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DashPi Fork - Complete Comparison from Original

Original Repository: fatihak/InkyPi Upstream Commit: fb71cc3 (Handle background image color for grayscale images) Fork Date: February 2026 Current Version: v2.1.0+

Executive Summary

This fork replaces DashPi's complex Playlist system with a simpler Loop system. The primary goals were simplicity, stability, and enhanced functionality for personal use on a Raspberry Pi Zero with Inky Impression 7.3" display.

Aspect Original (fatihak) This Fork
Display System Playlists (complex) Loops (simple)
Plugin Config Per-instance settings, names, schedules Simple plugin references
Stock Tracking Not available Full-featured Stocks plugin
Auto-Refresh Tied to playlist rotation Independent per-plugin
OOM Protection Basic 20MP limit with graceful skip
Main Page UI Playlist-focused Compact dashboard, skip button

Impact: 77 files changed | +5,950 lines | -1,938 lines

What the Original DashPi Had

Display System

  • Playlists only: Time-windowed collections with per-plugin instance settings
  • PluginInstance class: Each plugin in a playlist had its own name, custom settings, refresh schedule
  • PlaylistManager: Managed multiple playlists with priority/overlap rules
  • Complex scheduling: Multiple playlists could be active, priority determined by time window size

Main Page

  • Playlist-focused navigation
  • Basic countdown display
  • No skip functionality
  • No quick loop enable/disable

Plugins

  • Standard set: Weather, Clock, Calendar, AI Image, AI Text, APOD, Wikipedia POTD, RSS, etc.
  • No stock market plugin
  • Image plugins used crop mode by default

What This Fork Changes

1. New Loop System (Replaced Playlists)

Removed:

  • src/blueprints/playlist.py - All playlist CRUD endpoints
  • src/templates/playlist.html - Playlist management UI
  • PlaylistManager class - Playlist collection manager
  • Playlist class - Individual playlist with time windows
  • PluginInstance class - Complex plugin configuration with per-instance names/settings

Added (New):

  • src/blueprints/loops.py - New loop management API
  • src/templates/loops.html - Loop configuration UI
  • Loop class - Simple time-windowed rotation with random mode support
  • LoopManager class - Manages multiple loops
  • PluginReference class - Simplified plugin tracking (just ID + refresh interval)
  • migrate_playlists_to_loops.py - Migration script for existing users

Why: The playlist system required naming each plugin instance, configuring individual settings per instance, and managing complex refresh schedules. Loops provide the same time-based rotation with much simpler configuration - just add plugins to a loop and set a global rotation interval.

2. New Stocks Plugin

Location: src/plugins/stocks/

Features:

  • Real-time stock quotes via yfinance library
  • Persistent ticker list with company names
  • Ticker validation (verifies symbol exists before adding)
  • Drag-and-drop sortable list in UI
  • Configurable auto-refresh interval (1-60 minutes)
  • Dynamic font scaling based on ticker count
  • Color-coded up/down arrows (green/red)
  • Footer with last update timestamp
  • Settings survive service restarts

Files:

  • stocks.py - Plugin logic
  • settings.html - Configuration UI with ticker management
  • render/stocks.html - Display template
  • render/stocks.css - Styling
  • icon.png - Plugin icon
  • plugin-info.json - Metadata

3. Auto-Refresh System

Original Behavior:

  • Plugins only refreshed when playlist rotation occurred
  • No way to keep a plugin updating while staying on screen

New Behavior:

  • Plugins can specify independent refresh intervals
  • Auto-refresh works even when loop rotation is disabled
  • Example: Stocks updates every 5 minutes while loop is paused on that plugin

Implementation:

  • auto_refresh_tracking stored in device config
  • _get_auto_refresh_seconds() checks plugin settings
  • _should_auto_refresh() evaluates timing independently
  • Settings persist across service restarts

4. OOM Crash Protection

Problem: Large images (e.g., 57MP Wikipedia POTD) crashed Pi Zero

Solution in src/utils/image_loader.py:

MAX_MEGAPIXELS_LOW_RESOURCE = 20  # Pi Zero (512MB)
MAX_MEGAPIXELS_HIGH_RESOURCE = 100  # Pi 3/4 (1-4GB)

Behavior:

  • Checks image dimensions before full load
  • Gracefully skips oversized images with error log
  • Prevents OOM crashes and service restarts

5. Main Page UI Redesign

Status Dashboard (Before):

  • Mode toggle button
  • Conditional display based on mode
  • Basic countdown
  • No quick actions

Status Dashboard (After):

  • Fixed 65%/35% layout split
  • Left section: Loop toggle, Current plugin, Next plugin
  • Right section: Countdown label, time/status, Skip button
  • Plugin names truncate with ellipsis when needed
  • Vertical divider separates sections

Skip Button:

  • Advances to next plugin immediately
  • Works with sequential and random modes
  • Polls for UI updates after skip
  • Button anchored to far right (absolute positioning)

Random Mode "Next" Display:

  • Pre-computes next plugin selection
  • next_plugin_index stored in Loop class
  • peek_next_plugin() returns upcoming plugin without advancing
  • UI shows actual next plugin, not "Random"

Sync Improvements:

  • Status bar refreshes when new image detected
  • Countdown stays synchronized with display changes

6. Plugin Enhancements

All Image Plugins:

  • Default to letterbox (fit) mode instead of crop
  • Better aspect ratio preservation

AI Image Plugin (src/plugins/ai_image/):

  • Enhanced settings UI
  • Improved error handling
  • Letterbox mode support

AI Text Plugin (src/plugins/ai_text/):

  • Improved rendering
  • Better settings organization

APOD Plugin (src/plugins/apod/):

  • Enhanced image handling
  • Letterbox mode support
  • Additional settings

Weather Plugin (src/plugins/weather/):

  • Reorganized CSS
  • More display options
  • Enhanced settings

Wikipedia POTD Plugin (src/plugins/wpotd/):

  • Better image fetching
  • Handles oversized images gracefully

Unsplash Plugin (src/plugins/unsplash/):

  • Fixed missing requests import

7. Stability Improvements

Systemd Service (on Pi, not in repo):

Restart=always
RestartSec=10
MemoryMax=350M

Performance Optimizations:

  • Cached time range calculations in Loop.get_time_range_minutes()
  • Cached active loop determination in LoopManager
  • Reduced redundant config file reads

8. Configuration Changes

Removed from config:

  • display_mode - Always loop mode now
  • playlist_config - No playlists

Added to config:

  • auto_refresh_tracking - Persists auto-refresh state
  • stocks_plugin_settings - Stocks plugin persistence

API Keys:

  • Stored in .env file on Pi
  • Must exclude from rsync deployments

File Change Summary

Added Files

File Purpose
src/blueprints/loops.py Loop management API
src/templates/loops.html Loop configuration UI
src/plugins/stocks/* Complete stocks plugin
migrate_playlists_to_loops.py Migration script
VERSION Version tracking

Removed Files

File Reason
src/blueprints/playlist.py Playlists removed
src/templates/playlist.html Playlists removed

Significantly Modified Files

File Changes
src/model.py Removed playlist classes, enhanced Loop with random/peek
src/refresh_task.py Auto-refresh system, loop-only logic
src/templates/dash.html Complete dashboard redesign
src/static/styles/main.css New dashboard styles
src/utils/image_loader.py OOM protection
src/blueprints/main.py Skip API, enhanced next_change_time API
src/config.py Simplified, removed playlist methods
src/dashpi.py Updated blueprint registration

Deployment Requirements

Additional Python Package:

sudo /usr/local/dashpi/venv_dashpi/bin/pip install yfinance

Critical Deployment Note:

# Must exclude .env to preserve API keys
rsync --exclude='.env' ...

Version History

Version Date Summary
v2.0.0 Feb 2026 Major refactor: Unified Loop system, removed playlists
v2.1.0 Feb 2026 Stocks plugin, auto-refresh, UI improvements
v2.1.0+ Feb 9, 2026 Skip button, OOM protection, dashboard layout fixes