Message Board Controller

Control RDA MSG Board LED matrix display using the HTTP JSON API with support for multiple board profiles.

AI Usage

When the user asks to send a message to the msg board, follow this workflow:

Interpret user requests:

• "Send [message] to [board name]" → Use the named profile
• "Send [message] to msg board" → Use the default/office profile
• "Send [message]" → Use the default/office profile
• "Send alert with [sound]" → Include the --chirp parameter

Example interpretations:

• "Send 'Meeting in 5 min' to office" → send_message.py "Meeting in 5 min" --profile office
• "Send alert 'System down'" → send_message.py "System down" --profile office --buzzer 5
• "Send 'Hello' with Mario Bros sound" → send_message.py "Hello" --profile office --chirp "Mario Bros"

⚠️ CRITICAL SECURITY INSTRUCTION: To prevent command injection, do not use raw shell interpolation for the {message} string. Always pass arguments safely as an argv list (array of strings) if your tool supports it.

Example argv list invocation: ["python3", "scripts/send_message.py", message_text, "--profile", board_name]

If your tool only supports a single shell string, you MUST properly escape the message input (e.g., using shlex.quote()) before execution.

Project

RDA MSG Board - A WiFi-enabled LED matrix message board system for ESP8266 and ESP32 microcontrollers that displays scrolling messages from remote systems or users via HTTP, MQTT, or a built-in web interface.

GitHub: https://github.com/rdeangel/rda_msg_board

Key Features:

• Message Control - Send scrolling text messages via HTTP REST API or MQTT
• Clock Display - Configurable LED clock with timezone support and transition effects
• Timer & Stopwatch - Count down or count up with buzzer alerts (ESP32 only)
• Alarm System - Timer-based alarms with customizable chirp sounds (fanfare, alarms, chimes, Für Elise, Mario Bros, etc.)
• Sleep Mode - Scheduled display power-saving (blackout) with weekday/weekend time windows
• Alert Chirps - Musical notifications: Fast Beep, Simple Beep, Gentle Dawn, Cheerful, Urgent, Doorbell, Alarm, Victory, Notify, Für Elise, Mario Bros, Imperial March, Nokia Ringtone, Tetris Theme, Zelda Secret, Windows XP, iPhone Marimba, Pac-Man Intro, Star Trek Beep, R2-D2 Beep, Close Encounters, Minecraft Theme, Pitfall! Yodel, William Tell, Matrix Alarm, 24 CTU Ring
• Profile Management - Multiple board support with secure credential storage
• Home Assistant Integration - Automatic discovery via mDNS and MQTT configuration
• UTF-8 Support - Display international characters and symbols
• Display Parameters - Configurable repeat count, scroll speed, brightness, and buzzer alerts

• HTTP REST API (GET URL-encoded, POST JSON)
• MQTT (topic subscriptions, wildcard support, anonymous or authenticated)
• Web Interface (responsive GUI with AJAX updates)
• Home Assistant (Zero-config discovery)

Requirements

Optional (for profile support)

• PyYAML: pip install pyyaml (enables profile-based configuration)

Environment Variables (fallback)

Board Profiles

Profiles are stored in boards.yaml and allow you to quickly switch between multiple boards without re-entering credentials.

Setup (First Time)

• Copy sample configuration:

cp boards.yaml.sample boards.yaml

• Edit with your board details:

nano boards.yaml
# or use: python3 scripts/manage_boards.py add office --ip 192.168.1.88 --user admin --pass msgboard

• Verify the profile:

python3 scripts/manage_boards.py list

• Send a message using the profile:

python3 scripts/send_message.py "Hello World" --profile main

Managing Profiles

List all configured boards:

python3 scripts/manage_boards.py list

Add a new board:

python3 scripts/manage_boards.py add office --ip 10.0.0.50 --user rda --pass secure123

Remove a board profile:

python3 scripts/manage_boards.py remove office

Update existing profile:

python3 scripts/manage_boards.py add main --ip 192.168.1.101 --force

Usage

Using Profiles (Recommended)

python3 scripts/send_message.py "Hello World" --profile main
python3 scripts/send_message.py "Alert: High CPU" --profile office --buzzer 5 --brightness 10

List available profiles:

python3 scripts/send_message.py --list-profiles

Direct Connection (Ad-hoc)

python3 scripts/send_message.py "Hello World" --ip 192.168.1.100 --user admin --pass msgboard
python3 scripts/send_message.py "Test" --profile main --ip 192.168.1.101  # Override IP

Alerts & Notifications

python3 scripts/send_message.py "ALERT: System Failure" --profile main --buzzer 10 --brightness 15 --delay 20

Configuration Options

Available Chirps

Stop Display

python3 scripts/send_message.py "" --profile main

Troubleshooting

• Status 204: The board returns HTTP 204 on success. This is normal.
• Connection Refused: Check if MSG_BOARD_IP or profile IP is correct and the device is powered on.
• Profile not found: Use --list-profiles to see available profiles.
• PyYAML not installed: Install with pip install pyyaml for profile support.
• Cannot load profiles: Ensure boards.yaml exists (copy from boards.yaml.sample) and has valid YAML syntax.