IFTTT Webhooks on Arduino

IFTTT is a real handy service that allows you to make applets doing a variety of things, like email you the weather update every day.
Also, most home automation services like ‘Openhab’, ‘NodeRed’ or ‘HomeAssistent’ have a link with IFTTT so you can use your own data to trigger events or have have IFTTT take action in your home automation application, like switch on lights.

But, what if you dont have a homeautomation system and you just want your individual lonely arduino with ethernetshield to trigger something in IFTTT?

Fortunately IFTTT has a service for that called ‘Webhooks’ (it used to be called ‘Maker’). I have used that service in the past out of curiosity, but recently I needed it again and sadly had to scratch my head on ‘how did I do that again?’
So after getting myself re-aquainted with it, it might be good to share that with people who are interested in using it.

Therefore, let’s make a program that uses IFTTT to Tweet data every time the garagedoor is opened. Yes I know, you can tweet directly from an Arduinoprogram as well, but that’s not the point.

First ofcourse you need to register for IFTTT if you haven’t yet done so already.
Then you create a new applet and for the “IF” service, you choose “webhook”. If you never have used webmaker before, it will ask you to connect that service and provide you with an API key. Store that one, you will need it.
In Step 2 it will ask you for an “event name”.
this is a free to choose name that we will use later to trigger the event. Let’s make that ‘garage_door’.

 

 

 

In step 3 and 4 we chose the Twitter action. If you never used twitter before with IFTTT, you will now be asked for authorization from Twitter.

In Step 5 we format the message that we want to Tweet. The picture shows how I have done that.
Save the applet

We now have finished the IFTTT part, but before we go on to the Arduino part, we will test it:
Go to your browser and type:

https://maker.ifttt.com/trigger/garage_deur/with/key/d56e34gf756/?value1=8&value2=5&value3=good%20morning

in which “d56e34gf756” should be replaced by YOUR apikey.

Within moments you should see your tweet appear in your timeline.

So all we need to do now is to have an Arduino make a POST or GET webrequest akin to the one above.
However, in this case I will not add the values as arguments but as a JSON, but it gives the same result

You will find the code belonging to this action on github.
Now obviously this code needs a trigger as well in the shape of a doorcontact (NC) on digital Pin 4, pulling that down to ground

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