Why?

I recently setup some Govee smart LED strips around my desk and they've been amazing! I have been controlling the lights primarily through my Alexa, which has worked well so far.

However, lately I have been trying to focus on using the keyboard for as much as possible to become more efficient. When I discovered that Govee has a public API, I thought it would be nice to build a command line application to control the lights. In the process, I created a Node.js wrapper for the API and decided to publish it!

Installing

You can install the package using:

npm install govee-ts

Getting an API key

Before you get started, you must request an API key using the Govee Home app. Once you download it:

• Go to your profile tab
• Go to the "About Us" section, then tap "Apply for API key"
• Enter your name and a reason that you wish to use the API. It can be a brief description saying you want to control your lights programmatically.
• Shortly after, check your email. There should be an email from Govee containing your API Key and the API documentation.

Create the client

Let's take a look at how we can instantiate a client:

// If using ES6 import syntax
import Govee from 'govee-ts';

// If using CommonJS require() syntax
const Govee = require('govee-ts').default;

const client = new Govee('replace-with-your-api-key');

Getting a light

My main goal was to make the API simple to use. The Govee API uses the MAC address and model number to identify the light to control, I wanted to provide an easier way for users to specify the desired device.

First, we need to get a list of all devices:

const devices = await client.getDevices();

Then, we can use the device name to access a specific smart light:

const device = client.getDevice('deviceName');

Controlling a light

Once you have a device object, you can use its methods to turn it on/off, change the color, change the brightness, or change the color temperature:

// Turn the device on
await device.turnOn();
// Turn the device on
await device.turnOff();

// Set the device's brightness
await device.setBrightness(50); // from 1-100

// Set the color
await device.setHexColor('#a02020');
// or using RGB
await device.setRGBColor({ r: 160, g: 32, b: 32 });

// Set the device's color temperature
await device.setColorTemperature(6000);

// Get device state
await device.getState();

Make sure the command is supported by the device you are trying to control. You can see the supported commands using device.supportCmds.

How does it work?

Behind the scenes, the library uses Axios to send requests to the API. That's about it! Quite simple honestly.

Source

Take a look at the GitHub if you'd like to see the source code for the project!