This is a quick reference for running Ubuntu Frame on a device.
Setup your device
You need either Ubuntu Core or a version of Linux supporting snaps.
- Setting up Ubuntu Core is described in Get Ubuntu for IoT
- Setting up snapd on other versions of Linux is described in Installing snapd
Follow the instructions to install Ubuntu Core/snapd and ssh into your device.
Install Ubuntu Frame
You should now have a command prompt reading something like <your‑user>@yourdevice:~$. Now install Ubuntu Frame with the following command:
$ snap install ubuntu-frame
If you are using Ubuntu Core, you can skip this next step. On other versions of Linux, Ubuntu Frame does not start by default. To change this default run the following command:
$ snap set ubuntu-frame daemon=true
Once Ubuntu Frame starts the display should show a graduated grey screen. This is the default Ubuntu Frame wallpaper. This can be changed using the “config” snap configuration option:
$ snap set ubuntu-frame config="
wallpaper-top=0x92006a
wallpaper-bottom=0xdd4814
"
The wallpaper-top and wallpaper-bottom are RGB values. There are a lot of configuration options to control the kiosk display, but they are all set using config and display (more details in REFERENCE.md)
Install a Web Kiosk
Still in your ssh session, install web kiosk:
$ snap install wpe-webkit-mir-kiosk
If you are using Ubuntu Core, you can skip this next step. On other versions of Linux, wpe-webkit-mir-kiosk does not start by default. To change this default run the following command:
$ snap connect wpe-webkit-mir-kiosk:wayland
$ snap set wpe-webkit-mir-kiosk daemon=true
Once installed and configured the display should show the WPE website.
The website can be changed using the “url” snap configuration option:
$ snap set wpe-webkit-mir-kiosk url=https://mir-server.io
$ snap start wpe-webkit-mir-kiosk
This will show the Mir Server website.
Next steps
For more detail about running and configuring Ubuntu Frame, and for resources to help build your own snaps to work with it see REFERENCE.md.