Homebridge NoLongerEvil Nest

A Homebridge plugin for controlling Nest Gen 1 & 2 thermostats using the NoLongerEvil API.

Looking for MQTT support? If you prefer to use MQTT instead of the REST API, check out homebridge-nolongerevil-thermostat.

What is NoLongerEvil?

NoLongerEvil is a project that revives bricked or abandoned Nest Gen 1 & 2 thermostats with custom firmware, allowing them to work independently of Google's servers. This plugin connects those thermostats to HomeKit via Homebridge.

Features

• Thermostat Control — Set target temperature, switch between heating, cooling, auto, and off modes
• Temperature Range — Set heating and cooling thresholds for auto mode
• Humidity Sensor — View current relative humidity
• Smart Schedule Switch — Enable or disable the Nest's built-in schedule from HomeKit
• Schedule Editor — View and edit the weekly thermostat schedule from the Homebridge UI
• Learning Mode Control — Automatically disables the Nest's auto-schedule learning when the smart schedule is turned off (self-hosted)
• Multi-Source Support — Connect to multiple hosted and self-hosted NoLongerEvil servers simultaneously
• Automatic Device Discovery — Finds all thermostats across configured API sources

Requirements

• A Nest Gen 1 or Gen 2 thermostat flashed with NoLongerEvil firmware
• A NoLongerEvil account with API key (get one at nolongerevil.com)
• Homebridge v1.6.0 or later

Installation

Via Homebridge UI (Recommended)

1. Open Homebridge UI
2. Go to Plugins
3. Search for homebridge-nolongerevil-nest
4. Click Install

Via npm

npm install -g homebridge-nolongerevil-nest

Configuration

Using Homebridge UI

1. Go to Plugins → NoLongerEvil Nest → Settings
2. Enter your API key
3. (Optional) Set server URL for self-hosted installations
4. (Optional) Configure multiple servers under the Multiple Servers section
5. Save and restart Homebridge

Manual Configuration

Simple Setup (Single API Source)

{
  "platforms": [
    {
      "platform": "NoLongerEvilNest",
      "name": "NoLongerEvil Nest",
      "apiKey": "nle_your_api_key_here"
    }
  ]
}

Self-Hosted Server

{
  "platforms": [
    {
      "platform": "NoLongerEvilNest",
      "name": "NoLongerEvil Nest",
      "apiKey": "nlapi_your_api_key_here",
      "serverUrl": "http://192.168.1.100:8081"
    }
  ]
}

Multiple Servers

{
  "platforms": [
    {
      "platform": "NoLongerEvilNest",
      "name": "NoLongerEvil Nest",
      "servers": [
        {
          "name": "Hosted",
          "apiKey": "nle_your_hosted_key"
        },
        {
          "name": "My Self-Hosted Server",
          "apiKey": "nlapi_your_selfhosted_key",
          "serverUrl": "http://192.168.1.100:8081"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Configuration Options

| Option | Required | Default | Description | |--------|----------|---------|-------------| | platform | Yes | — | Must be NoLongerEvilNest | | name | Yes | NoLongerEvil Nest | Display name for the plugin | | apiKey | Yes* | — | API key for single-source setup | | serverUrl | No | — | Server URL for self-hosted (leave empty for hosted) | | servers | No | — | Array of server configs for multi-source setup | | pollInterval | No | 30 | How often to refresh thermostat state (15–300 seconds) | | enableScheduleSwitch | No | true | Show the Smart Schedule on/off switch in HomeKit |

*Required if servers is not configured.

HomeKit Accessories

Each thermostat appears in HomeKit with:

• Thermostat — Current temperature, target temperature, HVAC mode (Off / Heat / Cool / Auto), and heating/cooling thresholds for auto mode
• Humidity Sensor — Current relative humidity
• Smart Schedule Switch — Toggle the Nest's built-in schedule on or off

Smart Schedule Switch

The Smart Schedule switch controls whether the Nest thermostat follows its programmed schedule:

• ON — The thermostat's schedule is active and drives temperature changes automatically
• OFF — The schedule is cleared and the thermostat stays at whatever temperature you set manually

When turned off:

• The current schedule is cached locally so it can be restored later
• On self-hosted servers, the Nest's learning mode is also disabled to prevent the thermostat from auto-creating new schedule entries
• On the hosted API, the plugin monitors and re-clears the schedule during polling if learning mode recreates entries

This is useful when you want to use HomeKit automations instead of the Nest's built-in schedule. Turn the smart schedule off, then create time-based automations in the Home app (e.g., "At 7:00 AM, set thermostat to 22°C").

Schedule Editor

The plugin includes a visual schedule editor accessible from the Homebridge UI:

1. Go to Plugins → NoLongerEvil Nest → Settings (click the wrench icon)
2. The schedule editor shows a 24-hour × 7-day grid with temperature setpoints
3. Click any day to view, add, or remove individual entries
4. Change the schedule mode (Heat / Cool / Range)
5. Copy a day's schedule to all weekdays
6. Click Save Schedule to push changes to the thermostat

Note: The schedule editor requires the hosted NoLongerEvil API. Self-hosted servers do not currently support schedule management via the API.

Getting an API Key

1. Go to nolongerevil.com and sign in
2. Navigate to Settings → API Keys
3. Create a new API key with both read and write scopes
4. Copy the key (it starts with nle_)

Troubleshooting

"No thermostats found"

• Ensure your thermostat is registered with your NoLongerEvil account
• Check that your API key has read scope
• Verify the thermostat is online in the NoLongerEvil dashboard

"Invalid API key"

• Double-check that you copied the entire API key
• Ensure the key hasn't been revoked in your account settings
• Verify the key has both read and write scopes

"Rate limit exceeded"

• The hosted API has a limit of 20 requests per minute
• Try increasing pollInterval to reduce request frequency

Schedule keeps recreating entries

• This is caused by the Nest's learning mode auto-creating schedule entries based on manual temperature adjustments
• Use the Smart Schedule switch to disable the schedule — on self-hosted servers this also disables learning mode
• On the hosted API, the plugin will automatically re-clear recreated entries during polling
• See NoLongerEvil issue #152 for more details

Connection errors with self-hosted server

• Verify the server URL is correct and accessible from the Homebridge host
• Ensure the server is running and the port is open

Links

• NoLongerEvil Website
• NoLongerEvil API Documentation
• NoLongerEvil Thermostat Project
• Homebridge

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request on GitHub.