nodejs-poolController - Version 8.4.0

``diff
+ INTELLICENTER USERS: Firmware v3.004+ is supported, but still being refined. If you run into issues, please open a discussion and include a replay capture.
`

What is nodejs-poolController

nodejs-poolController is an application to communicate and control your Pentair compatible pool equipment.

* Want to include a low cost controller for your pool?
* Want a web interface for your system?
* Want to turn your pumps on remotely?
* Want to have your home automation system talk to your pool?
* Want to control your pumps or chlorinator without a pool controller?

Equipment supported
1. Controllers: IntelliCenter, Intellitouch, EasyTouch, Nixie (standalone equimpent), Aqualink
1. Pumps: Intelliflow VS/VSF/VF, older models, relay controlled pumps, Whisperflo
1. Chlorinators: Intellichlor, Aqua-Rite and OEM brands
1. Heaters: Gas, solar, heatpump
1. Intellichem and Relay Equipment Manager (REM) chemical controllers
1. Intellivalve (coming soon)
1. Home Automation: SmartThings, Hubitat, ISY, Vera, Siri, Echo
1. Chemical probes (pH, ORP, flow sensors, EC, etc.)

Latest Changes

See Changelog

What's new in 8.4.0?

1. IntelliCenter v3.004+ support updates (still being refined): registration/config refresh handling, better source-of-truth gating, and improved stability.
2. IntelliCenter v3.004+ circuit control: Action 184 support with learned Target IDs for more reliable circuit on/off behavior.
3. v3.004+ parsing fixes: Wireless byte offsets, big-endian schedule times, and options/setpoint processing improvements.
4. Reduced noise: longer device announce interval and better-scoped logging.

What's new in 8.3.0?

1. Configurable RS‑485 transmit pacing via new controller.txDelays for finer collision avoidance and throughput tuning.
2. Startup & config resilience: empty or invalid config.json now auto‑recreated from defaults, corrupt originals backed up.
3. Latitude / longitude environment overrides to eliminate early heliotrope warnings prior to UI configuration.
4. Version check enhancements: git detection, safer redirects, throttled polling, warning suppression.
5. Docker improvements: fixed Dockerfile and added docker‑compose example with named volumes & environment variable guidance.
6. Add workflow to build and publish docker images to GitHub Container registry.
7. Runtime requirements: elevated minimum Node.js version to 20+, safe dependency and security/patch updates.

What's new in 8.1?

Support for dual chlorinators with REM chem controllers. It is now possible to have two separate chlorinators controlled in 'dynamic' mode by two separate REM chems. Note: In order for REM chem to control each chlorinator, each needs to be on a dedicated RS-485 port (not shared with an OCP or any other chlorinator).

What's new in 8.0?

Screenlogic can now be used as a direct connection point. If you feel that integrating an RS-485 adapter is a bit too much, then this is an option for you. The preferred method is still RS-485 as it is more fully featured.

What's new in 7.0?

The current version includes very tight intergation with relayEquipmentManager which allows for hardware control over your ancillary pool equipment (chemical probes, pumps, tanks, heaters, pumps, etc).

Starting with this version, all code will immediately be pushed to master branch. The version of a next branch for feature development will disappear.


Dashpanel Client Screenshot

Installation Instructions

This code requires a physical RS485 adapter to work.

This is only the server code. See clients below for web or other ways to read/control the pool equipment.

$3

If you don't know anything about NodeJS, these directions might be helpful.

1. Install Nodejs (v20+ required). (https://nodejs.org/en/download/)
1. Update NPM (https://docs.npmjs.com/getting-started/installing-node).
1. It is recommended to clone the source code as updates are frequently pushed while releases are infrequent
clone with git clone https://github.com/tagyoureit/nodejs-poolController.git
(Alternate - not recommended - Download the latest code release
1. Change directory into nodejs-poolController.
1. Run npm install in the new folder (where package.json exists). This will automatically install all the dependencies (serial-port, express, sockets.io, etc).
1. Run the app with npm start.
* npm start will compile the Typescript code. You should use this every time you download/clone/pull the latest code.
* npm run start:cached will run the app without compiling the code which can be much faster.
1. Install a webclient for a browser experience and/or a binding to have two way control with Home Automation systems.

For a very thorough walk-through, see this great thread on Trouble Free Pool. Thanks @MyAZPool.

#### Upgrade Instructions
Assuming you cloned the repo, the following are easy steps to get the latest version:
1. Change directory to the njsPC app
2. Important: Ensure you have Node.js v20 or higher installed (node --version). If not, upgrade Node.js first.
3. git pull
4. Important: Run npm i to update dependencies. This is especially important when upgrading to version 8.3.0+ (including 8.4.0+) as it requires Node 20+ and has updated dependencies.
5. Start application as normal, or if using npm run start:cached then run npm run build to compile the code.

$3

See the wiki. Thanks @wurmr @andylippitt @emes.

$3

Below is an example docker-compose.yml snippet showing this controller (njspc) and an OPTIONAL dashPanel UI service (njspc-dash). The dashPanel image is published separately; uncomment if you want a built-in web dashboard on port 5150.

`yaml
services:
njspc:
image: ghcr.io/sam2kb/njspc
container_name: njspc
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
- TZ=${TZ:-UTC}
- NODE_ENV=production
# Serial vs network connection options
# - POOL_NET_CONNECT=true
# - POOL_NET_HOST=raspberrypi
# - POOL_NET_PORT=9801
# Provide coordinates so sunrise/sunset (heliotrope) works immediately - change as needed
- POOL_LATITUDE=28.5383
- POOL_LONGITUDE=-81.3792
ports:
- "4200:4200"
devices:
- /dev/ttyACM0:/dev/ttyUSB0
# Persistence (create host directories/files first)
volumes:
- ./server-config.json:/app/config.json # Persisted config file on host
- njspc-data:/app/data # State & equipment snapshots
- njspc-backups:/app/backups # Backup archives
- njspc-logs:/app/logs # Logs
- njspc-bindings:/app/web/bindings/custom # Custom bindings
# OPTIONAL: If you get permission errors accessing /dev/tty*, prefer adding the container user to the host dialout/uucp group;
# only as a last resort temporarily uncomment the two lines below to run privileged/root (less secure).
# privileged: true
# user: "0:0"

njspc-dash:
image: ghcr.io/sam2kb/njspc-dash
container_name: njspc-dash
restart: unless-stopped
depends_on:
- njspc
environment:
- TZ=${TZ:-UTC}
- NODE_ENV=production
- POOL_WEB_SERVICES_IP=njspc # Link to backend service name
ports:
- "5150:5150"
volumes:
- ./dash-config.json:/app/config.json
- njspc-dash-data:/app/data
- njspc-dash-logs:/app/logs
- njspc-dash-uploads:/app/uploads

volumes:
njspc-data:
njspc-backups:
njspc-logs:
njspc-bindings:
njspc-dash-data:
njspc-dash-logs:
njspc-dash-uploads:
`

Quick start:
1. Save compose file.
2. (Optional) create an empty config file: touch dash-config.json.
3. docker compose up -d
4. Visit Dash UI at: http://localhost:5150.

Notes:
* Provide either RS-485 device OR enable network (ScreenLogic) connection.
* Coordinates env vars prevent heliotrope warnings before the panel reports location.
* Persistence (controller):
* ./server-config.json:/app/config.json main runtime config. You can either:
* Seed it with a copy of defaultConfig.json (cp defaultConfig.json server-config.json), OR
* Start with an empty file and the app will auto-populate it from defaults on first launch. If the file exists but contains invalid JSON it will be backed up to config.corrupt-.json and regenerated.
* Remaining state (data, backups, logs, custom bindings) is typically stored in named volumes in the provided compose for cleaner host directories. If you prefer bind mounts instead, replace the named volumes with host paths similar to the example below.
* Data artifacts: poolConfig.json, poolState.json etc. live under /app/data (volume njspc-data).
* Backups: /app/backups (volume njspc-backups).
* Logs: /app/logs (volume njspc-logs).
* Custom bindings: /app/web/bindings/custom (volume njspc-bindings).
* To migrate from bind mounts to named volumes, stop the stack, docker run --rm -v oldPath:/from -v newVolume:/to alpine sh -c 'cp -a /from/. /to/' for each path, then update compose.

$3

See the wiki.

Clients & Bindings

To do anything with this app, you need a client to connect to it. A client can be a web application or Home Automation system.

REM (Relay Equipment Manager)

Relay Equipment Manager is a companion app developed by @rstrouse that integrates standalone hardware control. Controls GPIO, i2c, and SPI devices including:
* Atlas Scientific pH, orp, ec, hum, prs, pmp, rtd
* ADS1x15 a/d converters
* Pressure Tranducers
* Flow sensors
* Temperature sensors (10k, NTC)

Web Clients

1. nodejs-poolController-dashPanel. Full compatibility with IntelliCenter, *Touch, REM (RelayEquipmentManager).

Home Automation Bindings (previously Integrations)

Available automations:
* Vera Home Automation Hub - A plugin that integrates with nodejs-poolController. Bindings Directions
* Hubitat by @bsileo (prev help from @johnny2678, @donkarnag, @arrmo). Bindings Directions
* Homebridge/Siri/EVE by @gadget-monk, adopted from @leftyflip
* InfluxDB - Bindings Directions
* MQTT original release by @crsherman, re-write by @kkzonie, testing by @baudfather and others. Bindings Directions
* Homeseer - Integration directions by @miamijerry to integrate Homeseer through MQTT

Outdated:
* Another SmartThings Controller by @dhop90
* ISY. Original credit to @blueman2, enhancements by @mayermd
* ISY Polyglot NodeServer created by @brianmtreese

Support

1. For discussions, recommendations, designs, and clarifications, we recommend you join the Github discussions for tips, tricks and additional documentation.
1. For bug reports you can open a github issue,

Changes

See Changelog

Config.json changes

Controller section - changes to the communications for the app

Most of these can be configured directly from the UI in dashPanel.
* rs485Port - set to the name of you rs485 controller. See wiki for details and testing.
* portSettings - should not need to be changed for RS485
* mockPort - opens a "fake" port for this app to communicate on. Can be used with packet captures/replays.
* netConnect - used to connect via Socat
* netHost and netPort - host and port for Socat connection.
* inactivityRetry - # of seconds the app should wait before trying to reopen the port after no communications. If your equipment isn't on all the time or you are running a virtual controller you may want to dramatically increase the timeout so you don't get console warnings.
* txDelays - (optional) fine‑grained transmit pacing controls added in 8.1+ to better coexist with busy or bridged (socat / multiple panel / dual chlorinator) RS‑485 buses. These values are all in milliseconds. If the block is omitted, internal defaults are used (see defaultConfig.json). All values can be hot‑reloaded from config.
* idleBeforeTxMs – Minimum quiet time on the bus (no RX or TX seen) before a new outbound frame may start. Helps avoid collisions just after another device finishes talking. Typical: 40‑80. Set to 0 to disable.
* interFrameDelayMs – Delay inserted between completed outbound attempts (success, retry scheduling, or queue drain) and evaluation of the next outbound message. Replaces the previous fixed 100ms. Typical: 30‑75. Lower values increase throughput but may raise collision / rewind counts.
* interByteDelayMs – Optional per‑byte pacing inside a single frame. Normally 0 (disabled). Set to 1‑2ms only if you observe hardware or USB adapter overruns, or are experimenting with very marginal wiring / long cable runs.

Example tuning block - more conservative pacing for SunTouch that works way better than defaults:

`json
"txDelays": {
"idleBeforeTxMs": 60,
"interFrameDelayMs": 50,
"interByteDelayMs": 1
}
`

Tuning guidance:
- Start with the defaults. Only change one value at a time and observe stats (collisions, retries, rewinds) via rs485PortStats.
- If you see frequent outbound retries or receive rewinds, first raise idleBeforeTxMs in small steps (e.g. +10ms) before touching interFrameDelayMs.
- If overall throughput feels sluggish but collisions are low, you may lower interFrameDelayMs gradually.
- Use interByteDelayMs only as a last resort; it elongates every frame and reduces total bus capacity.
- Setting any value too high will simply slow configuration bursts (e.g. on startup); setting them too low can cause more retries and ultimately lower effective throughput.

All three parameters are safe to adjust without restarting; edits to config.json are picked up by the existing config watcher.

Web section - controls various aspects of external communications


* servers - setting for different servers/services
* http2 - not used currently
* http - primary server used for api connections without secure communications
* enabled - self-explanatory
* ip - The ip of the network address to listen on. Default of 127.0.0.1 will only listen on the local loopback (localhost) adapter. 0.0.0.0 will listen on all network interfaces. Any other address will listen exclusively on that interface.
* port - Port to listen on. Default is 4200.
* httpsRedirect - Redirect http traffic to https
* authentication - Enable basic username/password authentication. (Not implemented yet.)
* authFile - Location of the encrypted password file. By default, /users.htpasswd. If you have authentication=1 then create the file users.htpasswd in the root of the application. Use a tool such as http://www.htaccesstools.com/htpasswd-generator/ and paste your user(s) into this file. You will now be prompted for authentication.
* https - See http options above.
* sslKeyFile - Location of key file
* sslCertFile - Location of certificate file
* mdns - Not currently used.
* ssdp - Enable for automatic configuration by the webClient and other platforms.

Log - Different aspects of logging to the application

* app - Application wide settings
* enabled - Enable/disable logging for the entire application
* level - Different levels of logging from least to most: 'error', 'warn', 'info', 'verbose', 'debug', 'silly'
* packet` - Configuration for the

Credit

1. @Rstrouse for helping make the 6.0 rewrite and Intellicenter possible, continuing to make monumental changes, and driving this project forward in numerous ways. My knowledge of coding in general has benefitted greatly from working with him.
1. @jwtaylor310 for providing a ton of IntelliCenter v3.004+ replay captures that helped track down and fix bugs.
1. Jason Young (Read both posts, they are a great baseline for knowledge)
1. Michael Russe ceesco CocoonTech - Registration required for CocoonTech. Jason Young used this material for his understanding in the protocol as well. There is a very detailed .txt file with great information ~~that I won't post unless I get permission~~. Looks like it was publicly posted to Pastebin.
1. Michael Usner for taking the work of both of the above and turning it into Javascript code.
1. rflemming for being the first to contribute some changes to the code.
1. Awesome help from @arrmo and @blueman2 on Gitter

License

nodejs-poolController. An application to control pool equipment.
Copyright (C) 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025. Russell Goldin, tagyoureit. russ.goldin@gmail.com

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU Affero General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
along with this program. If not, see