Homebridge UniFi Protect Motion Trigger

A lightweight Homebridge plugin that exposes UniFi Protect camera motion sensors and settings as HomeKit accessories, without video streaming.

This plugin is designed to work alongside Scrypted or other video streaming solutions. It provides motion detection and camera controls while letting your preferred streaming solution handle the video.

Features

Each camera is exposed as a HomeKit accessory with:

• Motion Sensor - Triggers HomeKit automations when the camera detects motion
• Motion Enabled Switch - Toggle to suppress/enable motion notifications to HomeKit (does not affect UniFi Protect recordings)
• Status LED Switch - Control the camera's indicator LED on/off

Installation

Via Homebridge UI

Search for homebridge-unifi-protect-motion-trigger in the Homebridge UI plugins tab.

Via npm

npm install -g homebridge-unifi-protect-motion-trigger

Configuration

Add the platform to your Homebridge config.json:

{
  "platforms": [
    {
      "platform": "UniFi Protect Motion Trigger",
      "controllers": [
        {
          "address": "192.168.1.1",
          "username": "homebridge",
          "password": "your-password"
        }
      ],
      "motionDuration": 10,
      "debug": false
    }
  ]
}

Configuration Options

| Option | Required | Default | Description | | ------------------------ | -------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | platform | Yes | - | Must be "UniFi Protect Motion Trigger" | | controllers | Yes | - | Array of UniFi Protect controllers | | controllers[].address | Yes | - | IP address or hostname of your UniFi Protect controller | | controllers[].username | Yes | - | Local user account username | | controllers[].password | Yes | - | Local user account password | | motionDuration | No | 10 | Seconds before motion sensor resets after detecting motion | | debug | No | false | Enable debug logging |

UniFi Protect User Setup

For security, create a dedicated local user for Homebridge:

1. Log into your UniFi Protect web interface
2. Go to OS Settings > Admins
3. Click Add Admin
4. Select Restrict to local access only
5. Create a username and password
6. Assign the Full Management role for LED control, or View Only for motion events only

How It Works

• Motion Detection: The plugin connects to UniFi Protect's real-time WebSocket API. When a camera detects motion, the motion sensor triggers in HomeKit, allowing you to build automations.

• Motion Enabled Switch: This is a local filter only. When disabled, motion events from UniFi Protect are ignored and won't trigger the HomeKit motion sensor. The camera still records motion in UniFi Protect.

• Status LED Switch: This directly controls the camera's indicator LED via the UniFi Protect API.

Use Cases

• Trigger HomeKit automations when motion is detected (lights, notifications, etc.)
• Disable motion notifications at night without affecting UniFi Protect recordings
• Control camera status LEDs from HomeKit/Siri
• Use alongside Scrypted for video streaming with separate motion control

Troubleshooting

No cameras discovered

• Verify your controller address is correct
• Ensure the user has access to view cameras
• Check Homebridge logs for connection errors

Motion events not triggering

• Ensure the Motion Enabled switch is ON
• Check that motion detection is enabled in UniFi Protect
• Verify WebSocket connection in debug logs

LED control not working

• The user account needs Full Management permissions
• Some camera models may not support LED control

License

MIT

Credits

This plugin uses the unifi-protect library by hjdhjd for UniFi Protect API communication.