Files
LEDMatrix/scripts/fix_perms

Permission Fix Scripts

This directory contains shell scripts for repairing file/directory permissions on a LEDMatrix installation. They're typically only needed when something has gone wrong — for example, after running parts of the install as the wrong user, after a manual file copy that didn't preserve ownership, or after a permissions-related error from the display or web service.

Most of these scripts require sudo since they touch directories owned by root (the display service's user) or by the user you installed LEDMatrix as (the web service's user). There is no dedicated ledmatrix system user.

Scripts

  • fix_assets_permissions.sh — Fixes ownership and write permissions on the assets/ tree so plugins can download and cache team logos, fonts, and other static content.

  • fix_cache_permissions.sh — Creates (if missing) and fixes permissions on /var/cache/ledmatrix/ and ~/.ledmatrix_cache/ of the user running sudo, and creates /var/cache/ledmatrix/placeholder_logos/ for the sports plugins. It does not touch the cache manager's other fallbacks (/opt/ledmatrix/cache, $TMPDIR/ledmatrix_cache).

  • fix_plugin_permissions.sh — Fixes ownership on the plugins directory so both the root display service and the web service user can read and write plugin files (manifests, configs, requirements installs).

  • fix_web_permissions.sh — Fixes permissions on log files, systemd journal access, and the sudoers entries the web interface needs to control the display service.

  • safe_pip_install.sh — Installs a requirements.txt as root after checking it is the project's own or one under plugin-repos/ or plugins/. Used by the web interface (via sudo) to install plugin dependencies where ledmatrix.service can import them.

  • safe_plugin_rm.sh — Validates that a plugin removal path is inside an allowed base directory before deleting it. Used by the web interface (via sudo) when a user clicks Uninstall on a plugin — prevents path-traversal abuse from the web UI.

When to use these

Most users never need to run these directly. The first-time installer (first_time_install.sh) sets up permissions correctly, and the web interface manages plugin install/uninstall through the sudoers entries the installer creates.

Run these scripts only when:

  • You see "Permission denied" errors in journalctl -u ledmatrix or the web UI Logs tab.
  • You manually copied files into the project directory as the wrong user.
  • You restored from a backup that didn't preserve ownership.
  • You moved the LEDMatrix directory and need to re-anchor permissions.

Usage

# Run from the project root
sudo ./scripts/fix_perms/fix_cache_permissions.sh
sudo ./scripts/fix_perms/fix_assets_permissions.sh
sudo ./scripts/fix_perms/fix_plugin_permissions.sh
sudo ./scripts/fix_perms/fix_web_permissions.sh

If you're not sure which one you need, run fix_cache_permissions.sh first — it's the most commonly needed and creates several directories the other scripts assume exist.