Electron CPU usage

cowboysdude

Just my two cents but as people want more from the mirror then “You look Good” compliments and here’s the weather the pi is going to fall further behind.

Some of these modules are intensive and need the power to run…

SO many are looking into small computer boards, like myself, mini-itx with a real processor and memory. Mine also uses an SSD… so power and speed are good :)

rovarma

After performing a clean install of the MagicMirror on Raspbian Stretch I was also running into this issue: high CPU usage, stuttering in the UI when animations are playing, etc. I didn’t really expect the MagicMirror to perform well in the first place (since it’s browser-based) but this was worse than I expected, so I did some investigation. The problem is twofold:

The version of Electron (1.6.2) does not work on Stretch. Many users (including me) work around this by manually installing Electron 1.7.9, which does support Stretch. After this, the MagicMirror can be installed as normal (aside from some bugs in the install script, which I fixed locally) and will appear to work.
However: Electron 1.7.9 does not have support for hardware acceleration on the Raspberry Pi (1.6.2) does. So normal rendering will appear to work fine, but anything to do with animation (and alpha blending in particular) will slow to a crawl.

The solution is to use Raspbian Jessie for now and ignore Stretch until this is fixed in Electron.

Mykle1

@rovarma said in Electron CPU usage:

The solution is to use Raspbian Jessie for now and ignore Stretch until this is fixed in Electron.

This has already been determined in the contents of this topic. The combination of Pi, OS and Electron versions for best performance is clearly stated above and has solved the CPU issue for many users since this topic started 3 months ago. :-)

TheBogueRat

I gave up on MM2 last year because of how bad the transitions looked. Recently I had need of something like MM and decided to try again and had the same CPU load and terrible transitions until I found this thread.

With the latest Raspbian Stretch, MM2, and a downgrade of electron to 1.4.15 it works far better. Barely a spike on the CPU meter.

This thread is far too long. Considering the impact of this solution, it really should be in the FAQ on github. The only reason I even noticed this thread is due to the weekly Email summary.

Mykle1

@TheBogueRat said in Electron CPU usage:

This thread is far too long.

If it were shorter then the results may never have come to light and many other users like yourself may have given up due to the CPU issue

Considering the impact of this solution, it really should be in the FAQ on github.

Perhaps, but I have nothing to do with such things. I’m just an old dude that wanted to know what was causing the issue and with the help of some fine people I think we did just that. However, I do appreciate the recognition and thank you on behalf of everyone that participated in the testing.

MichMich

For anyone running into this issue, run the following command from your MagicMirror folder:

 npm install electron@1.4.15

bhepler

One more data point: The Pi behind my office mirror was doing okay, until I enabled the MMM-Snow module. Short version is that I had to downgrade Electron to 1.4.15 but now it’s running pretty well with 50 snowflakes.

schlachtkreuzer6

@MichMich


> electron@1.4.15 postinstall /home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/electron
> node install.js

magicmirror@2.1.3 /home/pi/MagicMirror
├── electron@1.4.15  invalid
└── UNMET PEER DEPENDENCY stylelint@7.13.0 invalid

npm WARN grunt-stylelint@0.9.0 requires a peer of stylelint@^8.0.0 but none was installed.
npm WARN stylelint-config-recommended@1.0.0 requires a peer of stylelint@^8.0.0 but none was installed.
npm WARN stylelint-config-standard@17.0.0 requires a peer of stylelint@^8.0.0 but none was installed.

bhepler

@schlachtkreuzer6 I had the same error when I downgraded. However, it did install and I am able to run the Magic Mirror process. I am getting a temperature warning. I’ll experiment a bit to see if I can narrow that down.

schlachtkreuzer6

@bhepler Yeah funny!
But you´re right. It install electron and the temperature sinks from 82-85°C to 52-55°C and the animations are smooth. Only the error massage is strange!

bhepler

@schlachtkreuzer6 Technically, they’re not error messages. They’re warnings. If they become serious, then they will be promoted to errors.

Tourpe

@MichMich Got a similar issue as reported by @schlachtkreuzer6, unfortunately I now have a black screen when starting. Logs show “WARNING! Could not load config file. Starting with default configuration. Error found: Error: Module version mismatch. Expected 50, got 54”. Any suggest on how to revert?

Update: Managed to successfully revert back but doing a " npm install electron".

Sandy2503

i have a problem at downgrading:

pi@magicmirror:~ $ cd ~/MagicMirror
pi@magicmirror:~/MagicMirror $  npm install electron@1.4.15

> electron@1.4.15 postinstall /home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/electron
> node install.js

- @types/node@7.0.43 node_modules/@types/node
magicmirror@2.1.3 /home/pi/MagicMirror
└── electron@1.4.15  invalid

How can i fix that ?

Sandy2503

cruunnerr

Hey guys,

(first, sorry for my english. i hope you understand what i am trying to tell^^)

i have got the same problem as u all.

So i tried to fix it with using MagicMirror 2.1.0 and electron 1.4.15

Unfortunately i am not the best programer, so sometimes i don’t know if i’m doing anything right.

Well, i tried the option as shown in this thread on page 18 (https://forum.magicmirror.builders/post/28875)

That gave me some npm errors when i type “npm start”.
So i tried to use this guide: https://forum.magicmirror.builders/topic/5274/how-to-manually-install-mm-on-your-pi-for-absolute-beginners

But it gave me the same errors.

Step by step i did:

rename the original MM-Folder to “MagicMirror_OLD”
Downloaded this https://github.com/MichMich/MagicMirror/archive/v2.1.0.zip
extract it and rename it to “MagicMirror”
cd in this folder and type “npm install”
after installing was done i typed “npm start” and got this:

pi@MagicMirror:~ $ cd ~/MagicMirror/
pi@MagicMirror:~/MagicMirror $ npm start

> magicmirror@2.1.0 start /home/pi/MagicMirror
> electron js/electron.js


npm ERR! Linux 4.9.59-v7+
npm ERR! argv "/usr/bin/node" "/usr/bin/npm" "start"
npm ERR! node v6.12.2
npm ERR! npm  v3.10.10
npm ERR! code ELIFECYCLE
npm ERR! magicmirror@2.1.0 start: `electron js/electron.js`
npm ERR! Exit status 1
npm ERR! 
npm ERR! Failed at the magicmirror@2.1.0 start script 'electron js/electron.js'.
npm ERR! Make sure you have the latest version of node.js and npm installed.
npm ERR! If you do, this is most likely a problem with the magicmirror package,
npm ERR! not with npm itself.
npm ERR! Tell the author that this fails on your system:
npm ERR!     electron js/electron.js
npm ERR! You can get information on how to open an issue for this project with:
npm ERR!     npm bugs magicmirror
npm ERR! Or if that isn't available, you can get their info via:
npm ERR!     npm owner ls magicmirror
npm ERR! There is likely additional logging output above.

npm ERR! Please include the following file with any support request:
npm ERR!     /home/pi/MagicMirror/npm-debug.log
pi@MagicMirror:~/MagicMirror $

Another time i tried as shown on page 18. it was showing me, that i was using electron 1.4.15, but when i typed the “npm start” it shows me the same message as above.

i don’t know what to do :( would be quite nice, if u guys could invest some time to solve my problem together. thank you very much :)

edit:

the “npm-debug.log” is here:

``
0 info it worked if it ends with ok
1 verbose cli [ ‘/usr/bin/node’, ‘/usr/bin/npm’, ‘start’ ]
2 info using npm@3.10.10
3 info using node@v6.12.2
4 verbose run-script [ ‘prestart’, ‘start’, ‘poststart’ ]
5 info lifecycle magicmirror@2.1.0~prestart: magicmirror@2.1.0
6 silly lifecycle magicmirror@2.1.0~prestart: no script for prestart, continuing
7 info lifecycle magicmirror@2.1.0~start: magicmirror@2.1.0
8 verbose lifecycle magicmirror@2.1.0~start: unsafe-perm in lifecycle true
9 verbose lifecycle magicmirror@2.1.0~start: PATH: /usr/lib/node_modules/npm/bin/node-gyp-bin:/home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/.bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/local/games:/usr/games
10 verbose lifecycle magicmirror@2.1.0~start: CWD: /home/pi/MagicMirror
11 silly lifecycle magicmirror@2.1.0~start: Args: [ ‘-c’, ‘electron js/electron.js’ ]
12 silly lifecycle magicmirror@2.1.0~start: Returned: code: 1 signal: null
13 info lifecycle magicmirror@2.1.0~start: Failed to exec start script
14 verbose stack Error: magicmirror@2.1.0 start: electron js/electron.js
14 verbose stack Exit status 1
14 verbose stack at EventEmitter. (/usr/lib/node_modules/npm/lib/utils/lifecycle.js:255:16)
14 verbose stack at emitTwo (events.js:106:13)
14 verbose stack at EventEmitter.emit (events.js:191:7)
14 verbose stack at ChildProcess. (/usr/lib/node_modules/npm/lib/utils/spawn.js:40:14)
14 verbose stack at emitTwo (events.js:106:13)
14 verbose stack at ChildProcess.emit (events.js:191:7)
14 verbose stack at maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:920:16)
14 verbose stack at Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:230:5)
15 verbose pkgid magicmirror@2.1.0
16 verbose cwd /home/pi/MagicMirror
17 error Linux 4.9.59-v7+
18 error argv “/usr/bin/node” “/usr/bin/npm” “start”
19 error node v6.12.2
20 error npm v3.10.10
21 error code ELIFECYCLE
22 error magicmirror@2.1.0 start: electron js/electron.js
22 error Exit status 1
23 error Failed at the magicmirror@2.1.0 start script ‘electron js/electron.js’.
23 error Make sure you have the latest version of node.js and npm installed.
23 error If you do, this is most likely a problem with the magicmirror package,
23 error not with npm itself.
23 error Tell the author that this fails on your system:
23 error electron js/electron.js
23 error You can get information on how to open an issue for this project with:
23 error npm bugs magicmirror
23 error Or if that isn’t available, you can get their info via:
23 error npm owner ls magicmirror
23 error There is likely additional logging output above.
24 verbose exit [ 1, true ]

Sandy2503

@cruunnerr - I `ve done it !
without previous Unistall

i have downgraded with:

sudo npm install -g electron@1.4.15

Sandy2503

cruunnerr

Well,

i had MM 2.1.2 installed, so i needed to use the 2.1.0 way…

but i actually got it running with “DISPLAY=:0 npm start”

then i just copied the installed modules folders to the new directory and copied my “old” config.js but that didn’t work.

i actually install the 3rd party modules manual. hopefully my old config.js will work then.

But thank you anyway

edit:

so,

i got MM2.1.0 running with electron 1.4.15

have had a few problems, but now all works great.

knubbl

Bad issue with electron. When i downgrade to 1.4.15 the default calender module does not work

ok…calendar works fine

cruunnerr

Cause i didn’t want to run 2.1.0 and also got many errors every time i looked in the logs, i decided to do a fresh install and try again.

So i just installed a fresh Raspbian stretch lite and followed this guide: https://github.com/MichMich/MagicMirror/wiki/Jessie-Lite-Installation-Guide

after the first start i got 80-85% cpu usage just playing the default modules.

so i went into my MagicMirror folder and just typed “npm install electron@1.4.15”.
It said that the version seems to be invalid, but after a reboot i tooled a look in the
“/home/pi/MagicMirror/node_modules/electron/dist/version”
and saw a 1.4.15 shown.

thats all.

so in my experience its just the electron version needed to downgrade. Neither the OS nor the MagicMirror Version needs to be downgraded.

Loaded up a video: https://youtu.be/ak_mEMuLpYc

shows “nmon-stats” while adding Traffic- and News-Module via Remote Control
Still shows peaks when animation comes, but its fluety anyway

WeatherGeek

I have been having the issue, thanks so much for all the detailed information! I am going to do a fresh install with Jessy and downgrade Electron and MM2.

mattn

First off, apologies for the necro! But I had to reinstall MM this weekend and came across this same issue. After a fair bit of time reinstalling/googling, I managed to resolve it by adding the following to /etc/environment

ELECTRON_FORCE_WINDOW_MENU_BAR=1

So thought I’d post it here in case anyone else experiences this.
I’ve had the default install running for a while since adding the fix and my load avg has dropped from 6+ to “0.00, 0.02, 0.02” and electron seems to peak at around 7% every ~30s for about 2s. The rest of the time it isn’t even visible in top’s list.

credit to reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/5x9t7j/electron_app_high_cpu_usage/
Edit: After adding my usual modules, electron’s CPU usage has gone up to a fairly constant ~9% across 3 processes.

top - 00:04:33 up 25 min,  3 users,  load average: 0.06, 0.13, 0.13
Tasks: 156 total,   2 running, 154 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
%Cpu(s):  2.0 us,  0.4 sy,  0.0 ni, 97.6 id,  0.0 wa,  0.0 hi,  0.0 si,  0.0 st
KiB Mem:    947732 total,   486072 used,   461660 free,    26476 buffers
KiB Swap:   102396 total,        0 used,   102396 free.   240288 cached Mem

  PID USER      PR  NI    VIRT    RES    SHR S  %CPU %MEM     TIME+ COMMAND
 1387 pi        20   0  300260  98384  55840 S   4.9 10.4   0:45.48 electron
 1394 pi        20   0  286500  68700  49420 S   2.0  7.2   0:23.08 electron
 1358 pi        20   0  436408  78528  57656 S   1.0  8.3   0:19.25 electron

Edit2: Left it running over night, and it’s stable:

top - 07:51:22 up  8:12,  3 users,  load average: 0.24, 0.23, 0.17
Tasks: 153 total,   1 running, 152 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
%Cpu(s):  2.1 us,  0.3 sy,  0.0 ni, 97.5 id,  0.0 wa,  0.0 hi,  0.0 si,  0.0 st
KiB Mem:    947732 total,   543280 used,   404452 free,    34664 buffers
KiB Swap:   102396 total,        0 used,   102396 free.   271040 cached Mem

  PID USER      PR  NI    VIRT    RES    SHR S  %CPU %MEM     TIME+ COMMAND
 1798 pi        20   0  301180  99652  56580 S   5.3 10.5  22:54.84 electron
 1805 pi        20   0  321060  79368  50868 S   2.6  8.4  11:36.49 electron
 1770 pi        20   0  480972  82744  58648 S   1.0  8.7   7:20.91 electron