Reimagine what your Tidbyt can do

Pixbyt is a self-hosted Tidbyt app server for advanced apps
that aren't supported by the official community app server
that you can access through Tidbyt's mobile app.

crossword	jeopardy	common-misconceptions	owen-wilson-facts
plex	apple-tv	letterboxd	parcelapp
homebridge-unifi	guess-the-flag	ffmpeg	revolution
hello-world	Your next Tidbyt app		speedtest

Your Tidbyt does not run apps directly; it depends on a server to periodically run apps and push the resulting images to the device. When you install a community app through Tidbyt's mobile app, the app runs on Tidbyt's official app server. For security reasons, there are a ton of limitations on what these apps are allowed to do, which means some awesome app ideas are impossible to implement.

Apps running on Pixbyt have none of these limitations:

Run Python scripts and packages, not just Starlark applets
Reach local network resources, not just the public internet
Work with complex APIs, not just simple REST HTTP requests
Read local files, like images or JSON
Organize your source code across multiple modules

Pixbyt lets you realize your wildest Tidbyt dreams by making it easy to:

build advanced Tidbyt apps,
install advanced apps built by the community,
manage app configurations and schedules,
package apps together in a Docker image, and
launch the app server using Docker Compose.

How it works

Pixbyt's advanced features are enabled by tap-pixlet, an unofficial Tidbyt app runner that extends Pixlet (the official Tidbyt app development framework) with an unofficial standard library named Pixlib, similar to how Starlib is the unofficial standard library for Starlark (the Python-like language Tidbyt apps are written in). Pixlib comes with functions like file.read, file.exec, font.height, html.unescape, and html.xpath, helpful constants like const.WIDTH, const.HEIGHT, and const.FPS, and overloads load to support local modules.

Pixbyt uses tap-pixlet to run apps, target-tidbyt and target-webp to push the resulting images to your Tidbyt or WebP image files, Airflow to run apps on a schedule, and Meltano to tie these components together. Pixbyt also includes resources to package your apps into a Docker image (locally or automatically on GitHub Actions) and launch it using Docker Compose.

Try it out

This repo defines a Pixbyt app server with a single hello-world app that shows off some of its advanced features. It automatically builds a ghcr.io/douwem/pixbyt:main Docker image that can be launched using Docker Compose to render the app to a Tidbyt device every hour:

To quickly see Pixbyt in action, you can open this repo in GitHub Codespaces and render the hello-world app to a WebP image or your own Tidbyt before you add your own apps. Codespaces will automatically install the necessary dependencies and launch you into a web-based VS Code editor.

Click the green "Use this template" button at the top of this page
Choose "Open in a codespace" and wait for the codespace to start
Update .env with your configuration:
- HELLO_WORLD_NAME: Optionally, replace world with your own name.
Render app to a WebP image file:
```
TAP_PIXLET_MAGNIFICATION=8 meltano run hello-world--webp
```
The image will be created at output/hello-world/<timestamp>.webp. The exact path is also printed in the command output.
Render app to your Tidbyt:
1. Update .env with your configuration:
  - TIDBYT_DEVICE_ID: Find your Device ID in the Tidbyt mobile app under Settings > General > Get API Key.
  - TIDBYT_TOKEN: Find your API Token in the Tidbyt mobile app under Settings > General > Get API Key.
2. Render the hello-world app and send it to your Tidbyt (in the foreground):
```
TAP_PIXLET_BACKGROUND=false meltano run hello-world
```

Set up your own

When you're ready to start using apps other than hello-world, follow the steps below to build your own Pixbyt app server using this repo as a template:

1. Create your own Pixbyt repo

Option A: GitHub Codespaces

If you've already opened this template repo in a codespace using the steps above:

Click the "Source Control" icon in the sidebar
Click "Publish"

If you haven't launched a codespace yet:

Click the green "Use this template" button at the top of this page
Choose "Open in a codespace"

Option B: Build locally

Click the green "Use this template" button at the top of this page
Choose "Create a new repository"
Create a new (private) repo

Clone your new repository and enter the new directory:

git clone git@github.com:<username>/pixbyt.git
cd pixbyt

2. Configure your Tidbyt

If no .env configuration file exists yet, create one from the sample:
```
cp .env.sample .env
```
Update .env with your configuration:
- TZ: Find your "TZ" timezone identifier. This is used by many apps that show the (relative) date and time.
- TIDBYT_DEVICE_ID: Find your Device ID in the Tidbyt mobile app under Settings > General > Get API Key.
- TIDBYT_TOKEN: Find your API Token in the Tidbyt mobile app under Settings > General > Get API Key.

3. Add your apps

The most important files in your Pixbyt repo (and likely the only ones you'll want to edit) are the following, which define the apps, their configuration, and their schedules:

pixbyt
├─ apps.yml                 # Schedules
├─ .env                     # Configuration
└─ apps
   └─ <app>                 # One directory for each app
      ├─ <app>.star         # Main Pixlet applet
      ├─ pixbyt.yml         # Pixbyt metadata
      ├─ requirements.txt   # Optional: Python packages (one `pip install` argument per line)
      ├─ apt-packages.txt   # Optional: APT packages (one `apt-get install` argument per line)
      ├─ *.py               # Optional: Python scripts to run using `file.exec`
      ├─ *.star             # Optional: Starlark files to load using `load`
      └─ *                  # Optional: Files to read using `file.read`

Out of the box, Pixbyt comes with a single hello-world app that shows off some of its advanced features and can be used as an example to build your own.

If you're just trying out Pixbyt and don't yet have another app in mind that you'd like to run, you can keep hello-world and skip ahead to step 4 to build and launch the app server.

If you don't want hello-world on your Tidbyt, you can disable it by removing its entry from apps.yml (and .env), but DO NOT remove the apps/hello-world directory as the GitHub Actions workflow that builds the Docker image uses it to test if the image works.

3.1. Add an app

Option A: Use the example `hello-world` app

Skip ahead to step 4 to build and launch the app server.

Option B: Install an existing app

Add the app's repo as a submodule under apps:
```
git submodule add https://github.com/<username>/<repository>.git apps/<app>
```
For example, to install crossword:
```
git submodule add https://github.com/DouweM/tidbyt-crossword.git apps/crossword
```
Note that in this case, the repo is called tidbyt-crossword, but the app directory needs to be called crossword.

Option C: Create a brand-new app

Create a new directory for your app under apps, and enter the new directory:
```
cd apps
mkdir <app>
cd <app>
```
Create the main applet at apps/<app>/<app>.star.

Any standard Pixlet applet is supported, as well as all Pixlib features.

Note that the app directory and file names need to match.

Optionally, your app directory can also contain:
- *.py scripts to run using file.exec
- *.star files to load using load
- arbitrary files to read using file.read
- Python packages in requirements.txt (one pip install argument per line)
- APT packages in apt-packages.txt(one apt-get install argument per line)

Create the Pixbyt metadata file at apps/<app>/pixbyt.yml:

jobs:
- name: <app>
  tasks:
  - tap-pixlet--<app> target-tidbyt
- name: <app>--webp
  tasks:
  - tap-pixlet--<app> target-webp

plugins:
  extractors:
  - name: tap-pixlet--<app>
    inherit_from: tap-pixlet
    # TODO: If your app does not have a `requirements.txt` defining Python packages, delete the following line:
    pip_url: git+https://github.com/DouweM/tap-pixlet.git -r apps/<app>/requirements.txt
    config:
      path: apps/<app>
      # TODO: If your app does not require configuration, delete the following lines:
      app_config:
        # TODO: For any key your app reads from `config`, add an entry mapping the lowercase key to an uppercase environment variable, e.g. `name: $HELLO_WORLD_NAME`:
        <key>: $<APP>_<KEY>

Most of this is boilerplate for Meltano, you only need to make the following changes:

Replace <app> with the name of your app
Follow the TODO instructions.

3.2. Configure the app

Add the app's update schedule to apps.yml under schedules::
```
schedules:
# ...
- name: <app>
  interval: '<cron schedule expression>'
  job: <app>
```
1. Replace <app> with the name of the app.
2. Replace <cron schedule expression> with an appropriate cron schedule expression:
  - Clocks should use * * * * * to update every minute, so that the displayed time is always as fresh as possible.
  - Apps that display a random entry from a list can use */5 * * * * to update every 5 minutes, so that a fresh entry is shown on every app rotation.
  - Apps that show the latest data from some API can use */15 * * * * to update every 15 minutes, or something else appropriate for your data source and the expected data freshness.
  - Apps that will always generate the same image can use 0 0 * * * to update every day at midnight, just to be sure.
  (A recommended schedule is typically documented in the app's README.)
For example:
```
schedules:
- name: hello-world
  interval: '0 * * * *' # On the hour
  job: hello-world
```
If the app requires configuration, update .env:

For any config key the app defines under app_config: in its pixbyt.yml file, add a value for the uppercase environment variable:
```
<APP>_<KEY>="<value>"
```
(The exact keys are typically documented in the app's README.)

For example:
```
HELLO_WORLD_NAME="world"
```

3.3 Test the app

If you're developing a new app, or you're not confident you've configured it correctly, you can test it without building and running the entire app server by following the Development instructions below.

4. Build the app server

To be able to easily run your app server using Docker Compose, you will build a Docker image from your repo containing Pixbyt and your apps.

Option A: Build using GitHub Actions

Edit docker-compose.yml:
1. Under x-remote-image:, replace <username> with your GitHub username
2. Under pixbyt:, comment out <<: *local-image and uncomment <<: *remote-image on the next line

Commit your changes:

git add -A
git commit -m "Set up my Pixbyt"

Push your repo up to GitHub:
```
git push origin main
```
This will automatically trigger a GitHub Actions workflow to build a Docker image containing Pixbyt and your apps whenever your apps or their schedules change.

Option B: Build locally

Note that you'll need to do this each time your apps or their schedules change.

Ensure Docker is installed.

Note that Docker is not available in GitHub Codespaces. If you've opened your Pixbyt repo in GitHub Codespaces, use the GitHub Actions method above instead.

Build a Docker image containing Pixbyt and your apps:
```
docker compose build
```

5. Launch the app server

During testing and development, you can do this on your local machine. In production, you'll likely want to do this on a NAS or other homelab, or on any other (virtual) server that has access to the required network resources.

Note that you'll need to do this each time your apps or their schedules change and a new Docker image is built, or whenever their configurations change.

Ensure Docker is installed.
If you chose to build your Docker image using GitHub Actions in the previous step, authenticate with the GitHub Container Registry.
Create or update .env with your configuration, based on the sample or the configuration you used during development.
Launch Pixbyt using Docker Compose:
```
docker compose up --pull --build -d
```

Your Pixbyt app server is now running, and your apps will update on schedule! You can find logs for your apps under logs/<app>/.

How to develop apps with Pixbyt

During app development or debugging, you will not want to build the entire Docker image each time your apps, their schedules, or their configurations change, nor will you want to run the entire app server.

Instead, you can directly render a specific app to a WebP image file or your Tidbyt, and quickly iterate on your app based on what you see in the logs and the output image.

Set up development environment

Option A: GitHub Codespaces

The quickest way to start developing is using GitHub Codespaces, which will automatically install the necessary dependencies and launch you into a web-based VS Code editor.

If you're already inside a codespace, continue to the next step.

If you've already created your own repo using this template repo:

Click the "<> Code" button at the top of the page
Choose "Codespaces" > "Create codespace on main"

If you haven't created a new repo from this template yet:

Click the green "Use this template" button at the top of this page
Choose "Open in a codespace"

Option B: Develop locally

Install Pixlet:
- On macOS:
```
brew install tidbyt/tidbyt/pixlet
```
- Other operating systems
Install Meltano:
- With pip:
```
pip install meltano
```
- Other installation methods
If your project contains apps as submodules, initialize them:
```
git submodule update --init
```
Manually install any APT packages defined in your apps' apt-packages.txt files.
Install tap-pixlet, target-tidbyt, and target-webp using Meltano:
```
meltano install
```

Option C: Docker image

If you've already built a Docker image and want to test the apps inside it without making changes to them, you can use the docker compose commands below.

Render app to a WebP image file

The image will be created at output/<app>/<timestamp>.webp. The exact path is also printed in the command output.

Regular size (64x32)

meltano run <app>--webp

# Using Docker image:
docker compose run pixbyt run <app>--webp

For example:

meltano run hello-world--webp

# Using Docker image:
docker compose run pixbyt run hello-world--webp

Magnified 8 times (512x256)

TAP_PIXLET_MAGNIFICATION=8 meltano run <app>--webp

# Using Docker image:
docker compose run -e TAP_PIXLET_MAGNIFICATION=8 pixbyt run <app>--webp

For example:

TAP_PIXLET_MAGNIFICATION=8 meltano run hello-world--webp

# Using Docker image:
docker compose run -e TAP_PIXLET_MAGNIFICATION=8 pixbyt run hello-world--webp

Render app to your Tidbyt

Send to foreground

The app will immediately show up on your Tidbyt. This is useful during development.

TAP_PIXLET_BACKGROUND=false meltano run <app>

# Using Docker image:
docker compose run -e TAP_PIXLET_BACKGROUND=false pixbyt run <app>

For example:

TAP_PIXLET_BACKGROUND=false meltano run hello-world

# Using Docker image:
docker compose run -e TAP_PIXLET_BACKGROUND=false pixbyt run hello-world

Send to background

The app will be added to the Tidbyt app rotation. This is useful when you're running this command on a schedule, to make sure that the app will be up to date the next time it comes up in the app rotation.

meltano run <app>

# Using Docker image:
docker compose run pixbyt run <app>

For example:

meltano run hello-world

# Using Docker image:
docker compose run pixbyt run hello-world

Keep apps up to date

If you're working with Pixbyt in GitHub Codespaces or locally, you can quickly iterate on apps and test your changes (this is not possible when you're debugging inside a Docker container). Changes to an app's source files are automatically picked up, but changes to APT and Python package dependencies aren't.

If an app defines Python packages in its requirements.txt file, you'll need to manually do a clean install of the app's Meltano plugin every time it changes:

meltano install --clean extractor tap-pixlet--<app>

For example:

meltano install --clean extractor tap-pixlet--hello-world

If an app defines APT packages in its apt-packages.txt file, you'll need to manually install them every time they change.

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README.md

README.md

Reimagine what your Tidbyt can do

How it works

Try it out

Set up your own

1. Create your own Pixbyt repo

Option A: GitHub Codespaces

Option B: Build locally

2. Configure your Tidbyt

3. Add your apps

3.1. Add an app

Option A: Use the example `hello-world` app

Option B: Install an existing app

Option C: Create a brand-new app

3.2. Configure the app

3.3 Test the app

4. Build the app server

Option A: Build using GitHub Actions

Option B: Build locally

5. Launch the app server

How to develop apps with Pixbyt

Set up development environment

Option A: GitHub Codespaces

Option B: Develop locally

Option C: Docker image

Render app to a WebP image file

Regular size (64x32)

Magnified 8 times (512x256)

Render app to your Tidbyt

Send to foreground

Send to background

Keep apps up to date

Files

README.md

Latest commit

History

README.md

File metadata and controls

Reimagine what your Tidbyt can do

How it works

Try it out

Set up your own

1. Create your own Pixbyt repo

Option A: GitHub Codespaces

Option B: Build locally

2. Configure your Tidbyt

3. Add your apps

3.1. Add an app

Option A: Use the example hello-world app

Option B: Install an existing app

Option C: Create a brand-new app

3.2. Configure the app

3.3 Test the app

4. Build the app server

Option A: Build using GitHub Actions

Option B: Build locally

5. Launch the app server

How to develop apps with Pixbyt

Set up development environment

Option A: GitHub Codespaces

Option B: Develop locally

Option C: Docker image

Render app to a WebP image file

Regular size (64x32)

Magnified 8 times (512x256)

Render app to your Tidbyt

Send to foreground

Send to background

Keep apps up to date

Option A: Use the example `hello-world` app