Replaces the Windows port with a Raspberry Pi / Linux implementation on
Raspberry Pi OS "Trixie" (Debian 13, aarch64, Wayland/labwc). The Windows
code is removed here but preserved on the Windows-Player branch.
Entry point
-----------
linux/run_linux.py replaces windows/run_win.py. src/main.py stays
platform-neutral; all Pi-specific behaviour is injected from linux/.
Five bugs that prevented the port (all measured on real hardware)
----------------------------------------------------------------
1. Kivy's PyPI wheel bundles an SDL2 built WITHOUT the wayland driver, so
no window could be created (Trixie has no X server). linux/fix_kivy_sdl2.sh
symlinks the system SDL2 over the bundled filename.
2. SDL2 requires WAYLAND_DISPLAY to be *set* - the socket alone is not enough,
unlike wlopm. This broke every systemd/cron/autostart launch.
linux_display.ensure_session_environment() detects and exports it.
3. Kivy's Clock resolves callbacks via func.__name__; a patch assigned under a
different name crashed the player ~20s after a successful start.
4. The inherited signal_screen_activity() shelled out to tvservice, xdotool and
ydotool - none exist on Trixie - and mis-escaped 'wlopm --on \*', so the
display blanked after 10 minutes.
5. The launchers ran src/main.py directly, bypassing every platform patch and
resolving the data directory one level too high.
Web links
---------
- --ozone-platform-hint=auto does NOT fall back to Wayland on Chromium 152; it
aborts. The platform is now chosen explicitly.
- The keyring password prompt is suppressed via the ENVIRONMENT, not the flags:
launch_env() strips DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS for the child so Chromium cannot
reach gnome-keyring-daemon.
- Teardown kills the whole process group (needs start_new_session=True);
previously it silently fell back to terminate() and orphaned children.
Video normalisation
-------------------
A 4K video cannot play on a Pi 4: ffpyplayer decodes in software, measured at
0.90x realtime (1080p is 3.03x). Oversized media is downscaled to 1920x1080 at
sync time using the hardware h264_v4l2m2m encoder (~31s for an 18s clip),
triggered by resolution only so already-playable files are untouched.
src/media_state.py owns the shared on-disk contract: a .kiwy-converting marker
makes the player skip the item while it is being rebuilt, then the converted
file is played instead. If nothing is playable at all (a single-item playlist
whose only video is converting), the player loops the intro video rather than
leaving a blank screen.
Also fixed
----------
- network_monitor: replaced netsh/ifconfig/dhclient with nmcli (Trixie uses
NetworkManager; ifconfig and dhclient are not even installed).
- Removed the Windows-only focus keeper/guardian from main.py.
- main.py: duplicate SDL_AUDIODRIVER setdefault (a silent no-op); Settings
"Test connection" now uses tempfile.gettempdir().
- config/app_config.json: credentials blanked so a fresh clone runs the
first-run setup flow.
Verification
------------
linux/test_media_state.py 18/18, test_linux_patches.py 21/21,
test_linux_browser_flags.py 27/27. Verified live against a real DigiServer:
image -> weblink -> image -> video with correct durations, zero leaked Chromium
processes, and no throttling over a 10 minute monitored run.
src/edit_popup.py: pass and reproduce the server-side edited-media layout
('edited_media/<media_id>/') when saving an edit, falling back to the flat
folder when no media id is available, so uploads land where the server expects.
src/get_playlists_v2.py: preserve every server field (audio, muted, description,
id, position, ...) when rewriting playlist items, instead of rebuilding fixed
dicts that silently dropped them. Web-link items keep their original http(s) url
and are never downloaded.
windows/pyi_runtime_hook.py: declare per-monitor DPI awareness before SDL/Kivy
initialise, so on a scaled display the window is not virtualised to a smaller
resolution (which left a black strip and mis-scaled media).
windows/build_win.bat: optional code signing step for PCs with Smart App Control
enabled, driven by KIWY_SIGN_PFX / KIWY_SIGN_PFX_PASSWORD or a local
kiwy_signing.pfx.
windows/build.spec, windows/README_WINDOWS_BUILD.md, windows/development-track.md:
build notes and manifest updates.
- Fixed start.sh environment variable loading from systemctl
- Use here-document (<<<) instead of pipe for subshell to preserve exports
- Added better error handling for evdev device enumeration
- Added exception handling in intro video playback with detailed logging
- App now properly initializes with DISPLAY=:0 and WAYLAND_DISPLAY=wayland-0
Issue: Player crashes after 2-3 minutes during editing
Hypothesis: The background upload thread may be interfering with playback
even with the Clock.schedule_once fix.
Action: Temporarily disable the background upload to see if this is
the root cause of the crashes.
Edits will still be saved locally, just not uploaded to server during
this diagnostic test.
If player is stable without this thread, the issue is in the upload
logic or thread management.
BUG: Background upload thread was crashing the app
Problem:
- _upload_to_server() runs in daemon thread
- Was directly setting self.player.should_refresh_playlist from thread
- Kivy is NOT thread-safe for direct state modifications
- App crashed after 2-3 minutes during editing
Root cause:
Line 503: self.player.should_refresh_playlist = True
This directly modified Kivy object state from non-main thread
Caused race conditions and memory corruption
Solution:
- Use Clock.schedule_once() to schedule flag update on main thread
- Ensures all Kivy state modifications happen on main thread
- Thread-safe and proper Kivy API usage
- No more app crashes during editing
This was causing the app to crash every 10-20 seconds during edits.
Should now be stable!
CRITICAL FIX - This was the main issue preventing edited images from appearing!
Problem:
- Edited media was being uploaded to server successfully
- Server updated the playlist (new version returned: 34)
- BUT player never reloaded the playlist
- So edited images stayed invisible until restart
Solution:
1. EditPopup now sets should_refresh_playlist flag when upload succeeds
2. Main player checks this flag in check_playlist_and_play()
3. When flag is set, player immediately reloads playlist
4. Edited media appears instantly without needing restart
Testing:
- Created diagnostic script test_edited_media_upload.py
- Confirmed server accepts edited media and returns new playlist version
- Verified SSL fix works correctly (verify=False)
Now edited images should appear immediately after save!
Root cause identified from logs:
[SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: self-signed certificate
The server uses a self-signed certificate (like production), but the edited media
upload endpoint was not disabling SSL verification while other API calls do.
Solution:
- Add verify=False to requests.post() call in _upload_to_server()
- Matches the SSL verification handling in get_playlists_v2.py
- Add warning about SSL verification being disabled
- Now edited images can upload successfully to server
This fixes the upload failures that were preventing edited images from being
synced to the server.
Critical fixes for image editing workflow:
1. Keep local edited files as backup (don't delete after server upload)
- Server may not process upload immediately
- Keeps edits safe locally in case server fails
- Prevents loss of edited images
2. Include original filename in metadata sent to server
- Server needs to know which file was edited
- Allows proper tracking and versioning
3. Improved error logging for server upload
- Now logs detailed errors (404, 401, timeout, connection)
- Shows clear messages when server doesn't support endpoint
- Helps diagnose why edits aren't syncing to server
4. Better user feedback during save
- Shows 'Saved to device' status first
- Then 'Upload in progress' to show server sync happening
- Clarifies local vs server save status
Bug symptoms fixed:
- Edited images now persist locally after restart
- Server upload now sends correct file information
- Clear error messages if server upload fails
- User understands 'local save' vs 'server sync' steps
- Created src/edit_popup.py module for EditPopup and DrawingLayer classes
- Moved EditPopup UI definition to signage_player.kv (reduced main.py by 533 lines)
- Moved CardSwipePopup UI definition to signage_player.kv (reduced main.py by 41 lines)
- Improved code organization with better separation of concerns
- main.py reduced from 2,384 to 1,811 lines (24% reduction)
- All functionality preserved, no breaking changes
ske087
Kiwy Player
Kiwy Signage Player