ServerStats

ServerStats is a small server-monitor display project built around:

• a Flask web app that serves live system stats and a layout editor
• a Waveshare e-paper display client that fetches those stats and renders them

The web UI lets you move text around and change text size. The display process reads that saved layout and uses it on the Waveshare screen.

Files

Main files in this project:

• server.py: Flask app with /stats, /layout, and the web editor
• Display.py: Waveshare display renderer
• layout.json: saved positions and font sizes
• templates/index.html: web UI
• static/app.js: web editor logic
• static/styles.css: web editor styles
• fonts/: bundled DejaVu fonts used by the display renderer

Install

Clone the repo:

git clone https://github.com/Ryanwires/ServerStats.git
cd ServerStats

Install Python packages:

pip3 install -r requirements.txt

If you are using Debian or Raspberry Pi OS, also install the DejaVu system fonts so Pillow can render scalable text cleanly:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y fonts-dejavu-core

Run Manually

Start the web server:

cd ~/ServerStats
python3 server.py

Open the editor in a browser:

http://<server-ip>:5000/

Start the Waveshare display process:

cd ~/ServerStats
python3 Display.py

Web UI

The web UI lets you:

• drag text to move it
• type exact X and Y positions
• change text size
• save the layout back into layout.json

The preview also uses live values from /stats, so it should stay closer to what the real screen is showing.

Startup on Boot

If you want the web server and display process to start automatically after reboot, use systemd.

1. Web Server Service

Create:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/serverstats-web.service

Paste:

[Unit]
Description=ServerStats Web UI
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=ryan
WorkingDirectory=/home/ryan/ServerStats
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /home/ryan/ServerStats/server.py
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

2. Display Service

Create:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/serverstats-display.service

Paste:

[Unit]
Description=ServerStats Waveshare Display
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=ryan
WorkingDirectory=/home/ryan/ServerStats
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /home/ryan/ServerStats/Display.py
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

3. Enable and Start

Reload systemd, enable both services, and start them:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable serverstats-web.service
sudo systemctl enable serverstats-display.service
sudo systemctl start serverstats-web.service
sudo systemctl start serverstats-display.service

4. Check Status

systemctl status serverstats-web.service
systemctl status serverstats-display.service

5. View Logs

journalctl -u serverstats-web.service -f
journalctl -u serverstats-display.service -f

Updating

Pull the latest code:

cd ~/ServerStats
git pull
pip3 install -r requirements.txt

Then restart the services:

sudo systemctl restart serverstats-web.service
sudo systemctl restart serverstats-display.service

Notes

• The web server normally runs on port 5000.
• Display.py currently points at:

SERVER = "http://192.168.1.227:5000/stats"
LAYOUT_URL = "http://192.168.1.227:5000/layout"

If your server IP changes, update those values in Display.py.

• If text size on the e-paper display does not change, make sure:
  • the new layout.json was saved from the web UI
  • Display.py was restarted
  • DejaVu fonts are installed

Typical Setup

Common setup for this project:

1. server.local runs server.py
2. 02w.local runs Display.py
3. The browser opens http://server.local:5000/
4. The display process fetches stats and layout from server.local