The MagicMirror dashboard that I created does not load after I close and reopen Chrome unless I run “node serveronly” again.

ibo

I am new to this. I am testing MagicMirror on my Google Chrome browser (never had a Raspberry Pi, not yet).

Is that normal? Is there a way to have it permanently every time I open Chrome. Does that happen in a Raspberry Pi too or is it just because it is on the localhost:8080?

sdetweil

@ibo yes, NORMALLY, MM is a standalone thing, with its own browser built in… u close it, the app ends

serverOnly as you note, now splits the app into two parts…

if u are testing, learning,…

use npm start in a terminal window to start the standalone MM…
if u need to end it, ctrl-q on the mirror screen or ctrl-c in that terminal window

once u get further along you can use pm2 to manage keeping MM running…
(but if u ctrl-q the screen, pm2 will restart it immediately, thats its job!)

ibo

@sdetweil Thank you so much for your quick reply. Is that how it works in a Raspberry Pi too? What if I buy and restart the device? Will my dashboard disappear? Can I “save” my project somewhere so I run it again?
I am new to this and I am learning/testing before I get a Raspberry Pi.
Thanks again.

sdetweil

@ibo the project is saved on sd card, just like on disk on your pc…

What if I buy and restart the device

I don’t know what this means

I would use my installer… it sets up to start MM on boot using pm2…
see https://github.com/sdetweil/MagicMirror_scripts

thgmirror

Hi @ibo,
what about to install Rasbian and MagicMirror in a virtual machine under VirtualBox? You can make your first experiences without spending money and without waiting for delivery (if you prefer to buy a RasPi).

Thomas

sdetweil

@thgmirror for MagicMirror, u can install directly on windows. don’t need raspi…

virtualbox would be raspi intel, not arm.
I have it here under VMWare workstation,
along with Mac and Windows
(running ubuntu on desktop)

thgmirror

@sdetweil I have 3 Raspis:-) And don’t need to install MM on Windows.
But @ibo has no Raspi and can make his first steps “virtually”!

Thomas

ibo

@thgmirror Exactly! I wanted to understand MM before purchasing a Raspberry Pi. That’s why I wanted to “play” with it on Windows first.

sdetweil

@ibo I knew what you were doing…

ibo

@thgmirror Great idea. Going to YouTube now to learn how to do all that including the virtual machine.