Newbie Steps to make OpenHab watch display work

Setup, Configuration and Use Beginners
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Newbie Steps to make OpenHab watch display work 7 Dec 2024

Background:
I read a bunch of online instructions and them seemed for an old version of OH or incomplete. I’m reproducing the steps here that I used to get it to work (for a person with no context.) I hope you find it useful. Feel free to post comments or corrections or feedback.

Assumptions:

  • Debian (Similar to Openhabian)
  • Openhab4
  • MyOpenHab replication configured.
  • Openhab App and Watch App installed.

Limitations:

  • As at 7 Dec 2024 - icons (graphics) don’t appear to work - so it is text only.

Steps

  1. Ensure you have Openhab installed and you can customise your overview page. (http://localserver:8080/settings/pages/layout/overview)

  2. Ensure you have configured replication up to myopenhab (or your own server)

  3. Ensure you have an item you are measuring (temperature, luminance - Openweather data etc)

  4. Ensure you have the OpenHab App installed on your phone

  5. Ensure that the OpenHab App is configured with:
    (a) Local URL: https://home.myopenhab.org/overview
    (b) Remote URL: https://myopenhab.org
    (c) Username: Myopenhab login email
    (d) Password: Myopenhab login Password
    (e) Always send credentials: On

  6. ssh to the local server

  7. cd to /etc/openhab/sitemaps directory.

  8. create a new file watch.sitemap - with the following contents. Tweak the item to one in your items list and tweak the label and icon to be meaningful:

sitemap watch label=“watch” {

Frame label="information " {
    Text icon="temperature" label="Livingroom [%.1f °C]" item=Hue_temperature_sensor_1_Temperature
}

}

  1. Ensure the permissions on the file you have created can be read by Openhab
    sudo chgrp openhab watch.sitemap

  2. Ensure you can see the page in the sitemaps on your local server:
    http://localserver:8080/basicui/app?sitemap=watch

  3. Ensure you can see the page on your sitemaps list on the replicated myopenhab server.
    https://home.myopenhab.org/basicui/app

  4. Check the sitemap appears as you expect
    https://home.myopenhab.org/basicui/app?sitemap=watch

  5. Open the Openhab Watch app - slide to the second pane. Ensure the settings from the Phone app have replicated to the Watch. On the first pane - ensure the values in your sitemap appear.