ESP8266 integration without MQTT or similar

Configuration
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Sadly I live in an area that only allows Internet access over a long piece of damp string - or at least that’s what it feels like! - so I would like to keep as much of my HA installation local as I possibly can to minimise latency and outages due to Internet outages.

Is it possible to integrate ESP8266 switches and sensors without MQTT or similar in these circumstances? Any pointers to literature or guides would be appreciated if so.

I’m currently experimenting with using ESP8266 / NodeMCU sensors, linking via webhooks but this is one-way communication only and can’t do state checking etc. so I’m looking for a more elegant solution if possible.

Thanks in advance.

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MQTT can be run locally. I have the broker addon installed on my HASS.IO pi3 and it works a treat!

EDIT:

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  1. why do you need mqtt over the internet? Normally you would use your wifi to talk to a local broker.
  2. MQTT is a very lightweight protocol but ESPhome has just been released with an even more efficient api integration for home assistant.
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Thank you both - I had not picked up that it could be run locally - I’ll definitely explore that option. Thank you so much!

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I’d still look into the esphome api. Really easy way to configure an ESP for a wide range of sensors just using a yaml config file.

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Thanks, Tom, I’ll check that out too!

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