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tuya-localkey.md

Copied from https://github.com/codetheweb/tuyapi/blob/master/docs/SETUP.md

YMMV: Tuya likes to change their website frequently and the below instructions may be slightly out of date. If something looks wrong, please open a new issue.

Note: both methods below require that your device works with the official Tuya Smart app. If your device only works with one specific app, it almost certainly won't work with TuyAPI.

All methods below require you to install the CLI tool before proceeding.

Install it by running npm i @tuyapi/cli -g. If it returns an error, you may need to prefix the command with sudo. (Tip: using sudo to install global packages is not considered best practice. See this NPM article for some help.)

Listing Tuya devices from the Tuya Smart or Smart Life apps

This method is fast and easy. If you're having trouble manually linking your device with the below method, we recommend you try this. All devices that you want to use must be registered in either the Tuya Smart app or the Smart Life app.

  1. Follow steps 1 through 3 from the "Linking a Tuya device with Smart Link" method below.
  2. Go to Cloud -> Development and click the project you created earlier. Then click the "Devices" tab. Click the "Link Tuya App account" tab.
  3. Click "Add App Account" and scan the QR code from your smart phone/tablet app by going to the 'Me' tab in the app, and tapping a QR code / Scan button in the upper right. Your account will now be linked.
  4. On the command line, run tuya-cli wizard. It will prompt you for required information, and will then list out all your device names, IDs, and keys for use with TuyAPI. Copy and save this information to a safe place for later reference.

Linking a Tuya device with Smart Link

This method requires you to create a developer account on iot.tuya.com. It doesn't matter if the device(s) are currently registered in the Tuya Smart app or Smart Life app or not.

  1. Create a new account on iot.tuya.com and make sure you are logged in. Select United States as your country when signing up. This seems to skip a required verify step.
  2. Go to Cloud -> Projects in the left nav drawer. If you haven't already, you will need to "purchase" the Trial Plan before you can proceed with this step. You will not have to add any form of payment, and the purchase is of no charge. Once in the Projects tab, click "Create". Make sure you select "Smart Home" for both the "Industry" field and the development method. Select your country of use in the for the location access option, and feel free to skip the services option in the next window. After you've created a new project, click into it. The access ID and access key are equivalent to the API key and API secret values need in step 7.
  3. Go to Cloud -> Development -> "MyProject" -> Service API -> "Go to authorize". "Select API" > click subscribe on "IoT Core", "Authorization", and "Smart Home Scene Linkage" in the dropdown. Click subscribe again on every service (also check your PopUp blocker). Click "basic edition" and "buy now" (basic edition is free). Check if the 4 services are listed under Cloud -> Projects -> "MyProject" -> API. If not, click "Add Authorization" and select them.
  4. Go to App -> App SDK -> Development in the nav drawer. Click "Create" and enter whatever you want for the package names and Channel ID (for the Android package name, you must enter a string beginning with com.). Take note of the Channel ID you entered. This is equivalent to the schema value needed in step 7. Ignore any app key and app secret values you see in this section as they are not used.
  5. Go to Cloud -> Development and click the project you created earlier. Then click "Link Device". Click the "Link devices by Apps" tab, and click "Add Apps". Check the app you just created and click "Ok".
  6. Put your devices into linking mode. This process is specific to each type of device, find instructions in the Tuya Smart app. Usually this consists of turning it on and off several times or holding down a button.
  7. On the command line, run tuya-cli link --api-key <your api key> --api-secret <your api secret> --schema <your schema/Channel ID> --ssid <your WiFi name> --password <your WiFi password> --region us. For the region parameter, choose the two-letter country code from us, eu, and cn that is geographically closest to you.
  8. Your devices should link in under a minute and the parameters required to control them will be printed out to the console. If you experience problems, first make sure any smart phone/tablet app that you use with your devices is completely closed and not attempting to communicate with any of the devices.

Troubleshooting

Error: sign invalid

This means that one of the parameters you're passing in (api-key, api-secret, schema) is incorrect. Double check the values.

Device(s) failed to be registered! Error: Timed out waiting for devices to connect.

This can happen for a number of reasons. It means that the device never authenticated against Tuya's API (although it does not necessarily mean that the device could not connect to WiFi). Try the following:

  • Making sure that your computer is connected to your network via WiFi only (unplug ethernet if necessary)
  • Making sure that your network is 2.4 Ghz (devices will also connect if you have both 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz bands under the same SSID)
  • Using a different OS
  • Removing special characters from your network's SSID

DEPRECATED - Linking a Tuya Device with MITM

This method is deprecated because Tuya-branded apps have started to encrypt their traffic in an effort to prevent MITM attacks like this one. If this method doesn't work, try the above.

  1. Add any devices you want to use with tuyapi to the Tuya Smart app.
  2. Install AnyProxy by running npm i anyproxy -g. Then run anyproxy-ca.
  3. Run tuya-cli list-app. It will print out a QR code; scan it with your phone and install the root certificate. After installation, trust the installed root certificate.
  4. Configure the proxy on your phone with the parameters provided in the console.
  5. Enable full trust of certificate by going to Settings > General > About > Certificate Trust Settings
  6. Open Tuya Smart and refresh the list of devices by "pulling down".
  7. A list of ID and key pairs should appear in the console.
  8. It's recommended to untrust the root certificate after you're done for security purposes.
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