GoVista on LG webOS Signage — Real Device Setup

You've tested in the simulator. Now you need it running on actual hardware. This guide covers every supported install path, what trade-offs each one carries, and how to verify the panel will autolaunch into GoVista after every reboot.

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TL;DR — pick your path

flowchart TD
    Start[I need GoVista on a real LG panel] --> Q1{How many panels?}
    Q1 -->|1 — just testing| URL[Path 1: Play via URL<br/>5 minutes, zero install]
    Q1 -->|1–5 — my dev panel| ARES[Path 2: ares-install<br/>Developer Mode + CLI]
    Q1 -->|5+ — customer rollout| USB[Path 3: USB SI Sales<br/>Plug, boot, done]

    URL --> ResultURL[✅ Best for first contact<br/>⚠️ No deep Luna access]
    ARES --> ResultARES[✅ Full IPK privileges<br/>⚠️ Per-panel CLI step]
    USB --> ResultUSB[✅ Bulk-friendly<br/>✅ Pinned as default app]

    style URL fill:#7c3aed,stroke:#5b21b6,color:#fff
    style ARES fill:#0891b2,stroke:#0e7490,color:#fff
    style USB fill:#059669,stroke:#047857,color:#fff

	Path 1 — Play via URL	Path 2 — ares-install	Path 3 — USB SI Sales
Time per panel	~5 min	~5 min (after Dev Mode)	~1 min
Tooling needed	Just the remote	Mac/PC + webOS CLI	USB stick, FAT32
IPK install	No (URL only)	Yes	Yes
Pinned as default	Manual menu step	Manual menu step	Yes (one-time menu enable)
Deep Luna calls	❌ Most blocked	✅ All permitted	✅ All permitted
Remote update flow	Service worker (PWA)	IPK push via dashboard	IPK push via dashboard
Good for	First test, demos	Dev/QA panel	Customer deployment

My recommendation: start with Path 1 to confirm the panel renders correctly. Promote to Path 3 once you've verified the screen looks right and you're ready to deploy.

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Before you start — what hardware works?

GoVista runs on LG Commercial Signage panels (the SoC variants), not consumer Smart TVs. If the model number looks like one of these, you're good:

Series	Examples	webOS version
UL series	UL3J, UL3G, UL5G	4.x – 6.x
UH series	UH5F, UH7F	4.x – 6.x
UM series	UM3DF, UM5F	6.x
UR series	UR340C, UR770H	6.x
SM series	SM5KE, SM5KD	3.x – 4.x
SH series	SH7E, SH7DB	6.x – 7.x

If you're holding a remote with SETTINGS, HOME, BACK and you can navigate to EZ-Setting, you've got the right hardware. Consumer TVs (OLED-C, NanoCell) will not honor the autolaunch metadata and are not supported.

Pro tip — the hidden settings. Hold SETTINGS ~5 seconds until a popup appears top-right, then enter 8080 + OK. If a password prompt appears instead, the common default is 000000 — or use the partner-specific code your reseller provided.

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Path 1 — Play via URL (5 minutes, zero install)

The fastest way to get GoVista on a real panel. No IPK, no developer mode, no USB stick. The panel itself becomes a thin client that loads the GoVista PWA from https://player.govista.app. (LG calls this feature Play via URL — "URL Loader" on some firmware. "URL Launcher" is the Samsung Tizen equivalent.)

What you need

• 1 × LG Commercial Signage panel powered on
• LG remote (or an IR universal remote with the panel's profile)
• Network: the panel needs internet access (wired or Wi-Fi). Verify in Network Settings before starting.

Steps

1. Open the hidden signage settings. Hold SETTINGS on the remote for ~5 seconds until a small popup appears in the top-right corner.

2. Enter the quick-access code: 8080, then OK.

3. Go to EZ Setting → Play via URL (named URL Loader on some webOS versions).

4. Set URL Loader → On.

5. Type the URL:

   https://player.govista.app
   

   Use the on-screen keyboard. Double-check there are no typos — a single wrong character will leave you on a "page not found" screen at every reboot.

6. Save and reboot. Within ~30 seconds of the restart the GoVista pairing screen appears.

7. Pair the device. A pairing code displays on screen. In the GoVista dashboard, Network → Add Device → Enter Pairing Code. Type the code, assign the panel to a store + brand. Done.

Verify autolaunch works

Power-cycle the panel by pulling the wall plug for 10 seconds (not just standby — a real cold boot). The panel should come back up directly into GoVista without any menu intervention. If it doesn't, repeat step 4 — URL Loader may not have saved correctly.

Limitations of Play via URL mode

• No Luna service access. Calls to com.webos.settingsservice (brightness), com.webos.service.tvpower (real OS reboot), com.webos.service.systemproperty (panel temperature) are silently rejected. The PWA detects this and degrades gracefully — features that require Luna just won't appear in the heartbeat.
• Updates via PWA service worker. When we ship a new web-player bundle, the panel picks it up on the next page load (within ~24 hours, or instantly if you trigger COMMAND_UPDATE_CHECK from the dashboard).
• Cannot be remote-rebooted (OS-level). The Reboot Device button in the dashboard does a page reload, not an OS reboot. For real OS reboot, you need Path 2 or Path 3.

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Path 2 — ares-install (developer workflow, consumer LG TVs only)

For dev/QA TVs you'll iterate on. After a one-time setup of LG's webOS CLI, deploying a new IPK is one command.

Consumer TVs only. The Developer Mode app lives in the LG Content Store, which commercial signage panels don't have. For signage hardware, use Path 1 or Path 3.

One-time setup

On the panel:

1. Open LG Content Store → search Developer Mode → install it.
2. Open the Developer Mode app, sign in with an LG developer account (webos.developer.lge.com).
3. Toggle Dev Mode Status: ON. Note the device IP and the passphrase.
4. (Optional for consumer webOS only) Enable Key Server: ON so the CLI can fetch the SSH key.

On your Mac/PC:

1. Install Node 20+ and the webOS CLI:

   npm install -g @webos-tools/cli
   

   This gives you ares-setup-device, ares-install, ares-launch, ares-inspect, etc.

2. Register the panel:

   ares-setup-device --add my-lg-panel \
     --info "username=prisoner|host=192.168.1.123|port=9922|files=stream"
   

   Replace 192.168.1.123 with the panel's IP from step 3 above.

3. Fetch the SSH key (consumer webOS):

   ares-novacom -d my-lg-panel --getkey
   # Paste the passphrase from the Developer Mode app
   

4. Confirm the connection:

   ares-device-info -d my-lg-panel
   

   You should see firmware version, model name, etc.

Build and install GoVista

From the repo root:

cd apps/webos-player
pnpm build:ipk

This produces releases/com.lg.app.signage_<version>_all.ipk (the app uses LG's reserved SI-app ID — required for the USB/SI install in Path 3).

Install + launch:

ares-install -d my-lg-panel releases/com.lg.app.signage_1.7.0_all.ipk
ares-launch  -d my-lg-panel com.lg.app.signage

Live-debug while running

ares-inspect -d my-lg-panel -a com.lg.app.signage

Opens Chrome DevTools attached to the running player. Inspect network, console, performance — same as developing in a browser tab.

Limitations

• Developer Mode expires after 1000 hours (~42 days of continuous uptime). The Developer Mode app needs to be re-extended.
• Consumer TVs only — commercial signage panels have no Content Store / Developer Mode app.
• Cannot push IPK remotely. You need network reachability to the TV from your dev machine. For signage devices, use Path 3.

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Path 3 — USB SI Sales (commercial deployment)

The way you roll out 50 panels without a CLI session per device. A FAT32 USB stick with the right file structure is auto-detected by LG firmware on boot.

What the stick needs

A standard USB-A flash drive formatted FAT32. 2GB or larger is plenty (IPK is ~2MB).

Get the image

Download govista-webos-usb-v<version>.zip from the dashboard onboarding wizard (Network → Add Device → LG webOS → USB), or build it locally:

cd apps/webos-player
pnpm build:ipk && node scripts/build-usb-image.cjs

Extract the zip onto the root of your USB stick. The resulting layout is:

USB-DRIVE/
├── scap_installation.json         ← controls install behavior
└── application/
    └── com.lg.app.signage.ipk     ← fixed filename — LG firmware scans for exactly this

The scap_installation.json we ship uses LG's flat format:

{
  "appLaunchMode": "local",
  "appType": "ipk"
}

Per-panel installation (~1 minute)

1. Plug the USB stick into any of the panel's USB ports.
2. Open SI Server Setting — hold SETTINGS ~5 s → enter 8080 + OK → EZ Setting → SI Server Setting.
3. Set Application Launch Mode: Local and Application Type: IPK.
4. Select Local Application Upgrade → USB and confirm.
5. Power-cycle the panel (off, wait 10 seconds, on). The firmware installs the IPK, pins it as the boot-default app, and reboots into the GoVista pairing screen.
6. Pull the USB. Done.

Bulk deployment workflow

For a 50-panel rollout, prep two or three USB sticks with the same image. Walk the floor with them and parallelize. A two-person team can commission 50 panels in an hour.

Verify the panel is pinned correctly

After USB removal and reboot, the panel should boot directly to GoVista without showing the LG home screen or EZ-Setting wizard. If it shows EZ-Setting, the USB install didn't take — most often because:

• The scap_installation.json is in a subfolder, not at the USB root.
• The USB is exFAT or NTFS, not FAT32.
• The IPK filename was renamed (must match the structure inside the zip).
• The panel didn't perform a true cold boot — try unplugging from wall power, waiting 10 sec, reconnecting.

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Verification checklist (every install path)

After commissioning a panel, run through these to confirm everything is wired correctly:

• Cold boot test — pull power 10 sec, reconnect, panel lands on GoVista within 60 sec.
• Heartbeat appears in dashboard — device shows online within 30 sec of boot.
• Pairing code accepted — device moves from "pairing" to "active" state.
• First content download — assigned playlist downloads and starts playing within 2 minutes.
• Network resilience — pull the network cable for 30 sec, reconnect. Player should reconnect automatically.
• App crash recovery — in dashboard, send COMMAND_APP_RESTART. Player reloads within 30 sec.

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Troubleshooting

Panel boots to LG home screen instead of GoVista

Cause: SI Server Setting is not pointing at the right app/URL.

Fix: Open the hidden settings again (hold SETTINGS ~5 s → 8080). Confirm:

• Path 1: Play via URL → URL Loader = On, URL exactly https://player.govista.app
• Path 3: Application Launch Mode = Local, Application Type = IPK

"Network connection failed" on first launch

Cause: The panel hasn't gotten an IP yet, or DNS is blocked.

Fix: Open Network Settings, confirm Wi-Fi or Ethernet shows a valid IP. Ping player.govista.app from a laptop on the same network. If DNS fails, the customer's router may be blocking external lookups — they need to allow *.govista.app and goled-production.up.railway.app.

Pairing code never appears

Cause: Player loaded but is hitting an API error.

Fix: From your dev machine, ares-inspect -d <device> to attach DevTools (Path 2 only — won't work on Play via URL panels). Check Console for fetch errors. Most common: API endpoint blocked by customer firewall.

Device shows up online but content never downloads

Cause: Manifest fetch succeeded but asset CDN is blocked by firewall.

Fix: Customer needs to allow https://*.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/* outbound. This is where all media assets live.

After USB install, panel reboot-loops

Cause: Bad IPK signature, or scap_installation.json mis-formatted.

Fix: Pull the USB stick during the boot loop, let the panel boot to LG home, then regenerate the USB image from the dashboard (don't manually edit JSON). If the loop persists, factory-reset the panel via the service menu (SETTINGS → press 7777 rapidly → Factory Reset).

Developer Mode expired (Path 2)

Cause: Consumer webOS 1000-hour timer ran out.

Fix: Reopen Developer Mode app on the panel → Extend Dev Mode. If LG has revoked the account, contact your LG developer rep. For commercial signage panels with proper accounts, this shouldn't happen.

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What's next

Once a panel is commissioned and showing content, the remote management surface kicks in:

• Dashboard → Network → [device] for live telemetry: bundle version, JS heap, frame drops, latency, signal strength
• Dashboard → Network → [device] → Commands for reboot, screenshot, cache clear, force-update
• Dashboard → Schedules for daypart on/off and content rotation

For full remote-control feature coverage by install path, see PLAYER_CAPABILITIES.md.

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Internal: regenerating the artifacts

If you're updating this doc or rebuilding the install assets:

# Rebuild the IPK
cd apps/webos-player
pnpm build:ipk
# Output: releases/com.lg.app.signage_<version>_all.ipk

# Rebuild the USB zip (server uses this internally)
pnpm build:webos
# Output: dist/govista-webos-player-v<version>.zip

# Regenerate hero images (only if you want fresh AI variations)
FAL_API_KEY=... node scripts/generate-hero-images.cjs

The dashboard onboarding wizard links to the pre-built USB zip hosted on Supabase storage (releases/webos/govista-webos-usb-v<version>.zip). Rebuild and re-upload it whenever a new IPK ships.

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Last verified: webOS 6.0 on UR340C, May 2026.