jf-roku/DEVGUIDE.md

Developing The Jellyfin Roku App

Follow the steps below to install the app on your personal Roku device for development.

Developer Mode

Put your Roku device in developer mode. Write down your Roku device IP and the password you created, you will need these later.

Clone the GitHub Repo

Navigate to where you'd like to install the app then copy the application files:

git clone https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin-roku.git

Open up the new folder:

cd jellyfin-roku

Method 1: Visual Studio Code

We recommend using Visual Studio Code when working on this project. The BrightScript Language extension provides a rich debugging experience, including in-editor syntax checking, debugging/breakpoint support, variable inspection at runtime, auto-formatting, an integrated remote control mode, and much more.

Installation

1. Download and install Visual Studio Code
2. Install the BrightScript Language extension within VSCode in the Extensions panel or by downloading it from the VSCode Marketplace.

Usage

1. Open the jellyfin-roku folder in vscode

2. Press F5 on your keyboard or click Run -> Start Debugging from the vscode menu.

3. Enter your Roku IP address and developer password when prompted

That's it! vscode will auto-package the project, sideload it to the specified device, and the channel is up and running. (assuming you remembered to put your device in developer mode)

Hardcoding Roku Information

Out of the box, the VSCode extension will prompt you to pick a Roku from your device and enter a password on every launch. If you'd prefer to hardcode this information rather than entering it every time, you can set these values in your vscode user settings:

{
    "brightscript.debug.host": "YOUR_ROKU_HOST_HERE",
    "brightscript.debug.password": "YOUR_ROKU_DEV_PASSWORD_HERE",
}

Example:

Method 2: Sideload to Roku Device Manually

Install Necessary Packages

sudo apt-get install wget make zip

Build the package

make dev

This will create a zip in out/apps/Jellyfin_Roku-dev.zip. Login to your roku's device in your browser and upload the zip file then run install.

Method 3: Direct load to Roku Device

Login Details

Run this command - replacing the IP and password with your Roku device IP and dev password from the first step:

export ROKU_DEV_TARGET=192.168.1.234
export ROKU_DEV_PASSWORD=password

Normally you would have to open up your browser and upload a .zip file containing the app code. These commands enable the app to be zipped up and installed on the Roku automatically which is essential for developers and makes it easy to upgrade in the future for users.

Install Necessary Packages

sudo apt-get install wget make zip

Deploy

Package up the application, send it to your Roku, and launch the channel:

make install

Note: You only have to run this command once if you are not a developer. The Jellyfin channel will still be installed after rebooting your Roku device.

Bug/Crash Reports

Did the app crash? Find a nasty bug? Use the this command to view the error log and report it to the developers:

telnet ${ROKU_DEV_TARGET} 8085

To exit telnet: CTRL + ] and then type quit + ENTER

Upgrade

Navigate to the folder where you installed the app then upgrade the code to the latest version:

git pull

Deploy the app:

make install

Command Line Workflow

Modify code -> make install -> Use Roku remote to test changes -> telnet ${ROKU_DEV_TARGET} 8085 -> CTRL + ] -> quit + ENTER

Unfortunately there is no debuger. You will need to use telnet to see log statements, warnings, and error reports. You won't always need to telnet into your device but the workflow above is typical when you are new to Brightscript or are working on tricky code.

Testing

Testing is done with the Rooibos library. This works by including tests in the deployment and then looking at telnet for the test results.

Install necessary packages:

sudo apt-get install nodejs npm

Install rooibos-cli:

npm install -g rooibos-cli

Deploy the application with tests:

make test

View test results:

telnet ${ROKU_DEV_TARGET} 8085

To exit telnet: CTRL + ] and then type quit + ENTER

Committing

Before commiting your code, please run:

make prep_commit

This will format your code and run the CI checks locally to ensure you will pass the CI tests.

(Optional) Update Images

This repo already contains all necessary images for the app. This script only needs to be run when the official Jellyfin images are changed to allow us to update the repo images.

Install necessary packages:

sudo apt-get install imagemagick

Download and convert images:

make get_images