The integration panel and step-by-step device pairing

Until now the integrations in HoumeOS were described but not visible. They now have their own screen in the kiosk — Integrations — and it changes the question from "do you support it?" to "how do I pair it?".

What is in the panel

The panel is a catalogue of seven transports: MQTT, Matter, Zigbee, Modbus, KNX · BACnet, ONVIF/RTSP and Wi-Fi · REST · Cloud. Each has an entry explaining which devices it suits, a status and an editor where you fill in the details — topics, addresses, rights. Next to them is the pairing wizard: you pick the transport, enter the pairing code and get a sequence of steps with feedback for each one.

The wizard runs locally. The request goes to the server in your LAN, not to a cloud; the pairing code is eleven digits and is never stored — it is used once and can be renewed.

Matter pairs for real

Matter is the transport where this is already fact. The platform is a controller: it discovers the device over mDNS in the local network, sends commands over Wi-Fi and executes them with no cloud and no manufacturer account. The first test device is a Matter plug (HAMA): it switches on and off from the screen, reports consumption and accumulated kilowatt-hours, and its data feeds the same rules and histories as any other device.

That is the difference between "we have a Matter integration" and "the device answers to your button". For Matter, the second one is true today.

The other six — a guide plus a check

For Modbus, KNX, ONVIF and Wi-Fi/REST the panel gives the step-by-step guide and checks whether the address is reachable (a TCP probe). Real read/write over those transports arrives with the drivers that are still being written — and we say so plainly, so you do not confuse "the finished panel" with "the finished device". The same applies to Zigbee and Bluetooth LE: they come in through a gateway to MQTT, and that gateway is a next step. Why MQTT is the spine, What is MQTT explains.

How it looks in practice

The flow that works today: open Integrations, choose Matter, type the pairing code from the box, follow the steps — discovery, add, first command. The device appears in the Devices screen with its status, and from there it enters a room and a rule. No hand-written topics for the homeowner and no copy-pasting IP addresses out of a foreign account.

For integrators

The panel is where a new manufacturer gets described rather than the system rebuilt: the interface and the automations do not depend on the protocol. How to test without hardware — in For integrators: simulation without hardware.

An honest note

Ready today: the catalogue, the editor, the step-by-step pairing and Matter as a controller with energy metering. In progress: the real drivers for Modbus, KNX and ONVIF, the Zigbee/BLE gateway, and the MQTT broker with the first devices on it. The current status per module is in The roadmap.