ETS and Claude Integration

Actually this would be a perfect use case since AI assisted groups etc. would be a quick task instead of the loads of manual work. 

MCPs is now State of the Art. That is the future and KNX Assu. has to hurry. Feels like the only peace of software at the moment which is behind :(.

Yes please! We would love to beta test.

We did our own tests with the knx project files and came pretty far but got stuck on the certificate. But an official way would be so much nicer. Or have a switch to turn of the certificate.

+1 from my side. This would be so cool

@Maurits Veldhuijzen van Zanten
was it possible to just let the LLM edit the knxproj files directly and with that configure devices, create groups, connect stuff, etc...? Was the limit you hit related to knx secure or what certificate are you talking about?

I would also really love to see this feature. This could be a real game changer.

But honestly: Moving to an open database or file-based storage backend would solve the problem mostly. It would allow others to write their own MCP server for ETS or just use a cli agent modifying the files directly. 

It is possible currently. I've implemented my own solution of a MCP server for ETS. Its pretty abusive to ETS however. An official API or MCP server would be really helpful. As far as i can tell you can only do it if you have a dongle currently. 
Basically hooking into ETS's own DLL files and signing restorepoints to edit live project data. Its a bit rough but when i can link 3000 groups in 1 operation its worth the hassle. 

@Thomas Kristian Hodnemyr That sounds awesome — thanks for sharing!
Unfortunately, I’m currently using a cloud licence, so I can’t test it myself. Do you know why your approach only works with dongle licences at the moment?
Also, is this something you’d be willing or able to share with the community? It could be really useful for others too.

Actually it does not require the dongle on closer inspection. But it does require a license of some sort, i haven't tried using cloud license yet. 

I would be willing to share it sure, i'm working out some kinks currently. Need to put up some safe guards because its a thin line between editing your project and breaking the whole thing. If you don't know what going on, you could potentially ask the LLM to do some pretty breaking stuff. Altho ETS itself has some pretty good safeguards against it. 

I'll keep you posted 

Subject: [Open source] Design-time ETS review + Home Assistant export via an MCP/AI assistant — beta, testers wanted

Hi all,

I've built an open-source design-time assistant for KNX and I'd value this community's critical eye. It's an MCP server that an AI client (Claude) drives, but the important part is what it does to a project file, not the AI:

• Reads a .knxproj read-only — no bus access at all (no KNX/IP or networking libraries in the dependency tree; it physically cannot reach an installation).
• Checks naming, DPT consistency, and missing status objects, pairing command↔status primarily from ETS Function roles.
• Generates a Home Assistant KNX package and ETS-importable GA exports (XML / CSV), plus a Markdown report to review before import.

I've hardened it against public ETS 4.2 / 5.0 / 5.5 / 6 test projects (it found and I fixed several real bugs, each now covered by a regression test), and there's a full 239-GA demo project + dashboard so you can see input → output.

It is beta and I'd genuinely like it tested against real projects. It's read-only and never connects to a bus, so trying it is safe.

Repo: https://github.com/NickoScope/nickol-knx-mcp · Demo/screenshots: https://nickoscope.github.io/nickol-knx-mcp/ · MIT.

Honest, technical feedback (including "this is wrong because…") is exactly what I'm after. Thanks!

Not affiliated with the KNX Association; KNX/ETS are trademarks of the KNX Association cc.

Hello everyone,

I've created an ETS App that does exactly what you're asking for:
https://haar-informatik.de/ets-power-editor/
(Click the British flag at the top of the page for the English version.)

It's a proper ETS App built on the official Add-In API — no DLL hooking, no editing the .knxproj on the side. Through an integrated MCP connector an AI assistant works directly on the open project; analysing and renaming group addresses is just one example, and the full feature list is on the website.

The app can currently be tested before it goes live. Don't hesitate to get in touch to receive your test license in exchange for some productive feedback.

Quick update since my earlier post — a few people here (@Maurits, @Simon, @Edmond) mentioned wanting to try AI-assisted ETS work but getting blocked on the certificate / licence. Worth noting: nickol-knx-mcp is read-only and works directly on the exported .knxproj file — it never talks to ETS or the bus, so there's no dongle, cloud-licence or certificate hurdle to just try it on a copy of your project.

Since then it's grown a fair bit: it now also validates topology & individual addressing (devices/line vs the TP1 64/256 limits, address validity/uniqueness, coupler placement) on top of naming/DPT/status/Secure, and generates the HA package + ETS exports.

@Thomas — nice work on the write-side MCP; sounds complementary: yours edits the live project, this one reviews it and produces the HA/handover output read-only. Happy to get beta testers on real projects — feedback (incl. "this rule is wrong because…") is exactly what helps.

Repo: https://github.com/NickoScope/nickol-knx-mcp · MIT

Quick update: the test phase is nearly over — 30 August is the last day on which I can hand out test licences.

If anyone here still works with ETS 5, I would be particularly glad to hear from you — those are the testers I am still missing.

Otherwise, just get in touch before the end of the month if you would like to try it.

@Nikolay Congratulations on the project: This is definitely an important milestone and already looks very useful.

For me, though, the real deal is an AI/MCP integration with write access to the ETS project. Being able to describe the intended concept and then have the AI create hundreds of group addresses, link objects according to specifications, or apply consistent configurations would be a huge time saver.

I also see a lot of potential for project cleanup and maintenance: reviewing and changing group names and addresses, checking device addresses, or configuring multiple similar devices consistently without making them completely identical. Your read-only MCP looks like a great complement to that, especially for validation and review.

@Thomas Congratulations on the ETS App! This is exactly what I have been looking for. I would be very happy to participate as a beta tester and will contact you via the website right away.

I'm also very curious about the pricing model once the app goes live. Are you planning different pricing tiers, particularly something like a more affordable home/private-user license for people using ETS mainly for their own installation?

Thanks very much, Simon — I appreciate that.

You've actually described what the read-only side already does today: reviewing and normalising group names and addresses, checking device (individual) addresses, and spotting where several "identical" devices have drifted apart in their parameters — the "consistent but not completely identical" case — are exactly the checks it runs on an exported .knxproj. It's open-source and needs no ETS write access or dongle, so you can point it at a copy of a real project and see what it flags, at zero risk. Beyond validation it also generates the parts that live downstream of ETS — a Home Assistant package and an as-built handover pack — which is the half I care most about.

I'd genuinely value your eye on it as someone who does this for real; if you try it, tell me where it gets things wrong. And I fully agree the write-into-ETS direction is powerful — the two approaches feel complementary rather than either/or.

Repo: github.com/NickoScope/nickol-knx-mcp

@Nikolay Miroshnichenko
Looks good for sure. but i have no idea why you've made it an MCP server. a plugin is probably the correct shape for it. 
Hosting a MCP server just to serve you skills is a bit overkill. 

Hi everyone,

my app is now available in the KNX App Shop.
https://my.knx.org/shop?action=search&search=Haar-Informatik

Best regards,
Thomas

I believe this discussion highlights a bigger problem: if KNX Association opened ETS App development and licensing to individual community developers, integrations like this could also be developed and shared for free.

Meanwhile, ETS Power Editor lists a regular price of €49.98 per month for editing functionality.  And as website is AI made, for sure Power Editor app is also AI vibecoded.

Commercial developers are entitled to charge for their work and support. But users should also have a practical route to building and using free community alternatives. KNX’s licensing policy should allow both models to compete.

Give holders of a valid ETS license a free developer mode, documented APIs, and the ability to run community add-ins with explicit user consent. The community could then build, review, and improve these integrations together.

KNX Association does not have to develop every integration itself. It needs to stop making community development unnecessarily difficult.

Hi everyone,

I've been following this discussion with interest, as I've also been exploring AI integration with ETS for some time.

I've recently released KNX-MCP, an ETS App for ETS5 and ETS6 that provides direct MCP access to ETS projects, including write operations.

My approach is to let the AI agent handle as much of the workflow as possible, rather than implementing every decision and sequence directly in the MCP server.

One particularly useful capability is working with multiple open ETS projects. The agent can access and modify all enabled projects, use existing structures as a reference and apply them to other projects. This works really well in practice and saves a lot of time.

KNX-specific knowledge and recurring workflows can be added through Skills or project instructions, but they are not required. Users can choose their own AI environment, including locally hosted models, and keep additional project knowledge locally.

Of course, write operations remain subject to configurable permissions.

For anyone interested in trying a different approach, KNX-MCP is currently available free of charge in the official KNX Online Shop:

https://my.knx.org/shop?action=search&search=KNX-MCP

I'm the developer, and feedback from real ETS projects is very welcome.

Hi Peter,

calling my app “vibecoded” without ever having used it is simply disrespectful. Don’t assume everyone works the way you would.

On the price: the app is free in the KNX Store, and reading and searching your project with AI is permanently free. Only write access costs money, and it’s cancellable monthly. You quoted the one number that suited you.

In one sentence you call my app “vibecoded”, and in the next you ask KNX to let unreviewed community add-ins write into customer projects. Pick one.

The read-only part costs nothing. Try it, then come back with something concrete.

Thomas

Got to agree with Thomas here... 

KNX Association gatekeeping the SDK is a problem in my eyes as well, but outright accusing a developer of vibecoding when you have no knowledge of their past work is quite disrespectful. 

Even if this product has been developed with the assistance of AI, there's a massive difference between a seasoned developer with deep institutional knowledge about KNX and the inner workings of ETS using AI for targeted coding, compared to someone going full "jesus take the wheel, make me a ets mcp" vibecoded slopfest. 

So please take your attitude and go elsewhere.