How to install 3rd Party Addons - Broadlink RM Pro

  • Platform information:
    • Hardware: Raspberry Pi
    • openHAB version: 2.0.0

I’m new to OpenHAB and it’s a bit of a learning curve for me. I just switched over from Home Assistant and it’s a different world with a lot of work just to get started. But then again, it’s stable and that’s what matters the most to me.

I currently have a Broadlink RM Pro that I want to connect to, So far, I have found 2 bindings which are both 3rd-party.

Broadlink-MQTT
BlackBeanControl

However, I’m unsure how to install them. So far, I did learn that you need to put the .Jar file in the addons folder. However, none of those have a .Jar releases that I can install. Maybe I’m just a noob who is out of my territory but it was lot easier on Hassio than it is on here.

What would be the best way to install them and how do I get them working? Also does anyone recommend which would be better out of those two?

Then I strongly recommend using OH 2.2 instead of 2.0. You don’t want to get started on an already outdated version.

This is a standalone program and not an OH addon. To use it you will install and run this program and test it according to however the developer documents doing. I would then manually test using an MQTT client like MQTT.fx to manually send commands and read messages just to make sure that part is working.

Once all that outside of openHAB stuff works, see MQTT Binding (v1.11) Getting Started 101 to get started using the MQTT binding with openHAB to send and receive messages to Broadlink-MQTT.

Similarly, this is not an openHAB addon. This is a standalone command line program. Follow the instructions the developer provides to install and test that it works. Once you have that working, you can use the Exec binding to call these scripts.

I personally recommend the MQTT approach. I think it will be easier in the long run to configure it that way.

Follow the instructions at the respective github repos.

That is because neither of these are openHAB addons. Both are just python scripts. The checking comment on Broadlink-MQTT is referring to a change made that will let it work better with OH, but that does not mean that it is an openHAB addon.

The word “openHAB” appears nowhere in the BlackBeanControl project at all as far as I can tell.

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That explanation makes more sense. Is there a place you can recommend where I can find out more about the installation of these scripts and configure them with OpenHAB?

The links already provided above.

Perhaps Python for Beginners.

Really, this is all outside the scope of openHAB until you get one of those two scripts working and tested. Then look at the links I already provided above.

The fork for broadlink-mqtt you linked had errors, last time i tried a few days ago.

I use the original https://github.com/eschava/broadlink-mqtt, this worked out of the box.

Just make sure your mqtt broker and mqtt binding works. If you use openHABian, you can install the broker from the menu.

Did you follow the installation instructions on the github page?

I did. I was able to install it. However, when I did that, my Sonoff linked to Tasmoto stopped working. Couldn’t figure out why. So tried to reinstall OpenHAB and now I cannot do that either. Fails on initial setup. Thinking i should probably just go back to Home Assistant.

That’s your decision.

But installing a python script doesn’t interfere with openHAB at all, unless you install one inside the other.

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The sonoff stopped working before probably you hab the same mqtt user on the broadlink mqtt script and the tasmota, they will conflict with the broker.

Start again, persevere, openHAB is hard but it’s great!
When you have OH up and running and stable, it’s like a ticking clock
Play with it have fun. At the end of the day you can really break anything, you’ll just have to start again
Make back ups regularly especially on Raspi

Format your SD card, and get openhabian
Follow the steps, one by one, don’t rush. Understand each step.
Set up mosquitto, again set by step. Test and re-test.
Set up your sonoff make sure it’s working, record the sonoff mqtt user name
Stop OHbut not mosquito
Install the Broadlink script
Make sure you use a different user name than the sonoff
Test the script without OH
Test again
Test with the sonoff
Test again
Start OH

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Thanks! But I actually got it figured out. In order for the Broadlink to work, I had to install Exec Binding. For some reason, when I install that, it would automatically uninstall MQTT Binding, hence the sonoff stopped working. Not sure why that’s happening.

I will go ahead and do little bit of tests and see if i can make them both work together.

Good, have fun!!
With the rules you can do anything.
Of course they can work together, that’s what openHAB is for… :wink:

Then you are using the Blackbean script, broadlink-mqtt doesn’t need exec binding. I can’t help you with this one.

Yes because I was only able to find detailed instructions on BlackBean. Hence I switched over. If it doesn’t work, then I will use the broadlink-mqtt and try again.

please see above, its a bit old, but for me works like a charm
i have it for 1 year +
and i never seen any issues with it

What’s unclear or undetailed about broadlink-mqtt?

I suppose the way HA works for third-party addons is different from OpenHAB is quite a lot of ways. So I was looking for detailed instructions and there was a website which showed such. (Though it didn’t work). I will try Harmony Hub now if Broadlink doesn’t work.

The issue is neither of these scripts are openHAB third party add-ons. I don’t think they are HA add-ons either. Add-ons have to be purposely written as an add-on for either platform. What you are experiencing is not an add-on issue, it’s an integration with something not written as an add-on issue.

You can’t expect to be able to take a program written for an Android Phone and run it on an iPhone. The same is true for OH and HA. Add-ons must be written as add-ons in the first place which means the same programming language (these scripts are Python, OH is work in Java) and the add-on must follow a certain structure

If these were third party add-ons for OH, you would just need to download the jar file and drop it in the addons folder.

The harmony hub is supported via a binding. But don’t drop a jar anywhere, this binding is included, directly installable via paperui.

According to my opinion, the instructions for both, broadlink-mqtt and blackbeancontrol are quite detailed and clear.

These don’t cover openHAB, but this is not neccessary because both work with interfaces which are generally supported (mqtt, shell).

When you have the device-side working, just switch to the general binding explanation.

Alright it seems there is a confusion on my use of the word addon. While it’s not a addon in sense that works directly with OpenHAB, I am still calling it an add-on due to the fact it’s a python script that can be configured to run on OpenHAB.

Correct. Hence why I ordered the Harmony Hub since there already is a binding for it. Once it does arrive, I will give it a go and see how it is. I mean I currently prefer OpenHAB over HA for few reasons, but it’s a big learning curve from YAML to a close to Java programming. Hopefully I can figure it out as I go along.