goveelog

Description

Listen for BTLE broadcast from Govee H5074 or H5179 devices, and publish the data to Influx DB so that it can be graphed with Grafana. To be run as a service.

System Requirements

• Bluetooth adapter: Must be enabled and accessible
• Python 3: Tested with Python 3.11+
• Dependencies: bleak, influxdb-client

Setup & Permissions

The script uses the bleak library for Bluetooth Low Energy scanning, which typically requires fewer special permissions than raw HCI access. However, you may still need elevated permissions depending on your system configuration.

Option 1: Run with sudo (if needed)

sudo python3 goveelog.py [options]

Option 2: Add user to bluetooth group

sudo usermod -a -G bluetooth $USER
# Log out and back in

Option 3: Set capabilities (if still needed)

# Find your Python executable
readlink -f $(which python3)

# Set capabilities (replace /usr/bin/python3.11 with your actual path)
sudo setcap 'cap_net_raw,cap_net_admin+eip' /usr/bin/python3.11

Note: The bleak library should work with standard user permissions on most systems. Try running without sudo first.

Parsing logic for the two different types of Govee devices is based on sensor.goveetemp_bt_hci

For each device that it hears broadcasting, decodes the device's temperature, humidity, battery and rssi level and logs it at least once per minute.

Usage

usage: goveelog.py [-h] [-r] [--influxdb] [--influxdb_host INFLUXDB_HOST] [--influxdb_port INFLUXDB_PORT] 
                        [--influxdb_user INFLUXDB_USER] [--influxdb_pass INFLUXDB_PASS] [--influxdb_db INFLUXDB_DB] 
                        [-v]

optional arguments:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -r, --raw             print raw data to stdout
  --influxdb            publish to influxdb
  --influxdb_host INFLUXDB_HOST
                        hostname of InfluxDB HTTP API (default: localhost)
  --influxdb_port INFLUXDB_PORT
                        port of InfluxDB HTTP API (default: 8086)
  --influxdb_user INFLUXDB_USER
                        InfluxDB username
  --influxdb_pass INFLUXDB_PASS
                        InfluxDB password
  --influxdb_db INFLUXDB_DB
                        InfluxDB database name (default: govee)
  -v, --verbose         verbose mode - show device discovery and data

To configure a service, create the file /etc/systemd/system/govee.service and insert the following information:

[Unit]
Description=Govee Influxdb service
After=network.target
StartLimitIntervalSec=0

[Service]
Type=simple
Restart=always
RestartSec=1
User=<user to run as>
ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 /full/path/to/goveelog.py --influxdb --influxdb_user <infuxdb username> --influxdb_pass <influxdb password>

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Make sure to specify the User to run as, the path to goveelog.py and the username and password for influxdb.

Then run the command to start the service: systemctl start govee.

To make the service start automatically on boot, run the command systemctl enable govee.

At anytime, check the status of the service with: systemctl status govee.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Permission denied accessing Bluetooth adapter

• The script uses the bleak library which typically requires fewer permissions
• Try running without sudo first, then use the permission setup options if needed
• Check that Bluetooth is enabled: bluetoothctl show

Service fails to start

• Check service status: systemctl status govee
• View logs: journalctl -u govee -f
• Ensure the user specified in the service file has proper permissions

No data being collected

• Verify Bluetooth is working: bluetoothctl scan on
• Check that Govee devices are broadcasting (batteries not dead)
• Use -v flag for verbose output to see device discovery and data
• The script now uses async BLE scanning which may be more reliable

InfluxDB connection issues

• Verify InfluxDB is running and accessible
• Check credentials and database name
• Test connection manually: curl http://localhost:8086/ping

This content is licensed under MIT License