tradfri-fun

Code for controlling Trådfri lights to accompany the article in MagPI issue 76.

Requirements

• Trådfri gateway
• Trådfri colour-changing light
• Raspberry Pi (Raspian Stretch)

These instructions will also work on other Linux distributions and macOS, although package management will differ.

Installation

Run the following commands:

$ cd
$ sudo apt install git automake libtool python3-pi
$ git clone --depth 1 --recursive -b dtls https://github.com/home-assistant/libcoap.git
$ cd libcoap
$ ./autogen.sh
$ ./configure --disable-documentation --disable-shared --without-debug CFLAGS="-DCOAP_DEBUG_FD=stderr"
$ make
$ make install
$ cd
$ pip3 install pytradfri

You can safely remove the ~/libcoap directory at this point.

Run the test script to check communication with the gateway:

$ python3 -i -m pytradfri IP-Address

N.B. Replace IP-Address with the IP address of your gateway.

Enter the security code printed on the base of your gateway. This creates a .conf file containing your unique password that must be present in the same directory as the following scripts.

The Scripts

These are simple Python 3 scripts intended to be a starting point for more adventurous projects. They all asssume a single smart light with colour capability.

These scripts will not run without modification. Please see the notes in each one for instructions.

brighten.py

A test of Pi -> gateway -> light. Slowly brightens the light from 0 to 254 (maximum brightness).

watch_light.py

Displays event information. Run the script then control the light with a normal remote. You will see data on the console as changes occur.

cheerlights.py

Set the colour of the smart light to the current Cheerlights value. See cheerlights.com for more on this project.

webhook.py

An example of how to trigger an IFTTT webhook when a Trådfri light is switched on.