homebridge-gpio-electric-rim-lock

Homebridge plugin to control electric rim locks using Raspberry Pi GPIO pins. This plugin allows you to open electric rim locks from Apple HomeKit by triggering a relay connected to a Raspberry Pi.

Compatibility

This plugin is designed to run only on Raspberry Pi hardware because it uses the rpio library to access GPIO pins.

⚠️ The plugin will not work on:

• non-Raspberry Pi Linux systems
• virtual machines
• Docker containers without GPIO access

Hardware Setup

This plugin assumes that the Raspberry Pi controls an electric rim lock via a relay module.

Electric rim locks usually include a wall button that briefly closes a circuit to unlock the door.
On many systems this is a 12V AC circuit.

The Raspberry Pi must not be connected directly to the lock, therefore a relay module is required.

When HomeKit sends the unlock command:

1. the GPIO pin activates the relay
2. the relay closes the circuit
3. the door unlocks
4. the relay is released after the configured delay

Circuit Diagram

Installation

Install via Homebridge UI (Recommended)

1. Open the Homebridge UI
2. Navigate to Plugins
3. Search for: homebridge-gpio-electric-rim-lock
4. Click Install

Install via npm

npm install -g homebridge-gpio-electric-rim-lock

Restart Homebridge after installation.

Configuration

Using the Homebridge UI

The plugin includes a configuration interface.

Navigate to: Plugins → Homebridge GPIO Electric Rim Lock → Settings

Manual Configuration

Add the following to your Homebridge config.json.

Example:

{
  "platforms": [
    {
      "platform": "Tiro",
      "locks": [
        {
          "name": "Front Door",
          "pin": 11,
          "duration": 500
        },
        {
          "name": "Back Door",
          "pin": 12,
          "duration": 700
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Configuration Options

Field	Required	Description
name	yes	Name of the door lock shown in HomeKit
pin	yes	Physical GPIO pin connected to the relay (recommended 11, 12, 13 or 15)
duration	no	Relay activation time in milliseconds (from 100 to 2000, default 500 ms)

Troubleshooting

Plugin does not start

Make sure Homebridge is running on a Raspberry Pi.

You can verify this with:

cat /proc/cpuinfo

Relay does not trigger

Check:

• correct GPIO pin number
• relay module power supply
• GPIO permissions

GPIO permission errors

Run Homebridge with appropriate permissions or add the user to the gpio group.

Example:

sudo usermod -aG gpio homebridge

Restart the system after changing group permissions.

Safety Notice

This plugin controls physical door locks.

Always ensure:

• your wiring is correct
• relay modules are properly isolated
• the door can still be opened manually in case of failure

The author is not responsible for damage or security issues caused by improper installation.