Home Assistant

Setting up the MQTT bridge, and example automations. Every entity it publishes is listed in Entities.

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Setup & Configuration

MQTT is a lightweight messaging protocol: a device publishes state updates to a named topic, and any subscriber instantly receives them. It relies on a broker — a small server that relays those messages between publishers and subscribers. Mosquitto is the usual choice, available as a one-click add-on in Home Assistant.

Glasshouse publishes the TV's telemetry to the broker and describes its entities using the MQTT Discovery convention. Home Assistant reads that description and automatically creates the device and all its sensors and controls without needing any manual YAML.

Setting it up from the dashboard

1. Open the dashboard in a browser, then navigate to the MQTT tab (/?tab=mqtt).
2. Fill in the broker address and credentials.
3. Switch MQTT bridge to On and save.

The server saves config.json on the TV and restarts itself; the dashboard reconnects automatically after a few seconds. Home Assistant discovers the TV within seconds of the bridge connecting.

The MQTT panel reports whether the bridge is connected to the broker and when it last published, surfacing any incorrect addresses or rejected credentials immediately.

Setting it up from a config file

For setting up multiple TVs from one computer or keeping settings under version control, configure config.json directly:

From server/:

cp ../config.example.json config.json

Set the broker details under mqtt and set enabled to true, then run ./deploy.sh <tv-ip>. Leaving device.name and device.model empty lets the TV report its own model and firmware at runtime.

deploy.sh only installs this file if the TV does not already have one, preventing settings saved from the dashboard from being overwritten. To replace an existing configuration, edit it through the dashboard or remove /var/lib/tvweb/config.json first.

Multiple TVs on the same broker

Each TV on the same broker needs a unique topicPrefix and device.id, otherwise they overwrite each other's state and disconnect each other. Both are editable from each TV's own dashboard.

For config-file deployments, deploy.sh checks for server/config.<tv-ip>.json before falling back to server/config.json, keeping per-TV settings from being overwritten by a shared file.

Which settings live where?

The dashboard can change the broker, credentials, topic prefix and device identity — the settings that decide where telemetry goes.

port, host, allowControl, allowPower and token are file-only. They decide who can reach the server at all, and a web UI able to widen its own exposure would defeat the point of setting them. allowTileHiding and allowOnWebos10 can be set in config.json or from the Server tab.

Edit those in config.json and redeploy, or edit /var/lib/tvweb/config.json on the TV and restart.

apps.hosts and apps.repos are file-only as well. apps.hosts lists the hostnames, beyond IP addresses and localhost, that may be used to reach the dashboard when installing apps (e.g. "apps": { "hosts": ["lgtv.local"] }). apps.repos lists further catalogs served over HTTPS in Homebrew Channel format. apps.sideload: true allows installing from a URL or an uploaded file without a token; with a token set or from the TV itself, it is allowed already.

fetch.ip is file-only too: "fetch": { "ip": "4" } or "6" makes the TV's curl use that address family first. Without it, a connection that fails is retried with -6, then -4.

allowPower defaults to true: who on the network can use controls is decided by network exposure and token. Setting "allowPower": false hides and refuses power off, power on, and reboot, both in the dashboard and in Home Assistant.

Note

Give the TV its own MQTT user with a restricted topic ACL rather than reusing the main Home Assistant credentials. See SECURITY.md.

Running one half without the other

Mode	web.enabled	mqtt.enabled
Dashboard and MQTT	true	true
Dashboard only (default)	true	false
MQTT only	false	true

With the dashboard disabled, the server acts purely as an MQTT bridge with no web interface, which is the safer shape if everything is driven from Home Assistant (the dashboard is an unauthenticated control endpoint unless token is set). Note that this also removes the settings UI, so an MQTT-only install is configured by file. With both disabled, the server exits rather than idling.

PicCap ambient lighting

PicCap captures the TV's screen for a Hyperion server, which drives an ambient light behind the TV. Where PicCap is installed, the Advanced tab has a PicCap capture switch that starts and stops capture, and Home Assistant receives a PicCap Capture switch under Controls & Media. Nothing is asked of PicCap on a TV without it. Its Home Assistant entity can be switched off like any other, which also stops the server polling PicCap's state every 30 seconds.

The retained state topic <topicPrefix>/state/piccap/power carries ON or OFF, and the command topic <topicPrefix>/command/piccap/power accepts ON or OFF (commands require allowControl). Telemetry includes the boolean piccap.power while PicCap answers.

Using MQTT without Home Assistant

The bridge is a plain MQTT publisher, so any client that speaks MQTT can read it. Telemetry is published as JSON to <topicPrefix>/telemetry, availability to <topicPrefix>/status, and commands are accepted on <topicPrefix>/command/*.

mosquitto_sub -h <broker> -t 'lgtv/#' -v

Node-RED, Telegraf into InfluxDB, or scripts subscribing to that topic work the same way. The Home Assistant Discovery messages are simply ignored by non-Home Assistant clients.

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Entities

Once connected to the MQTT broker, Home Assistant discovers the TV as a single device. Entities lists every one it publishes.

Entity Selection

You can choose which entity categories are published from the MQTT tab in the dashboard (/?tab=mqtt), or fine-tune individual entities. When a category or entity is disabled, tvweb publishes an empty discovery payload so Home Assistant unregisters the entity immediately, without leaving orphaned unavailable entities.

Categories: * Controls & Media (controls): Power, volume, mute, playback buttons, apps, and input sources. * OLED Care (oled): Panel on-time, pixel refresher countdowns, and burn-in protections. * Video & HDMI Signal (video): Active picture mode, dynamic range, refresh rate, VRR, ALLM, and link mode. * System & Telemetry (system): CPU, RAM, swap, SoC temperature, network rates, and storage health. * Diagnostics & Settings (diagnostics): Standby light, logo light, sleep timer, ad blocker, and update status.

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PicCap

Where PicCap is installed, a PicCap Capture switch is discovered while PicCap answers on the TV, and removed when it stops answering or is uninstalled. It is in Controls & Media and can be switched off there. It uses <topicPrefix>/state/piccap/power for state and <topicPrefix>/command/piccap/power for control, both ON or OFF.

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Multiple TVs

Each TV on the same broker needs a unique topicPrefix and device.id in its config, otherwise they overwrite each other's state and disconnect each other. See the README for a config example and the deploy.sh per-IP config lookup.

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Example automations

1. Automatically Blank Screen When Playing Music (Spotify / AirPlay)

Save OLED panel hours and eliminate burn-in risk when streaming audio:

alias: "TV: Turn Off Screen for Music"
trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id: sensor.lg_tv_active_app
    to: "spotify"
    for:
      seconds: 30
condition:
  - condition: state
    entity_id: switch.lg_tv_display_panel
    state: "on"
action:
  - service: switch.turn_off
    target:
      entity_id: switch.lg_tv_display_panel

2. Dim Cinema Lighting on Dolby Vision Playback

Trigger an ambient lighting scene whenever 4K Dolby Vision playback begins:

alias: "Cinema: Dim Lights on Dolby Vision"
trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id: sensor.lg_tv_dynamic_range
    to: "Dolby Vision"
action:
  - service: scene.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: scene.movie_night

3. Display Doorbell / Security Toast on TV Screen

Display a notification directly on the TV when a doorbell rings:

alias: "Notify TV on Doorbell"
trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.front_doorbell_motion
    to: "on"
action:
  - service: text.set_value
    target:
      entity_id: text.lg_tv_screen_notification
    data:
      value: "Motion detected at front door"

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Universal Media Player Setup

Home Assistant Core does not offer native MQTT discovery for media_player platforms. To group all the discovered volume, mute, power, playback, and source controls into a single native media player card:

Add the following to configuration.yaml. Power uses the LG TV switch from Switched off, and back on.

media_player:
  - platform: universal
    name: "LG OLED TV"
    unique_id: lg_oled_tv_media_player
    children: []
    commands:
      turn_on:
        service: switch.turn_on
        target:
          entity_id: switch.lg_tv
      turn_off:
        service: switch.turn_off
        target:
          entity_id: switch.lg_tv
      volume_up:
        service: mqtt.publish
        data:
          topic: "lgtv/command/volume"
          payload: "+1"
      volume_down:
        service: mqtt.publish
        data:
          topic: "lgtv/command/volume"
          payload: "-1"
      volume_set:
        service: number.set_value
        target:
          entity_id: number.lg_tv_volume
        data:
          value: "{{ volume * 100 }}"
      volume_mute:
        service: switch.toggle
        target:
          entity_id: switch.lg_tv_mute
      media_play:
        service: button.press
        target:
          entity_id: button.lg_tv_play
      media_pause:
        service: button.press
        target:
          entity_id: button.lg_tv_pause
      media_play_pause:
        service: button.press
        target:
          entity_id: button.lg_tv_play_pause
      media_stop:
        service: button.press
        target:
          entity_id: button.lg_tv_stop
      select_source:
        service: select.select_option
        target:
          entity_id: select.lg_tv_input_source
        data:
          option: "{{ source }}"
    attributes:
      state: switch.lg_tv
      is_volume_muted: switch.lg_tv_mute
      volume_level: number.lg_tv_volume
      source: select.lg_tv_input_source
      source_list: select.lg_tv_input_source|options

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Switched off, and back on

When the TV is switched off, its entities stay available and show a switched-off TV: Power reads off, readings of what is on screen (active app, player state, video signal, HDMI details) read Off, and settings that still hold, such as picture mode and volume, keep theirs. While the TV is still up in Active Standby (with Stay connected when off on, or during panel compensation), live measurements such as SoC temperature keep reporting, once a minute rather than every 10 seconds, and controls keep working. With Stay connected when off, it still sleeps for five hours every night (01:00 to 06:00 unless moved under Advanced → Nightly power-down). Once it is asleep in standby, both are greyed out: a measurement would be stale, and nothing on the TV could act on a control. Everything goes unavailable only if the server stops while the TV is on.

A TV in standby is asleep and cannot receive commands, so it is switched back on over the network with Wake-on-LAN.

1. Turn on Wake-on-LAN on the TV: in the web dashboard under Control → Advanced, on the TV dashboard under System → Power, or in LG's menu under Settings → General → Mobile TV On. Wake-on-LAN works over Ethernet and, on most models, Wi-Fi.
2. In Home Assistant, add the Wake on LAN integration (Settings → Devices & services → Add integration → Wake on LAN) with the TV's MAC address. The address is listed under Connections on the TV's device page in Home Assistant, and as the MAC Address sensor.

This creates a button that wakes the TV from standby. To make one switch that shows whether the TV is on and turns it on or off, add a template switch to configuration.yaml, with the TV's MAC address:

switch:
  - platform: template
    switches:
      lg_tv:
        friendly_name: "LG TV"
        value_template: "{{ is_state('binary_sensor.lg_tv_power', 'on') }}"
        turn_on:
          # Wakes a TV that is asleep in standby.
          - action: wake_on_lan.send_magic_packet
            data:
              mac: "AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF"
          # Wakes a TV that is still up in Active Standby, which ignores the
          # packet above. Unavailable while the TV is asleep, hence the
          # continue_on_error.
          - action: button.press
            continue_on_error: true
            target:
              entity_id: button.lg_tv_power_on
        turn_off:
          - action: button.press
            target:
              entity_id: button.lg_tv_power_off
        icon_template: mdi:television

The wake_on_lan.send_magic_packet action needs wake_on_lan: in configuration.yaml if the integration was not added through the UI. Entity IDs start with the device name, lg_tv by default; a TV with its own name in config.json uses that instead.