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PyPortal Philips Hue Lighting Controller

PyPortal Philips Hue Lighting Controller

Image for user brubell
by Brent Rubell
published April 19, 2019, last updated April 19, 2019
posted in LEDs CircuitPython Internet of Things - IOT
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Beginner
Project guide

Overview

Want to create the right atmosphere to match your mood? 

The Philips Hue is the most intelligent lighting system on the market. The Hue system is comprised of a bridge which communicates over the Internet and smart lights. There's lots of different types of lights to connect to the Hue Bridge - from bulbs to LED strips.

With Hue, you can set light colors to transform the mood of a room, create lighting profiles for different scenarios, create light profiles to wake up to, and even control lights outside of your home.

In this guide, you'll be building a touchscreen lighting controller with an Adafruit PyPortal to control a light, or groups of lights, connected to a Philips Hue bridge.

circuitpython_Untitled.png
circuitpython_046677458485-IMS-en_US.jpeg

The Philips Hue lighting system revolves around the Hue Bridge. This bridge is connected to your router and communicates wirelessly over radio (in a format called ZigBee) to Hue lights and devices linked to the bridge.

Instead of including a separate WiFi radio in each bulb, which increases the number of WiFi devices on your router, only the hub is connected to your router. 

If you're looking for a way to interactively control Philips Hue Lights with CircuitPython, follow along!

circuitpython_Mu_1_0_2_-_untitled__.png

CircuitPython Code

CircuitPython is perfect for building Internet-of-Things projects. This project uses the ESP32SPI CircuitPython library, which can use the ESP32 as a WiFi-coprocessor to send web requests to the LIFX HTTP Remote Control API.

We've also built a Philips Hue helper module for CircuitPython to make interfacing with Hue incredibly easy. 

You can rapidly update your code without having to compile and store WiFi and API secret keys on the device. This means that there's no editing code and re-uploading whenever you move the PyPortal to another network - just update a file and you're set. 

circuitpython_internet_of_things___iot_3d_printing_hero_(1).jpg

PyPortal

Say hello to PyPortal! The easiest way to build your IoT projects with a touchscreen display!

Make sure to walk through the PyPortal introduction guide and walkthrough the pages. It'll get you setup with CircuitPython and a handful of demo code to play with!

Prerequisite Guides

If you're new to CircuitPython, take a moment to walk through the following guides to get you started and up-to-speed:

Parts

Front view of a Adafruit PyPortal - CircuitPython Powered Internet Display with a pyportal logo image on the display.
PyPortal, our easy-to-use IoT device that allows you to create all the things for the “Internet of Things” in minutes. Make custom touch screen interface...
guides with product
Out of Stock
Out of Stock
1 x USB Cable
USB cable - USB A to Micro-B - 3 foot long

You can get both of these and a PyPortal stand in AdaBox 011:

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PyPortal CircuitPython Setup

To use all the amazing features of your PyPortal with CircuitPython, you must first install a number of libraries. This page covers that process.

Adafruit CircuitPython Bundle

Download the Adafruit CircuitPython Library Bundle. You can find the latest release here:

Download the adafruit-circuitpython-bundle-*.x-mpy-*.zip bundle zip file where *.x MATCHES THE VERSION OF CIRCUITPYTHON YOU INSTALLED, and unzip a folder of the same name. Inside you'll find a lib folder. You have two options:

  • You can add the lib folder to your CIRCUITPY drive. This will ensure you have all the drivers. But it will take a bunch of space on the 8 MB disk
  • Add each library as you need it, this will reduce the space usage but you'll need to put in a little more effort.

At a minimum we recommend the following libraries, in fact we more than recommend. They're basically required. So grab them and install them into CIRCUITPY/lib now!

  • adafruit_esp32spi - This is the library that gives you internet access via the ESP32 using (you guessed it!) SPI transport. You need this for anything Internet
  • adafruit_requests - This library allows us to perform HTTP requests and get responses back from servers. GET/POST/PUT/PATCH - they're all in here!
  • adafruit_connection_manager - used by adafruit_requests.
  • adafruit_pyportal - This is our friendly wrapper library that does a lot of our projects, displays graphics and text, fetches data from the internet. Nearly all of our projects depend on it!
  • adafruit_portalbase - This library is the base library that adafruit_pyportal library is built on top of.
  • adafruit_touchscreen - a library for reading touches from the resistive touchscreen. Handles all the analog noodling, rotation and calibration for you.
  • adafruit_io - this library helps connect the PyPortal to our free datalogging and viewing service
  • adafruit_imageload - an image display helper, required for any graphics!
  • adafruit_display_text - not surprisingly, it displays text on the screen
  • adafruit_bitmap_font - we have fancy font support, and its easy to make new fonts. This library reads and parses font files.
  • adafruit_slideshow - for making image slideshows - handy for quick display of graphics and sound
  • neopixel - for controlling the onboard neopixel
  • adafruit_adt7410 - library to read the temperature from the on-board Analog Devices ADT7410 precision temperature sensor (not necessary for Titano or Pynt)
  • adafruit_bus_device - low level support for I2C/SPI
  • adafruit_fakerequests - This library allows you to create fake HTTP requests by using local files.

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Create Your settings.toml File

CircuitPython works with WiFi-capable boards to enable you to make projects that have network connectivity. This means working with various passwords and API keys. As of CircuitPython 8, there is support for a settings.toml file. This is a file that is stored on your CIRCUITPY drive, that contains all of your secret network information, such as your SSID, SSID password and any API keys for IoT services. It is designed to separate your sensitive information from your code.py file so you are able to share your code without sharing your credentials.

CircuitPython previously used a secrets.py file for this purpose. The settings.toml file is quite similar.

Your settings.toml file should be stored in the main directory of your CIRCUITPY drive. It should not be in a folder.

CircuitPython settings.toml File

This section will provide a couple of examples of what your settings.toml file should look like, specifically for CircuitPython WiFi projects in general.

The most minimal settings.toml file must contain your WiFi SSID and password, as that is the minimum required to connect to WiFi. Copy this example, paste it into your settings.toml, and update:

  • your_wifi_ssid
  • your_wifi_password
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CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID = "your_wifi_ssid"
CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD = "your_wifi_password"

Many CircuitPython network-connected projects on the Adafruit Learn System involve using Adafruit IO. For these projects, you must also include your Adafruit IO username and key. Copy the following example, paste it into your settings.toml file, and update:

  • your_wifi_ssid
  • your_wifi_password
  • your_aio_username
  • your_aio_key
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CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID = "your_wifi_ssid"
CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD = "your_wifi_password"
ADAFRUIT_AIO_USERNAME = "your_aio_username"
ADAFRUIT_AIO_KEY = "your_aio_key"

Some projects use different variable names for the entries in the settings.toml file. For example, a project might use ADAFRUIT_AIO_ID in the place of ADAFRUIT_AIO_USERNAME. If you run into connectivity issues, one of the first things to check is that the names in the settings.toml file match the names in the code.

Not every project uses the same variable name for each entry in the settings.toml file! Always verify it matches the code.

settings.toml File Tips

Here is an example settings.toml file.

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# Comments are supported
CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID = "guest wifi"
CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD = "guessable"
CIRCUITPY_WEB_API_PORT = 80
CIRCUITPY_WEB_API_PASSWORD = "passw0rd"
test_variable = "this is a test"
thumbs_up = "\U0001f44d"

In a settings.toml file, it's important to keep these factors in mind:

  • Strings are wrapped in double quotes; ex: "your-string-here"
  • Integers are not quoted and may be written in decimal with optional sign (+1, -1, 1000) or hexadecimal (0xabcd).
    • Floats, octal (0o567) and binary (0b11011) are not supported.
  • Use \u escapes for weird characters, \x and \ooo escapes are not available in .toml files
    • Example: \U0001f44d for 👍 (thumbs up emoji) and \u20ac for € (EUR sign)
  • Unicode emoji, and non-ASCII characters, stand for themselves as long as you're careful to save in "UTF-8 without BOM" format
adafruit_products_dotToml.jpg

 

 

When your settings.toml file is ready, you can save it in your text editor with the .toml extension.

Accessing Your settings.toml Information in code.py

In your code.py file, you'll need to import the os library to access the settings.toml file. Your settings are accessed with the os.getenv() function. You'll pass your settings entry to the function to import it into the code.py file.

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import os

print(os.getenv("test_variable"))
adafruit_products_tomlOutput.jpg

In the upcoming CircuitPython WiFi examples, you'll see how the settings.toml file is used for connecting to your SSID and accessing your API keys.

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Internet Connect!

Connect to WiFi

OK, now that you have your settings.toml file set up - you can connect to the Internet.

To do this, you need to first install a few libraries, into the lib folder on your CIRCUITPY drive. Then you need to update code.py with the example script.

Thankfully, we can do this in one go. In the example below, click the Download Project Bundle button below to download the necessary libraries and the code.py file in a zip file. Extract the contents of the zip file, open the directory examples/ and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using and copy the contents of that directory to your CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CIRCUITPY drive should now look similar to the following image:

CIRCUITPY

If you are using CircuitPython 9.0.x on a board with frozen libraries, such the Matrix Portal M4, use this version of the "Internet Connect" program. If you are using CircuitPython 9.1.0 or later, use the second version below.
Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2019 ladyada for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

from os import getenv
import board
import busio
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import adafruit_connection_manager
import adafruit_requests
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi

# Get wifi details and more from a settings.toml file
# tokens used by this Demo: CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID, CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD
secrets = {
    "ssid": getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID"),
    "password": getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD"),
}
if secrets == {"ssid": None, "password": None}:
    try:
        # Fallback on secrets.py until depreciation is over and option is removed
        from secrets import secrets
    except ImportError:
        print("WiFi secrets are kept in settings.toml, please add them there!")
        raise

print("ESP32 SPI webclient test")

TEXT_URL = "http://wifitest.adafruit.com/testwifi/index.html"
JSON_URL = "http://api.coindesk.com/v1/bpi/currentprice/USD.json"


# If you are using a board with pre-defined ESP32 Pins:
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

# If you have an AirLift Shield:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D7)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

# If you have an AirLift Featherwing or ItsyBitsy Airlift:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D13)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D11)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D12)

# If you have an externally connected ESP32:
# NOTE: You may need to change the pins to reflect your wiring
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D9)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

# Secondary (SCK1) SPI used to connect to WiFi board on Arduino Nano Connect RP2040
if "SCK1" in dir(board):
    spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK1, board.MOSI1, board.MISO1)
else:
    spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)

pool = adafruit_connection_manager.get_radio_socketpool(esp)
ssl_context = adafruit_connection_manager.get_radio_ssl_context(esp)
requests = adafruit_requests.Session(pool, ssl_context)

if esp.status == adafruit_esp32spi.WL_IDLE_STATUS:
    print("ESP32 found and in idle mode")
print("Firmware vers.", esp.firmware_version.decode("utf-8"))
print("MAC addr:", ":".join("%02X" % byte for byte in esp.MAC_address))

for ap in esp.scan_networks():
    print("\t%-23s RSSI: %d" % (str(ap["ssid"], "utf-8"), ap["rssi"]))

print("Connecting to AP...")
while not esp.is_connected:
    try:
        esp.connect_AP(secrets["ssid"], secrets["password"])
    except OSError as e:
        print("could not connect to AP, retrying: ", e)
        continue
print("Connected to", str(esp.ssid, "utf-8"), "\tRSSI:", esp.rssi)
print("My IP address is", esp.pretty_ip(esp.ip_address))
print(
    "IP lookup adafruit.com: %s" % esp.pretty_ip(esp.get_host_by_name("adafruit.com"))
)
print("Ping google.com: %d ms" % esp.ping("google.com"))

# esp._debug = True
print("Fetching text from", TEXT_URL)
r = requests.get(TEXT_URL)
print("-" * 40)
print(r.text)
print("-" * 40)
r.close()

print()
print("Fetching json from", JSON_URL)
r = requests.get(JSON_URL)
print("-" * 40)
print(r.json())
print("-" * 40)
r.close()

print("Done!")
View on GitHub

If you are using CircuitPython 9.1.0, or using the latest version of the ESP32SPI library, using the version below. If you are using CircuitPython 9.0.x on a board with frozen libraries, such as the Matrix Portal M4, use the first version above.
Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2019 ladyada for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

from os import getenv
import board
import busio
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import adafruit_connection_manager
import adafruit_requests
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi

# Get wifi details and more from a settings.toml file
# tokens used by this Demo: CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID, CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD
secrets = {
    "ssid": getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID"),
    "password": getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD"),
}
if secrets == {"ssid": None, "password": None}:
    try:
        # Fallback on secrets.py until depreciation is over and option is removed
        from secrets import secrets
    except ImportError:
        print("WiFi secrets are kept in settings.toml, please add them there!")
        raise

print("ESP32 SPI webclient test")

TEXT_URL = "http://wifitest.adafruit.com/testwifi/index.html"
JSON_URL = "http://api.coindesk.com/v1/bpi/currentprice/USD.json"


# If you are using a board with pre-defined ESP32 Pins:
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

# If you have an AirLift Shield:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D7)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

# If you have an AirLift Featherwing or ItsyBitsy Airlift:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D13)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D11)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D12)

# If you have an externally connected ESP32:
# NOTE: You may need to change the pins to reflect your wiring
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D9)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

# Secondary (SCK1) SPI used to connect to WiFi board on Arduino Nano Connect RP2040
if "SCK1" in dir(board):
    spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK1, board.MOSI1, board.MISO1)
else:
    spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)

pool = adafruit_connection_manager.get_radio_socketpool(esp)
ssl_context = adafruit_connection_manager.get_radio_ssl_context(esp)
requests = adafruit_requests.Session(pool, ssl_context)

if esp.status == adafruit_esp32spi.WL_IDLE_STATUS:
    print("ESP32 found and in idle mode")
print("Firmware vers.", esp.firmware_version)
print("MAC addr:", ":".join("%02X" % byte for byte in esp.MAC_address))

for ap in esp.scan_networks():
    print("\t%-23s RSSI: %d" % (ap.ssid, ap.rssi))

print("Connecting to AP...")
while not esp.is_connected:
    try:
        esp.connect_AP(secrets["ssid"], secrets["password"])
    except OSError as e:
        print("could not connect to AP, retrying: ", e)
        continue
print("Connected to", esp.ap_info.ssid, "\tRSSI:", esp.ap_info.rssi)
print("My IP address is", esp.ipv4_address)
print(
    "IP lookup adafruit.com: %s" % esp.pretty_ip(esp.get_host_by_name("adafruit.com"))
)
print("Ping google.com: %d ms" % esp.ping("google.com"))

# esp._debug = True
print("Fetching text from", TEXT_URL)
r = requests.get(TEXT_URL)
print("-" * 40)
print(r.text)
print("-" * 40)
r.close()

print()
print("Fetching json from", JSON_URL)
r = requests.get(JSON_URL)
print("-" * 40)
print(r.json())
print("-" * 40)
r.close()

print("Done!")
View on GitHub

And save it to your board, with the name code.py.

Don't forget you'll also need to create the settings.toml file as seen above, with your WiFi ssid and password.

In a serial console, you should see something like the following. For more information about connecting with a serial console, view the guide Connecting to the Serial Console.

circuitpython_image.png

In order, the example code...

Initializes the ESP32 over SPI using the SPI port and 3 control pins:

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esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

#...

else:
    spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)

Gets the socket pool and the SSL context, and then tells the adafruit_requests library about them.

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pool = adafruit_connection_manager.get_radio_socketpool(esp)
ssl_context = adafruit_connection_manager.get_radio_ssl_context(esp)
requests = adafruit_requests.Session(pool, ssl_context)

Verifies an ESP32 is found, checks the firmware and MAC address

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if esp.status == adafruit_esp32spi.WL_IDLE_STATUS:
    print("ESP32 found and in idle mode")
print("Firmware vers.", esp.firmware_version)
print("MAC addr:", [hex(i) for i in esp.MAC_address])

Performs a scan of all access points it can see and prints out the name and signal strength:

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for ap in esp.scan_networks():
    print("\t%s\t\tRSSI: %d" % (str(ap['ssid'], 'utf-8'), ap['rssi']))

Connects to the AP we've defined here, then prints out the local IP address, attempts to do a domain name lookup and ping google.com to check network connectivity (note sometimes the ping fails or takes a while, this isn't a big deal)

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print("Connecting to AP...")
while not esp.is_connected:
    try:
        esp.connect_AP(secrets["ssid"], secrets["password"])
    except RuntimeError as e:
        print("could not connect to AP, retrying: ", e)
        continue
print("Connected to", str(esp.ssid, "utf-8"), "\tRSSI:", esp.rssi)
print("My IP address is", esp.pretty_ip(esp.ip_address))
print(
    "IP lookup adafruit.com: %s" % esp.pretty_ip(esp.get_host_by_name("adafruit.com"))

OK now we're getting to the really interesting part. With a SAMD51 or other large-RAM (well, over 32 KB) device, we can do a lot of neat tricks. Like for example we can implement an interface a lot like requests - which makes getting data really really easy

To read in all the text from a web URL call requests.get - you can pass in https URLs for SSL connectivity

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TEXT_URL = "http://wifitest.adafruit.com/testwifi/index.html"
print("Fetching text from", TEXT_URL)
r = requests.get(TEXT_URL)
print('-'*40)
print(r.text)
print('-'*40)
r.close()

Or, if the data is in structured JSON, you can get the json pre-parsed into a Python dictionary that can be easily queried or traversed. (Again, only for nRF52840, M4 and other high-RAM boards)

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JSON_URL = "http://api.coindesk.com/v1/bpi/currentprice/USD.json"
print("Fetching json from", JSON_URL)
r = requests.get(JSON_URL)
print('-'*40)
print(r.json())
print('-'*40)
r.close()

Requests

We've written a requests-like library for web interfacing named Adafruit_CircuitPython_Requests. This library allows you to send HTTP/1.1 requests without "crafting" them and provides helpful methods for parsing the response from the server.

To use with CircuitPython, you need to first install a few libraries, into the lib folder on your CIRCUITPY drive. Then you need to update code.py with the example script.

Thankfully, we can do this in one go. In the example below, click the Download Project Bundle button below to download the necessary libraries and the code.py file in a zip file. Extract the contents of the zip file, open the directory examples/ and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using and copy the contents of that directory to your CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CIRCUITPY drive should now look similar to the following image:

CIRCUITPY
Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
Temporarily unable to load content:
View on GitHub

The code first sets up the ESP32SPI interface. Then, it initializes a request object using an ESP32 socket and the esp object.

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import board
import busio
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import adafruit_esp32spi.adafruit_esp32spi_socket as socket
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi
import adafruit_connection_manager
import adafruit_requests as requests

# If you are using a board with pre-defined ESP32 Pins:
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

# If you have an externally connected ESP32:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D9)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)

print("Connecting to AP...")
while not esp.is_connected:
    try:
        esp.connect_AP(b'MY_SSID_NAME', b'MY_SSID_PASSWORD')
    except RuntimeError as e:
        print("could not connect to AP, retrying: ",e)
        continue
print("Connected to", str(esp.ssid, 'utf-8'), "\tRSSI:", esp.rssi)

pool = adafruit_connection_manager.get_radio_socketpool(esp)
ssl_context = adafruit_connection_manager.get_radio_ssl_context(esp)
requests = adafruit_requests.Session(pool, ssl_context)

HTTP GET with Requests

The code makes a HTTP GET request to Adafruit's WiFi testing website - http://wifitest.adafruit.com/testwifi/index.html.

To do this, we'll pass the URL into requests.get(). We're also going to save the response from the server into a variable named response.

Having requested data from the server, we'd now like to see what the server responded with. Since we already saved the server's response, we can read it back. Luckily for us, requests automatically decodes the server's response into human-readable text, you can read it back by calling response.text.

Lastly, we'll perform a bit of cleanup by calling response.close(). This closes, deletes, and collect's the response's data. 

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print("Fetching text from %s"%TEXT_URL)
response = requests.get(TEXT_URL)
print('-'*40)

print("Text Response: ", response.text)
print('-'*40)
response.close()

While some servers respond with text, some respond with json-formatted data consisting of attribute–value pairs.

CircuitPython_Requests can convert a JSON-formatted response from a server into a CPython dict. object.

We can also fetch and parse json data. We'll send a HTTP get to a url we know returns a json-formatted response (instead of text data). 

Then, the code calls response.json() to convert the response to a CPython dict. 

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print("Fetching JSON data from %s"%JSON_GET_URL)
response = requests.get(JSON_GET_URL)
print('-'*40)

print("JSON Response: ", response.json())
print('-'*40)
response.close()

HTTP POST with Requests

Requests can also POST data to a server by calling the requests.post method, passing it a data value.

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data = '31F'
print("POSTing data to {0}: {1}".format(JSON_POST_URL, data))
response = requests.post(JSON_POST_URL, data=data)
print('-'*40)

json_resp = response.json()
# Parse out the 'data' key from json_resp dict.
print("Data received from server:", json_resp['data'])
print('-'*40)
response.close()

You can also post json-formatted data to a server by passing json_data into the requests.post method.

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    json_data = {"Date" : "July 25, 2019"}
print("POSTing data to {0}: {1}".format(JSON_POST_URL, json_data))
response = requests.post(JSON_POST_URL, json=json_data)
print('-'*40)

json_resp = response.json()
# Parse out the 'json' key from json_resp dict.
print("JSON Data received from server:", json_resp['json'])
print('-'*40)
response.close()

Advanced Requests Usage

Want to send custom HTTP headers, parse the response as raw bytes, or handle a response's http status code in your CircuitPython code?

We've written an example to show advanced usage of the requests module below.

To use with CircuitPython, you need to first install a few libraries, into the lib folder on your CIRCUITPY drive. Then you need to update code.py with the example script.

Thankfully, we can do this in one go. In the example below, click the Download Project Bundle button below to download the necessary libraries and the code.py file in a zip file. Extract the contents of the zip file, open the directory examples/ and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using and copy the contents of that directory to your CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CIRCUITPY drive should now look similar to the following image:

CIRCUITPY
Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
Temporarily unable to load content:
View on GitHub

WiFi Manager

That simpletest example works but it's a little finicky - you need to constantly check WiFi status and have many loops to manage connections and disconnections. For more advanced uses, we recommend using the WiFiManager object. It will wrap the connection/status/requests loop for you - reconnecting if WiFi drops, resetting the ESP32 if it gets into a bad state, etc.

Here's a more advanced example that shows the WiFi manager and also how to POST data with some extra headers:

To use with CircuitPython, you need to first install a few libraries, into the lib folder on your CIRCUITPY drive. Then you need to update code.py with the example script.

Thankfully, we can do this in one go. In the example below, click the Download Project Bundle button below to download the necessary libraries and the code.py file in a zip file. Extract the contents of the zip file, open the directory examples/ and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using and copy the contents of that directory to your CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CIRCUITPY drive should now look similar to the following image:

CIRCUITPY
Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2019 ladyada for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

import time
from os import getenv
import board
import busio
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import neopixel
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi_wifimanager

print("ESP32 SPI webclient test")

# Get wifi details and more from a settings.toml file
# tokens used by this Demo: CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID, CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD
#                           CIRCUITPY_AIO_USERNAME, CIRCUITPY_AIO_KEY
secrets = {}
for token in ["ssid", "password"]:
    if getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_" + token.upper()):
        secrets[token] = getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_" + token.upper())
for token in ["aio_username", "aio_key"]:
    if getenv("CIRCUITPY_" + token.upper()):
        secrets[token] = getenv("CIRCUITPY_" + token.upper())

if not secrets:
    try:
        # Fallback on secrets.py until depreciation is over and option is removed
        from secrets import secrets
    except ImportError:
        print("WiFi secrets are kept in settings.toml, please add them there!")
        raise

# If you are using a board with pre-defined ESP32 Pins:
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)

# If you have an externally connected ESP32:
# esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.D9)
# esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.D10)
# esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.D5)

# Secondary (SCK1) SPI used to connect to WiFi board on Arduino Nano Connect RP2040
if "SCK1" in dir(board):
    spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK1, board.MOSI1, board.MISO1)
else:
    spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)
"""Use below for Most Boards"""
status_light = neopixel.NeoPixel(board.NEOPIXEL, 1, brightness=0.2)
"""Uncomment below for ItsyBitsy M4"""
# status_light = dotstar.DotStar(board.APA102_SCK, board.APA102_MOSI, 1, brightness=0.2)
"""Uncomment below for an externally defined RGB LED (including Arduino Nano Connect)"""
# import adafruit_rgbled
# from adafruit_esp32spi import PWMOut
# RED_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 26)
# GREEN_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 27)
# BLUE_LED = PWMOut.PWMOut(esp, 25)
# status_light = adafruit_rgbled.RGBLED(RED_LED, BLUE_LED, GREEN_LED)

wifi = adafruit_esp32spi_wifimanager.ESPSPI_WiFiManager(esp, secrets, status_light)

counter = 0

while True:
    try:
        print("Posting data...", end="")
        data = counter
        feed = "test"
        payload = {"value": data}
        response = wifi.post(
            "https://io.adafruit.com/api/v2/"
            + secrets["aio_username"]
            + "/feeds/"
            + feed
            + "/data",
            json=payload,
            headers={"X-AIO-KEY": secrets["aio_key"]},
        )
        print(response.json())
        response.close()
        counter = counter + 1
        print("OK")
    except OSError as e:
        print("Failed to get data, retrying\n", e)
        wifi.reset()
        continue
    response = None
    time.sleep(15)
View on GitHub

You'll note here we use a secrets.py file to manage our SSID info. The wifimanager is given the ESP32 object, secrets and a neopixel for status indication.

Note, you'll need to add a some additional information to your secrets file so that the code can query the Adafruit IO API:

  • aio_username
  • aio_key

You can go to your adafruit.io View AIO Key link to get those two values and add them to the secrets file, which will now look something like this:

Download File
Copy Code 
# This file is where you keep secret settings, passwords, and tokens!
# If you put them in the code you risk committing that info or sharing it

secrets = {
    'ssid' : '_your_ssid_',
    'password' : '_your_wifi_password_',
    'timezone' : "America/Los_Angeles", # http://worldtimeapi.org/timezones
    'aio_username' : '_your_aio_username_',
    'aio_key' : '_your_aio_key_',
    }

Next, set up an Adafruit IO feed named test

We can then have a simple loop for posting data to Adafruit IO without having to deal with connecting or initializing the hardware!

Take a look at your test feed on Adafruit.io and you'll see the value increase each time the CircuitPython board posts data to it!

circuitpython_feedstest.jpg

For more information on the basics of doing networking in CircuitPython, see this guide:

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Hue Bridge Setup

Add CircuitPython Code and Project Assets

In the embedded code element below, click on the Download Project Bundle button, and save the .zip archive file to your computer.

Then, uncompress the .zip file, it will unpack to a folder named PyPortal_Philips_Hue_Controller.

Copy the contents of the PyPortal_Philips_Hue_Controller directory to your PyPortal CIRCUITPY drive. Your CircuitPython code file needs to be named code.py to run on startup.

Download Project Bundle
Copy Code 
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2019 Brent Rubell for Adafruit Industries
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

"""
PyPortal Philips Hue Lighting Controller

Brent Rubell for Adafruit Industries, 2019
"""
import os

import board
import displayio
from adafruit_bitmap_font import bitmap_font
from adafruit_button import Button
import adafruit_touchscreen
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import busio
import neopixel
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi_wifimanager

# Import Philips Hue Bridge
from adafruit_hue import Bridge

secrets = dict()
secrets["ssid"] = os.getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID")
secrets["password"] = os.getenv("CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD")

# ESP32 SPI
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)
spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)
status_light = neopixel.NeoPixel(board.NEOPIXEL, 1, brightness=0.2)
wifi = adafruit_esp32spi_wifimanager.ESPSPI_WiFiManager(esp, secrets, status_light)

# Attempt to load bridge username and IP address from secrets.py
try:
    username = os.getenv("HUE_USERNAME")
    bridge_ip = os.getenv("BRIDGE_IP")
    my_bridge = Bridge(wifi, bridge_ip, username)
except:
    # Perform first-time bridge setup
    my_bridge = Bridge(wifi)
    print('Finding bridge address...')
    ip = my_bridge.discover_bridge()
    print('Attempting to register username, press the link button on your Hue Bridge now!')
    username = my_bridge.register_username()
    print(f'ADD THESE VALUES TO settings.toml: \
                            \nBRIDGE_IP = "{ip}" \
                            \nHUE_USERNAME = "{username}"')
    raise

# These pins are used as both analog and digital! XL, XR and YU must be analog
# and digital capable. YD just need to be digital
ts = adafruit_touchscreen.Touchscreen(board.TOUCH_XL, board.TOUCH_XR,
                                      board.TOUCH_YD, board.TOUCH_YU,
                                      calibration=((5200, 59000), (5800, 57000)),
                                      size=(320, 240))


# Make the display context
button_group = displayio.Group()
board.DISPLAY.root_group = button_group
# preload the font
print('loading font...')
font = bitmap_font.load_font("/fonts/Arial-12.bdf")
glyphs = b'0123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ-,.: '
font.load_glyphs(glyphs)
# button properties
BUTTON_WIDTH = 60
BUTTON_HEIGHT = 60
buttons = []

print('loading colors...')
# color conversions (RGB to Philips Hue-compatible HSB)
red = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([255, 0, 0])
white = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([255, 255, 255])
orange = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([255, 165, 0])
yellow = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([255, 255, 0])
green = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([0, 255, 0])
blue = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([0, 0, 255])
purple = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([128, 0, 128])
pink = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([255, 192, 203])

hue_hsb = {'red': red, 'white': white, 'orange': orange,
           'yellow': yellow, 'green': green, 'blue': blue,
           'purple': purple, 'pink': pink}

print('loading buttons...')
# button fill colors
button_colors = {'red':0xFF0000, 'white':0xFFFFFF,
                 'orange':0xFF9900, 'yellow':0xFFFF00,
                 'green':0x00FF00, 'blue':0x0000FF,
                 'purple':0x9900FF, 'pink': 0xFF00FF}
# list of color buttons and their properties
color_btn = [
    {'name':'red', 'pos':(15, 80), 'color':button_colors['red']},
    {'name':'white', 'pos':(85, 80), 'color':button_colors['white']},
    {'name':'orange', 'pos':(155, 80), 'color':button_colors['orange']},
    {'name':'yellow', 'pos':(225, 80), 'color':button_colors['yellow']},
    {'name':'pink', 'pos':(15, 155), 'color':button_colors['pink']},
    {'name':'green', 'pos':(85, 155), 'color':button_colors['green']},
    {'name':'blue', 'pos':(155, 155), 'color':button_colors['blue']},
    {'name':'purple', 'pos':(225, 155), 'color':button_colors['purple']}
]

# generate color buttons from color_btn list
for i in color_btn:
    button = Button(x=i['pos'][0], y=i['pos'][1],
                    width=BUTTON_WIDTH, height=BUTTON_HEIGHT, name=i['name'],
                    fill_color=i['color'], style=Button.ROUNDRECT)
    buttons.append(button)

# light property buttons and their properties
prop_btn = [
    {'name':'onoff', 'pos':(15, 15), 'label':'on/off'},
    {'name':'up', 'pos':(75, 15), 'label':'+'},
    {'name':'down', 'pos':(135, 15), 'label':'-'},
    {'name':'room', 'pos':(195, 15), 'label':'room'},
    {'name':'lamp', 'pos':(255, 15), 'label':'lamp'}
]

# generate property buttons from prop_btn list
for i in prop_btn:
    button = Button(name=i['name'], x=i['pos'][0], y=i['pos'][1],
                    width=55, height=40, label=i['label'],
                    label_font=font, style=Button.SHADOWROUNDRECT)
    buttons.append(button)

# add buttons to the group
for b in buttons:
    button_group.append(b.group)

# Hue Light/Group Identifiers
hue_lights={'lamp': 1, 'livingroom': 2}
hue_selector = hue_lights['lamp']

# Default to 25% brightness
current_brightness = 25

while True:
    touch = ts.touch_point
    if touch:
        for i, button in enumerate(buttons):
            if button.contains(touch):
                button.selected = True
                if button.name == 'room':
                    hue_selector = hue_lights['livingroom']
                    print('Switching to ', hue_selector)
                elif button.name == 'lamp':
                    hue_selector = hue_lights['lamp']
                    print('Switching to ', hue_selector)
                elif button.name == 'onoff':
                    print('Toggling {0}...'.format(hue_selector))
                    my_bridge.toggle_light(int(hue_selector))
                elif button.name == 'up':
                    current_brightness += 25
                    print('Setting {0} brightness to {1}'.format(hue_selector, current_brightness))
                    my_bridge.set_light(int(hue_selector), bri=current_brightness)
                elif button.name == 'down':
                    current_brightness -= 25
                    print('Setting {0} brightness to {1}'.format(hue_selector, current_brightness))
                    my_bridge.set_light(int(hue_selector), bri=current_brightness)
                else:
                    print('Setting {0} color to {1}'.format(hue_selector, button.name))
                    my_bridge.set_light(light_id=int(hue_selector),
                                        hue=int(hue_hsb[button.name][0]),
                                        sat=int(hue_hsb[button.name][1]),
                                        bri=int(hue_hsb[button.name][2]))
                button.selected = False
            else:
                button.selected = False
View on GitHub

This is what the final contents of the CIRCUITPY drive will look like:

CIRCUITPY

Make sure your board's lib folder has the following files and folders copied over.

  • adafruit_hue
  • simpleio
  • adafruit_bitmap_font
  • adafruit_bus_device
  • adafruit_button
  • adafruit_display_shapes
  • adafruit_display_text
  • adafruit_esp32spi
  • adafruit_touchscreen
  • neopixel

Bridge Setup

The Hue system is built around the Hue Bridge. To communicate with the bridge, you'll need to register a unique username (stored on the bridge) for the PyPortal. you'll also need the Bridge's IP address to communicate with it.

We've built the CircuitPython Hue library to automate the process of discovering and registering a username with the bridge - but, you'll still need to add these values to the secrets.py file. This is a one-time setup and does not need to be repeated.

This guide requires you to edit and interact with CircuitPython code. Mu is a simple code editor that works with the Adafruit CircuitPython boards. It's written in Python and works on Windows, MacOS, Linux and Raspberry Pi. The serial console is built right in so you get immediate feedback from your board's serial output!

Before proceeding, click the button below to install the Mu Editor. There are versions for PC, mac, and Linux.

First, if you have not already done so, set up a settings.toml file with your local WiFi information, as described in this guide here.

Next, open the Mu editor and open the file code.py.

For this next step, you will need to connect to the serial console using Mu or a different terminal program.

Once connected to the PyPortal, the REPL will display that the code is searching for the bridge address using the WiFi credentials entered previously into settings.toml:

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code.py output:
Finding bridge address...

If the bridge address was found, the code will attempt to register a random, unique username with the bridge:

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Attempting to register username, press the link button on your Hue Bridge now!
circuitpython_Pasted_Image_4_12_19__3_49_PM.png

When it prints this, you have exactly 120 seconds to press the link button on top of the Hue Bridge.

  • We've found that you may need to press this button more than once during this period to ensure a username is successfully generated.

Once the button on top of the bridge is pressed, the code will print the bridge IP address and username to the REPL.

Modify the settings.toml file by adding BRIDGE_IP and HUE_USERNAME and save the file. Your settings.toml file should look similar to the sample below:

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CIRCUITPY_WIFI_SSID = "your_wifi_ssid"
CIRCUITPY_WIFI_PASSWORD = "your_wifi_password"
BRIDGE_IP = "192.160.0.00"
HUE_USERNAME = "UpsdCULBXvOtWXaqgeTpdAp26Np9hu43x5XjkaLX"

Issues?

hue_username displaying as 'None'?

If the code is returning None for the hue_username:

ADD THESE VALUES TO SECRETS.PY

"bridge_ip":"192.160.0.00",

"hue_username":"None"

Make sure that you're pressing all the way down on the button. Try tapping it multiple times during the username generation process to ensure it returns a username back to the PyPortal.

bridge_ip displaying as 'None'?

If the code is returning None for the bridge_ip:

ADD THESE VALUES TO SECRETS.PY

"bridge_ip":"None",

"hue_username":"UpsdCULBXvOtWXaqgeTpdAp26Np9hu43x5XjkaLX"

Ensure the bridge is connected to the same wireless network as the PyPortal.

Done

Setting up the PyPortal with the bridge is finished! You do not need to repeat this process again unless you misplace the randomly generated username string.

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Code Usage

Hue Lights Setup

Before your can control our lights with the PyPortal, we'll need to set which lights we'd like to control within the code (code.py). 

circuitpython_light_list.png
circuitpython_light_list.png
circuitpython_light_3.png

Open the Philips Hue application on your phone/tablet.

Navigate to Settings->Light Setup

The number next to the light is the light identifier. You'll be using this value in the code to refer to the light which you're setting.

  • Tapping the i next to the light's name will bring up more information about it - like which room/group it's assigned to and the full name.

Next, you'll modify the following lines of code to correspond with the light identifier you're controlling.

For example, if you are setting up a lamp an identifier of 3 and a living room light with an identifier of 1, edit the following line in code.py from:

hue_lights={'lamp': 1, 'livingroom': 2}

to

hue_lights={'lamp': 3, 'livingroom': 1}

Code Usage

circuitpython_internet_of_things___iot_IMG_7651.jpg

From the Mu Editor, click the Serial button to open the REPL. You should see the REPL display the code's status as it loads the interface.

Select a light by tapping the name of the light you'd like to control. The code will default to the first light specified within the hue_lights list.

Tap the on/off button to toggle the power of the light you selected. 

  • Buttons invert their color while they make a request to the Hue Bridge. Once the request is complete, the button changes back to its original color. 
  • If you're having issues with your light not responding: Scroll down to the Diagnosing Errors section below.

Diagnosing Errors

Tapping a color button will set the light to the button's fill color.

  • We used the Hue library's rgb_to_hsv method to set different colors for the buttons. For more information about this method and how the code works, navigate to the Code Walkthrough page for this guide.

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Code Walkthrough

Importing Libraries 

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import board
import displayio
from adafruit_bitmap_font import bitmap_font
from adafruit_button import Button
import adafruit_touchscreen
from digitalio import DigitalInOut
import busio
import neopixel
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi
from adafruit_esp32spi import adafruit_esp32spi_wifimanager

# Import Philips Hue Bridge
from adafruit_hue import Bridge

The code first imports all of the libraries required to run the Smart Lighting Controller. 

Note that the code imports a special adafruit_hue library. To communicate with the Hue Bridge, we wrote a CircuitPython helper module called CircuitPython_Hue. This module makes HTTP requests ( or, "talks") to the Hue Bridge's IP address in order to interact with the bulbs.

Configuring the PyPortal

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# Get wifi details and more from a secrets.py file
try:
    from secrets import secrets
except ImportError:
    print("WiFi secrets are kept in secrets.py, please add them there!")
    raise

# ESP32 SPI
esp32_cs = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_CS)
esp32_ready = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_BUSY)
esp32_reset = DigitalInOut(board.ESP_RESET)
spi = busio.SPI(board.SCK, board.MOSI, board.MISO)
esp = adafruit_esp32spi.ESP_SPIcontrol(spi, esp32_cs, esp32_ready, esp32_reset)
status_light = neopixel.NeoPixel(board.NEOPIXEL, 1, brightness=0.2)
wifi = adafruit_esp32spi_wifimanager.ESPSPI_WiFiManager(esp, secrets, status_light)

The next chunk of code grabs information from a secrets.py file including wifi configuration. Then, it sets up the ESP32's SPI connections for use with the PyPortal. The wifi object is set up here too - it's used later in the code to communicate with the bridge.

Configuring the Hue helper module

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# Attempt to load bridge username and IP address from secrets.py
try:
    username = secrets['hue_username']
    bridge_ip = secrets['bridge_ip']
    my_bridge = Bridge(wifi, bridge_ip, username)
except:
    # Perform first-time bridge setup
    my_bridge = Bridge(wifi)
    print('Finding bridge address...')
    ip = my_bridge.discover_bridge()
    print('Attempting to register username, press the link button on your Hue Bridge now!')
    username = my_bridge.register_username()
    print('ADD THESE VALUES TO SECRETS.PY: \
                            \n\t"bridge_ip":"{0}", \
                            \n\t"hue_username":"{1}"'.format(ip, username))
    raise

The entire Hue system is built around the Hue Bridge. To communicate with the bridge, you'll need to register a unique username (stored on the bridge) for the PyPortal. you'll also need the Bridge's IP address to communicate with it. There's a bit of a HTTP request/reply "dance" associated with this process and it's tricky.

The CircuitPython Hue library automates the process of discovering and registering a username with the bridge - but, you'll still need to add these values to the secrets.py file. 

Hue Color Setup

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print('loading colors...')
# color conversions (RGB to Philips Hue-compatible HSB)
red = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([255, 0, 0])
white = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([255, 255, 255])
orange = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([255, 165, 0])
yellow = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([255, 255, 0])
green = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([0, 255, 0])
blue = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([0, 0, 255])
purple = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([128, 0, 128])
pink = my_bridge.rgb_to_hsb([255, 192, 203])

hue_hsb = {'red': red, 'white': white, 'orange': orange,
           'yellow': yellow, 'green': green, 'blue': blue,
           'purple': purple, 'pink': pink}

When you want to modify the light's state from within your code, you'd use the set_light method in CircuitPython_Hue. This method mirrors Philips' set light state API endpoint - but it has some non user-friendly features.

The Hue API uses HSB (Hue, Saturation, Brightness) instead of RGB (red, green, blue) values. It also does not take in brightness percentages, or hue degrees. Instead, it takes in scaled integer values which directly relate to to the brightness percentage or hue degrees. 

To make this simpler - we added a rgb_to_hsb method within the Hue helper module. Passing a list of RGB values into this method will return a scaled HSB list.

  • If you wish to use RGB colors with your PyPortal Hue Controller - use this method before calling set_light to convert and scale your colors.

Our code predefines a few colors (red, white, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink) by converting them from RGB values to scaled HSB values. using rgb_to_hsb.

Button Setup

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# Make the display context
button_group = displayio.Group()
board.DISPLAY.root_group = button_group
# preload the font
print('loading font...')
font = bitmap_font.load_font("/fonts/Arial-12.bdf")
glyphs = b'0123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ-,.: '
font.load_glyphs(glyphs)
# button properties
BUTTON_WIDTH = 60
BUTTON_HEIGHT = 60
buttons = []

Before the code can create buttons, it needs to create a displayio group to hold them. Here - the code selects a font, preloads it with glyphs, and sets button properties for BUTTON_WIDTH and BUTTON_HEIGHT.

Button Generation

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# button fill colors
button_colors = {'red':0xFF0000, 'white':0xFFFFFF,
                 'orange':0xFF9900, 'yellow':0xFFFF00,
                 'green':0x00FF00, 'blue':0x0000FF,
                 'purple':0x9900FF, 'pink': 0xFF00FF}
# list of color buttons and their properties
color_btn = [
    {'name':'red', 'pos':(15, 80), 'color':button_colors['red']},
    {'name':'white', 'pos':(85, 80), 'color':button_colors['white']},
    {'name':'orange', 'pos':(155, 80), 'color':button_colors['orange']},
    {'name':'yellow', 'pos':(225, 80), 'color':button_colors['yellow']},
    {'name':'pink', 'pos':(15, 155), 'color':button_colors['pink']},
    {'name':'green', 'pos':(85, 155), 'color':button_colors['green']},
    {'name':'blue', 'pos':(155, 155), 'color':button_colors['blue']},
    {'name':'purple', 'pos':(225, 155), 'color':button_colors['purple']}
]

# generate color buttons from color_btn list
for i in color_btn:
    button = Button(x=i['pos'][0], y=i['pos'][1],
                    width=BUTTON_WIDTH, height=BUTTON_HEIGHT, name=i['name'],
                    fill_color=i['color'], style=Button.ROUNDRECT)
    buttons.append(button)

# light property buttons and their properties
prop_btn = [
    {'name':'onoff', 'pos':(15, 15), 'label':'on/off'},
    {'name':'up', 'pos':(75, 15), 'label':'+'},
    {'name':'down', 'pos':(135, 15), 'label':'-'},
    {'name':'room', 'pos':(195, 15), 'label':'room'},
    {'name':'lamp', 'pos':(255, 15), 'label':'lamp'}
]

# generate property buttons from prop_btn list
for i in prop_btn:
    button = Button(name=i['name'], x=i['pos'][0], y=i['pos'][1],
                    width=55, height=40, label=i['label'],
                    label_font=font, style=Button.SHADOWROUNDRECT)
    buttons.append(button)

# add buttons to the group
for b in buttons:
    button_group.append(b.group)

The next chunk of code creates buttons for the light colors and properties.

First, a list of dictionary items is created corresponding to button properties. The color_btn list contains information for the button such as the button's name, position on the display, and hex color value. The prop_btn list contains the button's name, position and text label.

Then, buttons are generated from the list and appended to a button list. When all the buttons have been added to button list, they are appended to the displayio button_group one-by-one.

Light Setup

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# Hue Light/Group Identifiers
hue_lights={'lamp': 1, 'livingroom': 2}
hue_selector = hue_lights['lamp']

# Default to 25% brightness
current_brightness = 25

The code sets up hue light identifiers in hue_lights and automatically selects the lamp identifier in the list. This prevents sending the bridge a None type if a button is pressed and no light is selected. It also sets a brightness default of 25%. 

  • For more information about setting up light identifiers, read the Hue Lights Setup section of this guide.
  • To enumerate all the lights connected to the bridge, you can run the following line from your code: my_lights = my_bridge.get_lights and print the JSON response from the hue bridge: my_lights. 

Main Loop

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while True:
    touch = ts.touch_point
    if touch:
        for i, button in enumerate(buttons):
            if button.contains(touch):
              button.selected = True

The main loop checks for if the screen was touched. If it was, it searches for which button in the button list was touched.

Once the button was determined, the button's selected property is set to True - inverting the button's color until the action is fully performed (i.e: the light is changed, toggled, etc). By doing this, you are creating a visual status indicator. 

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 if button.name == 'living':
                    hue_selector = hue_lights['livingroom']
                    print('Switching to ', hue_selector)
                elif button.name == 'room':
                    hue_selector = hue_lights['lamp']
                    print('Switching to ', hue_selector)

Then, the code checks the button's name against its function (what it does). If the button's name is lamp or room, hue_selector is toggled to the value of the button.

Whenever the code in the main loop sends data to the bridge to modify a light, it uses hue_selector  to indicate the light being modified.

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  elif button.name == 'onoff':
                    print('Toggling {0}...'.format(hue_selector))
                    my_bridge.toggle_light(int(hue_selector))

If the on/off button is tapped, the code will toggle the state of the selected light.

  • The Hue Light API does not support toggling light state - we added a toggle_light method into the CircuitPython_Hue library to get the current state of the light , toggle it, and call set_light with the toggled state of the light..
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elif button.name == 'up':
                    current_brightness += 25
                    print('Setting {0} brightness to {1}'.format(hue_selector, current_brightness))
                    my_bridge.set_light(int(hue_selector), bri=current_brightness)
elif button.name == 'down':
                    current_brightness -= 25
                    print('Setting {0} brightness to {1}'.format(hue_selector, current_brightness))
                    my_bridge.set_light(int(hue_selector), bri=current_brightness)

When either of the brightness buttons are pressed, they'll modify the value of current_brightness by +/-25% and send that value to the bridge using set_light.

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else:
  print('Setting {0} color to {1}'.format(hue_selector, button.name))
  my_bridge.set_light(light_id=int(hue_selector),
                      hue=int(hue_hsb[button.name][0]),
                      sat=int(hue_hsb[button.name][1]),
                      bri=int(hue_hsb[button.name][2]))
button.selected = False

If any of the color buttons are pressed, the color's hue, saturation, and brightness values are individually passed into set_light along with the light (hue_selector).

Since the code is finished processing the action, the button's fill is set to its original color by de-selecting the button (button.selected = False). 

Going further!

This guide has only scratched the surface of the Philips Hue API! We've detailed out a good amount of the API actions within the Adafruit_CircuitPython_Hue library, like discovering new bulbs or setting a scene.

If you didn't see the API action you were looking for, feel free to add it to the library. You may find it useful to read through the library and the API reference in different tabs, and cross-referencing them (Docs are here, you'll need to create an account)

If you end up adding a feature to the library - pull requests on the GitHub repository are appreciated!

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