Pi Lights

Pi Lights is an app for controlling a strip of individually addressable LEDs accepting the ws281x protocol.

Features include:

• REST API for controller patterns and brightness (see API docs below)
• MDNS server that enables routing to your pi on your local network via the hostname of the pi itself (the hostname of your pi is configured in the OS level)
• Self-updating by watching the master branch at https://github.com/jeremyroberts0/pi-lights
• Web interface wrapping the REST API for easy control on local network (note Chrome on Android does not support MDNS, so you have to navigiate via IP Address of the pi)

Wishlist

• Homeassistant integration

Setup

Hardware

Wire lights to Pi as per https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixels-on-raspberry-pi/raspberry-pi-wiring

• Data line in GPIO18
• Ground to Ground
• Power to 5v pin

Unless you're using a 5v LED strip, you'll need to inject power seperately. Multiple strips require power injection at the beginning fo each strip

Software

This procedure installs the app and runs it as a systemd service, which takes care of gathering logs and starting the app when the pi reboots.

1. Install NodeJS on the pi
2. Clone this repo to /home/pi/pi-lights
3. cd /home/pi/pi-lights
4. Install nodejs dependencies npm i --no-save
5. Copy pilights.service to /lib/systemd/system/pilights.service
6. sudo systemctl enable pilights.service

The app is now running and available on port 80. View logs with: journalctl -u pilights.service.

The app includes an auto update feature. It polls github occasionally to check for changes and update itself. You'll need to create an ssh key on your pi and add it to your Github account or to the pilights repo in order to for this to work.

API

Info

curl http://localhost:8080/info

Set Pattern

curl -X POST http://localhost/pattern/off
curl -X POST http://localhost/pattern/rainbow
curl -X POST http://localhost/pattern/white
curl -X POST http://localhost/pattern/xmas
curl -X POST http://localhost/pattern/ready
curl -X POST http://localhost/pattern/loading

Set Brightness (0-100)

curl -X POST http://localhost/brightness/0
curl -X POST http://localhost/brightness/25
curl -X POST http://localhost/brightness/50
curl -X POST http://localhost/brightness/75
curl -X POST http://localhost/brightness/100