How I Automated My Kids’ Lunch Updates on Dakboard Using a Raspberry Pi
As a parent, keeping track of school schedules, after-school activities, and—most importantly—lunch menus is a challenge. Every month, I receive a PDF that details my kids' lunches, and I wanted a way to integrate that into my **Dakboard** dashboard, which is displayed on our family’s Raspberry Pi.
At first, I considered deploying a solution on the cloud where I could create a webhook, and Dakboard could simply pull data from there. However, cloud deployment can come with ongoing costs, and since I already had a Raspberry Pi running the Dakboard display at home, I thought, why not keep everything local? The idea of automating my kids’ lunches by pushing the data into the Dakboard widget—without relying on cloud services—seemed like a fun and useful project.
The Plan: Updating the Lunch Menu Without Extra Costs
Instead of hosting an app in the cloud, which could cost money over time, I opted to write a Node.js app that could run directly on the Raspberry Pi. This way, I could control everything locally, avoid additional expenses, and ensure that the menu is always up to date on our family’s Dakboard.
Here's what I needed to accomplish:
1. Enter the lunch data manually each month based on the PDF I receive.
2. Push the data into Dakboard so it automatically updates the lunch widget.
3. Automate this process to update daily, so the current day's lunch is displayed without any manual intervention.
How to Get the Widget ID from Dakboard
To push data to the correct widget on Dakboard, you’ll need to retrieve your screen ID and widget ID by using the Dakboard API. Follow these steps:
1. First, get the screen ID by making a curl request with your API key:
curl --location 'https://dakboard.com/api/2/screens?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY'
From the output, copy the screen_id of the screen you want to update.
2. Next, use the screen ID to get the widget information:
curl --location 'https://dakboard.com/api/2/screens/scr_SCREEN_ID?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY'
Look through the response to find the widget you want to update and copy its ID.
3. Once you have the screen ID and widget ID, locate the screen and widget variables in your app.js file, and place the values you retrieved:
const screenId = '‘; // Replace with your screen ID
const widgetId = '‘; // Replace with your widget ID
This will ensure the app is pushing updates to the correct widget on your Dakboard screen.
Running the App with PM2
Since the app needs to run continuously on the Raspberry Pi and update Dakboard every midnight, I decided to use PM2, a process manager for Node.js, to run the app in the background and keep it alive.
Here’s how to set it up:
1. Install PM2:
PM2 is a great tool for running Node.js applications in the background. You can install it globally using npm:
npm install -g pm2
2. Start the App with PM2:
Once the app is set up and ready to run, use the following command to start it with PM2:
pm2 start app.js --name lunches-app
3. Set PM2 to Auto-Start on Boot:
To ensure the app starts automatically when the Raspberry Pi reboots, you can set up PM2 to launch your app on boot:
pm2 startup
pm2 save
4. Check the Logs:
You can check the logs at any time to see if the app is running as expected:
pm2 logs lunches-app
Building the Solution
Since I’m already using the Raspberry Pi to display our Dakboard, it made sense to build the Node.js app directly on it. The app allows me to manually input the monthly lunch data through a simple web interface and stores it in a `lunches.json` file. Every night, the app reads the next day’s lunch from the file and sends it to the Dakboard widget using an API call.
Here’s how the solution works:
1. Lunch Entry: I can log in to a web interface that I created, where I enter the lunch menu for each day of the month. It’s a straightforward form that stores the data in a JSON file. I manually add the menu based on the PDF I get from the school.
2. Daily Updates: Every midnight, a scheduled task automatically pushes the lunch menu for the current day to the Dakboard widget. If there’s no menu for that day, the app sends an empty message to ensure Dakboard isn’t displaying old or incorrect information.
3. No Cloud Costs: By keeping the app on the Raspberry Pi, I avoid ongoing cloud hosting costs, and everything is handled locally. The Raspberry Pi pulls double duty: displaying the Dakboard and running the app that keeps it updated.
Why I Chose to Push Data Instead of Using a Webhook
When integrating with Dakboard, one of the options is to set up a webhook, where Dakboard would pull data from a URL. However, this would have required me to host the application in the cloud and expose an endpoint, which could be overkill for something as simple as lunch menus.
Instead, I chose to push the data directly into Dakboard via its API. This approach allows me to control when and how the data is updated, and it’s simpler in my setup since everything happens on my local network.
The Power of DIY Automation
This project is a great example of how a small Raspberry Pi, combined with a little coding, can streamline everyday tasks. Now, every time my kids ask, "What’s for lunch today?", we can glance at the Dakboard display in our kitchen, and the information is right there—automatically updated every day.
Future Improvements
I’m already thinking about ways to enhance this setup. For instance:
- Automatic Parsing from PDF: Right now, I manually enter the lunch menu each month. In the future, I’d love to write a script that extracts the data directly from the PDF and populates the lunch menu automatically.
- More Integrations: I could expand the app to handle more family schedules and reminders, integrating further into our daily routine with Dakboard.
For now, though, this solution works perfectly, and I’m thrilled with how much time it saves me every day.
GitHub Repository
If you'd like to try this solution yourself, you can find all the code on my GitHub repository. Feel free to clone it, modify it, and adapt it for your own needs!
Conclusion
By combining a simple Node.js app with my existing Raspberry Pi setup, I’ve created a cost-effective and efficient way to keep my family informed about daily lunch schedules. It’s a small automation project, but it has made a big impact on our routine.
Kris Clark | Solutions Architect | Tech Enthusiast | DIY Builder