Pyperflut - Pixelflut One-Shot Client

pyperflut.py is a Python client for sending content to a Pixelflut server, a pixel-based display protocol. It supports multiple content types and rendering modes, optimized for one-shot sends rather than continuous streaming. The screen size is dynamically fetched from the server's SIZE response (e.g., 1280x720), not hardcoded.

Capabilities

• Image Display:

  • Send static image files (e.g., PNG, JPG) to the Pixelflut canvas.
  • Options: Position (-x, -y), scale (--scale), or fit to screen (--fit).
  • Example: uv run pyperflut.py 192.168.5.51 1234 -i image.png --fit

• Website Capture:

  • Capture and display a website screenshot using Selenium.
  • Static mode: Shows the top portion matching the server’s screen size.
  • Scroll mode: Scrolls through the full page with configurable interval (--scroll) and cycles (--cycles), refreshing the site each cycle for live updates.
  • Example: uv run pyperflut.py 192.168.5.51 1234 -u https://news.ycombinator.com --scroll 5.0 --cycles 2

• Markdown Rendering:

  • Convert Markdown files to HTML and display them.
  • Supports static display or scrolling for longer content.
  • Example: uv run pyperflut.py 192.168.5.51 1234 -m document.md --scroll 5.0

• HTML Rendering:

  • Display local HTML files directly.
  • Supports static or scrolling modes.
  • Example: uv run pyperflut.py 192.168.5.51 1234 -l page.html

• Animated GIF Playback:

  • Play animated GIFs from local files or URLs, fullscreen, matching the server’s screen size.
  • Options: Custom frame rate (--fps) to override GIF timing, loop indefinitely (--loop).
  • Examples:
    • Local: uv run pyperflut.py 192.168.5.51 1234 -g animation.gif --fps 5.0 --loop
    • URL: uv run pyperflut.py 192.168.5.51 1234 -g https://example.com/animation.gif --fps 2.0

• Screen Clearing:

  • Clear the Pixelflut canvas with a solid color (default black).
  • Example: uv run pyperflut.py 192.168.5.51 1234 -i image.png -c

Setup

Dependencies are managed via uv and defined in pyproject.toml. To set up the environment:

1. Ensure uv is installed: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
2. Sync dependencies: uv sync

Usage

Run with uv run pyperflut.py <host> <port> [options]. Use -h for full command-line help.

Notes

• Screen size (e.g., 1280x720) is an example; the client queries the server’s actual size via the SIZE command.
• Uses multi-threading (--threads) for faster pixel sending.
• Temporary files are cleaned up automatically unless --keep-temp is used (does not apply to downloaded GIFs).