Monitoring and control
Table of contents
Monitoring and control options
Running MinimWatch
Controlling MinimServer using the minim icon
Controlling MinimServer using console commands
Controlling MinimServer using command scripting
Controlling MinimServer using the Web API
MinimWatch logging
Monitoring and control options
If you're running MinimServer in a Windows, Mac or Linux graphical desktop environment, you can monitor and control MinimServer using the minim icon that it displays. See the Controlling MinimServer using the minim icon section for information about using the MinimServer minim icon. Alternatively, if you're running MinimServer in a terminal window, you can monitor and control MinimServer using its console interface. See the Controlling MinimServer using console commands section for details of the available console commands.
You might not be able to monitor and control MinimServer by interacting with it directly. For example, you might be running MinimServer on a NAS with no user interface, or in a background Linux process with no interactive terminal input, or on a computer that isn't in a convenient location for you to access it directly. In all these situations, you can use MinimWatch to monitor and control MinimServer. The Running MinimWatch section gives details of how to install and run MinimWatch.
Running MinimWatch
MinimWatch provides a "remote control" capability for any instance of MinimServer running on your local metwork. MinimWatch provides a minim icon for use in a graphical desktop environment and a console interface for terminal interaction. With a few very minor differences, the MinimWatch icon and console interface work in exactly the same way as the MinimServer icon and console interface. See the Controlling MinimServer using the minim icon section for information about using the MinimWatch minim icon.
If you haven't already installed the MinimWatch distribution package on the computer that you want to use to run MinimWatch, see the Installing page for details of how to do this.
To start MinimWatch on Windows, select the Start Menu item for MinimWatch. Alternatively, you can double-click the MinimWatch desktop icon if you chose to create this during MinimServer installation.
To start MinimWatch on Mac, open the MinimWatch application.
To start MinimWatch on Linux, please refer to the Starting and stopping MinimWatch on Linux section.
On Windows or Mac, or if you're running Linux in a graphical desktop environment, MinimWatch will display a minim icon in the system tray or menu bar for each MinimServer instance running on another computer or NAS on your local network.
Note: Instances of MinimServer running on the same computer aren't displayed as MinimWatch icons. This would be confusing, because they're already displayed as MinimServer icons.
Alternatively, if you're running in a Linux "headless" environment with no graphical desktop, you'll get the MinimWatch console interface. This provides a command prompt for entering commands to control any MinimServer instance running on your local network, and it displays status messages from MinimServer instances. See the Controlling MinimServer using console commands section for details of the available console commands.
You can also control MinimServer using command scripting or the Web API. For more information, see Controlling MinimServer using command scripting and Controlling MinimServer using the Web API
Controlling MinimServer using the minim icon
This section describes how to monitor and control MinimServer using the minim icon on a computer that's running either MinimServer or MinimWatch.
On Windows or Mac, or if you're running Linux in a graphical desktop environment, you'll see a minim icon in the system tray or menu bar. You might see more than one minim icon if you've got more than one MinimServer instance running on your local network. The colour of the minim icon shows the status of the MinimServer instance:
- If the icon is yellow, MinimServer is starting
- If the icon is green (transparent on Mac), MinimServer is running normally
- If the icon is red, MinimServer has detected an error
- If the icon is white (pale blue on some versions of macOS), MinimServer is stopped
- If the icon is grey, no instances of MinimServer were detected
The minim icon has a pop-up menu for controlling the MinimServer instance that the icon represents, and it displays hover text and status messages to show you the current status of this MinimServer instance. To display this pop-up menu on Windows or Linux, right-click the minim icon. To display the menu on Mac, click the minim icon. The menu selections are as follows:
| Rescan | Rescans the library and restarts the stopped or running media server. If any of the media server's properties have been updated since the media server was last started, the updated property values will be used. The tray icon turns yellow while the media server is being stopped and restarted, then green (transparent on Mac) when startup completes successfully. |
| Properties | Shows a dialog with current properties for the media server. You can use the entry fields and buttons to update property values. See the MinimServer properties page for details. |
| Configure | Opens a browser tab or window containing the MinimServer configuration web page. |
| Show log | Shows the log window. The log is updated continuously in real time. |
| About | Shows a dialog with version and copyright information for the media server, together with information about the media server execution host. |
| Stop | Stops the media server without exiting the MinimServer application. The tray icon turns white (pale blue on some versions of macOS) when the media server is stopped. You can use the Properties selection to update the media server's properties, then use the Restart selection to restart the media server with the updated property values. |
| Restart | Restarts the stopped or running media server without rescanning the library. If any of the media server's properties have been updated since the media server was last started, the updated property values will be used. The tray icon turns yellow while the media server is being stopped and restarted, then green (transparent on Mac) when startup completes successfully. |
| Close | (MinimWatch only) Exits the remote MinimServer application. This removes the corresponding tray icon from MinimWatch. |
| Options | (MinimWatch only) Shows a submenu with options for configuring and managing MinimWatch. |
| Refresh | (MinimWatch only) Refreshes the status and tray icons of all remote media servers. |
| Exit | If selected from the MinimServer minim icon, exits the local MinimServer application and removes its minim icon. If selected from the MinimWatch minim icon, exits the local MinimWatch application and removes all minim icons for remote instances of MinimServer. |
Controlling MinimServer using console commands
This section describes how to monitor and control MinimServer using console commands on a computer that's running either MinimServer or MinimWatch.
If you're using the MinimServer or MinimWatch console interface,
you can enter the commands listed below. The MinimServer console interface allows
you to control the local instance of MinimServer that you started from this
terminal window. The MinimWatch console interface allows you to control any
local or remote MinimServer instance running on your local network. You can change
the MinimServer instance selected for control by using the select command.
| about | (MinimServer) Shows version and copyright information for the media server, together with information about its execution host and current status. (MinimWatch) Shows which media server is currently selected for control, followed by version and copyright information for this media server, together with information about its execution host and current status. |
| close | (MinimWatch only) Exits the remote MinimServer application. |
| exit | If entered at the MinimServer command prompt, exits the local MinimServer application. If entered at the MinimWatch command prompt, exits the local MinimWatch application without exiting any remote instances of MinimServer. |
| help | (or ?) Shows the list of available commands. |
| install p |
Installs package p.
|
| modules | Shows installed modules (with status). |
| packages | Shows installed packages (with status) and available packages. |
| profile | Shows active profile name. |
| profile create p | Creates new profile p using current settings and selects it. |
| profile delete p | Deletes profile p. |
| profile rename p n | Renames profile p to n. |
| profile reset | Resets active profile to default settings. |
| profile select p | Changes active profile to p. |
| profile show | Shows settings for active profile. |
| profile show p | Shows settings for profile p. |
| profiles | Shows available profile names. |
| prop n=v |
Sets the media server's property n to value v.
A multivalued property can be set by enclosing each value with {}. For example,
you can set property multiProp to multiple values a, b and c with the command
prop multiProp={a}{b}{c}.
See the Properties reference section for details of
available properties.
|
| props |
Shows the current properties for the media server.
A multivalued property is displayed with {} enclosing each value. For example,
a property multiProp with multiple values a, b and c would be displayed as
multiProp={a}{b}{c}.
See the Properties reference section for details of
available properties.
|
| refresh | (MinimWatch only) Shows the display names and status of all active media servers. |
| relaunch | Relaunches the runtime and applies pending package changes. |
| remove p |
Removes installed package p.
|
| rescan | Rescans the library and restarts the stopped or running media server. If any of the media server's properties have been updated since the media server was last started, the updated property values will be used. |
| restart | Restarts the stopped or running media server without rescanning the library. If any of the media server's properties have been updated since the media server was last started, the updated property values will be used. |
| select s |
(MinimWatch only) Selects media server s for control,
where s is the display name of an active media server.
You can see the display names of all active media servers by using
the refresh command. To select MinimWatch instead of a
media server, use the command select watch.
|
| sleep t |
Delays execution for s seconds. This can be useful
for scripting.
|
| stop |
Stops the media server without exiting the MinimServer application.
You can use the prop command to update the media server's properties,
then use the restart command to restart the media server with the
updated property values.
|
| undo p |
Undoes a pending change to installed package p.
|
| updates | Shows available updates for installed packages. |
Controlling MinimServer using command scripting
You can send scripted commands to MinimServer using the mscript
command. For details of how to do this, see the
Command scripting section.
Controlling MinimServer using the Web API
You can send commands to MinimServer using the Web API. For details of how to do this, see the Web API section.
MinimWatch logging
MinimWatch writes logging information to a log file. The MinimWatch log works in the same way as the MinimServer log (see MinimServer logging) except that you need to use the Options selection from the MinimWatch icon pop-up menu to view it.