ADS
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The ADS (automation device specification) integration describes a device-independent and fieldbus-independent interface for communication between Beckhoff automation devices running TwinCAT and other devices implementing this interface.
In Apple Home through HomeKit Bridge
What HomeKit Bridge makes of each kind of entity this integration creates, read from its source code. A device only gets the ones that apply to it.
| Entity | Shows up as | Note |
|---|---|---|
light | Light | |
switch | Switch or outlet | |
cover | Blind, garage door, window or door | |
binary_sensor | Sensor (motion, contact, leak, smoke…) | |
sensor | Sensor (temperature, humidity, air quality…) | |
valve | Valve | |
select | Mode picker (as switches) |
What people report
Beckhoff PLCs work through ADS after a pyads fix. Climate and valve support was proposed but not merged.
- Works1
- Requested1
| Device | In Home Assistant | In Apple Home | What they said | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beckhoff PLC via ADS | Works Local | Variables read unknown after 0.113; fixed with pyads 3.0.7Saved copyThe problem I'm using HA to aggregate info from many different platforms, but my home application is based on Beckhoff PLCs. since last update (0.113), ads variables are not working anymore: I get all the variables read from PLC as unknown or false o 0. Checking the log, it seems an issue related to ADS implementation of callback notification with wrong buffer size of the return value (the log is below in the issue report). In order to avoid messy logs and to narrow the most the problem, I reduced the configuration down to the read of just 1 single udint var. ## Environment - Home Assistant … Excerpt saved from GitHub on 2026-10-23. | Issue #38151 · 2020-07 | |
| Beckhoff ADS climate and valve | Requested Local | Climate and valve support PR closed unmergedSaved copyProposed change Add support for ADS climate and ADS valve. ## Type of change - [ ] Dependency upgrade - [ ] Bugfix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue) - [ ] New integration (thank you!) - [x] New feature (which adds functionality to an existing integration) - [ ] Deprecation (breaking change to happen in the future) - [ ] Breaking change (fix/feature causing existing functionality to break) - [ ] Code quality improvements to existing code or addition of tests ## Additional information - This PR fixes or closes issue: Excerpt saved from GitHub on 2026-10-23. | PR #124443 · 2024-08 |
Gathered from GitHub issues, pull requests, discussions and docs, and from r/homeassistant. These are individual reports, so check the linked thread and the date before you buy.
How it connects
Local push
Talks to the device on your network, and the device tells Home Assistant the moment something changes.
Details
| Installs (analytics) | 96 (0.01%) |
|---|---|
| Quality scale | Legacy |
| Added in | Home Assistant 0.60 |
| Set up in the UI | No, YAML |
| Maintainers | @mrpasztoradam |
In ReReHome
Whatever HomeKit Bridge shares reaches Apple Home as normal HomeKit accessories behind your Home Assistant bridge, so ReReHome shows and controls them like any other.
Bridges get their own settings page listing the accessories behind them.
