6.4k★by jesserod329
philips-hue-thinking – OpenClaw Skill
philips-hue-thinking is an OpenClaw Skills integration for planning workflows. Visual AI activity indicator using Philips Hue lights. Pulse red when thinking, green when done.
Skill Snapshot
| name | philips-hue-thinking |
| description | Visual AI activity indicator using Philips Hue lights. Pulse red when thinking, green when done. OpenClaw Skills integration. |
| owner | jesserod329 |
| repository | jesserod329/philips-hue-thinking |
| language | Markdown |
| license | MIT |
| topics | |
| security | L1 |
| install | openclaw add @jesserod329/philips-hue-thinking |
| last updated | Feb 7, 2026 |
Maintainer

name: philips-hue-thinking description: Visual AI activity indicator using Philips Hue lights. Pulse red when thinking, green when done. homepage: https://github.com/yourusername/philips-hue-thinking metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🚦","requires":{"bins":["hue"]},"install":[{"id":"manual","kind":"manual","label":"Copy hue script to PATH"}]}}
Philips Hue Thinking Indicator
Visual AI activity indicator — Connect your AI assistant's work status to your physical environment through Philips Hue smart lights.
What It Does
Turns a Philips Hue light into an AI activity indicator:
| Light State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 🟢 Green | Ready / Done / Idle |
| 🔴 Pulsing Red | AI is thinking, analyzing, or planning |
| 🔴 Solid Red | AI is actively building/working |
Why Use This?
- Ambient awareness — Know when your AI is working without checking screens
- Flow state protection — Visual indicator prevents interruptions during deep work
- Satisfying completion — Green light signals "ready for next task"
- Conversation starter — "My AI has a physical presence in my house"
Quick Start
1. Setup Your Hue Bridge
# Find your bridge IP (check router or Hue app), then run:
hue setup <bridge-ip>
# Example:
hue setup 192.168.1.100
2. Find Your Light
hue lights
# Output:
# 2: Bed room 1 💡 ON
# 3: Bedroom 2 ⚫ OFF
# 5: Front door 💡 ON ← Use this one
3. Use It
# AI starts thinking
hue thinking 5
# AI is done
hue done 5
Installation
Option 1: Copy to PATH
# Clone or download
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/philips-hue-thinking.git
# Add to PATH
cp philips-hue-thinking/hue /usr/local/bin/
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/hue
Option 2: Use Directly
# Add to your shell profile (.zshrc or .bashrc)
export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/philips-hue-thinking"
# Then reload
source ~/.zshrc
Commands
Core Commands
# Setup (press bridge button first!)
hue setup <bridge-ip>
# List all lights
hue lights
# Thinking mode (pulsing red)
hue thinking <light-id>
# Done (solid green)
hue done <light-id>
# Set any color
hue set <light-id> <color>
Available Colors
hue set 5 red
hue set 5 green
hue set 5 blue
hue set 5 yellow
hue set 5 purple
hue set 5 orange
Utility Commands
# Turn off
hue off 5
# Pulse continuously
hue pulse 5 --color red
Workflow Integration
With AI Assistants
Planning Mode:
User: "Planning mode — I want to build a website"
AI: [runs 'hue thinking 5'] 🔴 Pulsing...
"Here are my questions..."
User: [answers]
AI: [runs 'hue done 5'] ✅ Green
"Starting build now..."
[runs 'hue thinking 5'] 🔴 Solid red while building
AI: [runs 'hue done 5'] ✅ Green
"Done!"
Shell Aliases
Add to ~/.zshrc:
# Quick aliases
alias think='hue thinking 5'
alias done='hue done 5'
Then just type:
think # Light pulses red
done # Light turns green
Technical Details
How It Works
- Hue Bridge API — Communicates via local HTTP API
- Color XY Values — Uses CIE color space for accurate colors
- Background Pulse — Bash loop dims/brightens light
- Stateless — Stores config in
~/.config/philips-hue/
Color XY Values
| Color | X | Y |
|---|---|---|
| Red | 0.675 | 0.322 |
| Green | 0.214 | 0.709 |
| Blue | 0.167 | 0.040 |
| Yellow | 0.492 | 0.476 |
| Purple | 0.265 | 0.100 |
| Orange | 0.600 | 0.380 |
The Pulse Effect
# Brightness oscillation
254 (bright) → 50 (dim) → 254
# Timing
~2 second cycle
Background process keeps pulsing
Configuration
Config stored in: ~/.config/philips-hue/config.json
{
"bridge_ip": "192.168.1.100",
"username": "your-api-key"
}
Requirements
- Philips Hue Bridge (v2)
- Philips Hue color bulbs
- macOS/Linux with
curl - Bash 4.0+
Troubleshooting
"Link button not pressed"
Press the physical button on your Hue Bridge, then run setup within 30 seconds.
Light not responding
# Check connection
hue lights
# Verify config
cat ~/.config/philips-hue/config.json
Pulse won't stop
# Kill background process
pkill -f "hue-pulse-loop"
# Reset light
hue done 5
Future Ideas
- Auto-trigger via AI session lifecycle
- Multiple lights for different task types
- Heartbeat mode (gentle pulse every 30 min)
- Error state (flash purple)
- Success celebration (rainbow effect)
License
MIT — See LICENSE file
Credits
Created by Jesse & Kate (Clawdbot)
Inspired by the need for AI physical presence
Questions? Open an issue or DM @jesse on Twitter
Philips Hue Thinking Indicator 🚦
Give your AI assistant a physical presence through smart lights
What Is This?
A visual AI activity indicator that connects your AI assistant's work status to your physical environment through Philips Hue lights.
| Light State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 🟢 Green | Ready / Done / Idle |
| 🔴 Pulsing Red | AI is thinking, analyzing, or planning |
| 🔴 Solid Red | AI is actively building/working |

Why Use This?
- Ambient awareness — Know when your AI is working without checking screens
- Flow state protection — Visual indicator prevents interruptions during deep work
- Satisfying completion — Green light signals "ready for next task"
- Conversation starter — "My AI has a physical presence in my house"
Quick Start
# 1. Install
brew install your-tap/philips-hue-thinking # or copy hue to PATH
# 2. Find your Hue Bridge IP
# Check your router admin or the Hue app
# Usually something like: 192.168.1.xxx
# 3. Setup (press Hue Bridge button when prompted)
hue setup 192.168.1.100
# 4. Find your light
hue lights
# 5. Use it!
hue thinking 5 # Light pulses red (AI working)
hue done 5 # Light turns green (AI done)
Installation
Option 1: Homebrew (Recommended)
brew tap yourusername/philips-hue
brew install philips-hue-thinking
Option 2: Manual
# Clone
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/philips-hue-thinking.git
cd philips-hue-thinking
# Add to PATH
sudo cp hue /usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/hue
# Or add to your shell profile
export PATH="$PATH:$(pwd)"
Option 3: With AI Assistant
If your AI assistant (Claude, GPT, etc.) supports skills:
Install skill: philips-hue-thinking
The assistant will automatically use hue thinking and hue done during long tasks.
Usage
Core Commands
# Setup (one-time) - use your bridge IP
hue setup 192.168.1.100
# List lights
hue lights
# Output:
# 2: Bed room 1 💡 ON
# 3: Bedroom 2 ⚫ OFF
# 5: Front door 💡 ON ← Use this one
# AI thinking mode (pulsing red)
hue thinking 5
# AI done (solid green)
hue done 5
All Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
hue setup <ip> | Connect to Hue Bridge |
hue lights | List all lights |
hue set <id> <color> | Set any color |
hue thinking <id> | Pulse red (AI working) |
hue done <id> | Solid green (AI done) |
hue pulse <id> | Pulse continuously |
hue off <id> | Turn off |
hue status | Show config |
Colors Available
- Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Purple, Orange, Pink, Cyan, White
hue set 5 purple
hue set 5 blue
Workflow Examples
With AI Assistants
Planning Mode:
User: "Planning mode — I want to build a website"
AI: [runs 'hue thinking 5'] 🔴 Pulsing red...
"Let me analyze this..."
[asks clarifying questions]
User: [answers questions]
AI: [runs 'hue done 5'] ✅ Green
"Plan ready! Starting build..."
[runs 'hue thinking 5'] 🔴 Solid red
[builds for 30 minutes]
AI: [runs 'hue done 5'] ✅ Green
"Done! Website is live."
Shell Aliases
Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:
alias think='hue thinking 5'
alias done='hue done 5'
Then just type:
think # Red
done # Green
CI/CD Integration
# GitHub Actions example
- name: Run tests
run: |
hue thinking 5
npm test
hue done 5
Requirements
- Philips Hue Bridge (v2)
- Philips Hue color bulb(s)
- macOS or Linux
curl(installed by default)bash4.0+
How It Works
- Hue Bridge API — Communicates via local HTTP API
- CIE Color Space — XY coordinates for accurate colors
- Background Process — Bash loop creates breathing effect
- Stateless — Stores config in
~/.config/philips-hue/
The Pulse Effect
Brightness: 254 (bright) → 60 (dim) → 254
Timing: ~2.4 second cycle
Troubleshooting
"Link button not pressed"
Press the physical button on your Hue Bridge, then run setup within 30 seconds.
# Try again with your bridge IP
hue setup 192.168.1.100
Light not responding
# Check connection
hue status
# Test with lights command
hue lights
# Verify IP hasn't changed
# (Check your router or Hue app)
Pulse won't stop
# Kill all pulse processes
pkill -f "hue-pulse-loop"
# Or reset specific light
hue done 5
Configuration
Stored in: ~/.config/philips-hue/config.json
{
"bridge_ip": "192.168.1.151",
"username": "your-api-key-here"
}
API Reference
Color XY Values
| Color | X | Y |
|---|---|---|
| Red | 0.675 | 0.322 |
| Green | 0.214 | 0.709 |
| Blue | 0.167 | 0.040 |
| Yellow | 0.492 | 0.476 |
| Purple | 0.265 | 0.100 |
| Orange | 0.600 | 0.380 |
| Pink | 0.414 | 0.177 |
| Cyan | 0.160 | 0.340 |
| White | 0.313 | 0.329 |
Future Ideas
- Auto-trigger via AI session lifecycle
- Multiple lights for different task types
- Heartbeat mode (gentle pulse every 30 min)
- Error state (flash purple)
- Success celebration (rainbow effect)
- Home Assistant integration
- Siri Shortcuts support
Contributing
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch
- Submit a pull request
Credits
Created by Jesse & Kate (Clawdbot)
Inspired by the need for AI physical presence in the real world.
License
MIT — See LICENSE
Questions? Open an issue or reach out on Twitter @yourusername
Permissions & Security
Security level L1: Low-risk skills with minimal permissions. Review inputs and outputs before running in production.
Requirements
- Philips Hue Bridge (v2) - Philips Hue color bulbs - macOS/Linux with `curl` - Bash 4.0+
Configuration
Config stored in: `~/.config/philips-hue/config.json` ```json { "bridge_ip": "192.168.1.100", "username": "your-api-key" } ```
FAQ
How do I install philips-hue-thinking?
Run openclaw add @jesserod329/philips-hue-thinking in your terminal. This installs philips-hue-thinking into your OpenClaw Skills catalog.
Does this skill run locally or in the cloud?
OpenClaw Skills execute locally by default. Review the SKILL.md and permissions before running any skill.
Where can I verify the source code?
The source repository is available at https://github.com/openclaw/skills/tree/main/skills/jesserod329/philips-hue-thinking. Review commits and README documentation before installing.
