One Companion page (page 19, **"19 Status"**) that is solid green when everything is fine and **blinks red with the actual problem** ("HD3 NO DISK", "LIGHT PC MIDI LOST") when something needs attention. The page number key on every other page follows the same colour, so you see a problem from any page.
- **`status_panel.py`** — a watchdog that runs on NA Ingest as the LaunchAgent `org.waterschurch.status-panel`. Every second it reads Companion's connection statuses and module variables. It also checks what Companion can't see: network MIDI peers, Bonjour MIDI sessions, pings, launchd services, disk space, the Bible TV app, and whether the Resi cloud is reachable. It writes the result into one Companion custom variable.
| Solid dark red | Acknowledged. It stays red until the problem clears, then goes green. A new failure blinks again. |
| Amber | Warning: low disk, battery at 2 bars, RF interference, a device that keeps dropping out ("WING GONE x3"), a network blip in the last 3 minutes ("BLIP 10:21"). |
- **Press any button:** acknowledge its alarms (stops the blinking). Press **ALL** to acknowledge everything.
- **Hold a device button for 2 seconds:** restart that button's *Companion connection*. This is the fix for a connection stuck after a network blip. It only restarts Companion's side and never reboots the device.
- **ALARMS:** alarms are armed all the time (`service_windows` in `config.json`: every day, 00:00–23:59). Press ALARMS to mute the blinking, for example during maintenance. It re-arms itself at midnight.
The **page number key** on every page follows the ALL button. It's green when everything is fine, flashes red when something is wrong, and turns purple if the watchdog stops. UP and DOWN stay normal. Which keys follow ALL is `"nav_keys"` in `config.json` (`["pagenum"]`; add `"pageup"` / `"pagedown"` to colour those too). The coloured key is Companion's own key converted to a regular button (`nav_templates.json`).
- **Tap the page number:** go to the start page (page 1), as before. It now acts when you let go, not when you press.
- **Hold the page number for 1 second:** jump to the status page (page 19). The hold time is `"nav_hold_ms"` in `config.json`.
| HD1–HD6 | Companion connection; **NO DISK**; record time **LOW** (<30 min, amber) / **FULL** (<5 min); **NOT REC** when another deck is recording and this one isn't |
| | HD2 and HD4 are `"optional": true` in `config.json`: with no disk they sit grey with no alarm, and once a disk is in they are watched like the others. Add or remove `"optional": true` on any deck to change that. |
| TASCAM | connection; the recorder's own Error / Caution |
| DANTE | All 19 Dante devices ("19/19"), named when one drops: "WING GONE", "TRACKS GONE", "PROP MAC GONE". |
| MIDI | Lighting PC and SuperRack still joined to NA Ingest's network MIDI session; the Lighting PC and NA Tracks MIDI sessions still on the network. A clean disconnect shows within seconds; a crash or pulled cable takes about a minute (macOS's own timeout, measured). |
| APPS | ProPresenter API; Ableton OSC; tracks Mac pings; Bible TV app answering on :8080 (every 5 s); Bible TV OSC. Messages name the app ("PROPRES OFFLINE", "BIBLE APP DOWN"). Hold 2 s restarts the ProPresenter, Ableton and Bible TV Companion connections. |
| NET | NA Ingest's link; gateway 10.1.0.1 pings; **4+ connections from 3+ groups dropping within 10 s** (what happened Sunday 10/5 at 10:21) |
| INGEST | Resi bridge and lobby captions services running; ProdDash running; free disk |
| RF (group) | Shure connections; battery ≤1 bar red, 2 bars amber; RF interference (only while that transmitter is on); PSM RF muted |
A problem has to last 3 seconds before it shows, so one bad reading doesn't trigger an alarm. Recovery shows immediately.
## One-time Companion setup
1.**Variables → Custom Variables:** add three variables. Leave the start values empty and "persist" off:
-`sp_state`
-`sp_hb`
-`sp_cmd`
2.**Import / Export → Import:** choose `status-page.companionconfig` (it's on NA Ingest's Desktop) and import it into **page 19**. Page 19 is empty today.
3. Make sure the **flash_tick_500** trigger stays enabled. It's the blink clock.
## Changing things
This folder is the source of truth. Edit `config.json` here, then copy the folder to NA Ingest:
python3 status_panel.py --once # poll once and print every tile; writes nothing
python3 -m unittest discover -s tests # offline tests, no Companion or gear needed
zsh install.sh --remove # stop the watchdog
```
The log is `~/Library/Logs/status-panel.log` on NA Ingest. Every fault and clear is written there with a timestamp, which is handy for a post-service review.
## Optional: see what the tracks send to the lights
The TRACKS tile can show when the tracks rig last sent MIDI ("TRK MIDI 3s"). For that, NA Ingest has to *listen* to the "NA Tracks" session. Use a **separate** session so nothing Companion sends can reach Ableton:
1. On NA Ingest, open **Audio MIDI Setup → Window → Show MIDI Studio → Network** (the globe icon).
2. Under **My Sessions**, press **+**, rename the new session to `NA Ingest Listen`, and tick it to enable it.
3. With `NA Ingest Listen` selected, choose **NA Tracks** in the **Directory** and press **Connect**.
The watchdog picks it up within about 10 seconds. Until then that line just stays hidden.
The **LIGHT PC** tile can do the same in the other direction. If the lighting software can send a heartbeat note back to NA Ingest every few seconds, set `"max_silence_seconds": 10` on the LIGHT PC `midi_rx` check. The tile then goes amber if the lighting PC stops answering during service.
## Files
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `status_panel.py` | the watchdog |
| `coremidi.py` | reads network MIDI sessions and listens to MIDI sources (ctypes, no extra installs) |
| `config.json` | tiles, positions, checks, service windows |
| `make_page.py` | builds `status-page.companionconfig` from `config.json` |
| `install.sh` | installs or updates the LaunchAgent on NA Ingest |
