MQTT Light

The mqtt light platform lets you control your MQTT enabled lights through one of the supported message schemas, default, json or template.

Comparison of light MQTT schemas

Function default json template
Brightness
Color mode
Color temperature
Effects
Flashing
HS Color
RGB Color
RGBW Color
RGBWW Color
Transitions
White
XY Color

Default schema

The mqtt light platform with default schema lets you control your MQTT enabled lights. It supports setting brightness, color temperature, effects, on/off, RGB colors, XY colors and white.

Default schema - Configuration

In an ideal scenario, the MQTT device will have a state topic to publish state changes. If these messages are published with a RETAIN flag, the MQTT light will receive an instant state update after subscription and will start with the correct state. Otherwise, the initial state of the switch will be unknown. A MQTT device can reset the current state to unknown using a None payload.

When a state topic is not available, the light will work in optimistic mode. In this mode, the light will immediately change state after every command. Otherwise, the light will wait for state confirmation from the device (message from state_topic). The initial state is set to False / off in optimistic mode.

Optimistic mode can be forced, even if the state_topic is available. Try to enable it, if experiencing incorrect light operation.

Home Assistant internally assumes that a light’s state corresponds to a defined color_mode. The state of MQTT lights with default schema and support for both color and color temperature will set the color_mode according to the last received valid color or color temperature. Optionally, a color_mode_state_topic can be configured for explicit control of the color_mode.

# Example configuration.yaml entry
mqtt:
  - light:
      command_topic: "office/rgb1/light/switch"

Configuration Variables

availability list (Optional)

A list of MQTT topics subscribed to receive availability (online/offline) updates. Must not be used together with availability_topic.

payload_available string (Optional, default: online)

The payload that represents the available state.

payload_not_available string (Optional, default: offline)

The payload that represents the unavailable state.

topic string Required

An MQTT topic subscribed to receive availability (online/offline) updates.

value_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract device’s availability from the topic. To determine the devices’s availability result of this template will be compared to payload_available and payload_not_available.

availability_mode string (Optional, default: latest)

When availability is configured, this controls the conditions needed to set the entity to available. Valid entries are all, any, and latest. If set to all, payload_available must be received on all configured availability topics before the entity is marked as online. If set to any, payload_available must be received on at least one configured availability topic before the entity is marked as online. If set to latest, the last payload_available or payload_not_available received on any configured availability topic controls the availability.

availability_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract device’s availability from the availability_topic. To determine the devices’s availability result of this template will be compared to payload_available and payload_not_available.

availability_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive availability (online/offline) updates. Must not be used together with availability.

brightness_command_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic to publish commands to change the light’s brightness.

brightness_command_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to compose message which will be sent to brightness_command_topic. Available variables: value.

brightness_scale integer (Optional, default: 255)

Defines the maximum brightness value (i.e., 100%) of the MQTT device.

brightness_state_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive brightness state updates.

brightness_value_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract the brightness value.

color_mode_state_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive color mode updates. If this is not configured, color_mode will be automatically set according to the last received valid color or color temperature

color_mode_value_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract the color mode.

color_temp_command_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to compose message which will be sent to color_temp_command_topic. Available variables: value.

color_temp_command_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic to publish commands to change the light’s color temperature state. The color temperature command slider has a range of 153 to 500 mireds (micro reciprocal degrees).

color_temp_state_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive color temperature state updates.

color_temp_value_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract the color temperature value.

command_topic string Required

The MQTT topic to publish commands to change the switch state.

device map (Optional)

Information about the device this light is a part of to tie it into the device registry. Only works when unique_id is set. At least one of identifiers or connections must be present to identify the device.

configuration_url string (Optional)

A link to the webpage that can manage the configuration of this device. Can be either an http://, https:// or an internal homeassistant:// URL.

connections list (Optional)

A list of connections of the device to the outside world as a list of tuples [connection_type, connection_identifier]. For example the MAC address of a network interface: "connections": [["mac", "02:5b:26:a8:dc:12"]].

hw_version string (Optional)

The hardware version of the device.

identifiers string | list (Optional)

A list of IDs that uniquely identify the device. For example a serial number.

manufacturer string (Optional)

The manufacturer of the device.

model string (Optional)

The model of the device.

model_id string (Optional)

The model identifier of the device.

name string (Optional)

The name of the device.

serial_number string (Optional)

The serial number of the device.

suggested_area string (Optional)

Suggest an area if the device isn’t in one yet.

sw_version string (Optional)

The firmware version of the device.

via_device string (Optional)

Identifier of a device that routes messages between this device and Home Assistant. Examples of such devices are hubs, or parent devices of a sub-device. This is used to show device topology in Home Assistant.

enabled_by_default boolean (Optional, default: true)

Flag which defines if the entity should be enabled when first added.

encoding string (Optional, default: utf-8)

The encoding of the payloads received and published messages. Set to "" to disable decoding of incoming payload.

entity_category string (Optional)

The category of the entity.

effect_command_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic to publish commands to change the light’s effect state.

effect_command_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to compose message which will be sent to effect_command_topic. Available variables: value.

effect_list string | list (Optional)

The list of effects the light supports.

effect_state_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive effect state updates.

effect_value_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract the effect value.

hs_command_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to compose message which will be sent to hs_command_topic. Available variables: hue and sat.

hs_command_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic to publish commands to change the light’s color state in HS format (Hue Saturation). Range for Hue: 0° .. 360°, Range of Saturation: 0..100. Note: Brightness is sent separately in the brightness_command_topic.

hs_state_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive color state updates in HS format. The expected payload is the hue and saturation values separated by commas, for example, 359.5,100.0. Note: Brightness is received separately in the brightness_state_topic.

hs_value_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract the HS value.

icon icon (Optional)

Icon for the entity.

json_attributes_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract the JSON dictionary from messages received on the json_attributes_topic. Usage example can be found in MQTT sensor documentation.

json_attributes_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive a JSON dictionary payload and then set as sensor attributes. Usage example can be found in MQTT sensor documentation.

max_mireds integer (Optional)

The maximum color temperature in mireds.

min_mireds integer (Optional)

The minimum color temperature in mireds.

name string (Optional, default: MQTT Light)

The name of the light. Can be set to null if only the device name is relevant.

object_id string (Optional)

Used instead of name for automatic generation of entity_id

on_command_type string (Optional)

Defines when on the payload_on is sent. Using last (the default) will send any style (brightness, color, etc) topics first and then a payload_on to the command_topic. Using first will send the payload_on and then any style topics. Using brightness will only send brightness commands instead of the payload_on to turn the light on.

optimistic boolean (Optional)

Flag that defines if switch works in optimistic mode.

Default:

true if no state topic defined, else false.

payload_available string (Optional, default: online)

The payload that represents the available state.

payload_not_available string (Optional, default: offline)

The payload that represents the unavailable state.

payload_off string (Optional, default: OFF)

The payload that represents disabled state.

payload_on string (Optional, default: ON)

The payload that represents enabled state.

qos integer (Optional, default: 0)

The maximum QoS level to be used when receiving and publishing messages.

retain boolean (Optional, default: false)

If the published message should have the retain flag on or not.

rgb_command_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to compose message which will be sent to rgb_command_topic. Available variables: red, green and blue.

rgb_command_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic to publish commands to change the light’s RGB state.

rgb_state_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive RGB state updates. The expected payload is the RGB values separated by commas, for example, 255,0,127.

rgb_value_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract the RGB value.

rgbw_command_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to compose message which will be sent to rgbw_command_topic. Available variables: red, green, blue and white.

rgbw_command_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic to publish commands to change the light’s RGBW state.

rgbw_state_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive RGBW state updates. The expected payload is the RGBW values separated by commas, for example, 255,0,127,64.

rgbw_value_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract the RGBW value.

rgbww_command_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to compose message which will be sent to rgbww_command_topic. Available variables: red, green, blue, cold_white and warm_white.

rgbww_command_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic to publish commands to change the light’s RGBWW state.

rgbww_state_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive RGBWW state updates. The expected payload is the RGBWW values separated by commas, for example, 255,0,127,64,32.

rgbww_value_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract the RGBWW value.

schema string (Optional, default: default)

The schema to use. Must be default or omitted to select the default schema.

state_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive state updates. A “None” payload resets to an unknown state. An empty payload is ignored. By default, valid state payloads are OFF and ON. The accepted payloads can be overridden with the payload_off and payload_on config options.

state_value_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract the state value. The template should return the payload_on and payload_off values, so if your light uses power on to turn on, your state_value_template string should return power on when the switch is on. For example, if the message is just on, your state_value_template should be power . When your payload_on = 27 and payload_off = 'off', then this template might be 'off' if value_json.my_custom_brightness_field <= 0 else 27.

unique_id string (Optional)

An ID that uniquely identifies this light. If two lights have the same unique ID, Home Assistant will raise an exception.

white_command_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic to publish commands to change the light to white mode with a given brightness.

white_scale integer (Optional, default: 255)

Defines the maximum white level (i.e., 100%) of the MQTT device.

xy_command_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to compose message which will be sent to xy_command_topic. Available variables: x and y.

xy_command_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic to publish commands to change the light’s XY state.

xy_state_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive XY state updates. The expected payload is the X and Y color values separated by commas, for example, 0.675,0.322.

xy_value_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract the XY value.

Important

Make sure that your topics match exactly. some-topic/ and some-topic are different topics.

Note

XY and RGB can not be used at the same time. If both are provided, XY overrides RGB.

Default schema - Examples

In this section you will find some real-life examples of how to use this sensor.

Brightness and RGB support

To enable a light with brightness and RGB support in your installation, add the following to your configuration.yamlThe configuration.yaml file is the main configuration file for Home Assistant. It lists the integrations to be loaded and their specific configurations. In some cases, the configuration needs to be edited manually directly in the configuration.yaml file. Most integrations can be configured in the UI. [Learn more] file:

# Example configuration.yaml entry
mqtt:
  - light:
      name: "Office Light RGB"
      state_topic: "office/rgb1/light/status"
      command_topic: "office/rgb1/light/switch"
      brightness_state_topic: "office/rgb1/brightness/status"
      brightness_command_topic: "office/rgb1/brightness/set"
      rgb_state_topic: "office/rgb1/rgb/status"
      rgb_command_topic: "office/rgb1/rgb/set"
      state_value_template: "{{ value_json.state }}"
      brightness_value_template: "{{ value_json.brightness }}"
      rgb_value_template: "{{ value_json.rgb | join(',') }}"
      qos: 0
      payload_on: "ON"
      payload_off: "OFF"
      optimistic: false

Brightness and no RGB support

To enable a light with brightness (no RGB version) in your installation, add the following to your configuration.yamlThe configuration.yaml file is the main configuration file for Home Assistant. It lists the integrations to be loaded and their specific configurations. In some cases, the configuration needs to be edited manually directly in the configuration.yaml file. Most integrations can be configured in the UI. [Learn more] file:

# Example configuration.yaml entry
mqtt:
  - light:
      name: "Office light"
      state_topic: "office/light/status"
      command_topic: "office/light/switch"
      brightness_state_topic: 'office/light/brightness'
      brightness_command_topic: 'office/light/brightness/set'
      qos: 0
      payload_on: "ON"
      payload_off: "OFF"
      optimistic: false

Brightness without on commands

To enable a light that sends only brightness topics to turn it on, add the following to your configuration.yamlThe configuration.yaml file is the main configuration file for Home Assistant. It lists the integrations to be loaded and their specific configurations. In some cases, the configuration needs to be edited manually directly in the configuration.yaml file. Most integrations can be configured in the UI. [Learn more] file. The command_topic is only used to send an off command in this case:

# Example configuration.yaml entry
mqtt:
  - light:
      name: "Brightness light"
      state_topic: "office/light/status"
      command_topic: "office/light/switch"
      payload_off: "OFF"
      brightness_state_topic: 'office/light/brightness'
      brightness_command_topic: 'office/light/brightness/set'
      on_command_type: 'brightness'

Default schema - Implementations

  • A basic example using a NodeMCU board (ESP8266) to control its built-in LED (on/off).
  • Another example to control a RGB LED (on/off, brightness, and colors).
  • Integration guide for the ESPUrna firmware (ESP8285/ESP8266).

JSON schema

The mqtt light platform with JSON schema lets you control a MQTT-enabled light that can receive JSON messages.

This schema supports on/off, brightness, RGB colors, XY colors, color temperature, transitions and short/long flashing. The messages sent to/from the lights look similar to this, omitting fields when they aren’t needed. The color_mode will not be present in messages sent to the light. It is optional in messages received from the light, but can be used to disambiguate the current mode in the light. In the example below, color_mode is set to rgb and color_temp, color.c, color.w, color.x, color.y, color.h, color.s will all be ignored by Home Assistant:

{
  "brightness": 255,
  "color_mode": "rgb",
  "color_temp": 155,
  "color": {
    "r": 255,
    "g": 180,
    "b": 200,
    "c": 100,
    "w": 50,
    "x": 0.406,
    "y": 0.301,
    "h": 344.0,
    "s": 29.412
  },
  "effect": "colorloop",
  "state": "ON",
  "transition": 2,
}

JSON schema - Configuration

In an ideal scenario, the MQTT device will have a state topic to publish state changes. If these messages are published with the RETAIN flag, the MQTT light will receive an instant state update after subscription and will start with the correct state. Otherwise, the initial state of the light will be off.

When a state topic is not available, the light will work in optimistic mode. In this mode, the light will immediately change state after every command. Otherwise, the light will wait for state confirmation from the device (message from state_topic).

Optimistic mode can be forced, even if state topic is available. Try enabling it if the light is operating incorrectly.

# Example configuration.yaml entry
mqtt:
  - light:
      schema: json
      command_topic: "home/rgb1/set"

Configuration Variables

availability list (Optional)

A list of MQTT topics subscribed to receive availability (online/offline) updates. Must not be used together with availability_topic.

payload_available string (Optional, default: online)

The payload that represents the available state.

payload_not_available string (Optional, default: offline)

The payload that represents the unavailable state.

topic string Required

An MQTT topic subscribed to receive availability (online/offline) updates.

value_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract device’s availability from the topic. To determine the devices’s availability result of this template will be compared to payload_available and payload_not_available.

availability_mode string (Optional, default: latest)

When availability is configured, this controls the conditions needed to set the entity to available. Valid entries are all, any, and latest. If set to all, payload_available must be received on all configured availability topics before the entity is marked as online. If set to any, payload_available must be received on at least one configured availability topic before the entity is marked as online. If set to latest, the last payload_available or payload_not_available received on any configured availability topic controls the availability.

availability_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract device’s availability from the availability_topic. To determine the devices’s availability result of this template will be compared to payload_available and payload_not_available.

availability_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive availability (online/offline) updates. Must not be used together with availability.

brightness boolean (Optional, default: false)

Flag that defines if light supports brightness when the rgb, rgbw, or rgbww color mode is supported.

brightness_scale integer (Optional, default: 255)

Defines the maximum brightness value (i.e., 100%) of the MQTT device.

command_topic string Required

The MQTT topic to publish commands to change the light’s state.

device map (Optional)

Information about the device this light is a part of to tie it into the device registry. Only works when unique_id is set. At least one of identifiers or connections must be present to identify the device.

configuration_url string (Optional)

A link to the webpage that can manage the configuration of this device. Can be either an http://, https:// or an internal homeassistant:// URL.

connections list (Optional)

A list of connections of the device to the outside world as a list of tuples [connection_type, connection_identifier]. For example the MAC address of a network interface: "connections": [["mac", "02:5b:26:a8:dc:12"]].

identifiers string | list (Optional)

A list of IDs that uniquely identify the device. For example a serial number.

manufacturer string (Optional)

The manufacturer of the device.

model string (Optional)

The model of the device.

name string (Optional)

The name of the device.

serial_number string (Optional)

The serial number of the device.

sw_version string (Optional)

The firmware version of the device.

enabled_by_default boolean (Optional, default: true)

Flag which defines if the entity should be enabled when first added.

encoding string (Optional, default: utf-8)

The encoding of the payloads received and published messages. Set to "" to disable decoding of incoming payload.

entity_category string (Optional)

The category of the entity.

effect boolean (Optional, default: false)

Flag that defines if the light supports effects.

effect_list string | list (Optional)

The list of effects the light supports.

flash_time_long integer (Optional, default: 10)

The duration, in seconds, of a “long” flash.

flash_time_short integer (Optional, default: 2)

The duration, in seconds, of a “short” flash.

icon icon (Optional)

Icon for the entity.

json_attributes_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract the JSON dictionary from messages received on the json_attributes_topic. Usage example can be found in MQTT sensor documentation.

json_attributes_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive a JSON dictionary payload and then set as sensor attributes. Usage example can be found in MQTT sensor documentation.

max_mireds integer (Optional)

The maximum color temperature in mireds.

min_mireds integer (Optional)

The minimum color temperature in mireds.

name string (Optional, default: MQTT JSON Light)

The name of the light.

object_id string (Optional)

Used instead of name for automatic generation of entity_id

optimistic boolean (Optional)

Flag that defines if the light works in optimistic mode.

Default:

true if no state topic defined, else false.

payload_available string (Optional, default: online)

The payload that represents the available state.

payload_not_available string (Optional, default: offline)

The payload that represents the unavailable state.

qos integer (Optional, default: 0)

The maximum QoS level to be used when receiving and publishing messages.

retain boolean (Optional, default: false)

If the published message should have the retain flag on or not.

schema string (Optional, default: default)

The schema to use. Must be json to select the JSON schema.

state_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive state updates in a JSON-format. The JSON payload may contain the elements: "state": "ON" the light is on, "OFF" the light is off, null the state is unknown; "color_mode": one of the supported_color_modes; "color": A dict with the color attributes*; "brightness": The brightness; "color_temp": The color temperature; "effect": The effect of the light.

supported_color_modes list (Optional)

A list of color modes supported by the list. Possible color modes are onoff, brightness, color_temp, hs, xy, rgb, rgbw, rgbww, white. Note that if onoff or brightness are used, that must be the only value in the list.

unique_id string (Optional)

An ID that uniquely identifies this light. If two lights have the same unique ID, Home Assistant will raise an exception.

white_scale integer (Optional, default: 255)

Defines the maximum white level (i.e., 100%) of the MQTT device. This is used when setting the light to white mode.

*The color attribute dict in the JSON state payload should contain the following keys based on the color_mode:

  • hs:
    • h: The hue value
    • s: The saturation value
  • xy:
    • x: X color value
    • y: Y color value
  • rgb:
    • r: Red color value
    • g: Green color value
    • b: Blue color value
  • rgbw:
    • r: Red color value
    • g: Green color value
    • b: Blue color value
    • w: White value
  • rgbww:
    • r: Red color value
    • g: Green color value
    • b: Blue color value
    • c: Cool white value
    • w: Warm white value

More details about the different colors, color modes and range values can be found here.

Important

Make sure that your topics match exact. some-topic/ and some-topic are different topics.

Note

RGB, XY and HSV can not be used at the same time in state_topic messages. Make sure that only one of the color models is in the “color” section of the state MQTT payload.

JSON schema - Examples

In this section you find some real-life examples of how to use this sensor.

Brightness and RGB support

To enable a light with brightness and RGB support in your installation, add the following to your configuration.yamlThe configuration.yaml file is the main configuration file for Home Assistant. It lists the integrations to be loaded and their specific configurations. In some cases, the configuration needs to be edited manually directly in the configuration.yaml file. Most integrations can be configured in the UI. [Learn more] file:

# Example configuration.yaml entry
mqtt:
  - light:
      schema: json
      name: mqtt_json_light_1
      state_topic: "home/rgb1"
      command_topic: "home/rgb1/set"
      brightness: true
      supported_color_modes: ["rgb"]

Brightness and no RGB support

To enable a light with brightness (but no color support) in your installation, add the following to your configuration.yamlThe configuration.yaml file is the main configuration file for Home Assistant. It lists the integrations to be loaded and their specific configurations. In some cases, the configuration needs to be edited manually directly in the configuration.yaml file. Most integrations can be configured in the UI. [Learn more] file:

# Example configuration.yaml entry
mqtt:
  - light:
      schema: json
      name: mqtt_json_light_1
      state_topic: "home/rgb1"
      command_topic: "home/rgb1/set"
      brightness: true
      supported_color_modes: ["brightness"]

Brightness scaled

To enable a light using a brightness scale other than 8bit the brightness_scale option may be added to denote the “fully on” value:

# Example configuration.yaml entry
mqtt:
  - light:
      schema: json
      name: mqtt_json_light_1
      state_topic: "home/light"
      command_topic: "home/light/set"
      brightness: true
      brightness_scale: 4095
      supported_color_modes: ["brightness"]

Home Assistant will then convert its 8bit value in the message to and from the device:

{
  "brightness": 4095,
  "state": "ON"
}

HS color

To use a light with hue+saturation as the color model, set supported_color_modes to ["hs"] in the platform configuration:

mqtt:
  - light:
      schema: json
      name: mqtt_json_hs_light
      state_topic: "home/light"
      command_topic: "home/light/set"
      supported_color_modes: ["hs"]

Home Assistant expects the hue values to be in the range 0 to 360 and the saturation values to be scaled from 0 to 100. For example, the following is a blue color shade:

{
  "state": "ON",
  "color_mode": "hs",
  "color": {
    "h": 24.0,
    "s": 100.0
  }
}

Brightness and RGBW support

To enable a light with brightness, RGB support and a separate white channel (RGBW) in your installation, add the following to your configuration.yamlThe configuration.yaml file is the main configuration file for Home Assistant. It lists the integrations to be loaded and their specific configurations. In some cases, the configuration needs to be edited manually directly in the configuration.yaml file. Most integrations can be configured in the UI. [Learn more] file:

# Example configuration.yaml entry
mqtt:
  - light:
      schema: json
      name: mqtt_json_light_1
      state_topic: "home/rgbw1"
      command_topic: "home/rgbw1/set"
      brightness: true
      supported_color_modes: ["rgbw"]

Implementations

  • A full example of custom lighting using this platform and an ESP8266 microcontroller can be found here. It supports on/off, brightness, transitions, RGB colors, and flashing.

  • There is also another implementation forked from the above repository, it supports all the same features but is made for addressable LED strips using FastLED on a NodeMCU V3 it can be found here.

  • McLighting is another ESP8266 firmware for WS2812 addressable LEDs.

  • MQTT JSON Light is another implementation for ESP8266 including MQTT discovery.

  • ESPHome implements the JSON schema for MQTT based installs and supports MQTT discovery.

  • AiLight is a custom firmware for the Ai-Thinker (and equivalent) RGBW WiFi light bulbs that has an ESP8266 onboard and controlled by the MY9291 LED driver. It implements the MQTT JSON light platform and supports ON/OFF, RGBW colours, brightness, color temperature, flashing and transitions. Also it includes MQTT Auto Discovery) and the MQTT Last Will and Testament is enabled as well.

  • h801-mqtt-json is a custom firmware for the H801 LED dimmer, a 5 channel (RGBWWCW) WiFi LED strip controller for 12V LED strips. The firmware is meant to control the 5 channels of the H801 to simultaneously control an RGB and a Warm-white/Cold-white LED strip such as a 5050 RGB LED strip and a 5025 Dual White strip. It implements the MQTT JSON light platform and supports ON/OFF, RGBW colours (RGB strip), brightness, color temperature (CW/WW strip) and transitions.

Template schema

The mqtt light platform with template schema lets you control a MQTT-enabled light that receive commands on a command topic and optionally sends status update on a state topic. It is format-agnostic so you can use any data format you want (i.e., string, JSON), just configure it with templating.

This schema supports on/off, brightness, RGB colors, XY colors, HS Color, color temperature, transitions, short/long flashing and effects.

Template schema - Configuration

In an ideal scenario, the MQTT device will have a state topic to publish state changes. If these messages are published with the RETAIN flag, the MQTT light will receive an instant state update after subscription and will start with the correct state. Otherwise, the initial state of the light will be off.

When a state topic is not available, the light will work in optimistic mode. In this mode, the light will immediately change state after every command. Otherwise, the light will wait for state confirmation from the device (message from state_topic).

Optimistic mode can be forced, even if state topic is available. Try enabling it if the light is operating incorrectly.

# Example configuration.yaml entry
mqtt:
  - light:
      schema: template
      command_topic: "home/rgb1/set"
      command_on_template: "on"
      command_off_template: "off"

Configuration Variables

availability list (Optional)

A list of MQTT topics subscribed to receive availability (online/offline) updates. Must not be used together with availability_topic.

payload_available string (Optional, default: online)

The payload that represents the available state.

payload_not_available string (Optional, default: offline)

The payload that represents the unavailable state.

topic string Required

An MQTT topic subscribed to receive availability (online/offline) updates.

value_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract device’s availability from the topic. To determine the devices’s availability result of this template will be compared to payload_available and payload_not_available.

availability_mode string (Optional, default: latest)

When availability is configured, this controls the conditions needed to set the entity to available. Valid entries are all, any, and latest. If set to all, payload_available must be received on all configured availability topics before the entity is marked as online. If set to any, payload_available must be received on at least one configured availability topic before the entity is marked as online. If set to latest, the last payload_available or payload_not_available received on any configured availability topic controls the availability.

availability_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract device’s availability from the availability_topic. To determine the devices’s availability result of this template will be compared to payload_available and payload_not_available.

availability_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive availability (online/offline) updates. Must not be used together with availability.

blue_template template (Optional)

Template to extract blue color from the state payload value. Expected result of the template is an integer from 0-255 range.

brightness_template template (Optional)

Template to extract brightness from the state payload value. Expected result of the template is an integer from 0-255 range.

color_temp_template template (Optional)

Template to extract color temperature from the state payload value. Expected result of the template is an integer representing mired units.

command_off_template template Required

The template for off state changes. Available variables: state and transition.

command_on_template template Required

The template for on state changes. Available variables: state, brightness, color_temp, red, green, blue, flash, transition and effect. Values red, green, blue, brightness are provided as integers from range 0-255. Value of color_temp is provided as integer representing mired units.

command_topic string Required

The MQTT topic to publish commands to change the light’s state.

device map (Optional)

Information about the device this light is a part of to tie it into the device registry. Only works when unique_id is set. At least one of identifiers or connections must be present to identify the device.

configuration_url string (Optional)

A link to the webpage that can manage the configuration of this device. Can be either an http://, https:// or an internal homeassistant:// URL.

connections list (Optional)

A list of connections of the device to the outside world as a list of tuples [connection_type, connection_identifier]. For example the MAC address of a network interface: "connections": [["mac", "02:5b:26:a8:dc:12"]].

identifiers string | list (Optional)

A list of IDs that uniquely identify the device. For example a serial number.

manufacturer string (Optional)

The manufacturer of the device.

model string (Optional)

The model of the device.

name string (Optional)

The name of the device.

serial_number string (Optional)

The serial number of the device.

sw_version string (Optional)

The firmware version of the device.

enabled_by_default boolean (Optional, default: true)

Flag which defines if the entity should be enabled when first added.

encoding string (Optional, default: utf-8)

The encoding of the payloads received and published messages. Set to "" to disable decoding of incoming payload.

entity_category string (Optional)

The category of the entity.

effect_list string | list (Optional)

List of possible effects.

effect_template template (Optional)

Template to extract effect from the state payload value.

green_template template (Optional)

Template to extract green color from the state payload value. Expected result of the template is an integer from 0-255 range.

icon icon (Optional)

Icon for the entity.

json_attributes_template template (Optional)

Defines a template to extract the JSON dictionary from messages received on the json_attributes_topic. Usage example can be found in MQTT sensor documentation.

json_attributes_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive a JSON dictionary payload and then set as sensor attributes. Usage example can be found in MQTT sensor documentation.

max_mireds integer (Optional)

The maximum color temperature in mireds.

min_mireds integer (Optional)

The minimum color temperature in mireds.

name string (Optional, default: MQTT Template Light)

The name of the light.

object_id string (Optional)

Used instead of name for automatic generation of entity_id

optimistic boolean (Optional)

Flag that defines if the light works in optimistic mode.

Default:

true if no state topic or state template is defined, else false.

payload_available string (Optional, default: online)

The payload that represents the available state.

payload_not_available string (Optional, default: offline)

The payload that represents the unavailable state.

qos integer (Optional, default: 0)

The maximum QoS level to be used when receiving and publishing messages.

red_template template (Optional)

Template to extract red color from the state payload value. Expected result of the template is an integer from 0-255 range.

schema string (Optional, default: default)

The schema to use. Must be template to select the template schema.

state_template template (Optional)

Template to extract state from the state payload value.

state_topic string (Optional)

The MQTT topic subscribed to receive state updates. A “None” payload resets to an unknown state. An empty payload is ignored.

unique_id string (Optional)

An ID that uniquely identifies this light. If two lights have the same unique ID, Home Assistant will raise an exception.

Important

Make sure that your topics match exact. some-topic/ and some-topic are different topics.

Template schema - Examples

In this section you find some real-life examples of how to use this light.

Simple string payload

For a simple string payload with the format state,brightness,r-g-b,h-s (e.g., on,255,255-255-255,360-100), add the following to your configuration.yamlThe configuration.yaml file is the main configuration file for Home Assistant. It lists the integrations to be loaded and their specific configurations. In some cases, the configuration needs to be edited manually directly in the configuration.yaml file. Most integrations can be configured in the UI. [Learn more] file:

# Example configuration.yaml entry
mqtt:
  - light:
      schema: template
      command_topic: "home/rgb1/set"
      state_topic: "home/rgb1/status"
      command_on_template: "on,{{ brightness|d }},{{ red|d }}-{{ green|d }}-{{ blue|d }},{{ hue|d }}-{{ sat|d }}"
      command_off_template: "off"
      state_template: "{{ value.split(',')[0] }}"  # must return `on` or `off`
      brightness_template: "{{ value.split(',')[1] }}"
      red_template: "{{ value.split(',')[2].split('-')[0] }}"
      green_template: "{{ value.split(',')[2].split('-')[1] }}"
      blue_template: "{{ value.split(',')[2].split('-')[2] }}"

JSON payload

For a JSON payload with the format {"state": "on", "brightness": 255, "color": [255, 255, 255], "effect": "rainbow"}, add the following to your configuration.yamlThe configuration.yaml file is the main configuration file for Home Assistant. It lists the integrations to be loaded and their specific configurations. In some cases, the configuration needs to be edited manually directly in the configuration.yaml file. Most integrations can be configured in the UI. [Learn more] file:

# Example configuration.yaml entry
mqtt:
  - light:
      schema: template
      effect_list:
        - rainbow
        - colorloop
      command_topic: "home/rgb1/set"
      state_topic: "home/rgb1/status"
      command_on_template: >
        {"state": "on"
        {%- if brightness is defined -%}
        , "brightness": {{ brightness }}
        {%- endif -%}
        {%- if red is defined and green is defined and blue is defined -%}
        , "color": [{{ red }}, {{ green }}, {{ blue }}]
        {%- endif -%}
        {%- if hue is defined and sat is defined -%}
        , "huesat": [{{ hue }}, {{ sat }}]
        {%- endif -%}
        {%- if effect is defined -%}
        , "effect": "{{ effect }}"
        {%- endif -%}
        }
      command_off_template: '{"state": "off"}'
      state_template: '{{ value_json.state }}'
      brightness_template: '{{ value_json.brightness }}'
      red_template: '{{ value_json.color[0] }}'
      green_template: '{{ value_json.color[1] }}'
      blue_template: '{{ value_json.color[2] }}'
      effect_template: '{{ value_json.effect }}'

CCT light (brightnes and temperature)

This example comes from a configuration of Shelly RGBW Bulb working in White mode. max_mireds and min_mireds set color temperature boundaries to 3000K - 6500K. Notice the same limits are applied in command_on_template, but in kelvin units this time. It’s due to conversion from mired to kelvin which causes exceeding boundary values accepted by the device. The code also ensures bi-directional conversion of brightness scale between 0-100 (required by the device) and 0-255 (required by Home Assistant). Add the following to your configuration.yamlThe configuration.yaml file is the main configuration file for Home Assistant. It lists the integrations to be loaded and their specific configurations. In some cases, the configuration needs to be edited manually directly in the configuration.yaml file. Most integrations can be configured in the UI. [Learn more] file:

# Example configuration.yaml entry
mqtt:
  - light:
      schema: template
      name: "Bulb-white"
      command_topic: "shellies/bulb/color/0/set"
      state_topic: "shellies/bulb/color/0/status"
      availability_topic: "shellies/bulb/online"
      command_on_template: >
        {"turn": "on", "mode": "white"
        {%- if brightness is defined -%}
        , "brightness": {{brightness | float | multiply(0.39215686) | round(0)}}
        {%- endif -%}
        {%- if color_temp is defined -%}
        , "temp": {{ [[(1000000 / color_temp | float) | round(0), 3000] | max, 6500] | min }}
        {%- endif -%}
        }
      command_off_template: '{"turn":"off", "mode": "white"}'
      state_template: "{% if value_json.ison and value_json.mode == 'white' %}on{% else %}off{% endif %}"
      brightness_template: "{{ value_json.brightness | float | multiply(2.55) | round(0) }}"
      color_temp_template: "{{ (1000000 / value_json.temp | float) | round(0) }}"
      payload_available: "true"
      payload_not_available: "false"
      max_mireds: 334
      min_mireds: 153
      qos: 1
      retain: false
      optimistic: false  

Template schema - No brightness or color support

If you don’t want brightness, color or effect support, just omit the corresponding configuration sections.