Hi all,

 

I've had unRAID running since literally yesterday - it's just hit 24 hours since I hit start on the array.  I'm liking it so far, but only in terms of the basic features I've looked at.

 

TL;DR ... can we design our own UI themes?

 

Edit: I see that it would be easy to mess with the default emhttp/webGUI CSS.  I've already modified a few of the default elements (more on that below) and have made the UI look more "current" but would like those changes to remain if unRAID gets updated.

 

The long version ...

 

I already have a question about customisation, though - specifically, the unRAID UI.  I don't mean to throw shade at the developers but I think the unRAID UI could do with a lot of work to bring it up to the standards of competing products.  This includes "appliance" NAS systems like Synology DSM or Netgear ReadyNAS.  Even though they probably can't match unRAID in terms of expandability  and hardware freedom, their UIs are more usable.

 

After a quick look around it looks like unRAID runs on Nginx and PHP-FPM?

 

I know there are custom colour themes/skins i.e. White/Azure/Gray/Black but there are quite major flaws with all of them.  The white theme looks to be loosely based on some fairly old, almost "Web 2.0" design practices - tiny fonts, for example.  This is really bad for accessibility (and yes, I did see the forum post where someone else requested larger fonts - I believe the built-in themes solved that particular issue).  There is also quite poor use of rounded corners across many elements - in the white theme I'm referring to elements like the banner, the info box at the top right and the button bar/top menu.

 

The additional colour themes also break a bit when certain options are enabled - for example, both the Azure and Gray colour themes cause the % used bar to float up into the banner section.

 

So my question is this - can we create or submit *completely* custom themes or UI overhails for unRAID?  I would like to get started on this, if unRAID uses a templating engine that is open to users/developers/UI designers.

 

Thanks!

Edited July 10, 20187 yr by digitalformula
Add note re modifying CSS

The current UI is mostly the work of members of the user community, especially @bonienl

 

Here is another user that has implemented iOS and Android UI for unRAID:

 

https://www.apertoire.com/controlr/

 

And another start at an alternative UI:

 

https://lime-technology.com/forums/topic/39544-wip-aesir-webgui-for-unraid/

 

And a related effort from that same user:

 

https://heimdall.site/

 

 

Just add,@kode has always maintained that he was not going to work on Aesir solo but wanted it to be a collaborative effort, so although dev has stalled, it would be a good idea to talk to him and consider pooling efforts.

Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk

If you don't like what we have today just load up 4.7.
@bonienl and helpers deserve a lot of credit for getting us this far. If you create a mock-up and post it, I'm sure you'll get some feedback. The forum is quite open-minded

Well that's the beauty, although Unraid is a commercial project it does have a thriving user mod community.

Any UI can never be all things to all men/women but more choice can never be a bad thing.

Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk

You can always submit a new theme (or modify the existing ones) by issuing a PR on limetechs github

Sent via Tapatalk because I'm either at work or enjoying the summer

Could you also bundle a theme into a plugin and apply it that way?

Could you also bundle a theme into a plugin and apply it that way?

No reason why not.

Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk

11 hours ago, digitalformula said:

So my question is this - can we create or submit *completely* custom themes or UI overhails for unRAID?

 

Participation to webGUI development is open and is maintained on github. As suggested by @Squid you can submit PRs of your ideas or develop a complete new theme for consideration.

17 hours ago, trurl said:

The current UI is mostly the work of members of the user community, especially @bonienl

 

Here is another user that has implemented iOS and Android UI for unRAID:

 

<snip>

 

Great, thanks!

16 hours ago, CHBMB said:

Just add,@kode has always maintained that he was not going to work on Aesir solo but wanted it to be a collaborative effort, so although dev has stalled, it would be a good idea to talk to him and consider pooling efforts.

Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk
 

 

Great idea, thank you.

16 hours ago, tr0910 said:

If you don't like what we have today just load up 4.7.
@bonienl and helpers deserve a lot of credit for getting us this far. If you create a mock-up and post it, I'm sure you'll get some feedback. The forum is quite open-minded

 

So just to be clear - it's not that I don't like it, at all.  I completely understand the amount of effort that's obviously been put into the interface as it stands today, especially re functionality.  It's more me being picky about how current interfaces are.

 

I have to say that so far this forum seems infinitely more open-minded than the forums belonging to alternative products (I'm looking at you, FreeNAS). 

13 hours ago, Squid said:

You can always submit a new theme (or modify the existing ones) by issuing a PR on limetechs github

Sent via Tapatalk because I'm either at work or enjoying the summer
 

 

That sounds like the best way to do it.  I'll spend some time looking into the most appropriate way to make edits/PR without breaking any "rules" about that sort of thing.

 

Thanks. 

11 hours ago, CHBMB said:

No reason why not.

Sent from my Mi A1 using Tapatalk
 

 

Hmmmm.  That would potentially open up a bunch more possibilities, rather than just creating a theme that is just a theme on its own.

 

To clarify - a plugin could contain both functionality and custom style sheets/CSS/appearance mods for the entire UI?  Is that an accurate statement?  Asking as I'm yet to look into plugin dev for unRAID.

9 hours ago, bonienl said:

 

Participation to webGUI development is open and is maintained on github. As suggested by @Squid you can submit PRs of your ideas or develop a complete new theme for consideration.

 

Thanks @bonienl - much appreciated.

 

Since your name has come up more than once re UI design (etc), do you have any guidelines on the most appropriate way to do that?  That's in reference to design or style guides, interface recommendations.  I can create CSS all day (lol) but wouldn't want to break any unRAID design rules by doing something wrong.

style sheets can be found under /usr/local/emhttp/plugins/dynamix/styles and a theme consists of two files:

 

default-<theme>.css

dynamix-<theme>.css

 

When these files exist, the theme will become selectable in the GUI under display settings.

You can start with copying an existing theme and make modifications and give it a new name.

On 7/18/2018 at 4:29 PM, bonienl said:

style sheets can be found under /usr/local/emhttp/plugins/dynamix/styles and a theme consists of two files:

 

default-<theme>.css

dynamix-<theme>.css

 

When these files exist, the theme will become selectable in the GUI under display settings.

You can start with copying an existing theme and make modifications and give it a new name.

 

That's exactly what I was looking for - thanks @bonienl

 

I've already altered many of the things that I wanted to change - coming along nicely.

 

Thanks for the pointer!

On 7/20/2018 at 11:59 AM, digitalformula said:

I've already altered many of the things that I wanted to change - coming along nicely.

 

And of course publish your efforts here in the community, so people can test and give feedback.

 

On 7/10/2018 at 7:14 AM, trurl said:

The current UI is mostly the work of members of the user community, especially @bonienl

 

Here is another user that has implemented iOS and Android UI for unRAID:

 

https://www.apertoire.com/controlr/

 

And another start at an alternative UI:

 

https://lime-technology.com/forums/topic/39544-wip-aesir-webgui-for-unraid/

 

And a related effort from that same user:

 

https://heimdall.site/

 

 

 

how the heck did i miss this, android app, this is awesome.