Installing MIX on a Raspberry Pi

Complete Raspberry Pi Base Setup first.

These instructions install MIX in:

/home/mix/mixruntime

MIX requires Java 25.

The validated Raspberry Pi installation used:

/opt/java/zulu25.34.17-ca-fx-jdk25.0.3-linux_aarch64

The normal MIX web port is 7226 unless mix.port in mix.properties has been changed.

The MIX setup page is:

http://<Pi-address>:7226/setup.html

After an MIStudio project is deployed, the validated application URL is:

http://<Pi-address>:7226/index.html

On the Windows computer, open PowerShell and change to the MIX installation directory for the software release being deployed.

For example:

Set-Location "C:\ET\<release>\MIX"

Create the MIX runtime directory on the Raspberry Pi:

ssh mix@<Pi-address> "mkdir -p /home/mix/mixruntime"

Copy the contents of the MIX runtime directory:

scp -r .\* mix@<Pi-address>:/home/mix/mixruntime/

After the copy completes, connect to the Pi:

ssh mix@<Pi-address>

Verify the runtime files:

ls -la /home/mix/mixruntime
ls -la /home/mix/mixruntime/scripts

The MIX runtime should contain files and directories including:

mix.jar
mix.properties
htmlroot/
lib/
log4j/
logs/
scripts/
security/

The Linux startup script is:

/home/mix/mixruntime/scripts/MIX.sh

Make the Linux scripts executable:

chmod +x /home/mix/mixruntime/scripts/MIX.sh
chmod +x /home/mix/mixruntime/scripts/stopmix.sh
chmod +x /home/mix/mixruntime/scripts/restartmix.sh

If the copied MIX installation contains an ErgoIOTLicense_*.lic file from another computer, remove or move that file before starting MIX.

Each Raspberry Pi must use the runtime license associated with that Pi.

Verify the Java installation:

/opt/java/zulu25.34.17-ca-fx-jdk25.0.3-linux_aarch64/bin/java -version

The validated installation reports:

openjdk version "25.0.3"

MIX can use this Java installation directly without changing the Raspberry Pi's system-wide Java default.

Change to the MIX runtime directory:

cd /home/mix/mixruntime

Start MIX with Java 25:

MIX_JAVA_HOME=/opt/java/zulu25.34.17-ca-fx-jdk25.0.3-linux_aarch64 \
./scripts/MIX.sh

Startup output should identify the MIX installation, Java executable, and configured port.

For example:

MIX_INSTALL_DIR:  /home/mix/mixruntime
MIX_WORK_DIR:     /home/mix/mixruntime
MIX properties:   /home/mix/mixruntime/mix.properties
Java executable:  /opt/java/zulu25.34.17-ca-fx-jdk25.0.3-linux_aarch64/bin/java
Native libraries: /home/mix/mixruntime/lib
Debug port:       18050

MIX should also report:

mix.port:7226

and its MIX build number.

If a Raspberry Pi runtime license has not yet been installed, MIX will display the system's pre-license key:

Initializing MIX runtime with prelicense key: <pre-license-key>

Keep this key for the license request.

Each Raspberry Pi requires an ErgoTech runtime license associated with that system.

The pre-license key is shown during MIX startup. It can also be viewed from the MIX setup page:

http://<Pi-address>:7226/setup.html

Select Get Pre-License Key and send the displayed key to ErgoTech.

Copy the license provided for the Raspberry Pi into:

/home/mix/mixruntime

The filename may include the pre-license key, for example:

ErgoIOTLicense_<pre-license-key>.lic

If TransSECS has already been licensed on the same Raspberry Pi using the same pre-license key, the Pi-specific ErgoIOT runtime license can also be copied into the MIX runtime directory.

Start MIX again:

cd /home/mix/mixruntime
 
MIX_JAVA_HOME=/opt/java/zulu25.34.17-ca-fx-jdk25.0.3-linux_aarch64 \
./scripts/MIX.sh

Verify that startup contains:

Valid IOT System Runtime License detected.

While MIX is running, verify that port 7226 is listening:

sudo ss -ltnp | grep 7226

A normal result contains:

LISTEN ... *:7226 ... java

From a browser on another computer, open:

http://<Pi-address>:7226/setup.html

Verify that the MIX setup page loads.

In MIStudio, select the project's MIX Target.

Configure the target with the Raspberry Pi address.

For example:

Host Name:      <Pi-address>
Mix Login Name: ergouser
Port:           7226
Target Name:    MIX

Enter the configured MIX password.

Save the MIStudio project and select Deploy.

During a successful deployment, MIX should:

• authenticate the MIStudio deployment request,
• stop the currently loaded application logic,
• replace the deployed application files,
• receive the new VIBLogic.jar and application files,
• reload the application logic,
• continue running without requiring the MIX process to be stopped manually.

After deployment, open:

http://<Pi-address>:7226/index.html

Verify that the newly deployed application loads.

The MIX console should show the deployment files being received and the application logic being reloaded.

Before configuring automatic startup, stop the manually started MIX process.

If MIX is running in the foreground, press:

Ctrl+C

Verify that no MIX HeadlessController process remains:

pgrep -af 'com.ergotech.mix.server.HeadlessController'

No output should be returned.

Create the log directory if it does not already exist:

mkdir -p /home/mix/mixruntime/logs

Create:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/mix.service

Paste:

[Unit]
Description=MIX Service
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target
 
[Service]
User=mix
WorkingDirectory=/home/mix/mixruntime
Environment="MIX_JAVA_HOME=/opt/java/zulu25.34.17-ca-fx-jdk25.0.3-linux_aarch64"
ExecStart=/bin/sh /home/mix/mixruntime/scripts/MIX.sh
Restart=always
RestartSec=60
StandardOutput=append:/home/mix/mixruntime/logs/runmix-console.log
StandardError=append:/home/mix/mixruntime/logs/runmix-console.log
 
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save with Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X.

Reload systemd, enable MIX at boot, and start it:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable mix
sudo systemctl start mix

Verify the service:

systemctl status mix --no-pager

Look for:

Active: active (running)

Verify the MIX Java process:

pgrep -af 'com.ergotech.mix.server.HeadlessController'

The process should use:

/opt/java/zulu25.34.17-ca-fx-jdk25.0.3-linux_aarch64/bin/java

Verify that MIX is listening on port 7226:

sudo ss -ltnp | grep 7226

MIX console output is written to:

/home/mix/mixruntime/logs/runmix-console.log

Verify:

tail -n 40 /home/mix/mixruntime/logs/runmix-console.log

Check the MIX build, pre-license key, and license result:

grep -E "Running MIX Build|Valid IOT System Runtime License detected|Initializing MIX runtime" \
/home/mix/mixruntime/logs/runmix-console.log | tail -n 10

A successfully licensed startup should contain lines similar to:

Running MIX Build <build-number>
Initializing MIX runtime with prelicense key: <pre-license-key>
Valid IOT System Runtime License detected.

Verify the console log file:

ls -l /home/mix/mixruntime/logs/runmix-console.log

With the validated systemd configuration, the active console log was created as:

root root

Create:

sudo nano /etc/logrotate.d/runmix-console

Paste:

/home/mix/mixruntime/logs/runmix-console.log {
    su root root
    size 5M
    rotate 5
    compress
    delaycompress
    missingok
    notifempty
    copytruncate
}

Save with Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X.

Check the rule:

sudo logrotate -d /etc/logrotate.d/runmix-console

A normal result mentions:

• /home/mix/mixruntime/logs/runmix-console.log
• 5242880 bytes
• 5 rotations

If the current file is smaller than 5 MB, logrotate will report that it does not need rotating. This is normal.

To verify the rule completely, force one rotation:

sudo logrotate -vf /etc/logrotate.d/runmix-console

Check the result:

ls -lh /home/mix/mixruntime/logs/runmix-console.log*
systemctl status mix --no-pager
pgrep -af 'com.ergotech.mix.server.HeadlessController'

The previous console contents should be copied to:

runmix-console.log.1

The active runmix-console.log should be truncated while the same MIX process remains running.

Generate a new request:

curl -s -o /dev/null http://127.0.0.1:7226/setup.html
sleep 2

Verify that the active log receives new output:

ls -lh /home/mix/mixruntime/logs/runmix-console.log*
tail -n 10 /home/mix/mixruntime/logs/runmix-console.log

A successful test should show:

Default Servlet : GET Request: /setup.html

Reboot:

sudo reboot

After the Raspberry Pi comes back online, reconnect:

ssh mix@<Pi-address>

Verify that MIX started automatically:

systemctl status mix --no-pager

Verify the MIX Java process:

pgrep -af 'com.ergotech.mix.server.HeadlessController'

Verify port 7226:

sudo ss -ltnp | grep 7226

Verify that the current boot started MIX and accepted the runtime license:

grep -E "Running MIX Build|Valid IOT System Runtime License detected|Initializing MIX runtime" \
/home/mix/mixruntime/logs/runmix-console.log | tail -n 10

Verify:

• MIX is active (running).
• MIX is running with Java 25.
• Port 7226 is listening.
• The current MIX build started successfully.
• The Raspberry Pi runtime license is accepted.
• runmix-console.log contains startup messages from the current boot.

Finally, open:

http://<Pi-address>:7226/index.html

and verify that the deployed application is available after the reboot.

At this point MIX is installed, licensed, configured for automatic startup, accepting MIStudio deployments, serving the deployed application, and rotating its console log correctly.