[App][Pro] FlowBits

Apps
1

Simplify your flows with FlowBits

FlowBits is a utility app for Homey that helps you structure, control, and extend your flows without adding any new device types. Everything is defined directly within your flows, giving you full flexibility.

Work in progress documentation is available at https://flowbits.nl

Features

Step sequences
Count upwards within defined boundaries. Useful for giving simple switches multiple functions or scenes.

Flags
Create feature toggles for your home, such as a “vacation” state or other global switches.

Modes
Define common household states—morning, evening, night, etc.—and use them to influence flow behavior.

No-repeat windows
Prevent an action from running again within a specified time window. Ideal for multi-scene light switches or preventing accidental repeats.

Timers
Straightforward timers that can be managed directly in your flows.

Usage

FlowBits does not introduce any new devices. All functionality is created and managed through Flow cards.
Need a new mode? Simply define it in one of the mode-related cards.
Need a new flag? Add it via the flag cards.
Everything is dynamic and entirely under your control.

Widgets

FlowBits provides several Homey widgets for quick interaction:

Current Mode – Shows your home’s active mode.
Modes – Lists all defined modes and lets you switch between them.
Flags – Lists all defined flags and allows toggling them.
Flag On/Off – Shows a single flag with a quick on/off switch.

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4 Likes
2

I’m starting to try this and while still early days, I see a definite potential for cleaning up my flows and to also replace 2-3 other apps.

First a few questions.
Am I right in understanding that there can only be one set of modes?
Is there a way to see the state of modes, flags and timers when I don’t have a dashboard? (Good for debugging, even better if there’s a way to edit the state)

What I would love to see is a possibility to use text values. A named set with When/And/Then flow cards acting on text values would be powerful. Today I use one app to indicate that a set has entered a specific state, and a text variable to hold the name of the state. If this app would allow me to trig on something like When set “X” becomes value “Y” it would consolidate those two in a similar way to flags/modes but there would be more flexibility in how to set the value.

Also, there are some minor things that can be made clearer.
In the post above it mentions “cycles”, but in the flow cards I believe it is called “sequence”.
It would be nice to somewhere describe the times that correspond with the different values for “Day period”.

3

Thanks for the reply!

Am I right in understanding that there can only be one set of modes? Yes, the intention of modes is that you define common behavior in your house.

Is there a way to see the state of modes, flags and timers when I don’t have a dashboard? Not in any UI at the moment, but I am planning to display them in app settings eventually. You can however use HomeyScript to fetch that information, using the following example:

const app = await Homey.apps.getApp({id: 'com.basmilius.flowbits'});
const statistics = await app.get({path: '/statistics'});

console.log(`Current mode: ${statistics.currentMode}`);
console.log(`Active flags: ${statistics.currentFlags.join(', ')}`);

Regarding the suggestion for named text values with flow cards, I’ll look into it. I had a similar idea, but it did not make it into a release, yet.

For day periods, I discussed this with some of my friends and came up with these:

export default function (date: DateTime): DayPeriod {
    if (date.hour >= 5 && date.hour < 12) {
        return 'morning';
    }

    if (date.hour >= 12 && date.hour < 17) {
        return 'afternoon';
    }

    if (date.hour >= 17 && date.hour < 22) {
        return 'evening';
    }

    return 'night';
}

I am working on a documentation website, which is far from done and needs a bunch more examples, but you can view the work-in-progress version at https://flowbits.nl.

1 Like
4

Maybe it would be an idea to be able to set the ‘parts of the day’ using a flow. Then you could trigger the times with an alarm clock, but also with sunrise or sunset. I personally would appreciate this. For example, I could set it so that it only becomes ‘night’ when we go to sleep; otherwise, I’m already sitting in the dark a bit too early :-)”

5

It’s already possible: THEN-card ‘activate mode’

You only have to create a mode ‘getting ready for bed’ and ‘Fam. Looye is asleep ‘

6

Hi!

This is a great app :-). I think a lot of my flows can be improved using this.

One thing I miss is a generic WHEN-card that trigger when mode is changed. Today there is a WHEN-card for when a specific mode is activated and inactivated.
Related to that card it would be great if there was a mode tag that specify what mode was changed into.

1 Like
7

@Niclas Thanks! There’s an update available in test now that has a new “When the current mode changes” card and a tag containing the mode.

1 Like
8

@BasMilius Wow. Impressive! Thanks a lot!

9

That update is now live :slight_smile:

10

Not sure if I’m doing anything wrong, but I can’t find the mode tag.
(Version 1.6.12 running on Homey Pro 2019 with FW 12.9.0)

11

It’s only available when using the “The current mode changed” trigger. A global token might be useful though…

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12

Ah, rookie mistake.
This is exactly what I was trying to do, but I hadn’t connected the two cards. As soon as I did, the tag became available.

13

Just discovered this app. So much potential. Already deleted Countdown with this app. One thing I missed is ‘If timer xxxx is not running’. I couldn’t switch the ‘If timer xxxx is running’. Not a big issue.

Gonna explore the possibilities.

14

@Dricus Thanks for the reply! There’s an update available in test now where I’ve added the ability to invert these flow cards.

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1 Like
15

Me again. I think I’ve identified a bug in relation to when notifications to the timeline are disabled.
In that case I’m not able to activate a mode.

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16

I see! I’ll fix it tonight, should be fairly straightforward.

Edit: Fix is live

17

Looks like a great app.

Any chance of including a card that can read a percentage value increase over a set time frame?

18

How would that work exactly?

Maybe two cards for remembering a value and another card to calculate the increase over a time frame and use Homey Insights as a store for those values.