Race Timing System: Open the application correctly

Open the application correctly

Do not open assignments.html directly. It is a server-rendered template, not a standalone application. The Race dropdown gets its options from the races section of the active JSON configuration; selecting a race saves its race key with the racer's bib and RFID assignment. Use the Sports Hub races panel to connect and load real meets/races; without linking, choices come from the local sample/configuration.

On Mac, double-click Launch Timing.command. On Windows, double-click Launch Timing.bat (requires Python 3 and its Windows py launcher). Choose a local receiver password of at least 12 characters when prompted, or supply ZEBRA_TIMING_PASSWORD in the environment. The launcher opens http://127.0.0.1:8765/. Sign in with username reader (or ZEBRA_TIMING_USER) and your chosen password. Keep the terminal window open while using the application. Python 3.9+ must be installed.

The launchers use race_config.json and race_timing.sqlite3 from the extracted folder. The supplied race keys are examples; configure your real races, timestamps and antennas before timing. If you already have a meet configuration/database elsewhere, start with your existing --config and --db paths plus serve --open-browser instead. Do not substitute sample settings for an active meet database.

Race choices are now embedded by the server into the initial assignment page. A dropped connection displays a clear banner and disables saving. A directly opened HTML file explains how to start the application instead of leaving an unexplained empty dropdown. No new graphical race-creation workflow is introduced in this patch.