Deskdash
Computer and network information, always visible.
After maxing out my computer on a full-screen application, I wondered if there was a way to get this information on an external device for monitoring. Unable to find a suitable solution, I made one. Using a Raspberry Pi, a screen, and some code.
Deskdash works in two parts, to get the visual application dashboard, and the hub of information.
Dashboard
The Dashboard is a Node.js Electron application, using Bootstrap for a standardised visual interface. The ‘carousel’ aspect is actually powered by a typical website carousel, adjusted to show the entire page. Using some JavaScript wizardry, the application will load in all the applicable pages with a nice, tidy JSON configuration file.
Communicator
The counterpart informational API, this Python HTTP application provides a low-overhead JSON API that contains system information and – optionally – network scan data that the Dashboard can access. Exchange is done with the option of an agreed secret key, so “can I have the WiFI password?” doesn’t lead to an unintended yield of information.
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