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
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.
-
Plasma Ends LTS Releases
The KDE Plasma development team is doing away with the LTS releases for a good reason.
-
Arch Linux Available for Windows Subsystem for Linux
If you've ever wanted to use a rolling release distribution with WSL, now's your chance.
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.