Pimatic not running as 'service'

---

Gave it 2 further tries:

1. renaming the sqlite3 folder - doesn’t help
2. generated a pimatic.js in /usr/local/bin/, with the content from /usr/bin/pimatic.js
   Each test with reboot, but same results …

With respect to the node installation methodology, that seems for me a maybe a bit philosophical question, as I heard similiar, in the other direction in the ioBroker forum. However, I will never judge about that, therefor, as said, my Unix knowledge is too poor
But it is good to ‘hear’ you saying, that you also would exclude this as the here occuring issue

As I, due to all that tests, do not trust any longer in the current installation, I will set up a complete new buster image later on.
Thanks for the moment. I will come back here, perspectively in the evening …

Hi again,
I now did the whole installation again, with a ‘nacked’ config.json
Afterwards Pimatic is able for beeing started and stopped by:
‘sudo node_modules/pimatic/pimatic.js [start/stop]’

The problems started after the globalization - sounds a bit for me as some other cases I know from real life

First after ‘npm install’ I got again 93 vulnerabilities and reduced them with ‘npm audit fix’ down to 45.
After that I got 43 vulnerabilities by ‘sudo npm link’. Here ‘npm audit fix’ wasn’t able to fix anything.

After that I did a reboot and ended up with the same issue as yesterday, resp. today noon:

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo pimatic.js start
Started.
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo pimatic.js status
Pidfile exists, but process is dead.

So the issue comes definitely by making Pimatic globally with npm.
The logfile contains the same error as already posted below.
(The detailled ‘answers’ on the npm commands I could post here if meaningful)

A thought on basis of my poor Unix knowledge:
I understood npm comes along with the node installation!? As already said, I did the node installation not according to the procedure given in the Pimatic installation manual, but by:

curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_10.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

I did that as I plan to run Pimatic and ioBroker (VIS) on the same Raspi (extra bought a PI4B 4GB for that) and I already made the experience, that ioBroker struggels with the Pimatic way of the node installation.

So what else can I do?
If nothing else comes up, I would then test to install node according to the Pimatic manual.

Hi, a lot of work but you get more experience from it.
I would suggest to do the pimatic and node install 'the pimatic way’
If that works you got a starting point.
I’m still using the latest version of stretch-lite, nodejs 10.17.0 and npm 6.11.3 (is part of node installation).
The old installation guide can still be found but your need to use the Wiki https://pimatic.teamemo.com/Guide/Getting-Started

Yes, that is at least the minimum positiv side-effect

Stretch I can not use, as it does not run on a PI4B. I already tested it, but the image doesn’t boot at all into the installation/configuration routine. I googled a bit on that and found it also confirmed somewhere in the net.

But a question on node:
Do you have a clue how to install dedicatedly another node subversion by the ioBroker routine?
Then I would test that also by e. g. installing not node 10.20.x, but 10.17.x or 10.16.x which is running on my happily working current Pimatic Prod (Stretch on a PI3B )

So, what might be concretely the command to use?
I only see the possibility to put in another lower main version.

The install of node 10.17.0

wget https://nodejs.org/dist/v10.17.0/node-v10.17.0-linux-armv7l.tar.gz -P /tmp
cd /usr/local
sudo tar xzvf /tmp/node-v10.17.0-linux-armv7l.tar.gz --strip=1

ok, the Pimatic way, I know

… I come back a bit later here again

Ok, now i understand, its the dual node question. That is not something i have experience with. I assume that’s only possible when you use virtualization.

The iobroker installation guideline asks for a node 10.x installation available.
So installing the pimatic way node 10.17.0 should be good.

No that’s not what I meant.
I meant how to install by the ioBroker command a lower subversion in general?
So e.g. 10.16.x or 10.17.x instead of 10.20.x in general.
It seams only to be possibe to install the newest subversion, on basis of the respective main version with that command.

However I’m just re-installing and will test now the Pimatic way to verify that this is really the issue.

If it is, then I have a problem as I have no clue then how to get Pimatic and ioBroker running on the same PI…

The iobroker installation script checks if nodejs is installed and skips the node installation if node is already present.
If you look into the iobroker installation script it’s possible to hack to get a lower node version, but it not logical to do it that way.
Install nodejs first (pimatic way) and than install iobroker and let iobroker skip the node installation. This makes more sense.

I did the installation manually which is currently running on another test PI3B on Stretch.
But before setting it up from scratch I took a clone from my current Pimatic Prod, which brought my to a couple of problems.
But on the other hand, these problems might have also ocurred by at that time some dying SD-Cards. That was really a horror as I searched like hell, unitl I came to this conclusion. 2 Cards right behind each others …

Thats bad, i stopped using sd cards and switched to usb sticks

… well but this here is now also developing in a frustrating direction …

I just unistalled node and pimatic, incl all the npm unlink stuff.
I newly installed now node by the Pimatic-way (v10.17.0) and then also reinstalled Pimatic.

But in the end the result stays the same. No more working after globalization

I’m speachless…

Has anyone before installed Pimatic on a PI4B Buster?

I can’t help on Buster, i hope somebody else will respond.
You told iobroker can run on stretch, but for test purpose you could try to do the pimatic-only installation on stretch. That must work (i hope )

Ok @bertreb, but many thanks for your support until now
As said, my Pimatic Prod is stable running since ~1 year on a PI3B Stretch, node 10.16.3. No issues at all, incl. homeduino and a ConBee II stick and meanwhile dozens of sensors, actors and what else from multiple vendors.

I built now I really cool GUI on basis of ioBroker VIS, on a test RASPI, and my plan was to consolidate both systems on a PI4B because of its larger RAM (4GB)…, but … you know …

Last suggestion for today.
Why don’t you leave pimatic, homeduine, conbee on the ‘old pi’ and use the new one for iobroker.

Sure that would work, as it already works with the test PI, but I always try to limit the permanently in the house actively running systems…
Another Idea might by to consolidate ioBroker with my MotionEye PI, by that I would also save one in general

Enjoy your evening

Hi folks, I give it another try here

Now knowing that my problems definitely occure while trying to globalize Pimatic, I didn’t do the respective npm commands from the installation guide. This, as I also recognized that there is written: “To make pimatic available globally you can run:…”

So I tried to implement the autostart section without globalizing Pimatic. But that does also not work (on Buster).
Doing it that way in minimum has the effect, that my Pimatic installation wasn’t crashed, in comparison to trying to globalize it.

I’m still able to run it manually.

So my new question would be: How may I implement another (working) autostart method on Buster?
Is there someone out who knows about that?

Hi, i did a fresh install of pimatic on buster ( like you are trying).
2 differences. I used a rpi-3b and a fresh usb stick.
I followed exactly the wiki (rpi-3b) instructions and installed successfully an autostarting pimatic system on buster (2020-02-13-raspbian-buster-lite) with node 10.20.1. Thats also what I would expect.

I you got a rpi-3 somewhere, I would suggest to do a new basic config installation on that rpi-3b (with buster, node, globalisation and autostarting)
If that works, the way you install is not the problem.

…and the alternative without making Pimatic global available is

Take the first 2 steps of the autostart procedure

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pimatic/pimatic/master/install/pimatic.service
sudo cp pimatic.service /lib/systemd/system/

Change the ExecStart and ExecStop lines in the file /lib/systemd/system/pimatic.service into

ExecStart=/home/pi/pimatic-app/node_modules/pimatic/pimatic.js start
ExecStop=/home/pi/pimatic-app/node_modules/pimatic/pimatic.js stop

Proceed with the autostart procedure

sudo chown root:root /lib/systemd/system/pimatic.service
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable pimatic

Start the service with ‘sudo service pimatic start’ or reboot

Hi @bertreb, as on my former test 3B currently ioBroker is running with my super-duper VIS front-end I currently wouldn’t like to set this out of order …
But I took your second advice, still using the node installation like ioBroker, on my 4B, and what shall I say…

IT WORKS!!! - I’m that happy, I can not tell you how much!!!

I today started to think about setting up a docker environment on the 4B, to have a Stretch container running with Pimatic and besides a Buster container with ioBroker … I will not speculate how long such a setup would have let me work on, until it would have been usable …

Thank you so much!
I will now bring my prod config.json and the current sqlite DB to the setup and hope that it will continue to work …