tryxctl

Command-line and terminal-UI controller for TRYX cooler displays (Panorama SE, Panorama, Turris 620) on Linux. One static binary, no Qt.

Status: alpha. Verified on a Panorama SE running the original cm01 firmware: media upload with validation and conversion, file management, brightness, filters, a live metrics overlay, fan readings, previews, and the terminal interface. Displays on the newer KANALI firmware (printer-class USB) are driven through the same commands: catalog, upload, removal, brightness, media selection, and the overlay. That backend is a port of the upstream protocol tested against a scripted fake device, not yet against real hardware. If you have a KANALI display, a report of what works and what does not is very welcome; see CONTRIBUTING.md.

Disclaimer

tryxctl is an independent project. It is not made, endorsed, or supported by TRYX, and product names appear here only to identify the hardware it works with. It talks to the displays through unofficial, reverse-engineered protocols, so a firmware update may break it without warning. It writes media and settings to the display and can restart it. Use it at your own risk: the software is provided as is, without warranty of any kind, as the licence sets out.

Install

Every release on the releases page ships static Linux binaries and Debian packages for x86_64 and aarch64.

• Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt install ./tryxctl_*.deb installs the binary, the udev rules, the man page, and shell completions, and reloads udev.
• Tarball: unpack it, copy tryxctl somewhere on your PATH, copy udev/*.rules to /etc/udev/rules.d/, and run sudo udevadm control --reload-rules.
• Nix: nix profile install github:nicklambourne/tryxctl, or nix build in a checkout. The package wraps ffmpeg and adb onto the binary's PATH and ships the udev rules under lib/udev/rules.d for services.udev.packages on NixOS.

Then install the dependencies, join the device groups, and run tryxctl doctor. It recognises Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, openSUSE, NixOS, and their derivatives, and prints that distribution's commands for anything still missing.

Dependencies

tryxctl runs ffmpeg, built with the libx264 encoder, and ffprobe to check and convert media, and adb to transfer it to displays on the original cm01 firmware. The Debian package recommends them and the Nix package brings its own. Otherwise, install them from your distribution.

Debian, Ubuntu, and derivatives such as Linux Mint and Pop!_OS:

sudo apt install ffmpeg adb

Fedora's own ffmpeg-free lacks libx264, so take ffmpeg from RPM Fusion:

sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm
sudo dnf install --allowerasing ffmpeg android-tools

Arch Linux and derivatives such as Manjaro and EndeavourOS:

sudo pacman -S --needed ffmpeg android-tools

openSUSE's own ffmpeg lacks libx264 too, so take it from Packman. These commands are for Tumbleweed; on Leap, use openSUSE_Leap_$releasever in place of openSUSE_Tumbleweed:

sudo zypper addrepo -cfp 90 'https://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/misc/packman/suse/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/' packman
sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper dist-upgrade --from packman --allow-vendor-change
sudo zypper install --from packman ffmpeg
sudo zypper install android-tools

NixOS, in configuration.nix, if you run the tarball's binary rather than the flake's package:

environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [ ffmpeg android-tools ];

Device groups

The display's device nodes belong to groups: the serial port and ADB interface of the original cm01 firmware to dialout and plugdev, and a KANALI display to lp. Join all three to cover either firmware; see Device access on Linux for why they are needed.

Debian, Ubuntu, and derivatives:

sudo usermod -aG dialout,plugdev,lp "$USER"

Fedora, openSUSE, and other distributions that may have no plugdev group. groupadd -f creates it only when it is missing:

sudo groupadd -f --system plugdev
sudo usermod -aG dialout,plugdev,lp "$USER"

Arch Linux and derivatives, where serial ports belong to uucp instead:

sudo groupadd -f --system plugdev
sudo usermod -aG uucp,plugdev,lp "$USER"

NixOS, in configuration.nix, with your user name in place of alice:

users.groups.plugdev = { };
users.users.alice.extraGroups = [ "dialout" "plugdev" "lp" ];

Log out and back in for the groups to apply, and replug the display if you created plugdev, so the udev rule can hand it the device. id -nG lists the groups a new login shell is in.

Which firmware does my display run?

Run tryxctl devices. A display listed under "Legacy cm01 firmware", with a serial port, runs the original firmware. One listed with a printer interface and a 391a: USB ID runs KANALI. The two behave differently in places; see Firmware differences.

Usage

tryxctl doctor                                  # tools, permissions, connected displays
tryxctl devices                                 # what is connected and how
tryxctl info                                    # identify the display
tryxctl media ls                                # files on the display and free space
tryxctl media check clip.mp4                    # what would change, and why
tryxctl media check --target kanali-turris a.png  # ...for a display that is not connected
tryxctl media upload clip.mp4 --show            # validate, convert if needed, upload, play
tryxctl media upload long.mp4 --trim 30-90      # only part of a video
tryxctl media preview clip.mp4 --at 5           # a frame exactly as the display gets it
tryxctl media export clip.mp4 -o backup.mp4     # a copy of a file on the display
tryxctl media replace clip.mp4 new.mp4          # swap the file under its name, no gap
tryxctl op ls                                   # recent transfers; a failed one keeps its encode
tryxctl op retry 6aa17661ce3f                   # send it again without re-encoding
tryxctl show clip.mp4 --play Loop               # play something already on the display
tryxctl show preset:3                           # one of the six built-in animations
tryxctl display get                             # what the panel is set to
tryxctl display set --brightness 70
tryxctl display set --mode split --waterfall on --rotate 180
tryxctl display set --filter smoke --filter-opacity 60
tryxctl display set --sleep on                  # let the panel sleep with the host
tryxctl display reboot
tryxctl metrics set --labels cpu-temp,gpu-temp,cpu-usage --badges cpu,gpu
tryxctl metrics set --area right --labels gpu-usage   # the right half in split mode
tryxctl metrics status --watch 2                # host readings every 2 s
tryxctl fans --watch 5                          # fan RPM; pump RPM where the model reports it
tryxctl fans --lcd-speed 40                     # fixed display-block fan speed
tryxctl fans --lcd-speed auto                   # back to the firmware's curve
tryxctl daemon install                          # run the daemon as a systemd user service
tryxctl daemon status                           # what it knows: device, fans, pushes, last error
tryxctl tui                                     # everything above, interactively
tryxctl completions zsh > ~/.zfunc/_tryxctl

tryxctl metrics set --labels takes up to three of cpu-temp, cpu-freq, cpu-usage, cpu-voltage, cpu-power, gpu-temp, gpu-freq, gpu-usage, gpu-voltage, gpu-power, disk-temp, mb-temp, mem-freq, mem-usage, and date-time. Not every firmware shows all of them; see Firmware differences.

Every command takes --json for machine-readable output, -q for results and errors only, --no-color, and -v to dump the frames exchanged with the display. With several displays attached, --tty picks a legacy serial port and --device a KANALI USB ID, both listed by tryxctl devices. Exit codes: 2 usage, 3 device, 4 environment, 5 media rejected. tryxctl help COMMAND covers every option, as does man tryxctl after a Debian or nix install.

The daemon

The panel goes dark about a minute after the host stops talking to it, so tryxctl daemon install is the normal way to run things. The daemon owns the serial port and keeps the panel awake with live readings. It restores the saved screen when it starts, reopens the link when the display reboots or is replugged, and applies the screen again after the host wakes from sleep.

Other commands reach the display through the daemon's socket, so they never compete for the port. Without a daemon every command opens the port itself, and --direct forces that even when one is running.

The legacy firmware answers no queries, so display get reports what was last applied. A KANALI display is read back for real.

Firmware differences

	Legacy cm01 (serial + ADB)	KANALI (printer-class USB)
Media	MP4, 1920×960	raw H.264 at 2240×1080 (Panorama) or 1280×720 in the MXHD header (Turris 620); still images become loops
Names	as uploaded	suffixed .h264_2240x1080 / .h264_1280x720
Overlay	up to 3 labels, incl. voltages and disk/motherboard temperature	up to 3 labels, incl. CPU/GPU power; no voltages
Keepalive	sysinfo push every few seconds	ping and overlay lease every 2 s
Filters, sleep, fans, reboot	yes	not in the protocol
Readback	none; display get shows the last applied state	display get reads the device
Pump RPM	only on models advertising Turbo Pump; the Panorama SE has no pump tachometer	not in the protocol
Storage	df over ADB	none; the catalog lists sizes

Terminal interface

tryxctl tui covers the same ground interactively, across five tabs: devices, library, overlay, display, and operations.

Previews and playback

The library previews the selected file as a short looping clip. The upload wizard previews a local file as the display will get it, after the chosen fit, rotation, and zoom. Previews run four seconds at six frames a second; a GIF animates and a still image stays still. A file on the display whose index sits at the end of the container, because it was written without faststart, is copied to the cache once to make its preview.

Press p to play the selected file in real time instead. ffmpeg streams it at its own pace, frames the redraw cannot keep up with are dropped, and the pane's title shows the rate achieved.

Graphics

Still previews use kitty graphics, iTerm2 images, or Sixel when the terminal offers them, and coloured half-blocks otherwise.

Playback shows real pixels only on kitty-protocol terminals. On a local kitty or Ghostty the frames travel through shared memory, so only a name crosses the terminal per frame; elsewhere they are sent as zlib-compressed pixels. Over SSH the picture is kept lean, at 480 pixels wide and 15 frames a second. Sixel and iTerm2 terminals play in half-blocks, since they would resend every frame in full, and so does everything inside tmux.

Variable	Values	Effect
TRYXCTL_GRAPHICS	kitty, iterm2, sixel, halfblocks	Forces the graphics protocol. Inside tmux, together with set -g allow-passthrough on, this is how to get still pictures.
TRYXCTL_KITTY_TRANSFER	shm, png, zlib	Forces how kitty playback frames travel. PNG measures the same as zlib on video.

Keys

Each pane's title and the line at the bottom show the main keys for where you are.

Where	Key	Action
Anywhere	Tab, Shift+Tab	Next or previous tab
	1 to 5	Jump to a tab
	r	Refresh
	m	Start or stop pushing live metrics
	x	Cancel the encode while an upload is running
	q, Esc, Ctrl+C	Quit
Library	↑ ↓ or k j	Move the selection
	Enter	Show the selected preset or file on the display
	l	Loop every file on the display
	p	Play or stop the selected file in the preview pane
	e	Export a copy of the selected file
	d	Delete the selected file; y confirms
	u	Upload: type a path and press Enter to open the wizard
Upload wizard	m	Cycle the fit: fit, fill, crop, stretch
	r	Rotate by 90°
	+ -	Zoom in or out in 25% steps, for the crop fit
	p	Play or stop the file as the display will get it
	Enter	Upload with these settings
	Esc	Back to the library
Overlay	↑ ↓ or k j	Move between metrics
	Space	Add or remove a metric, up to three
	x	Clear every metric
	p	Cycle the position: top, center, bottom
	a	Cycle the alignment: left, center, right
	c, g	Toggle the CPU or GPU badge
	Enter	Apply the overlay
Display	← → or h l	Brightness down or up by 5%
	s	Toggle split screen
	w	Toggle waterfall mode
	o	Cycle the rotation
	g	Read the display's settings back
	Enter	Apply brightness and layout
Operations	↑ ↓ or k j	Move the selection
	Enter	Retry the selected failed transfer
	c	Clear the kept encodes

The overlay and layout apply to whatever the display is showing, so choose media in the library first.

Files it writes

Path	Contents
$XDG_STATE_HOME/tryxctl/display.json	The screen, overlay, brightness, rotation, and fan speed last applied, which the daemon restores
$XDG_STATE_HOME/tryxctl/operations.json	The transfer journal behind tryxctl op
$XDG_CACHE_HOME/tryxctl/encodes/	Encodes kept after a failed transfer, so op retry can resend without re-encoding
$XDG_CACHE_HOME/tryxctl/thumbs/	Preview clips, and whole copies of display files pulled for previews or playback
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/systemd/user/tryxctl.service	The unit daemon install writes
$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/tryxctl/daemon.sock	The daemon's socket

XDG_STATE_HOME, XDG_CACHE_HOME, and XDG_CONFIG_HOME default to ~/.local/state, ~/.cache, and ~/.config. Without XDG_RUNTIME_DIR the socket goes under the system's temporary directory instead.

A whole copy of a display file can be hundreds of megabytes. Everything under $XDG_CACHE_HOME/tryxctl is safe to delete and is rebuilt when needed, and tryxctl op clear empties the kept encodes on its own.

Troubleshooting

Start with tryxctl doctor. It checks for ffmpeg, the libx264 encoder, ffprobe, and adb, for the udev rules and group memberships, and for connected displays.

• No display is found. Check the cable, then run tryxctl devices. If the display is listed but access fails, install the udev rules, reload them with sudo udevadm control --reload-rules, and replug the display.
• Permission denied on the serial port or USB device. Join the device groups and log in again. The daemon runs under your systemd user manager, which keeps the groups it started with, so log out fully, or run systemctl --user exit and log back in.
• adb reports "no permissions". An adb server started before the udev rule was installed keeps the old permissions. Run adb kill-server and try again.
• The panel goes dark after about a minute. Nothing is keeping it awake. Run the daemon with tryxctl daemon install.
• Commands fail straight after an upgrade. The daemon still running is the old version, and an old daemon cannot always answer a new client. Restart it with systemctl --user restart tryxctl.service.
• No pictures inside tmux. Enable passthrough with set -g allow-passthrough on and run with TRYXCTL_GRAPHICS=kitty, or whichever protocol your terminal speaks. Playback inside tmux always uses half-blocks.
• A preview of a file on the display is slow the first time. Its index sits at the end of the file, so the whole file is copied once, then cached.
• An upload is rejected. Run tryxctl media check FILE to see each finding and the conversion that would fix it.

Uninstall

1. Stop and remove the service with tryxctl daemon uninstall.
2. Remove the program. For the Debian package, run sudo apt remove tryxctl. For nix, find its entry with nix profile list and remove it with nix profile remove. For a tarball, delete the binary and the three *-tryx-*.rules files from /etc/udev/rules.d/.
3. Delete the state and cache if you no longer want them: rm -rf ~/.local/state/tryxctl ~/.cache/tryxctl.

Media you uploaded stays on the display. Remove it first with tryxctl media rm NAME if you want it gone.

Device access on Linux

Displays on the original cm01 firmware expose a serial port owned by dialout (uucp on Arch), plus an ADB interface that the 71-tryx-legacy.rules udev rule opens to plugdev. Printer-class (KANALI) displays need the other two rules, or membership of the lp group.

Contributing

Building from source, running the tests, and sending changes are covered in CONTRIBUTING.md. Notable changes in each release are listed in CHANGELOG.md.

Attribution

The protobuf schemas and two of the udev rules are copied from DXVSI/Tryx-Linux-GUI (MIT), whose protocol and media pipeline this project reproduces. Every upstream project it draws on, with its licence notice, is listed in THIRD_PARTY.md.

Licence

MIT, see LICENSE.