New Homebridge Plug-in via MakerAPI

[douglaspitman]

I want to expose my HE devices to homebridge using Maker API. I have Maker running on multiple HE hubs to expose the devices to Node-Red. I am using Hub mesh to share all the devices to one hub but have each individual hub as the source for node red. Would it be best to use the one HE hub to expose devises to Homebridge? or use the multiple HE hubs?

[erktrek]

That is the question I wrestle with too... for efficiency it might be better to go from each hub to HomeBridge. Less "hops" so probably better responsiveness and greater stability.. though to be fair performance differences might not be all that noticeable.

The new HB child instance works really well in homebridge but requires some editing..

Here's my experience - I was testing and added 2 instances of both Maker and V2 apps.. they both worked fine.

[RELEASE] Homebridge Hubitat v2.0

I got it working but a couple of things had me confused initially... Adding a new entry in the config does NOT add an entry to the Plugins tab. Once you start adding stuff the config is where you will need to do all your editing for the multiple instances. The plugins tab will only show the first entry. - To start using child instances go to the plugins page, click the "wrench" icon under the plugin you want and select "Bridge Settings" and enable. You should then be able to clone the plugin…

edit: All my ancillary servers like Node-RED, HomeBridge, and a C-4 Cloud/Network Hub act like intermediaries between the HE Hubs and outside systems so it makes sense to go to each directly rather than going through another hub like my C-4 as I originally planned.

[dan.t]

All, I just published a new version which should take care of the warning messages. Let me know if you run into any problems

[rakeshg]

@dan.t

just published a new version which should take care of the warning messages

Thanks - updated and have seen no warnings in the last 10 minutes.

UPDATE: Logs are still clean after 17 hours. Thanks again for a great job

[douglaspitman]

Several questions,

I've set up a separate instance of Maker API for the Homebridge plugin, and will do the same for all my hubs. I've recently moved my Node-Red and Homebridge to a new M1 based mini Mac from an Rpi, It had some hiccups but seems to run fine. I've hit the number of devices where I need to add another Homebridge instance.

1. Do I add new homebridge instances on the Mac the same way I would for a Rpi?
2. Can I exclude attributes globally in the config file, I have contact sensors showing up both as contact sensors and with their battery status. I want to exclude the battery status on all Homekit devices, if so, what would the JSON look like?

[erktrek]

@douglaspitman

1. Do I add new homebridge instances on the Mac the same way I would for a Rpi?

Are you talking about the new feature in Homebridge 1.3.x where you can create child instances? That is handled the same way via the config editor. Works well if you haven't tried it.

@douglaspitman

2. Can I exclude attributes globally in the config file, I have contact sensors showing up both as contact sensors and with their battery status. I want to exclude the battery status on all Homekit devices, if so, what would the JSON look like?

You might want to check out the other HE Homebridge plugin (Homebridge V2) - it allows for filtering of attributes - you need to install an app on HE though. The good news is you can run both plugins side by side. I am doing this now for testing. No issues to report.

EDIT: see my post from the other thread about HB child instances

[RELEASE] Homebridge Hubitat v2.0

I got it working but a couple of things had me confused initially... Adding a new entry in the config does NOT add an entry to the Plugins tab. Once you start adding stuff the config is where you will need to do all your editing for the multiple instances. The plugins tab will only show the first entry. - To start using child instances go to the plugins page, click the "wrench" icon under the plugin you want and select "Bridge Settings" and enable. You should then be able to clone the plugin…

EDIT2: Yes child instances also work for this HB Maker API plugin as well.

[RELEASE] Homebridge Hubitat v2.0

That is a very cool feature thanks for the heads up!!!! I guess now we can have multiple different instances various plugins like HE, Ring etc... Also looks like for the Hue folks some nice non-blocking goodness. Overview This preview feature allows any Homebridge platform or accessory to optionally run as its own independent accessory, separate from the main bridge, and in an isolated process. There are several reasons / benefits from doing this: Isolate plugin code from the main bridge - in…

apologies for the large-ish post - coffee has definitely kicked in.

[douglaspitman]

I am hitting the limits of the numbers of accessories in one instance, I think.. so I am trying to eliminate accessories (battery status).

If the child device will help keep me under the accessory limitation I would be interested in looking at it so I can simplify things. Does it help with that?

[erktrek]

Yes! See my 2nd link ("Edit2") where I copied the overview text about the child instances capability from the Homebridge update announcement.

[douglaspitman]

I will need to spend some time on digging into this. I barely got the regular plug-in working (I'm a total hack and my programming is reduced to cut and paste, and tryng every possible iteration to get things working)... now another...but I would like only one Homebridge instance to manage, thanks for the guidance.

[erktrek]

I am happy to help if needed feel free to PM me - as long as you have a working Homebridge setup running and it's been upgraded to v1.31 you should be okay. There are some gotchas when editing the Config file in the UI.

See my first link "EDIT" in my prior post.

[RELEASE] Homebridge Hubitat v2.0

I got it working but a couple of things had me confused initially... Adding a new entry in the config does NOT add an entry to the Plugins tab. Once you start adding stuff the config is where you will need to do all your editing for the multiple instances. The plugins tab will only show the first entry. - To start using child instances go to the plugins page, click the "wrench" icon under the plugin you want and select "Bridge Settings" and enable. You should then be able to clone the plugin…

[douglaspitman]

Thanks, I want to do some backups and other housekeeping before I start down this path. Again. I appreciate you help.

[SoundersDude]

@dan.t - Just wanted to take a quick moment to say THANK YOU for this fantastic plugin. My home setup has been flawless with this MakerAPI Homebridge setup and has made my life and my Families life so much easier.

Specifically the time to turn off a light or unlock a door compared to loading up the HE app and then a dashboard has been hands-down a game changer for mobile control related functions.

[douglaspitman]

@erktrek, so I have the HE side loaded and the Homebridge side loaded. I am going to configure the home bridge side next. Fo now I am going to deselect the maker API devices in HE to get rid of them on Homebridge. Then get the home bridge Hubitat 2.0 going, But... I started to just have all devices from one HE hub going Homebridge, is that my only/best way to go? Thanks,

[shawnx1]

getting this error from Inovelli Fan switch, I'll just remove them from HB not really needed.

[dan.t]

@shawnx1

getting this error from Inovelli Fan switch,

Interesting... I can't reproduce this but pushed a new version where I attempted to fix it based on an assumption. Let me know if you still have the issue with that new 0.4.13 version

[shawnx1]

Not getting fan error anymore thanks for the quick fix Dan.t Would that error have slowed down the plugin? I didn't report the error when I first upgraded thought it might just be like all the other errors I was getting when I first upgraded to latest HB but then I started to notice some weird things going on.

[dan.t]

I couldn’t see how it would slow down the plug-in. Let me know if you have any more issues

[esdrasherrera]

Hi @dan.t Can you add Adaptive Lighting support to your plugin? Everything else works great! Would be awesome having that included. Thanks!

[kitaro]

Not sure if this is the right spot to ask but I've searched high and low and haven't been able to find a solution.

I'm using the MakerAPI to expose several devices amongst which are my Smoke/CO detectors. These detectors every so often will trigger a "tested" event. This event doesn't trip the HSM alarms or anything but to HomeKit it makes the status for the devices appear as if they triggered an actual smoke/co event. Not a big deal when I'm home and can verify but when I'm away from home it becomes a bit more worrisome.

Here's how the logs appear in home bridge

[3/10/2021, 7:34:31 PM] [Hubitat hhm:0.4.13] Change Event (http): (Kitchen Smoke/CO Detector:68) [CARBONMONOXIDE] is tested
[3/10/2021, 7:34:31 PM] [Hubitat hhm:0.4.13] Change Event (http): (Kitchen Smoke/CO Detector:68) [SMOKE] is tested

Anyway to have the MakerAPI ignore/not send these events to homebridge @dan.t ? Appreciate any help you can provide.

[erktrek]

As a workaround maybe you can use a virtual smoke detector and expose that to HB.... Keep the smoke detector in sync with the existing one EXCEPT for the tests..