BoxMux API Reference

This document describes the BoxMux API for programmatic control via socket messaging and external integrations.

Table of Contents

• Socket API
• Message Format
• Command Reference
• Panel Operations
• Layout Operations
• System Operations
• Event Handling
• Client Libraries
• Integration Examples

Socket API

BoxMux provides a Unix socket interface for real-time communication and control. The socket is created at /tmp/boxmux.sock by default.

Basic Usage

# Send a command to BoxMux
echo '{"UpdatePanel": {"panel_id": "status", "content": "Hello World"}}' | nc -U /tmp/boxmux.sock

# Check if BoxMux is running
nc -U /tmp/boxmux.sock -w 1 < /dev/null && echo "BoxMux is running"

Connection

The socket accepts JSON messages terminated by newlines. Each message should be a single JSON object.

# Multiple commands
{
  echo '{"UpdatePanel": {"panel_id": "panel1", "content": "Line 1"}}'
  echo '{"UpdatePanel": {"panel_id": "panel2", "content": "Line 2"}}'
} | nc -U /tmp/boxmux.sock

Message Format

All messages are JSON objects with a command type as the root key:

{
  "CommandType": {
    "parameter1": "value1",
    "parameter2": "value2"
  }
}

Response Format

BoxMux may send responses for certain commands:

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Command executed successfully",
  "data": {
    "additional": "information"
  }
}

Command Reference

UpdatePanel

Update the content of a specific panel.

{
  "UpdatePanel": {
    "panel_id": "target_panel",
    "content": "New content for the panel"
  }
}

Parameters:

• panel_id (string): ID of the panel to update
• content (string): New content to display

Example:

echo '{"UpdatePanel": {"panel_id": "status", "content": "System Online"}}' | nc -U /tmp/boxmux.sock

AppendPanel

Append content to a specific panel.

{
  "AppendPanel": {
    "panel_id": "target_panel",
    "content": "Content to append"
  }
}

Parameters:

• panel_id (string): ID of the panel to update
• content (string): Content to append

Example:

echo '{"AppendPanel": {"panel_id": "logs", "content": "New log entry"}}' | nc -U /tmp/boxmux.sock

RefreshPanel

Trigger a refresh of a specific panel (executes its script).

{
  "RefreshPanel": {
    "panel_id": "target_panel"
  }
}

Parameters:

• panel_id (string): ID of the panel to refresh

Example:

echo '{"RefreshPanel": {"panel_id": "cpu_monitor"}}' | nc -U /tmp/boxmux.sock

SetPanelProperty

Update a specific property of a panel.

{
  "SetPanelProperty": {
    "panel_id": "target_panel",
    "property": "bg_color",
    "value": "red"
  }
}

Parameters:

• panel_id (string): ID of the panel to update
• property (string): Property name to update
• value (any): New value for the property

Supported Properties:

• bg_color, fg_color
• title_bg_color, title_fg_color
• border_color, selected_border_color
• refresh_interval
• content
• title

Example:

echo '{"SetPanelProperty": {"panel_id": "alert", "property": "bg_color", "value": "red"}}' | nc -U /tmp/boxmux.sock

ExecuteScript

Execute a script in the context of a panel.

{
  "ExecuteScript": {
    "panel_id": "target_panel",
    "script": ["echo 'Hello'", "date"],
    "append": false
  }
}

Parameters:

• panel_id (string): ID of the panel to execute script in
• script (array[string]): Commands to execute
• append (boolean): Whether to append or replace output

Example:

echo '{"ExecuteScript": {"panel_id": "output", "script": ["ps aux | head -5"], "append": true}}' | nc -U /tmp/boxmux.sock

SendKey

Send a key press to BoxMux.

{
  "SendKey": {
    "key": "Tab"
  }
}

Parameters:

• key (string): Key to send (e.g., “Tab”, “Enter”, “Escape”, “a”, “1”)

Example:

echo '{"SendKey": {"key": "Tab"}}' | nc -U /tmp/boxmux.sock

FocusPanel

Focus a specific panel.

{
  "FocusPanel": {
    "panel_id": "target_panel"
  }
}

Parameters:

• panel_id (string): ID of the panel to focus

Example:

echo '{"FocusPanel": {"panel_id": "menu"}}' | nc -U /tmp/boxmux.sock

Panel Operations

Getting Panel Information

{
  "GetPanelInfo": {
    "panel_id": "target_panel"
  }
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "id": "target_panel",
    "title": "Panel Title",
    "content": "Current content",
    "position": {"x1": "10%", "y1": "10%", "x2": "90%", "y2": "90%"},
    "properties": {
      "bg_color": "black",
      "fg_color": "white",
      "refresh_interval": 5000
    }
  }
}

Listing All Panels

{
  "ListPanels": {}
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "panels": [
      {
        "id": "panel1",
        "title": "Panel 1",
        "parent": "layout1"
      },
      {
        "id": "panel2",
        "title": "Panel 2",
        "parent": "layout1"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Panel State Management

{
  "SetPanelState": {
    "panel_id": "target_panel",
    "state": {
      "visible": true,
      "enabled": true,
      "selected": false
    }
  }
}

Layout Operations

Switch Layout

{
  "SwitchLayout": {
    "layout_id": "new_layout"
  }
}

Get Current Layout

{
  "GetCurrentLayout": {}
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "layout_id": "current_layout",
    "title": "Current Layout Title",
    "panels": ["panel1", "panel2", "panel3"]
  }
}

Reload Configuration

{
  "ReloadConfig": {
    "config_file": "/path/to/new/config.yaml"
  }
}

System Operations

Get Application Status

{
  "GetStatus": {}
}

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "version": "0.76.71205",
    "uptime": "00:15:32",
    "current_layout": "dashboard",
    "active_panels": 5,
    "socket_path": "/tmp/boxmux.sock",
    "config_file": "/path/to/config.yaml"
  }
}

Shutdown Application

{
  "Shutdown": {}
}

Restart Application

{
  "Restart": {}
}

Event Handling

Subscribe to Events

{
  "Subscribe": {
    "events": ["panel_update", "key_press", "focus_change"],
    "callback_url": "http://localhost:8080/events"
  }
}

Event Types

• panel_update: Panel content changed
• key_press: Key was pressed
• focus_change: Focus moved to different panel
• script_complete: Script execution completed
• error: Error occurred

Event Format

{
  "event_type": "panel_update",
  "timestamp": "2024-01-01T12:00:00Z",
  "data": {
    "panel_id": "status",
    "old_content": "Offline",
    "new_content": "Online"
  }
}

Client Libraries

Python Client

import socket
import json

class BoxMuxClient:
    def __init__(self, socket_path='/tmp/boxmux.sock'):
        self.socket_path = socket_path
    
    def send_command(self, command):
        sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_UNIX, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
        try:
            sock.connect(self.socket_path)
            sock.send(json.dumps(command).encode() + b'\n')
            response = sock.recv(1024)
            return json.loads(response.decode())
        finally:
            sock.close()
    
    def update_panel(self, panel_id, content):
        command = {
            "UpdatePanel": {
                "panel_id": panel_id,
                "content": content
            }
        }
        return self.send_command(command)
    
    def refresh_panel(self, panel_id):
        command = {
            "RefreshPanel": {
                "panel_id": panel_id
            }
        }
        return self.send_command(command)

# Usage
client = BoxMuxClient()
client.update_panel("status", "System Online")
client.refresh_panel("cpu_monitor")

Bash Client

#!/bin/bash

SOCKET_PATH="/tmp/boxmux.sock"

send_command() {
    local command="$1"
    echo "$command" | nc -U "$SOCKET_PATH"
}

update_panel() {
    local panel_id="$1"
    local content="$2"
    local command="{\"UpdatePanel\": {\"panel_id\": \"$panel_id\", \"content\": \"$content\"}}"
    send_command "$command"
}

refresh_panel() {
    local panel_id="$1"
    local command="{\"RefreshPanel\": {\"panel_id\": \"$panel_id\"}}"
    send_command "$command"
}

# Usage
update_panel "status" "System Online"
refresh_panel "cpu_monitor"

Node.js Client

const net = require('net');

class BoxMuxClient {
    constructor(socketPath = '/tmp/boxmux.sock') {
        this.socketPath = socketPath;
    }
    
    sendCommand(command) {
        return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
            const client = net.createConnection(this.socketPath, () => {
                client.write(JSON.stringify(command) + '\n');
            });
            
            client.on('data', (data) => {
                try {
                    const response = JSON.parse(data.toString());
                    resolve(response);
                } catch (e) {
                    reject(e);
                }
                client.end();
            });
            
            client.on('error', reject);
        });
    }
    
    updatePanel(panelId, content) {
        return this.sendCommand({
            UpdatePanel: {
                panel_id: panelId,
                content: content
            }
        });
    }
    
    refreshPanel(panelId) {
        return this.sendCommand({
            RefreshPanel: {
                panel_id: panelId
            }
        });
    }
}

// Usage
const client = new BoxMuxClient();
client.updatePanel('status', 'System Online');
client.refreshPanel('cpu_monitor');

Integration Examples

CI/CD Integration

#!/bin/bash
# deploy.sh - Update BoxMux during deployment

BOXMUX_SOCKET="/tmp/boxmux.sock"

update_status() {
    local status="$1"
    echo "{\"UpdatePanel\": {\"panel_id\": \"deploy_status\", \"content\": \"$status\"}}" | nc -U "$BOXMUX_SOCKET"
}

update_status "Starting deployment..."

# Run deployment steps
./build.sh
update_status "Build completed"

./test.sh
update_status "Tests passed"

./deploy.sh
update_status "Deployment completed"

# Refresh monitoring panels
echo '{"RefreshPanel": {"panel_id": "server_status"}}' | nc -U "$BOXMUX_SOCKET"

Log Monitoring

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import time
import json
import socket
from watchdog.observers import Observer
from watchdog.events import FileSystemEventHandler

class LogHandler(FileSystemEventHandler):
    def __init__(self, socket_path):
        self.socket_path = socket_path
    
    def on_modified(self, event):
        if event.is_directory:
            return
        
        # Read last lines of log file
        with open(event.src_path, 'r') as f:
            lines = f.readlines()
            recent_lines = ''.join(lines[-10:])
        
        # Update BoxMux panel
        command = {
            "UpdatePanel": {
                "panel_id": "log_viewer",
                "content": recent_lines
            }
        }
        
        sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_UNIX, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
        try:
            sock.connect(self.socket_path)
            sock.send(json.dumps(command).encode() + b'\n')
        finally:
            sock.close()

# Monitor log file
observer = Observer()
handler = LogHandler('/tmp/boxmux.sock')
observer.schedule(handler, '/var/log/myapp.log', recursive=False)
observer.start()

try:
    while True:
        time.sleep(1)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    observer.stop()
observer.join()

Web Dashboard Integration

// Express.js endpoint to update BoxMux
app.post('/api/update-panel', (req, res) => {
    const { panel_id, content } = req.body;
    
    const command = {
        UpdatePanel: {
            panel_id: panel_id,
            content: content
        }
    };
    
    const client = net.createConnection('/tmp/boxmux.sock', () => {
        client.write(JSON.stringify(command) + '\n');
    });
    
    client.on('data', (data) => {
        const response = JSON.parse(data.toString());
        res.json(response);
        client.end();
    });
    
    client.on('error', (err) => {
        res.status(500).json({ error: err.message });
    });
});

System Monitoring Integration

#!/bin/bash
# system_monitor.sh - Send system metrics to BoxMux

SOCKET="/tmp/boxmux.sock"

while true; do
    # CPU usage
    CPU=$(top -l 1 | grep "CPU usage" | awk '{print $3}' | sed 's/%//')
    echo "{\"UpdatePanel\": {\"panel_id\": \"cpu_panel\", \"content\": \"CPU: $CPU%\"}}" | nc -U "$SOCKET"
    
    # Memory usage
    MEM=$(vm_stat | grep "Pages free" | awk '{print $3}' | sed 's/\.//')
    echo "{\"UpdatePanel\": {\"panel_id\": \"mem_panel\", \"content\": \"Memory: ${MEM}MB free\"}}" | nc -U "$SOCKET"
    
    # Disk usage
    DISK=$(df -h / | tail -1 | awk '{print $5}')
    echo "{\"UpdatePanel\": {\"panel_id\": \"disk_panel\", \"content\": \"Disk: $DISK used\"}}" | nc -U "$SOCKET"
    
    sleep 5
done

Error Handling

Error Response Format

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Panel not found",
  "error_code": "PANEL_NOT_FOUND",
  "details": {
    "panel_id": "nonexistent_panel",
    "available_panels": ["panel1", "panel2"]
  }
}

Common Error Codes

• PANEL_NOT_FOUND: Specified panel ID does not exist
• INVALID_COMMAND: Unknown command type
• INVALID_PARAMETER: Invalid parameter value
• SCRIPT_ERROR: Script execution failed
• PERMISSION_DENIED: Insufficient permissions
• SOCKET_ERROR: Socket communication error

Error Handling in Clients

try:
    response = client.update_panel("nonexistent", "content")
    if not response.get("success", False):
        print(f"Error: {response.get('error', 'Unknown error')}")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Connection error: {e}")

Best Practices

1. Connection Management: Close socket connections promptly
2. Error Handling: Always check response status
3. Rate Limiting: Avoid overwhelming BoxMux with too many requests
4. Batching: Group related updates when possible
5. Validation: Validate panel IDs and parameters before sending
6. Logging: Log API calls for debugging
7. Timeouts: Set appropriate timeouts for socket operations