TriggerPanel

Tap a shortcut on your iPhone → an app launches on this PC.

TriggerPanel is a native PyQt6 desktop app — dark theme styled like TradingBot (Catppuccin Mocha, #181825 base, #89b4fa accent) — with a built-in HTTP server and a system-tray icon. Each app you register gets a permanent index number (#1, #2, …) and your phone just calls:

http://<YOUR-IP>:8765/run?app=1&token=<token>

URLs use your PC's LAN IP. Reserve it in your router (DHCP reservation) so it never changes.

Entry types

Entries aren't just apps — when you add one, a frameless wizard overlay (style matches TradingBot's popups: dark card, light border, drop shadow, Escape / click-outside to dismiss) asks what it should do:

Type	What it does
Run an app	Launch an .exe, .lnk, document, URI (spotify:) or command line
Python script	Run a .py file with its own virtualenv's interpreter — auto-detects venv/ / .venv/ next to the script, or set an explicit venv path
Send keystrokes	Press a combo — or a series (ctrl+shift+s, enter) — via SendInput. Keys go to the window focused on your PC when it fires. Can't inject into windows running as admin (UIPI)
Call an API endpoint	HTTP GET/POST/PUT/PATCH/DELETE with optional body. 4xx/5xx counts as "called"; only connection failures error
Run Function	A built-in action that runs inside TriggerPanel — no script, no venv. Today: Monitor brightness (sets the panel's own OSD brightness on the displays it finds)

Run Function is machine-agnostic: the displays are discovered when the wizard opens and when the entry fires — nothing per-machine is ever stored. Its page shows one checkbox per detected display, labelled with what the panel itself reports (name, model or Display N when the monitor gives no name) plus the monitor's own id, e.g.

☑ Display 1 — LG Electronics ULTRAGEAR+ · id 4356
☑ Display 2 — PA329CV · id 4353

Uncheck the ones you don't want; leave them all checked for "every display". A Value field takes 0–100, and a Fade checkbox decides whether the panels ramp to it or jump straight there. Every selected display starts its fade on its own thread and they are joined at the end — the screens move together, not one after the other. Fade speed offers slow / normal / fast (measured on these two panels, both at once, 100 → 20: 5.1 s / 3.6 s / 2.0 s). Test now runs exactly those options right there — the screens change, the result line reports what each panel actually ended up at, and nothing is saved until you press Add entry. The same entry works on any Windows machine with any DDC/CI panel — and on laptop lids, which use the ACPI path instead.

Icon picker: every entry's Icon row has a Find icons field — type a word (brightness, spotify, volume…) and it offers up to five matching ids from the same service the phone panel renders through; tap one and it fills the Icon field. Built-ins also suggest a starting icon on their own. Offline it says so plainly and leaves the field alone.

python functions.py                 list every monitor + its brightness
python functions.py -f 50          fade every monitor to 50%
python functions.py -s 50          set 50% immediately, no fade
python functions.py 50             same as -f 50
python functions.py -f 50 -d 0     only display 0 (repeat -d, or use a name)
python functions.py -f 50 --speed fast   slow | normal | fast

Flags mirror python -m screen_brightness_control -d 0 -f 50, and functions.py is the exact code the app runs — the terminal and the shortcut URL do the same thing.

The list shows each entry's type (color-coded: blue app / purple script / green keys / yellow http / pink function) and details, and /run responses include {"ok": true, "type": ..., "detail": ...} so your phone notification tells you exactly what happened.

The desktop app

Control	What it does
+ New entry	Opens the 2-step wizard overlay (pick type → details, incl. Icon id)
⚙ Settings	Overlay with Run at boot, port, and token + Generate button — token applies immediately, port on restart
Run (or double-click)	Run the selected entry now
Edit	Reopen the wizard prefilled — change the name, icon, action, or even the type; the entry keeps its number
Copy URL	Copy that entry's ready-made shortcut URL
Token field	Click to select, Copy button — paste into your shortcut
Delete	Remove it — other entries keep their numbers
Minimize / ✕	Hides to the system tray (server keeps running)
Tray Show Window	Bring the window back
Tray Exit / Quit	Stop the server and exit (shortcuts stop working!)
Title bar	Drag to move, double-click to maximize, 8px edges resize

PC setup

1. Install — install.bat (venv + PyQt6).
2. Firewall — right-click add-firewall.bat → Run as administrator.
3. Autostart — already configured: the Startup shortcut launches TriggerPanel.exe at sign-in.
4. Start now — start.bat, or the already-running instance.
5. Reserve your IP in the router (DHCP reservation / static lease) so http://<YOUR-IP>:8765 never breaks.
6. Add entries via + New entry (wizard); use Copy URL on each row.

Windows .exe (what Startup runs)

TriggerPanel.exe at the project root is a self-contained build (PyInstaller, onefile, windowed, icon embedded) — no Python required to run it — and it's what the Startup shortcut launches. It reads config.json / server.log sitting next to it (same token and entries as source runs).

Rebuild after code changes:

venv\Scripts\python -m PyInstaller --noconfirm --onefile --windowed --name TriggerPanel --icon app_icon.ico --distpath . --workpath build server.py

Notes: the onefile bundle unpacks on every start (~2–4 s extra at login), and because the exe is unsigned, Windows SmartScreen may show a one-time “More info → Run anyway” prompt. Settings → Run at boot always points the Startup shortcut at the exe when it exists.

Phone panel, /list & icons

The built-in server hosts a phone-friendly Apple-style button page:

Endpoint	Returns
GET /list?token=…	JSON: a ready-made page link plus every entry's run URL (id, name, type, icon)
GET /panel?token=…	The hosted page — iOS-style icon tiles in a grid; tap one to trigger it (✓/✗ badge + toast)
GET /icon	PNG used as the panel's Apple touch icon (for Add to Home Screen)

The panel also has two guide chips: ⌂ Add to Home Screen (Safari → Share → Add to Home Screen) and ⚡ Make an iOS Shortcut — copy an entry's URL, then tap Open Shortcut editor, which deep-links via shortcuts://create-shortcut straight into a new shortcut on your iPhone.

Icons: set an Icon id on an entry in the wizard, e.g. flowbite:bug-solid — browse ids at iconvaultkit.com/icons (200k+ free icons) — or paste a full image URL instead. The panel renders Iconify ids through api.iconify.design (IconVaultKit has no icon-by-id endpoint of its own); entries without an icon show their number, iOS-app-style.

Open http://<YOUR-IP>:8765/panel?token=<token> from your phone — the status page at / links to both endpoints.

iPhone setup (Shortcuts)

1. Phone and PC on the same Wi-Fi.
2. Shortcuts app → + → search "Get Contents of URL".
3. Paste the URL from the app's Copy URL button (e.g. http://192.168.0.116:8765/run?app=1&token=…).
4. Optional: add Show Notification after it and pass Contents of URL — you'll see {"ok": true, "app": 1, ...} or the error.
5. Run it — the app opens on the PC.

One shortcut per app: duplicate and change app=1 → app=2, etc. Or one shortcut with Choose from List → a separate Get Contents of URL action per choice.

Handy triggers: Back Tap (Settings → Accessibility → Touch → Back Tap) or a Home Screen icon (Share → Add to Home Screen).

Files

File	Purpose
server.py	GUI (PyQt6) + tray + HTTP server (one file)
functions.py	Built-in actions (Run Function) + the same tool as a command line
config.json	Port, token, your app list
start.bat	Launch now
install.bat	Create/repair venv + install PyQt6
add-firewall.bat	Allow TCP 8765 inbound (run as admin)
install-autostart.ps1	Start at Windows sign-in
requirements.txt	PyQt6
server.log	Every launch, plus errors

Notes

• Index numbers are permanent — deleting #2 never renumbers the others, so existing shortcut URLs keep working. New ids come from a persisted counter and are never reused.
• The token in config.json is a secret: anyone who has it can launch apps on your PC. Don't share the full URL publicly.
• Changed the port? Edit config.json, re-run add-firewall.bat with the new port, restart TriggerPanel.
• Troubleshooting: open http://<YOUR-IP>:8765/health on the phone, check server.log, confirm same Wi-Fi, confirm the firewall rule exists.