SwitchBot

cloudby ALYT

What it adds to a house

adds sensors, switches and blinds.

How a person connects it

Method: form. The token and secret are in the SwitchBot app: Profile, Preferences, tap the version number ten times, Developer Options.

Field	Kind	Required
Token (token)	password, secret	yes
Secret (secret)	password, secret	yes

What it can look for

Yes: “Look for SwitchBot devices”.

What stops working when it is disconnected

The things it brought stop answering until it is connected again.

The descriptor

Connection fields are served for a program at /connectors/switchbot.json.

{
  "source": "built-in",
  "visibility": "public",
  "listed": true,
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "docsUrl": "https://developers.alyt.com/connectors/switchbot",
  "kind": "SWITCHBOT",
  "logo": {
    "url": "/integrations/logos/switchbot.png",
    "color": "#E4262B",
    "ratio": 1,
    "background": "#D33738",
    "inset": 0,
    "scale": 1
  },
  "name": "SwitchBot",
  "icon": "thermometer",
  "connectivity": "cloud",
  "brings": [
    "sensor",
    "switch",
    "cover"
  ],
  "connect": {
    "method": "form",
    "help": "The token and secret are in the SwitchBot app: Profile, Preferences, tap the version number ten times, Developer Options.",
    "fields": [
      {
        "key": "token",
        "label": "Token",
        "kind": "password",
        "secret": true,
        "required": true
      },
      {
        "key": "secret",
        "label": "Secret",
        "kind": "password",
        "secret": true,
        "required": true
      }
    ]
  },
  "discovery": {
    "verb": "Look for SwitchBot devices"
  },
  "disconnect": {
    "consequence": "{count} {things} stop answering until it is connected again."
  },
  "author": {
    "kind": "alyt",
    "name": "ALYT",
    "url": "https://alyt.com"
  }
}

The guide

SwitchBot connects through the SwitchBot cloud, not locally. You give ALYT the account’s Token and Secret from the SwitchBot app’s Developer Options, then ALYT lists the devices in that account and keeps polling them through api.switch-bot.com. The connector exposes meters and sensors, plugs, and curtains or blinds. If the internet or SwitchBot cloud is unavailable, readings and control do not work until the cloud path returns.

How to connect

Open the SwitchBot app, go to Profile and Preferences, then tap the app version ten times to reveal Developer Options. Copy the Token and Secret into the connect form. The form asks for both fields and nothing else. ALYT rejects bad credentials and does not keep them.

After a successful connect, the account’s device list is discovered again. Discovery is account-based, so the visible devices are the ones the SwitchBot cloud returns for those credentials.

What the connector exposes

The connector brings three device groups:

• sensor: temperature, humidity, CO2, motion, contact, and battery
• switch: plugs
• cover: curtains and blinds

For sensors, ALYT shows the measured values the SwitchBot API returns. Temperature is in Celsius. Battery appears as a percentage when the device reports it. Motion and contact sensors expose their respective states, and CO2-capable meters expose air quality as CO2 ppm.

For plugs, the connector exposes on and off control. For curtains and blinds, it exposes position control. After a control action, ALYT reads the status again so the household sees the updated state.

What is and is not supported

This connector is cloud-only. SwitchBot devices may keep working as hardware in the home, but ALYT cannot read or control them while the SwitchBot cloud path is down. The devices are Bluetooth at the edge, but that Bluetooth path goes through a SwitchBot hub, and ALYT talks to the cloud side of that path.

Some SwitchBot device types are not exposed as controllable devices here. Infrared remotes learned by a hub do not appear. Devices that do not match the supported meter, sensor, plug, curtain, or blind mappings are still listed only as other discovered items, without capabilities or controls.

A hub is part of the SwitchBot setup, but it is not treated as a thing in ALYT’s household model. It is used for discovery and communication, not as a separate household device.

What happens on disconnect

If you disconnect the integration, the connected SwitchBot devices stop answering in ALYT until the account is connected again.

What to check when it fails

If discovery returns nothing, check that the Token and Secret came from the app’s Developer Options and that the account actually contains devices.

If a meter or sensor appears unavailable, check the hub and the device’s battery and distance to the hub. A device that the hub cannot hear is reported as not answering, not as zero.

If readings or control stop across the whole connector, check the internet connection and the SwitchBot cloud. Because this connector is cloud-dependent, nothing works while that path is unavailable.

Access boundaries

Household permissions are narrower than staff access. In a normal household, people only see and control the SwitchBot devices available to that household connection. DEV credentials act in the developer sandbox, and LIVE credentials apply only to the connector that has been installed for that live household.