load the app

 

Now you get to use your lights!

The easiest way to get the app is to download the current public version from your device’s app store.

Once you’ve got the app installed, skip ahead to the “Using the mobile app” section

If you prefer to live life on the edge, you can alternatively install the latest development version of the app from source code.

You will need to have a React Native development environment setup and working. Instructions are available here. (documentation link) Once React Native is setup for development, open a terminal and run these commands:

mkdir app
cd app
git clone https://github.com/appideasDOTcom/APPideasLights.git ./
cd mobile-app/react-native/AppideasLights
npm install

To install for iOS, plug your device into your computer and run this command:

react-native run-ios

For Android, plug your phone into your computer and run this command:

react-native run-android

If installing the app fails the first time, run the last command a second time.

Using the mobile app

The first time you open the app, your only option will be to add controllers, so click the “+” button in the upper right corner to do so. Click “By IP address” and type the IP address of your controller, then click Save. That’s all you have to do. If you have more than one controller, you can add more by using the “+” button.

The app is pretty self-explanatory once the controllers have been added. To control the lights, tap on the button for the controller (it will show the IP address for now). Since each controller can handle two sets of lights, controls are present for two. Each one has a toggle switch to turn all of the lights off and on with one tap, and each of the colors has its own slider to control that color individually.

You can configure the controller by tapping the Config button in the upper right. On that screen, you can give it a nicer name, which is the name you will see displayed on the button that appears on the controller list. You can also change the IP address, in case your DHCP server assigns it a different address or you typed it incorrectly. Finally, you can delete the controller from the app entirely. This doesn’t remove the controller from your network – it just erases the app’s knowledge of it.