Table of Contents

Get started

YouTube Video - Getting Started with PepperDash Essentials

Get a CPZ

Prerequisites

Note: Essentials 3.x targets .NET 8 (net8) and runs on 4-series processors and VC-4. The .NET 9 SDK is needed because the test projects target net9.0

Build From Source

  1. Clone the repo: git clone https://github.com/PepperDash/Essentials.git. The default branch, essentials-3x, is Essentials v3
  2. Open the folder in VS Code
  3. Build using the dotnet CLI: dotnet build
  4. The CPZ (PepperDashEssentials.<version>.net8.cpz) is written to src/PepperDash.Essentials/bin/Debug/net8/ and copied to the output folder at the repo root

Download the latest release

Essentials v3 builds are published as pre-releases (tags v3.0.0-rc.*) on Github. Download the PepperDashEssentials.<version>.net8.cpz asset. The release marked "Latest" is the 2.x line.

How to Get Started

  1. Using an SFTP client or Crestron Toolbox, load the downloaded (or built) cpz to the processor in program slot 1. On VC-4, add the cpz as a program and create a room for it in the VC-4 web interface.
    1. If using SFTP, connect via SSH and start the program by sending console command progload -p:1
  2. On first boot, the Essentials Application will build the necessary configuration folder structure (ir, sgd, plugins and joinmaps folders) in the /user/program1/ path. On VC-4 the path is the room's User/ folder.
  3. Copy a configuration file to the /user/program1/ folder. The file name must contain configurationFile and end in .json. Essentials v3 has no built-in room types, so a room in the configuration needs a room plugin in the plugins folder. For a complete working example that needs no hardware, see the Essentials v3 demo.
  4. Reset the program via console progreset -p:1. The program will load the configuration file.

Once Essentials is running, open Essentials Developer Tools in a browser at https://[processor-ip]/cws/debug/ to see its devices, config, routing and live log. Dev Tools is bundled in the release .cpz downloads; if you built Essentials yourself, load Dev Tools as described on that page.

The following console commands also show what's going on:

  • devlist:1
    • Print the list of devices in [{key}] {name} format
    • The key of a device can be used with the rest of the commands to get more information
  • devprops:1 {deviceKey}
    • Print the real-time property values of the device with key {deviceKey}.
  • devmethods:1 display-1
    • Print the public methods available for the device with key "display-1".
  • devjson:1 {"deviceKey":"display-1","methodName":"PowerOn", "params": []}
    • Call the method PowerOn() on the device with key "display-1".

Next: Standalone use

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