noble
A node.js BLE (Bluetooth low energy) central module.
Want to implement a peripheral? Checkout bleno
Note: Mac OS X and Linux are currently the only supported OSes. Other platforms may be developed later on (see Roadmap below).
Prerequisites
OS X
Linux (Ubuntu)
- Kernel version 3.6 or above
libbluetooth-dev
Ubuntu/Debian/Raspbian
sudo apt-get install bluetooth bluez-utils libbluetooth-dev
Intel Edison
See Configure Intel Edison for Bluetooth LE (Smart) Development
Install
npm install noble
Usage
var noble = require('noble');
Actions
Start scanning
noble.startScanning();
noble.startScanning([], true);
var serviceUUIDs = ["<service UUID 1>", ...];
var allowDuplicates = <false|true>; // default: false
noble.startScanning(serviceUUIDs, allowDuplicates); // particular UUID's
Stop scanning
noble.stopScanning();
Peripheral
Connect
peripheral.connect([callback(error)]);
Disconnect or cancel pending connection
peripheral.disconnect([callback(error)]);
peripheral.updateRssi([callback(error, rssi)]);
Discover services
peripheral.discoverServices();
var serviceUUIDs = ["<service UUID 1>", ...];
peripheral.discoverServices(serviceUUIDs[, callback(error, services)]);
Discover all services and characteristics
peripheral.discoverAllServicesAndCharacteristics([callback(error, services, characteristics));
Discover some services and characteristics
var serviceUUIDs = ["<service UUID 1>", ...];
var characteristicUUIDs = ["<characteristic UUID 1>", ...];
peripheral.discoverSomeServicesAndCharacteristics(serviceUUIDs, characteristicUUIDs, [callback(error, services, characteristics));
Service
Discover included services
service.discoverIncludedServices();
var serviceUUIDs = ["<service UUID 1>", ...];
service.discoverIncludedServices(serviceUUIDs[, callback(error, includedServiceUuids)]);
Discover characteristics
service.discoverCharacteristics()
var characteristicUUIDs = ["<characteristic UUID 1>", ...];
service.discoverCharacteristics(characteristicUUIDs[, callback(error, characteristics)]);
Characteristic
Read
characteristic.read([callback(error, data)]);
Write
characteristic.write(data, notify[, callback(error)]);
Broadcast
characteristic.broadcast(broadcast[, callback(error)]);
Notify
characteristic.notify(notify[, callback(error)]);
- use for characteristics with notifiy or indicate properties
Discover descriptors
characteristic.discoverDescriptors([callback(error, descriptors)]);
Read value
descriptor.readValue([callback(error, data)]);
Write value
descriptor.writeValue(data[, callback(error)]);
Handle
Read
peripheral.readHandle(handle, callback(error, data));
Write
peripheral.writeHandle(handle, data, withoutResponse, callback(error));
Events
Adapter state change
state = <"unknown" | "resetting" | "unsupported" | "unauthorized" | "poweredOff" | "poweredOn">
noble.on('stateChange', callback(state));
Scan started:
noble.on('scanStart', callback);
Scan stopped
noble.on('scanStop', callback);
Peripheral discovered:
peripheral = {
uuid: "<uuid>",
advertisement: {
localName: "<name>",
txPowerLevel: <int>,
serviceUuids: ["<service UUID>", ...],
manufacturerData: <Buffer>,
serviceData: [
{
uuid: "<service UUID>"
data: <Buffer>
},
...
]
},
rssi: <rssi>
};
noble.on('discover', callback(peripheral));
Peripheral
Connected
peripheral.on('connect', callback);
Disconnected:
peripheral.on('disconnect', callback);
peripheral.on('rssiUpdate', callback(rssi));
Services discovered
peripheral.on('servicesDiscover', callback(services));
Service
Included services discovered
service.on('includedServicesDiscover', callback(includedServiceUuids));
Characteristics discovered
characteristic = {
uuid: "<uuid>",
properties: [...]
};
service.on('characteristicsDiscover', callback(characteristics));
Characteristic
Data
Emitted when characteristic read has completed, result of characteristic.read(...)
or characteristic value has been updated by peripheral via notification or indication.
characteristic.on('data', callback(data, isNotification));
characteristic.on('read', callback(data, isNotification));
Write
Emitted when characteristic write has completed, result of characteristic.write(...)
.
characteristic.on('write', withoutResponse, callback());
Broadcast
Emitted when characteristic broadcast state changes, result of characteristic.broadcast(...)
.
characteristic.on('broadcast', callback(state));
Notify
Emitted when characteristic notification state changes, result of characteristic.notify(...)
.
characteristic.on('notify', callback(state));
Descriptors discovered
descriptor = {
uuid: '<uuid>'
};
characteristic.on('descriptorsDiscover', callback(descriptors));
Descriptor
Value read
descriptor.on('valueRead', data);
Value write
descriptor.on('valueWrite');
Running on Linux
Running without root/sudo
Run the following command in the directory you ran npm install
from:
find -path '*noble*Release/hci-ble' -exec sudo setcap cap_net_raw+eip '{}' \;
This grants noble's hci-ble
binary cap_net_raw
privileges, so it can start/stop scanning for BLE devices.
Note: The above command requires setcap
to be installed, it can be installed using the following:
- apt:
sudo apt-get install libcap2-bin
- yum:
su -c \'yum install libcap2-bin\'
Multiple Adapters
hci0
is used by default to override set the NOBLE_HCI_DEVICE_ID
environment variable to the interface number.
Example, specify hci1
:
sudo NOBLE_HCI_DEVICE_ID=1 node <your file>.js
Reporting all HCI events
By default noble waits for both the advertisement data and scan response data for each Bluetooth address. If your device does not use scan response the following enviroment variable can be used to bypass it.
sudo NOBLE_REPORT_ALL_HCI_EVENTS=1 node <your file>.js
Roadmap (TODO)
-
Mac OS X:
Adapter state (unknown | reseting | unsupported | unauthorized | off | on)Scan
startScanning
service UUID'sallow duplicates
stopScanning
Peripheral
discoveredconnectdisconnect/cancel connectupdate RSSIservices
discoverdisover includeddiscover characteristics for services
characteristics
readwriteset broadcast valueset notify/indicate valuedescriptors
handle
readwrite
with response- without response
- error handling
-
Linux
Adapter state (unsupported | unauthorized | off | on)Scan
startScanning
service UUID'sallow duplicates
stopScanning
Peripheral
discoveredconnect
public addressrandom address
disconnect/cancel connectupdate RSSIservices
discover
discover includeddiscover characteristics for services
characteristics
readwriteset broadcast valueset notify/indicate valuedescriptors
handle
readwrite
with responsewithout response
- error handling
-
Windows
- TDB (most likely Windows 8 only)
Useful Links
License
Copyright (C) 2015 Sandeep Mistry sandeep.mistry@gmail.com
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.