This content originally appeared on Opera News and was authored by Mateusz Rzempała
Ever wished your browser could do more than just sit there on your screen? What if it could react to you? To your room? What if your entire setup could work together as one device?
Today, we’re launching Opera GX Smart Home, and it’s going to completely change how you think about your browser. We’ve basically given Opera GX a key to your smart home, allowing it to communicate with all the other connected devices in your setup. For the first time ever, your browser is no longer just a window to the internet, it’s an active, responsive part of your setup.
Your browser now listens to your room
This isn’t just about turning lights on and off from a browser dashboard. That’s old news. This is a two-way street. Your smart devices can now control what your browser does.
Imagine this:
- Automate your privacy: That pesky roommate or parent who walks in without knocking? Set up a door sensor to instantly trigger the Panic Button the moment the door opens. Your secret browsing is safe.
- Sync your room: Your room’s RGB lighting can now perfectly sync with your Opera GX theme colors. Maximum immersion, unlocked.
- Movie mode: Hitting play on a movie in your browser can now automatically dim your lights, close your blinds, and tell your smart speaker to shut up.
- Go completely custom: Want a bright red “Do not disturb” light to turn on automatically when your CPU usage hits 90%? You can do that.
It’s open source – Go wild
Here’s the best part. We’ve made this whole thing open source. We’ve built the foundation using the popular MQTT protocol, which connects to hubs like Home Assistant, Node Red, and Homebridge. This means we’re not just giving you a feature, we’re giving you a toolkit. We can’t wait to see the insane and weird automations you create. Build something amazing and share it with the community on our Discord and on GitHub.
Ready to plug in?
If you’ve already got a smart home setup, getting started is easy.
- Head to opera://settings/early_bird in Opera GX.
- Toggle on MQTT Support and enter your broker address and details.
- Once it shows ‘Connected’, head to our GitHub repository to grab the Smart Home extension and follow the detailed guide.
This is just the beginning. You, the community, will define how far this can go. So go on. Download the latest version of Opera GX, connect your setup, and show us what you can build. Make your browser do more.
This content originally appeared on Opera News and was authored by Mateusz Rzempała