Welcome to HomeSpan - a robust and extremely easy-to-use Arduino library for creating your own ESP32-based HomeKit devices entirely within the Arduino IDE.
HomeSpan provides a microcontroller-focused implementation of Apple's HomeKit Accessory Protocol Specification Release R2 (HAP-R2) designed specifically for the Espressif ESP32 microcontroller running within the Arduino IDE. HomeSpan pairs directly to HomeKit via your home WiFi network without the need for any external bridges or components. With HomeSpan you can use the full power of the ESP32's I/O functionality to create custom control software and/or hardware to automatically operate external devices from the Home App on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, or with Siri.
HomeSpan requires version 2.0.0 or later of the Arduino-ESP32 Board Manager, and has been tested up through version 2.0.7 (recommended). HomeSpan can be run on the original ESP32 as well as Espressif's ESP32-S2, ESP32-C3, and ESP32-S3 chips.
- Provides a natural, intuitive, and very easy-to-use framework
- Utilizes a unique Service-Centric approach to creating HomeKit devices
- Takes full advantage of the widely-popular Arduino IDE
- 100% HAP-R2 compliance
- 41 integrated HomeKit Services
- Operates in either Accessory or Bridge mode
- Supports pairing with Setup Codes or QR Codes
- Extensive use of the Arduino Serial Monitor
- Real-time, easy-to-understand diagnostics
- Complete transparency to every underlying HomeKit action, data request, and data response
- Command-line interface with a variety of info, debugging, and configuration commands
- Built-in database validation to ensure your configuration meets all HAP requirements
- Dedicated classes that utilize the ESP32's 16-channel PWM peripheral for easy control of:
- LED Brightness (including auto-fading)
- Servo Motors
- Integrated Push Button and Toggle Switch functionality supporting single, double, and long presses of:
- Physical pushbuttons that connect an ESP32 pin to either ground or VCC
- Touch pads/sensors connected to an ESP32 pin (for ESP32 devices that support touch pads)
- Integrated access to the ESP32's on-chip Remote Control peripheral for easy generation of IR and RF signals
- Dedicated classes to control one- and two-wire addressable RGB and RGBW LEDs and LED strips
- Dedicated class that faciliates seemless point-to-point communication between ESP32 devices using ESP-NOW
- Integrated Web Log for user-defined log messages
- Extensively-commented Tutorial Sketches taking you from the very basics of HomeSpan through advanced HomeKit topics
- Additional examples and projects showcasing real-world implementations of HomeSpan
- A complete set of documentation explaining every aspect of the HomeSpan API
- Embedded WiFi Access Point and Web Interface to allow end-users (non-developers) to:
- Set up Homespan with their own home WiFi Credentials
- Create their own HomeKit Pairing Setup Code
- Status LED and Control Button to allow end-users to:
- Force-unpair the device from HomeKit
- Perform a Factory Reset
- Launch the WiFi Access Point
- A standalone, detailed End-User Guide
-
New ability to set OTA password from within sketch
- See the OTA Page for details
-
Added logic to allow duplicates of the same Custom Characteristic to be "defined" in more than one file in a sketch
- Allows the use of the same Custom Characteristic across multiple files in the same sketch without the compiler throwing a "redefinition error"
- See the API Reference for details
-
Extended functionality of
setValidValues()to work with more than just UINT8 Characteristics- Now works with INT, UINT16, and UINT32 Characteristics, as well as UINT8 Characteristics
- See the API Reference for details
-
New parameters added to
autoPoll()that allow the user to set priority and chose CPU- Provides for enhanced performance on dual-processor chips
- See the API Reference for details
-
Automatic LED Fading!
- Added new methods to LedPin class that enable use of the ESP32's built-in fade controls
- Allows user to specify speed of fade
- Runs in background without consuming any CPU resources
- See the PWM Page for details
-
Added ability to Clone the Pairing Data from one device to another
- Adds new 'P' and 'C' commands to the CLI
- Enables a broken device to be swapped for a new device (running the same sketch) without the need to unpair the old device or pair the new device
- Avoids loss of automations, scenes, and any other Home App customizations associated with device
- New and old device can be different chips (e.g. ESP32-S2 versus ESP32-C3)
- See the new Cloning Page for details
See Releases for details on all changes and bug fixes included in this update.
HomeSpan includes the following documentation:
- Getting Started with HomeSpan - setting up the software and the hardware needed to develop HomeSpan devices
- HomeSpan API Overview - an overview of the HomeSpan API, including a step-by-step guide to developing your first HomeSpan Sketch
- HomeSpan Tutorials - a guide to HomeSpan's tutorial-sketches
- HomeSpan Services and Characteristics - a list of all HAP Services and Characterstics supported by HomeSpan
- HomeSpan Accessory Categories - a list of all HAP Accessory Categories defined by HomeSpan
- HomeSpan Command-Line Interface (CLI) - configure a HomeSpan device's WiFi Credentials, modify its HomeKit Setup Code, monitor and update its status, and access detailed, real-time device diagnostics from the Arduino IDE Serial Monitor
- HomeSpan User Guide - turnkey instructions on how to configure an already-programmed HomeSpan device's WiFi Credentials, modify its HomeKit Setup Code, and pair the device to HomeKit. No computer needed!
- HomeSpan API Reference - a complete guide to the HomeSpan Library API
- HomeSpan QR Codes - create and use QR Codes for pairing HomeSpan devices
- HomeSpan OTA - update your sketches Over-the-Air directly from the Arduino IDE without a serial connection
- HomeSpan PWM - integrated control of standard LEDs and Servo Motors using the ESP32's on-chip PWM peripheral
- HomeSpan RFControl - easy generation of RF and IR Remote Control signals using the ESP32's on-chip RMT peripheral
- HomeSpan Pixels - integrated control of addressable one- and two-wire RGB and RGBW LEDs and LED strips
- HomeSpan SpanPoint - facilitates point-to-point, bi-directional communication between ESP32 Devices using ESP-NOW
- HomeSpan Television Services - how to use HomeKit's undocumented Television Services and Characteristics
- HomeSpan Message Logging - how to generate log messages for display on the Arduino Serial Monitor as well as optionally posted to an integrated Web Log page
- HomeSpan Device Cloning - seamlessly swap a broken device for a new one without needing to re-pair and lose HomeKit automations
- HomeSpan Projects - real-world applications of the HomeSpan Library
- HomeSpan FAQ - answers to frequently-asked questions
- Solutions to Common Problems - resolutions to some common problems when using/compiling HomeSpan
- HomeSpan Reference Sketches - a collection of self-contained Reference Sketches showcasing some of the more complex HomeKit Services, such as Thermostats and Irrigation Systems
Note that all documentation is version-controlled and tied to each branch. The master branch generally points to the latest release. The dev branch, when available, will contain code under active development.
In addition to HomeSpan resources, developers who are new to HomeKit programming should download Apple's HomeKit Accessory Protocol Specification, Non-Commercial Version, Release R2 (HAP-R2). This document is unfortunately no longer available from Apple (perhaps because it was last updated July, 2019, and is now somewhat out-of-date). However, you may be able find copies of this document elsewhere on the web. Note Apple has not replaced the HAP-R2 document with any other versions for non-commercial use, and Apple's open-source HomeKit ADK only reflects the original HAP-R2 specs (rather than all the latest Services and Characteristics available in HomeKit for commercial devices).
You do not need to read the entire HAP-R2 document. The whole point of HomeSpan is that it implements all the required HAP operations under the hood so you can focus on just programming whatever logic is needed to control your real-world appliances (lights, fans, RF remote controls, etc.) with the device. However, you will find Chapters 8 and 9 of the HAP guide to be an invaluable reference as it lists and describes all of the Services and Characteristics implemented in HomeSpan, many of which you will routinely utilize in your own HomeSpan sketches.
Please post bug reports or other problems with HomeSpan to the Issues Board. Please post all other questions about HomeSpan (use, functionality, specs, examples, etc.) or any ideas or recommendations you may have for new functionality, or any general feedback about HomeSpan or HomeKit, to the Discussion Board. For more general questions or feedback not related to a specific HomeSpan issue or function, you can email me directly at homespan@icloud.com.
HomeSpan was developed and continues to be maintained and supported by Gregg Berman. It was originally conceived to solve the pesky problem of not being able to operate an RF-controlled kitchen vent hood with Siri. I hope you find it useful as well as fun to use.
This is my second large-scale open-source project --- my first was the design of an open-source sytem for operating model railroads using nothing more than an Arduino Uno and Arduino Motor Shield to generate digital command and control (DCC) signals. Though I have not been involved with the model railroading hobby for many years, videos showcasing my original system (dubbed DCC++), along with detailed tutorials of how it works, are still available on the DCC++ YouTube Channel.