[NEEDS UPDATING] JD's Welcome FAQ

Lots of new folks coming in, and I wrote this post about a month ago as a welcome to someone new who was interested in finding multiple resources. Since it should also be of interest to other new folks who like to read a lot, here it is. :wink:

( Iā€™m also going to add it to the community created wiki. That way If This post gets out of date, other people can update it in the wiki. Welcome FAQ in the Community-Created Wiki. )

Welcome!

As far as resources, there are two FAQs you might find helpful.

Getting Started

This one is the intro to scheduling:

And this one explains how custom code is used in SmartThings. You donā€™t need to use custom code, but thereā€™s a lot of it available, and it can add many features to the base system.

In addition, check out the quick browse lists for Project Reports in the community ā€“ created wiki, in particular the ā€œget startedā€ list. It has things like ā€œthe top 10 things to do with home automationā€ and ā€œwhat device should I get next?ā€ Which should be helpful.

Thereā€™s also a list of ā€œimpress your friendsā€ projects with everything from a magic wand to a secret bookcase room. You probably know all of these in general terms, but these will discuss them in a SmartThings context.

Youā€™ll also find list of smartapps organized by function, which are considerably easier to review then just Using the forum search here. :sunglasses:

http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Quick_Browse_the_Community-Created_SmartApps_Forum_Section

Letā€™s see, what else?

To Infinity and Beyond: CoRE

Since someoneā€™s bound to bring it up in the first post or two in this thread, if youā€™re technical, check out CORE. But if it seems too complicated, donā€™t worry about it to begin with, you can add it or not later if you find that you want that degree of complexity in your home automation rules.

And for the sake of balance, I should probably include the FAQ for people who want to keep everything simple. :wink:

Devices

As far as device selection, it sounds like you may already know all of this, but the following thread has lots of details on why you might select one particular model over another:

When youā€™re ready to start shopping, itā€™s helpful to know the Amazon is not always the lowest price on these kinds of devices. Sometimes Loweā€™s and Home Depot are better, especially if you have a coupon, for the brands they carry. Beyond that, shop around:

And there is an FAQ section in the Device category of the forums for common device ā€“ related questions like ā€œwhat switches can you use with Hue bulbs?,ā€ ā€œDo I Have To Replace All the Switches in a 3 Way Setup?ā€ and ā€œHow do you set up a WD and a WT GoControl switch together?ā€ ( yes, thatā€™s a common question, mostly because itā€™s done differently in SmartThings than in some other home automation systems), which is worth knowing about although you probably donā€™t need it right now. But if you do have a specific device question that you think has probably been asked before, thatā€™s a good place to look.

https://community.smartthings.com/c/devices-integrations/faq

Official Developer Docs

The official developer documentation is available from a link at the top right of the first page of the community forums. Or you can go there directly.

http://docs.smartthings.com/en/latest/

Well, that should be more than enough to start with! But you did ask for resourcesā€¦ SmartThings is very powerful and versatile , but not always intuitive, so there are a lot of community-contributed resources available.

Welcome again. :sunglasses:

27 Likes

I was asked to bump this up so here it is. :sunglasses:

2 Likes

Also, those who are less technical might want to start instead with the 2019 beginners guide: