Root cause: Pause button state variables and IPC listener were declared inside
DOMContentLoaded, causing them to reset every time a page loaded.
Symptoms:
- Main process sends shouldShow=true when switching to rotation site
- Preload receives it and sets pauseButtonShouldShow=true
- Page loads → DOMContentLoaded fires → variables reset to false
- User taps screen → sees shouldShow=false → no button appears
Fix:
- Moved pause button variables outside DOMContentLoaded (persist across page loads)
- Moved pause button functions outside DOMContentLoaded (called by IPC listener)
- Moved IPC listener outside DOMContentLoaded (registers once, not per page)
- Kept only user interaction handlers inside DOMContentLoaded
This ensures pause button state persists across page navigations within a tab.
**Return-to-Home Popup Logic (CORRECTED):**
- FIXED: Return-to-home inactivity prompt now appears ONLY on manual sites (duration=0)
- Rotation sites (duration>0) skip return-to-home logic and use auto-rotation instead
- Previous commit had this backwards - now corrected
**Pause Button Auto-Hide:**
- Pause button now auto-hides after 5 seconds of inactivity (like keyboard icon)
- Each user interaction resets the 5-second timer
- Debug logging shows when button auto-hides
- Prevents button from staying on screen permanently
**Manual Electron Update Detection:**
- Added main.js file check to Method 1 (default kiosk user)
- Added Method 6: Check /opt/kiosk-app and /usr/local/kiosk-app
- Added Method 7: Query systemd kiosk.service for working directory
- Improved parent directory detection with cleaner variable usage
- Enhanced error message with numbered search locations and kiosk user home path
- Better debug output to help diagnose installation issues
**Display Schedule Logic (CRITICAL FIX):**
- FIXED: Reversed display off/on time comparison logic
- Overnight case (22:00 off, 06:00 on): Now correctly checks off_mins > on_mins
- Same-day case (08:00 off, 17:00 on): Now correctly checks off_mins < on_mins
- Display will now properly stay OFF during scheduled times
- Fixes issue where "keep display on" watchdog was too aggressive
All changes improve UX and fix critical scheduling bugs
- Add comprehensive console logging for pause button lifecycle:
* Main process logs when sending visibility updates with duration info
* Renderer logs visibility changes and user interaction events
* Helps diagnose why pause button may not appear on rotation sites
- Fix return-to-home inactivity prompt appearing on manual sites:
* Skip inactivity timeout logic when on manual sites (duration=0)
* Manual sites should not trigger return-to-home prompts
* Only rotation sites should show inactivity prompts
These changes help diagnose pause button issues and improve UX for manual sites
Major Fixes:
1. FIXED: Pause button visibility logic completely rewritten
- Pause button now properly hidden on duration=0 sites
- Shows ONLY on user interaction (mousedown/touchstart/keydown)
- Main process sends pause-button-visibility on tab switch
- Preload receives visibility state and enforces it
- Button hidden immediately when switching to manual sites
2. FIXED: Pause dialog window conflict resolved
- Created separate pauseWindow variable (was reusing promptWindow)
- Pause dialog no longer disappears immediately
- Prevents conflicts with inactivity prompt window
- Each dialog has its own window lifecycle
3. FIXED: Mixed header characters now uniform
- All =--- and =-- patterns replaced with ---
- Consistent use of dashes throughout script
- Better terminal display compatibility
4. FIXED: Manual Electron update detection improved
- Three-method detection strategy:
* Method 1: Check /home/kiosk/kiosk-app
* Method 2: Search all /home/*/kiosk-app with main.js verification
* Method 3: Check current directory for kiosk-app
- Added debug output showing search paths and current context
- More robust detection across different installation scenarios
Implementation Details:
- pauseButtonShouldShow tracks if button is allowed on current site
- pauseButtonShown tracks if button is currently displayed
- User interaction only shows button if pauseButtonShouldShow is true
- attachView() sends visibility message on every tab switch
- Throttled user interaction handling (100ms) prevents spam
Critical Fixes:
- FIXED: npm installation verification added
* Now explicitly checks if npm is installed after nodejs
* Falls back to installing npm separately if missing
* Displays npm version after installation
* Prevents "npm: command not found" error during Electron install
- FIXED: Pause button now appears only on user interaction
* Hidden by default (display:none)
* Shows on mousedown/touchstart/keydown events
* Similar behavior to keyboard icon
* Throttled to check every 5 seconds
* Better UX - less visual clutter
- FIXED: Pause button hidden on manual sites (duration=0)
* Main process checks site duration when visibility requested
* Sends pause-button-visibility message to views
* attachView() function controls visibility on tab switch
* Prevents confusion on sites where return-to-home popup appears
Implementation:
- Added 'request-pause-button-visibility' IPC message
- Main process responds with 'pause-button-visibility' based on duration
- Pause button automatically hidden/shown when switching tabs
- User interaction triggers visibility check
Key Changes:
- FIXED: All box drawing characters replaced with consistent standard chars
* Changed === to --- for better terminal compatibility
* Removed all special Unicode box drawing symbols
- FIXED: Pause button time options now match return-to-home dialog
* Changed from 5/15/30/60 to 15/30/60/120 minutes
* Consistent user experience across both dialogs
* Icons match the inactivity prompt style
- FIXED: Site rotation now respects user interaction
* Rotation pauses for 1 minute after last user activity
* Prevents sites from rotating while user is actively using them
* Similar to keyboard auto-close behavior (30 sec inactivity)
* Provides better UX - no interruptions during use
- FIXED: Manual Electron update directory detection
* Now dynamically searches for kiosk installation
* Checks /home/kiosk/kiosk-app first
* Falls back to searching all /home/*/kiosk-app directories
* Displays detected user and directory path
* Fixes "directory not found" error
Implementation Details:
- Pause button works on all pages including home URL
- Rotation logic: respects both pause extension AND user activity
- Electron update creates backup before updating
- Verifies update completion and offers rollback if needed
Version 0.9.0:
- Renamed from v09.9.1_4 to use cleaner version numbering (0.9.0)
- Updated all internal version references
Version 0.9.1 - New Features and Fixes:
- NEW: Pause button feature (bottom-left, orange button)
* Allows users to pause rotation and inactivity timers
* Time extension options: 5, 15, 30, or 60 minutes
* After extension expires, normal rotation/home logic resumes
* Provides better user control without complex automation
- FIXED: Site rotation timing now more consistent
* Rotation now happens on schedule regardless of user interaction
* User activity only blocks return-to-home, not site rotation
* Sites will display for their configured duration more reliably
* Added logging to show rotation timing
- FIXED: Manual Electron update feature completely rewritten
* Added comprehensive error checking at each step
* Creates backup before updating
* Verifies update after completion
* Provides rollback instructions if update fails
* Shows current and new versions
* Logs update process to /tmp/electron-update.log
- IMPROVED: Removed all box drawing characters (╔╗╝╚) from output
* Replaced with standard characters for better compatibility
- IMPROVED: Code cleanup and better comments throughout
Modified the inactivity check to show the return to home popup on both
timed and manual websites by removing the manualNavigationMode condition.
Previously, the popup only appeared on manual (0-duration) websites.
CRITICAL FIXES:
- Removed userRecentlyActive early return that blocked ALL rotation
- v0.9.15 had bug where any interaction blocked rotation for 60 seconds
- Sites now rotate on schedule unless user specifically interacted with that site
BEHAVIOR NOW CORRECT:
- Sites with time rotate on schedule automatically
- User interaction pauses rotation ONLY on that specific site
- After 1 minute of inactivity, "Return to Rotation" popup appears
- Popup only appears on sites where user actually interacted
- No popup on home screen unless user interacted with home screen
- Media playback check every 3 seconds (good performance)
This fixes the issues where:
- No rotation was happening even with sites having time set
- Popup was appearing without user interaction
- Popup was appearing on home screen when there was no rotation
This commit fixes the initial v0.9.15 implementation to match the
actual vision:
CORRECTED BEHAVIOR:
- User interaction PAUSES rotation on that site
- After 1 minute of inactivity → popup appears
- Popup gives options: extend time or return to rotation
- No response (15 sec) → auto-return to rotation
- Works on ALL sites including home URL
- Media playback blocks popup and rotation
KEY FIXES:
1. Removed wrong "popup on first interaction" logic
2. Restored userInteractedWithCurrentSite flag (removed in v0.9.14)
3. markActivity() now sets interaction flag instead of showing popup
4. Rotation blocked when userInteractedWithCurrentSite=true
5. Inactivity check works on ANY site where user interacted
(not just home or manualNavigationMode)
6. Changed default timeout from 2 minutes to 1 minute
7. Prompt response clears interaction flag on "return to rotation"
8. Extension expiry clears interaction flag to resume rotation
9. Updated all bash script defaults from 120s to 60s
TECHNICAL CHANGES:
- Line 3639: Changed popupShownForCurrentSite → userInteractedWithCurrentSite
- Line 3706-3711: Set flag in markActivity() instead of showing popup
- Line 3937: Block rotation if userInteractedWithCurrentSite
- Line 3947-3989: Simplified inactivity check - works on ANY interacted site
- Line 3651: Default timeout 60000ms (was 120000ms)
- Line 3671: Config default 60s (was 120s)
- Line 3970: Clear flag when extension expires
- Line 4078: Reset flag when site changes
- Line 4179, 4197: Clear flag on return to rotation
- Bash section: Updated all 120s→60s, 2min→1min defaults
This matches the original vision: rotation pauses on interaction,
popup after inactivity gives control, auto-return prevents stuck kiosk.
Major changes:
- Return to rotation popup now appears on ANY user interaction
with a site (click, touch, scroll, keyboard)
- Exception: popup does NOT appear when media is playing
- Popup gives immediate option to extend time on current URL
(15/30/60/120 minute selections)
- Popup pauses rotation while displayed
- Appears once per site load to avoid spam
- Updated popup message from "Are you still here?" to
"Pause Rotation - Would you like to stay on this page?"
Technical implementation:
- Added popupShownForCurrentSite flag to track popup state
- Modified markActivity() to check media playback and show popup
on first interaction (with 5-second debounce)
- Reset popup flag in attachView() when site changes
- Kept existing inactivity-based prompt as backup mechanism
- Updated prompt HTML with more appropriate messaging
Version bumped: 0.9.14 → 0.9.15
MAJOR REFACTOR: Reverted to the simpler, working logic from v09.9.1_7
that had fewer problems.
Changes:
1. Removed userInteractedWithCurrentSite flag completely
- This flag was causing inactivity prompts to appear on every site
- Much simpler logic without it
2. Removed rotation-blocking logic from markActivity()
- No longer sets manualNavigationMode=true on user touch
- Sites rotate freely based on time, NO blocking
3. Inactivity prompts only appear in two scenarios:
- On the home page (after configured timeout)
- When user manually swiped to a different site
4. Manual swipe behavior restored:
- nextTab/prevTab now set manualNavigationMode=true
- Inactivity prompt shows after timeout on manually navigated sites
- "Return to Rotation" resets manualNavigationMode=false
5. Rotation logic simplified:
- No checks for manualNavigationMode - just rotates based on time
- No checks for prompts or session state
- Much cleaner, less edge cases
Expected behavior:
- Home page loads, sites auto-rotate for their configured duration
- Inactivity prompt only on home page or manually navigated sites
- Media plays and stops normally, rotation continues
- No black screens, no premature popups
This brings back the simpler architecture that worked better.
Fixes two critical bugs reported by user:
1. Fixed inactivity popup appearing on home page without interaction
- markActivity() now only sets userInteractedWithCurrentSite when
resetLockoutTimer=true (actual user touches)
- System events (prompt responses, app initialization) no longer
trigger the interaction flag
- Home page won't show popup until user physically touches screen
- Resolves: "return to rotation popup appears before page rotates"
2. Fixed media playback black screen after couple minutes
- Improved rotation resume logic after media grace period
- Removed narrow 2-second time window (30-32s) that could be missed
- manualNavigationMode now reliably resets after media ends AND
user has been inactive for 60 seconds
- Rotation properly resumes when user walks away after media stops
- Resolves: "media playback stops with black screen, no rotation"
Expected behavior:
- Home page loads, no popup until user touches screen
- Sites rotate for full configured duration (10 seconds)
- Media plays, stops, 30s grace + 60s inactivity, then rotation resumes
- Time extensions (15 min) continue to work correctly
Fixes three critical bugs:
1. Fixed inactivity popup appearing on every rotated site
- userInteractedWithCurrentSite now resets when switching sites
- Each site independently tracks user interaction
- Popup only appears on sites user actually touched
2. Fixed rotation not resuming after "I'm still here" response
- Clicking "I'm still here" now sets manualNavigationMode=false
- Rotation resumes after user acknowledges prompt
3. Fixed rotation stuck after media playback ends
- After media grace period (30s), manualNavigationMode resets
- Prevents black screen when media stops
- Normal rotation automatically resumes
User-reported issue: Sites showing for full duration, no popup spam,
media playback properly returns to rotation.
This release clarifies the media playback behavior and fixes an incorrect
"smart grace period" implementation that violated the core principle.
Core Principle:
- Media playback TRUMPS everything (rotation and inactivity prompts)
- Media plays uninterrupted until: ends naturally, user pauses, session
lockout, or display schedule
- After media stops: 30-second grace period ALWAYS applies (no exceptions)
- After grace period: Normal inactivity and rotation rules resume
Changes:
- Restored simple grace period logic (always 30 seconds after media stops)
- Removed incorrect "smart" grace period that could skip the delay
- Added clarifying comments about media blocking behavior
- Documented that inactivity timeout is user-configurable (default 2 minutes)
The grace period ensures smooth transitions when media ends naturally,
preventing jarring interruptions with popups or rotation changes.
CRITICAL FIX: Manual swipes to 0-time pages now trigger inactivity prompts.
The problem:
- User swipes to a 0-time (manual) page but doesn't touch it
- userInteractedWithCurrentSite stays false
- No inactivity prompt ever appears
- Kiosk stuck on that page forever
The fix:
- Manual swipe now explicitly sets userInteractedWithCurrentSite=true
- Swipe counts as engagement with the new page
- After inactivity timeout, prompt appears even if user never touched page
- Ensures "Return to Rotation" mechanism works on ALL pages
Complete flow now works as designed:
1. Normal rotation with duration > 0 sites
2. User interacts with ANY site → rotation pauses
3. After 2min inactivity → prompt appears
- "Return to Rotation" → returns to home, resumes rotation
- "I'm still here" → waits another 2min, prompt again
- Time extension (5/15/30/60 min) → waits that long, prompt again
- No response (15 sec) → auto-returns to rotation
4. User swipes to new page → counts as interaction, rotation resumes
5. Media playing → blocks all rotation and prompts (30s grace period)
6. Display schedule → screen blanks, app keeps running
7. Password/lockout → takes precedence on boot/resume/timeout
Technical changes:
- Lines 4072-4075: Set userInteractedWithCurrentSite=true in nextTab()
- Lines 4097-4100: Set userInteractedWithCurrentSite=true in prevTab()
- Ensures inactivity logic works even on untouched 0-time pages
This completes the comprehensive rotation/inactivity system.
CRITICAL FIX: Manual swipes now properly resume rotation instead of keeping it paused.
The issue:
- User interacts with page A → rotation pauses
- User swipes to page B → rotation should resume, but was staying paused
- This was because manualNavigationMode stayed true
The fix:
- nextTab() and prevTab() now set manualNavigationMode=false AFTER markActivity
- This overrides the manualNavigationMode=true set by markActivity
- Manual swipes are navigation, not content interaction
- Rotation will now resume on the new page (if it has duration > 0)
Complete flow now:
1. User touches page → manualNavigationMode=true → rotation pauses
2. After 2min idle → prompt appears with options:
- "Return to Rotation" → manualNavigationMode=false → rotation resumes
- "I'm still here" → manualNavigationMode stays true → rotation stays paused
- Time extension → rotation paused during extension, prompt reappears when expires
- No response (15sec) → auto-returns to rotation
3. User swipes to new page → manualNavigationMode=false → rotation resumes
Technical changes:
- Lines 4054-4072: Reordered nextTab() to set manualNavigationMode=false AFTER markActivity
- Lines 4074-4092: Reordered prevTab() to set manualNavigationMode=false AFTER markActivity
- Time extensions still cleared on manual swipe (correct behavior)
This release fixes critical issues with rotation behavior and user interaction:
ROTATION LOGIC FIXES:
- Rotation now properly pauses when user interacts with any URL
- Added manualNavigationMode check to rotation logic
- User interaction (touch, scroll, type) sets manualNavigationMode=true
- "Return to Rotation" button resets manualNavigationMode=false
- Prevents unwanted auto-rotation when user is actively using content
USER INTERACTION IMPROVEMENTS:
- markActivity() now sets manualNavigationMode=true for actual user interaction
- Differentiates between content interaction and prompt responses
- Time extensions continue to be honored during user interaction
- Inactivity prompt closes when user interacts with content
EDGE CASE HANDLING:
- Fixed return to rotation when home URL exists but all URLs have 0 time
- Return to home URL still works even with no rotation configured
- Inactivity prompt properly fires on home URL in no-rotation scenario
PASSWORD/LOCKOUT PRECEDENCE:
- Verified password prompt blocks all interaction on boot
- Lockout properly blocks rotation and prompts
- System resume, screen lock trigger password protection correctly
Technical changes:
- Line 3913: Added !manualNavigationMode check to rotation condition
- Lines 3647-3651: Set manualNavigationMode on user content interaction
- Line 4086-4090: Enhanced returnToHome() documentation for no-rotation case
- Updated VERSION constants and release notes
All existing functionality preserved including:
- Time extensions honored
- Manual tab switching clears extensions
- Prompt only appears on interacted sites
- Password takes precedence on boot/resume/lockout
Password Protection Enhancements:
- Password prompt now appears on bootup if lockout enabled
- Password prompt on system suspend/resume (via powerMonitor)
- Password prompt on screen lock events
- Ensures kiosk is always protected when password feature is enabled
Critical Inactivity Popup Fix:
- Fixed popup not appearing on rotation sites (major UX bug)
- Auto-rotation now preserves userInteractedWithCurrentSite flag
- Added isAutoRotation parameter to attachView()
- Only resets interaction flag on manual navigation
- Inactivity check moved BEFORE rotation check
- Rotation pauses while inactivity prompt is displayed
Lockout Timer Independence:
- Lockout timer now uses lastLockoutCheck instead of lastUserInteraction
- Responding to inactivity prompts no longer resets lockout timer
- Added resetLockoutTimer parameter to markActivity()
- Only actual user interactions (touches, swipes, keyboard) reset lockout
- Ensures lockout fires even if user keeps responding to prompts
Other Fixes:
- Fixed script bailing on manual electron update (graceful error handling)
- Changed "Nuclear reinstall" to "Reinstall complete! System is fresh."
- Moved Session Lockout from Sites menu to Core Settings menu (option 7)
All markActivity() calls updated with proper resetLockoutTimer flags
Critical fix:
- Rotation now pauses completely when session is locked
- Previously rotation would continue running in background while lockout screen displayed
- This caused the lockout screen to disappear after ~1 minute when rotation occurred
- Added sessionLocked check to rotation logic (line 3888)
- Added sessionLocked check to inactivity prompt logic (line 3836)
- Password lockout screen now stays visible until correct password is entered
Major improvements:
- Moved Session Lockout configuration from Sites menu to Core Settings menu
- Now accessible as option 7 in Core Settings for easier access
- Removed from Sites menu to reduce clutter
- Fixed critical inactivity popup bug on rotation sites
- Popup now appears on ALL sites where user has interacted
- Previously only worked on manual (0-timed) sites
- Inactivity check now happens BEFORE rotation check
- Prevents sites from rotating away before popup can appear
- Rotation pauses while inactivity prompt is displayed
Version bump: v0.9.8 → v0.9.9
This commit addresses multiple user-reported issues:
1. UI Improvements:
- Replace box-drawing characters (╔ ╗) with simple equals signs (=)
- Updated addon status display header
- Updated timer logging format
- Updated Squeezelite audio fix header
2. Performance Optimization:
- Removed redundant systemctl calls from show_addon_status()
- Addon status now uses fast file-based checks only
- Eliminates slow service status queries that delayed menu display
3. Password Lock Feature Visibility:
- Added session lockout configuration to initial setup flow
- Users can now set password protection during first-time configuration
- Previously only available in edit menu after setup
4. Return to Rotation (RTR) Popup Fix:
- Fixed RTR popup not appearing on rotation sites
- Removed requirement for Home URL to be configured
- Inactivity prompt now works with or without Home URL
- When typing on rotation site, popup appears after inactivity timeout
- "Return to Rotation" works correctly in both configurations
Bug fixes ensure expected behavior across all use cases.
This update provides a unified, predictable inactivity prompt behavior
regardless of how the user navigated to a page.
Changes:
- Added userInteractedWithCurrentSite flag to track user touch on each site
- Modified markActivity() to set flag when user interacts (tap, swipe, scroll)
- Modified attachView() to clear flag when site changes
- Updated inactivity check to use interaction flag instead of navigation mode
New Behavior (Consistent UX):
✅ Scenario A: Auto-rotation to recipe → user taps → prompt after timeout
- Site auto-rotates to recipe page
- User taps screen to scroll/interact
- userInteractedWithCurrentSite = true
- After 2 min idle → prompt appears
- User can extend time or return to rotation
✅ Scenario B: User swiping through photos every 30 seconds
- Each swipe resets inactivity timer via markActivity()
- No prompt appears (user is actively interacting)
- Prompt only appears after they stop swiping for timeout period
✅ Scenario C: Sites auto-rotating with no user interaction
- userInteractedWithCurrentSite = false on each site
- No prompt appears
- Rotation continues normally
Technical Details:
- Single-finger swipes (in-page content): Reset timer via markActivity()
- Two-finger swipes (tab navigation): Also sets manualNavigationMode
- Both types of interaction trigger the flag
- Flag cleared on every site change (auto or manual)
- If manual swipe, markActivity() re-sets it immediately
Use Cases:
- Recipe viewing: User can interact with page, get timeout prompt, extend time
- Photo browsing: Continuous swiping prevents timeout
- Digital signage: No interaction = no prompt = smooth rotation
- MagicMirror modules: Single-finger swipes keep resetting timer
This provides the consistent UX requested where ANY user interaction
on ANY site enables the inactivity prompt logic.
Changed the inactivity prompt behavior based on user feedback:
Changes:
- Renamed button from "🏠 Return to home now" to "🔄 Return to rotation"
- Reverted inactivity check to work on ALL pages (including home screen)
- Updated returnToHome() function comments to clarify rotation behavior
Behavior:
- Inactivity prompt now appears on home screen AND other pages
- If user is viewing a recipe (or any page), they can extend time
- Clicking "Return to Rotation":
* If NOT on home page: goes to home page first, then starts rotation
* If on home page: just starts the rotation
- This allows users to get "30 extra minutes" before touching the screen
with dirty hands (e.g., when following a recipe)
Use Case:
User navigates to a recipe on menu app, inactivity prompt appears,
they can click "30 more minutes" to read the recipe without any
further screen interaction needed.
Claude