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Openhue — Control Philips Hue lights, scenes, rooms via OpenHue CLI

Openhue — Control Philips Hue lights, scenes, rooms via OpenHue CLI

Intermediate7 minutes3 questions2026-08-09
The idea in one minute

Start with meaning, then move to detail.

This lesson explains Openhue — Control Philips Hue lights, scenes, rooms via OpenHue CLI as part of extending Hermes and connecting external tools. You will learn what it does, when it matters, and the smallest safe test that proves it works.

If you are new

If you are new, do not memorize names. Focus on three questions: what problem does this solve, what access does it need, and how can you verify the result?

For hands-on use

For practice, inspect the first example, identify its effects, run it on test data, and compare the result with the source claim.

For specialists

For advanced readers, inspect Skill metadata, Reference: full SKILL.md, Prerequisites, then verify failure modes and version compatibility.

What do you need first?

Complete installation and one successful task before adding new capabilities.

What will you know?

A clear outcome before you read.

  • Understand Openhue — Control Philips Hue lights, scenes, rooms via OpenHue CLI without assumed prior knowledge.
  • Separate the source description from what still needs testing in your environment.
  • Read the first command and identify its inputs and outputs before copying it.
Lesson terms

Short definitions before the details.

Skill
An instruction bundle that teaches Hermes a repeatable workflow without necessarily adding an external service.
Official page description

Control Philips Hue lights, scenes, rooms via OpenHue CLI

Topic map

What does the source say, and in what order?

  1. 01
    Skill metadata

    Start here to understand the core idea or structure.

  2. 02
    Reference: full SKILL.md

    Read this after the foundation, then connect it to the previous step.

  3. 03
    Prerequisites

    Read this after the foundation, then connect it to the previous step.

  4. 04
    When to Use

    Read this after the foundation, then connect it to the previous step.

  5. 05
    Common Commands

    Read this after the foundation, then connect it to the previous step.

  6. 06
    List Resources

    Read this after the foundation, then connect it to the previous step.

  7. 07
    Control Lights

    Read this after the foundation, then connect it to the previous step.

  8. 08
    Control Rooms

    Read this after the foundation, then connect it to the previous step.

  9. 09
    Scenes

    Read this after the foundation, then connect it to the previous step.

  10. 10
    Quick Presets

    Finish here to verify the result and special cases.

Examples from the official page

Copy only after you understand the effect.

# Linux (pre-built binary — releases ship tarballs, not bare binaries) curl -sL "https://github.com/openhue/openhue-cli/releases/latest/download/openhue_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz" \ | tar -xz -C /tmp openhue \ && install -m 0755 /tmp/openhue ~/.local/bin/openhue # (use openhue_Linux_arm64.tar.gz on ARM64) # macOS brew install openhue/cli/openhue-cli
openhue get light # List all lights openhue get room # List all rooms openhue get scene # List all scenes
# Turn on/off openhue set light "Bedroom Lamp" --on openhue set light "Bedroom Lamp" --off # Brightness (0-100) openhue set light "Bedroom Lamp" --on --brightness 50 # Color temperature (warm to cool: 153-500 mirek) openhue set light "Bedroom Lamp" --on --temperature 300 # Color (by name or hex) openhue set light "Bedroom Lamp" --on --color red openhue set light "Bedroom Lamp" --on --rgb "#FF5500"
Try it now

Read the first command and identify its inputs and outputs before copying it.

Match every command to your installed Hermes version, review the files and accounts it can reach, and use non-sensitive data for the first test. If this explanation differs from the source, the official source wins.

Knowledge check

Three decisions before completion.

1. What is the source of truth when “Openhue — Control Philips Hue lights, scenes, rooms via OpenHue CLI” changes?
2. What is the best way to apply this lesson?
3. What should happen before a step can modify files or an external account?