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Getting Started

Welcome to LIFX Emulator! This section will help you get up and running quickly.

Choose Your Package

LIFX Emulator is available as two packages:

Package Best For
lifx-emulator CLI tool, web dashboard, quick testing
lifx-emulator-core Embedding in Python applications, pytest

Learning Path

CLI Users (lifx-emulator)

  1. Installation - Install the CLI tool
  2. Quick Start - Start emulating devices
  3. CLI Reference - All command-line options

Library Users (lifx-emulator-core)

  1. Installation - Install the library
  2. Quick Start - Programmatic usage
  3. API Reference - Python API documentation

Quick Preview

# Install
pip install lifx-emulator

# Run with one color light
lifx-emulator

# Create multiple devices with web dashboard
lifx-emulator --color 2 --multizone 1 --tile 1 --api --verbose

import asyncio
from lifx_emulator import EmulatedLifxServer
from lifx_emulator.factories import create_color_light
from lifx_emulator.repositories import DeviceRepository
from lifx_emulator.devices import DeviceManager

async def main():
    device = create_color_light("d073d5000001")
    device_manager = DeviceManager(DeviceRepository())

    async with EmulatedLifxServer(
        [device], device_manager, "127.0.0.1", 56700
    ) as server:
        print(f"Emulating: {device.state.label}")
        await asyncio.Event().wait()

asyncio.run(main())

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.11+ (or let uv manage it for you)
  • Basic understanding of Python or command-line tools
  • (Optional) Familiarity with LIFX devices or protocol

Why uv?

We recommend uv because it:

  • Automatically manages Python versions for you
  • Is significantly faster than pip
  • Handles virtual environments seamlessly
  • Works consistently across platforms

Next Steps

Once you've completed the getting started guide, explore:

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