currently, I have over 30 devices from different brands, mainly Xiaomi, Aqara, Ikea, Fibaro, Phillips Hue.
I am a developer so I want to have a programming interface to create rules. Groovy IDE in the ST is bad, so ideally to use VS code or something.
At this moment every room has several light sources and the same wall switch is suppose to turn on different devices to different preset (color\brightness).
It would be nice to be able also to disable motion detection when the robot vacuum is operating.
So I would like to have
local execution; I am too tired of the Smartthings lags and inability to turn on light without internet
Google Home support, I still want to operate my home via voice when the internet is good
I need not only lights but also Vacuum, AC, Curtain, and Lock support
TCP\UDP support. I want to run Nanoleaf and Roborock.
Zigbee 3 and BTLE for future devices
the ability to connect different types of devices in the automation, eg. Zigbee cube rotation to WiFi light brightness
Chromecast?
Homekit
So my question is the Hubitat developer-friendly?
Can C7 be my only hub or I have to buy more (extension sticks\RasberryPi)?
Yes it is - you can create your own apps and device drivers in Groovy. The default editor is not really all that great but of course you can use your own and then cut/paste into it when needed. While the community drivers and apps are "open" the underlying system and system/apps drivers are not.
WebCoRE is available if you like that interface.
I prefer to use HE as a device controller and use a "companion" server running Node-RED for my rules etc. Helps reduce hub overhead and is more flexible/controllable.
Homebridge.io provides the interface to Apple Home environment. Have that installed on the same companion server as well.
In terms of device compatibility - ZB-3 should be no problem, Combining different types of devices and using them in the Rules works as expected.
Some Ikea stuff are not compatible. All Aqara and Xiaomi devices are only supported by community drivers or some with the built in generic drivers, so research well before doing the jump, we've seen in the past year some people jumping on board and then be disappointed to learn they had to buy some new devices to replace non supported devices.
As for developer friendly, yes it is as @erktrek posted above, you have many possibilities!
The default editor is not really all that great but of course, you can use your own and then cut/paste into it when needed.
it is never cut/paste, it's I will try this, and that, oops I forgot to initialize this before that. And it would be nice if IDE can fix stupid mistakes
I prefer to use HE as a device controller and use a "companion" server running Node-RED for my rules etc. Helps reduce hub overhead and is more flexible/controllable.
Can you please explain what do you mean by "overhead" and how the companion server makes the system more controllable?
Do I understand it right - the "companion" server and Homebridge are separated hardware servers with their own power supply, network cable, space on the shelf?
thank you, it is important to have a helpful and friendly community
All Aqara and Xiaomi devices are only supported by community drivers or some with the built in generic drivers, so research well before doing the jump,
At this moment I have all the device handlers for the ST and they work well... as good as it's possible on the ST.
But I am not really happy with the ST architecture decisions. For "security reasons" it is not possible to use UDP => no vacuum cleaner and AC controller.
Locks are not available in the Google assistant, just because Samsung is afraid of lawsuits???
I want more control over my devices, more flexibility in rules\scenes
I agree but the editor is rather primitive if you were expecting more integrated so you kinda get what you get there unfortunately.
For my use-case (not everyones) I prefer a separate server running Node-RED which provides all the home automation rules that control the HE devices as well as other integrations. The larger your setup the more complex things can become. Adding a bunch of custom apps and sophisticated rules can impact performance on the relatively lightweight and fixed hardware hub. After looking through these forums came across Node-RED. Was able to easily integrate everything AND have control over the platform as needed - able to add memory (by switching to another physical server or running a server in a VM), debug at the system level etc etc.,.. very helpful. There are some excellent threads on NR so recommend you check them out.. Again not for everyone and the HE itself is incredibly flexible so you can certainly stick with that if you want.
I only have one "companion" server and it is a RPI 4 w/4GB mem and an SSD running Ubuntu server 64bit. It is running both Node-RED, Homebridge and WireGuard (for giggles). It is separate, yes... again ymmv.
I wanted to reinforce that these devices are picky about which other zigbee devices they will route through. If your current zigbee mesh works well for them, it will hopefully continue to under Hubitat.
Hubitat has a similar web-based app and driver code editor. I’m not a dev, but staff have mentioned they do most of their work in the same webpage code editor.
This is definitely where Hubitat shines and you’ll be glad you moved here for this .
There is a Google home integration but I don’t use it.
The hub itself supports ZHA 1.2 but any zigbee 3.0 end devices will work fine with the hub because they have to be backward compatible with ZHA 1.2. The hub doesn’t have a Bluetooth radio or ability to add one by USB.
No problem there. That’s the nice part about a multi protocol hub. However keep in mind wifi-based devices are much less likely to be on the hub compatibility list mentioned above than zigbee or z-wave devices. Some wifi devices can support a custom integration, some can’t.
There is a chromecast integration but I don’t use it.
The hub isn’t HomeKit certified, but it can work very well with Homebridge if you can run that on another server.
This is what I do as well. Maybe it’s been fixed (it’s been over a year since I switched) but I found rule machine slowed my hub. I’m not as good as @erktrek at node red so I use HomeKit for automation and if I can’t I usually ask @aaiyar to help me with node-red. Again, I could be wrong, I have a c-5, not c-7 and havent used it since any updates for a year.
For that “sever” I’d just do hass.io. It will supplement any integration not yet on h.e. Node-red is a 1 click add on. WireGuard vpn (to remotely access your hub) is a one click add on and homebridge via a portainer add on is a 5min process. My pi 4 4gb runs all these fine
CAN it be you’re only hub? Sure. I’d highly recommend a pi though. WireGuard and homebridge are essentials for ME.
So you recommend using another machine that actually runs the apps.
The naive question then... why do I need the Hubitat? Maybe it would be easier to add Zwave\Zigbee\Wifi\Bt sticks to a desktop(I do not own any) that runs Node-Red, Homebridge, and WireGuard.
Running a “companion” server is an option for expanding the HE reach, and is one way of incorporating devices/protocols not supported under HE, but believe you will find that for most (95%+) users that it is not necessary - just another option of many when using HE.
how bad it could be? The Zigbee packet is 255 bytes, even if there are packets every second it's 24Mb per day... My no-name wifi router processes 1000x of this amount of data. With the VPN and firewall rules.
Does the RPI w/4GB mem have better performance than Hubitat C7?
Rule machine doesn’t slow down my hub. I would take one user’s experience and a broad statement like that with a grain of salt (or a shaker-full of salt ).
Definitely optional. I’d guess the number of Hubitat users that don’t have another piece of hardware specifically to augment their home automation rule creation to be more like 99%+.
and is one way of incorporating devices/protocols not supported under HE,
I have not seen any mention of the unsupported devices/protocols in this thread. Could you please elaborate on this? It is very important for me as the lack of UDP support is the reason why I am looking for another hub.
Definitely optional. I’d guess the number of Hubitat users that don’t have another piece of hardware specifically to augment their home automation rule creation to be more like 99%+.
Does it mean that Homekit, Google Home integration can be achieved via software extension\update?
Or only 1% are using mobile assistants?
No. You need something external running HomeBridge.
Also currently incoming udp handling support for drivers isn’t great right now. Although the platform has changed by leaps and bounds, and this could also change.
FYI - current hardware supports zha1.2. Most zigbee 3.0 devices step down to zha1.2 and work with current hardware. However, things like zigbee green power are not supported by the existing hardware.
Also, integrating Xiaomi Roborock vacuums well definitely need something external like an RPi.
I did say it was over a year ago, and I do remember it being widespread. If I remember correctly there were threads of people sharing rules and methods on rebooting their hubs every night
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