Usage

Logging

systemd

If you're using systemdto launch homebridge, the config.json should look like:

{
    "platform": "Server",
    "port"    : 8765,
    "name"    : "Homebridge Server",
    "log"     : "systemd",
    "restart" : "sudo systemctl restart homebridge"
}

Execute the following code to allow the service-user to read the journalctl-logs:

sudo usermod -a -G systemd-journal homebridge

whereas systemd-journal is the journalctl-group and homebridge is the user executing the homebridge-service (you've specified him in the service-file). Restart the homebridge-service and you should see the log-file on the webpage.

launchd

See how-to-automatically-start-homebridge-with-launchd for the basic setup.

Make sure, that you choose a writeable path for your log-file and adapt the path in the *.plist-file accordingly!

Create a script, e.g ~/.homebridge/restart.sh with the following contents:

#!/bin/sh

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.homebridge.server.plist && launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.homebridge.server.plist

Make it executable with:

sudo chmod a+x ~/.homebridge/restart.sh

Then set the restart command to ~/.homebridge/restart.sh & If you've successfully setup launchd to launch homebridge, the config.json should look like:

{
    "platform": "Server",
    "port"    : 8765,
    "name"    : "Homebridge Server",
    "log"     : "<THE_PATH_YOUVE_SPECIFIED_IN_THE_PLIST>",
    "restart" : "~/.homebridge/restart.sh"
}

By script

If you're calling homebridge with a script or execute it on the command-line, you should pipe its output to a file. The config.json should look like:

{
    "platform": "Server",
    "port"    : 8765,
    "name"    : "Homebridge Server",
    "log"     : "/var/log/homebridge.log",
    "restart" : "sudo reboot"
}

and the command to launch homebridge should look like:

homebridge > /var/log/homebridge.log 2>&1 &

Restarting

Due to all the different systems around the world, I gave the user the ability to decide what my plugin should do when you hit the Reboot button. The reboot makes the changes in the config permanent.

You can specify what my plugin should do in your config.json. Make sure that the user executing homebridge is allowed to execute this command. Some examples are:

• sudo reboot
• sudo systemctl restart homebridge
• echo "Hello World"
• etc.

To enable a normal user (hans in this case) to execute these commands, make sure you've added him as follows to the /etc/sudoers-file:

hans ALL = NOPASSWD: /bin/reboot,/usr/bin/systemctl

Installing and Removing plugins

To install and remove plugins you need to make sure, that the user executing your homebridge is allowed to execute the npm install and npm uninstall-commands.

To enable a user (hans in this case) to execute these commands, make sure you've added him as follows to the /etc/sudoers-file:

hans ALL = NOPASSWD: /usr/local/bin/npm