Trying to get fullscreen Iceweasel/Chromium on Raspian Lite

[DanTup]

I have a Raspain Jessie Lite install and I'm trying to add a fullscreen browser. I'm trying to avoid the overhead of a window manager/DE if possible (not really because of resources, but just maintenance, accidentally switching to desktop, securing it, etc.).

I've managed to get Iceweasel working fairly simply by just installing iceweasel and x-window-system and calling "startx iceweasel".

However, there are two issues:

1. It doesn't use up the full screen (the console I launched it from did!)
2. The iceweasel menus don't work

1 is a deal-breaker, but 2 is not critical. I'll be disappointed if I need to start installing window managers when it feels like I'm 95% there and it's just the window size that's bad (note: the cursor can be moved outside of the iceweasel window, and shows a black X; so the resolution etc. output from the Pi is all good).

Any thoughts? Seems like a browser-only install is a common desire, but most people seem to be running full DEs and just making it auto-start, which doesn't seem like the best option for a kiosk (or in my case, kids, who manage to press every possible key combination and then end up stuck unable to get back to their stuff!).

[Rive]

I though jessie lite was meant to be used headless (without monitor/GUI)?

Why not just use full jessie?

[DanTup]

I though jessie lite was meant to be used headless (without monitor/GUI)?

Why not just use full jessie?

It is; but since all I really want is headless plus a tiny use of a fullscreen browser; I thought it'd be better to start with Lite and add the browser than get the full phat version (which has all sorts of crap installed, like an IDE and sample projects!). The browser part is for same JavaScript games I built for the kids, and on my Chromebook they keep dropping out to console windows and all sorts, so having something running nothing but the browser is a much better solution (as it would be for a real kiosk), so it seems worth putting a little effort in to try and make it work that way

[fruitoftheloom]

I though jessie lite was meant to be used headless (without monitor/GUI)?

Why not just use full jessie?

It is; but since all I really want is headless plus a tiny use of a fullscreen browser; I thought it'd be better to start with Lite and add the browser than get the full phat version (which has all sorts of crap installed, like an IDE and sample projects!). The browser part is for same JavaScript games I built for the kids, and on my Chromebook they keep dropping out to console windows and all sorts, so having something running nothing but the browser is a much better solution (as it would be for a real kiosk), so it seems worth putting a little effort in to try and make it work that way

??????????? https://webconverger.org/rpi2/

[DanTup]

??????????? https://webconverger.org/rpi2/

Interesting! I've run out of SD cards but have more on the way; will give this a go when they arrive

In the meantime, I've managed to get it working thanks to this post. It means modifying the firefox profile (which means loading it first, so it becomes hard to add to my Pi setup script) and setting the exact size, but it works!

[thermo]

I think the reason iceweasel is not full screen is because it is showing the default window size. As you haven't got a window manager you don't have the option to maximize the window with the mouse. You can try pressing F11 to maximize the window.

I think you will need a window manager to get the menus working. This is one possibility:
https://mike632t.wordpress.com/2015/05/ ... te-jessie/

[DanTup]

I think the reason iceweasel is not full screen is because it is showing the default window size. As you haven't got a window manager you don't have the option to maximize the window with the mouse. You can try pressing F11 to maximize the window.

I think you will need a window manager to get the menus working. This is one possibility:
https://mike632t.wordpress.com/2015/05/ ... te-jessie/

F11 didn't work, just hides the browser chrome but made it no bigger. I tried MATE, but you can't even open the start menu without a mouse on a default install so I quickly lost faith in that!

I think what I have no will work, but I might investigate a lightweight window manager if I hit issues (like needing to get into menus etc.!)

[thermo]

You could add iceweasel to the startup applications, so it starts automatically.

[hansgerm]

I want to use the Raspberry too as a "console" for browser games. My problem is that the performance with javascript games is very poor. How did you solve this problem, DanTup?

[DanTup]

I want to use the Raspberry too as a "console" for browser games. My problem is that the performance with javascript games is very poor. How did you solve this problem, DanTup?

So far I've only played two things:
1. Cards Against Humanity via airconsole.com
2. Very simple javacsript spelling game I wrote for the kids

I've also switched to Chromium, which I suspect will perform better than Firefox.

I'm hoping to tidy up my scripts and blog what I did to set it up; but I've been really busy lately

[DougieLawson]

I want to use the Raspberry too as a "console" for browser games. My problem is that the performance with javascript games is very poor. How did you solve this problem, DanTup?

Which model? Get a RPi3B and install Chromium and you have a very capable machine for £35, although it's nothing like as fast as my Win10 Intel i5 laptop that cost ten times the price (£350).

[Bairdjj]

I know this thread is a little old but I just got this working well chromium for a project at work I hope this helps others.

Requirements:
* Any Raspberry Pi 2 or 3
* Raspbian Jessie Lite image
* SD / microSD card (At least 2GB or higher.)
* Keyboard and Mouse
* Monitor
* Internet connection

Part 1 – Prep The Base
1. Download the latest Raspbian Lite image.
2. Burn Raspbian Image to SD card
3. Insert the SD / microSD card into the Pi.
4. Connect the Pi to the Internet
5. Connect your Monitor and input devices.
6. Turn on the Pi and log in. The username is pi and the password is raspberry.
7. Expand the file system, set overscan to disable and configure internationalization settings which include language, keyboard layout, and regional settings. Type in:

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sudo raspi-config

8. Once settings are done and file system is expanded Reboot Pi:

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sudo reboot

9. Log into the PI again and update all files. Type in:

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sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

10. Reboot the Pi by typing in:

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sudo reboot

Part 2 – Add Needed Packages

* Auto Log-in: nodm
* X command Line : xinit
* Ttf fonts for browser: ttf-mscorefonts-installer
* Auto X start: simple .xsession script
* Window Manager: matchbox
* Browser: Chromium (this will probably work with any browser)

1. Add apt-get repository just in case. Type in:

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sudo apt-get install –y software-properties-common python-software-properties

2. To install the packages we need, Type in:

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sudo apt-get install –y nodm matchbox-window-manager xinit ttf-mscorefonts-installer

3. To install Chromium on Raspbian Jessie, follow these procedures from Krusti8:
viewtopic.php?t=121195

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wget -qO - http://bintray.com/user/downloadSubjectPublicKey?username=bintray | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb http://dl.bintray.com/kusti8/chromium-rpi jessie main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo apt-get update

4. To proceed with the chromium install we need to make a repair to the keyring (Thanks to GhostRaider for supplying the fix)

Sometimes when doing sudo apt-get-update or some similar command, you may get an error saying:
W: GPG Error: SOMEWEBADDRESS: The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY SOMENUMBER

This is a simple fix. In Terminal, type in:

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sudo apt-get install –y debian-keyring

5. Open Terminal as ROOT. Type in:

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sudo –i

6. Then in the Terminal, type in:

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gpg --keyserver keys.gnupg.net --recv-key SOMENUMBER	
      gpg -a --export SOMENUMBER | sudo apt-key add –

7. Reboot the PI Type in:

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sudo reboot

8. Install Chromium Browser, Type in:

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sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install –y chromium-browser

Part 3 – Finalizing the kiosk

1. Start nodm at boot and configure the user that will log in. Type in:

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sudo nano /etc/default/nodm

2. Change settings in file to the following:

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NODM_ENABLED=true
	NODM_USER=pi

3. Create the new .xsession file in the home directory. Type in:

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sudo nano /home/pi/.xsession

4. Write in the following code:

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#!/bin/bash
	
        #Turn off Power saver and Screen Blanking
	xset s off -dpms

	#Execute window manager for full screen
	exec matchbox-window-manager  -use_titlebar no &

	#Execute Browser with options
	chromium-browser --noerrdialogs --kiosk --incognito http://www.typeinyouraddress.com

5. Configure your network settings. Type in:

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sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf – for Ethernet
	sudo nano /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf  -for wireless

6. Add the following to the bottom:

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(For Ethernet)
	interface eth0
	static ip_address=192.168.1.101/24
	static routers=192.168.1.1
	static domain_name_servers=192.168.1.1

	(For Wireless)
	network={
	      ssid=”ESSID”
	      psk=”your_wifi_password”
	}

7. Clean up for good measure Type in:

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sudo apt-get autoremove

Optional from eternaltyro

1. Open /boot/cmdline.txt and do the following changes: (without the quotes of course)

* Locate the section that says “console=tty1? and make it “console=tty4“. This pushes the logs to the fourth virtual terminal
* Add a space in the end and add “loglevel=3“. This sets the severity of the logging level to “warning and above”.
* Add a space in the end of the line and add “logo.nologo“. Hides the little raspberry fruit logo.


Thanks to all contributions for helping me figure this out

https://blog.qruizelabs.com/2014/04/29/ ... hbox-uzbl/

viewtopic.php?f=66&t=133691

viewtopic.php?t=121195