KNX Gateway Automation

Create, edit, validate, and manage KNX Gateway automation workflows and scenes via REST API. Covers device listing, device control, scene CRUD/execution, workflow CRUD, import/export, trigger/node configuration, and workflow lifecycle (enable/disable/execute). Use when building or modifying automations, generating workflows for import, creating/executing scenes, or controlling devices programmatically. Use when the user says "create automation", "build workflow", "control device", "automation API", "create scene", or "execute scene".

YCZNWL KNX Gateway Automation Agent Skill

Connection

Parameter	Default	Description
Base URL	http://ycznwl.local/api/v1	Default mDNS address — use as-is unless the user provides their own gateway address or IP
Auth	Authorization: Bearer ${KNX_TOKEN}	See token instructions below
Encoding	UTF-8	The gateway accepts and emits UTF-8 only. Always send Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8 and decode responses as UTF-8. Names, descriptions, room names, action names, and any free-text fields may contain Chinese characters and must be transmitted/parsed as UTF-8. Do not URL-encode JSON payloads or wrap them in an extra encoding layer.

Getting an API Token

1. Open the KNX Gateway web UI
2. Click your avatar (top-right) → Get API Token
3. Copy the token

Safe token handling:

• Store the token in your platform's secret store or a local environment variable (export KNX_TOKEN=...) — never paste it directly into a chat conversation, as conversation logs may be persisted
• Reference it in requests via the environment variable, not inline
• Never hardcode the token in shared scripts or commit it to version control

This skill's only required credential is KNX_TOKEN. Optional workflow nodes that send data outside the gateway or trusted LAN must be configured only after an explicit user request and endpoint review. Do not introduce hardcoded secrets into skill files or workflow examples.

Default safety policy: keep automations local to the gateway and trusted LAN. Only author or enable off-LAN HTTP, MQTT, webhook, or email integrations when the user explicitly asks for that integration and approves the exact endpoint.

Reference Documents

This skill is organized into progressive reference files. Read them in order when you need detailed information:

File	Content
ref/devices.md	Device types, subtypes, capabilities, actions, params
ref/scenes.md	Scene data model, actions structure, KNX binding, execution behavior
ref/triggers.md	Trigger types and their exact configuration (incl. sun_event with offset scheduling)
ref/nodes.md	Node types, subtypes (incl. scene_exec, schedule_match with sunrise/sunset boundaries), config structs, validation rules
ref/api.md	Complete REST API endpoint reference (devices, scenes, automation, system location/sun times)
ref/examples.md	Realistic, validated workflow examples (incl. scene-based)

Quick Start — Agent Workflow

Creating a new scene

1. Discover devices: GET /devices → note uuid, name, type, capabilities, and room_id (resolve via GET /rooms)
2. Build actions array: Each action targets a device:

   json

   {
     "id": "a1",
     "device_uuid": "light-uuid",
     "device_name": "Living Room Light",
     "action": "turn_off",
     "params": {},
     "delay": 0
   }
   

   • action + params must match the device's capability (see ref/devices.md)
   • delay is in milliseconds (0 = immediate, 500 = 0.5s delay before this action)
   • id is a unique string per action (e.g. "a1", "a2")

Scene authoring best practices

• Brightness implies power on (dimmable lights only): For lights with brightness control (light_dimmer, light_tunable, light_rgb), sending set_brightness with brightness > 0 automatically powers the light on at the firmware/handler level. Do not emit a separate turn_on action before set_brightness — it adds latency and a redundant KNX telegram. Sending set_brightness with brightness: 0 will likewise turn the light off. Use an explicit turn_on / turn_off only when the device has no brightness capability.
• Multi-room scenes — prefix device_name with the room name: When a scene spans multiple rooms, prepend the room name to the action's display name so the execution log and UI are readable. Example: "device_name": "客厅·主灯" instead of just "主灯". Single-room scenes may keep the bare device name. The room name comes from GET /rooms joined on device.room_id. This applies to both scene actions (actions[].device_name) and any name you set on automation device_control / scene_exec action nodes.
• Color temperature range: Devices can be configured for any range within 1000–10000 K with a configurable step. The backend clamps & step-aligns values automatically — but pass reasonable values that the user has actually configured for the device.

3. Create: POST /scenes with name, actions, optional icon, color, description, enabled
4. Test: POST /scenes/:uuid/execute → verify execution result

Editing an existing scene

1. Get current state: GET /scenes/:uuid
2. Update: PUT /scenes/:uuid with partial fields:

   json

   {
     "name": "Updated Scene Name",
     "actions": [ ... ],
     "enabled": true
   }
   

   Only include fields you want to change. The actions array replaces the existing one entirely.
3. Test: POST /scenes/:uuid/execute

Managing scenes

Operation	Method	Endpoint
List all scenes	GET	/scenes (optional ?enabled=true)
Get scene	GET	/scenes/:uuid
Create	POST	/scenes
Update	PUT	/scenes/:uuid
Delete	DELETE	/scenes/:uuid
Execute	POST	/scenes/:uuid/execute
Toggle enabled	POST	/scenes/:uuid/toggle
Reorder	PUT	/scenes/sort
View logs	GET	/scenes/logs?scene_uuid=xxx

See ref/api.md for full request/response details.

Using scenes in automations

Scenes can be triggered from automation workflows in two ways:

• scene_exec node (recommended): { "node_subtype": "scene_exec", "config": { "scene_uuid": "..." } }
• device_control node with virtual device: { "config": { "device_uuid": "scene-<scene_uuid>", "action": "activate_scene" } }

See ref/examples.md Examples 7 & 8 for complete workflow payloads.

Creating a new automation

1. Discover devices: GET /devices → note uuid, type, sub_type, capabilities
2. Discover scenes (if needed): GET /scenes → note scene uuid for scene_exec nodes
3. Build import JSON using the format documented in ref/api.md section "Import"
4. Import: POST /automation/workflows/import → returns new workflow with server-generated UUIDs
5. Validate: POST /automation/workflows/:uuid/validate
6. Enable: POST /automation/workflows/:uuid/enable

Manually executing an automation — REQUIRES a manual trigger

POST /automation/workflows/:uuid/execute can only fire enabled triggers of type manual. If the workflow has no manual trigger (e.g. only device_event, cron, sun_event, knx_group_event, or webhook triggers), the call returns no enabled manual trigger found in workflow ... and nothing executes.

Rule: If the user wants the workflow to be runnable on demand from the UI or via the API (e.g. a "test" button, a chatbot command, a script), include at least one { "trigger_type": "manual", "enabled": true } trigger in the import JSON. You may combine it with other triggers — they remain independent.

json

{
  "triggers": [
    { "uuid": "t-manual", "trigger_type": "manual", "enabled": true, "config": {} },
    { "uuid": "t-cron",   "trigger_type": "cron",   "enabled": true, "config": { "expression": "0 7 * * *" } }
  ]
}

A workflow without a manual trigger still runs automatically when its other triggers fire — it just cannot be invoked through POST /workflows/:uuid/execute.

Editing an existing automation

1. Get current state: GET /automation/workflows/:uuid
2. Modify triggers/nodes/edges — keep existing UUIDs for unchanged elements, generate new UUIDs for additions
3. Save: PUT /automation/workflows/:uuid
4. Validate: POST /automation/workflows/:uuid/validate

Security Notes

• Imported workflows: Always inspect imported workflow JSON before enabling. Look for unexpected off-LAN HTTP requests, MQTT brokers outside the trusted LAN, or webhook triggers exposed beyond the gateway network. Only import workflows from sources you trust.
• Network egress: Prefer gateway-local and LAN-local workflows. HTTP request, MQTT publish, webhook, and email integrations are advanced gateway features; use them only when the user explicitly asks and the destination is reviewed.
• Webhook triggers: Exposing a webhook URL can make the gateway reachable from outside its normal network. Use only when network exposure is deliberate and the token is kept secret.
• Base URL: Verify the gateway address resolves to your local network before running any control commands.

Critical Rules

1. Device actions are NOT generic "set" or "toggle". Each device type has specific actions. Always check ref/devices.md for the exact action name and required params for each device type/subtype combination.

2. UUIDs on import are placeholders. The server remaps ALL UUIDs. Use simple placeholder values like "t1", "n1", "e1" — the server will replace them with real UUIDs.

3. Imported workflows start in draft + disabled state. Always validate then enable after import.

4. Node configs are strictly typed. A device_control node with wrong params will fail at execution time even if import succeeds. Always match action + params to the device's capability.

5. Edge handle names: Triggers use source_handle: "output". Condition/logic nodes use "true" and "false" as source_handle. Action, delay, and transform nodes use source_handle: "output". All target handles are "input".

6. source_type in edges: Use "trigger" when source is a trigger UUID, use "node" when source is any node UUID.

Common Pitfalls (MUST READ)

Pitfall 1: node_subtype vs sub_type — DIFFERENT fields!

• Devices use sub_type (e.g. "sub_type": "light_dimmer")
• Nodes use node_subtype (e.g. "node_subtype": "device_control")
• If you use sub_type in a node definition, it will be silently ignored. The node will have an empty subtype and validation will report "未知节点类型 action:" (unknown node type). Always use node_subtype for nodes.

Pitfall 2: Validate response — check errors array, NOT just valid

The /validate endpoint may return "valid": true even when errors is non-empty. Node config errors (e.g. missing subtype, wrong params) appear in errors but do not flip valid to false. Always check the errors array is null or empty.

text

✗ BAD:  if response.data.valid == true → proceed
✓ GOOD: if response.data.valid == true AND response.data.errors is null/empty → proceed

Pitfall 3: After import, verify the response data

Always inspect the import response body. Confirm that:

• node_subtype fields are non-empty for action nodes
• source_handle / target_handle have the expected values
• config objects contain the correct action/params

If any field is missing or empty, the import JSON had a wrong field name.

System Limits

Limit	Value
Max workflows	200
Max nodes per flow	50
Max edges per flow	200
Max triggers per workflow	5
Timeout range	5–3600 seconds
Max parallel	10
Max retry count	5
Max name length	128 chars
Max description length	1024 chars

Retrieve current limits: GET /automation/limits