Apologies if this is a repeat, I searched and couldn’t find this exact information anywhere else.
If you are a newbie like me you’ll be confused by the references to something called CoRE or WebCoRE. Here’s what I’ve learned:
CoRE isn’t shorthand for WebCoRE - they are two related but different things.
CoRE and WebCoRE are smart apps that you can install in SmartThings, that you can use to make rules to control stuff. They are very powerful and give you a huge amount of control to make complex rules.
Rules in both CoRE and WebCoRE are called pistons.
CoRE doesn’t appear to have been updated in some time. WebCoRE looks like it is maintained and more up-to-date.
BUT WebCoRE isn’t just the updated version of CoRE. You can only make WebCoRE pistons through the web interface, not directly on the app in SmartThings. With CoRE you can make the pistons right in the app. Also, with WebCoRE you are actually writing code, as vs. following a set of questions to guide you through the process in CoRE.
It sounds like WebCoRE is much more powerful than CoRE, which makes sense as you are actually writing the code for your piston. The web interface is GUI-like but on my first pass I found it a bit confusing to use. CoRE was pretty straightforward.
There is a definite learning curve with both. I have made a couple of trial pistons in CoRE following examples and they worked and I think I get it. BUT I haven’t yet succeeded in making my own piston to control my garage door and this doesn’t seem like it should be so hard.
Experts, if I’ve gotten any of this wrong, please chime in and correct me.
I would encourage users to use webCoRE. As pointed out above, CoRE is no longer being developed except for patches. A great resource to use is the webCoRE Community forums. A great place to find example pistons and post your questions. The folks love to help out.
Thanks JD I saw that but honestly it still confused me a little … even in that thread folks use CoRE and WebCoRE interchangeably which threw me off. Also it wasn’t clear that there NO way in the app to make pistons in WebCoRE. Anyway I thought I’d post this to help other newbies who might be confused like me.
Now if I could just figure out how to do what I want to do with WebCoRE … (I already made an account in that forum and posted my question)
The FAQ was started in 2016 when core existed and webcore did not. So the first few posts are discussing core because that’s what existed at that time.
Once webcore is introduced, people start talking about both of them.
And once Core was deprecated and webcore was out of beta, then people are talking about webcore.
But they are always using the name for the one that they are actually talking about – – if they say “core” then they are talking about Core. If they say “webcore” then they are talking about webcore.
Thanks a bunch Robin that seems to be working! And JD, yeah, it may have just been confusing to me since I didn’t fully get the context. I still think an updated, more detailed description (like the one I offer here) would be useful to newbs like me. There is a lot going on here and it can be confusing to put it together from all the different threads.
Yeah I spent way too much time fussing with it yesterday but I feel like I’m starting to get the hang of it. Many thanks to @anon36505037 for providing me with a working piston so I could see how to get started. I think I’m gonna have a lot of fun with this!
