Automation

Welcome to the Automation section of PHP Systems Blog. Here you’ll find guides, projects, and experiments in making technology work for you - from home automation with Raspberry Pi and Home Assistant to workflow orchestration with Kestra and Ansible. I share practical setups, real-world configs, and the lessons learned while automating my own systems.

Enhancing Firefly III Transaction Categorization Using SearxNG and Node-RED

Enhance Firefly III transaction categorization with Node-RED and SearxNG. Learn how to integrate AI with external search results to automatically assign budgets and categories, improving accuracy for unusual merchants. Step-by-step workflow and SearxNG setup included.

🏠 Keep Your Smart Switches On Automatically with This Home Assistant Blueprint

Never let your smart plugs or switches stay off longer than they should. Automate uptime checks with this dynamic Home Assistant blueprint and keep your smart home running perfectly.

🧠 Automating Firefly III Categorization with Node-RED and Lightweight AI

Automatically classify and budget Firefly III transactions using Node-RED webhooks and a lightweight AI model like Phi-3 Mini. Real-time automation with minimal compute and zero manual tagging.

From BMW ConnectedDrive to Bimmerdata Streamline: A Better Way to Connect with Home Assistant

BMW ConnectedDrive’s Home Assistant integration has broken, but Bimmerdata Streamline steps in with reliable automation, and data for a device tracker for car location. Here’s why Streamline is the future of BMW smart home integration.

Using Kestra to update a Proxmox IPSet with a Python Script

Automate Proxmox firewall IPSet updates with Kestra and Python. This script validates CIDRs, supports dry-run mode, and ensures idempotent updates — replacing Ansible with a simpler, safer workflow for managing Cloudflare IP ranges.

Firefly iii to Paperless NGX

Automate your finances and document management by linking Firefly III to Paperless NGX with Node-RED in Home Assistant. This flow uses webhooks and APIs to pull receipts from Firefly III and upload them to Paperless NGX automatically, keeping your records synced without manual effort.

🐦Home Assistant - It's for the birds! [Part 2]

Automate music for your feathered friends with this smart Home Assistant setup! Our BirdMusic automation plays soothing tunes at 9 AM and stops at 8:30 PM—but only when the birds are home and people aren’t. Learn how to set it up using Music Assistant and a simple YAML script.

🎵 How to Install Music Assistant for Home Assistant: Your Ultimate Guide

Bring multi-room audio to your smart home with Music Assistant for Home Assistant! This guide walks you through installing and configuring Music Assistant to stream music, manage sources like Spotify, and control playback across devices. Perfect for audiophiles and automation fans!

Home Assistant - It's for the birds! [Part 1]

If you are looking for a post that is bashing home assistant, you have probably come to the wrong place. Recently I was asked to look after a flock of birds. The only trouble here was that I was away for some of the time. This time I set up cameras to monitor the birds.

Car Automation using tasker

I upgraded from an old Audi A3 to a BMW 1-Series after a nightmare trip with two punctures. Lesson learned: check your spare tire regularly. I use Tasker, an Android-only app, to automate tasks like launching music and navigation apps when using Bluetooth.

About the author

Tim Wilkes is a UK-based security architect with over 15 years of experience in electronics, Linux, and Unix systems administration. Since 2021, he's been designing secure systems for a telecom company while indulging his passions for programming, automation, and 3D printing. Tim shares his projects, tinkering adventures, and tech insights here - partly as a personal log, and partly in the hopes that others will find them useful.

Want to connect or follow along?

LinkedIn: [phpsytems]
Twitter / X: [@timmehwimmy]
Mastodon: [@timmehwimmy@infosec.exchange]

If you've found a post helpful, consider supporting the blog - it's a part-time passion that your support helps keep alive.