Fake Viewport

Tired of refreshing the Unifi store only to see the Viewport out of stock? Me too. So I created a $30 alternative using a Dell Wyse Thin Client and this script. The script will automatically and remotely launch the Protect Live View of your choosing, handle login if the session expires, recover from temporary connection issues, and resolve random webpage hiccups.

Jump	🗃️ Download	❓ How To Use	💭 Why Choose This?	🎉 Latest Release
🌐 API	📋 Changelog	🚀 Updating	❌ Uninstall	🖼️ Showcase

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Features

• Automatically handles login expiration and reconnects.
• Detects offline status and reloads as needed.
• Restarts browser if unresponsive.
• Hides UI elements and cursor for clean display.
• Robust error handling and logging.
• Customizable via config.ini.
• Easy setup with setup.sh.
• Logs to logs/viewport.log.
• Compatible with Firefox, Chrome and Chromium
• Optional API for remote monitoring and control.

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Requirements

Hardware:

• Dell Wyse Thin Client, NUC, Raspberry Pi, or similar Linux-capable device.

Software:

• Debian-based Linux.
• Firefox, Chrome, or Chromium.
• Python 3.
• (Optional) SSH for remote access.

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Installation

1. Clone the Repository

   Clone the repo or download your chosen tar.gz file from the latest release.

   git clone https://github.com/Samuel1698/fakeViewport.git
   cd fakeViewport

2. Optional: Minimize the directory

   If you cloned the repository or got the full version of the tar.gz file, you can save space and de-clutter the directory by running the minimize.sh script. It will remove all test and development files, .md files, and github specific files while leaving the script fully functional.

   ./minimize.sh

3. Run Setup

   ./setup.sh

   Follow the prompt to reload your shell (source ~/.bashrc or source ~/.zshrc).

4. Configure .env

   Edit .env with your credentials and Protect Live View URL.

   If you wish to select a different Live View layout than the default, notice that the url changes when you switch. Use the appropriate url in this file to launch your preferred view.

   USERNAME=YourLocalUsername
   PASSWORD=YourLocalPassword
   URL=http://192.168.100.100/protect/dashboard/multiviewurl
   # Optional:
   FLASK_RUN_HOST=0.0.0.0
   FLASK_RUN_PORT=5000
   SECRET=jgrkJvmTmCrF9Utt2dGAOS158Nh-sBoB_OykkAcjsh0

   @@ I strongly recommend using a Local Account for this @@

   The FLASK_RUN_HOST, FLASK_RUN_PORT and SECRET are optional. Feel free to delete them if you're not using the API.

5. Configure the config.ini file

   Open the config.ini file and check what options there are available for customization of how the script runs.

   The script will default to using Chrome for Profile Path and Browser Binary. If you are okay with this, you do not need to change those variables in the config file. Still, might be useful to go through this step to make sure the script executes the browser from the correct path.

   Chrome or Chromium

   Navigate to chrome://version/ and check the Profile Path. It should say something along the lines of:

   /home/your-user/.config/chromium/Default.

   Drop the Default and copy the parent folder, in this case it would be /home/your-user/.config/chromium/. That path goes in your BROWSER_PROFILE_PATH= config.

   Next, look for Command Line in chrome://version/ and copy the executable path without the --flags. For instance: /usr/lib/chromium/chromium or /usr/bin/google-chrome-stable and paste it next to BROWSER_BINARY=.

   Firefox

   Navigate to about:support, copying the Profile Folder path as well as the Application Binary path into BROWSER_PROFILE_PATH= and BROWSER_BINARY=, dropping the Default and the --flags as well.

   This is how that might look like:

   # Firefox
   BROWSER_PROFILE_PATH=/home/your-user/.mozilla/firefox/
   BROWSER_BINARY=/usr/lib/firefox-esr/firefox-esr
   # Chromium
   BROWSER_PROFILE_PATH=/home/your-user/.config/chromium/
   BROWSER_BINARY=/usr/lib/chromium/chromium
   # Chrome | This is what the script will default to if unchanged
   BROWSER_PROFILE_PATH=/home/your-user/.config/google-chrome/
   BROWSER_BINARY=/usr/bin/google-chrome-stable

6. Test and Run

   viewport -h

   Expected Output:

   

   This command will validate the variables you have in your .env and config.ini files.

   viewport -d

   Start the script using the following command:

   viewport

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Usage

• Run in background:

  viewport -b

• Show status:

  viewport -s

• Stop script:

  viewport -q

• Pause health checks:

  viewport -p

• View logs:

  viewport -l 10

• If alias doesn't work, run:

  venv/bin/python3 viewport.py

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Update

If you're running an older version of the script, the easiest way to update is through the Dashboard. An Update button will appear (see API), read the Changelog for any possible breaking changes, and click the Update button.

Note that updating through the Dashboard will also run the minimize.sh script and remove all the developmental/test files.

Updating manually takes opening a console, or using ssh to the machine and running git pull inside the fakeViewport directory. If you downloaded a release manually, you can grab the latest version and unzip it over your current directory.

Any breaking changes will be clearly marked with a 💥 in the release notes and changelog, along with instructions on how to transition from the old version.

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Uninstalling

If you wish to remove all the files and changes this script makes, run the uninstall.sh script. Make sure you do run it in the fakeViewport directory.

It does the following:

• Removes cron job if present
• Removes alias entry in the .bashrc/.zshrc files
• Removes Desktop shortcut if present
• Removes all files from the directory except .env (in case you want a fresh re-install and want to keep the credentials and url saved.)

./uninstall.sh

Because this script executes in a child shell, it cannot reload the parent shell, and the alias persists. Manually type: unalias viewport after running the uninstall script.

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API

• Enable in config.ini with USE_API=True.

• Start API:

  viewport -a

• Access via browser: http://[device IP]:5000

• Set SECRET in .env for authentication.

Generate a SECRET key using this:

python3 - <<EOF
import secrets
print(secrets.token_urlsafe(32))
EOF

Dashboard:

^{Button will flash blue and yellow when there's an update available}

Endpoints

These endpoints display raw data, meant to be integrated into a third party tool like HomeAssistant or Rainmeter.

-- ======================================================================
--  Viewport REST API – route catalogue
--  Conventions
--      • All routes answer with JSON: {"status": <"ok" | "error">, ...}
--      • 200 on success, 4xx/5xx on error unless noted.
--      • Timestamps are ISO-8601 local time.
--      • Uptimes are seconds. Data is shown in Bytes. 
-- ======================================================================

-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- GET /api
-- Description   List every available endpoint.
-- Response
-- {
--   "status": "ok",
--   "data": [
--     "/api/config",
--     "/api/logs",
--     ...
--   ]
-- }
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------

-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- GET /api/config
-- Description   Current runtime configuration.
-- Response
-- {
--   "status": "ok",
--   "data": {
--     "browser": {
--       "binary_path": "/usr/bin/google-chrome",
--       "profile_path": "/home/user/.config/chrome",
--       "headless": false
--     },
--     "general": {
--       "health_interval_sec": 30,
--       "max_retries": 3,
--       "next_restart": "2025-06-06 03:00:00" | null,
--       "restart_times": [ "03:00", "15:00" ] | null,
--       "wait_time_sec": 10,
--     },
--     "logging": {
--       "ERROR_PRTSCR": false,
--       "debug_logging": false,
--       "error_logging": true,
--       "log_console_flag": true,
--       "log_days": 7,
--       "log_file_flag": true,
--       "log_interval_min": 60,
--     }
--   }
-- }
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------

-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- GET /api/logs
-- GET /api/logs?limit=<N>
-- Description   Tail the script log (default N = 100).
-- Response
-- {
--   "status": "ok",
--   "data": {
--     "logs": [
--       "[2025-06-05 17:52:48] API started successfully",
--       ...
--     ]
--   }
-- }
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------

-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- GET /api/status
-- Description   One-shot health snapshot produced by the script.
-- Response
-- {
--   "status": "ok",
--   "data": {
--     "status":       "Feed Healthy"
--   }
-- }
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------

-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- GET /api/system_info
-- Description   Host statistics.
-- Response
-- {
--   "status": "ok",
--   "data": {
--     "cpu": {  
--             "cores": 8, 
--             "percent": 12.5, 
--             "threads": 16
--            },
--     "disk_available":  "123.4G",
--     "hardware_model":  "NUC12WSKi7",
--     "memory": { 
--             "percent": 19.3, 
--             "total": 16618045440, 
--             "used": 2780758016 
--             },
--     "network": {
--       "eth0": {
--         "download":    1234.18471531050941,
--         "upload":      3537.10995406011205,
--         "total_download": 67134056,
--         "total_upload": 15068848,
--         "interface": "eth0"
--       },
--       "primary_interface": {
--         "download":    1234.18471531050941,
--         "upload":      3537.10995406011205,
--         "total_download": 67134056,
--         "total_upload": 15068848,
--         "interface": "eth0"
--       },
--     },
--     "os_name":   "Debian 12 (bookworm)",
--     "system_uptime": 86400.388867378235
--   }
-- }
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------

-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- GET /api/update
-- Description   Version comparison.
-- Response
-- {
--   "status": "ok",
--   "data": {
--     "current": "1.3.2",
--     "latest":  "1.4.0"
--   }
-- }
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------

-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- GET /api/update/changelog
-- Description   Raw markdown changelog of the latest release.
-- Response
-- {
--   "status": "ok",
--   "data": {
--     "changelog": "# 1.4.0\n\n* Added feature X\n* Fixed bug Y\n..."
--     "release_url": "https://github.com.../releases/latest"
--   }
-- }
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------

-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- GET /api/script_uptime
-- Description   Script-level uptime in seconds.
-- Response (running)
-- {
--   "status": "ok",
--   "data": {
--     "running": true,
--     "uptime": 345.67 | null
--   }
-- }
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------

-- End of route catalogue

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Why Choose This?

Because this script simply displays the live view on a webpage, it has several advantages to running it over a TV App or even a real Viewport. Below is a comparison of it's advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages

• Vintage Point Support - Display several consoles' cameras in a single view.
• Enhanced Encoding - Native TV Apps are slow to adapt enhanced encoding, but firefox supports it on Linux.
• Cost Effective - Less than $50 total as opposed to $100-$200+
• 4K Streaming - Some native TV Apps cannot display 4K cameras.
• WiFi Compatible - Viewport requires wired connection.
• No Vendor Lock-in - AppleTV requires an AppleID to use.
• Local & Private - No cloud dependency; runs entirely on your local network.
• 360 Camera Support - Protect Viewport does not support de-warping 360 camera feeds into separate views.

Limitations

• Initial Setup Required – More configuration than plug-and-play alternatives
• Larger Footprint – Slightly bulkier than some devices (but easily hidden behind a TV/monitor)
• Requires internet access at least once - If you want to run it locally you must have internet access once when running the script to download the drivers to control the browser.

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Showcase

^{viewport -s output}

^{Initial install behind TV}

^{Setup at my parent's house—blurred for privacy}

^{Dashboard Login Page | Light Theme}

^{Control Panel | Status Tab | Dark Theme}

^{Control Panel | Device Tab | Light Theme}

^{Control Panel | Desktop View | Dark Theme}

^{Control Panel | Desktop Config Tab | Dark Theme}

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Notes

• The thin clients used in this setup only have DisplayPort outputs. Ensure your monitor or TV supports DisplayPort, or use a compatible adapter.
• The tested Thin Clients do not include built-in WiFi antennas. However, you can use a USB WiFi adapter to connect wirelessly. Some thin clients do include wifi.
• If you use the machine for things other than just a viewport display, make sure you do your other internet browsing in a different browser than the script uses. The browser window it launches is very limited and stripped of functionality (for better resource management), and the script will kill all other instances of the same browser when resurrecting itself.

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