Files
LEDMatrix/web_interface
ChuckBuildsandClaude Opus 5 965d509864 fix(starlark): stop the root display service locking the web UI out
Reported after a fresh install: installing an app from the Starlark tab
failed with "install failed: Failed to install from repository", and so did
uploading a .star file and installing from a GitHub directory. The reporter
found the cause only by reading service logs, and fixed it with

    sudo chown -R ledpi:ledpi /home/ledpi/LEDMatrix/starlark-apps

starlark-apps is gitignored, so it is never checked out -- it is created
lazily by whichever process reaches it first. Those processes run as
different users. systemd/ledmatrix.service is User=root and constructs this
plugin at startup, which is where _get_apps_directory() is called from;
systemd/ledmatrix-web.service runs as the login user and is what actually
installs apps.

The documented first step is to install pixlet and reboot, so on a fresh
machine the display service usually wins that race and mkdir() leaves the
directory root-owned. The web process then fails in _install_star_file() on
app_dir.mkdir(), which catches nothing, so PermissionError reaches the
route's outer `except Exception` and becomes the generic message the user
saw. All three install paths write to the same directory, which is why all
three failed.

The web user cannot repair this -- chown needs root. So root does it, on
every startup, which also heals machines already broken by this without the
owner having to find the chown themselves. It is a no-op when not root, when
the platform has no POSIX ownership, and when the checkout genuinely belongs
to root; a chown that fails warns rather than killing startup.

Also made the failure legible if the handover is ever prevented: a
PermissionError now names the directory, the automatic repair, and the
manual chown, instead of a message that names neither path nor cause.

Verified by mutation: dropping the handover call, chowning a genuinely
root-owned checkout, and letting a non-root process chown each fail their
own test. 121 starlark tests pass.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_014RRtqXDCnvnY6EQwhT5CV9
2026-09-21 16:15:24 -04:00
..

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/              # API endpoints (package: config, display,
│   │                        #   plugins, system, backup, fonts, misc,
│   │                        #   wifi, starlark)
│   └── pages_v3.py          # Page routes
├── templates/                # HTML templates
│   └── v3/
│       ├── base.html
│       ├── index.html
│       └── partials/
└── static/                   # CSS/JS assets
    └── v3/
        ├── app.css
        ├── app.js
        ├── manifest.json     # PWA manifest
        ├── plugins_manager.js
        ├── icons/            # PWA / touch icons
        ├── js/               # Alpine, htmx, app shell, widgets, utils
        └── vendor/           # codemirror, fontawesome

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:

Configuration

The web interface reads configuration from:

  • config/config.json - Main configuration
  • config/config_secrets.json - API keys and secrets

API Documentation

The V3 API is the api_v3 blueprint, registered at /api/v3/ in app.py. 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 configuration
  • POST /api/v3/config/main - Save main configuration
  • GET /api/v3/config/secrets - Get secrets configuration
  • POST /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 status
  • POST /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 frame
  • GET /api/v3/display/on-demand/status - On-demand status
  • POST /api/v3/display/on-demand/start - Trigger on-demand display
  • POST /api/v3/display/on-demand/stop - Clear on-demand

Plugins

  • GET /api/v3/plugins/installed - List installed plugins
  • GET /api/v3/plugins/config?plugin_id=<id> - Get plugin config
  • POST /api/v3/plugins/config - Update plugin configuration
  • GET /api/v3/plugins/schema?plugin_id=<id> - Get plugin schema
  • POST /api/v3/plugins/toggle - Enable/disable plugin
  • POST /api/v3/plugins/install - Install from registry
  • POST /api/v3/plugins/install-from-url - Install from GitHub URL
  • POST /api/v3/plugins/uninstall - Uninstall plugin
  • POST /api/v3/plugins/update - Update plugin

Plugin Store

  • GET /api/v3/plugins/store/list - List available registry plugins
  • GET /api/v3/plugins/store/github-status - GitHub authentication status
  • POST /api/v3/plugins/store/refresh - Refresh registry from GitHub

Real-time Streams (SSE)

SSE stream endpoints are defined directly on the Flask app in app.py (stream_stats, stream_display, stream_logs, followed by their CSRF exemption and rate-limit hookup), not on the api_v3 blueprint:

  • GET /api/v3/stream/stats - System statistics stream
  • GET /api/v3/stream/display - Display preview stream
  • GET /api/v3/stream/logs - Service logs stream

Development

When making changes to the web interface:

  1. Edit files in this directory
  2. Test changes by running python3 web_interface/start.py
  3. 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