Getting started with Core (for Dummies)

Open CoRE from the Automations tab, not the Marketplace

Thank you ady624!

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Hello! Iā€™m super new to all of this, just got Core installed yesterday as a matter of fact. That said, Iā€™ve been looking all over the place for a simple answer; Whether or not there is a desktop-based piston editor.

Iā€™ve seen this asked before, only to be answered with a ā€œThere is an author thread, look thereā€.

No idea where to find an author thread about Core, or pistons, or anything.

Please help! Simple yes or no, with a possible link, ANYTHING that would answer this question definitively.

There is no desktop-based piston editor yet. Weā€™re all stuck with using an android emulator for now, if youā€™re an android user. For the iOS users, not sure what they use :slight_smile:

Thank you!

Iā€™m a complete newbie to CoRE. Iā€™m trying to create a piston in which which one of the conditions tests the state of a multi-sensor. I want to check if it is open or closed. I am unclear as to how to set this up in the piston editor. I can find {CurrentState} but how do I test it against the states of the device?

Thanks for your help

Why does my CoRE interface not look like the screenshots Iā€™ve been saying that have grouped bubbles & colors? Did I install the right version? v0.3.167.20161206

That is the dashboard view youā€™re seeing.

How to take a picture of a piston.
Open CoRE from the SmartApps menu.
Click on CoRE Dashboard (located at the top of app when you first open)
At the very bottom of the dashboard is the URL for the Dashboard Link that you can paste in your browser.
OAuth must be enabled for CoRE for this to work. Please see http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=CoRE#Enabling_OAuth
With the dashboard URL open in your browser, find and click the piston you want to share.
Click the three vertical dots on the right then click the Camera icon.
Right click on the image the pops up then save the image.

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If you click the IF, then Add Condition, Capability, Contact Sensor, then pick your multi-sensor from the list, then you will select the contact attribute, next would be your Comparison where you can pick from open or close. Once you get that in, then youā€™ll be entering your Tasks or actions you want to perform based on the conditions you selected.

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If anyone reading this is an iOS user, Iā€™d love to know if youā€™ve found a similar solution to the ā€œdesktop piston-writingā€ problem mentioned above. Thanks!

I think anyone can install an Android simulator (I am using BlueStacks on mac) and use it. I am an iOS user, but never signed a contract to not touch Android :wink:

Haha, me neitherā€¦in fact, Iā€™m just returning to the iOS sandbox after a year-long experiment in which I played in the admittedly far less constrictive Android playground. I enjoyed the experience, but I found that iOS simply works better FOR ME (as in, not trying to start an OS flame war here). Consequently, I still have a MM-powered device laying about in case I need it for such a project - at least til the right person sees my craigslist adā€¦ :grin:

I guess Iā€™m still curious whether such is necessary to write CoRE pistons on the Mac desktopā€¦

For now, it is. Working on a web version of CoRE, but thatā€™s at least 1-2 months away

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What should I do, if I donā€™t have the ā€œEnable Github integrationā€ when looking at the ā€œMy Smartappsā€ section of the graph.api.smartthings.com site?

Can I just copy/paste the github code? What happens if a new version is released? Do I have to manually apply new code each itteration?

So before I begin learning CoRE and Iā€™m wondering if this is possible. I have 5 backyard lights on 2 separate GE dimmers and 1 motion sensor. What I want is the lights to come on using the light sensor in the motion sensor at 30% and if it detects motion then go to 100% for 5 minutes till there is no motion then dim back to 30%. Also if I open the sliding doors go 100% except between 10pm and 6am only go to 70% so when I let the dogs out to pee Iā€™m not blinded by the 100% light.

I have enabled the github integration and installed the CoRE smartapp within the IDE. I have looked within the SmartApps section of automation but I am not seeing anything listed that says CoRE or My Apps.

Anything else I could be missing? Maybe a refresh from the cloud to the mobile app?

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Iā€™m a newbie so take this with a VERY BIG grain of salt (I may have no idea what Iā€™m talking about :)ā€¦ I flogged through the various setup stuff and think I have it going. When I went to the mobile app, on an android smart phone, then clicked the ā€œAutomationā€ button at the bottom, then clicked the ā€œ+ Add a smart appā€ button. On the next screen I scrolled all the way to the bottom of the listing , clicked on ā€œMy Appsā€ and CoRE was there.

I selected that and it now shows up on the main Automation screen, right under Amazon Alexa (which you may not have).

I went into the CoRE app from there and created a test piston that seems to have actually worked. Hope this helps.

Iā€™m using SmartThings on iOS. When I open the CoRE Dashboard, I do not see a Dashboard Link URL. Do I need to be using Android for this to work? Is there another place to locate the URL?

Make sure to have the OAuth enabled for CoRE.
http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=CoRE#Enabling_OAuth

Thanks got it!