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Getting started

Integration Guide

Get your first device sending readings to HydroNode. Create a sensor, pick the path that fits your hardware and check that the values arrive.

00Prerequisites

What you need before starting

Hardware
An ESP32 or ESP8266 board for the WiFi paths, or any LoRaWAN device registered with The Things Network, ChirpStack or Helium.
HydroNode account
Sign in at hydronode.tech. It is free, with up to 20 sensors per account and every feature included.
A sensor in HydroNode
Every device needs a sensor first. HydroNode accepts no data for a sensor that does not exist. The next step shows how to create one.
01Create a sensor

Your first sensor

In HydroNode a sensor is the identity of your device. It gets a Sensor ID and a Secret, and every request from the device is signed with them.

  1. 1
    Start on the Dashboard
    Press Create sensor in the head of the device list.
  2. 2
    Name it and pick the environment
    Give it a name such as Growbox A. Choose Indoor for rooms, grow boxes and greenhouses, Outdoor for anything outside. The environment decides what counts as normal, and only outdoor sensors can become a station on the map.
  3. 3
    Keep the credentials
    After Create sensor HydroNode shows the Sensor ID and the Secret. You find both again later on the sensor page under Settings → Connection.
The Create new Sensor form with the name Growbox A, Indoor and Outdoor, and 3 of 20 sensors usedThe Create new Sensor form with the name Growbox A, Indoor and Outdoor, and 3 of 20 sensors used
A name and an environment. On the right you see how many of your 20 sensors are used.
The Secret belongs on your device only. Never publish it or commit it to a public repository. If it leaks, press Replace secret under Settings → Connection. Using the Device Builder? It can create the sensor for you and writes the credentials onto the board itself.
02Integration paths

Choose your integration method

Pick the path that fits your hardware. All of them end up in the same place: the same charts, anomaly checks, alerts, apps and Home Assistant integration.

Path A
Device Builder
No code / WiFi
Pick the board, sensors and pins in your browser, then flash the board over USB from the same page or download a ready project. The fastest way to a first reading. Every later change goes over the air.
ESP32ESP8266Web SerialOver the air
View guide
Path B
Arduino Library
Your own sketch / WiFi
Your own sketch sends readings over WiFi with the HydroNode library. It handles WiFi, time, TLS and the signature of every request. Best when you want full control over the code.
ESP32ESP8266HMAC-SHA256Arduino IDEPlatformIO
View guide
Path C
LoRaWAN Webhook
LoRaWAN / Long range
LoRaWAN devices send uplinks through TTN, ChirpStack or Helium to one HTTPS webhook, and HydroNode can send downlinks back. Best for outdoor and battery powered installations.
LoRaWANTTNChirpStackHelium
View guide
Path D
ESPHome
ESPHome / WiFi
Your device already runs ESPHome and should stay that way. One external component in your YAML sends the sensors you already have to HydroNode and takes commands from the app.
ESP32ESPHomeYAML
View guide
Updates
Over-the-air updates
ESP32 and ESP8266 / WiFi
A board flashed once with the Device Builder takes new config over WiFi, and on the ESP32 family new firmware too. Signed, checked on the board and rolled back on its own when the check fails.
ESP32SignedRollback
View guide
03First reading

Check that the values arrive

Open the sensor from the device list on the Dashboard and press the ` key. The device console opens at the bottom of the page and shows every request the moment it arrives, accepted or rejected, with the reason. The Rejected filter shows only the requests HydroNode refused.

The Live tab of the device console with accepted HTTP requests, their values and signature checkThe Live tab of the device console with accepted HTTP requests, their values and signature check
One line per request: time, status, values, signature check and clock offset.

The first value is enough for the chart and your own limits. The learned normal range needs about 20 readings over six hours, and the daily pattern a few days. More in the Device Console chapter.

04Optional station

A sensor is not automatically a public station

Every device starts as a private sensor. A station is an optional extra for a physical outdoor installation, such as a garden, a rooftop or a weather station. It adds a location and, if you like, a place on the public map under Stations.

Outdoor required
On the sensor page open Settings → General, set Environment to Outdoor and save. Indoor sensors cannot become stations.
One switch
Turn on Use as a station in the same section. It works for direct and LoRaWAN connections. A LoRaWAN device always becomes a station.
You control visibility
Location and public map opens the station settings. Set the location there, then decide with Show on the public map whether others see it.
Switching Use as a station off removes the location and the place on the map. The sensor keeps reporting and every reading stays.