The Allsky Website allows you to display your most recent captured image on a Website on your Pi, on another machine, or on both. Saved timelapse videos, keograms, and startrails can also be viewed. Constellations and other objects can be overlayed on the image, and aurora activity can be listed.

For a local Allsky Website you only need to configure and enable it as described below; no installation is needed.

Before you configure a remote Website you must first install it - see the Allsky Website Installation Instructions. Then return to this page.

Steps to configure an Allsky Website are below.

Configure Website settings

  1. In the WebUI, click on the Editor link.
  2. In the drop-down at the bottom of the page, select one of the following, depending on which Website you want to configure:
    • configuration.json (local Allsky Website) or
    • remote_configuration.json (remote Allsky Website) (only if you installed a remote Website)
    • You will then see something like this: Editor
    • Information on the color scheme used by the Editor in the screenshot above is here .
  3. Ignore any message about the Website not being enabled - you will do that in the next step.
    • The settings in both files are identical although their values may differ. The files are split into two sections:
      1. "config" - settings for the webpage image and constellation overlay.
      2. "homePage" - settings to change the look and feel of the Website's home page including the icons on the left side, the information popout on the right side, an optional background image, etc.
      See the two sections at the bottom of this page for information on each section.
    • Each setting has a name and value, separated by a colon (:). Setting names in the file look like this and should generally NOT be changed unless, for example, you are adding a new icon on the left side of the screen.
      Setting names MUST always be enclosed in double quotes.
    • You should change setting values as desired - they have different colors depending on their types, as described here.
      Make sure all XX_NEED_TO_UPDATE_XX values are updated.
    • Some settings like the latitude are also in the WebUI and should already be filled in. Those settings should only be changed in the WebUI, not in the file itself. The WebUI will ensure any changes are propogated to the appropriate file(s).
    • Tip: You can add comments to yourself by adding a new setting name and value, e.g.,
      "myComment1" : "Need to check the next setting",
      Be sure all setting names are unique.

Enable the Website

  1. On the WebUI's Allsky Settings page display the Website and Remote Server Settings section.
  2. Enable the Website in either the Local Website Settings or Remote Website Settings subsection, depending on which Website you are configuring.
  3. Change the other settings in that subsection as needed. Remote Websites need to know the server name, login, etc.

The subsections below describe the settings in the json files, their default values, and a description.

config settings

Legend:
  • Values for setting names with "" after them are sent to the Allsky Map server if your camera is on the map.
  • Setting names with "" after them impact the virtual sky overlay, i.e., the constellation overlay. See the complete list of virtual-sky based options.
  • Values marked with are automatically set during installation based on your WebUI settings and your Pi model, but can be overridden.
It's important to update your settings in the WebUI before configuring the Allsky Website so you only have to update them once.

Setting Default Value Description
comment This line is describes what this section is for and can be deleted if desired.
imageName /current/tmp/image.jpg (local) or image.jpg (remote) The image uploaded from your allsky camera.
Normally should not be changed.
location The location of your camera.
latitude Latitude of the camera as a decimal number (negative is Southern hemisphere) or as an unsigned number with "N" or "S", e.g., "41.79N" or 41.79
longitude Longitude of the camera as a decimal number (negative is west of the prime meridian) or as an unsigned number with "E" or "W", e.g., "101.9W" or -101.9
camera The camera type and model.
lens Short description of the camera's lens, for example, its brand, mm, etc.
computer The Raspberry Pi model.
owner The camera owner.
auroraForecast false Displays the 3-day aurora forecast in the top right corner when set to true.
auroraMap Aurora oval map for the north or south hemisphere.
intervalSeconds 5 Number of seconds between checks for new image. Can set to half the time between the start of one exposure and the start of the next one if you want to decrease CPU usage of the browser.
showOverlayAtStartup false Set to true to have the constellation overlay displayed when the page is loaded.
overlayWidth 875 Width of the overlay in pixels.
overlayHeight 875 Height of the overlay in pixels.
overlayOffsetLeft 0 Enter a positive number of pixels to move the constellation overlay to the right. Use negative numbers to move left.
overlayOffsetTop 0 Enter a positive number of pixels to move the constellation overlay down. Use negative numbers to move up.
az 0 (azimuth) Changes the rotation of the overlay. 0 is north up, 90 is north to the right, etc.
imageWidth 900 Width of the captured image in pixels. The image height will be calculated automatically to keep the aspect ratio constant.
opacity 0.5 Opacity of the constellation overlay, from 0.0 (invisible) to 1.0 (full brightness).
objectsComment This line is for your information and can be deleted if desired.
XXX_objects virtualsky/messier.json Name of one or more semi colon-separated files that contains other objects to display.
To use, remove the leading XXX_ from the setting name.
meridian false Display the meridian line?
ecliptic false Display the ecliptic line?
fontsize 14px Font size for constellation and star names.
cardinalpoints true Display the cardinal points (N, S, E, W)?
cardinalpoints_fontsize 18px Size of cardinal points. If they are hard to see, increase the size or change their color (see colours below).
showstarlabels true Display the star names?
projection fisheye Leave at the default if your Allsky camera has a fisheye lens (most do).
constellations true Show constellation lines?
constellationwidth 0.75 Width of lines making up constellations.
constellationlabels false Show the constellation names?
constellationboundaries false Show the constellation boundaries?
constellationboundarieswidth 0.75 Width of constellation boundary lines.
gridlines_eq true Show the RA/Dec grid lines?
gridlineswidth 0.75 Width of RA/Dec grid lines.
showgalaxy true Show galaxies?
galaxywidth 0.75 Width of galaxy outline line.
mouse false Allow the mouse to rotate the overlay? Can be useful when trying to get the overlay to fit properly over your image.
keyboard true Allow keyboard controls? If set to true, type ? when over the image for a list of keyboard commands.
showdate false Show the date and time in the overlay? Not really needed if you add the date and time to your images.
showposition false Show/hide the latitude/longitude. Not very useful since clicking on the information icon on the left displays this information.
sky_gradient false Should the sky lighten toward the horizon?
gradient false Reduce the brightness of stars near the horizon?
transparent true Make the sky background transparent?
lang en Language the object names should be in. Look in ~/allsky/html/allsky/virtualsky/lang for available languages.
colours Allows you to override the default overlay colors in "normal" and "negative" mode. To see an example, remove the leading XXX_ from the samples.
rgba() takes 4 arguments: red, green, and blue values, plus opacity (0.0 - 1.0).
live true Update the display in real time? Rarely changed.
id Do not change.
AllskyVersion Do not change.

homePage settings


Setting Default Value Description
comment This line is describes what this section is for and can be deleted if desired.
title XX_NEED_TO_UPDATE_XX Text displayed next to the Allsky logo on the upper left. Can be anything you want, but keep it short because it is also displayed on the tab in your browser.
og_description XX_NEED_TO_UPDATE_XX The description given to your Website if you drag/drop its icon to things like social media sites. Often the same as title.
backgroundImage An optional background image for the Website home page. Sub-settings:
  • url is the location of the image (a URL or file name).
  • style is an optional CSS style, e.g., border: 1px solid red gives a 1 pixel red border around the image.
loadingImage loading.jpg The location of the "Loading ..." image that's displayed after you start the Website and before the first captured image appears. Can be a URL or a file name.
If this is a file on your Pi or remote server, put it in the Website's myFiles directory which is restored when upgrading the Allsky Website.
imageBorder false Should a border be added to the image? The border helps distinguish the image from the black background.
includeGoogleAnalytics false Should the analyticsTracking.js file be included? If you don't know what this is, leave it false.
If you change the file it will be copied to newer releases of the Allsky Website during upgrades.
includeLinkToMakeOwn true Display the " Build your own" link at the bottom right of the home page?
Allows you to add a link to the top of the home page, for example:
Click here to go to Google.
  • prelink - Text before the link (e.g., "Click").
  • message - What the link says ("here to go to Google").
  • url - The location the user is taken to when clicking on the link ("https://google.com").
  • title - Text displayed when hovering over the link ("this is a title").
  • style - Optional CSS style of the prelink text (color: red;).
og_type website Used by social media and other sites if you drag/drop your Website icon to them. Rarely changed.
og_url Link to your Allsky Website page - used if you drag/drop your Website icon to social media and other sites.
og_image image.jpg Link to a picture to display as a thumbnail when dragging/dropping your Website icon to social media and other sites.
favicon allsky-favicon.png Location of the "favorite icon" which is displayed in the browser title bar.
If this is a file on your Pi or remote server, put it in the myFiles directory which is restored when upgrading the Allsky Website.
thumbnailsizex 100 Horizontal size of keogram, startrails, and timelapse thumbnails.
thumbnailsizey 75 Vertical size of keogram, startrails, and timelapse thumbnails.
thumbnailsortorder ascending How the keogram, startrails, and timelapse thumbnails should be sorted. ascending means newest to oldest. descending means oldest to newest.
leftSidebar Settings that modify the left sidebar's icons. Each icon has the following sub-settings:

  • display - true to display the icon, false to hide it.
    This setting is false by default for the constellation overlay icon. If you plan to allow the constellation overlay to be displayed, modify its size and position so it mostly matches the sky, then set this field to true.
  • url - The web page to display when the icon is clicked. Can be a directory name on the server or a URL.
  • title - Text displayed when hovering over the icon.
  • icon - A list of Font Awesome classes that determine which icon is used. Note that not all icons work. Look at another sidebar entry for an example.
  • other - Text to add to the link in place of a url. Typically used to take an action, like display a popup, when the icon is clicked.
  • style - Optional CSS style, e.g., color: red; will turn the icon red.

You can add, update, reorder, and delete icons.
leftSidebarStyle CSS for the left sidebar itself, not the icons in it. To change the sidebar background to yellow: background-color: yellow;.
popoutIcons Settings that modify the information that appears in the popout on the right side. Each entry contains an icon, name of the field, and the field's value, and has the following settings:

  • display - true to display the entry, false to hide it.
    The Allsky Settings's display setting should NOT be changed in the Editor page; instead, it should be changed using the Display Settings setting in the WebUI's Allsky Settings page.
  • label - The name of the field for the entry.
  • icon - The same as with leftSidebar above.
  • variable - A setting name from the config section of the configuration file whose value should be displayed. For example, if you set the owner to Eric, entering owner for this setting will display Eric.
    Using variables means you only need to enter its value in one place.
  • value - The field's value, used in place of a variable. Can be text or a URL. See the Allsky Settings entry for an example.
  • style - Optional CSS style, e.g., color: red; will turn the text red.

You can add, update, reorder, and delete entries.
ConfigVersion Do not change.