Merge pull request #257 from outis1one/claude/asterisk-caller-id-number-y1b3ls

Document Ring vs Page and auto-answer kiosks, in the dashboard itself
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Outis
2026-07-28 20:54:44 -04:00
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# Auto-answer paging kiosks (baresip)
How to set up a dedicated, always-on auto-answer intercom/paging station for
`services/asterisk.sh`, and how to mix it into a Ring Group alongside phones
that ring normally.
This covers the option that already works today: a lightweight native SIP
client (`baresip`) on a separate small Linux machine. A browser-based
("webpage") auto-answer client is possible in principle — any WebRTC SIP JS
library can answer a call programmatically with none of a mobile phone's
OS-level call-screen restrictions — but this server has no WebRTC/WebSocket
transport configured, and building one is real new work (a `transport-wss`
PJSIP transport, a Caddy WSS passthrough, a custom webpage). Not covered
here.
## What this actually is
Easy Asterisk (the vendor project `services/asterisk.sh` installs) ships a
`kiosk` device category, described in its own source as *"Fixed auto-answer
intercoms"* / *"Fixed wall-mount tablets & intercoms."* Installing it sets
up:
- `baresip` — a real, fully-scriptable Linux SIP user agent, not a phone app.
Its answer-mode is plain client config, so nothing about the kiosk's OS
can silently override it into requiring a manual tap the way a mobile
phone app often does.
- An optional push-to-talk daemon (`kiosk-ptt`) — the mic stays muted by
default (true one-way intercom behavior) and a PTT button unmutes it to
talk back.
None of this runs inside the Asterisk container. It runs on a **separate**
machine — an old PC, a Raspberry Pi, a cheap mini-PC, anything running
Ubuntu/Debian with a sound card. The vendor script explicitly refuses to
install baresip when it detects it's running inside Docker
(`install_baresip_packages()`: *"Docker mode: Baresip not applicable"*) —
that check is about wherever you happen to run the script, so make sure
you're running it on the kiosk machine itself, not on the Asterisk server's
droplet.
## Set it up
1. **Create an extension for the kiosk** in the Security Dashboard's
Extensions tab first (Easy Asterisk device setup section), same as any
other device. Leave "Mobile" unchecked unless the kiosk is genuinely on a
cellular connection — a wired/Wi-Fi kiosk on the LAN or a stable remote
network doesn't need the RTP NAT-keepalive tuning that checkbox adds.
Note the extension number and the auto-generated password shown once at
the top of the card.
2. **Get the vendor script onto the kiosk machine.** It's vendored in this
repo at `vendor/easy-asterisk/easy-asterisk-v0.10.0.sh` — copy it over
(`scp`, a USB drive, whatever's convenient) and run it there:
```bash
sudo bash easy-asterisk-v0.10.0.sh
```
3. **Choose the client-install path** (not server, not full — this machine
isn't running Asterisk itself). When prompted:
- **Server (IP or domain)**: your Asterisk box's public IP or domain
(whatever `asterisk.sh` set up — an FQDN here also turns on TLS
automatically).
- **SIP Password**: the password from step 1.
- **Answer Mode**: choose **1) Auto**.
- **Extension**: the extension number from step 1.
It installs `baresip`, PipeWire (for audio), and enables the relevant
systemd services.
4. **Log out and back in** (or reboot) if audio doesn't work immediately —
the installer adds the kiosk user to the audio group, which needs a
fresh session to take effect. Check with `pactl list sources short` if
in doubt.
5. **(Optional) Configure push-to-talk** from the vendor script's own menu:
Main Menu → Client Management → Configure PTT Button. Without this, the
kiosk just stays open-mic (fine for a simple listen-and-respond intercom;
PTT is for anything noisier or more deliberate about when it transmits).
## Using it in a Ring Group
No special group type needed for the mix — see the Ring Groups card's own
"Ring vs Page, and mixing auto-answer devices" help text for why. Short
version: create (or edit) a plain **Ring**-type group, add the kiosk's
extension as a member alongside regular phones' extensions. Dialing the
group's number rings everyone simultaneously; the kiosk answers instantly
because *it's* configured to, ordinary phones just ring until a person
picks up or the kiosk's already live. `Page`-type groups still exist for
signaling auto-answer to devices you don't control the client config of —
not needed for a kiosk you set up yourself this way.
## Troubleshooting
```bash
journalctl -t kiosk-ptt -f # PTT daemon logs, if configured
systemctl --user status baresip # run as the kiosk's own Linux user
pactl list sources short # confirm the mic is visible to PipeWire
```
If the kiosk never answers: confirm it actually registered (`baresip`'s own
CLI shows registration status), and double check the extension/password
match what the dashboard generated — a stale or mistyped password here
fails silently from the dashboard's side, since it has no visibility into a
device that was never issued through it in the first place.
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<summary>Ring Groups <span class="count" id="room-count"></span></summary>
<div class="card-body">
<p class="muted">Pick extensions, give them a name, and they ring (or page/auto-answer) together as one dialable extension — and can optionally be assigned a personal number below, so an inbound call to that number rings every current member.</p>
<details class="help">
<summary>Ring vs Page, and mixing auto-answer devices in one group</summary>
<p class="muted"><b>Ring</b> dials every member at once — first to answer gets the call, everyone else stops ringing. <b>Page</b> tells Asterisk to signal auto-answer to every member via SIP headers, for devices that honor it, turning the same simultaneous dial into a one-way intercom-style broadcast instead.</p>
<p class="muted">You don't need <b>Page</b> just to mix an auto-answering device with normally-ringing phones in the same group, though — auto-answer is really a property of the device's own SIP client configuration, not something Asterisk enforces per member. A plain <b>Ring</b> group already dials everyone simultaneously, so a device configured to auto-answer (e.g. a dedicated intercom/kiosk running <code>baresip</code> in Answer Mode: Auto) picks up instantly, while ordinary phones in the same group just keep ringing until a person answers — no extra setting needed here for that mix.</p>
<p class="muted">For a dedicated always-on auto-answer device (a wall-mounted intercom, a paging station), Easy Asterisk — the vendor project this installer builds on — has a built-in <code>baresip</code>-based kiosk client for exactly that. It installs on a separate small Linux machine (an old PC, a Raspberry Pi), not this Asterisk server itself. See <code>docs/kiosk-paging-setup.md</code> in this repo for the full walkthrough.</p>
</details>
<div class="row" style="margin-bottom:var(--sp-2)">
<input type="text" id="ea-room-ext" placeholder="Extension, e.g. 500" style="width:9rem">
<input type="text" id="ea-room-name" placeholder="Name, e.g. Sales" style="width:10rem">