Questions
The things people actually run into, in roughly the order they run into them.
What hardware do I need?
A UniFi Protect console (tested on Protect 7.2.x), a relay with one output configured as Pulse and wired across your opener's push-button terminals, and a Protect all-in-one sensor mounted on the door with its mount type set to Garage. The sensor is not optional: it is the thing that makes every command verified rather than hopeful.
Why does my relay stay on instead of pulsing?
On Protect 7.2.x the relay's activate call toggles the output rather than pulsing it, whatever the pulse duration says. So the app and the bridge emulate a press: switch on, wait about 800 ms, switch off. That is what the emulated pulse mode means, and it is the default because it is what the hardware actually does.
If your relay genuinely pulses on its own, switch the mode to native and the console's own pulse duration takes over.
Do I need the bridge?
No. Connecting the app straight to your Protect console works on your home network with nothing else to install.
The bridge earns its keep when you want alert rules that run whether or not your phone is awake, an activity log you can export, family invites, or Shortcuts that work reliably in the background. It also keeps a single connection to the console instead of one per device.
Do I need Home Assistant?
No, and there is no integration with it. This talks to Protect's own API directly.
The app can't find my bridge.
Discovery uses Bonjour, and multicast does not cross Docker's bridge network. Run the container with --network host. If you cannot, for instance on Docker Desktop for macOS or Windows, publish the port instead with -p 8787:8787, set BONJOUR=false, and type the address on the connection screen. Everything except discovery works identically.
The bridge listens on port 8787, so the address is http://<host>:8787 using the LAN address of whatever machine runs the container. Include the port: without it the app tries port 80 and gets nothing. Check too that your phone is on the same network segment and that client isolation is off on that Wi-Fi network.
Does it work when I'm away from home?
Yes, once the bridge is reachable from outside. The recommended route is a VPN back to your house, either WireGuard on the UDM or Tailscale, because nothing is exposed. A Cloudflare Tunnel or your own reverse proxy with a certificate also works.
Port forwarding is not recommended and is deliberately not documented: it puts a device that opens your garage on the public internet behind a single token.
How do other people in my household get access?
From the Family screen you create a one-time invite; the other phone scans or pastes it and joins. They never see your admin token. You can see everyone who has joined, rename them, and revoke any of them, and the activity log records who did what by name.
What do cloud alerts do if I don't have a bridge?
Your console posts door events to a private webhook URL, and the service pushes a notification back when the door has been open too long, is still open at your nightly check time, or a car is in the garage with the door up.
It never holds a credential to your console, so it cannot open or close anything. “Close now” on a notification is carried out by the app, over your own connection. It stores only the event type, device id and timestamp, for seven days.
Is there an Apple Watch app? Widgets? Siri?
Yes to all three, plus Control Center, the Action Button, Lock Screen widgets and a Live Activity while the door is open with a Close button on it. Shortcuts actions are included, so you can build your own automations.
Can I try it without the hardware?
Yes. Demo mode drives a simulated door, with travel time, a sensor and the alert rules, and no console and no credentials. It is the same mode App Review uses to test the app.
Will it open my door by itself?
No. Arriving home sends you a notification with an Open button; you still tap it. The only automatic action is the optional nightly auto-close, which is off by default and which you have to turn on deliberately.
What happens if I stop the door half-way?
The app remembers which way it was travelling, because the sensor cannot tell a door stopped part-way from one standing fully open, since it reports the same contact for both. So the next press goes the direction you expect rather than the direction a naive reading would suggest.
Is there an Android app?
Not today. The app is iOS and watchOS, and a good Android version would be a real piece of work rather than a port, because so much of what this does is Live Activities, widgets, Siri and Shortcuts.
It isn't ruled out. If enough people ask, it moves up the list, so it is worth telling us you would use one.
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