With our new workflow feature, you can push beyond the limits of Apple Home automations and elevate your home’s automation capabilities to an entirely new level. The Hub Mode allows you to create workflows that not only control devices but also evaluate events, offering unparalleled flexibility. Learn how to make the most of workflows and manage your Apple Home like never before.
What are Workflows?
Workflows are similar to Apple Home automations but offer significantly more possibilities, flexibility, and control. Unlike Apple Home automations, workflows support more complex sequences, versatile actions, and stop events. This means workflows not only control individual accessories but also dynamically respond to conditions, unlike the simple “if-then” relationships typical of Apple Home automations. A workflow consists of a series of actions triggered either automatically by defined start events or manually. Additionally, workflows can end when certain stop events occur. This makes workflows the perfect solution for automating complex processes in your smart home.
Hub Mode – Automations on a New Level
With version 7.4 of Controller for HomeKit, we’re introducing Hub Mode, transforming workflows into powerful automated processes that go far beyond traditional Apple Home automations. Hub Mode enables triggers such as webhooks, device state changes, or shortcuts and extends actions to include delays, restoring device states, sending notifications, checking weather conditions, and much more.
Note: Workflows with Hub Mode are a lab feature. This means the feature is still under development, and bugs may occur. We’ve made this feature available now so your feedback can directly influence further development.
Activating Hub Mode
Hub Mode lets you execute workflows fully automatically by enabling it on a dedicated device.
You can use an old iPhone tucked away in a drawer or an iPad already displaying your Floor Plan.
Additionally, an Apple TV app will soon be available. With this app, you can activate the Hub Mode on a dedicated Apple TV, which can be discreetly placed in a cabinet. However, there are limitations when using an Apple TV in Hub Mode: security systems or locks cannot be directly controlled, as Apple restricts developers’ access to these devices via Apple TV.
Regardless of which device you choose as your home hub, it must remain plugged in and have the Controller for HomeKit app actively running in the foreground. To prevent the iPhone or iPad display from staying on continuously, a screensaver is available, which you can customize to specify when it activates. If you opt for an Apple TV, you must designate it as your Home Hub in the Apple Home app settings.
Requirements for Hub Mode
To use Hub Mode, you’ll need:
- An iPhone, iPad or Apple TV (coming soon) that is used as a dedicated device for Hub Mode.
- The Controller for HomeKit app must be running permanently in the foreground.
- The device must be connected to power and must not be locked.
Please note that automatic updates can interrupt the Hub Mode, as the app may no longer be active in the foreground after an update. To ensure that your workflows continue to run smoothly, we recommend disabling automatic updates and instead performing updates manually when it’s convenient for you.
Start Events – The Beginning of Every Workflow
A workflow always begins with a trigger, a so-called start event. Except for manual execution, these are only available if you have a device with activated Hub Mode in use.
- Manual Execution: You can manually execute a workflow in Controller for HomeKit at any time. Defined conditions are also considered in this case.
- Device Value: The workflow starts when a specific device reaches a defined state. For example, all lights can be turned on as soon as a motion detector detects a person.
- Scheduled Time: A workflow can be started at specific times. Repeat intervals such as minutes, hours, days, or weeks can also be set, as long as the start time is in the future.
- URLs and Shortcuts: You can also start workflows through external triggers such as URLs or shortcuts. This allows you to control automation across various platforms.
Conditions in Workflows – Prerequisites for Execution
Like Apple Home automations, workflows allow you to define conditions that must be met for actions to execute. If any condition isn’t fulfilled, the workflow won’t start. The following conditions are available:
- Device Values: Check if a specific device has a defined state. For example, if you use a motion detector as a trigger, you can additionally check if the brightness sensor falls below a set threshold.
- Time-Based Conditions: Limit the execution of a workflow to specific days, times, or periods to precisely control processes.
Steps in Workflows – What Can a Workflow Do?
A workflow consists of a series of actions that are executed in sequence. Here are some of the possible actions you can use:
- Execute Scene: Activate a scene in your Apple Home.
- Control Accessories: Control groups of device types, e.g., all thermostats. The advantage: Newly added accessories do not need to be manually added to existing workflows.
- Control Accessory: Control a single accessory and set characteristics to specific values.
- Get Accessory State: Save the current status of an accessory. You can reuse this during the workflow to set other accessories to the same value or to restore the original state after blinking the lamp.
- Create Time-Based Automation: You can create a time-based Apple Home automation in the workflow. This way, you can automate the “Good Morning” scene for the next day through a workflow.
- De-/activate Automation: Workflows can turn existing Apple Home automations on or off.
- Wait: You can also wait for a certain duration in the workflow before executing the subsequent steps.
- Monitor Value: This causes the workflow to wait until an accessory reaches the defined state before executing the subsequent actions.
- Notification: Send notifications to any device during workflow execution, for example, to inform you about specific events in your home.
- Call URL: Workflows can call a URL to use external services or webhooks.
- Output: Texts and variables that you define in the output appear in the workflow logs. If you manually trigger a workflow on a device that is not your active hub, the last output will also appear after successful execution.
Stop Events – Ending Workflows Intelligently
Stop events are conditions that end the workflow when they occur. These can be accessory states or specific times or periods. Stop events ensure that the workflow is interrupted as soon as the condition is met, regardless of where the workflow is currently located.
Examples
Intelligent Motion-Activated Lighting
Turning on the light via a motion detector is not a problem. It only becomes difficult when turning it off, as you often find yourself suddenly sitting in the dark. However, this problem can be solved much more elegantly with workflows with activated hub mode.
Here too, the motion detector serves as the starting event, which no longer detects movement. Instead of turning off the light immediately, a delay is first inserted into the workflow steps, in our example two minutes. Only then is the light actually turned off. The crucial intelligence lies in the stop event: The motion detector is added again, this time with the condition that it detects movement again. Should this happen, the workflow is stopped and the light remains on.
Window Open Notification
If you’ve ever forgotten to close a window after airing out in winter, you’ll love the following workflow. It allows you to receive a notification after a specified time if the window is still open.
As the starting event, we choose the window’s contact sensor, specifically when it opens. In the next step, we add the “Wait” action with a duration of 15 minutes. Afterwards, a notification is sent, alerting you that the window is still open. To avoid unnecessary notifications in case the window has been closed in the meantime, we use a stop event: Here, the contact sensor is added again, but this time when the window is closed.
More Inspirations
Logs
On the main page of Controller for HomeKit, you’ll find a new button in the top left that takes you directly to the Hub Mode. There, you’ll not only find numerous information but also access to the Logs, provided you have a device with activated Hub Mode in use. The logs allow you to track exactly when each workflow was executed. Additionally, outputs defined in workflows are displayed there. For example, you can view the current device states after individual steps to better monitor and optimize your workflows. By the way, you’ll also see there if a workflow has failed.
Summary
With Workflows and the new Hub Mode, you can take your Apple Home to a new level. Automate your home with intelligent processes that go far beyond simple automations. Use URLs, state-dependent triggers, time-controlled actions, and complex conditional logic to control your home exactly as you envision.
If you want to make your Apple Home more efficient and smarter, then Workflows are exactly the right feature for you. Try them out and experience the difference!
Do you have any questions or feedback?
We look forward to your feedback! Let us know how we can further improve the features to make your smart home even smarter.
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