Kiot - KDE Internet Of Things

Navigation

• About
• Setup
  • Dependencies
  • Download and Install
• Configuration
  • MQTT Configuration
  • Configuration Examples
• Supported Features
• Flatpak Build
• Future Development
• Contributing
• Troubleshooting

About

Kiot (KDE Internet Of Things) is a background daemon that exposes useful information and actions from your local desktop session to a home automation controller like Home Assistant.

Important: Kiot does not directly control smart home devices. Instead, it exposes desktop state information to your home automation controller, allowing you to create automations there. For example:

• If you want a light to turn on when your PC enters "Do Not Disturb" mode, Kiot exposes the "Do Not Disturb" state to Home Assistant, where you can create the automation to control the light.

Maintainers

• David Edmundson
• Odd Østlie

Current State

This is pre-alpha software suitable for users comfortable with:

• Compiling software from source
• Editing configuration files manually
• Testing early-stage software

Setup

Dependencies

Ensure you have these packages installed:

• cmake
• extra-cmake-modules
• qt6-base or qt6-base-dev
• qt6-mqtt or qt6-mqtt-dev
• bluez-qt or libkf6bluezqt-dev
• pulseaudio-qt or libkf6pulseaudioqt-dev

Note: Package names may vary slightly depending on your Linux distribution. If packages aren't available through your package manager, you may need to install them manually.

Download and Install

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/davidedmundson/kiot.git
   cd kiot

2. Build and install:

   mkdir build
   cd build
   cmake ..
   make
   sudo make install  # May require sudo privileges

3. If you encounter missing dependencies during the build process, install them using your distribution's package manager.

Configuration

MQTT Configuration

Home Assistant must have MQTT server enabled. See the Home Assistant MQTT documentation.

Create a configuration file at ~/.config/kiotrc with the following content:

[general]
host=some.host
port=1883
user=myUsername
password=myPassword

Note

If Kiot is running and you change the configuration, you must restart Kiot for changes to take effect.

Home Assistant Managed MQTT

• host: Your Home Assistant local address
• port: 1883 (default)
• user and password: Credentials of a Home Assistant user (recommended to create a dedicated MQTT user)

Home Assistant Container

• host: IP address where the MQTT broker is accessible
• port: 1883 (default)
• user and password: Credentials configured for your MQTT broker

On the Home Assistant side, everything should work automatically with MQTT discovery. After configuring Kiot, try rebooting Home Assistant, then launch the kiot program to see if everything connects properly.

Configuration Examples

Basic Configuration

[general]
host=192.168.1.100
port=1883
user=mqtt_user
password=secure_password
useSSL=false

Scripts Configuration

[Scripts][launch_chrome]
Name=Launch Chrome
Exec=google-chrome

[Scripts][steam_bigpicture]
Exec=steam steam://open/bigpicture
Name=Launch steam bigpicture

[Scripts][youtube_studio]
Exec=brave  --new-window  "https://studio.youtube.com"
Name=Launch YoutubeStudio
icon=mdi:youtube-studio
#icon is optional, defaults to "mdi:script-text" if not set

Shortcuts Configuration

[Shortcuts][myShortcut1]
Name=Do a thing
# Becomes available in KDE's Global Shortcuts KCM for key assignment
# Appears as a trigger in Home Assistant for keyboard-driven automations

Integration Management

[Integrations]
# This section is auto-generated and lets you enable/disable integrations
AccentColour=true
Active=true
ActiveWindow=true
Audio=true
Battery=true
Bluetooth=true
CameraWatcher=true
DnD=true
Gamepad=true
LockedState=true
Nightmode=true
Notifications=true
PowerController=true
Scripts=true
Shortcuts=true

Supported Features

Integrations

Feature	Entity Type	Description
User Activity	Binary Sensor	Detects when user is active/inactive
Locked State	Lock	Screen lock state monitoring and control
Power Control	Button	Suspend, hibernate, power off, and restart
Camera Activity	Binary Sensor	Detects when camera is in use
Accent Colour	Sensor	Current desktop accent color
Shortcuts	Device Trigger	Global keyboard shortcuts for HA automations
Night Mode	Binary Sensor	Night mode/blue light filter status
Active Window	Sensor	Currently focused application window
Audio Controller	Number + Select	Volume control and device selection
Battery Status	Sensor	Battery charge level and attributes
Do Not Disturb	Binary Sensor	DnD mode status
Gamepad Connected	Binary Sensor	Gamepad/joystick connection detection
Scripts	Button	Execute custom scripts
Bluetooth	Switch	Bluetooth adapter control and device connection management

Flatpak Build

Flatpak installation is also supported:

1. Clone this repository
2. Run:

   flatpak-builder build .flatpak-manifest.yaml --user --install --force-clean

   This builds and installs Kiot as a Flatpak, automatically fetching all dependencies.

Flatpak Notes

• The Flatpak version does not autostart automatically
• Some integrations may have limited functionality due to Flatpak sandboxing
• Log files are stored within the Flatpak sandbox

Future Development

Long-term, Flatpak distribution is the primary focus. The goal is to publish to Flathub once a user interface is implemented.

Planned Improvements

1. Graphical Configuration UI - Simplify setup without manual config file editing
2. Enhanced Integration - More desktop environment features and system monitoring
3. Better Documentation - Comprehensive guides and examples
4. Extensibility / Plugin System – Explore ways to allow community developed integrations

Contributing

Contributions are welcome!

1. Test thoroughly
2. Document new integrations
3. Follow existing entity patterns

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. MQTT Connection Failed: Verify credentials and network connectivity
2. Missing Entities in Home Assistant: Check MQTT discovery is enabled in HA
3. Permission Errors: Some integrations may require additional permissions
4. Flatpak Limitations: Some system integrations may not work in sandboxed environment

Getting Help

• Check the configuration examples above
• Review the Home Assistant MQTT documentation
• Examine system logs for error messages

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