Forge Display is a self‑hosted digital signage platform designed for schools, churches, gyms, coffee shops, and small businesses.
It allows you to control multiple screens from a central web dashboard and display dynamic content such as:
- Weather
- Announcements
- Menus
- Calendars
- Videos
- RSS feeds
- Sports scores
- Emergency alerts
Forge Display is built to be simple to deploy, easy to manage, and affordable to run.
Manage all screens from a single web interface.
Control TVs, browsers, or Raspberry Pi displays across your building or campus.
Supported display devices:
- Smart TVs
- Raspberry Pi kiosks
- Mini PCs
- Web browsers
- Digital signage displays
See a live thumbnail preview of every screen from the admin dashboard.
This makes it easy to verify:
- correct playlists
- working screens
- screen health
Automatically switch playlists based on time of day.
Example schedule:
Mon-Fri | 06:00 | 09:30 | Breakfast Menu
Mon-Fri | 09:30 | 15:30 | Campus Announcements
Mon-Fri | 15:30 | 18:00 | Sports & Events
Upload and display media directly from the CMS.
Supported media:
- Images
- Videos
- PDFs
- Logos
Forge Display includes several widgets out of the box:
- Weather (Fahrenheit)
- Announcements
- RSS feeds
- School calendars
- Sports scores
- Breakfast menu
- Lunch menu
- PDF menu display
Scrolling crawlers support adjustable speed settings.
Example use cases:
- RSS headlines
- campus announcements
- event reminders
- emergency notices
Customize displays with:
- organization logo
- organization name
- slogan
- background colors
- theme colors
Perfect for school or business branding.
Push emergency alerts to every screen instantly.
Example uses:
- lockdown alerts
- weather alerts
- emergency notifications
Forge Display installs as a system service and automatically starts on boot.
No container orchestration required.
(Add screenshots to /docs/screenshots and they will appear here.)
Example signage screen:
Forge Display installs in minutes.
git clone https://github.com/kmce2019/forge-display.git
cd forge-display
sudo bash install.shThe installer will automatically:
- install Node.js if needed
- install required dependencies
- configure SQLite
- install the Forge Display service
- start the application
After installation:
http://SERVER-IP:3010/admin
Example:
http://192.168.1.50:3010/admin
Each display connects using a simple URL.
Example:
http://SERVER-IP:3010/display/front-office
This URL can be opened on:
- Smart TVs
- Browsers
- Raspberry Pi kiosks
- Mini PCs
Forge Display installs a system service named:
idlescreens-pro
Useful commands:
sudo systemctl status idlescreens-pro
sudo systemctl restart idlescreens-pro
sudo journalctl -u idlescreens-pro -fTo update the application:
cd forge-display
git pull
npm install
sudo systemctl restart idlescreens-proPlanned improvements:
- drag‑and‑drop layout builder
- screen grouping
- ad rotation / sponsorship slides
- user accounts and permissions
- analytics and screen uptime
- Raspberry Pi auto‑provisioning
- remote updates
- cloud sync option
Forge Display works well for:
- announcements
- lunch menus
- weather
- bell schedule
- sports scores
- service countdowns
- announcements
- events
- class schedules
- announcements
- promotions
- menu boards
- specials
- social feeds
MIT License
Pull requests and ideas are welcome.
If you find a bug or want a feature added, open an issue.
Kevin Gardner
IT Director
East Texas
Forge Display is being developed as a self‑hosted alternative to expensive digital signage platforms, focused on simplicity and real‑world deployments.