Cycle Effect, Tag Colour Library and Colour Editor

Date: 2026-04-06 Project: lego-dimensions-reader Status: resolved Tags: led-effects, cycle, tag-colors, tkinter, cli-client

Context

Jess wanted a "revolving" light effect that chases around all three pads for certain characters, a themed colour entry for every character in the library, and a GUI to edit those colours. Adding the cycle effect exposed a removal bug: when a cycle tag was lifted, only its own pad cleared and the other two stayed frozen mid-cycle; and removing an unrelated tag could kill a running cycle.

Key Decisions

Light only the pad the tag is on for normal effects — earlier behaviour could affect other pads.
software_cycle effect tracked under a special internal key (99) so it's managed separately from per-pad effects; supports a trail parameter for a dim afterglow on inactive pads.
Removal rules:
- Remove a cycle tag → stop the cycle, clear all three pads, then re-apply themes for any tags still present.
- Remove a non-cycle tag while a cycle runs elsewhere → leave the LEDs alone.
- Normal removal → turn off just that pad.
builtin_led_effects flag lets external clients (the CLI client) disable the base reader's default LED behaviour so it doesn't override themes.
Softer RGB values — full-brightness multi-channel colours look washed out on the portal (e.g. cyan [0,255,255] → [0,180,160]).
Dedicated Tag Colour Editor (tkinter) rather than hand-editing JSON.

Technical Details

tag_colors.json — 82 themed tag mappings (colour, effect, speed, optional cycle/trail).
dimensions_cli_client.py — CLI client that sends card IDs to Moonlight (POST /api/video/play, port 8547) and applies themed effects; supports cycle.
tag_color_editor.py — GUI for editing tag_colors.json.

Code Changes

lego_dimensions_reader.py — per-pad lighting fix; software_cycle effect.
dimensions_cli_client.py — cycle support; restore other pads on cycle removal; don't kill cycle on non-cycle removal.
tag_color_editor.py — new.
tag_colors.json — complete 82-entry set.
README.md — cycle effect examples.

Open Questions / Next Steps

Separate idea: figures on a reader pad switching Zigbee smart plugs (Tuya gateway + tinytuya cloud mode). Hardware bought, not yet paired; needs Tuya IoT developer credentials (<redacted>) and plug names before a mapping module can be built.

Artifacts

2b4ca64 — Restore other pads when cycle effect tag is removed
ac190d4 — Don't kill cycle effect when removing non-cycle tags
692c149 — Add software_cycle effect
c7dd1a6 — Add Tag Color Editor GUI tool
65512de — Complete tag_colors.json with 82 themed tag mappings

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