Home automation with the openHAB platform
At Your Service
© Lead Image © naiklon, 123RF.com
OpenHAB is an open source facility-automation platform that lets you network your smart devices independently of vendor or protocol.
OpenHAB [1], or the Open Home Automation Bus, is a vendor- and technology-independent open source facility-automation platform that can act as the brain of a smart home. OpenHAB follows the "Integrate Everything" principle, currently supporting more than 400 technologies and systems, including EnOcean, KNX, LCN, Loxone, Modbus, MQTT, Philips Hue, Z-Wave, and Zigbee. In fact, openHAB can integrate, visualize, and automate more than 3,000 different devices. You'll find a list of the supported technologies and systems at the project website [2].
See the box entitled "openHAB History" for some background on the openHAB project. One of openHAB's aims is to simplify sequence control. The openHAB control engine offers various options for automation, from UI-based rules, to Blockly based visual scripts, to full-fledged programming languages, such as JavaScript, Python, Ruby, openHAB DSL (with a Java-like syntax), full Java, and Groovy. You will even find official help libraries for JavaScript and Ruby that simplify the use of openHAB's Java interfaces. Less experienced programmers can use Blockly (Figure 1), then check out the generated JavaScript code and familiarize themselves with the JavaScript environment in openHAB.
OpenHAB is platform independent: It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and you can set it up on an Intel-compatible PC, a Raspberry Pi, a NAS appliance, or a Docker container. Users can access the applications via a web interface, but also via iOS and Android apps, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or Apple HomeKit.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Working Exploit for a Linux Kernel Flaw Made Public
Even before a bug received its CVE identifier or an upstream fix, the local privilege escalation vulnerability exploit found its way into the wild.
-
r/opensource Bans AI-Assisted and AI-Related Projects
The de facto subreddit for all things open source has not only banned AI-related projects but also users who "don't speak English."
-
Bottlenecks Discovered by Meta Engineers Lead to Scalability Improvements
Thanks to a small group of engineers at Meta, the Linux kernel module kernfs has been improved, which has led to some serious gains.
-
PwnEscape Poses VM Vulnerability
A guest-to-host escape flaw in Linux KVM, named PwnEscape, might be yet another means of attacking Linux.
-
Linux Mint 27 Set for a Christmas Release
The developers behind Linux Mint have announced a Christmas release, and it looks like Santa's sack will be brimming with features.
-
Is Linus Torvalds Vibe Coding?
The creator of Linux has added AI into his process for Linux kernel development, and it's more than just for debugging.
-
openKylin 3.0 Released with Expanded AI Integration
The latest release features a pre-installed AI agent to help perform tasks.
-
DigitalOcean Ends Open Source Credits Program
In a change that has surprised many open source developers, DigitalOcean has decided to sunset its Open Source Credits Program.
-
Office 365 Available for Testing on Linux via Bottles
Linux users can now test the official Office 365, thanks to Mirko Brombin's work on Bottles.
-
Dutch Government Turns to Open Source for Digital Sovereignty
Following in the footsteps of other European countries, the Netherlands is looking to increase its sovereign digital infrastructure with open source software.