Integration

MirrorCommand Component Integration

MirrorCommand integrates with several other facilities to provide extended and additional functionality.

Remote access

In order to remotely access the MagicMirror command line it is necessary to setup SSH and associated SSH keys. That configuration is outside the scope of this document. There are a number of guides on configuring SSH access on a variety of systems. To get started with SSH configuration on a Raspberry Pi, see https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/computers/remote-access.html

Once SSH access is configured, the mm script can be installed on remote systems and used to remotely execute the mirror script on the system hosting MagicMirror. All arguments provided to mm are simply passed along to the mirror script.

Alternatively, the mirror script can be executed directly by a user logging in to the MagicMirror system in a Shell environment (e.g. a terminal window). This can be accomplished remotely in a terminal window on the remote system by executing the ssh command. For example, using iTerm2 on a Mac OS X system, execute the command:

ssh -l pi IP_ADDRESS

where IP_ADDRESS is the IP address of the MagicMirror system. Once logged into the MagicMirror system, the mirror command can be executed at a shell command prompt:

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ mirror

Additional remote capabilities are provided through integration with the MMM-Remote-Control and MMM-TelegramBot modules. Accessing and controlling your MagicMirror using these facilities is described in the following sections.

Remote execution of mirror commands

If you wish to execute mirror commands remotely then install the convenience script mm on a system with SSH access to your MagicMirror. This script can be used to remotely execute the main mirror script.

Remote view of MagicMirror display

If you wish to view the MagicMirror display remotely then install the convenience script vncview on a system with SSH access to your MagicMirror. This script can be used to remotely execute a VNC server and locally execute a VNC client.

MMM-Remote-Control integration

The mirror command line utilities can be integrated into a custom MMM-Remote-Control menu. In this way the MMM-Remote-Control module can be extended to perform many additional actions including taking a screenshot, rotating the display, and controlling playback of video. This can, for example, allow you to use your phone to control the MagicMirror while standing in front of the mirror, away from your computer. Particularly handy for taking screenshots.

The MMM-Remote-Control module provides some documentation on creating a custom menu but it is currently incomplete. To add custom commands to MMM-Remote-Control using the mirror command, see the MMM-Remote-Control Wiki Page.

MMM-TelegramBot integration

You can control your MagicMirrir with the mirror command executed remotely using the Telegram app. This can allow you to control your MagicMirror from anywhere by simply sending a message on your phone using the Telegram app. To enable this feature, install the MMM-TelegramBot module, setup a Telegram Bot to send and receive MMM-TelegramBot messages, and add MMM-TelegramBot customCommands configuration to the MMM-TelegramBot config section in config/config.js.

MMM-TelegramBot installation

Follow the instructions at the 4th Party Modules Wiki to create a Telegram Bot, install MMM-TelegramBot, and configure your MagicMirror config.js to enable Telegram commands.

MMM-TelegramBot module config

In addition to following the 4th Party Modules Wiki Installation instructions to install the module and setup a Telegram Bot, the config section of the MMM-TelegramBot module entry in config.js must be modified to add customCommands. Samples of how to do this are in the config files in this repository. For example, see the customCommands entry in config/config-default.js.

Here is the section of the customCommands array definition in the config section of the MMM-TelegramBot module entry in config.js that defines the /mirror Telegram command:

{
    command: 'mirror',
    description: "Executes MagicMirror `mirror` command\nTry `/mirror status`.",
    callback: (command, handler, self) => {
        if (handler.args) {
            var exec = "mirror -D " + handler.args
        } else {
            var exec = "mirror -D status"
        }
        handler.reply("TEXT", "Executing command: " + exec)
        var sessionId = Date.now() + "_" + self.commonSession.size
        if (exec) {
            self.commonSession.set(sessionId, handler)
            self.sendSocketNotification("SHELL", {
                session: sessionId,
                exec: exec
            })
        }
    },
},

MMM-TelegramCommands module

Configuring MMM-TelegramBot customCommands can be daunting. Use the template at MagicMirror/config/Templates/TelegramBot-customCommands.js as a guide.

Alternatively, several custom TelegramBot commands have been configured and enabled in the MMM-TelegramCommands module. To enable the MMM-TelegramCommands module commands, install this module:

cd ~/MagicMirror/modules
git clone https://gitlab.com/doctorfree/MMM-TelegramCommands.git
cd MMM-TelegramCommands
npm install

After installing MMM-TelegramCommands add the following to the modules array of any config.js that has MMM-TelegramBot activated:

    {
        module: 'MMM-TelegramCommands'
    },

See this simple example of MMM-TelegramCommands configuration as a guide.

Telegram usage

Once installed and configured, you can control your MagicMirror by sending messages in the Telegram app to your previously created Telegram Bot. If you copied the example MMM-TelegramBot customCommands configuration in one of the config files in this repository then you will have three new custom Telegram commands:

• /myReboot
  • Custom reboot command which executes /usr/local/bin/myreboot
• /myShutdown
  • Custom shutdown command which executes /usr/local/bin/myshutdown
• /mirror
  • General purpose command which executes the /usr/local/bin/mirror command with any arguments supplied in the Telegram command (e.g. /mirror info will retrieve your MagicMirror system information)

A few examples follow:

To switch the MagicMirror config.js to the configuration file ‘config/config-sample.js’, issue the Telegram command:

/mirror sample

To retrieve the MagicMirror status, issue the command:

/mirror status

To update the MagicMirror installation, issue the command:

/mirror update

To list the MagicMirror active modules, issue the command:

/mirror list active

Any mirror command can be executed via Telegram in this manner. See mirror -u for the mirror usage message.

MMM-GoogleAssistant integration

MirrorCommand includes configuration files to enable voice command control of your MagicMirror utilizing the MMM-GoogleAssistant module. Most of the MagicMirror config files in the config subdirectory come preconfigured with voice command support. See config/config-default.js for a sample config file with voice control enabled.

In addition to preconfigured config files, MirrorCommand provides several custom MMM-GoogleAssistant recipes. These include recipes to:

• Enable mirror command support via voice
  • Voice commands to:
    • Restart MagicMirror
    • Rotate the screen
    • Turn the screen on/off
    • Mute/unmute sound
    • Copy custom config files into config.js and restart the mirror
      • Manage MagicMirror screen position on multi-screen systems
        • Move MagicMirror to screen 1
          • Say screen one or mirror screen one
        • Move MagicMirror to screen 2
          • Say screen two or mirror screen two
        • Switch the MagicMirror screen
          • Say screen switch or switch screens or mirror screen switch
• Voice management of MMM-Scenes scenes
  • Next scene
  • Previous scene
  • Scene by number (e.g. scene 2)
• Customized reboot/restart/shutdown voice commands
• Radio station play via voice

Google Cloud Platform API Keys

Several MagicMirror modules require a Google Cloud Platform API. The MMM-GoogleAssistant and MMM-GoogleMapsTraffic modules are examples of these. In order to configure the MMM-GoogleAssistant module you will need to create a Google Action project and enable API services for that project in the Google Cloud Platform then generate credentials for that project. This process can seem daunting to many but once you walk through it the process becomes more transparent. A smart young woman has provided us with a brief and simple tutorial walkthru of the process at https://youtu.be/xVhqP3fBnVM. Her video is based on the 4th Party Modules Wiki description of this process.

NOTE: When authorizing the YouTube access token with npm run tokens as the final step in this process, I found it necessary to modify MMM-GoogleAssistant/install/auth_YouTube.js to add a console log output of the generated URL to allow access. This was necessary in my case because I was performing the process over an SSH connection in a terminal. This is not necessary if you are accessing the MagicMirror directly or if you have your DISPLAY set back to the system on which you are running SSH. If you need to use this modification, it can be found at the link above.

MMM-Scenes integration

In addition to the voice control of MMM-Scenes described above, several mirror commands have been added to support management of MMM-Scenes scenes via the command line. Supported commands include:

• mirror scene next : display the next scene in the scenario
• mirror scene prev : display the previous scene in the scenario
• mirror scene name : display the scene named ‘name’
• mirror scene num : display scene number ‘num’
• mirror scene info : retrieve info on MMM-Scenes configuration