homebridge-blinds

homebridge-blinds is a plugin for Homebridge.

Control your http-based blinds via Homebridge (also works for command-line scripts as well)!

Installation

If you are new to Homebridge, please first read the Homebridge documentation. If you are running on a Raspberry, you will find a tutorial in the homebridge-punt Wiki.

Install Homebridge:

sudo npm install -g homebridge

Install homebridge-blinds:

sudo npm install -g homebridge-blinds

Configuration

Add the accessory in config.json in your home directory inside .homebridge.

Basic configuration

{
    "accessory": "BlindsHTTP",
    "name": "Window",
    "up_url": {
        "url": "http://1.2.3.4/window/up",
        "method": "GET"
    },
    "down_url": {
        "url": "http://1.2.3.4/window/down",
        "method": "GET"
    },
    "stop_url": {
        "url": "http://1.2.3.4/window/stop",
        "method": "GET"
    },
    "http_success_codes": [200, 204],
    "motion_time": 10000
}

Advanced configuration

{
    "accessory": "BlindsHTTP",
    "name": "Window",
    "up_url": {
        "url": "http://1.2.3.4/window/up?pos=%%POS%%",
        "body": "{}",
        "headers": {
            "API-Token": "aaabbbcccddd"
        },
        "method": "PUT",
        "maxAttempts": 5,
        "retryDelay": 2000,
        "time": true
    },
    "down_url": {
        "url": "http://1.2.3.4/window/down?pos=%%POS%%",
        "body": "{}",
        "headers": {
            "API-Token": "aaabbbcccddd"
        },
        "method": "PUT"
    },
    "send_pos_jsonata": "$round( ( 100 - $number($) ) * 255 / 100 )",
    "stop_url": {
        "url": "http://1.2.3.4/window/stop",
        "body": "{}",
        "headers": {
            "API-Token": "aaabbbcccddd"
        },
        "method": "PUT"
    },
    "pos_url": "http://1.2.3.4/window/position",
    "pos_poll_ms": 15000,
    "pos_jsonata": "ShutterPosition1",
    "http_success_codes": [200, 204],
    "response_lag_ms": 0,
    "motion_time_graph": {
        "up": [
            { "pos": 0, "seconds": 0 },
            { "pos": 1, "seconds": 9.25 },
            { "pos": 10, "seconds": 11.09 },
            { "pos": 99, "seconds": 24.72 },
            { "pos": 100, "seconds": 24.87 }
        ],
        "down": [
            { "pos": 100, "seconds": 0 },
            { "pos": 50, "seconds": 6.8 },
            { "pos": 1, "seconds": 15.35 },
            { "pos": 0, "seconds": 23.72 }
        ]
    },
    "unique_serial": false,
    "show_toggle_button": false,
    "show_stop_button": false,
    "show_favorite_buttons": [1, 50],
    "use_same_url_for_stop": false,
    "trigger_stop_at_boundaries": false,
    "webhook_port": 51828,
    "webhook_http_auth_user": "username",
    "webhook_http_auth_pass": "password",
    "webhook_https": false,
    "webhook_https_keyfile": "/path/to/https.key",
    "webhook_https_certfile": "/path/to/https.crt",
    "verbose": false
}

Tested Configurations

Tested and working configurations for devices (e.g., Tasmota, Bond, Louvolite) are available on the Wiki.

URL Configuration

---

Basic

You can omit any of the up_url, down_url, stop_url if you don't want these to send a command. By default, the blinds will emulate the position (using a timer) unless pos_url is specified.

Note that any number of additional http arguments (headers, body, etc.) that request or requestretry supports can be included. For instance, maxAttempts and retryDelay can be used for http retries, and time will log a full request timing profile (see timingPhases).

http_success_codes allows you to define which HTTP response codes indicate a successful server response. If omitted, it defaults to 200.

Triggering command-line scripts

Any of the url config parameters (up_url, down_url, stop_url, etc.) can be used to trigger command-line scripts instead. To use this feature, simply add the file:// prefix to the command. The command should be specified in full without URL encoding. This could be used to trigger external blinds commands via serial connection or MQTT. See the Wiki for examples of user-written scripts. Setting verbose to true in the config may also be useful for troubleshooting.

Blinds position

---

The plugin emulates the blinds position using a timer, but it can be optionally used to poll the current position (with pos_url), include the target position in the request (with %%POS%%), and trigger a change in blind position via webhook.

See the Wiki for additional details.

Motion Time and Calibration

---

motion_time is the number of milliseconds for your blinds to move from up to down, and should only include the time the motor is running.

Even if your blinds are reporting its position back to this plugin, this value still needs to be set. It's used to emulate the blind position internally, and calculate the expected duration of movement, thereby more efficiently knowing when the blind should be at the target position and not sending too many HTTP requests to update its current position.

Filming this with your phone is recommended for precision. NOTE: If you are performing multiple blind requests simultaneously and are getting network timeouts due to an overloaded API, try using non-identical motion_time values (e.g., 9800, 10000, 10200 vs. 10000 for each) it may help.

For cases where motion_time varies based on the direction of shutter movement, motion_time_graph can be used for more fine-tuning. Setting response_lag_ms accounts for network or RF-based delays. See the Wiki.

Optional parameters

Option	Default	Explanation
show_stop_button	false	Expose a HomeKit button for the stop command.
show_toggle_button	false	Expose a HomeKit button that allows the blinds position to be toggled based on the last command sent. For example, if the last command sent to the blinds was up, it will send the command down. Note that on startup, toggle will have no effect unless either 1) the initial blinds position on start up is either 0 or 100, or, 2) at least one command (up or down) is sent.
show_favorite_buttons	[]	Expose HomeKit buttons for favorite positions, which are provided as an array of integers.
unique_serial	false	Use a uuid-based serial/model number instead of the default BlindsHTTPAccessory. This should only be required for specific external integrations (such as Eve) that may have problems with identical serial numbers for multiple devices.
use_same_url_for_stop	false	Send the previously sent url (either, up_url or down_url) again. This is for specific blind types that don't use a standard stop URL.
trigger_stop_at_boundaries	false	Send an additional stop command when moving the blinds to position 0 or 100. Most blinds don't require this command and will stop by themselves.
verbose	false	Turns on additional logging.

How to contribute

Have an idea? Found a bug? Contributions and pull requests are welcome.

Credits

🌟 A huge thank you to @zwerch who is the original creator and developer of this repository.

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