Glossary
SourceThis page contains common terms used in webOS hacking community and other various uncategorized information...
- NetCast / LGNC / NC
- LG's "legacy" Linux-based Smart TV platform, original target of OpenLGTV research.
- WAM / WebAppMgr
- Service responsible for running "web apps" on webOS - essentially a wrapper around WebKit/Chrome/Blink rendering engine customized for running webOS apps.
- Developer Mode / devmode
- Mode in which unsigned applications can be installed onto the system.
Developer Mode is enabled by creating
/var/luna/preferences/devmode_enabled
path. - This can also mean an official "Developer Mode" application that provides limited SSH shell used for development on non-rooted devices.
- Application Paths
- webOS applications are stored in:
-
/usr/palm/applications
(default system apps),/mnt/ot*cabi/usr/palm/applications
(per-region preloaded apps),/media/cryptofs/apps/usr/palm/applications
(content store apps),/media/developer/apps/usr/palm/application
("homebrew"/developer mode apps),/media/system/apps/usr/palm/applications
(on webOS 4.x+, a path where system application updates are installed)
- Services
- Services are processes running "in the background" exposing methods/endpoints on Luna bus. The only officially supported technology for third-party app services development in webOS is NodeJS, however unofficially, with several quirks, native code can be used as well.
- Elevated Service / Service Elevation
- A non-system (homebrew) service running as root, with Luna bus permission
limitations lifted.
elevate-service
shipped with Homebrew Channel can be used to patch up system permissions for a specific homebrew service by calling:
/media/developer/apps/usr/palm/services/org.webosbrew.hbchannel.service/elevate-service your.service.name
- NCG
- An encryption/authentication/DRM scheme used by LG for Content Store apps.
Applications installed in
/media/cryptofs
need to contain a file that is NCG-encrypted to be launchable. - Micom
- An always-on microprocessor responsible for power-on, watchdog, IR remote handling and other similar TV features.
tvservice
/RELEASE
- Before webOS 5.x a process responsible for various TV-related functionalities.
(screenshot capture, micom communication, input state monitoring...) Naming
comes from main NetCast binary. Since webOS 5.x all
tvservice
functionality has been extracted into separate services. (eg.micomservice
) - SDP /
lgtvsdp.com
- LG Service Delivery Platform - "smart services" backend API, responsible for Content Store communication among others. This is also a service that is used for TV time synchronisation. Various mock implementations of that service has been released to keep time synchronization working properly: wisq/lgtv-sdp, zopieux/lgtv-tbc...
sdx
- TV-side daemon responsible for communicating with SDP API.
rdxd
- TV-side "Diagnostics" daemon responsible for sending crash logs and system logs to LGs backend.
- SNU / NSU /
update
- Networked System Update service. Queries LGs backend services for available firmware updates. Firmware update packages are signed for a specific use - ie. a package downloaded from SNU can't be used when provided on a USB drive and vice versa.
- SSAP / LG Connect Apps / Thinq API
- WebSocket-based API exposed on TCP port 3000/3001 by the TV, granting limited access to Luna bus. Commonly used by home automation projects. Clients for this protocol are available in various languages and technologies, eg: NodeJS, Python, Web...
- Surface Manager
- Wayland compositor used by webOS - responsible for rendering of various system overlays (eg. volume bar, cursor) and (before webOS 4.x) Home Screen.
mrcu
- Magic Remote Control Unit - LG's Bluetooth Low Energy-based remote control featuring IMU-based on-screen cursor control.
- GetMeIn
- webOS root exploit released in 2019 leveraging misconfigured
/dev/mem
permissions in app jails. See official xda-developers thread. Underlying bug has been patched. - RootMyTV
- A one-click exploit released in early 2021. See official RootMyTV README.