Getting Started with esphomeyaml ================================ esphomeyaml is the perfect solution for creating custom firmwares for your ESP8266/ESP32 boards. In this guide we’ll go through how to setup a basic “node” in a few simple steps. Installation ------------ Installing epshomeyaml is very easy. All you need to do is have `Python 2.7 `__ installed (because of platformio 😕) and install the console script script through ``pip``. .. code:: bash pip install esphomeyaml Alternatively, there’s also a docker image available for easy installation (the docker hub image is only available for amd64 right now; if you have an RPi, please install esphomelib through ``pip`` or use :doc:`the HassIO add-on `: .. code:: bash docker pull ottowinter/esphomeyaml Creating A Project ------------------ Now let’s setup a configuration file. Fortunately, esphomeyaml has a friendly setup wizard that will guide you through creating your first configuration file. For example, if you want to create a configuration file called ``livingroom.yaml``: .. code:: bash esphomeyaml livingroom.yaml wizard # On Docker: docker run --rm -v "`pwd`":/config -it ottowinter/esphomeyaml livingroom.yaml wizard .. note:: If you have trouble with installing esphomeyaml and see errors like "command not found", try running ``python2 -m esphomeyaml livingroom.yaml wizard``. At the end of this step, you will have your first YAML configuration file ready. It doesn't do much yet and only makes your device connect to the WiFi network and MQTT broker, but still it’s a first step. Adding some features -------------------- So now you should have a file called ``livingroom.yaml`` (or similar). Go open that file in an editor of your choice and let’s add a :doc:`simple GPIO switch ` to our app. .. code:: yaml switch: - platform: gpio name: "Living Room Dehumidifier" pin: 5 The configuration format should hopefully immediately seem similar to you. esphomeyaml has tried to keep it as close to Home Assistant’s ``configuration.yaml`` schema as possible. In the above example, we’re simply adding a switch that’s called “Living Room Dehumidifier” (could control anything really, for example lights) and is connected to pin ``GPIO5``. The nice thing about esphomeyaml is that it will automatically also try to translate pin numbers for you based on the board. For example in the above configuration, if using a NodeMCU board, you could have just as well set ``D1`` as the ``pin:`` option. First Uploading --------------- Now you can go ahead and add some more components. Once you feel like you have something you want to upload to your ESP board, simply plug in the device via USB and type the following command (replacing ``livingroom.yaml`` with your configuration file): .. code:: bash esphomeyaml livingroom.yaml run You should see esphomeyaml validating the configuration and telling you about potential problems. Then esphomeyaml will proceed to compile and upload the custom firmware. You will also see that esphomeyaml created a new folder with the name of your node. This is a new platformio project that you can modify afterwards and play around with. On docker, the first upload is a bit more complicated, either you manage to map the serial device into docker with the ``-v`` option, or you just call ``compile`` within the container and let platformio do the uploading on the host system. If you are running docker on Linux you can add ``--device=/dev/ttyUSB0`` to your docker command to map a local USB device. .. code:: bash docker run --rm -v "`pwd`":/config -it ottowinter/esphomeyaml livingroom.yaml compile platformio run -d livingroom -t upload Now if you have `MQTT Discovery `__ enabled in your Home Assistant configuration, the switch should already be automatically be added 🎉 (Make sure you’ve added it to a view too.) .. figure:: /esphomeyaml/components/switch/images/gpio-ui.png :align: center After the first upload, you will probably never need to use the USB cable again, as all features of esphomelib are enabled remotely as well. No more opening hidden boxes stowed in places hard to reach. Yay! Adding A Binary Sensor ---------------------- Next, we’re going to add a very simple binary sensor that periodically checks a GPIO pin whether it’s pulled high or low - the :doc:`GPIO Binary Sensor `. .. code:: yaml binary_sensor: - platform: gpio name: "Living Room Window" pin: number: 16 inverted: True mode: INPUT_PULLUP This is an advanced feature of esphomeyaml. Almost all pins can optionally have a more complicated configuration schema with options for inversion and pinMode - the :ref:`Pin Schema `. This time when uploading, you don’t need to have the device plugged in through USB again. The upload will magically happen “over the air”. Using esphomeyaml directly, this is the same as from a USB cable, but for docker you need to supply an additional parameter: .. code:: bash esphomeyaml livingroom.yaml run # On docker docker run --rm -p 6123:6123 -v "`pwd`":/config -it ottowinter/esphomeyaml livingroom.yaml run .. figure:: /esphomeyaml/components/binary_sensor/images/gpio-ui.png Where To Go Next ---------------- Great 🎉! You’ve now successfully setup your first esphomeyaml project and uploaded your first esphomelib custom firmware to your node. You’ve also learned how to enable some basic components via the configuration file. So now is a great time to go take a look at the :doc:`Components Index `. Hopefully you’ll find all sensors/outputs/… you’ll need in there. If you’re having any problems or want new features, please either create a new issue on the `GitHub issue tracker `__ or contact me via the `Discord chat `__. Bonus: esphomeyaml dashboard ---------------------------- Starting with version 1.6.0, esphomeyaml features a dashboard that you can use to easily manage your nodes from a nice web interface. It was primarily designed for :doc:`the HassIO add-on `, but also works with a simple command. To start the esphomeyaml dashboard, simply start esphomeyaml with the following command (with ``config/`` pointing to a directory where you want to store your configurations) .. code:: bash # Install dashboard dependencies pip2 install tornado esptool esphomeyaml config/ dashboard # On docker docker run --rm -p 6052:6052 -p 6123:6123 -v "`pwd`":/config -it ottowinter/esphomeyaml /config dashboard After that, you will be able to access the dashboard through ``localhost:6052``. .. figure:: images/dashboard.png Using Custom components ----------------------- esphomelib’s powerful core makes it easy to create own custom sensors. Please first follow the `Custom Sensor Component Guide `__ to see how this can be done. For using custom components with esphomeyaml you only need to open up the auto-generated ``src/main.cpp`` file in the platformio project folder. The lines in between ``AUTO GENERATED CODE BEGIN`` and ``AUTO GENERATED CODE END`` should not be edited and all changes in there will be overriden, but outside of those comments you can safely create custom sensors while still using esphomeyaml’s great configuration options. .. code:: cpp // Auto generated code by esphomeyaml #include "esphomelib/application.h" using namespace esphomelib; void setup() { // ===== DO NOT EDIT ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE ===== // ========== AUTO GENERATED CODE BEGIN =========== App.set_name("cabinet"); // ... // =========== AUTO GENERATED CODE END ============ // ========= YOU CAN EDIT AFTER THIS LINE ========= App.setup(); } void loop() { App.loop(); delay(20); } See Also -------- - :doc:`esphomeyaml index ` - :doc:`getting_started_hassio` - `Edit this page on GitHub `__ .. disqus::