nspanel-lovelace-ui/docs-standalone/docs/connection-modes.md

Connection Modes

The rewrite supports two panel input/output modes.

1) MQTT mode (default)

Enabled when:

• mqtt_server is configured
• use_ha_api is not present

Behavior:

• Subscribes to every panel panelRecvTopic
• Expects JSON payload containing CustomRecv
• Publishes commands to panelSendTopic

Example receive payload:

{"CustomRecv":"event,startup,54,eu"}

2) Home Assistant API mode (use_ha_api)

Enabled when key use_ha_api exists in config.

Behavior:

• Subscribes to HA event esphome.nspanel.data
• Routes events by device_id (must match configured panelRecvTopic)
• Sends panel commands by calling Home Assistant service:
  • <panelSendTopic>_nspanelui_api_call

Service payload shape:

data: "...panel command..."
command: 2

Common to both modes

• Home Assistant websocket connection is used for entity state cache and service calls.
• UI actions (button presses, sliders, mode selects) are translated to Home Assistant service calls.