Getting HomeKit Bridge working the first time

Posted on
Wed Nov 21, 2018 9:30 pm
brianlloyd offline
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Location: San Antonio, TX, USA

Getting HomeKit Bridge working the first time

I have Homekit Bridge installed. Trying to get my first device working. Going through the quick start guide. Skipping over the "Migrating from Homebridge Buddy" part. (Maybe add something saying, "Skip this next part if you are just starting out.)

So I come to "Creating a HomeKit Accessory Server". I create a new device. Then I get the "Configure HomeKit Accessory Server" pane. Suddenly I am faced with the following fields that are NOT shown or discussed:

Model Source:
Firmware Source:
HomeKit Name:
HomeKit Type:

Huh? OK, I figured out HomeKit type. I can guess that HomeKit Name will be the name that the indigo device takes under HomeKit. Model Source and Firmware Source are no-ops (to me). Do they matter? (Probably.)

But I decided to leave Model Source and Firmware source alone. I entered a name in Homekit Name (my office light -- starting simple) and HomeKit Type is lightbulb. Should be simple. Click 'Save Device'. HomeKit Name changes to a completely different devices and HomeKit type changes to something completely incompatible with the new name. Huh?

I am officially in the weeds. Help?

Posted on
Mon Nov 26, 2018 11:42 am
Colorado4Wheeler offline
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Location: Colorado

Re: Getting HomeKit Bridge working the first time

brianlloyd wrote:
Model Source:
Firmware Source:
HomeKit Name:
HomeKit Type:

These options came after the documentation, I'll add that to the list of things to update in the Quick Start. Those are just references from Indigo to HomeKit when you view the HomeKit item.

brianlloyd wrote:
But I decided to leave Model Source and Firmware source alone. I entered a name in Homekit Name (my office light -- starting simple) and HomeKit Type is lightbulb. Should be simple. Click 'Save Device'. HomeKit Name changes to a completely different devices and HomeKit type changes to something completely incompatible with the new name. Huh?

Can you include screenshots? Between myself and others we have probably added thousands of devices to HKB and not had it just change the server name and device names on its own, so I suspect that maybe you might be missing a step.

My Modest Contributions to Indigo:

HomeKit Bridge | Device Extensions | Security Manager | LCD Creator | Room-O-Matic | Smart Dimmer | Scene Toggle | Powermiser | Homebridge Buddy

Check Them Out Here

Posted on
Mon Nov 26, 2018 12:32 pm
brianlloyd offline
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Posts: 226
Joined: May 26, 2013
Location: San Antonio, TX, USA

Re: Getting HomeKit Bridge working the first time

Colorado4Wheeler wrote:
brianlloyd wrote:
Model Source:
Firmware Source:
HomeKit Name:
HomeKit Type:

These options came after the documentation, I'll add that to the list of things to update in the Quick Start. Those are just references from Indigo to HomeKit when you view the HomeKit item.


So, what should go into these fields?

brianlloyd wrote:
But I decided to leave Model Source and Firmware source alone. I entered a name in Homekit Name (my office light -- starting simple) and HomeKit Type is lightbulb. Should be simple. Click 'Save Device'. HomeKit Name changes to a completely different devices and HomeKit type changes to something completely incompatible with the new name. Huh?

Can you include screenshots? Between myself and others we have probably added thousands of devices to HKB and not had it just change the server name and device names on its own, so I suspect that maybe you might be missing a step.


I am sure that, once familiar with your lexicon and how you think about interfaces, I will be able to do everything I need to do. So you want me to make a screenshot of everything I do? OK. But I think a good start would be to specify what should go into the fields above first, and a description of how they relate to other things. I am going to just turn a light on and off from Homekit first. From there I can probably generalize to other devices.

Posted on
Mon Nov 26, 2018 3:16 pm
Colorado4Wheeler offline
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Joined: Jul 20, 2009
Location: Colorado

Re: Getting HomeKit Bridge working the first time

brianlloyd wrote:
So, what should go into these fields?

  • Model source/Firmware source: it should have defaulted to a selection, but this is 100% a visual thing that you may never even look at, you can choose whatever you want. It only appears if you really drill into a home accessory devices details
  • HomeKit Name (this is in the wiki...) is the name as you want it to appear in HomeKit
  • HomeKit Type (this is in the wiki...) is the type of device you want this to be. It will try to determine the type but you may want it for something else. For instance you can choose a motion sensor and it will default to Motion Sensor but maybe you want that to be a smoke alarm instead because of how you use it in Indigo.

Just remember to SAVE DEVICE and not press the "Save" button at the bottom as you add things.

My Modest Contributions to Indigo:

HomeKit Bridge | Device Extensions | Security Manager | LCD Creator | Room-O-Matic | Smart Dimmer | Scene Toggle | Powermiser | Homebridge Buddy

Check Them Out Here

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