enhancement: allow optional new install section for modules for automatic installation

[khassel]

I wrote the module MMM-ModInstall which checks for an install object beside the module config and does install the module if the module dir not exists.

Example:

let config = {
  modules: [
    {
      module: "MMM-ModInstall",
    },
    {
      module: "MMM-Flights",
      install: {
        url: "https://gitlab.com/khassel/MMM-Flights.git",
        branch: "",
        command: "",
        timeout: 300; // in sec.
      },
      config: {
        // module config ...
      },
    },
  ],
};

Problems with this approach

• you need to install MMM-ModInstall before you can use it (bad for automation)
• MMM-ModInstall must be the first module in modules section to install following modules

I think auto installation should be a feature of core mm. This would solve the above problems und the config.js would contain all values for (re)installing the modules.

It is an additional feature and will not break any existing stuff.

I would be happy to move the ~40 lines of code into mm core if accepted.

[sdetweil]

have you tried my mmm-config, auto discovery and config. add/remove from running(disable)
can differentiate between in config or not

the hard part is getting from github to modules folder
and then constructive config

[bugsounet]

Hi, @khassel

@sdetweil says: you are welcome to write in french and i will translate and still ask questions

So, now i will write only in French

---

Je ne suis pas d'accord d'avoir un installateur de module intégré à MagicMirror².
Personnellement, je ne pense pas que la base devrait assumer ce genre de technique. C'est à cela que sert l'écosystème tiers. (meme reaction qu'ici , je suis les regles)
Comme votre module MMM-ModInstall sert a ceci, c'est donc parfait :)

Je pense qu'il serait mieux de corriger les "derniers" bugs (calendar, weather, la suite de tests, ...) avant de coder des choses inutles (par exemple: #3682 )

Les fonctionnalitées comme la "mise a jour automatique" via updatenotification, les animations des modules et autres ne devraient plus être autorisé a etre codé dans MM²
Cela apporte que des bugs de plus dans le core du programme

donc l'auto-installation, je suis contre :(

@bugsounet

[sdetweil]

i think if we were going to do something here,

• we should use the 3rd party list as a catalog
• have an install button(if not already installed), (node helper does this step by reading the 3rd party list and matching names, insert button, not change UI with a rewrite again
• button fires module url and action to node_helper,
• does the clone/npm ..., xxx ( which does the batch components)
• then present a form for the config items(defaults set from module defaults)
• and saves it into config.js and
• offers to restart MagicMirror to activate that module

after start , continuing config/update is another problem

xxx I think is what your MMM-ModInstall module does
I think the info would come from the catalog)

or more simply, use the catalog and do the clone/npm
and restart mm for access to the module info by another part (like my MMM-Config does, in update mode, detecting changes to the modules folder)

that other part would take on config and continuing config.

[khassel]

@sdetweil

my intention is only to get things automated. I want to have a config.js with all informations needed to get mm running from scratch with only config.js, not more, no gui, there are other modules (MMM-Config, mmpm, ...) for this.

So having a config.js with the needed infos (mainly repo url) you could start mm with this and it will automatically start up without doing manual installs.

[bugsounet]

Je préfère me taire et plus rien dire.
Comme dans 99% des cas, vous ne m'écoutez pas :/
Donc faites comme vous voulez!

[sdetweil]

i like the idea but adding a new section to many no longer maintained modules makes it hard to get there.

many of the modules won't be visual or functional with the default values.. (our cal and weather are not),
so you started and .... nothing, or the dreaded Loading.....

I know a couple of authors that have had medical problems and will never be back, and don't have the capability to transfer ownership.

don't get me wrong, I want this too.. anyone use HomeAssistant Community Store (not to mention the integrations install......) , but HA has a strong UI base

[khassel]

i like the idea but adding a new section to many no longer maintained modules makes it hard to get there.

thats not the point, as a mm user I would become the ability to setup such an "automated" config.js for (nearly) every module. In 95% you have only to look up and insert the repo url and the rest works out of the box (using default branch and running npm install --omit=dev as default install command).

[KristjanESPERANTO]

The idea of only having to put my config.js into a fresh installation for it to work is tempting. This should work for all my modules.

"no longer maintained modules" should not stop us from introducing improvements. I'm also in favour of not bloating the core unnecessarily, but I think this is worth including.

Something like an app store or module store would of course also be great, but that is a separate topic which should be dealt with independently of this PR.

@bugsounet Sorry, I don't understand French.

[sdetweil]

@khassel , ok, so the idea is to insert a new module with JUST the URL info(for your module), so that your module can do the clone and install.

@KristjanESPERANTO do you save any of the info building the 3rd party list as json, name, description, url

[khassel]

@sdetweil

yes, example:

normal module config as we do it all the time:

    {
      module: "MMM-Flights",
      config: {
        // module config ...
      },
    },

now add a new section if you want it to be installed automatic, so it looks like:

    {
      module: "MMM-Flights",
      install: {
        url: "https://gitlab.com/khassel/MMM-Flights.git",
      },
      config: {
        // module config ...
      },
    },

You could do it with most modules including unmaintained ones ...

[KristjanESPERANTO]

@KristjanESPERANTO do you save any of the info building the 3rd party list as json, name, description, url

Yes, you can find it

• here https://github.com/KristjanESPERANTO/MagicMirror-3rd-Party-Modules/blob/main/docs/data/modules.json
• and here https://kristjanesperanto.github.io/MagicMirror-3rd-Party-Modules/data/modules.json

[sdetweil]

I decided to put action where my mouth is

new module installer
see
https://forum.magicmirror.builders/topic/19306/new-module-installer

[sdetweil]

that approach wouldn't work,
integrated into MMM-Config