Overview

This post is to go over the install and configuration of MagicMirror2 running on two monitors with a Raspberry Pi 4.

Step 1 - Install and configure Raspberry Pi

• Install your Raspberry Pi
• Configure the Raspberry Pi on initial boot
• Configure SSH
• Update packages system packages before we start the slew of installs sudo apt update and sudo apt full-upgrade
• (optional) Configure Wi-Fi

Step 2 - Install MagicMirror2

• Install_MagicMirror2
  • magicmirror as a service
  • Remember to ensure that electron processes running in magicmirror directory are also killed after a service stop ExecStopPost=killall /<PATH_TO_MAGICMIRROR>/node_modules/electron/dist/electron

Step 3 - Install and configure MagicMirror2 modules

• Now the fun/pain begins as you make the MagicMirror2 custom to you. Here are some of the modules that I went with as well as some helpful links and notes that came up

• openweather

  • openweather API key

• MMM-CalendarExt3

  • add events from your private icloud calendar to MagicMirror2
  • vdirsyncer install
  • Apple Application Password
  • vdirsyncer as a service timer
  • vdirsyncer as a service
  • vdirsyncer info related to caldav and carddav
  • vdirsyncer lesson learned - conflict resolution

• Google Traffic Times

  • GCP API Key
  • GCP API Key

• Air Quality Index

  • List of all cities. Yes this module does/can not do a list of stations

Step 4 - Dual Monitors

Running MagicMirror2 and having it span two monitors is a separate project and is not covered here. I wanted to separate the modules from one instance to another, so dual monitors just became dual MagicMirror2 instances.

• make a new directory to house this second MagicMirror2 instance. It cannot be inside your existing MagicMirror2 directory!
• install MagicMirror2 in this new directory. Link from Step 2! I do not recommend making a systemd service file until the second MagicMirror2 instance is running where you want it on the second monitor.
• note the orientation, position, and size of the secondary monitor
• convert that screen size (usually in inches) to pixels
• find and update the x value in the ./js/electron.js file with the pixel value
• function createWindow() { let electronSwitchesDefaults = ["autoplay-policy", "no-user-gesture-required"]; app.commandLine.appendSwitch(...new Set(electronSwitchesDefaults, config.electronSwitches)); let electronOptionsDefaults = { width: 800, height: 600, x: 1920, y: 0, darkTheme: true, webPreferences: { contextIsolation: true, nodeIntegration: false, zoomFactor: config.zoom }, backgroundColor: "#000000" };
• start/restart the new MagicMirror2 service with the cli npm run start
• now that the positioning is correct for the second instance, let’s make the systemd service file

Lessons learned

• RaspberryPi 4 with “2” Gb RAM is not ideal. Would recommend 4Gb RAM minimum.
• monitoring applications are encouraged since the RaspberryPi 4 with “2” Gb RAM will silent fail modules and restart them sporadically giving the illusion that everything is okay (or cron periodic service restarts)
• frequent updates get compounded as we are running two applications with their own modules
• if you have custom changes to modules and want to keep them, think of a deployment plan and get everything into github