deCONZ REST plugin is a C++ REST-API server that exposes Zigbee 3.0, Zigbee Home Automation and Zigbee Light Link devices — lights, switches and sensors — to any application that can speak HTTP, and it is aimed at self-hosters running a ConBee USB dongle or a RaspBee shield on a Raspberry Pi or Linux host.

What it is

The project is the REST-API plugin component of deCONZ, published by dresden elektronik under the BSD-3-Clause licence. It speaks to Zigbee hardware through a ConBee, ConBee II or ConBee III USB dongle, or through a RaspBee or RaspBee II shield mounted on a Raspberry Pi. On top of that radio link it presents the Zigbee network — lights, switches and sensors from Xiaomi Aqara, IKEA TRÅDFRI, Philips Hue, innr, Samsung and other vendors — as a documented HTTP interface. Companion documentation covers the REST API, the deCONZ C++ plugin API, and the DDF and C++ device API used to describe new devices.

The concrete problem it solves is vendor lock-in at the gateway layer. A Zigbee network normally reaches an application only through the vendor's own bridge and cloud service; this plugin replaces that bridge with a local REST endpoint that the application queries directly over the LAN. Consumers of the API are not tied to one ecosystem: the same endpoint can serve the browser-based Phoscon App, a home automation controller, or a custom script, because the surface is plain HTTP with published documentation rather than a proprietary SDK.

Key capabilities

• Serves a documented REST-API over HTTP for lights, switches and sensors, with reference documentation at dresden-elektronik.github.io/deconz-rest-doc.
• Controls devices across Zigbee 3.0 (Z30), Zigbee Home Automation (ZHA) and Zigbee Light Link (ZLL) profiles.
• Supports hardware from Xiaomi Aqara, IKEA TRÅDFRI, Philips Hue, innr and Samsung, with a maintained Supported Devices list in the wiki.
• Ships a DDF and C++ device API so unsupported hardware can be described and added without waiting for an upstream release.
• Runs headless on Linux through a packaged systemd unit: sudo systemctl enable deconz, with the GUI service disabled via sudo systemctl disable deconz-gui and sudo systemctl stop deconz-gui.
• Includes the Phoscon App, a browser-based interface for lights, sensors and switches, as the out-of-the-box control surface.
• Publishes precompiled deCONZ packages containing the main application and the precompiled plugin for Windows, macOS, Raspbian, Ubuntu and Debian 64-bit, and ARM64.

Who uses it and how

• Raspberry Pi owners running Raspbian Buster, Bullseye or Bookworm with a RaspBee or RaspBee II shield, using the sd-card image or the default installation method.
• Linux server operators on Ubuntu Bionic, Focal Fossa or Jammy who install the .deb package and enable the systemd service for a headless gateway with no X11 server.
• Desktop users on Windows 7, 10 or 11 and macOS who install the precompiled package and run the deCONZ application locally.
• Developers building custom device support through the DDF and C++ device API, or integrating the REST endpoint into their own automation stack.
• Users who prefer community support, served through the project's Discord server and the wiki.

Getting started

Installation follows the Phoscon instructions for the specific adapter — RaspBee, RaspBee II, ConBee, ConBee II or ConBee III — or, on Linux, by installing a precompiled .deb with sudo dpkg -i .deb followed by sudo apt-get install -f. Building from source is documented in BUILDING.md, and the Phoscon App documentation covers first-time setup of the browser interface.

How it compares

No list of paid products it replaces is provided in the facts, and no comparable tools are named alongside it, so within this registry the deCONZ REST plugin stands alone as the Zigbee gateway entry.

When to use it — and when not to

A self-hoster must operate the deCONZ application itself, and must own one of the supported adapters, because the plugin has no radio of its own and will not run against arbitrary Zigbee hardware. Upgrades carry real risk: the README instructs users updating from a previous version to create a backup in the Phoscon App and read the changelog first. Anyone unwilling to buy a ConBee or RaspBee, or who needs a purely cloud-managed service with no host to maintain, should look elsewhere; the project also carries 145 open issues, so expect to track upstream development rather than assume a finished product.

sudo dpkg -i .deb
sudo apt-get install -f

$ sudo systemctl enable deconz

$ sudo systemctl disable deconz-gui
$ sudo systemctl stop deconz-gui