Hubitat App Device Skill

Add or remove devices from an installed app's device input. Primary use case: managing Maker API's device list for automated testing.

How It Works

A single POST to /installedapp/update/json with _action_update=Done saves the app configuration. The settings[{deviceInput}] field contains the comma-separated list of device IDs — include the new device for add, exclude it for remove. All other settings must be echoed back with their type metadata.

Instructions

Step 1: Read Configuration

Read .hubitat.json from the project root to get hub_ip and maker_api.app_id.

Step 2: Parse Arguments

Parse $ARGUMENTS:

• •add {device_id} — add device to Maker API (uses maker_api.app_id)
• •remove {device_id} — remove device from Maker API
• •add {device_id} {installed_app_id} — add device to a specific app instance
• •remove {device_id} {installed_app_id} — remove device from a specific app instance
• •list [{installed_app_id}] — show devices currently in the app

If no installed app ID is given, default to maker_api.app_id from the config.

Step 3: Fetch App Configuration

curl -s "http://{hub_ip}/installedapp/configure/json/{installedAppId}"

From the JSON response, extract:

1. •app.version — config version (usually 1)
2. •app.label — the app's display label
3. •configPage.name — page name (usually mainPage)
4. •configPage.sections[].input[] — all input definitions (each has name, type, multiple)
5. •configPage.sections[].body[] — body elements; find any with element: "label" (these are label inputs)
6. •settings — current values for all inputs
7. •Device input — the input whose type starts with capability. (e.g., pickedDevices with type capability.*)

The settings value for a device input is either:

• •A map like {"12": "Device Name", "14": "Other"} — keys are device IDs
• •null — no devices selected

Step 4: For "list" — Display and Stop

Show the app name, device input name, and a table of current device IDs and names. Then stop.

Step 5: Validate

• •add: confirm device ID is not already in the device list. If it is, report "already present" and stop.
• •remove: confirm device ID IS in the device list. If not, report "not found" and stop.

Step 6: Build and Send the POST

Use Python (python3) with urllib.request and urllib.parse.

Build form fields as a list of tuples (preserves order, allows empty-string keys):

Fixed header fields

Label inputs

For each body element with element: "label":

Regular inputs

For each input from configPage.sections[].input[], in order:

Then, if the input is a bool type:

Then, if this is the device input (type starts with capability.):

Otherwise (non-device inputs):

Device ID list for settings[{deviceInput}]

• •add: existing device IDs + the new device ID, comma-separated
• •remove: existing device IDs minus the removed device ID, comma-separated

Fixed footer fields

Settings Value Conversion

When reading settings values for the form body:

• •String ("true", "false", "some text") → use as-is
• •null → [] (the string [])
• •Map (device inputs) → comma-separated keys

Send the POST

body = urllib.parse.urlencode(fields)
req = urllib.request.Request(
    f"http://{hub_ip}/installedapp/update/json",
    data=body.encode(),
    headers={"Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8"}
)
resp = urllib.request.urlopen(req)

Expected success response: {"status":"success","location":"/installedapp/list"}

Step 7: Verify

Fetch the config again and check settings.{deviceInputName} to confirm:

• •add: the new device ID is now a key in the map
• •remove: the device ID is no longer a key in the map

Step 8: Report Result

Summarize:

• •Action performed (added/removed)
• •Device ID, device name, and the app name
• •Updated device list (ID and name table)