Control Your Philips Hue Lights with Clawdbot Using the OpenHue Skill

Want to tell your AI assistant to "turn the bedroom lights to 50% and set them blue"? The openhue skill makes this possible by giving Clawdbot direct control over your Philips Hue smart lighting system.

Who Is This For?

If you have a Philips Hue setup at home and want voice-free, chat-based control of your lights, this skill is for you. It is perfect for:

• Home automation enthusiasts who want to integrate lighting into their AI workflow
• Developers looking to script lighting changes based on events or schedules
• Anyone who finds opening the Hue app for simple changes tedious

Installation

First, install the OpenHue CLI via Homebrew:

brew install openhue/cli/openhue-cli

Next, discover your Hue Bridge on the network:

openhue discover

Then run the guided setup. You will need to press the physical button on your Hue Bridge when prompted:

openhue setup

Once setup completes, Clawdbot will automatically load the openhue skill (if it is in your skills directory) and you are ready to go.

Configuration

The OpenHue CLI stores its configuration locally after openhue setup runs. There are no additional config files needed for Clawdbot.

Key things to know:

• Bridge discovery is automatic via mDNS/UPnP on your local network
• Authentication happens once during setup and is cached
• Multiple bridges are supported if you have a large home setup

Usage Examples

1. List All Your Lights

Get a JSON overview of all connected lights:

openhue get light --json

This returns light IDs, names, current state, and capabilities. Useful for finding the exact ID or name you need.

2. Turn Lights On and Off

Simple on/off control by name or ID:

# Turn on the bedroom light
openhue set light "Bedroom" --on

# Turn off all lights in a room
openhue set light "Living Room" --off

3. Set Brightness and Color

Adjust brightness (0-100) and set custom colors using hex codes:

# Dim the bedroom to 30%
openhue set light "Bedroom" --on --brightness 30

# Set a warm orange color at 60% brightness
openhue set light "Desk Lamp" --on --brightness 60 --rgb #FF6B35

# Cool blue for focus mode
openhue set light "Office" --on --rgb #3399FF

4. Activate Scenes

Hue scenes bundle multiple light settings together. First, list available scenes:

openhue get scene --json

Then activate one:

openhue set scene "Relax"
openhue set scene "Energize"

Pro Tips

1. Use room names when light names are ambiguous. If you have multiple "Lamp" lights, specify the room: --room "Kitchen"

2. Create cron jobs for automated lighting. Set up a Clawdbot cron to dim lights at 9pm or turn everything off at midnight.

3. Chain commands for scenes. While native scenes work great, you can also script custom multi-light sequences.

4. JSON output is your friend. Always use --json when debugging or building automation - it gives you exact IDs and current states.

Gotchas

• You must be on the same network as your Hue Bridge
• The bridge button press during setup is a one-time security requirement
• Some older Hue bulbs may not support full RGB - they will approximate the closest color they can produce

Conclusion

The openhue skill turns Clawdbot into a capable smart home controller for your Philips Hue ecosystem. Combined with cron jobs and other skills, you can build sophisticated automation workflows entirely through natural conversation.

Links:

• OpenHue CLI Homepage
• ClawdHub openhue skill
• Philips Hue Developer Portal