Introduction

asterctl usage
Linux shell control commands without using asterctl

Motivation

Developing open client software to use the embedded second screen on various Linux distributions. It might also work on Windows, but I neither have that OS, nor plan to install it.

The official proprietary AOOSTAR-X display software is not suitable for NAS and security-minded users:

All-in-one solution that attempts to do everything, from sensor reading to running a web server for control and configuration (exposed on all interfaces!).
I prefer using existing monitoring tools and combining them to my liking.
Resource hungry, written in Python. Archive of v1.3.4 is 178 MB.
Closed source, requires root access, distributed over filesharing sites, some without HTTPS.
Built-in expiration date. One must regularly update the software without being able to verify the source.
Many untranslated messages in Chinese and missing instructions for included features.

The display remains on continuously (24×7) if the official software is not running.

Goals

Reverse engineer the LCD serial protocol to provide open screen software.
- Utilize the official AOOSTAR-X display software by sniffing USB communication, using strace, and decompiling the Python app.
Document known commands so clients in other programming languages can be written.
Eventually, publish a Rust crate for easy integration into other Rust applications.

Out of scope:

Reverse engineering the microcontroller firmware on the display board.
That would be an interesting task — potentially uncovering additional display commands — but is outside the project's current scope.
Reimplementing the full AOOSTAR-X display software, which is overly complex for most use cases.

Development

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

License

Licensed under either of

at your option.