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Home Assistant FireBoard Integration

CI HACS License: MIT

A modern Home Assistant integration for FireBoard wireless thermometers using direct cloud API communication.

Status: ✅ Ready for Testing

Why This Integration?

While there is an existing fireboard2mqtt integration, this implementation provides several key improvements:

Simpler Setup

  • No MQTT Broker Required: Direct API integration vs. MQTT middleware
  • UI Configuration: Easy setup through Home Assistant UI
  • Auto-Discovery: Automatically discovers all devices and channels

Modern Architecture

  • Native Python: Built with Home Assistant best practices
  • Config Flow: Proper integration setup wizard with validation
  • Modern Patterns: Uses current Home Assistant integration standards

Enhanced Features

  • Real-time Updates: Live temperature data from FireBoard Cloud
  • Multiple Device Support: Manage all your FireBoard devices in one integration
  • Battery Monitoring: Track battery levels on wireless devices
  • Connectivity Status: Know when devices go offline

Development Quality

  • Extensive Testing: Comprehensive test coverage (>80%)
  • Active Maintenance: Regular updates and bug fixes
  • Code Quality: Modern Python patterns, type hints, comprehensive linting
  • Documentation: Detailed setup guides and examples

Features

  • Temperature Monitoring: Real-time temperature readings from all channels
  • Multiple Devices: Support for FireBoard 2 Pro, Spark, and other models
  • Battery Monitoring: Track battery levels on wireless devices
  • Cloud Connectivity: Uses official FireBoard Cloud API
  • HACS Compatible: Easy installation through Home Assistant Community Store

Supported Devices

  • FireBoard 2 Pro: 6-channel WiFi thermometer
  • FireBoard Spark: Portable instant-read thermometer with leave-in probe
  • Other FireBoard Models: Any device compatible with FireBoard Cloud

Installation

HACS (Recommended)

  1. Open HACS in Home Assistant
  2. Go to Integrations
  3. Click "+ Explore & Download Repositories"
  4. Search for "FireBoard"
  5. Click "Download"
  6. Restart Home Assistant

Manual Installation

  1. Download the latest release
  2. Extract to custom_components/fireboard/ in your Home Assistant config
  3. Restart Home Assistant
  4. Add the integration through the UI

Configuration

  1. Go to Settings > Devices & Services
  2. Click "Add Integration"
  3. Search for "FireBoard"
  4. Enter your FireBoard account credentials:
    • Email: Your FireBoard account email
    • Password: Your FireBoard account password
    • Polling Interval: How often to update data (default: 40 seconds)

Note: The minimum polling interval is 40 seconds to respect FireBoard's API rate limit of 17 calls per 5-minute window.

Entities

Temperature Sensors

  • One sensor per temperature channel (typically 6 per device)
  • Device class: temperature
  • Unit: Celsius or Fahrenheit, matching whatever your FireBoard account is configured for (read per-reading from FireBoard's degreetype field, not assumed)
  • Attributes:
    • channel: Channel number (1-6)
    • label: Custom channel label from FireBoard app
    • target_temp: Target temperature if set

Battery Sensors

  • Battery level percentage for wireless devices
  • Device class: battery
  • Unit: Percent (%)

FireBoard Drive Sensors

  • Only created for devices with a FireBoard Drive (fan controller) attached
  • Drive Setpoint: Target temperature, device class temperature, unit Celsius or Fahrenheit matching your account's configured unit
  • Drive Fan: Fan output percentage, unit %
  • Drive Mode: Auto, Manual, or Off, read directly from FireBoard's own labels (not guessed) — refreshed on the same slower cadence as session data
  • Drive Battery Voltage: The Drive unit's own battery voltage (separate from the main device's battery), unit V

Note: FireBoard's API is read-only — there is no way to set the Drive setpoint, mode, or any other value through this integration (or through FireBoard's documented API at all). Changes must be made in the FireBoard app.

Session Sensor

  • One per device, showing the title of the current or most recently ended cook session ("No Session" if none exists yet)
  • Attributes: session_id, start_time, end_time, duration, active, description
  • Refreshed on a slower cadence than temperature data (every 3rd poll) to conserve API rate limit budget

Binary Sensors

  • Connectivity: Device online/offline status
  • Battery Low: Alert when battery below 20%
  • Drive Lid Paused: On when FireBoard Drive has paused its fan because it detected the lid open (Drive-equipped devices only)

Dashboard Examples

Simple Temperature Card

type: entities
title: FireBoard Temperatures
entities:
  - entity: sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_1
    name: Grill Temp
  - entity: sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_2
    name: Brisket
  - entity: sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_3
    name: Pork Shoulder

Temperature Gauge

type: gauge
entity: sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_1
name: Grill Temperature
min: 0
max: 500
severity:
  green: 225
  yellow: 200
  red: 150
needle: true

Complete FireBoard Dashboard

type: vertical-stack
cards:
  # Device Status
  - type: horizontal-stack
    cards:
      - type: entity
        entity: binary_sensor.backyard_smoker_connectivity
        name: Status
      - type: entity
        entity: sensor.fireboard_spark_battery
        name: Battery

  # Temperature Grid
  - type: grid
    columns: 2
    square: false
    cards:
      - type: gauge
        entity: sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_1
        name: Probe 1
        min: 0
        max: 500
        needle: true
      - type: gauge
        entity: sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_2
        name: Probe 2
        min: 0
        max: 300
        needle: true

Automation Examples

Temperature Alert

automation:
  - alias: "FireBoard: Brisket Done"
    trigger:
      - platform: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_2
        above: 203
    action:
      - service: notify.notify
        data:
          title: "🔥 Brisket is Done!"
          message: >
            Probe 2 has reached {{ states('sensor.backyard_smoker_probe_2') }}°F

Low Battery Notification

automation:
  - alias: "FireBoard: Low Battery Warning"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.fireboard_spark_battery_low
        to: "on"
    action:
      - service: notify.notify
        data:
          title: "🔋 FireBoard Battery Low"
          message: >
            FireBoard Spark battery is at {{ states('sensor.fireboard_spark_battery') }}%

Device Offline Alert

automation:
  - alias: "FireBoard: Device Offline"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.backyard_smoker_connectivity
        to: "off"
        for:
          minutes: 5
    action:
      - service: notify.notify
        data:
          title: "⚠️ FireBoard Offline"
          message: "Backyard Smoker has been offline for 5 minutes"

Troubleshooting

Authentication Errors

Problem: "Invalid email or password"

Solution:

  • Verify your credentials at https://fireboard.io
  • Ensure you're using the email address associated with your FireBoard account
  • Check for any typos in the password

Rate Limit Errors

Problem: "Rate limit exceeded"

Solution:

  • Increase the polling interval in the integration configuration
  • Default is 40 seconds
  • FireBoard allows 17 API calls per 5-minute window
  • If you have multiple Home Assistant instances, they share the same limit

Devices Not Showing Up

Problem: No devices or sensors created

Solution:

  • Ensure your devices are online in the FireBoard app
  • Check that devices are properly associated with your account
  • Restart Home Assistant after adding the integration
  • Check the Home Assistant logs for errors

Connection Issues

Problem: "Cannot connect to FireBoard API"

Solution:

  • Check your internet connection
  • Verify FireBoard Cloud is operational: https://status.fireboard.io
  • Check Home Assistant logs for detailed error messages
  • Try removing and re-adding the integration

Comparison with fireboard2mqtt

Feature ha-fireboard fireboard2mqtt
Setup Complexity Simple (UI config) Complex (MQTT broker + addon)
Dependencies None MQTT broker required
Configuration UI YAML + Environment variables
Language Python Rust
Integration Type Native HA MQTT
Auto-Discovery Yes Yes (via MQTT)
Multiple Devices Yes Yes
Battery Monitoring Yes Yes

Development

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.9+
  • Home Assistant 2023.1.0+
  • FireBoard account with devices for testing

Setup Development Environment

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/claesmathias/ha-fireboard.git
cd ha-fireboard

# Install development dependencies
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests
pytest tests/ --cov=custom_components/fireboard

# Run linting
black custom_components/fireboard tests/
isort custom_components/fireboard tests/
flake8 custom_components/fireboard tests/

Project Structure

ha-fireboard/
├── custom_components/
│   └── fireboard/
│       ├── __init__.py          # Integration setup
│       ├── api_client.py        # FireBoard API client
│       ├── config_flow.py       # UI configuration
│       ├── const.py             # Constants
│       ├── coordinator.py       # Data coordinator
│       ├── entity.py            # Base entity
│       ├── sensor.py            # Temperature sensors
│       ├── binary_sensor.py     # Status sensors
│       ├── manifest.json        # Integration metadata
│       └── strings.json         # UI strings
├── tests/                       # Test suite
└── .github/workflows/           # CI/CD

Contributing

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create a feature branch
  3. Make your changes
  4. Add tests for new functionality
  5. Ensure all tests pass (pytest)
  6. Ensure code is formatted (black, isort)
  7. Submit a pull request

Support

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

  • Based on the fireboard2mqtt project
  • Built for the Home Assistant community
  • Uses the official FireBoard Cloud API

Changelog

v0.1.0 (Initial Release)

  • Direct FireBoard Cloud API integration
  • UI-based configuration
  • Temperature sensor support
  • Battery monitoring
  • Connectivity status
  • HACS compatibility
  • Comprehensive test coverage

Maintained by: @claesmathias
License: MIT

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Home Assistant integration for FireBoard wireless thermometers

fireboard.io

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