ups-pi 1.0.6

uart-based ups power management for raspberry pi

UPS-Pi

UART-based UPS power management for Raspberry Pi4+ using UPSPack v3 devices.

Features

• UART Communication: Direct serial via /dev/ttyAMA0 (GPIO 14/15)
• Automated Shutdown: Configurable battery thresholds and delays
• Real-time Monitoring: Continuous UPS status monitoring
• Systemd Integration: Optional service installation for production
• GPIO Support: Optional status LEDs and hardware signals
• Comprehensive Logging: Event logging with rotation

Installation

Basic Installation

pip install ups-pi

With GPIO Support

pip install ups-pi[gpio]

Quick Start

Basic Usage

from ups_pi import UPSDevice, PowerManager, PowerManagerConfig

# Monitor UPS status
with UPSDevice() as ups:
    status = ups.read_status()
    print(f"Power: {status.power_status}")
    print(f"Battery: {status.battery_percentage}%")
    print(f"Voltage: {status.voltage_mv}mV")

# Full power management
config = PowerManagerConfig(
    shutdown_delay=60,
    critical_battery_threshold=10
)

with PowerManager(config) as pm:
    pm.start_monitoring()

Command Line

# Start monitoring (foreground)
ups-pi

# Test UPS communication
ups-pi --test-communication

# Verbose logging
ups-pi --verbose

# Custom config file
ups-pi --config /path/to/config.ini

Hardware Setup

Connections

Connect UPSPack v3 to Raspberry Pi:

• UPS TX → Pi GPIO 15 (RX)
• UPS RX → Pi GPIO 14 (TX)
• UPS GND → Pi GND
• UPS SHUTDOWN → Pi GPIO 18 (optional, for GPIO support)

Enable UART

Add to /boot/firmware/config.txt:

enable_uart=1
dtoverlay=disable-bt

Shutdown Permissions (Important!)

For automatic shutdown to work, configure passwordless sudo:

# Add to /etc/sudoers.d/ups-pi (run: sudo visudo -f /etc/sudoers.d/ups-pi)
your-username ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /sbin/shutdown, /sbin/halt, /bin/systemctl poweroff

# Or run as systemd service (recommended)
sudo ups-pi-service install

Reboot after changes.

Service Installation (Optional)

Install Service

# Install service files (requires root)
sudo ups-pi-service install

# Create config and log directories
sudo ups-pi-service setup-dirs

# Enable and start service
sudo ups-pi-service enable

Service Management

# Check status
sudo systemctl status ups-pi

# View logs
sudo journalctl -u ups-pi -f

# Stop service
sudo systemctl stop ups-pi

# Uninstall service
sudo ups-pi-service uninstall

Configuration

Default Locations

• /etc/ups-pi/config.ini (system-wide)
• ~/.config/ups-pi/config.ini (user-specific)
• config.ini (current directory)

Example Configuration

[uart]
port = /dev/ttyAMA0
baudrate = 9600
timeout = 2.0

[monitoring]
interval = 5.0
retries = 3

[shutdown]
delay = 30
critical_threshold = 5
enable = true

[gpio]
enable = false
status_led_pin = 18

[logging]
level = INFO
file = /var/log/ups-pi/power_events.log

API Reference

UPSDevice

from ups_pi import UPSDevice

with UPSDevice(port="/dev/ttyAMA0") as ups:
    status = ups.read_status()
    # status.firmware_version
    # status.power_status ("External", "Battery", "Charging")
    # status.battery_percentage (0-100)
    # status.voltage_mv (millivolts)

PowerManager

from ups_pi import PowerManager, PowerManagerConfig

config = PowerManagerConfig(
    shutdown_delay=60,           # seconds before shutdown
    critical_battery_threshold=5, # immediate shutdown %
    enable_shutdown=True         # allow actual shutdown
)

with PowerManager(config) as pm:
    pm.start_monitoring()
    # Monitoring runs in background thread

Troubleshooting

UART Issues

# Check UART status
ls -la /dev/ttyAMA*

# Test UART loopback (connect GPIO 14 to 15)
ups-pi --test-communication

Permissions

# Add user to dialout group
sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER

# Logout and login again

Service Issues

# Check service logs
sudo journalctl -u ups-pi --no-pager

# Test manual run
sudo ups-pi --verbose

Shutdown Issues

# Test shutdown permissions
sudo shutdown -c  # Cancel any pending shutdown
sudo systemctl poweroff --dry-run

# Configure passwordless shutdown
sudo visudo -f /etc/sudoers.d/ups-pi
# Add: your-username ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /sbin/shutdown, /sbin/halt, /bin/systemctl

# Use systemd service (recommended)
sudo ups-pi-service install
sudo systemctl start ups-pi

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Hardware Compatibility

• Tested: UPSPack v3

• Compatible: Any UART-based UPS with CSV output format

• Requirements: Raspberry Pi with GPIO UART support sudo systemctl start ups-pi

  Check status

  sudo systemctl status ups-pi

Manual Installation

1. Enable UART

Add to /boot/firmware/config.txt:

enable_uart=1

2. Install Dependencies

sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3-pip python3-serial
pip3 install -r requirements.txt

3. Install UPS-Pi

# Copy files
sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/bin/ups-pi
sudo cp src/* /usr/local/bin/ups-pi/
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/ups-pi/ups_manager.py

# Install configuration
sudo mkdir -p /etc/ups-pi
sudo cp config/config.ini /etc/ups-pi/

# Install service
sudo cp config/ups-pi.service /etc/systemd/system/
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable ups-pi

4. Create Log Directory

sudo mkdir -p /var/log/ups-pi
sudo chmod 755 /var/log/ups-pi

Configuration

Configuration File: /etc/ups-pi/config.ini

[uart]
port = /dev/ttyAMA0
baudrate = 9600
timeout = 2.0

[monitoring]
interval = 5.0          # seconds between status checks
retries = 3             # communication retry attempts
max_failures = 5        # max consecutive failures before stopping

[shutdown]
delay = 30              # seconds to wait on battery before shutdown
critical_threshold = 5  # battery % for immediate shutdown
low_threshold = 20      # battery % for low battery warnings
enable = true           # allow automatic shutdown
require_confirmation = false

[gpio]
enable = false          # enable GPIO features
shutdown_pin = 18       # GPIO pin for shutdown signal
status_led_pin =        # GPIO pin for status LED (empty = disabled)

[logging]
level = INFO                               # DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, CRITICAL
file = /var/log/ups-pi/power_events.log    # log file path
max_size = 10485760                        # 10MB max log file size
backup_count = 5                           # number of backup log files

Environment Variables

Override configuration with environment variables:

export UPS_UART_PORT=/dev/ttyAMA0
export UPS_SHUTDOWN_DELAY=60
export UPS_CRITICAL_BATTERY=10
export UPS_ENABLE_GPIO=false
export UPS_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG

Usage

Service Management

# Start/stop service
sudo systemctl start ups-pi
sudo systemctl stop ups-pi

# Enable/disable automatic startup
sudo systemctl enable ups-pi
sudo systemctl disable ups-pi

# Check status and logs
sudo systemctl status ups-pi
sudo journalctl -u ups-pi -f

Interactive Mode

# Test mode (no actual shutdown)
/usr/local/bin/ups-pi/ups_manager.py --test-mode

# Verbose logging
/usr/local/bin/ups-pi/ups_manager.py --verbose

# Custom configuration
/usr/local/bin/ups-pi/ups_manager.py --config /path/to/config.ini

Testing

# Test UPS communication
python3 tests/test_device.py

# Test with different device
python3 tests/test_device.py --port /dev/ttyS0

# Performance testing
python3 tests/test_device.py --performance 60

# Multiple test cycles
python3 tests/test_device.py --loop 10

Monitoring and Logs

Log Files

• Service logs: sudo journalctl -u ups-pi
• Application logs: /var/log/ups-pi/power_events.log
• System logs: /var/log/syslog

Status Monitoring

# View real-time logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/ups-pi/power_events.log

# Check current UPS status
/usr/local/bin/ups-pi/ups_manager.py --test-communication

# Monitor systemd service
sudo systemctl status ups-pi

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. UART device not found:

   # Check if UART is enabled
   grep uart /boot/firmware/config.txt
   
   # Check device exists
   ls -la /dev/ttyAMA*
   
   # May need reboot after enabling UART
   sudo reboot
   

2. Permission errors:

   # Check user groups
   groups
   
   # Add user to dialout group
   sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER
   

3. Communication errors:

   # Test different baud rates
   python3 tests/test_device.py --baudrate 2400
   python3 tests/test_device.py --baudrate 4800
   
   # Check physical connections
   # Verify UPS is powered and operational
   

4. Service won't start:

   # Check service status
   sudo systemctl status ups-pi
   
   # Check configuration
   /usr/local/bin/ups-pi/ups_manager.py --test-communication
   
   # Reload systemd
   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   

Hardware Verification

# Check GPIO status
python3 -c "
import subprocess
result = subprocess.run(['gpio', 'readall'], capture_output=True, text=True)
print(result.stdout)
"

# Manual UART test
sudo minicom -D /dev/ttyAMA0 -b 9600

# Loopback test (connect GPIO 14 to GPIO 15)
echo "Testing UART loopback..."

Architecture

Components

• ups_communication.py: UART communication and data parsing
• power_manager.py: Main power management logic and monitoring
• config.py: Configuration loading and validation
• ups_manager.py: Main application entry point

Data Flow

1. UART Communication: Read status from UPS device
2. Data Parsing: Parse and validate UPS data
3. State Management: Track power state changes
4. Action Execution: Execute shutdown procedures when needed
5. Logging: Record all events and status changes

Power States

• EXTERNAL_POWER: Normal operation on external power
• BATTERY_POWER: Running on battery (power outage)
• CRITICAL_BATTERY: Critical battery level (immediate shutdown)
• UNKNOWN: Initial state or communication error

Development

Project Structure

ups-pi-clean/
├── src/                    # Source code
│   ├── ups_manager.py      # Main application
│   ├── power_manager.py    # Power management logic
│   ├── ups_communication.py # UART communication
│   ├── config.py           # Configuration management
│   └── __init__.py         # Package initialization
├── config/                 # Configuration files
│   ├── config.ini          # Default configuration
│   └── ups-pi.service      # Systemd service file
├── scripts/                # Installation and utility scripts
│   └── install.py          # Automated installer
├── tests/                  # Test scripts
│   └── test_device.py      # Device communication tests
├── docs/                   # Documentation
├── requirements.txt        # Python dependencies
└── README.md              # This file

Testing

# Install development dependencies
pip3 install -r requirements.txt

# Run device tests
python3 tests/test_device.py --verbose

# Test installation (dry run)
python3 scripts/install.py --help

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

For support and bug reports, please open an issue on GitHub.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make changes with tests
4. Submit a pull request

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