Solved: config example of how to retrofit MQTT onto devices that previously used api

ESPHome
1

Hi all,

I’m trying to get MQTT working on an esphome device, because I need to use them with other platforms than HA.

I am having extreme difficulty.

I believe I could figure it out if I could see an example yaml that works for someone, to control a basic relay module like a Sonoff Basic.

Please, I’m going nuts.

Thanks.

2

Many yaml snippets in the docs

3

Hi @indeeed, thank you for the link, it was kind of you.

My difficulty is that, while the documentation does explain each section, it does not ever provide a complete working example. The assumption of the person who wrote the documentation, therefore, is that the user is already familiar with configuring both MQTT and esp-home.

However, some users (like me) are new to MQTT, and do not yet have much experience configuring the mqtt section of the YAML file.

I learn by seeing. A complete example that demonstrated a simple light would be incredibly useful to a person like me, because I could grow from there.

But also, the format of the MQTT section of a YAML file seems to have changed between now and most examples I found on this forum.

If any esp-home user would mind posting their complete working MQTT yaml for a simple relay device like a Sonoff basic, I can only imagine that another user who comes here via search would find it useful too.

I thank you all.

4

Did you check devices.esphome.io? Maybe a battery powered device with mqtt?

Sometimes people got mixed up as a esphome device can also just act as mqtt client sucking data from a broker and use that for advanced shenanigans.

5

Hi @indeeed,

Thank you so much for pointing me in the right direction. As usual, it was actually simple, but understanding that it was simple took some time.

I am trying to switch my devices to MQTT-only (because of reasons), and I was struggling to understand specifically how, because I’ve found many conflicting examples.

But at the end of the day, it is painless, and you just need to configure a broker, and then add state (and command) topics to any switch/sensor etc etc.

If any other esp-home users are also visual learners, here is a working example of the yaml you would use for a basic device, in this case a Sonoff Basic R3:

esphome:
  name: your_device_name
  platform: ESP8266 #or whatever
  board: esp01_1m
  on_boot:
    priority: 225
    then:
      - light.turn_off: statlight

wifi:
  networks:
    - ssid: !secret iotnetwork
      password: !secret iotpassword
    - ssid: !secret fallback
      password: !secret fallback_password
  manual_ip:
    static_ip: your_ip
    gateway: your_gateway
    subnet: your_subnet
    dns1: your_dns
#  fast_connect: true

# Enable logging
logger:

# Enable Home Assistant API
# api: 
# you can remove the api section because you don't need it

mqtt:
  broker: your_broker
  username: your_mqtt_username
  password: your_mqtt_password
  #you can put further options as needed
  #also this is where you'll put special mqtt automations 

ota:

binary_sensor:
  - platform: gpio
    id: button
    pin:
      number: GPIO0
      mode: INPUT_PULLUP
      inverted: True
    on_press:
      - switch.toggle: relay
      - light.toggle: statlight

output:
  - platform: gpio
    pin: 
      number: GPIO13
      inverted: True
    id: led

light:
  - platform: binary
    id: statlight
    output: led
	
switch:
  - platform: gpio
    name: "your_switch"
    pin: GPIO12
    id: relay
    state_topic: some_topic/status
    command_topic: some_topic/command
	
#   so basically leave everything as it was when you were using the api,
#   but now add state and command topics as options.

Thank you, this community is extremely helpful.

2 Likes
6

Great!

Feel free to mark your thread as solved (see 22.)