basic-kiosk

Basic Kiosk Installer

Welcome to the Basic Kiosk Installer! This project consists of some basic scripts to help you display one or multiple websites Kiosk style on Debian-based distros. It's simple, it's basic, and it works (most of the time).

Requirements

What you need

• Option 1: Debian 12

  • Base Installation with the following:
    • Locale set to your locale
    • Hostname set to something appropriate
    • Password for root set
    • Software selection: SSH Server and Standard System Utilities (nothing more than that, SSH server optional but recommended)

• Option 2: Raspberry Pi OS Lite

  • Base Image with the following:
    • Network Configured
    • Locale set to your locale
    • Hostname set to something appropriate
    • SSH Enabled (optional but recommended)
    • Password for root set or sudo rights on default account

Lazy Installation

Using the Lazy Installer Script (not tested on PI OS Lite)

1. Sign in to your Debian machine using SSH and kiosk user ssh kiosk@your.debian.host
2. Sign into your root account using su

3. Clone the repository to the root's home directory

   cd ~
   git clone https://git.teleco.ch/crt/basic-kiosk.git/
   

   (if there is no git installed install it with this apt update && apt install git -y)

4. Run the lazy installer

   bash basic-kiosk/lazy-installer.sh
   

Normal Installation

Basic user setup and preparations

1. Sign in to your Debian machine using SSH and kiosk user ssh kiosk@your.debian.host
2. Sign into your root account using su
3. Install the basics: apt update && apt upgrade -y && apt install sudo dialog git htop tmux screen screenfetch -y
4. Add sbin to bash paths for root echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/sbin:/usr/sbin' | tee -a ~/.bashrc ~/.profile > /dev/null && bash

5. Add kiosk user to sudo group

   bash
   usermod -aG sudo kiosk
   exit
   exit
   exit
   

6. Sign back in via SSH ssh kiosk@your.debian.host

7. Add sbin to bash paths for kiosk user echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/sbin:/usr/sbin' | tee -a ~/.bashrc ~/.profile > /dev/null && bash

8. Download the kiosk and go to its folder git clone https://git.teleco.ch/crt/basic-kiosk.git/ && cd basic-kiosk

Installing the Kiosk via Terminal User Interface (TUI/GUI)

1. Run the installer

   bash installer.sh
   

What to Expect in the TUI

When you run the installer script, you will be presented with a series of dialog boxes that guide you through the installation process. Here is what you should expect:

1. Select Distribution: Choose your Linux distribution (Debian or Raspberry Pi OS Lite).
2. Package Installation: The script will install necessary packages for your selected distribution and ask for the sudo password.
3. Configure .xinitrc: The script will configure the .xinitrc file for the kiosk user and make it executable.
4. Configure start.sh: You will be prompted to enter the display scaling factor and choose the kiosk type (simple website or multiple tabs). You will also be asked to enter the URLs for the websites.
5. Configure VNC Password: You will be prompted to enter the VNC password. This is so you can access your kiosk via VNC on Port 5901 to check on it.
6. Configure Automatic Login: The script will configure automatic login for the kiosk user.
7. Edit .bashrc: The script will edit the .bashrc file to start the X session automatically.

After all that's done, reboot the kiosk and all should work maybe or maybe not. You go figure that out

Project Structure

(I am so professional for adding this omg)

Files and Descriptions

• installer.sh: The main installer script that guides you through the installation process using a dialog TUI. It installs necessary packages, configures .xinitrc, start.sh, VNC password, automatic login, and edits .bashrc.

• configure.sh: A script to configure individual settings without reinstalling the kiosk. It allows you to change the display scaling, kiosk type, websites, and VNC password.

• lazy-installer.sh: A script for users who prefer an even simpler setup. It checks if the script is run as root, installs basic packages to run installer.sh, creates the kiosk user if it doesn't exist, moves files where they should be, and runs the installer as the kiosk user.

Using Auto Functions

Auto Mode for installer.sh

You can run the installer.sh script in automatic mode with no user interaction (other than the sudo prompt lol). This requires specifying the distribution, scaling factor, VNC password, and at least one URL.

Usage

bash installer.sh --auto <distro> <scaling_factor> <vnc_password> <url1> [<url2> ... <urlN>]

Example

bash installer.sh --auto debian 1 myvncpassword "https://www.example.com"
bash installer.sh --auto raspberry 2 myvncpassword "https://www.example1.com" "https://www.example2.com"

Auto Mode for configure.sh

You can run the configure.sh script in automatic mode to configure the kiosk settings without user interaction. This requires specifying the scaling factor and at least one URL.

Usage

bash configure.sh --auto <scaling_factor> <url1> [<url2> ... <urlN>]

Example

bash configure.sh --auto 1 "https://www.example.com"
bash configure.sh --auto 2 "https://www.example1.com" "https://www.example2.com"

Misc

If you want to change the time that it takes to switch between tabs, edit the start.sh file in the kiosk user's home directory by changing the line that says

sleep 30

to however many seconds it should wait before switching tabs.

Tested on Debian 12 X86_64 and arm64, testing for RP PI OS Lite will happen at a later time

Contributing

You can contribute if you want… …but I doubt anyone will lmao.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Basically:

• No warranty.
• No responsibility.
• I barely know how to code.

Made with love for Bash scripting and pure hatred for unnecessary complexity by T.B. ❤️