Why I built it
I got curious about how my smart bulbs actually work, and one question kept leading to the next. Their app could only reach them when I was home. A VPN like Tailscale would have fixed that, but I wanted to see what it would take to build it myself. Ava is where that curiosity ended up.
What it does
- One switch per room. Flick it up and the whole room comes on.
- Scenes. Save how a room looks and bring it back with a tap.
- Siri. "Hey Siri, I'm home" turns the lights on before I've put my keys down.
- Works from anywhere. The lights still answer to a small hub inside the house, with nothing to set up on the router.
- Any device. Bulbs, light strips and plugs all show up with the right controls on their own.
Where it stands
I use it every day with my WiZ bulbs and plugs. Hue and Matter support are next.