Creating Rooms
Rooms are logical containers that organize your sensors and actuators. Each room becomes a tab on your dashboard.
To create a room:
- Click Add Room in the Configurator sidebar
- Enter a name (e.g., "Grow Tent A", "Fish Tank", "Server Rack")
- The room appears as a section in the Configurator canvas
Room Management
- Rename — Click the room name to edit inline
- Delete — Right-click the room header or use the context menu
- Reorder — Drag room tabs to change their dashboard order
- Custom icons — Click the room icon to choose from the icon picker
Adding Parts
Parts are the hardware components in your automation. To add a part:
- Click Add Part within a room
- Browse or search the Parts Library
- Select a part to add it to the room
- Configure its settings
Parts Library Categories
The library includes parts across multiple categories:
- Temperature Sensors — DS18B20, BME280, NTC thermistors, PT100 RTDs
- Environmental Sensors — Humidity, pressure, light, CO2
- Liquid Sensors — pH, EC, dissolved oxygen, flow meters, level sensors
- Actuators — GPIO relays, PWM outputs, solenoid valves, dosing pumps
- HAT Modules — Sequent Microsystems relay, MOSFET, 0-10V, 4-20mA, RTD HATs
- Controllers — PID controllers, hysteresis controllers
- Protocol Bridges — MQTT, Modbus RTU/TCP, S7comm
- System — CPU temperature, memory, disk, uptime
Multi-Measurement Sensors
Some sensors report multiple measurements (e.g., BME280 reports temperature, humidity, and pressure). These appear as a single part with multiple output signals.
Configuring Parts
After adding a part, configure its settings:
Hardware Settings
- GPIO pin — Which physical pin the sensor or actuator connects to
- I2C address — For I2C sensors (auto-detected when possible)
- UART port — Serial port for UART sensors
- Channel — For multi-channel HATs (e.g., which relay on an 8-relay HAT)
Polling Settings
- Interval — How often to read the sensor (default: 10 seconds)
- Units — Display units with automatic conversion based on user preferences
Hardware Auto-Detection
The Configurator can scan your Pi for connected peripherals:
- I2C scan — Detects devices on the I2C bus
- 1-Wire scan — Finds DS18B20 sensors
- GPIO scan — Shows pin states
Detected devices can be auto-populated into your project.
Moving Parts Between Rooms
Right-click any part card to access the Move to Room option. Select the target room and the part moves with its configuration intact.
Next Steps
- Wiring Flows to connect parts together
- Deploying to Pi when your configuration is ready