Ecowitt Gateways: Live Weather Readings

Use this skill when the user asks about current conditions at home and the address identifies an Ecowitt gateway. These are the user's own sensor readings, not a forecast.

Identify the Device

• Gateways do not advertise mDNS, so discovery shows them as unnamed hosts at best. If discovery does not identify one, ask the user for its IP; the Ecowitt and WSView Plus apps show it.
• GET /get_version and require "platform":"ecowitt" and a supported model in version, such as GW2000B_V3.3.2. Re-check after any address change.
• GW1000 and older consoles have no local HTTP API.

Prerequisites

Read and follow the Home Link networking and safety rules in ~/docs/devices/home_link.md.

• The gateway is already set up in the Ecowitt or WSView Plus app with its outdoor sensor paired. Setup and sensor pairing are outside this skill.
• The read endpoints need no credentials. If one returns a login page or an error instead of JSON, stop and tell the user.

Workflow

1. GET /get_livedata_info and pick the requested fields (see Response Shape).
2. Report values with the units the gateway returns; convert only when asked.
3. For wind direction, use the 10-minute average 0x6D when present; the instantaneous 0x0A swings between reads.
4. Say it is raining now only when the rain rate 0x0E is above zero. The event total 0x0D is rain since the event began and stays positive after rain stops; report it as accumulation, not as current rain. If srain_piezo reads 1 while the rate is zero, call it possible drizzle; mist or dew can trigger it briefly.

Response Shape

common_list, rain and piezoRain are arrays of {"id","val","unit"?} entries; wh25 is a one-element array; read the named fields from its first object (wh25[0]). Groups appear only for sensors that are reporting. Excerpt from a GW2000 with a WS90:

{"common_list":[{"id":"0x02","val":"58.8","unit":"F"},{"id":"0x0B","val":"2.68 mph"}],
 "piezoRain":[{"id":"srain_piezo","val":"0"},{"id":"0x0E","val":"0.00 in/Hr"}],
 "wh25":[{"intemp":"74.8","unit":"F","inhumi":"49%","abs":"29.96 inHg","rel":"30.01 inHg"}]}

A station with both a tipping-bucket gauge and a piezo sensor reports both rain and piezoRain with the same ids; keep their values separate and say which gauge each comes from. Do not guess the meaning of ids not listed here.

Verify the Result

• If a requested field is missing, say that sensor is not reporting.
• Battery status can sit on a rain entry, such as 0x13 on a WS90; mention it only when low or asked.
• If the gateway is unreachable, say so rather than falling back to an online forecast.

Limits

• Read-only: no /set_* calls, calibration, upload or Wi-Fi settings, firmware updates, reboots, or switching IoT devices paired to the gateway.
• Do not read /get_network_info or /get_device_info; they expose the MAC address and access-point settings.
• No history beyond rain totals and today's maximum gust, which has no timestamp; do not say when it occurred.
• Wind readings reflect the sensor's mounting; one next to a wall can read sheltered or reversed wind.

Sources

• Ecowitt Official Integration for Home Assistant: local HTTP API and supported models
• wittiot, the library it uses: endpoint names and field ids