Setup Wizard

Last updated March 19, 2026

Overview

The Setup Wizard is the recommended starting point for anyone building a new Configurator project. It asks a short series of focused questions about your hardware and goals, then automatically selects the right sensor parts, controller parts, and actuator parts for your setup. When you finish, it drops a ready-to-wire configuration into the Configurator — no manual part hunting required.

The wizard takes about two minutes for a simple setup and works well on both desktop and mobile screens.

When to use the wizard

Use the wizard when you are starting a new project from scratch and want guidance on which parts to add. It is particularly useful when you are not yet sure which control strategy (threshold, PID, timer, or manual) fits your application.

Skip the wizard if you already have a detailed configuration in mind and prefer to add parts directly in the Flow Editor, or if you are resuming an existing draft that you saved earlier.

Auto-save and drafts

The wizard does not save a draft mid-flow — your answers are held in memory until you reach the Summary step and click Confirm. After you confirm, the Configurator saves a draft automatically every 15 seconds as you continue editing. You can close the browser and resume from the Drafts Picker at any time.

How to Open the Wizard

  1. Navigate to the Configurator from the dashboard sidebar.
  2. Click New Project.
  3. The wizard opens in a modal overlay. A progress bar at the top shows which step you are on and how many remain.
  4. Use the Back and Next buttons to move between steps. The Next button is disabled until you make a required selection on each step.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Step 1 — Choose a Template (Template Picker)

The first screen asks whether you want to start from a pre-built template or configure everything yourself.

Templates are grouped into industry tabs: All, Agriculture, Food and Beverage, Manufacturing, and Facilities. Each template pre-selects a complete set of parts, rooms, wiring connections, and a control strategy. Selecting a template skips all remaining wizard steps and loads the pre-built configuration directly into the Configurator, where you can then customize it.

Available templates include common setups such as a grow room controller, fermentation monitor, aquaponics system, mushroom fruiting chamber, greenhouse, home HVAC, water quality monitor, industrial PLC gateway, and server room monitor.

Access to the full template library requires a Hobby plan or higher. If your account is on the free tier, you will see a tier gate notice on this screen.

If none of the templates match your use case, click Start from Scratch at the bottom of the screen. This skips the template picker and advances to the sensor ownership question.

Step 2 — Do You Have Sensors? (Sensor Ownership)

This step determines the path the rest of the wizard takes.

You are asked a single question: do you already own sensors that you plan to connect, or do you still need to purchase them?

Choosing Yes, I have sensors takes you directly to the sensor picker, where you select from the parts library the sensors you already own.

Choosing No, I need to buy them takes you to a precision selection step, followed by a recommended parts list with estimated prices and purchase links. This path is designed for users who are starting from zero hardware.

Step 3A — Select Your Sensors (if you already own sensors)

This step appears only if you answered yes on the previous screen.

A grid of sensor cards shows every active sensor part in the library that is relevant to your build category. For example, a grow room build shows temperature, humidity, CO2, light, and soil sensors. An HVAC build shows temperature, humidity, air quality, and pressure sensors.

Tap or click any card to select it. Selected cards are highlighted with a colored border and a checkmark. You can select as many sensors as you like. At least one sensor must be selected before the Next button becomes active.

Each card shows the sensor name and estimated cost. The list is filtered automatically based on your build category so you only see relevant options.

Step 3B — Choose Precision Level (if you need to buy sensors)

This step appears only if you answered no on the sensor ownership screen.

You choose between two tiers:

Standard covers affordable, widely available parts. Examples include the DHT22 temperature and humidity sensor and the MH-Z19 CO2 sensor. Estimated cost is approximately $20 to $40.

High Precision covers industrial-grade sensors with tighter tolerances. Examples include the SHT31, SCD30, and Atlas Scientific EZO series. Estimated cost is approximately $60 to $120.

The choice here determines which specific sensor models appear on the next screen.

This step appears only if you chose the no-sensors path.

The wizard displays a curated list of recommended sensors for your build category and precision level. Each entry shows the part name, manufacturer, and estimated price. If a purchase link is available, a small link icon appears on the right — clicking it opens the product page in a new browser tab.

An estimated total cost is shown at the bottom of the list.

This screen is informational. You do not make selections here. Review the list, note what you need to purchase, then click Next to continue. You can always come back later after buying the parts.

Step 5 — What Are You Controlling? (Control Targets)

This step appears on both paths (sensor-owner and buyer).

You select which types of actuators you want to automate. The available control targets are:

Fan — ventilation or circulation fans. Heater — space heaters or substrate heaters. Cooler — air conditioning or cooling fans. Pump — water or nutrient pumps. Lights — grow lights or supplemental lighting. Valve — irrigation or flow control valves. Humidifier — ultrasonic or evaporative humidifiers. Dehumidifier — dehumidifiers or desiccant systems.

You can select multiple targets. The selections you make here drive the next step: the wizard will ask you to choose a control strategy for each target you selected, one at a time.

At least one target must be selected before the Next button activates.

Step 6 — Control Strategy (Control Mode)

For each control target you selected in the previous step, the wizard asks how that actuator should respond to sensor readings. If you selected three targets — a heater, a fan, and lights — this step repeats three times, once for each target.

A progress indicator at the top shows which target you are configuring (for example, "1 of 3") when you have more than one.

The four available strategies are:

PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) — Continuous, smooth control that tracks a setpoint precisely. The controller reads your sensor value, calculates how far it is from the target, and adjusts the actuator output in proportion. Best for temperature, CO2, pH, and humidity where you want tight, stable control without constant on-off cycling. Requires a compatible sensor to be connected as the process variable input.

Threshold — Simple on/off switching at fixed high and low limits. When the sensor value crosses the upper threshold, the actuator turns on. When it crosses the lower threshold, the actuator turns off. This is the simplest reliable strategy and works well for most cooling, heating, and humidification needs where precision is not critical. Sometimes called hysteresis control.

Timer — Schedule-based control that runs the actuator on a fixed daily or weekly schedule. Does not use sensor readings for decisions. Best for grow lights (photoperiod control), irrigation cycles, and any application where you want the device to run at the same times every day regardless of conditions.

Manual — No automation. The actuator can only be turned on or off from the dashboard. Useful for one-off equipment you want to control by hand, or for actuators you plan to wire into a more complex conditional automation rule later.

For lights, the wizard marks Timer as Recommended since photoperiod scheduling is the most common use case for lighting control.

After you select a strategy for the current target and click Next, the wizard advances to the next target. When all targets have been configured, it advances to the summary.

Step 7 — Summary

The summary screen shows all the parts the wizard has selected based on your answers, grouped into four categories:

Monitoring — the sensor parts that will report data to the dashboard. Control — the controller parts (PID blocks or threshold controllers) wired to your actuators. Automation — the actuator parts (relay boards, PWM drivers) that will be controlled. Logging — any additional logging or data output nodes.

An estimated total hardware cost is shown at the bottom.

This is a read-only review. If something looks wrong, use the Back button to go back and change your selections. When you are satisfied, click Confirm and Continue. The wizard closes and the selected parts appear in the Configurator canvas, ready for wiring and GPIO assignment.

Configuration Options

The wizard itself has no persistent settings — your choices are ephemeral until you click Confirm. After the wizard hands off to the Configurator, you can change everything:

Parts can be removed or replaced by right-clicking a card in the Flow Editor. Additional parts can be added from the Parts Library panel on the left. Control strategies can be changed by swapping the controller part type. GPIO and I2C addresses are configured inline in each part card after it is placed on the canvas. The peripheral auto-populate feature (available if your Pi has run a peripheral scan) can suggest pin assignments based on what was detected during discovery.

Use Cases

Grow Tent Setup

You are setting up a small indoor grow tent with a temperature and humidity sensor, a fan, a heater, and grow lights.

Open the wizard and choose Start from Scratch on the template picker (or select the Grow Room Controller template to skip ahead). On the sensor ownership screen, select Yes, I have sensors. On the sensor picker, select your DHT22 or SHT31. On the control targets screen, select Fan, Heater, and Lights. The wizard then steps through each target:

For Fan, choose Threshold — the fan turns on when temperature exceeds an upper limit and turns off when it drops below a lower limit. For Heater, choose Threshold — the heater turns on when temperature drops below a lower limit. For Lights, choose Timer — the wizard recommends Timer for lights and you set up an 18-hour photoperiod schedule after deployment.

On the summary screen you see a DHT22 sensor part, a hysteresis controller part for the fan and heater, and a timer block for the lights. Click Confirm and the Configurator canvas loads with all three wired up and ready for GPIO pin assignment.

Fermentation Chamber Setup

You are monitoring a wine fermentation vessel and want precise temperature control with a cooling unit and an alert when CO2 levels spike.

Open the wizard and choose Start from Scratch. On the sensor ownership screen, select No, I need to buy them. Choose High Precision. The wizard recommends a BMP280 pressure sensor and an MH-Z14A CO2 sensor. Review the procurement list and note the parts, then click Next.

On the control targets screen, select Cooler. For the cooler, choose PID — this gives you a smooth, precise temperature setpoint you can adjust from the dashboard without the temperature oscillating. On the summary screen you see the recommended sensors, a PID controller block, and a relay actuator for the cooler. Confirm and the Configurator canvas opens ready for wiring.

After confirming, go to the Alarms section in the dashboard to configure a CO2 alert threshold — the wizard handles part selection but alarm thresholds are set after deployment.

Troubleshooting

The template library is locked or empty

Project templates require a Hobby plan or higher. If your account is on the free tier, you will see a tier gate notice and the template grid will be hidden. You can still use the wizard by clicking Start from Scratch below the gate notice.

If the template grid shows a No templates for this industry yet message after switching tabs, that industry has no templates assigned to it yet. Switch to the All tab to see every available template.

No sensors appear in the sensor picker

The sensor picker filters parts by build category. If the Parts Library does not contain any active sensors matching your category, the grid shows an empty state message. This can happen if your account's parts library is not fully seeded or if you are on an older version of the platform.

To resolve it, try switching your build category. If you started with a very specific category like Energy, try Custom instead — the custom category shows all sensor types. If the problem persists, contact support.

The Next button stays disabled

Each step requires a selection before you can advance. Check that you have:

Selected at least one sensor on the sensor picker screen. Chosen a precision level on the precision screen. Selected at least one control target on the control targets screen. Selected a control mode for the current target on the control mode screen.

If you are on the template picker screen, Next is intentionally hidden — you advance by clicking a template card or the Start from Scratch button, not a Next button.

The wizard closes without saving my work

Closing the wizard before reaching the Summary step and clicking Confirm discards all selections. The wizard does not auto-save mid-flow. If you accidentally closed it, reopen the wizard and start again.

After you click Confirm, your selections are handed to the Configurator canvas. The Configurator then auto-saves a draft every 15 seconds. If you close the Configurator at this point, you can resume from the Drafts Picker next time you open the Configurator.

I confirmed the wizard but the canvas is empty

If the canvas appears empty after confirming, check the Parts Library panel on the left — the parts may have been added but the canvas viewport may not be centered on them. Press the Fit to Screen button in the Flow Editor toolbar, or scroll to find the placed cards.

If parts are genuinely missing, this is likely a timing issue on a slow connection. Refresh the page and open the most recent auto-saved draft from the Drafts Picker.

Known Issues and Limitations

The wizard does not support adding multiple rooms. All parts selected in the wizard are placed into a single default room. If your project spans multiple rooms (for example, Tent 1 and Tent 2), run the wizard once for the first room, confirm, then manually add a second room and add parts to it in the Flow Editor.

The control mode step cycles through each selected target one at a time. If you selected many targets and want to go back to an earlier one, you must step back through each intermediate target screen.

Timer-based schedules selected in the wizard are not configured in the wizard itself — the wizard only adds the timer block part to your canvas. You set the actual schedule (days and times) after deployment in the Scheduling section of the dashboard.

The wizard does not pre-fill GPIO pin assignments. After confirming, each part card on the canvas will show an unconfigured pin state. Use the peripheral auto-populate feature (if a peripheral scan has been run on your Pi) or configure pins manually in each part card before deploying.

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