PiKnock

Knock knock... wake up! A Wake-on-LAN controller with web UI, designed for Raspberry Pi.

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Turn on your PCs remotely from a browser — works over your LAN or via a direct Ethernet cable between the Pi and your machine.

Features

• Web-based device management — add, edit, remove target PCs from the browser
• Multi-method WOL — sends magic packets via multiple broadcast addresses for reliability
• Direct Ethernet support — wake a PC connected directly to the Pi with no router needed
• Zero Python dependencies — uses only the standard library
• Single file server — one Python file, easy to deploy and maintain
• REST API — automate with curl or scripts
• Responsive UI — works on desktop and mobile

How It Works

PiKnock runs a lightweight HTTP server on your Raspberry Pi. When you click "Wake" in the web UI, it sends Wake-on-LAN magic packets to the target PC's network card, which powers on the machine.

Two network scenarios are supported:

Scenario 1: LAN (via router)                Scenario 2: Direct Ethernet
┌──────────┐    ┌────────┐    ┌────┐        ┌──────────┐  ethernet  ┌────────┐
│ Browser  │───→│ Router │───→│ Pi │        │    Pi    │═══════════│   PC   │
└──────────┘    └────────┘    └────┘        │ 10.0.0.1 │           │10.0.0.2│
                                 │           └──────────┘           └────────┘
                            magic packet
                                 ↓
                              ┌────┐
                              │ PC │
                              └────┘

Requirements

• Raspberry Pi (any model) with Python 3.7+
• wakeonlan package: sudo apt install wakeonlan
• Target PC with WOL enabled in BIOS

Quick Install

git clone https://github.com/SynapticaSolution/piknock.git
cd piknock
sudo ./install.sh

The installer will:

1. Install wakeonlan
2. Deploy PiKnock to /opt/piknock
3. Set up a systemd service (auto-start on boot)
4. Optionally configure a direct Ethernet connection

Manual Install

# Install dependency
sudo apt install wakeonlan

# Copy files
sudo mkdir -p /opt/piknock
sudo cp piknock.py /opt/piknock/
sudo cp config.example.json /opt/piknock/config.json

# Run
python3 /opt/piknock/piknock.py

Update

cd piknock
git pull
sudo cp piknock.py /opt/piknock/
sudo systemctl restart piknock

Development

cp config.example.json config.json
python3 piknock.py
# Open http://localhost:8080

Configuration

Devices are stored in config.json:

{
  "devices": [
    {
      "id": "abc123",
      "name": "My Desktop",
      "mac": "AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF",
      "broadcast": "192.168.1.255",
      "description": "Main PC on LAN"
    }
  ],
  "server": {
    "port": 8080,
    "host": "0.0.0.0"
  }
}

You can edit this file directly or use the web UI.

Direct Ethernet Setup

To wake a PC connected directly to the Pi (no router):

On the Raspberry Pi (handled by install.sh):

• Set eth0 to static IP 10.0.0.1/24

On the target PC:

• Set the Ethernet interface to static IP 10.0.0.2, subnet 255.255.255.0, no gateway

Then add the device in PiKnock with broadcast address 10.0.0.255.

BIOS Setup for WOL

Enable these in your target PC's BIOS:

• Wake on LAN: Enabled
• Wake on PCIe/PCI: Enabled
• ERP Support: Disabled
• Deep Sleep: Disabled

API

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/devices	List all devices
POST	/api/devices	Add a device
PUT	/api/devices/{id}	Update a device
DELETE	/api/devices/{id}	Remove a device
POST	/api/wake/{id}	Send WOL to device
GET	/api/status	Server info

Example:

# Wake a device
curl -X POST http://raspberrypi:8080/api/wake/abc123

# Add a device
curl -X POST http://raspberrypi:8080/api/devices \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"Server","mac":"AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF","broadcast":"192.168.1.255"}'

License

MIT - See LICENSE

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Made by Synaptica Solution — AI & Process Automation for Italian SMEs

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