ledmatrix-web.service runs as a non-root user, so "Reinstall plugin
requirements" installed packages into that user's ~/.local site-packages.
ledmatrix.service (the actual display, which loads and runs plugin code)
runs as root and can't see another user's user-site packages, so plugins
with dependencies not already present system-wide would silently fail at
runtime with ModuleNotFoundError even after a "successful" reinstall.
Reproduced and fixed live against a real device (weather plugin's astral
dependency, used for moon-phase data): confirmed the exact failure
("No module named 'astral'" on every almanac cycle) and confirmed it's
gone after this fix.
Adds scripts/fix_perms/safe_pip_install.sh, a root-owned wrapper (mirroring
the existing safe_plugin_rm.sh pattern) that validates the target is
requirements.txt at the project root or under plugin-repos/ or plugins/
before running pip install as root. configure_web_sudo.sh provisions a
narrowly-scoped sudoers rule for it. api_v3.py's install_base_requirements
and install_plugin_requirements actions now use it via `sudo -n`, falling
back to today's current-user-only install (with an explanatory note) if
the wrapper isn't set up yet, so existing installs don't regress.
Also uses --ignore-installed in the wrapper: root's site-packages often has
apt/dpkg-managed copies of common libraries (requests, etc.) with no pip
RECORD file, which pip refuses to upgrade in place and aborts the *entire*
requirements.txt install over — discovered this while testing the fix live,
since a plugin's other already-satisfied-for-the-web-user dependencies had
never actually been attempted as root before.
Also fixes a pre-existing bug in configure_web_sudo.sh where the
display_controller.py/start_display.sh/stop_display.sh sudoers entries used
PROJECT_DIR (scripts/install/, where this script lives) instead of
PROJECT_ROOT (where those files actually live) — visible as the script's
own "File access test" self-check failing. Verified fixed live.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01KEZK1P1Q1fu5pcuVrkrCFZ
LED Matrix Web Interface V3
Modern, production web interface for controlling the LED Matrix display.
Overview
This directory contains the active V3 web interface with the following features:
- Real-time display preview via Server-Sent Events (SSE)
- Plugin management and configuration
- System monitoring and logs
- Modern, responsive UI
- RESTful API
Directory Structure
web_interface/
├── app.py # Main Flask application
├── start.py # Startup script
├── run.sh # Shell runner script
├── requirements.txt # Python dependencies
├── blueprints/ # Flask blueprints
│ ├── api_v3.py # API endpoints
│ └── pages_v3.py # Page routes
├── templates/ # HTML templates
│ └── v3/
│ ├── base.html
│ ├── index.html
│ └── partials/
└── static/ # CSS/JS assets
└── v3/
├── app.css
└── app.js
Running the Web Interface
Standalone (Development)
From the project root:
python3 web_interface/start.py
Or using the shell script:
./web_interface/run.sh
As a Service (Production)
The web interface can run as a systemd service that starts automatically based on the web_display_autostart configuration setting:
sudo systemctl start ledmatrix-web
sudo systemctl enable ledmatrix-web # Start on boot
Accessing the Interface
Once running, access the web interface at:
- Local: http://localhost:5000
- Network: http://:5000
Configuration
The web interface reads configuration from:
config/config.json- Main configurationconfig/config_secrets.json- API keys and secrets
API Documentation
The V3 API is mounted at /api/v3/ (app.py:144). For the complete
list and request/response formats, see
docs/REST_API_REFERENCE.md. Quick
reference for the most common endpoints:
Configuration
GET /api/v3/config/main- Get main configurationPOST /api/v3/config/main- Save main configurationGET /api/v3/config/secrets- Get secrets configurationPOST /api/v3/config/raw/main- Save raw main config (Config Editor)POST /api/v3/config/raw/secrets- Save raw secrets
Display & System Control
GET /api/v3/system/status- System statusPOST /api/v3/system/action- Control display (action body:start_display,stop_display,restart_display_service,restart_web_service,git_pull,reboot_system,shutdown_system,enable_autostart,disable_autostart)GET /api/v3/display/current- Current display frameGET /api/v3/display/on-demand/status- On-demand statusPOST /api/v3/display/on-demand/start- Trigger on-demand displayPOST /api/v3/display/on-demand/stop- Clear on-demand
Plugins
GET /api/v3/plugins/installed- List installed pluginsGET /api/v3/plugins/config?plugin_id=<id>- Get plugin configPOST /api/v3/plugins/config- Update plugin configurationGET /api/v3/plugins/schema?plugin_id=<id>- Get plugin schemaPOST /api/v3/plugins/toggle- Enable/disable pluginPOST /api/v3/plugins/install- Install from registryPOST /api/v3/plugins/install-from-url- Install from GitHub URLPOST /api/v3/plugins/uninstall- Uninstall pluginPOST /api/v3/plugins/update- Update plugin
Plugin Store
GET /api/v3/plugins/store/list- List available registry pluginsGET /api/v3/plugins/store/github-status- GitHub authentication statusPOST /api/v3/plugins/store/refresh- Refresh registry from GitHub
Real-time Streams (SSE)
SSE stream endpoints are defined directly on the Flask app
(app.py:607-619 — includes the CSRF exemption and rate-limit hookup
alongside the three route definitions), not on the api_v3 blueprint:
GET /api/v3/stream/stats- System statistics streamGET /api/v3/stream/display- Display preview streamGET /api/v3/stream/logs- Service logs stream
Development
When making changes to the web interface:
- Edit files in this directory
- Test changes by running
python3 web_interface/start.py - Restart the service if running:
sudo systemctl restart ledmatrix-web
Notes
- Templates and static files use the
v3/prefix to allow for future versions - The interface uses Flask blueprints for modular organization
- SSE streams provide real-time updates without polling