LEDMatrix/CLAUDE.md

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)
• plugin-repos/ — Default plugin install directory used by the Plugin Store, set by plugin_system.plugins_directory in config.json (default per config/config.template.json). Not gitignored.
• plugins/ — Legacy/dev plugin location. Gitignored (plugins/*). Used by scripts/dev/dev_plugin_setup.sh for symlinks. The plugin loader does NOT fall back to it — PluginManager.discover_plugins() (src/plugin_system/plugin_manager.py) scans only the configured directory. Fallbacks exist in two narrower places: store operations (PluginStoreManager._find_plugin_path() in store_manager.py, which searches store_search_dirs() from plugin_dirs.py) and schema lookup (SchemaManager.get_schema_path() in schema_manager.py, which probes plugins/ before plugin-repos/).
• src/plugin_system/plugin_dirs.py — the one resolver for "which directory holds plugin X" (manifest id first, then <id> / ledmatrix-<id>)

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, and the entry point (manager.py by default); requirements.txt if it has dependencies. Required manifest fields: docs/PLUGIN_API_REFERENCE.md#manifest-required-fields
• 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.width/height — not display_manager.matrix.width/height, because matrix is None when hardware init fails (the properties fall back to the canvas size)
• Secrets: namespaced by plugin id in config/config_secrets.json, declared via "x-secret": true in the plugin's config schema, and deep-merged into the plugin's config dict at load time — plugins read them with plain config.get(...), never a separate accessor

Dev Workflow

• Link a plugin for development: ./scripts/dev/dev_plugin_setup.sh link-github <name> clones the ledmatrix-plugins monorepo into ~/.ledmatrix-dev-plugins/ and links its plugins/<name> under the manifest id (add a repo URL for a plugin with its own repo; or link <name> <path>); symlinks land in plugins/ — set plugin_system.plugins_directory to plugins so discovery picks them up. Fork/location overrides: dev_plugins.json (from dev_plugins.json.example)
• Browser preview without the display loop: python3 scripts/dev_server.py → http://localhost:5001
• Full display in emulator mode: python3 run.py -e (or EMULATOR=true python3 run.py)
• Validate one plugin headlessly: python3 scripts/check_plugin.py --plugin <id>
• Soak a rig for frame timing (on the Pi, service running): python3 scripts/frame_soak.py --preview — late-frame rate across every scroller; see docs/SCROLL_PERFORMANCE.md

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 (PluginStoreManager in src/plugin_system/store_manager.py) handles install/update/uninstall
• Monorepo plugins are installed without a .git directory: GitHub Trees API + raw downloads, falling back to ZIP extraction
• Update detection for monorepo plugins uses version comparison (manifest version vs registry latest_version)
• Optional registry entry fields (store_registry.py): ledmatrix_min_version refuses an incompatible install/update before the download (the post-download manifest gate stays as the fallback); aliases are the entry's other ids (manifest id ledmatrix-weather for weather), used with the plugin_path name by update/uninstall/reinstall to find the install — only this registry proof counts, never a bare ledmatrix-<id> folder (owner decision, #686; such a folder is only logged); commit is informational. An older plugins.json has none of them
• 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 requires a CallbackAPIVersion argument: VERSION1 for code written against v1 callback signatures (the MQTT bridge uses VERSION2)
• BasePlugin uses get_logger() from src.logging_config, not standard logging.getLogger()
• DisplayManager has no draw_image() — paste onto the PIL image directly: self.display_manager.image.paste(img, (x, y)) then update_display() (use a mask for transparency: image.paste(rgba, (x, y), rgba))
• 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
• src/pi5_matrix_support.py hardcodes what the pinned rpi-rgb-led-matrix-master can drive on a Raspberry Pi 5 (Rp1PioConfigSupported() in lib/rp1/rp1_pio_backend.cc). Re-check it whenever the submodule is bumped: a stale rule blocks Pi 5 settings the new library supports, and a missing one lets the display service crash-loop. src/matrix_support.py holds the same kind of rules for every board (rows, chain length, mapping names, parallel per mapping) and needs the same re-check