🏠 Smart Home Control with OpenClaw

Complete tutorial to integrate and control IoT devices

Want to control smart home and IoT from OpenClaw? This guide walks you through device control, routines, and voice-activated home setup. Allow about 30–40 minutes.

When to use this: You have Sonos, Hue, or other supported devices and want to control them by chatting or talking to OpenClaw instead of opening multiple apps. Works from any connected channel (e.g. Telegram or voice).

What You'll Build

When you finish, you'll have:

  • OpenClaw connected to your smart home system
  • Voice and text control of IoT devices
  • Automated home routines
  • Smart home integration skills

Prerequisites

Before starting:

Step 1: Choose Your Smart Home Platform

OpenClaw can integrate with various smart home platforms. Common options include:

  • Home Assistant - Open-source home automation platform
  • Apple HomeKit - Apple's smart home framework
  • Samsung SmartThings - Smart home ecosystem
  • Custom IoT APIs - Direct integration with device APIs

Ask OpenClaw to help you set up integration with your platform:

  • "Set up Home Assistant integration"
  • "Connect to my HomeKit devices"
  • "Help me integrate with SmartThings"

Step 2: Install Smart Home Skills

Install or create skills for your smart home platform:

Install Home Assistant Skill 
npx clawdhub@latest install home-assistant

Or create a custom skill for your specific platform. See Create Skill Tutorial for details.

Step 3: Configure Device Access

Set up API access to your smart home platform:

Home Assistant

  1. Generate a Long-Lived Access Token in Home Assistant
  2. Add the token to OpenClaw configuration
  3. Provide your Home Assistant URL

HomeKit

  1. Set up HomeKit bridge or use Home Assistant as bridge
  2. Configure device access permissions
  3. Test device control
💡 Tip: Ask OpenClaw "Help me configure [platform] integration" and it will guide you through the setup process.

Step 4: Test Device Control

Test basic device control commands:

Device Control Examples 
"Turn on the living room lights"
"Set the thermostat to 72 degrees"
"Lock all doors"
"Show me the status of all devices"
"What's the temperature in the bedroom?"

OpenClaw should be able to control your devices and report their status.

Step 5: Create Automation Routines

Set up automated home routines:

Morning Routine Automation 
{
  "cron": {
    "jobs": [
      {
        "schedule": "0 7 * * *",
        "command": "agent --message 'Execute morning routine: turn on bedroom lights, set thermostat to 70, start coffee maker, and play morning news.'"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Evening Routine

  • "At 10 PM, dim all lights, lock doors, and set thermostat to 68"
  • "When I say 'goodnight', turn off all lights and enable security mode"

Step 6: Voice Control Setup

If you have voice features enabled (macOS, iOS, Android), use voice commands:

  • "Hey OpenClaw, turn on the kitchen lights"
  • "Set the temperature to 75"
  • "What's the status of my smart home?"

See Voice Features documentation for voice setup instructions.

Advanced Smart Home Features

Explore advanced smart home capabilities:

  • Presence Detection - Automate based on your location
  • Energy Management - Monitor and optimize energy usage
  • Security Integration - Connect with security systems
  • Scene Management - Create and trigger home scenes
  • Conditional Automation - Complex if-then automation rules

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