All remote commands (reference)

Most users don't need this page. It is the complete catalogue. For the three ways to send a command — and the handful you'll actually use — see Send a command to a screen.

Every command you can send to a screen, grouped by purpose. These are one-off actions: the screen does the thing and carries on. For values that stay on the screen — volume, orientation, brightness, time zone — see All settings reference.

Commands to leave to impressBox

🚫 Support & diagnostic — don't use unless impressBox asks you to: autossh · emergency_start · emergency_stop · wavemon_start · wavemon_stop · debug · toggle_debug_screen · log_state · self_test · upgrade_firmware (and _check / _cancel / _clean) · direct_reboot · direct_upgrade_app · download_control_app · delete_control_app · app_url · change_app_url · change_password · settings_remote_config_load · settings_playlists_check · sensors_arm · sensors_disarm · statistics_check · statistics_flush · adv_impressions_check · adv_impressions_flush.

These are for troubleshooting and integrations — they won't help with day-to-day content, and some can confuse a working screen or open support access. Rule of thumb: if a command isn't in the ✅ list and you didn't come to fix a specific problem, you don't need it.

The full descriptions below are grouped by purpose, with the same ✅/🚫 logic reflected in the markers.

Playback — what's playing on the screen

  • playlist — Set the playlist the screen plays. Can be the main, always-looping playlist (forever: true) or a temporary one that plays then hands back to the main (forever: false). 💬 ↗

  • download — Pre-download a playlist's files to the screen so it can play offline later, without waiting to fetch them at play time.

  • programmatic_download — Trigger an automated/scripted download (same idea as above, started by automation rather than by hand).

  • stop — Stop playback. The screen stops showing the current content. 🔘 💬

  • next — Skip to the next track in the playlist. 🔘 💬

  • toggle_play — Play / pause the current track.

  • sync_to_main — Switch the screen back to its main (always-on) playlist.

  • sync_to_schedule — Switch the screen to whatever the schedule says it should be playing now.

Display & audio — the picture and sound

  • display_on — Turn the screen on now (wake from standby). 🔘 💬

  • display_off — Turn the screen off now (put to standby). 🔘 💬

  • display_rotate — Set the screen rotation (0/90/180/270°).

  • display_get_rotation — Read the screen's current rotation.

  • backlight — Set the screen brightness immediately (0–100). 💬 ↗

  • volume — Set the audio volume (0–100). 🔘 💬

  • mute / unmute — Silence the audio without changing the level / restore it. 🔘 💬

Power & lifecycle — restart, update, free space

  • reboot — Restart the device remotely. The safe first remedy for a frozen screen or content that won't refresh; the screen comes back and resumes its playlist. 💬 ↗

  • direct_reboot — A more direct reboot (lower-level), used when the normal reboot can't run.

  • restart_app — Restart just the player application (faster than a full reboot; fixes a stuck app without rebooting the hardware). 💬 ↗

  • upgrade_app — Update the player application to a newer version. 💬 ↗

  • direct_upgrade_app — A more direct app update, used when the normal update path isn't available.

  • upgrade_firmware — Update the device firmware (webOS). upgrade_firmware_check — check if a firmware update is available; upgrade_firmware_cancel — cancel one in progress; upgrade_firmware_clean — clean up after a firmware update.

  • wakeonlan — Wake another device on the same network (Wake-on-LAN) — e.g. one screen powers on its neighbour.

  • clean_up — Delete stored/temporary media on the device to free up space. 💬 ↗

  • shutdown — Power the device off (via the gateway controller).

Control App — the optional on-device helper

  • download_control_app / delete_control_app — Install / remove the on-device Control App.

  • app_url — Read the Control App's URL. change_app_url — change it.

  • change_password — Change the local service password on the device.

Diagnostics & support — see what's going on / let support in

  • status — Ask the device for its current status and state. (Over the local API, the read-only GET endpoints /status, /state, /info, /system_usage, /timers, /server_config, /schedule return the same kind of information.)

  • screenshot — Capture exactly what's on the screen right now. 🔘 💬

  • log_state — Write the device's current state into the logs (handy before asking support to look).

  • toggle_debug_screen / toggle_debug_screen_settings — Show / hide the on-device debug overlay and its settings.

  • self_test — Run the LED self-test (for LED walls).

  • current_time — Read or re-sync the device's clock.

  • settings_remote_config_load — Reload the device's remote configuration file.

  • settings_playlists_check — Re-check the device's playlist settings.

  • autossh — Open a remote SSH tunnel so support can reach the device. emergency_start (takes a remote port) / emergency_stop — start / stop that emergency remote access.

  • wavemon_start / wavemon_stop — Start / stop Wi-Fi signal monitoring (to diagnose flaky wireless).

Sensors / on-screen overlays

  • sensors_arm / sensors_disarm — Lock / unlock on-screen sensor overlays (OSDs).

  • sensors_get_status — Read whether those overlays are armed.

Statistics & advertising

  • statistics_check — Inspect the buffered playback analytics on the device. statistics_flush — send them now; statistics_flush_stop — stop a flush in progress.

  • adv_impressions_check — Inspect buffered advertising impression counts. adv_impressions_flush — send them now.

For day-to-day work, the device-card buttons (display on/off, volume, screenshot) and the Publish / send (↗) dialog cover everything you need — see Display control and Managing devices day-to-day. (The safe/leave-alone split is at the top of this page.)

For day-to-day work, the device-card buttons and the Publish / send (↗) dialog cover everything you need — see Send a command to a screen, Turn a screen on or off, mute it, set volume and Managing devices day-to-day.