path)
-            if snapshot_path_obj.parent:
-                ensure_directory_permissions(snapshot_path_obj.parent, get_assets_dir_mode())
+            # Only ensure permissions on non-system directories
+            # Never modify /tmp permissions - it has special system permissions (1777)
+            # that must not be changed or it breaks apt and other system tools
+            parent_dir = snapshot_path_obj.parent
+            if parent_dir and str(parent_dir) != '/tmp':
+                ensure_directory_permissions(parent_dir, get_assets_dir_mode())
             # Write atomically: temp then replace
             tmp_path = f"{self._snapshot_path}.tmp"
             self.image.save(tmp_path, format='PNG')