Bug Report: Xibo Linux Player (v4.0.7 / 4.0.8) Issues on Linux (Debian 13)

[jawath-99]

Issue Summary

#	Problem	Description
1	Blue screen after playlist update	When a new playlist/layout is pushed from the CMS, the player shows a blue screen instead of displaying the new content. Restarting the player fixes it.
2	CMS changes don't apply without restart	Any CMS change (authorizing display, changing settings, updating layouts) doesn't take effect until the player is manually restarted.
3	Electron module error	Error Cannot find module 'electron' constantly appears in logs from /usr/lib/xibo-player/resources/app/dist/main/express.js:7.
4	Plays cached content after display removal	If the display is removed from CMS and player is restarted, it still plays locally cached content without checking if the display exists.

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Environments Tested

Environment	Display Server	Blue Screen	Auto-Update	Electron Error	Cached Content Issue
Debian 13 + LXQt Desktop	X11	✅	❌	✅	✅
Debian 13 + LXQt Desktop	Wayland	✅	❌	✅	✅
Debian 13 + Cage	Wayland	✅	❌	✅	✅
Debian 13 + GNOME Kiosk	Wayland	✅	❌	✅	✅
Debian 13 + Minimal X11	X11	✅	❌	✅	✅

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Hardware

Component	Details
Motherboard	Intel H81
CPU	Intel Pentium G3220 (Haswell)
GPU	Intel HD Graphics
RAM	4GB
Driver	i965-va-driver
OS	Debian 13 (Trixie)

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Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Debian 13 + xibo-player 4.0.8 .deb package.
2. Launch player and register with CMS.
3. Check logs (Cannot find module 'electron' appears).
4. Authorize display in CMS (No change takes effect until restart).
5. Push a playlist/layout update from CMS (Blue screen appears instead of rendering content).
6. Change a CMS setting (Doesn't apply until restart).
7. Remove display from CMS and restart player (Continues playing old cached content without validating authorization).
8. Manual restart (Resolves temporarily until next playlist push).

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What Works vs What Doesn't

✅ Works	❌ Doesn't Work
CMS registration	Auto-applying CMS changes without restart
File downloads	Showing content after playlist update (blue screen)
XMR connection (heartbeats)	Electron error in logs
Layout rendering internally	express.js requiring electron
Stats collection	Checking if display exists in CMS
Player process stays running	—
Local caching	—

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Error Details

Module Exception

Cannot find module 'electron'
Location: /usr/lib/xibo-player/resources/app/dist/main/express.js:7

[nadzpogi]

Thanks for the detailed report. Here's where each item landed:

• Issue #1 (blue screen after a playlist update) is tracked in Required Files: failed downloads are never retried #181.

• Issue #2 (CMS changes not applying without a restart) is the same root cause as #1. The player only re-requests its file list when the CMS checksum changes, so after a failed download the updated files never arrive. Restarting clears that checksum, which is why a restart appears to fix both.

• Issue #3 (Cannot find module 'electron') is tracked in File Server: unused helper process crashes on every launch #182.

• Issue #4 (plays cached content after display removal) is intentional. We avoid doing anything destructive on the player, so a display that loses its CMS record keeps playing its last known content until someone manually sets it up again.