How to use the OpenHue Light Control agent skill

What is an agent skill and what does this one do?

An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file that tells an AI agent when and how to use a tool. This one, named openhue, teaches the agent to run the openhue command to control Philips Hue lights and scenes through a Hue Bridge.

Once installed, the agent can list your lights, rooms and scenes, switch them on or off, set brightness, colour temperature or colour, and activate scenes such as "Relax" or "Concentrate". Lights are controlled through your Hue Bridge on your local network.

Install the OpenHue CLI and the openhue skill

The skill needs the OpenHue CLI installed first. The skill's metadata lists a Homebrew install using the formula openhue/cli/openhue-cli, which provides the openhue binary.

Then get the skill itself: download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder to limit it to that project. You can also upload the ZIP in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

• Install the CLI with Homebrew using the formula openhue/cli/openhue-cli.
• Download the openhue ZIP from this page.
• Unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder, or upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills in the Claude apps.

Pair the CLI with your Hue Bridge

The first time the CLI runs, it needs you to press the button on your Hue Bridge to pair. Your computer must be on the same local network as the bridge, because the commands cannot reach the lights otherwise.

Do this pairing step yourself before asking the agent for anything, so the first real request does not stall.

• Make sure the Hue Bridge and the computer running the agent are on the same local network.
• Run any openhue command once and press the button on the Hue Bridge when asked.

Ask for what you want in plain language

The skill triggers on everyday requests about lights. You do not need to type commands. Examples the source uses as triggers include turning lights on or off, dimming a room, setting a scene or "movie mode", controlling specific Hue rooms or zones, and adjusting brightness, colour or colour temperature.

Name rooms and lights as they appear in your Hue app, because the commands refer to them by name.

• "Turn off the lights"
• "Dim the living room lights"
• "Set a scene" or "movie mode"
• "Set the bedroom lamp to red"

Commands the agent runs under the hood

You can check what the agent will do by reading the commands in the skill. Listing resources uses get, and control uses set with a light, room or scene name. Brightness runs from 0 to 100, and colour temperature runs from 153 to 500 mirek, warm to cool.

• List: openhue get light, openhue get room, openhue get scene
• Lights: openhue set light "Bedroom Lamp" --on --brightness 50
• Rooms: openhue set room "Bedroom" --off
• Scenes: openhue set scene "Relax" --room "Bedroom"

Use built-in quick presets

The skill includes three room presets you can ask for by name. They combine brightness and colour temperature in a single command.

Bedtime dims the room to warm light, work mode sets bright cool light, and movie mode dims the room without changing colour.

• Bedtime: dim warm light in the bedroom
• Work mode: bright cool light in the office
• Movie mode: dim the living room

Safety notes: scripts and network

This skill runs scripts, because it executes the openhue command-line tool on your computer. It does not use the network itself as a skill; the CLI communicates with your Hue Bridge on your local network.

Only install the skill if you are comfortable with the agent running that command on your machine.

• The skill runs commands on your computer through the openhue tool.
• Traffic stays on your local network between the computer and the Hue Bridge.
• Colour changes only work on colour-capable bulbs, not white-only bulbs.