OurBrewbot docs

Your settings

The controller keeps its settings as JSON files in a separate part of the flash memory (the LittleFS partition). That partition survives firmware updates. OurBrewbot uses the same file names and field names as the original firmware, so if you install it on an existing MyBrewbot without erasing, your probes, fermenters and plugs are picked up automatically.

You can view the settings files in the admin page's file browser, or fetch them from /fs/files and /fs/file.

Hardware

OurBrewbot runs on the ESP8266 inside the MyBrewbot controller, or on a NodeMCU board with 4 MB of flash wired the same way:

Function	GPIO	NodeMCU pin	Connects to
Probe bus 1	GPIO0	D3	Green jack (DS18B20)
Probe bus 2	GPIO2	D4	Black jack (DS18B20)
RF transmitter	GPIO4	D2	FS1000A 433 MHz TX
RF receiver	GPIO14	D5	MX-RM-5V 433 MHz RX
Bluetooth (ESP TX)	GPIO12	D6	HM-10 RX
Bluetooth (ESP RX)	GPIO13	D7	HM-10 TX
LED	GPIO16	D0	NodeMCU built-in LED

Limits: 4 fermenters, 8 temperature probes, 10 RF smart plugs, 4 profiles of up to 15 steps, 8 Tilt colours and 4 iSpindels.

Home Assistant

Enable MQTT in the admin page and point it at your broker. With HA Discovery turned on, the controller announces itself to Home Assistant whenever it connects and whenever Home Assistant restarts. Entities then appear with no YAML to write.

Home Assistant device	Entity type	Fields
OurBrewbot (controller)	sensor	firmware version, IP address, mDNS name, WiFi SSID, RSSI, free heap, uptime, chip ID, reboot reason and code
OurBrewbot (controller)	button	reboot, all off
OurBrewbot F0–F3 (fermenters)	sensor	beer and ambient temperature, gravity and its source, attenuation, status, profile step
	binary_sensor	alarm
	switch	power, temperature control, profile running
	number	ceiling and floor temperature, hysteresis, compressor delay, OG, TG
	text / select	name, beer name, yeast / profile number
OurBrewbot Probe	sensor, binary_sensor	temperature, name, function, fermenter / active
OurBrewbot Tilt	sensor, binary_sensor	temperature, gravity, fermenter, function / active, is Pro
OurBrewbot iSpindel	sensor	temperature, gravity, corrected gravity, battery, RSSI, angle, run time

Controlling from Home Assistant

By default, Home Assistant can only read values. To let it change settings, turn on Allow HA Control in the MQTT settings. The controller then accepts commands on <baseTopic>/+/+/set for switches, numbers, text, selects and buttons. It ignores out-of-range values, and the entity goes back to the real value within about a minute.

Dashboard

A ready-made dashboard is in HomeAssistant/dashboard.yaml. It uses the Plotly graph, Mushroom and card-mod cards from HACS.

REST API

Everything the admin page does goes through a JSON API on the controller, at http://ourbrewbot-xxxxxx.local. It has no authentication, so keep the controller on a trusted network.

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	`/status`	Quick status of all fermenters
GET	`/fermenters`	All fermenter data
GET	`/fermenter?id=0`	One fermenter
POST	`/fermenter`	Update fermenter settings
POST	`/fermenter/profile`	Profile control: start, stop, pause, next, previous
GET	`/profiles`	Fermentation profiles
POST	`/profile`	Update a fermentation profile
GET	`/probes`	All temperature probes
POST	`/probes`	Update probe settings
GET	`/tilts`	Tilt settings and live readings
POST	`/tilt`	Update Tilt settings
GET	`/ispindels`	iSpindel settings and live readings
POST	`/iSpindel`	Receives readings from an iSpindel
POST	`/ispindel/config`	Update iSpindel settings
GET	`/smartplugs`	RF smart plug settings
POST	`/smartplug`	Update a smart plug
POST	`/smartplug/test`	Send an RF on/off test
GET	`/controller`	Controller settings and plugs
POST	`/controller`	Update controller settings
GET	`/brewservices`	Brewfather / Brewer's Friend settings
POST	`/brewservices`	Update brew service settings
POST	`/brewservices/test`	Test a brew service connection
GET	`/mqtt`	MQTT settings
POST	`/mqtt`	Update MQTT settings
POST	`/mqtt/discover`	Resend Home Assistant discovery
POST	`/mqtt/test`	Test the MQTT connection
GET	`/syslog`	Syslog settings
POST	`/syslog`	Update syslog settings
GET	`/health`	Free memory, uptime, WiFi signal
GET	`/board_info.json`	Chip, firmware version and reset reason
GET	`/debug`	Debug mode and sensor overrides
POST	`/debug`	Set debug overrides (not saved)
GET	`/fs/files`	List settings files
GET	`/fs/file`	Read a settings file
POST	`/fs/save`	Save a settings file
GET	`/update`	Firmware update page
POST	`/update`	Upload new firmware
POST	`/wifi/reset`	Clear WiFi settings and reopen the setup hotspot
GET	`/reboot`	Restart the controller
GET	`/reset`	Reset all settings to defaults

The pages /admin, /rf/sniff and /ble/sniff are the admin UI, an RF code sniffer and a Bluetooth console.

Building from source

Install VS Code and the PlatformIO IDE extension.
Clone the repository and open the folder. PlatformIO installs the ESP8266 toolchain and libraries the first time you open it.
Set upload_port in platformio.ini to your controller's port.
Build with pio run, or build and flash with pio run -t upload. Unit tests run on your computer with pio test -e native.

Getting help

Found a bug or have an idea? Open an issue on GitHub. If the controller restarted unexpectedly, include the DEFERRED lines it logs to syslog after it boots. They record why it restarted.