openHAB Semantic MCP Server

A lightweight MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for openHAB semantic operations.

Features

• Send commands to openHAB items based on semantic filters
• Query items by location, equipment, points, and properties
• Command validation: Uses openHAB Command Description metadata to prevent invalid commands
• State validation: Uses openHAB State Description metadata to prevent invalid state updates
• Recursive equipment relationships: Parent-child equipment chains for device grouping
• Dual hierarchy support: Type-based and parent-based semantic hierarchies
• Get detailed item information from the semantic inventory
• Real-time state updates via Server-Sent Events (SSE)
• Monitoring Tasks: Create time-based monitoring tasks with webhook triggers
• Dynamic Timezone Support: Automatic timezone handling with LLM-aware tool descriptions
• Docker deployment support
• Safety confirmations for large operations

Installation

Docker (Recommended)

1. Set Environment Variables

   Create a .env file in the project root with your openHAB credentials:

   cat > .env << EOF
   # openHAB Configuration (Required)
   OPENHAB_BASE_URL=https://your-openhab-instance.org
   OPENHAB_API_TOKEN=your_api_token_here
   
   # MCP Server Configuration
   MCP_HOST=0.0.0.0
   MCP_PORT=8000
   MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http
   LOG_LEVEL=INFO
   
   # Inventory Configuration
   INVENTORY_REFRESH_MINUTES=60
   
   # Monitoring Configuration (Required)
   MONITORING_WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-webhook-endpoint.org/webhook
   MONITORING_WEBHOOK_AUTH_HEADER=Authorization: Bearer your_webhook_token
   # MONITORING_TIMEZONE=Europe/Berlin  # Optional: defaults to UTC
   EOF
   

2. Build and Run with Docker Compose

   docker-compose up -d
   

   The server will start on port 8000.

3. Check Logs

   docker-compose logs -f openhab-semantic-mcp
   

4. Stop the Service

   docker-compose down
   

Local Development

1. Clone and set up environment

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd openhab-semantic-mcp
   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
   pip install -e .
   

2. Configure environment

   cp src/openhab_semantic_mcp/.env.example .env
   # Edit the .env file with your openHAB configuration
   

3. Run the server

   python -m openhab_semantic_mcp
   

Configuration

Configure the server using environment variables in a .env file:

OPENHAB_BASE_URL=https://your-openhab-instance.org
OPENHAB_API_TOKEN=your_api_token_here
MCP_HOST=0.0.0.0
MCP_PORT=8000
MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http
LOG_LEVEL=INFO
INVENTORY_REFRESH_MINUTES=60

# Monitoring Configuration (Required)
MONITORING_WEBHOOK_URL=https://your-webhook-endpoint.org/webhook
MONITORING_WEBHOOK_AUTH_HEADER=Authorization: Bearer your_webhook_token
# MONITORING_TIMEZONE=Europe/Berlin  # Optional: defaults to UTC

# Optional Monitoring Settings
MONITORING_STORAGE_TYPE=memory
MONITORING_CLEANUP_INTERVAL_MINUTES=60
MONITORING_RETAIN_COMPLETED_DAYS=7
MONITORING_RETAIN_CANCELLED_DAYS=3
MONITORING_RETAIN_ERROR_DAYS=7
MONITORING_ENABLE_AUTO_CLEANUP=true

Required:

• OPENHAB_BASE_URL: URL of your openHAB instance
• OPENHAB_API_TOKEN: API token for authentication
• MONITORING_WEBHOOK_URL: Webhook endpoint for monitoring task notifications
• MONITORING_TIMEZONE: Timezone for monitoring tasks (e.g., Europe/Berlin, America/New_York). Optional: defaults to UTC if not set.

Optional:

• MCP_HOST: Host to bind the MCP server (default: 0.0.0.0)
• MCP_PORT: Port for the MCP server (default: 8000)
• MCP_TRANSPORT: Transport mode for MCP communication (default: streamable-http)
  • streamable-http: HTTP-based transport (recommended for Docker/containers)
  • stdio: Standard input/output transport (for local development only - not compatible with Docker)
  • sse: Server-Sent Events transport
• LOG_LEVEL: Logging level (default: INFO)
• INVENTORY_REFRESH_MINUTES: Interval for refreshing the semantic inventory (default: 60)
• MONITORING_WEBHOOK_AUTH_HEADER: Authorization header for webhook requests (format: Key: Value)
• MONITORING_STORAGE_TYPE: Storage backend type: memory, file, or caldav (default: memory)
• MONITORING_STORAGE_CONFIG: Backend-specific configuration as JSON string (see Storage Backends)
• MONITORING_CLEANUP_INTERVAL_MINUTES: Cleanup interval in minutes (default: 60)
• MONITORING_RETAIN_COMPLETED_DAYS: Days to retain completed tasks (default: 7)
• MONITORING_RETAIN_CANCELLED_DAYS: Days to retain cancelled tasks (default: 3)
• MONITORING_RETAIN_ERROR_DAYS: Days to retain error tasks (default: 7)
• MONITORING_ENABLE_AUTO_CLEANUP: Enable automatic cleanup (default: true)

Available Tools

The MCP server provides these semantic tools:

Core Semantic Tools

• get_available_semantic_entities: Discover all semantic entities (locations, equipment, points, properties)
• get_items: Query items with semantic filters
• send_command_to_entities: Send commands to items based on semantic filters
• update_entities_state: Update states of items based on semantic filters

Monitoring Tools

• create_monitoring_task: Create time-based monitoring tasks with webhook triggers
• get_monitoring_task_status: Get status and details of a monitoring task
• cancel_monitoring_task: Cancel an active monitoring task

Command & State Validation

The server automatically validates commands and state updates using openHAB's metadata:

Command Validation

• Command Description: Uses commandDescription.commandOptions from openHAB
• Prevention: Blocks invalid commands before sending to openHAB
• Feedback: Shows valid commands from command metadata

State Validation

• State Description: Uses stateDescription.options from openHAB
• Prevention: Blocks invalid state updates
• Feedback: Shows valid states from state metadata

Example Error Response

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Command 'BLINK' not allowed. Allowed commands: ['ON', 'OFF', 'AUTO']",
  "allowed_commands": ["ON", "OFF", "AUTO"]
}

Semantic Hierarchies

The server supports dual hierarchy systems for powerful semantic queries:

Type-Based Hierarchies

Uses semantic naming conventions with underscore separators:

• Lighting_CeilingLight_Downlight → indexed under Lighting, Lighting_CeilingLight, and Lighting_CeilingLight_Downlight
• Indoor_Room_DiningRoom → indexed under Indoor, Indoor_Room, and Indoor_Room_DiningRoom

Parent-Based Hierarchies

Uses openHAB isPartOf semantic relationships:

• Equipment can have parent equipment relationships
• Locations inherit from parent locations
• Items without direct location inherit location from parent equipment

Query Examples

# Type-based queries
get_items(location="Indoor")           # All indoor items
get_items(equipment="Lighting")       # All lighting equipment
get_items(equipment="Lighting_CeilingLight")  # All ceiling lights

# Parent-based queries (with recursive location inheritance)
get_items(location="Indoor_Room_DiningRoom")  # Items in dining room (including nested equipment)
get_items(equipment="LightSource_AccentLight") # All accent lights (inherited from parent equipment)

# Combined queries
get_items(location="Indoor", equipment="LightSource")  # All indoor lighting
get_items(location="Indoor_Floor_GroundFloor", equipment="LightSource", point="Control_Switch", property="Light")  # All ground floor light switches
get_items(point="Measurement", property="Humidity")  # All humidity measurements
get_items(equipment="HVAC", point="Control")  # All controls related to HVAC

Monitoring Tasks

The server supports advanced monitoring capabilities with time-based task scheduling:

Features

• Time-based scheduling: Create tasks that monitor items during specific time windows
• Webhook notifications: Automatic webhook triggers when monitoring conditions are met
• Dynamic timezone support: Automatic timezone handling with LLM-aware descriptions
• Multiple storage backends: Memory, file, or CalDAV storage for task persistence
• Automatic cleanup: Configurable retention policies for completed tasks

Creating Monitoring Tasks

# Monitor a light switch for 10 minutes
create_monitoring_task(
    mode="time_window",
    start_time="2026-02-10T14:48:00",  # Interpreted in configured timezone
    end_time="2026-02-10T14:58:00",
    filters={
        "location": "Indoor_Room_LivingRoom",
        "equipment": "LightSource_FloorLamp", 
        "point": "Control_Switch"
    }
)

# One-shot task - triggers once when condition is met
create_monitoring_task(
    mode="one_shot",
    end_time="2026-02-10T23:59:00",
    filters={"point": "Status_OpenState", "state": {"kind": "exact", "states": ["OPEN"]}}
)

Timezone Handling

All times are automatically interpreted in the configured timezone:

# Configure timezone (optional - defaults to UTC)
MONITORING_TIMEZONE=Europe/Berlin    # European time
MONITORING_TIMEZONE=America/New_York  # US Eastern time  
MONITORING_TIMEZONE=Asia/Tokyo        # Japan time

The LLM automatically receives timezone information in tool descriptions, ensuring correct time interpretation.

Storage Backends

Select the backend with MONITORING_STORAGE_TYPE and configure it via MONITORING_STORAGE_CONFIG (a JSON string keyed by backend name):

Memory (default) - In-memory storage, data lost on restart:

MONITORING_STORAGE_TYPE=memory
MONITORING_STORAGE_CONFIG='{"memory": {}}'

File - JSON file persistence:

MONITORING_STORAGE_TYPE=file
MONITORING_STORAGE_CONFIG='{"file": {"file_path": "monitoring_tasks.json"}}'

CalDAV - Calendar-based storage with background sync:

MONITORING_STORAGE_TYPE=caldav
MONITORING_STORAGE_CONFIG='{"caldav": {"url": "https://caldav.example.org/remote.php/dav/principals/users/user/", "username": "user", "password": "pass", "calendar_name": "monitoring", "sync_interval": 300}}'

Webhook Payload

When a monitoring task triggers, it sends a webhook with detailed event information:

{
  "task_id": "monitor_abc123",
  "mode": "time_window",
  "triggered_at": "2026-02-10T14:52:30+01:00",
  "trigger_count": 1,
  "item": {
    "name": "floorlamp_livingroom_toggle",
    "state": "ON",
    "display_state": "An",
    "unit": null
  },
  "task_config": {
    "filters": {
      "location": "Indoor_Room_LivingRoom",
      "equipment": "LightSource_FloorLamp"
    },
    "refinement": null,
    "last_state_transition": "2026-02-10T14:48:00+01:00"
  },
  "time_window": {
    "start_time": "2026-02-10T14:48:00+01:00",
    "end_time": "2026-02-10T14:58:00+01:00"
  }
}

Testing

# Install test dependencies
pip install -e ".[test]"

# Run tests
pytest tests/ -v

# Run with coverage
pytest tests/ --cov=openhab_semantic_mcp --cov-report=html

Test coverage includes:

• DTO models and relationships
• Inventory indexing with dual hierarchies
• openHAB client semantic parsing
• Monitoring system (service layer, trigger evaluation, webhook management)
• CalDAV backend (connection, event mapping, calendar synchronization)
• Storage backends (memory, file, CalDAV)