Explanation of Items

Items Definition

Introduction

• Items are objects that can be read from or written to in order to interact with them.

• Items can be bound to bindings i.e. for reading the status from e.g. KNX or for updating them. Read the wiki page for the respective binding for more help and examples.

• Items can be defined in files in folder ${openhab_home}/configurations/items.

• All item definition files have to have the file extension .items

Typically items are defined using the openHAB Designer by editing the items definition files. Doing so you will have full IDE support like syntax checking, contect assist etc.

Syntax

Items are defined in the followng syntax:

itemtype itemname ["labeltext"] [<iconname>] [(group1, group2, ...)] [{bindingconfig}]

Parts in square brackets [are optional.

A proper item definition could like the following:

Number Temperature_GF_Living "Temperature [%.1f °C]" <temperature> (GF_Living) {knx="1/0/15+0/0/15"}

Above example defines a Number item...

• with name Temperature_GF_Living
• formatting its output in format xx.y °C
• displaying icon temperature
• belonging to group GF_Living
• bound to openHAB binding knx with write group address 1/0/15 and listening group address 0/0/15

itemtype

The following item types are currently available (alphabetical order):

Itemname	Description	Command Types
Color	Color information (RGB)	OnOff, IncreaseDecrease, Percent, HSB
Contact	Item storing status of e.g. door/window contacts	OpenClose
DateTime	Stores date and time
Dimmer	Item carrying a percentage value for dimmers	OnOff, IncreaseDecrease, Percent
Group	Item to nest other items / collect them in groups	-
Number	Stores values in number format	Decimal
Rollershutter	Typically used for blinds	UpDown, StopMove, Percent
String	Stores texts	String
Switch	Typically used for lights (on/off)	OnOff

itemname

The item name is the unique name of the object which is used e.g. in the sitemap definitin or rule definition files to access the specific item.

labeltext

The label text is used on the one hand side to display a description for the specific item e.g. in the sitemap, on the other hand to format the output of number or string item types.

Formatting is done applying standard Java formatter class syntax.

Example:

An item defined like Number MyTemp "Temperature [%.1f] °C" would be formatted for output as: "Temperature 23.2 °C"

Another possibility in labeltexts is to use so-called maps for replacing the item status name by e.g. human-readable words:

Example: An item defined like Number WindowBathroom "Window is [MAP(en.map) %s]" would be formatted for output as: "Window is open" if there is a file called en.map in folder configurations/transform.

These map files have to be structured as simple key/value pairs: 0=closed 1=opened UNDEFINED=unknown

See the sample map files in the source code repository online here: https://github.com/openhab/openhab/tree/master/distribution/openhabhome/configurations/transform

iconname

The icon name is used to reference a image file from folder ${openhab_home}/webapps/images/. These icons are used in the openHAB frontends.

Please use the filename (without extension) of icons in above mentioned folder.

groups

Items can be linked to specific groups by referencing these in a comma separated list embraced by round brackets.

Example:

An item defined like Number MyTemp (gTempOutside, gTemperatures) would be member of the groups gTempOutside and gTemperatures

bindingconfig

Items can be bound to specific openHAB bindings by adding a binding definition in curly brackets at the end of the item definition:

{ ns1="bindingconfig1", ns2="bindingconfig2", ...}

where "nsx" is the namespace for a certain binding (e.g. "knx", "bluetooth", "serial" etc.).

For detailed binding configutation syntax of openHAB bindings please see the openHAB Bindings configuration section.

Here is an example of how your items file might look like with binding configuration added to it:

Switch Light_GF_Living_Table "Table" (GF_Living, Lights) { knx="1/0/15+0/0/15" }
Switch Presence { bluetooth="123456ABCD" }
Switch Doorbell "Doorbell" <bell> { serial="/dev/usb/ttyUSB0" }

Examples

The openHAB runtime comes with a demo items file, here is a short excerpt from it:

Group All
Group gGF 	(All)
Group Lights 	(All)
Group Shutters 	(All)
Group GF_Living "Living room" 	<video> 	(gGF)

/* Lights */
Switch Light_GF_Living_Table 	"Table" 	(GF_Living, Lights)

/* Rollershutters */
Rollershutter Shutter_GF_Living "Shutter"	(GF_Living, Shutters)

/* Indoor Temperatures */
Number Temperature_GF_Living 	"Temperature [%.1f °C]"	<temperature>	(GF_Living)

Further examples for defining items can be found in our openHAB-samples section. The currently implemented item types can be found in source code.