llms.txt
# nodrix
> nodrix is an open-source, single-tenant IoT cloud that deploys to your own Cloudflare account. Hardware speaks plain HTTPS or WebSocket, telemetry streams to realtime drag-and-drop dashboards, automations run at the edge, and a clean read API exposes the data — with no broker, no servers, and your data never leaving your account.
## What it is
- Open-source (MIT) IoT backend for Cloudflare; first stable release (v1.0).
- Single-tenant: every deployment lives in the user's own Cloudflare account.
- One-click "Deploy to Cloudflare" — provisions Workers, Durable Objects, D1, R2, and KV.
- Devices send telemetry over plain HTTPS (POST /v1/telemetry) or a WebSocket (/v1/control/ws); variables auto-create on first sight. No MQTT broker and no SDK required — with an optional Arduino/ESP library that wraps the protocol.
- Realtime dashboards built from drag-and-drop widgets over hibernating WebSockets.
- Two-way control: toggles/sliders/buttons write values back to hardware.
- Edge automations: a visual flow builder — one or more triggers (variable thresholds, schedules, sunrise/sunset, custom events) branch through conditions into actions (set variables, call an integration over HTTP/email/chat like Slack/Telegram/Discord, or emit events).
- Clean read API: edge-cached latest state, time-series, and variable listings behind one bearer token.
- Optional MCP (Model Context Protocol) server — owner-gated, off by default. Lets Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, and any MCP-aware client read projects and (with an explicit toggle) drive automations. Bearer transport at /v1/mcp; OAuth at /v1/mcp/oauth.
## Pages
- [Home](https://nodrix.live/): Product overview, features, and how it works.
- [Documentation](https://nodrix.live/docs): Device protocol, read API, automation model, and MCP.
- [Products](https://nodrix.live/products): Libraries and tools around the core — the Arduino library, the MCP server, dashboard widgets, and the open device protocol.
- [Arduino library](https://nodrix.live/products/arduino-library): Reference for the optional ESP32/ESP8266 library — NODRIX_WRITE control handlers, telemetry, WebSocket/HTTP transports, and TLS pinning.
- [MCP server](https://nodrix.live/products/mcp): Reference for the built-in Model Context Protocol server — the two endpoints, all 12 read and 16 write tools, the owner gating, and the registry listing.
- [Widgets](https://nodrix.live/widgets): Built-in, framework-agnostic Web Component widgets.
- [Guides](https://nodrix.live/guides): Hands-on IoT guides — connect an ESP32, XIAO, Arduino UNO R4, or Raspberry Pi to the cloud over HTTPS (no MQTT broker), receive commands back, deep-sleep battery builds, MicroPython, LoRa and Bluetooth gateways, OTA updates, Wi-Fi provisioning, on-device edge AI, and Matter/Thread.
- [Blog](https://nodrix.live/blog): Release notes, build-in-public engineering stories, and case studies.
- [Roadmap](https://nodrix.live/roadmap): What's planned next for nodrix.
- [Changelog](https://nodrix.live/changelog): Release history.
## Guides
### Project builds (ESP32/ESP8266/Pico hardware)
- [Automate your home against dynamic electricity prices](https://nodrix.live/guides/dynamic-tariff-automation): Wholesale-linked tariffs publish a price per interval, sometimes negative. How to pull them in and trigger real actions, in any market that has them.
- [Meshtastic telemetry to a dashboard you own](https://nodrix.live/guides/meshtastic-telemetry-dashboard): Meshtastic shows readings on a screen. How to persist, chart and alert on them without assembling an MQTT, InfluxDB and Grafana stack of your own.
- [Bridge cheap BLE sensors to your own cloud with an ESP32](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-ble-sensor-gateway): Turn five-dollar Bluetooth thermometers into a monitored sensor network: passive BLE scanning on an ESP32, parsing the open BTHome v2 broadcast format, and the stack choice that decides whether BLE and Wi-Fi fit on one chip at all.
- [Build an ESP32 e-paper dashboard that runs for months on a battery](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-epaper-dashboard): A complete ESP32 e-ink dashboard: pull live sensor values from your own cloud read API, render them on a Waveshare panel, and deep sleep between updates — with the refresh discipline that keeps an e-paper display from ghosting itself into a permanent mess.
- [Build an ESP32 fridge and freezer alarm that survives a power cut](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-freezer-alarm): A complete ESP32 freezer temperature alarm on the DS18B20: monitor fridge and freezer from one probe cable, alert on a sustained rise rather than a door opening, and keep the alarm alive when the power that killed the freezer would have killed the board too.
- [ESP32 LoRa without LoRaWAN: long-range sensors to your own cloud](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-lora-gateway): Put a sensor kilometres from the nearest Wi-Fi using point-to-point LoRa and an ESP32 gateway — the duty-cycle limit that decides your whole design, honest range expectations, and why skipping LoRaWAN is usually the right call for a maker.
- [ESP32-S3 edge AI: send the answer, not the image](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-s3-edge-ai): A person-detecting ESP32-S3 camera that never uploads an image: on-device inference at roughly 200 ms, and the vector speedup that isn't automatic.
- [Build an ESP32 solar and battery monitor that counts real amp-hours](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-solar-battery-monitor): A complete ESP32 solar battery monitor on the INA226: measure charge and discharge current through a proper shunt, count amp-hours in and out, and watch a live dashboard from anywhere — with an honest account of why battery voltage is not state of charge.
- [Build an ESP32 vibration monitor for motor health, measured properly](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-vibration-monitor): A complete ESP32 vibration sensor for predictive maintenance: sample an ADXL345 over SPI, convert acceleration to the RMS velocity that ISO 10816 actually grades machines on, and trend a motor's health on a live dashboard instead of guessing from raw g.
- [Build an ESP32 water tank level monitor with low-water alerts](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-water-tank-monitor): A complete ESP32 water level sensor for a tank or sump: measure depth with a waterproof JSN-SR04T ultrasonic probe, stream percentage full to a live dashboard, and get a Telegram alert before the tank runs dry — no float switches, no broker, on your own Cloudflare account.
- [Control your ESP32 with Claude: an MCP server for your own hardware](https://nodrix.live/guides/control-esp32-with-claude-mcp): Point Claude at your own IoT backend and let it read your sensors and flip your relays in plain language — no cloud middleman, no vendor skill. nodrix ships a native MCP server, owner-gated and off by default, that turns your ESP32 fleet into tools an AI agent can call.
- [ESP32 air quality monitor with a live CO2 dashboard](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-air-quality-monitor): A complete SCD41 build: NDIR-grade CO2, temperature and humidity from one sensor, streamed to a live dashboard with colour-banded alerts.
- [ESP32 project ideas that connect to the cloud: 10 real builds, ranked](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-project-ideas): Ten ESP32 IoT project ideas worth actually building — ranked by usefulness, each with the sensor, the difficulty, and a real build guide, not a one-line summary. From a first temperature monitor to a Claude-controlled greenhouse, every one reports to a dashboard you own.
- [Build an ESP32 weather station with a live cloud dashboard](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-weather-station): A complete ESP32 weather station on the BME280: temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure streamed to a live dashboard you open from anywhere — with a falling-pressure storm alert — no MQTT broker, no legacy IoT cloud, on your own Cloudflare account.
- [Build an ESP32 energy meter with a live dashboard](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-energy-meter): A complete ESP32 energy monitor: read real volts, amps, watts, and kWh with a PZEM-004T, push them to a live dashboard over one WebSocket, and get a Telegram alert when the load spikes — no broker, no vendor app, on your own Cloudflare account.
- [Build an ESP32 GPS tracker with a live map — no proprietary cloud](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-gps-tracker): A complete ESP32 GPS tracker: read a NEO-6M over serial, stream position over one WebSocket, and watch the marker move on a map dashboard you own — no vendor tracking cloud, no per-device fee, on your own Cloudflare account.
- [ESP32 notifications: Telegram, Discord, Slack, or SMS from one sketch](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-notifications): Send alerts from an ESP32 to Telegram, Discord, Slack, SMS, or WhatsApp — without baking bot tokens and webhooks into firmware. The board sends one line of telemetry; the alert logic, credentials, and channel live in the cloud, swappable without reflashing.
- [Build a DIY smart home with an ESP32 and your own cloud](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-smart-home-automation): A complete ESP32 smart-home build: switch lights and appliances through relays, control them from anywhere on one private dashboard, and let scenes, schedules, and a sunset trigger run the house — no hub, no broker, on your own Cloudflare account.
- [Build an ESP32 automatic plant watering system](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-automatic-plant-watering): Calibrate a capacitive soil sensor, switch a pump safely through a relay, and let the cloud run the watering logic over a single WebSocket.
### Comparisons & platform alternatives
- [SmartThings API goes paid in October 2026: your options](https://nodrix.live/guides/smartthings-api-paid): Samsung is ending free SmartThings API access in October 2026. What actually changes, who it affects, and how to own the telemetry layer you were using it for.
- [Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W vs ESP32: which to pick in 2026](https://nodrix.live/guides/raspberry-pi-pico-2-w-vs-esp32): ESP32 for wireless maturity and the deeper ecosystem, Pico 2 W for newer silicon and cleaner MicroPython. Both around $7 — here's how to choose.
- [The best free IoT platforms for makers in 2026, ranked](https://nodrix.live/guides/best-free-iot-platforms): Every free IoT tier caps something — devices, messages, or retention. An honest 2026 ranking of what each one limits, and where the free tier is your own.
- [nodrix vs Grafana + InfluxDB: the DIY IoT stack, weighed honestly](https://nodrix.live/guides/nodrix-vs-grafana-influxdb): Grafana with InfluxDB is the forum-default answer for IoT dashboards — and it's half an answer. Here's the honest comparison: what the DIY stack does better, what it quietly doesn't do at all, and what four self-hosted services really cost against one serverless deploy.
- [A Particle alternative you own — open-source, on your Cloudflare account](https://nodrix.live/guides/particle-alternative): Particle was acquired by Digi International in January 2026 and is being folded into an OEM business. For Wi-Fi makers weighing their options, nodrix is an open-source alternative you deploy to your own Cloudflare account — no subscription, no vendor cloud, plain HTTPS/WebSocket.
- [The open-source Adafruit IO alternative you host on your own Cloudflare account](https://nodrix.live/guides/adafruit-io-alternative): Looking for an Adafruit IO alternative without rate caps or data-retention limits? nodrix is open-source IoT you deploy to your own Cloudflare account — plain HTTPS/WebSocket, dashboards, automations, and a read API, with your telemetry in your own tenancy.
- [An Arduino Cloud alternative for any board — open-source, on your own Cloudflare](https://nodrix.live/guides/arduino-cloud-alternative): Arduino Cloud is polished but tied to the Arduino ecosystem and a hosted freemium plan. nodrix is an open-source alternative for any board that speaks HTTPS — deployed to your own Cloudflare account, no per-device limits, no lock-in.
- [The open-source Blynk alternative that runs on your own Cloudflare account](https://nodrix.live/guides/blynk-alternative): Looking for a Blynk alternative? nodrix is open-source IoT you deploy to your own Cloudflare account — no per-device pricing, no hosted cloud holding your data, plain HTTPS/WebSocket with dashboards, automations, and a read API.
- [Datacake alternative with no per-device pricing](https://nodrix.live/guides/datacake-alternative): nodrix is an open-source Datacake alternative you deploy to your own Cloudflare account — no per-device pricing, your telemetry in your own tenancy.
- [Home Assistant vs nodrix: local smart-home hub or your own cloud IoT backend?](https://nodrix.live/guides/home-assistant-vs-nodrix): Home Assistant vs nodrix — they solve different problems. HA is a local home-automation hub for off-the-shelf devices; nodrix is an open-source cloud IoT backend you deploy to your own Cloudflare for custom hardware, remote dashboards, and a read API. Here's how to choose, and how they pair.
- [A lightweight ThingsBoard alternative for makers — zero servers to run](https://nodrix.live/guides/thingsboard-alternative): ThingsBoard is powerful but heavy to self-host. nodrix is an open-source alternative that one-click deploys to your own Cloudflare account — no Java, Postgres, broker, or VM to operate, with dashboards, edge automations, and a read API.
- [ThingSpeak alternative with no message cap or rate floor](https://nodrix.live/guides/thingspeak-alternative): nodrix is an open-source ThingSpeak alternative you deploy to your own Cloudflare account — no annual message cap, no 15-second update floor.
- [A Ubidots alternative that drops per-dot pricing — open-source, on your Cloudflare](https://nodrix.live/guides/ubidots-alternative): Looking for a Ubidots alternative without per-dot or per-device pricing? nodrix is open-source IoT you deploy to your own Cloudflare account — dashboards, events, automations, and a read API, with costs that track Cloudflare usage instead of data points.
### Hardware & board guides
- [Arduino UNO R4 WiFi to the cloud — a live dashboard with no broker](https://nodrix.live/guides/arduino-uno-r4-wifi-cloud): Push Arduino UNO R4 WiFi sensor data to a cloud dashboard over HTTPS with WiFiSSLClient — no MQTT broker, no SDK. How the board's dual-processor design makes TLS possible on 32 KB of RAM, and the firmware gotcha that breaks SSL.
- [ESP32 MicroPython to the cloud — a live dashboard with no broker](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-micropython-cloud): Push ESP32 sensor data to a cloud dashboard with MicroPython over HTTPS — no MQTT broker, no SDK. Full code for telemetry, commands back to the board, the internal temperature sensor, and an honest account of what TLS costs you on an ESP32.
- [Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W to the cloud: when a Linux box beats a microcontroller](https://nodrix.live/guides/raspberry-pi-zero-2-w-iot): Send Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W sensor data to a cloud dashboard in plain Python — with an honest account of the two things that decide whether a Pi belongs in your project: it cannot run on batteries, and its SD card will eventually betray you.
- [Seeed XIAO ESP32 to the cloud: a thumbnail-sized battery sensor](https://nodrix.live/guides/xiao-esp32-battery-sensor): Build a battery-powered wireless sensor on a Seeed XIAO ESP32C3 that reports to your own cloud dashboard — with the antenna trap that stops most first attempts and the regulator detail that decides whether it runs for weeks or months.
- [ESP8266 vs ESP32-C3: upgrade new builds, keep working ones](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-c3-vs-esp8266): The ESP32-C3 is the 8266's successor at nearly the same price, with the RAM headroom TLS needs. Upgrade new designs; leave working deployments alone.
- [ESP32-C6 for makers: what the new radios change, and what they don't](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-c6-for-makers): The ESP32-C6 packs Wi-Fi 6, BLE, and an 802.15.4 radio for Thread and Zigbee into a $5 board — the ESP32 line's ticket into Matter. Here's what that actually means for a maker project today, the radio fine print nobody leads with, and why your cloud firmware doesn't change at all.
- [ESP32 battery life: deep sleep + cloud telemetry that lasts months](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-deep-sleep-battery): Make a battery-powered ESP32 sensor run for months while still reporting to the cloud. Deep sleep structure, RTC-memory Wi-Fi caching, a real power budget, and the dev-board traps that quietly kill battery life.
- [Connect an ESP32 to the cloud over HTTPS — a complete guide (no MQTT broker)](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-https-cloud): Push ESP32 sensor data to the cloud and receive commands back with the nodrix Arduino library — plain HTTPS underneath, no MQTT broker. Telemetry, control writes, and months of battery life with deep sleep.
- [Receive commands on an ESP32 from the cloud (the downlink, in depth)](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-receive-commands): How to get data back to an ESP32: handle control writes with the nodrix Arduino library over an always-on WebSocket, or poll on each wake for battery devices. The downlink most IoT tutorials skip.
- [ESP8266 to the cloud over HTTPS — a live dashboard with no broker](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp8266-iot-dashboard): Push ESP8266 sensor data to a cloud dashboard with the nodrix Arduino library — BearSSL under the hood on the 8266's tight RAM, no MQTT broker, control writes back to the board, and the deep-sleep wiring that makes a battery sensor last.
- [Raspberry Pi Pico W to the cloud with MicroPython — a live dashboard](https://nodrix.live/guides/raspberry-pi-pico-w-iot-dashboard): Send Raspberry Pi Pico W sensor data to a cloud dashboard with MicroPython over HTTPS — no broker. Full code for telemetry with urequests, commands back to the board, the onboard temperature sensor, and an honest note on Pico W TLS.
### Concepts & how-tos
- [Cloudflare limits and what they cost you](https://nodrix.live/guides/cloudflare-free-tier-limits): What a nodrix deployment actually consumes on Cloudflare's free tier, which ceiling you hit first, and when the $5/month plan becomes necessary.
- [Does the EU Cyber Resilience Act apply to you?](https://nodrix.live/guides/cyber-resilience-act-makers): Reporting obligations began in September 2026. A decision tree for hobbyists, open-source maintainers, and anyone selling a small batch of boards into the EU.
- [ESP32 certificate verification failed: pinning and rotation](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-certificate-verification-failed): What the TLS handshake error actually means, why setInsecure is not a fix, and how to pin a certificate so a CA rotation does not take your whole fleet offline.
- [ESP32 keeps restarting: reading the reset reason](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-keeps-restarting): Brownout, task watchdog, Guru Meditation and bootloop produce different serial output. Read the string, find the cause, and see reboots on remote boards.
- [Access an ESP32 from anywhere without port forwarding](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-remote-access-no-port-forwarding): Four ways to reach a board on your home network from outside it, what each costs in setup and risk, and why outbound-only suits most projects.
- [ESP32 Wi-Fi keeps disconnecting: a reconnect that holds](https://nodrix.live/guides/esp32-wifi-keeps-disconnecting): Why a board that connects fine drops out after hours, the reconnect loop that actually survives it, and how to know a device went offline instead of guessing.
- [ESPHome without Home Assistant: reaching it remotely](https://nodrix.live/guides/esphome-without-home-assistant): ESPHome is local-first by design. The honest options for seeing your devices from outside the house, including pushing readings out without leaving ESPHome.
- [A Claude Skill for ESP32: teach Claude to write firmware for your hardware](https://nodrix.live/guides/claude-skill-for-esp32): Build a Claude Skill that makes
