vestaboard-go

A Go wrapper for the Vestaboard Read/Write API and VBML composition service.

Installation

go get github.com/jam941/vestaboard-go

Authentication

Generate an API token from the Vestaboard mobile or web app under Settings → Developer. Store it in an environment variable — never hardcode it.

Quick Start

import "github.com/jam941/vestaboard-go/vestaboard"

client := vestaboard.New(os.Getenv("VBOARD_TOKEN"))       // Flagship (6×22)
// client := vestaboard.NewNote(os.Getenv("VBOARD_TOKEN")) // Vestaboard Note (3×15)

API Reference

Reading the board

msg, err := client.GetMessage()
// msg.ID     — UUID of the current message
// msg.Layout — [][]int grid of character codes

Sending messages

Plain text — the simplest option, no layout control:

result, err := client.SendText("HELLO WORLD", false)

Raw character codes — full manual control over every cell:

layout := vestaboard.BoardLayout{
    {vestaboard.CharH, vestaboard.CharI, 0, 0, ...},
    // one []int per row
}
result, err := client.SendCharacters(layout, false)

Pass forced: true to either method to bypass configured quiet hours.

VBML composition

Format — convert a string to a board layout:

layout, err := client.FormatMessage("HELLO WORLD")

Compose — full VBML layout with alignment, positioning, props, and multi-component support:

layout, err := client.Compose(vestaboard.ComposeRequest{
    Components: []vestaboard.Component{
        {
            Template: "VESTABOARD",
            Style: &vestaboard.ComponentStyle{
                Justify: "center",
                Align:   "center",
            },
        },
    },
})

Board dimensions (style.height / style.width) are filled automatically from the client's board type — no manual configuration needed.

ComposeAndSend — compose and send in one call:

result, err := client.ComposeAndSend(vestaboard.ComposeRequest{
    Components: []vestaboard.Component{
        {Template: "{{title}}", Style: &vestaboard.ComponentStyle{Justify: "center"}},
        {Template: "{{subtitle}}"},
    },
    Props: map[string]string{
        "title":    "SCORE",
        "subtitle": "42 - 17",
    },
}, false)

Component options

Field	Type	Description
Template	string	Text with optional {{prop}} variables and {N} character codes
RawCharacters	[]int	Direct character code array, overrides Template
Style.Height	int	Component height in rows
Style.Width	int	Component width in columns
Style.Justify	string	left, right, center, justified
Style.Align	string	top, bottom, center, justified
Style.AbsolutePosition	*Position	Exact {X, Y} placement

Transitions

ti, err := client.GetTransition()
// ti.Transition      — current transition type
// ti.TransitionSpeed — current speed

ti, err = client.SetTransition(vestaboard.TransitionWave, vestaboard.SpeedGentle)

Available transitions: TransitionClassic, TransitionWave, TransitionDrift, TransitionCurtain
Available speeds: SpeedGentle, SpeedFast

Transitions are supported on Flagship and Vestaboard Note only, not Note Arrays.

Character codes

Named constants are provided for all supported characters:

Constant	Code	Character
CharSpace	0	(blank)
CharA	1	A
CharB	2	B
CharC	3	C
CharD	4	D
CharE	5	E
CharF	6	F
CharG	7	G
CharH	8	H
CharI	9	I
CharJ	10	J
CharK	11	K
CharL	12	L
CharM	13	M
CharN	14	N
CharO	15	O
CharP	16	P
CharQ	17	Q
CharR	18	R
CharS	19	S
CharT	20	T
CharU	21	U
CharV	22	V
CharW	23	W
CharX	24	X
CharY	25	Y
CharZ	26	Z
Char1	27	1
Char2	28	2
Char3	29	3
Char4	30	4
Char5	31	5
Char6	32	6
Char7	33	7
Char8	34	8
Char9	35	9
Char0	36	0
CharExclamation	37	!
CharAt	38	@
CharHash	39	#
CharDollar	40	$
CharLeftParen	41	(
CharRightParen	42	)
CharHyphen	44	-
CharPlus	46	+
CharAnd	47	&
CharEquals	48	=
CharSemicolon	49	;
CharColon	50	:
CharApostrophe	52	'
CharQuote	53	"
CharPercent	54	%
CharComma	55	,
CharPeriod	56	.
CharSlash	59	/
CharQuestion	60	?
CharHeart	62	♥
CharRed	63	(solid red)
CharOrange	64	(solid orange)
CharYellow	65	(solid yellow)
CharGreen	66	(solid green)
CharBlue	67	(solid blue)
CharPurple	68	(solid purple)
CharWhite	69	(solid white) there may be problems with this if used with local api
CharBlack	70	(solid black) there may be problems with this if used with local api
CharFilled	71	(filled) there may be problems with this if used with local api

Board types

Constant	Dimensions	Constructor
BoardFlagship	6 rows × 22 columns	vestaboard.New(token)
BoardNote	3 rows × 15 columns	vestaboard.NewNote(token)

Rate limiting

Vestaboard recommends no more than one message per 15 seconds to avoid dropped messages.

Running the example

VBOARD_TOKEN=your_token_here go run ./cmd/example/

Running tests

No API token required — tests use an in-process HTTP server.

go test ./vestaboard/...