I think there is a viable option, which came into my mind after the last comments: A hosted Matrix instance as part of myopenhab.org.
Matrix is Open Source so by definition you could run your own instance and get data sovereignty out-of-the box; it gets more and more adapted in the market
Matrix has a public API and independent from a specific client - there are already various ones for Web, Desktop and Mobiles
Rooms could be used as “alarm groups” or group communication channels (e.g. address different famility members for technical alarms vs. user notifications)
A binding could provide generic inbound/outbound channels, user or room things and provide the basis for HABbot integration, additional actions could provide specific operations beyonf sending/receiving a message; Web UI could integrate with myopenhab’s one
Matrix has build-in encryption and supports different authentication schemas
A hosted instance as part of myopenhab makes it convenient for the community
Messaging client could be integrated into the OH iOS and Androd Apps, which removes the dependency on Apple/Google push mechanisms
Hi,
I am not sure if we need the “one” solution for openHAB. Each of these services / protocols has its advantages and disadvantages in different disciplines.
I have been using Signal as my openHAB messaging service for a very long time. Due to the recent debates, many people in my environment have also adopted Signal, which makes it an all-round service for me.
Currently I use Signal via special rules and scripts with signald, the last years directly with signal-cli and scripts. Of course I would be happy about an official binding.
But for openHAB as a platform, every additional messanger connection would be a benefit.
@spawny0815 I like your idea of using CLI clients directly from rules. I don’t need an official Matrix.org binding to get started! It looks like matrix-commander can do most of what I’m looking for.
Due to the switch to OH3 and a new VM, my signal is not yet running completely. Currently I only send messages with it. As already described, I am switching to signald instead of signal-cli, but currently I have almost no time to continue here. As soon as I get back and have everything up and running, I might post a little tutorial.
finally i just send the messages via the exec binding as argument to a python file, which in turn uses signald via a lib.
I started to investigate the Matrix integration, which also opens the option to have multiple bridges to other messenger like Signal, Telegram, Mattermost etc., see also Bridge setup - mautrix-bridges
This also includes a small PoC to check out options having a central instance for the OH community
Let’s see where that goes
Hey guys, I just started developing a Threema binding because I just use Threema personally and I think it is a okay to pay for service. Sounds like a valid business model
I would also prefer an matrix integration. In the past I’ve used OH2 with push messages just to the app and the telegram binding. Telegram binding works fine on different devices, but I have also security/privacy concerns.
In my opinion, matrix integration should play an important role for push notifications in the future, as it offers many possibilities for different scenarios.
As a family we use matrix for the same reasons within the family with Schildi-chat, Fluffy-chat (simpler UI than Element), desktop app + browser and after the first start-up difficulties we had no more problems. The next step will be a self-hosted instance.
There is a binding for Signal on the market place but is it is currently broken, since last week, because of some unknown change on the Signal server.
I have some difficulties to take the time needed to fix it (there is also a big rewrite to do) but hope to do it soon.
ok, i was wondering why it is not working today cause i was gonna play arround with it a lil bit. Now i found ur reply that ur Signal Binding is broken at the moment. Saves me a lot of searching.
Thanks for posting
will it be possible to write my self to the phone from OH a “Note to myselfe”… when the binding is working? Cause of course i dont have a extra Signal Account and i want to use it as a Push Notification of some services in my openhab to my phone with the signal app just using the note to myselfe thing.
Honestly I’m wondering what people use for “note to myself” type functionality in OH (besides app notifications, which are ephemeral and have other limitations). I would still LOVE to see Matrix integration and may even get around to making a binding myself one day.
With the binding as it is (even if it was functionnal), no, you couldn’t, it is a known limitation.
But I am rewriting it, using signal-cli as a codebase, and yes, it should be possible.
I hope to finish this work this week, because I’m on holydays. But will my kids be OK with that and let me some free time ?
My threema binding does work in principle. Some weeks ago I had the time to configure some state machines that send messages when e.g. the washing machine is finished. I did not open a pull request so far because the code is not compliant to openHABs QA.
A Matrix binding sounds interesting. For those already using Matrix, and are hosting their own homeserver, you can send messages fairly easily just using the HTTP Binding.
I haven’t yet looked into two-way communication as implemented by @sergio_one in that same thread, though if this Matrix binding is still being developed I may just wait…
To be honest I’m not sure if anyone is actually still working on a Matrix binding in the background. I hinted that I might try it “one day” but that day is likely pretty far off, especially now that the https API can already do 80% of what I’d want it to. I will likely attempt the two-way version but this is great for now!
