/hue-website-nightlights

My in-network Node app for controlling my kids' Hue nightlight via website & Dash button

Primary LanguageJavaScript

Internet-enabled children's nightlight

Powered by Node.JS, Philips Hue and Amazon Dash.

Why Does This Exist?

I wanted my kids to have a nightlight in their room that:

  • Had programmable color
  • Had an adjustable timer (turns off X minutes after being turned on)
  • Had an interface to show history of button pushes (so I can see when they were awake)
  • Schedule the light to change color on a schedule (so at 7am it turns to blue to indicate "Ok, it's morning time!")

Live Demos

Demo of button turning light on
light turn on
Demo of button turning light off
light turn off

What Does This Do?

There is a Node.js web server that runs on the network, connects to the Philips Hue bridge, and listens on the network for the Amazon Dash button to get pushed.

Each Dash button gets associated with a light on the network. If the button is pushed and the light is off - the light is turned on (and a timer is started to automatically turn the light off after X minutes). If the button is pushed and the light is on - the light is turned off.

There is also a web application that sets the default color and colors during specific time periods. The web interface - in addition to showing times of button pushes - permits turning the light on with & without the timer, and turning the light off.

Setup

Getting The App Running

For the most part, it is a straight-forward Node.js application. After downloading this repo and extracting it to a directory of your choice, run:

  • npm install
  • npm run setup
  • sudo npm start
  • Yes, running it as root isn't ideal. But the app is listening to your network for packets from the Dash button. Later in the readme I discuss the workarounds if this concerns you.

You can now access http://localhost:3000/ and view the complete interface. (On my home network, I put this behind nginx and set the in-house DNS to know it as "nightlight". So now babysitters and family just go to http://nightlight/ to use it.)

Finding A Dash Button

Per the tutorial of node-dash-button:

  • Follow Amazon's instructions to configure your button to send messages when you push them but not actually order anything. When you get a Dash button, Amazon gives you a list of setup instructions to get going. Just follow this list of instructions, but don’t complete the final step. Do not select a product, just exit the app.
  • Run sudo node node_modules/node-dash-button/bin/findbutton and find the MAC address of your button
  • Go into the Settings tab of our web interface and paste in your button's MAC address
  • In the Main tab you'll see unattached at the button, bind it to the light of your choice and you're all set.

Keeping The App Running

You'll find plenty of other great tutorials on the web about running a Node.js app as a daemon, but here are a couple:

Screenshots

Desktop interface for monitor and control
Mobile interface for monitor and control
mobile view

To Root or Not To Root

There is a conversation about running this application without root. But since it's on my home personal server (Raspberry Pi), I don't mind it running as root. But you can follow/implement that conversation if you don't want to run this as root on your machine.

Acknowledgements