CocktailBerry Web#

This is still new and not the default interface yet

This is a new implementation and not as battle-tested as the old interface. If you spot any issues, please report them in the GitHub repository. In general, most features should work as expected, but there might be some edge cases that are not covered yet.

This is within the roadmap for v2. The goal of this release is to provide a more polished and at the same time more flexible app. It includes a new web interface that can be used to control the machine from any device on the same network. This allows users to control the machine from their phone, tablet, or any other device that has a web browser. Machines without a display (e.g. Headless) are no longer a dream, you can build and use them now with CocktailBerry. In addition, the API (backend) is no longer tightly coupled to the frontend. Advanced users can use the API for their own use, like writing their own frontend or automating tasks via home automation.

Quick Install#

You can also directly install it via the all-in-one installer script by specifying v2 as version.

wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AndreWohnsland/CocktailBerry/master/scripts/all_in_one.sh | bash -s v2

This will do similar setup steps as in v1, but directly install the web interface version.

Requirements#

It is not recommended to use this on Raspberry Pi 3 series or older, as the performance might not be sufficient. Use a Raspberry Pi 4 with 2 GB or more of RAM for the best experience. You need to have an up-to-date Raspberry Pi OS installed. The web interface requires a modern web browser that supports the latest web technologies. You do not need a touch screen, just a device being able to connect to the same network as the Raspberry Pi. However, a touchscreen can be used to control the app directly on the Raspberry Pi.

As a word of caution: Currently it is difficult to trigger the virtual keyboard in kiosk mode (full screen). This is only an issue if you are using a touchscreen directly connected to the Raspberry Pi, not via phone or tablet. You might start with a non-full-screen web browser for now, but we are working on a solution.

Limitations#

Currently, the web interface might have some issues with touch screens directly connected to the Raspberry Pi. In some occasions, older OS or not properly configured screens, the default keyboard might not show up. If you are using an external device to control the app, this should not be an issue. In case you are using a touch screen directly connected to the Raspberry Pi, running the browser in non-kiosk mode might help. Installing the maliit keyboard might also be an alternative.

Installation#

The easiest way to use the new interface is to use the CocktailBerry CLI setup-web command, if you installed CocktailBerry the usual way. Existing installations should update to at least version v2.0.0 to have this command available. Or you can use the v2 flag in the all in one installer script as shown above.

Before starting

Before you start the update, make sure to backup your data. The update should not delete any data, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. It is also recommended to have an up-to-date operating system. If you installed CocktailBerry a long time ago, please do a clean install instead of updating.

cd ~/CocktailBerry
# optional with --ssl to enable https
uv run runme.py setup-web

This will set up the web interface as the default interface and start it instead of the old main program. You can now access the website by opening your browser and navigating to http://<ip> or locally on http://localhost.

Note: In the following section we use uv run api.py instead of uv run runme.py to start the web interface.

Enable the Virtual Keyboard#

If you are lucky, the virtual keyboard squeekboard is already working out of the box. In case you do not want it, and it is activated, see the section below to disable it. If it should not show up when clicking on an input field, you can try to enable it manually.

cd ~/CocktailBerry
uv run api.py add-virtual-keyboard

Disable the Virtual Keyboard#

If you enabled it via the command above and want to disable it again, you can do so by running the following command.

cd ~/CocktailBerry
uv run api.py remove-virtual-keyboard

In case you have not enabled it via the command above, you can also disable it via raspi-config.

sudo raspi-config

Then go to Display Options -> On-Screen Keyboard and disable it.

Rollback to QT#

If you want to go back to the old interface, you can do so by running the following command.

cd ~/CocktailBerry
uv run api.py switch-back