About

ChristmasPi is a webapp that powers animated Christmas Trees. It’s built with dotnet core and runs on a Raspberry Pi. The webapp is mobile optimized so you can control your Christmas Tree for your pocket or from your computer. ChristmasPi also includes a REST API allowing you to control everything about your tree.

Previous Versions

ChristmasPi has undergone multiple iterations over the years, and this list is a brief attempt at sumarizing them.

1. Command Line tool written in C (Link)
   • Controlled by running the Animations program on the Raspberry Pi itself
   • Used a relay board to control strands of lights (branches)
   • Included 8 animations
2. 1st Attempt rewrite in C# Mono (Link)
   • An attempt to write a HTTP Server from scratch, succeeded in creating an echo server
   • Rewrote Animations.c into Animations.cs
   • Included an interop library for wiringPi.
3. Working C# Mono version (Link)
   • Includes a functioning JSON-RPC Server (from scratch)
   • A viable replacement for the CLI tool
4. ASP.NET webapp (this version)

Features

ChristmasPi is a work-in-progress and, as such, many features are still incomplete or may be removed/reworked.

• Supports WS2811/12 RGB LED strips for individually adressable lights
• Supports a Solid Color mode or an Animation mode
• Lights can be grouped into levels (or branches) allowing for more animations
• Includes an interactive Setup mode to make configuring your tree much easier
• Includes a scheduler to automatically turn on and off your tree at certain times based on days of the week
• Supports a JSON based REST API for integrating your tree with other projects
• Allows the user to select a default color or animation to play when the tree is turned on