Microsoft Windows Subsystem for Linux

RoonCommandLine is not supported on Microsoft Windows platforms. However, some RoonCommandLine users have had success deploying it or or the Python code on which it is based on the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).

We will attempt to provide notes here that may be instructive for those Windows users who wish to run RoonCommandLine or the Python Roon API.

Python Roon API

Roon community forum user Jon Spijker provides these notes on his successful deployment of the Python Roon API (roonapi.py) on WSL.

Note: Jon provides a more detailed explanation and code in his RoonCommandLine + SmartSleep Integration for Windows gist on Github.

Steps to get the Python roonapi.py working successfully on Windows 11 using PowerShell.

Goal

Playback detection using the Roon Python API with persistent token support and integration into a PowerShell-based auto-sleep routine.

Setup details

• Python environment (Windows 11)
• Installed Python 3.11 from python.org

Create a virtual environment

python -m venv C:\roonenv

Activate the virtual environment via PowerShell

C:\roonenv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

Install required modules inside the virtual environment

pip install websocket-client requests

Patch roonapi.py

Modify C:\Windows\System32\roonenv\Lib\site-packages\roonapi\roonapi.py to accept a token_path argument in the RoonApi constructor and to load/store the token persistently. This prevents the need for extension approval every time the script is run.

Playback detection script

Saved in C:\Scripts\check_playback.py.

It loads the token (if present), initializes the API, and prints the playback state of each zone.

Example snippet

from roonapi import RoonApi
import os, json

appinfo = {
  “extension_id”: “playback-checker”,
  “display_name”: “Playback Status Checker”,
  “display_version”: “1.0”,
  “publisher”: “xxx”,
  “email”: “noreply@example.com”,
}

token_path = os.path.expandvars(“C:\Scripts\roon_token.json”)
host = “127.0.0.1”
port = 9330
token = None

if os.path.exists(token_path):
  with open(token_path) as f:
    token = json.load(f)

roonapi = RoonApi(appinfo, token, host, port, token_path)

zones = roonapi.zones
for zone in zones.values():
  state = zone.get(“state”, “unknown”)
  print(f"{zone[‘display_name’]} is currently: {state}")

Results

• Extension approval is now persistent thanks to the patched token path
• The script runs reliably from a static folder (C:\Scripts)
• Works perfectly with PowerShell automation (we’re integrating it into a sleep scheduler)