Servo Control Feature (Rotating Frame) by and-who · Pull Request #598 · fatihak/InkyPi

and-who · 2026-02-14T12:27:32Z

Description
The Servo Control plugin & utils adds physical servo motor control to InkyPi, enabling dynamic rotation of e.g. a display frame to match image orientation (e.g. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7290592). This is particularly useful for creating rotating picture frames that automatically adjust between landscape and portrait modes. (Could also be used to control other features)

💬: First I wanted to make a separate third Party Plugin but since it needs Dependencies and integration at the Install Steps I choose to do it directly in the Repo

Core System Enhancements:

Plugin Filtering: Added servo_enabled config flag to automatically disable servo_control plugin when servo support isn't installed
Null Image Handling: Plugins can now return None to skip image rendering (useful for control-only operations like servo movement)
Image Inversion Robustness: More resilient string-to-boolean conversion for inverted_image setting
Device Configuration: Added servo_enabled: false to base device config
Improved generic Styling: more styling of general Elements then specific styling

Possible Future Enhancments
Auto rotate in other Plugins.
We could store the Default Values for Portrait/Landscape, then if you e.g. upload an Image, you could detect which AspectRatio the Image has and auto rotate the Frame.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds first-party servo motor support to InkyPi (for rotating frames / orientation control), along with a new servo_control plugin, install-time opt-in dependencies, and a few core-system robustness updates to support control-only plugins.

Changes:

Introduces a new servo_control plugin and ServoDriver utility (kernel PWM sysfs / libgpiod backends).
Adds servo_enabled config flag and installer -S option to opt-in servo dependencies and PWM overlay.
Improves rendering pipeline robustness (allow plugins to return None; safer inverted_image coercion) and broadens generic UI element styling.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 16 out of 19 changed files in this pull request and generated 13 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/utils/servo_utils.py	New servo hardware driver (sysfs PWM / libgpiod) and movement logic.
src/static/styles/main.css	Adds more generic element styling and consolidates text color behavior.
src/static/images/current_image.png	Adds a committed “current image” asset (likely runtime output path).
src/refresh_task.py	Allows plugins to return `None` to skip display updates.
src/plugins/servo_control/settings.html	New settings UI for servo control + device-config side effects + API example.
src/plugins/servo_control/servo_control.py	New plugin implementing servo movement, optional test image, and device config updates.
src/plugins/servo_control/plugin-info.json	Registers the new plugin.
src/plugins/servo_control/icon.png	Adds plugin icon asset.
src/plugins/servo_control/README.md	Documents the plugin and a rotating-frame build example.
src/inkypi.py	Changes Waitress binding configuration.
src/display/display_manager.py	Skips rendering on `None` and makes `inverted_image` parsing more robust.
src/config/device_dev.json	Adds servo-related fields and updates dev config values/state.
src/config.py	Filters `servo_control` based on `servo_enabled`.
install/servo-requirements.txt	Adds optional Python requirements for servo support.
install/requirements.txt	Minor formatting/line adjustment.
install/install.sh	Adds `-S` flag, PWM overlay enablement, and servo dependency installation.
install/config_base/device.json	Adds `servo_enabled: false` default to base config.
docs/community.md	Adds a community link for a rotatable stand model.
README.md	Documents installer `-S` flag and provides examples.

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Copilot · 2026-02-14T12:33:32Z

src/config.py

    def get_plugins(self):
-        """Returns the list of plugin configurations, sorted by custom order if set."""
+        """Returns the list of plugin configurations, sorted by custom order if set.
+        Disables servo_control plugin if servo_enabled is false in config."""
        plugin_order = self.config.get('plugin_order', [])
+        servo_enabled = self.config.get('servo_enabled', False)
+
+        # Filter out servo_control plugin if servo is not enabled
+        filtered_plugins = [p for p in self.plugins_list if not (p['id'] == 'servo_control' and not servo_enabled)]

        if not plugin_order:
-            return self.plugins_list
+            return filtered_plugins

        # Create a dict for quick lookup
-        plugins_dict = {p['id']: p for p in self.plugins_list}
+        plugins_dict = {p['id']: p for p in filtered_plugins}



The servo_enabled filtering only applies to get_plugins() (UI ordering and load_plugins()), but get_plugin() still returns servo_control even when disabled. This can lead to runtime errors if a playlist or API call references servo_control while servo_enabled is false (plugin config exists, but it was never registered/loaded). Consider enforcing the same flag in get_plugin() and/or preventing refresh actions from selecting disabled plugins (e.g., filtering playlist plugin instances on load).

Copilot · 2026-02-14T12:33:33Z

src/plugins/servo_control/servo_control.py

+        # Update image inversion if specified
+        invert_value = str(invert_setting).lower() in ("1", "true", "yes", "on")
+        device_config.update_value("inverted_image", invert_value, write=True)
+        logger.info(f"Updated inverted_image to {invert_value}")


inverted_image is always overwritten in device config even when the checkbox is unchecked and therefore absent from the submitted form data (it becomes None and gets coerced to False). This makes it impossible to leave the existing device setting unchanged from this plugin. Only update device_config.inverted_image when the setting is explicitly present, or add a "keep current" option / hidden field pattern so false is explicit.

Suggested change

# Update image inversion if specified

invert_value = str(invert_setting).lower() in ("1", "true", "yes", "on")

device_config.update_value("inverted_image", invert_value, write=True)

logger.info(f"Updated inverted_image to {invert_value}")

# Update image inversion only if explicitly specified in settings

if 'inverted_image' in settings:

invert_value = str(invert_setting).lower() in ("1", "true", "yes", "on")

device_config.update_value("inverted_image", invert_value, write=True)

logger.info(f"Updated inverted_image to {invert_value}")

Copilot · 2026-02-14T12:33:33Z

src/plugins/servo_control/servo_control.py

@@ -0,0 +1,212 @@
+import logging
+from display.mock_display import MockDisplay


MockDisplay is imported but never used in this module. Remove the unused import to avoid lint/runtime overhead and keep dependencies clear.

Suggested change

from display.mock_display import MockDisplay

Copilot · 2026-02-14T12:33:33Z

src/config/device_dev.json

+        "refresh_time": "2026-02-14T12:22:33.752604+00:00",
+        "image_hash": "bd2481643abcf6ae451ee72e1f33f704367d4d21b7f60b1273dd14e57061a6c4",
+        "refresh_type": "Manual Update",
+        "plugin_id": "servo_control"
+    },
+    "inverted_image": true,
+    "current_servo_angle": 45


device_dev.json now contains runtime state (refresh timestamps/hash, inverted_image: true, current_servo_angle). This makes dev mode start from a non-default state and creates noisy diffs over time. Consider keeping refresh_info fields null and omitting/zeroing transient fields so the file remains a stable baseline config.

Suggested change

"refresh_time": "2026-02-14T12:22:33.752604+00:00",

"image_hash": "bd2481643abcf6ae451ee72e1f33f704367d4d21b7f60b1273dd14e57061a6c4",

"refresh_type": "Manual Update",

"plugin_id": "servo_control"

},

"inverted_image": true,

"current_servo_angle": 45

"refresh_time": null,

"image_hash": null,

"refresh_type": null,

"plugin_id": null

},

"inverted_image": false,

"current_servo_angle": 0

Copilot · 2026-02-14T12:33:33Z

src/plugins/servo_control/README.md

+- Powercable for Raspberry Pi
+- Servo Motor (e.g. SG90)
+- 18 Jumper Cables
+- Rotating Frame Assambly 3D Print e.g. from Thingiverse (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7290592)


Spelling: "Assambly" → "Assembly".

Suggested change

- Rotating Frame Assambly 3D Print e.g. from Thingiverse (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7290592)

- Rotating Frame Assembly 3D Print e.g. from Thingiverse (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7290592)

Copilot · 2026-02-14T12:33:34Z

src/plugins/servo_control/settings.html

+    // Update speed display
+    document.getElementById('servo-speed').addEventListener('input', function() {
+        document.getElementById('speed-display').textContent = this.value + 'ms';
+        updateApiExample();
+    });


The script updates #speed-display on servo speed changes, but no element with id="speed-display" exists in the template. This will throw a JS error and can break the settings page. Either add the missing element (e.g., a span next to the input) or remove/update the JS references.

Copilot · 2026-02-14T12:33:35Z

src/utils/servo_utils.py

+            self.current_gpio_pin = None
+            self._cleanup_gpiod()
+            self._cleanup_pwm_sysfs()


configure() sets self.current_gpio_pin = None before calling _cleanup_pwm_sysfs(). _cleanup_pwm_sysfs() uses current_gpio_pin to determine which PWM channel to unexport, so this can leave the previously-exported PWM channel active when switching GPIO pins. Capture the previous pin (or call cleanup before clearing current_gpio_pin) so cleanup can unexport correctly.

Suggested change

self.current_gpio_pin = None

self._cleanup_gpiod()

self._cleanup_pwm_sysfs()

self._cleanup_gpiod()

self._cleanup_pwm_sysfs()

self.current_gpio_pin = None

Copilot · 2026-02-14T12:33:35Z

src/utils/servo_utils.py

+                for angle in range(int(current_angle), int(target_angle), step):
+                    pulse_us = self._angle_to_pulse_us(angle)
+                    self._pwm_sysfs_set_pulse_us(pulse_us)
+                    logger.info(f"new Angle: {angle}° new Pulse: {pulse_us}us")
+                    time.sleep(speed_ms / 1000)


Per-degree movement logs are emitted at INFO level inside the movement loop. For large angle changes this can spam logs and slow down movement on slower storage/SD cards. Consider demoting these to DEBUG or logging only the start/end (and maybe every N steps).

Copilot · 2026-02-14T12:33:35Z

src/plugins/servo_control/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+# Servo Control Plugin
+
+This Plugin provides controll of a Servo motor connected to your Raspberry Pi via a configurable GPIO pin. 


Spelling: "controll" → "control".

Suggested change

This Plugin provides controll of a Servo motor connected to your Raspberry Pi via a configurable GPIO pin.

This Plugin provides control of a Servo motor connected to your Raspberry Pi via a configurable GPIO pin.

Copilot · 2026-02-14T12:33:35Z

src/plugins/servo_control/README.md

+# Servo Control Plugin
+
+This Plugin provides controll of a Servo motor connected to your Raspberry Pi via a configurable GPIO pin. 
+You can set the Target Angle and optional the orientation and Image Invertion saved in device_config.


Spelling: "Invertion" → "Inversion".

Suggested change

You can set the Target Angle and optional the orientation and Image Invertion saved in device_config.

You can set the Target Angle and optional the orientation and Image Inversion saved in device_config.

and-who added 30 commits February 1, 2026 09:58

Servo Control Plugin added

9a17734

Servo Controll dependency test

7cbfa7c

Servo Controll dependencies added

a484268

Servo Controll dependencies test

9b06fb6

Servo Controll dependencies test

ad1efc9

Servo Controll extended control

147147a

Servo Control enable Pin if moved again

5be16f8

Servo Control moved Driver to separate Utils

eeea237

Servo Control move asyncron

d993f96

Servo Control move asyncron

7aee95e

Servo Control move image invertition

0248b5a

Servo Control move image invertition

a500ce9

Servo Control Test Image

22613ef

InkyPi Listen also on ipv6

33bf990

Skip move when Angle reached

03d9930

invert setting

eb51e3a

invert setting

cca3aed

testimage text color

f701395

test image handling

a69eaec

Angle Config changed

84c53f6

Angle Config changed

2e68b57

Angle Config changed

66451d0

Angle Config changed

6f9828f

Install Setup

79d6f0e

Update Settings

5980ca8

Settins Style

06835f2

API Example

f7640f7

HTML Element Style

310ea39

HTML Element Style

fe3427a

Updated docs

91ba62f

and-who added 4 commits February 8, 2026 15:13

More robust End Position

5c16757

serve dual binding

6cf4e2d

fixed button styling

3f933ce

added local mock suport

418c115

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings February 14, 2026 12:27

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of and-who February 14, 2026 12:27 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 14, 2026

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minor fixes

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Servo Control Feature (Rotating Frame)#598

Servo Control Feature (Rotating Frame)#598
and-who wants to merge 35 commits intofatihak:mainfrom
and-who:servo-control-plugin

and-who commented Feb 14, 2026 •

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		@@ -0,0 +1,212 @@
		import logging
		from display.mock_display import MockDisplay

	- Rotating Frame Assambly 3D Print e.g. from Thingiverse (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7290592)
	- Rotating Frame Assembly 3D Print e.g. from Thingiverse (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7290592)

		@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
		# Servo Control Plugin

		This Plugin provides controll of a Servo motor connected to your Raspberry Pi via a configurable GPIO pin.

	This Plugin provides controll of a Servo motor connected to your Raspberry Pi via a configurable GPIO pin.
	This Plugin provides control of a Servo motor connected to your Raspberry Pi via a configurable GPIO pin.

	You can set the Target Angle and optional the orientation and Image Invertion saved in device_config.
	You can set the Target Angle and optional the orientation and Image Inversion saved in device_config.

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and-who commented Feb 14, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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and-who commented Feb 14, 2026 •

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