@switchbot/openapi-cli

@switchbot/openapi-cli

Command-line interface for the SwitchBot API v1.1. List devices, query live status, send control commands, run scenes, and manage webhooks — all from your terminal or shell scripts.

• npm package: @switchbot/openapi-cli
• Source code: github.com/OpenWonderLabs/switchbot-openapi-cli
• Releases / changelog: GitHub Releases
• Issues / feature requests: GitHub Issues

Who is this for?

Three entry points, same binary — pick the one that matches how you use it:

Audience	Where to start	What you get
Human	this README (Quick start)	Colored tables, helpful hints on errors, shell completion, switchbot doctor self-check.
Script	Output modes, Scripting examples	--json, --format=tsv/yaml/id, --fields, stable exit codes, history replay, audit log.
Agent	docs/agent-guide.md	switchbot mcp serve (stdio MCP server), schema export, plan run, destructive-command guard.

Under the hood every surface shares the same catalog, cache, and HMAC client — switching between them costs nothing.

Table of contents

• Features
• Requirements
• Installation
• Quick start
• Credentials
• Global options
• Commands
  • config
  • devices
  • scenes
  • webhook
  • batch
  • watch
  • mcp
  • cache
  • completion
• Output modes
• Cache
• Exit codes & error codes
• Environment variables
• Scripting examples
• Development
• Contributing
• License
• References

Features

• 🔌 Complete API coverage — every /v1.1 endpoint (devices, scenes, webhooks)
• 📚 Built-in catalog — offline reference for every device type's supported commands, parameter formats, and status fields (no API call needed)
• 🎨 Dual output modes — colorized tables by default; --json passthrough for jq and scripting
• 🔐 Secure credentials — HMAC-SHA256 signed requests; config file written with 0600; env-var override for CI
• 🔍 Dry-run mode — preview every mutating request before it hits the API
• 🧪 Fully tested — 592 Vitest tests, mocked axios, zero network in CI
• ⚡ Shell completion — Bash / Zsh / Fish / PowerShell

Requirements

• Node.js ≥ 18
• A SwitchBot account with Developer Options enabled (see Credentials)

Installation

From npm (recommended)

npm install -g @switchbot/openapi-cli

This adds the switchbot binary to your $PATH.

From source

git clone https://github.com/OpenWonderLabs/switchbot-openapi-cli.git
cd switchbot-openapi-cli
npm install
npm run build
npm link      # optional — expose `switchbot` globally

Verify:

switchbot --version
switchbot --help

Quick start

# 1. Save your credentials (one-time)
switchbot config set-token <token> <secret>

# 2. List every device on your account
switchbot devices list

# 3. Control a device
switchbot devices command <deviceId> turnOn

Credentials

The CLI reads credentials in this order (first match wins):

• Environment variables — SWITCHBOT_TOKEN and SWITCHBOT_SECRET
• Config file — ~/.switchbot/config.json (written by config set-token, mode 0600)

Obtain the token and secret from the SwitchBot mobile app: Profile → Preferences → Developer Options → Get Token.

# One-time setup (writes ~/.switchbot/config.json)
switchbot config set-token <token> <secret>

# Or export environment variables (e.g. in CI)
export SWITCHBOT_TOKEN=...
export SWITCHBOT_SECRET=...

# Confirm which source is active and see the masked secret
switchbot config show

Global options

Option	Description
--json	Print the raw JSON response instead of a formatted table
--format <fmt>	Output format: tsv, yaml, jsonl, json, id
--fields <cols>	Comma-separated column names to include (e.g. deviceId,type)
-v, --verbose	Log HTTP request/response details to stderr
--dry-run	Print mutating requests (POST/PUT/DELETE) without sending them
--timeout <ms>	HTTP request timeout in milliseconds (default: 30000)
--config <path>	Override credential file location (default: ~/.switchbot/config.json)
--profile <name>	Use a named credential profile (~/.switchbot/profiles/<name>.json)
--cache <dur>	Set list and status cache TTL, e.g. 5m, 1h, off, auto (default)
--cache-list <dur>	Set list-cache TTL independently (overrides --cache)
--cache-status <dur>	Set status-cache TTL independently (default off; overrides --cache)
--no-cache	Disable all cache reads for this invocation
--retry-on-429 <n>	Max 429 retry attempts (default: 3)
--no-retry	Disable automatic 429 retries
--backoff <strategy>	Retry backoff: exponential (default) or linear
--no-quota	Disable local request-quota tracking
--audit-log [path]	Append mutating commands to a JSONL audit log (default path: ~/.switchbot/audit.log)
-V, --version	Print the CLI version
-h, --help	Show help for any command or subcommand

Every subcommand supports --help, and most include a parameter-format reference and examples.

switchbot --help
switchbot devices command --help

--dry-run

Intercepts every non-GET request: the CLI prints the URL/body it would have sent, then exits 0 without contacting the API. GET requests (list, status, query) are still executed so you can preview the state involved.

switchbot devices command ABC123 turnOn --dry-run
# [dry-run] Would POST https://api.switch-bot.com/v1.1/devices/ABC123/commands
# [dry-run] body: {"command":"turnOn","parameter":"default","commandType":"command"}

Commands

config — credential management

switchbot config set-token <token> <secret>   # Save to ~/.switchbot/config.json
switchbot config show                          # Print current source + masked secret

devices — list, status, control

# List all physical devices and IR remote devices
# Default columns (4): deviceId, deviceName, type, category
# Pass --wide for the full 10-column operator view
switchbot devices list
switchbot devices list --wide
switchbot devices list --json | jq '.deviceList[].deviceId'

# IR remotes: type = remoteType (e.g. "TV"), category = "ir"
# Physical: category = "physical"
switchbot devices list --format=tsv --fields=deviceId,type,category

# Filter by family / room (family & room info requires the 'src: OpenClaw'
# header, which this CLI sends on every request)
switchbot devices list --json | jq '.deviceList[] | select(.familyName == "Home")'
switchbot devices list --json | jq '[.deviceList[], .infraredRemoteList[]] | group_by(.familyName)'

# Query real-time status of a physical device
switchbot devices status <deviceId>
switchbot devices status <deviceId> --json

# Send a control command
switchbot devices command <deviceId> <cmd> [parameter] [--type command|customize]

# Describe a specific device (1 API call): metadata + supported commands + status fields
switchbot devices describe <deviceId>
switchbot devices describe <deviceId> --json

# Discover what's supported (offline reference, no API call)
switchbot devices types                 # List all device types + IR remote types
switchbot devices commands <type>       # Show commands, parameter formats, and status fields
switchbot devices commands Bot
switchbot devices commands "Smart Lock"
switchbot devices commands curtain      # Case-insensitive, substring match

Parameter formats

parameter is optional — omit it for commands like turnOn/turnOff (auto-defaults to "default"). Numeric-only and JSON-object parameters are auto-parsed; strings with colons / commas / semicolons pass through as-is.

For the exact commands and parameter formats a specific device supports, query the built-in catalog:

switchbot devices commands <type>       # e.g. Bot, Curtain, "Smart Lock", "Robot Vacuum Cleaner S10"

Generic parameter shapes (which one applies is decided by the device — see the catalog):

Shape	Example
(none)	devices command <id> turnOn
<integer>	devices command <id> setBrightness 75
<R:G:B>	devices command <id> setColor "255:0:0"
<direction;angle>	devices command <id> setPosition "up;60"
<a,b,c,…>	devices command <id> setAll "26,1,3,on"
<json object>	'{"action":"sweep","param":{"fanLevel":2,"times":1}}'
Custom IR button	devices command <id> MyButton --type customize

For the complete per-device command reference, see the SwitchBot API docs.

devices expand — named flags for packed parameters

Some commands require a packed string like "26,2,2,on". devices expand builds it from readable flags:

# Air Conditioner — setAll
switchbot devices expand <acId> setAll --temp 26 --mode cool --fan low --power on

# Curtain / Roller Shade — setPosition
switchbot devices expand <curtainId> setPosition --position 50 --mode silent

# Blind Tilt — setPosition
switchbot devices expand <blindId> setPosition --direction up --angle 50

# Relay Switch — setMode
switchbot devices expand <relayId> setMode --channel 1 --mode edge

Run switchbot devices expand <id> <command> --help to see the available flags for any device command.

devices explain — plain-language command description

switchbot devices explain <deviceId> <command>   # e.g. "explain ABC123 setAll"

Returns a human-readable description of what the command does and what each parameter means.

scenes — run manual scenes

switchbot scenes list                 # Columns: sceneId, sceneName
switchbot scenes execute <sceneId>

webhook — receive device events over HTTP

# Register a receiver URL for events from ALL devices
switchbot webhook setup https://your.host/hook

# Query what is currently configured
switchbot webhook query
switchbot webhook query --details https://your.host/hook

# Enable / disable / re-submit the registered URL
switchbot webhook update https://your.host/hook --enable
switchbot webhook update https://your.host/hook --disable

# Remove the configuration
switchbot webhook delete https://your.host/hook

The CLI validates that <url> is an absolute http:// or https:// URL before calling the API. --enable and --disable are mutually exclusive.

completion — shell tab-completion

# Bash: load on every new shell
echo 'source <(switchbot completion bash)' >> ~/.bashrc

# Zsh
echo 'source <(switchbot completion zsh)' >> ~/.zshrc

# Fish
switchbot completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/switchbot.fish

# PowerShell (profile)
switchbot completion powershell >> $PROFILE

Supported shells: bash, zsh, fish, powershell (pwsh is accepted as an alias).

batch — run multiple commands

# Run a sequence of commands from a JSON/YAML file
switchbot batch run commands.json
switchbot batch run commands.yaml --dry-run

# Validate a plan file without executing it
switchbot batch validate commands.json

A batch file is a JSON array of { deviceId, command, parameter?, commandType? } objects.

watch — poll device status

# Poll a device's status every 30 s until Ctrl-C
switchbot watch <deviceId>
switchbot watch <deviceId> --interval 10s --json

Output is a stream of JSON status objects (with --json) or a refreshed table.

mcp — Model Context Protocol server

# Start the stdio MCP server (connect via Claude, Cursor, etc.)
switchbot mcp serve

Exposes 8 MCP tools (list_devices, describe_device, get_device_status, send_command, list_scenes, run_scene, search_catalog, account_overview) plus a switchbot://events resource for real-time shadow updates. See docs/agent-guide.md for the full tool reference and safety rules (destructive-command guard).

cache — inspect and clear local cache

# Show cache status (paths, age, entry counts)
switchbot cache show

# Clear everything
switchbot cache clear

# Clear only the device-list cache or only the status cache
switchbot cache clear --key list
switchbot cache clear --key status

• Default — ANSI-colored tables for list/status, key-value tables for details.
• --json — raw API payload passthrough. Output is the exact JSON the SwitchBot API returned, ideal for jq and scripting. Errors are also JSON on stderr: { "error": { "code", "kind", "message", "hint?" } }.
• --format=json — projected row view. Same JSON structure but built from the CLI's column model (--fields applies). Use this when you only want specific fields.
• --format=tsv|yaml|jsonl|id — tabular text formats; --fields filters columns.

# Raw API payload (--json)
switchbot devices list --json | jq '.deviceList[] | {id: .deviceId, name: .deviceName}'

# Projected rows with field filter (--format)
switchbot devices list --format tsv --fields deviceId,deviceName,type,cloud
switchbot devices list --format id      # one deviceId per line
switchbot devices status <id> --format yaml

Cache

The CLI maintains two local disk caches under ~/.switchbot/:

File	Contents	Default TTL
devices.json	Device metadata (id, name, type, category, hub, room…)	1 hour
status.json	Per-device status bodies	off (0)

The device-list cache powers offline validation (command name checks, destructive-command guard) and the MCP server's send_command tool. It is refreshed automatically on every devices list call.

Cache control flags

# Turn off all cache reads for one invocation
switchbot devices list --no-cache

# Set both list and status TTL to 5 minutes
switchbot devices status <id> --cache 5m

# Set TTLs independently
switchbot devices status <id> --cache-list 2h --cache-status 30s

# Disable only the list cache (keep status cache at its current TTL)
switchbot devices list --cache-list 0

Cache management commands

# Show paths, age, and entry counts
switchbot cache show

# Clear all cached data
switchbot cache clear

# Scope the clear to one store
switchbot cache clear --key list
switchbot cache clear --key status

Status-cache GC

status.json entries are automatically evicted after 24 hours (or 10× the configured status TTL, whichever is longer), so the file cannot grow without bound even when the status cache is left enabled long-term.

Exit codes & error codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success (including --dry-run intercept)
1	Runtime error — API error, network failure, missing credentials
2	Usage error — bad flag, missing/invalid argument, unknown subcommand, unknown device type, invalid URL, conflicting flags

Typical errors bubble up in the form Error: <message> on stderr. The SwitchBot-specific error codes that get mapped to readable English messages:

Code	Meaning
151	Device type error
152	Device not found
160	Command not supported by this device
161	Device offline (BLE devices need a Hub)
171	Hub offline
190	Device internal error / server busy
401	Authentication failed (check token/secret)
429	Request rate too high (10,000 req/day cap)

Environment variables

Variable	Description
SWITCHBOT_TOKEN	API token — takes priority over the config file
SWITCHBOT_SECRET	API secret — takes priority over the config file
NO_COLOR	Disable ANSI colors in all output (automatically respected)

Scripting examples

# Turn off every Bot device
switchbot devices list --json \
  | jq -r '.deviceList[] | select(.deviceType == "Bot") | .deviceId' \
  | while read id; do switchbot devices command "$id" turnOff; done

# Dump each scene as `<id> <name>`
switchbot scenes list --json | jq -r '.[] | "\(.sceneId) \(.sceneName)"'

Development

git clone https://github.com/OpenWonderLabs/switchbot-openapi-cli.git
cd switchbot-openapi-cli
npm install

npm run dev -- <args>       # Run from TypeScript sources via tsx
npm run build               # Compile to dist/
npm test                    # Run the Vitest suite (592 tests)
npm run test:watch          # Watch mode
npm run test:coverage       # Coverage report (v8, HTML + text)

Project layout

src/
├── index.ts              # Commander entry; mounts all subcommands; global flags
├── auth.ts               # HMAC-SHA256 signature (token + t + nonce → sign)
├── config.ts             # Credential load/save; env > file priority; --config override
├── api/client.ts         # axios instance + request/response interceptors;
│                         # --verbose / --dry-run / --timeout wiring
├── devices/
│   ├── catalog.ts        # Static device catalog (commands, params, status fields)
│   └── cache.ts          # Disk + in-memory cache for device list and status
├── lib/
│   └── devices.ts        # Shared logic: listDevices, describeDevice, isDestructiveCommand
├── commands/
│   ├── config.ts
│   ├── devices.ts
│   ├── scenes.ts
│   ├── webhook.ts
│   ├── batch.ts          # `switchbot batch run/validate`
│   ├── watch.ts          # `switchbot watch <deviceId>`
│   ├── mcp.ts            # `switchbot mcp serve` (MCP stdio server)
│   ├── cache.ts          # `switchbot cache show/clear`
│   ├── history.ts        # `switchbot history [replay]`
│   ├── events.ts         # `switchbot events`
│   ├── quota.ts          # `switchbot quota`
│   ├── explain.ts        # `switchbot explain <deviceId>`
│   ├── plan.ts           # `switchbot plan run <file>`
│   ├── doctor.ts         # `switchbot doctor`
│   ├── schema.ts         # `switchbot schema export`
│   ├── catalog.ts        # `switchbot catalog search`
│   └── completion.ts     # `switchbot completion bash|zsh|fish|powershell`
└── utils/
    ├── flags.ts          # Global flag readers (isVerbose / isDryRun / getCacheMode / …)
    ├── output.ts         # printTable / printKeyValue / printJson / handleError / buildErrorPayload
    ├── format.ts         # renderRows / filterFields / output-format dispatch
    ├── audit.ts          # JSONL audit log writer
    └── quota.ts          # Local daily-quota counter
tests/                    # Vitest suite (592 tests, mocked axios, no network)

Release flow

Releases are cut on tag push and published to npm by GitHub Actions:

npm version patch        # bump version + create git tag
git push --follow-tags

Then on GitHub → Releases → Draft a new release → select tag → Publish. The publish.yml workflow runs tests, verifies the tag matches package.json, and publishes @switchbot/openapi-cli to npm with provenance.

Contributing

Bug reports, feature requests, and PRs are welcome.

• Fork the repo and create a topic branch.
• Keep changes small and focused; add or update Vitest cases for any behavior change.
• Run npm test and npm run build locally — both must pass.
• Open a pull request against main. CI runs on Node 18/20/22; all three must stay green.

License

MIT © chenliuyun

References

• SwitchBot API v1.1 documentation
• Base URL: https://api.switch-bot.com
• Rate limit: 10,000 requests/day per account