Third Party Website & SmartThings Integration Samples?

General Discussion
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Hello,

I’m new to SmartThings and would like to add support to my web app/service. I would like my users to be able to somehow link their SmartThings account to their accounts on my website so that the site can control some of their smart devices. I’m looking for good examples of other sites that allow their users to control smart devices via SmartThings so that I can get a feeling for how to approach this. I’m not looking for code examples, although I wouldn’t mind seeing some if you know of a good one, I’m mainly just want to try out a well built and thought out interface for ideas. Do you know of any sites that you would recommend?

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First, it’s important to understand that smartthings is in the process of a huge transition: new hub, new app, new cloud platform. So the way in which integrations are currently done may be quite different from the way they will be done in the future.

To find out more about the new methods, it’s best to visit the new developer site:

https://smartthings.developer.samsung.com/

To see examples of what’s being done now, there are a number which are quite popular.

1. The Dashboard Approach

There are two paid third-party dashboards, ActionTiles and SharpTools. Both are good, with a somewhat different set of features, and both have developers who are very active in these forums.

There are also a number of free dashboard offerings, basically code which people have developed for themselves and then shared with the community.

You can find discussion of all of these ( both paid and free) by going to the quick browse lists in the community – created wiki, looking down near the bottom of that page for the project report section, and then choosing the dashboard list.

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

2. The Workflow Approach

Separately, there have also been a couple of third-party offerings which include integration with smartthings. Stringify was probably the most popular free offering, but is no longer available. (It was bought by Xfinity to fold into their own interface.)

SmartRules was very popular through 2018, but the app has since been withdrawn because they were having troubles with the new platform.

Simple Control (formerly RoomieRemote) is a subscription-based service, somewhat expensive and mostly aimed at people with expensive home theater set ups, which has had their own smartthings integration for several years.

https://www.simplecontrol.com/

3. HomeKit Integration

And there are a couple of different iOS apps which are intended to combine HomeKit with SmartThings control. That includes switch and pushkit, but speaking just for myself, I don’t like the security framework for those so I haven’t really looked at them. (I’m not interested in opening up my HomeKit credentials to a third-party service.)

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Thank you. This is really helpful. I also remembered that IFTTT integrates with SmartThings and I just went through the process of adding my SmartThings account to my IFTTT account and that gave me a pretty good idea of what I was looking for.

When you said that “the way in which integrations are currently done may be quite different from the way they will be done in the future”, do you know if they are changing the OAuth flow? Are the changes coming in the next few weeks or in the next few months or later?

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No timeline on when they’re coming. Some changes have already been made, which is why some devices only work with the new V3 app and not with the V2 classic app. For discussion, see the developer section of this forum or the developer portal I have already gave you the link to.

https://community.smartthings.com/c/developers

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Ok, that’s why not everything works with v3. :slight_smile:

Sorry for all the questions. I see that you’re very active in the forum, so while I have your ear, do you know if SmartThings is accepting new applications for OAuth access? Do you know anything about the OAuth application process? Any tips?

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I don’t, but someone should. Hopefully, Others will chime in soon.

Tagging @tgauchat @joshua_lyon

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The developer portal JD linked above is the best place to get started. You can find documentation as well as links to apply to the OAuth program there.

https://smartthings.developer.samsung.com/

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@joshua_lyon Thanks. I think I’ll apply today to get the ball rolling. Do you know if they are approving new applications for OAuth access?

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I believe so, but I’m not sure what their criteria are. Best way is to reach out to them!