API Reference

Prerequisites

Before you can use the Cambrionix API, there are a few steps and checks that need to be completed.

Thunderbolt

macOS Installation

For macOS an installer is provided that will set up CambrionixApiService to run as a daemon process. The service is configured to load on demand when it’s configured listening port is attached to by launchd.

The installation can also perform all necessary steps to configure any installed versions of Python 2 and/or 3 and direct you to various example scripts.

Windows Installation

For Windows a self extracting installer is provided that will set up CambrionixApiService to run as a Windows service.

The installation can also perform all necessary steps to install and configure Python 2 and/or 3 and direct you to various example scripts.

Linux Installation

The Linux package comes with a script that can install the service binary and perform any required setup for you, such as configuring python to use the API from any folder.

The binary will be installed to /usr/local/bin and the examples and documentation to /usr/local/share/cambrionix/api.

# Untar the image in a temporary folder.
$ mkdir temp
$ cd temp
$ tar xvzf ~/Downloads/cambrionix-api-setup-N.N.N.tar.gz

# Review the script first if you wish, then:
$ sudo setup

# -–version: Return the version of CambrionixApiService and then exit:
# Example:
$ CambrionixApiService -–version

CambrionixApiService 2.2 (c49e1e38)
Copyright (c) 2019 Cambrionix Ltd
http://www.cambrionix.com/

# -–port XXXXX: Run cbrxd with an alternate TCP listening port.
# Specifying the command line option overrides both the default value
# of 43424 or any value previously stored in CambrionixApiService.cfg.
# Example:
$ CambrionixApiService –-port 54321

Minimal Example

Here is a minimal example of using the API, the code is written in Python 2.7.8:

# Import the cbrxapi library.
import sys
from cbrxapi import cbrxapi

# Call cbrx_discover with "local" to find any locally attached Cambrionix units.
# This will return a list of local Cambrionix units.
# This example always uses the first Cambrionix unit returned.
result = cbrxapi.cbrx_discover("local")
if result == False:
    print("No Cambrionix unit found.")
    sys.exit(0)

unitId = result[0]

try:
    # Open a connection to the Cambrionix unit, which will return a handle for
    # the connection.
    handle = cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_open(unitId)

    # Using the handle, get the "Hardware" and "nrOfPorts" properties
    hardware = cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_get(handle, "Hardware")
    nrOfPorts = cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_get(handle, "nrOfPorts")

    # Done using the Cambrionix unit, close the handle.
    cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_close(handle)

    # Finally, print out the information retrieved from the Cambrionix unit.
    print("The Cambrionix unit %s is a %s with %d ports." % (unitId, hardware, nrOfPorts))

except Exception as e:
    print("Could not connect to device : " + str(e))

JavaScript Example

And another example demonstrating access from a React application. Note that the socket connection address is prefixed with ws. This allows the API to upgrade the connection to a Web-socket and be natively used by web technologies such as this. The same methods can be used from Node.js and other similar platforms.

import React from 'react';
import Websocket from 'react-websocket';

class MyApiInterface extends React.Component {
  lastId = 0;

  render() {
    return (
      <Websocket ref={r => this.websocket = r} reconnect
                 url="ws://localhost:43424" protocol="jsonrpc"
                 onMessage={this.onDataReceived.bind(this)}
                 onOpen={this.onApiConnection.bind(this)}
                 onClose={this.onApiDisconnection.bind(this)} />
    );
  }

  requests = {};

  onDataReceived(json) {
    const data = JSON.parse(json);
    const id = data.id;
    if (id) {
      const request = this.requests[id];
      if (request && request.callback) {
        request.callback(data);
      }
      delete this.requests[id];
    }
    else
    {
      //Could get a notification here if you enable them on active connection
      //Notifications have no id and can arrive at any time
    }
  }

  makeRequest(method, params, callback) {
    var packet = {
      jsonrpc: "2.0",
      id:      ++this.lastId,
      method:  method,
      params:  params,
    };

    this.requests[packet.id] = {packet: packet, callback: callback};

    this.websocket.sendMessage(JSON.stringify(packet));
  }

  onApiConnection() {
    console.log("Connected");
    this.makeRequest("cbrx_discover", ["local"], console.log);
  }

  onApiDisconnection() {
    console.log("Disconnected");
    this.requests = {}
  }
}

HTTP GET Example

Connections can be made directly to an http prefixed URI, in which case the json is extracted from either the address itself, or the body content of the GET request. Try this example in your browser now: {“method”:“cbrx_discover”,“params”:[“all”],“jsonrpc”:“2.0”,“id”:1}.

Or from the command line, using curl, you can do:

curl -get 'http://localhost:43424/?{"id":0,"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"cbrx_discover","params":["all"]}'

Error Handling

Note that the Python code above doesn’t check for errors so the Python script will simply stop on an error. This should be made more robust by catching any exceptions and dealing with them appropriately.

A JSON-RPC error will return an error member containing the following members:

• code (mandatory) – an integer indicating either a pre-defined JSON-RPC error code in the range -32768 to -32000 or a CBRXAPI error code as documented in the section CBRXAPI specific errors section.
• message (optional) – a message string explaining the error code
• data (optional) – extra information about the error like debug messages or handles.

The Python JSON-RPC used causes an exception for an error response with the following mapping:

• member code is returned in e.error_code
• member message is returned in e.error_message
• member data is returned in e.error_data.

In step 3 you could catch an error response with:

try:
    handle = cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_open(id)
except jsonrpc.RPCFault as e:
    gotException = True
    errorCode = e.error_code
    errorMessage = e.error_message
    errorData = e.error_data

Depending on the errorCode returned different actions can be taken, i.e. the user could be prompted to check whether the device is plugged in before retrying or asked to verify that cbrxd is installed.

Environment

The Cambrionix API is implemented in CambrionixApiService, which sits between the application and the Cambrionix units. It maps the properties of the Cambrionix units into API commands.

Examples

# To disable a USB port you can do
cbrx_connection_set(connectionHandle, "Port.2.mode", "o")

# To reset a Cambrionix unit you can do
cbrx_connection_set(connectionHandle, "Reboot", True)

# To get the number of USB ports of a Cambrionix unit you
# can do a `get nrOfPorts` request
cbrx_connection_get(connectionHandle, "nrOfPorts")

JSON-RPC Requests

The JSON-RPC implementation should hide these details.

The Python request cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_get(7654, "nrOfPorts") translates into a JSONRPC request containing the method name:

"cbrx_connection_get"

and a JSON representation of the parameters (params), which is often a JSON array of values, unless otherwise specified:

[ 7654, "nrOfPorts" ]

Two further key-value pairs need to be passed to complete the JSON-request; One indicating the version of jsonrpc being used, in this case 2.0 and an id identifying this request:

The id is mandatory but only relevant if multiple requests can be outstanding simultaneously over the same connection. It helps to match responses to (asynchronous) requests. The response for a request will be given the matching id by CambrionixApiService. The API Service runs on many threads and there is no guarantee, nor requirement by the specification, that the replies will arrive in any particular order. If strict ordering is required, you can batch multiple request packets in an array which will be ordered the same as it arrived.

Grouping this all together will give the complete JSON-RPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_get",
    "params": [
        7654,
        "nrOfPorts"
    ],
    "id": 0
}

There are 3 groups of calls in the API:

• Version
• Discovery
• Connection

cbrx_apiversion

Return the interface version of the local API running.

Input:

• none

or

• [true] to instead return the result of cbrx_apidetails. Since true will be ignored by older APIs, its a simple way to get the extended version if its available.

Returns:

• On success
  • Returns a pair of integers (major, minor) indicating the API version.
  • The current version is major 2, minor 0.
• On failure:
  • a JSON-error object will be returned.

Example Python call:

cbrxapi.cbrx_apiversion()

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_apiversion",
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": [2, 0]
}

cbrx_apidetails

Returns an enhanced version of the details of the API. This information can also be gained by passing an optional true parameter to cbrx_apiversion.

Input:

• none

Returns:

• Returns an object containing version and other information.

Example Python call:

cbrxapi.cbrx_apidetails()

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_apidetails",
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": {
        "branch": "master",
        "capability": ["protobuf", "crash-report", "notification"],
        "commitid": 3298696760,
        "documentation": "/Library/Cambrionix/ApiService/doc/Cambrionix API Reference.html"
        "install": "/Library/Cambrionix/ApiService"
        "version": [2, 2]
    }
}

This information is made available so that future versions of LiveViewer and API can detect the available features without intimate knowledge of version numbers.

The notification capability indicates that the cbrx_notifications method is supported.

The crash-report capability is internal and should not be used.

The protobuf capability is currently internal to the API and is used to communicate to the Recorder service. The protobuf message format may be made available at a later date.

cbrx_discover

Discover Cambrionix units.

Input:

• “local” for Cambrionix units attached to the local machine
• “remote” for Cambrionix network attached units e.g. EtherSync
• “docks” for units that contain more than one Cambrionix charger
• “all” discover all units and return detailed information about the hubs and their connected devices. Note that only devices that show up in a USB scan will be included. Unlike the other discovery methods, instead of an array of serial numbers, it will be an object of serial numbers with contents.

Returns:

• On success: the unit IDs for the discovered Cambrionix units will be returned as an array of strings. Each unit ID is guaranteed to be unique. The unit ID is based on the serial number of the Cambrionix unit.
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

Example Python call:

cbrxapi.cbrx_discover("local")

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_discover",
    "params": ["local"],
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": ["DB0074F5"]
}

Example unsuccessful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "error": {
       "code": -32602,
       "message": "Invalid params"
    }
}

cbrx_discover_id_to_os_reference

Map a unit ID for a discovered Cambrionix unit to a device name as used by the OS.

Input:

• Unit ID as returned by cbrx_discover.

Returns:

• On success: The device name as used by the OS for the connection that the Cambrionix unit identified by the unit ID is connected to.
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

Note: This only makes sense for locally attached Cambrionix units.

Example Python call:

cbrxapi.cbrx_discover_id_to_os_reference(unitId)

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_discover_id_to_os_reference",
    "params": ["DB0074F5"],
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": ["/dev/ttyUSB0"]
}

Example unsuccessful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "error": {
        "code": -32602,
        "message": "Invalid params"
    }
}

cbrx_find

Search for devices attached to local Cambrionix units.

Input:

• VID to search for and devices matching the vendor ID.
• VID & PID to search for devices exactly matching the vendor and product IDs.
• NAME to search for anything that matches the provided regex. The regex is run against a string made up of the manufacturer, product name and USB serial number (For an iPhone this is the UDID). "<manufacturer-name>\x1D<product-name>\x1D<serial-number>". So for a iPhone, it would be something like "Apple\x1DiPhone\x1Dfa3c8762e87f068ce16e8c6fa". \x1D was chosen because it is the ASCII standard character for a field delimiter and so should be sufficient to avoid false matches crossing string boundaries. The regex is performed as a search, rather than a match, so you do not need to do things like ".*iPhone.*" to match substrings; "iPhone" is sufficient. You can of course be as strict as you like. Additionally, if the phone’s identity or internal serial number have been detected, then these will also be matched.

The regex syntax used is Modified ECMAScript.

Returns:

• On success: An object containing details of all matched units.
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

The returned data is keyed on the serial number of any devices matching the search criteria. The value of each node holds details of the location and the exact device details.

Also note that the entire USB tree is searched for the specified items, and if found anywhere beneath a Cambrionix hub, then the connection details will be returned. This would be especially useful for devices that are plugged into an intermediate hub device rather than being directly connected to the Cambrionix hub, such as a phone with battery extended and extra USB slots.

This new call (as of API 2.1) can save a lot of programmatic work because you no longer need to open each Cambrionix unit individually and check for attached devices. Although, you would of course still need to do that to monitor current draw.

Example Python call:

# Python call to search for all iPhones
cbrxapi.cbrx_find("iPhone")

# Regex can be used too
cbrxapi.cbrx_find("i(Phone|Pad)")

# Find everything connected to any Cambrionix device
cbrxapi.cbrx_find(".")

# JSON-RPC call
{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_find",
    "params": ["i(Phone|Pad)"],
    "id": 1234
}

Example successful response of cbrx:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 1234,
    "result": {
        "a7cfd7345fad329819cfad3781632ac8a65c": {
            "HostDescription": "ThunderSync3-16",
            "HostDevice": "0000034CCC2AA16",
            "HostPort": 9,
            "HostSerial": "COM31",
            "Device": {
                "Description": "SuperPhone6",
                "LocationID": 07100000,
                "Manufacturer": "SuperPhone Makers Inc",
                "PID": 5678,
                "SerialNumber": "a7cfd7345fad329819cfad3781632ac8a65c",
                "USBVersion": 3.0,
                "VID": 1234
            }
        },
        "1bc4ac6d5a78c5af5e7c1056cfeafe5389c7": {
            "HostDescription": "PS15-USB3",
            "HostDevice": "00000036C0C4888E",
            "HostPort": 2,
            "HostSerial": "COM8",
            "result": {
                "Description": "SuperPad4",
                "LocationID": 022112000,
                "Manufacturer": "SuperPhone Makers Inc",
                "PID": 4567,
                "SerialNumber": "1bc4ac6d5a78c5af5e7c1056cfeafe5389c7",
                "USBVersion": 3.0,
                "VID": 1234
            }
        }
    }
}

From these results, you could check the status of, for example, the iPad by running cbrx_connection_open('0000034CCC2AA16') and then check the status of HostPort by querying cbrx_connection_get('PortInfo.9'). But if you’re only interested in the presence of devices, then you may find that you do not need this extra information.

For any search results that do not have their own device serial number, there will be an additional entry of NoSerial that is an array of such results.

For the curious, it may look like unneeded repetition with the serial numbers, but this is merely because the data here comes from the same place as the data produced by PortInfo or cbrx_get_usbtree, and we’re simply showing everything from the point of connection upwards.

cbrx_get_usbtree

Return the entire USB tree that has been discovered.

Input:

• Nothing

Returns:

• An object containing the entire USB tree.

The returned data can be quite large if you have a lot of connected devices, but can be easily printed using the cbrx_usbtree.py example.

Example Python call:

from cbrxapi import cbrxapi
from pprint import PrettyPrinter

# Python call to get entire USB Tree
tree = cbrxapi.cbrx_get_usbtree()

pp = PrettyPrinter(width=160)
pp.pprint(usbTree)

# Example output from cbrx_usbtree.py example
{'Description': 'USB 3.0 Root Hub',
  'LocationID': 0x22000000,
  'PID': 0x2142,
  'USBVersion': 3.0,
  'VID': 0x1b21,
  'children': [{'Description': 'PP15S',
                'LocationID': 0x22300000,
                'Manufacturer': 'cambrionix',
                'PID': 0x2514,
                'USBVersion': 2.0,
                'VID': 0x0424,
                'children': [{'Description': 'PP15S',
                              'LocationID': 0x22310000,
                              'Manufacturer': 'cambrionix',
                              'PID': 0x2514,
                              'USBVersion': 2.0,
                              'VID': 0x0424},
                             {'Description': 'PP15S',
                              'LocationID': 0x22320000,
                              'Manufacturer': 'cambrionix',
                              'PID': 0x2514,
                              'USBVersion': 2.0,
                              'VID': 0x0424},
                             {'Description': 'PP15S',
                              'LocationID': 0x22330000,
                              'Manufacturer': 'cambrionix',
                              'PID': 0x2514,
                              'USBVersion': 2.0,
                              'VID': 0x0424,
                              'children': [{'Description': 'Ultra USB 3.0',
                                            'LocationID': 0x22333000,
                                            'Manufacturer': 'SanDisk',
                                            'PID': 0x5595,
                                            'SerialNumber': '4C530000081105121053',
                                            'USBVersion': 2.1,
                                            'VID': 0x0781}]},
                             {'Description': 'PP15S',
                              'LocationID': 0x22340000,
                              'Manufacturer': 'cambrionix',
                              'PID': 0x2514,
                              'USBVersion': 2.0,
                              'VID': 0x0424,
                              'children': [{'Description': 'FT230X Basic UART',
                                            'LocationID': 0x22341000,
                                            'Manufacturer': 'FTDI',
                                            'PID': 0x6015,
                                            'SerialNumber': 'DM02C1BR',
                                            'USBVersion': 2.0,
                                            'VID': 0x0403}]}]}]}]

cbrx_config_set

This function allows setting various persistent configuration options.

Possible configuration values are:

• adb_path - Path to look for the ADB executable.
• ideviceinfo_path - Path to look for the ideviceinfo executable.

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_config_set",
    "params": {
        "key1": "value1",
        "key2": "value2"
    },
    "id": 0
}

cbrx_connection_remote_set_password

The function has been removed due to concerns about security. Please supply the password as an additional argument to cbrx_connection_open when opening a remote device.

This change only affects users already connecting to remote devices, such as the EtherSync.

cbrx_connection_remote_add_device

Add a remote device that cannot be reached by auto-discovery.

Input:

• A remote device host-name or IP address

Returns:

• On success: true indicating success.
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

Example Python call:

result = cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_remote_add_device("remoteHostName")

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_remote_add_device",
    "params": ["remoteHostName"],
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": true,
}

Example unsuccessful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "error": {
        "code": -32602,
        "message": "Invalid params"
    }
}

cbrx_connection_remote_clear_devices

Clear the list of remote devices, currently open devices will be retained.

Input:

• Nothing

Returns:

• On success: the boolean value true will be returned
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

Example Python call:

result = cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_remote_clear_devices()

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_remote_clear_devices",
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": true
}

Example unsuccessful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "error": {
        "code": -32602,
        "message": "Invalid params"
    }
}

cbrx_connection_open

Open a connection to the Cambrionix unit specified. A successful open results in a connection handle that can be used for further calls, which needs to be closed with a call to cbrx_connection_close. An unsuccessful open does not need a corresponding call to cbrx_connection_close.

Input:

• A unit ID as returned by a previous call to cbrx_discover.
• The second parameter is optional but will default to “local” when absent.
• For “remote” or “docks”, these values must be specified.
• For “remote” connections an additional parameter for the password must be supplied.

Returns:

• On success: a connection handle will be returned as an integer.
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

Example Python call:

# Connect to local device
connectionHandle = cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_open("DB0074F5")

# Connect to remote device
connectionHandle = cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_open("EtherSync1d94a0.local.", "remote", "password")

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_open",
    "params": ["DB0074F5"],
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": 7654
}

Example unsuccessful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "error": {
        "code": -10001,
        "message": "ID not found"
    }
}

cbrx_connection_close

Close a connection to a Cambrionix unit previously opened, as specified by the connection handle.

Input parameter:

• Connection handle as returned by a previous call to cbrx_connection_open.

Returns:

• On success: the boolean value true will be returned.
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

Note: It is important to receive the response before closing the socket to ensure the operation has time to be actioned.

Example Python call:

result = cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_close(connectionHandle)

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_close",
    "params": [7654],
    "id": 123
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 123,
    "result": true
}

Example unsuccessful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 123,
    "error": {
        "code": -10005,
        "message": "Invalid handle"
    }
}

cbrx_connection_remote_apiversion

Return the API version from a remote connection that has previously been opened.

Input parameter:

• A connection handle as returned by a previous call to cbrx_connection_open.

Returns:

• On success, returns a pair of integers (major, minor) indicating the remote API version.
  • The current version is major 1, minor 5.
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

Example Python call:

cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_remote_apiversion(connectionHandle)

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_remote_apiversion",
    "params": [7654],
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": [1, 5]
}

cbrx_connection_getdetail

Deprecated - Use cbrx_connection_get with PortsInfo or PortInfo.N instead.

Retrieve the detailed state output from all ports on the Cambrionix unit specified by connectionHandle. This is useful for debugging issues where a port reports an error.

Input:

• a connection handle as returned by a previous call to cbrx_connection_open.

Returns:

• On success: a string containing the detailed state for every port of the Cambrionix unit.
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

Example Python call:

cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_getdetail(connectionHandle)

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_getdetail",
    "params": [7654],
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": "Port: 1
            vstate
            port_mode:           2
            charge_state:        0
            can_sync:            0
            attached:            0
            ...
            profile_list_len:      0
            profile:               None+
            adet_blanking_timer:   0"
}

cbrx_connection_getdictionary

List all tags that can return information on the Cambrionix unit specified by connectionHandle.

Input parameter:

• A connection handle as returned by a previous call to cbrx_connection_open.

Returns:

• On success: an array of strings containing the names of the readable tags for the Cambrionix unit.
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

Example Python call:

cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_getdictionary(connectionHandle)

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_getdictionary",
    "params": [7654],
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": [
        "SystemTitle",
        "Hardware",
        "Firmware",
        ...
    ]
}

cbrx_connection_get

From the Cambrionix unit specified by the connection handle, get the value of the tag.

Input parameters:

• connectionHandle as returned by a previous call to cbrx_connection_open.
• propertyName tag as returned by a call to cbrx_connection_getdictionary.

Returns:

• On success: the value of the tag specified.
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

Example Python call:

value = cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_get(connectionHandle, "nrOfPorts")

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_get",
    "params": [
        7654,
        "nrOfPorts"
    ],
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": 8
}

Example unsuccessful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "error": {
        "code": -10003,
        "message": "Key not found"
    }
}

cbrx_hub_get

Like cbrx_connection_get, but instead of a handle takes the hub’s serial number as the initial argument.

Note that this is a convenience function and will almost certainly be slower if you need to do multiple operations on the same hub.

cbrx_device_get

Like cbrx_connection_get, but instead of a handle takes a USB device’s serial number as the initial argument. Only get values that are relevant to ports are accepted.

Note that this is a convenience function and will almost certainly be slower if you need to do multiple operations on the same device.

For example, instead of:

deviceSerialNumber = "123123123123"
allDevices = cbrxapi.cbrx_find("iPhone")
myDevice = allDevices[deviceSerialNumber]
if myDevice:
    handle = cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_open(myDevice["HostDevice"])
    deviceStatus = cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_get(handle, "PortInfo." + myDevice["HostPort"])
    cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_close(handle)

You can use:

deviceSerialNumber = "123123123123"
deviceStatus = cbrxapi.cbrx_device_get(deviceSerialNumber, "PortInfo")

cbrx_connection_setdictionary

List all writeable value tags and command tags for the Cambrionix unit specified by connectionHandle.

Input parameter:

• A connection handle as returned by a previous call to cbrx_connection_open.

Returns:

• On success: an array of strings containing the names of the writeable tags and command tags for the device.
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

Example Python call:

cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_setdictionary(connectionHandle)

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_setdictionary",
    "params": [7654],
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": [
        "Port.1.mode",
        "Port.2.mode",
        ...
        "ClearRebootFlag ",
        "Reboot",
        ...
    ]
}

cbrx_connection_set

On the Cambrionix unit specified by the connection handle, set the tag to the value specified.

Input:

• connectionHandle as returned by a previous call to cbrx_connection_open.
• Tag as returned by a call to cbrx_connection_setdictionary.
• Value, the value to set the tag to.

Returns:

• On success: the Boolean value true.
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

Note: It is important to receive the response before closing the socket to ensure the operation has time to be actioned.

Example Python call:

cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_set(connectionHandle, "Reboot", True)

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_set",
    "params": [
        7654,
        "TwelveVoltRail.OverVoltage",
        true
    ],
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": true
}

Example unsuccessful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "error": {
        "code": -10004,
        "message": "Error setting value"
    }
}

cbrx_hub_set

Like cbrx_connection_set, but instead of a handle takes the hub’s serial number as the initial argument.

Note that this is a convenience function and will almost certainly be slower if you need to do multiple operations on the same hub.

cbrx_notifications

The new API also supports sending of notifications for certain events.

• discover-changed - The API detected a change in the available hubs. You should re-run cbrx_discover at this point.
• usb-changed - The API detected a change in the USB Tree.
• usb-device-attached - More detailed that usb-changed, this will tell you of specific devices that have arrived.
• usb-device-detached - … or detached.
• firmware-progress - Request updates on firmware update progress.
• rfid-received - Receive notification when a connected RFID ready on a ModIT Boss is read.
• all - Request all notifications.

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "method": "cbrx_notifications",
    "params": [
        "discover-changed",
        "usb-device-attached",
        "usb-device-detached",
        "rfid-received"
    ]
}

Notification packets are the same as other JSON-RPC packets, except that they do not have an "id" field. Most of these notifications do not supply anything in the "params" field, except for the following example, and the "firmware-update one" shown here.

Example of “usb-device-attached” notification:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "usb-device-attached",
    "params": {
        "HostDevice": "1212343456567878",
        "HostSerial": "/dev/tty.usbmodem1421502",
        "HostPort": 7,
        "HostDescription": "PS15-USB3"
        "USB2": {
            "Description": "iPhone",
            "LocationID": 573710336,
            "Manufacturer": "Apple Inc.",
            "PID": 4776,
            "SerialNumber": "567d53a0a3398941f8ea3e64d5f1af6053e21244",
            "USBVersion": 2,
            "VID": 1452,
        },
    }
}

In this example we show that the device was connected as USB2 only. A USB3 device would have a similar entry. It is presented this way because it is entirely possible to connect (for example) a USB3 device that has its own hub, and USB2 devices. These would be individually shown because they can’t reliably be mixed; you can have hardware entities with the same VID/PID/Serial in sibling trees.

Note: Notifications are only sent to active socket connections that have requested them. Closing a socket and opening another one will mean you need to re-request notifications.

The same information comes with the "usb-device-detached" notification.

cbrx_firmware

The firmware functions can control all aspects of updating the firmware on Cambrionix hubs.

There are several sub-commands here that allow you to add or remove firmware files from the API’s local storage, list the currently available firmware files, update firmware from provided files and check the status of existing firmware updates.

# Example of adding new firmware
# This merely provides it to the API as an available update source
# It does not affect any connected hubs

rawBytes = myReadFileFunction("CambrionixFirmware-un")
encodedBytes = base64.b64encode(rawBytes)
cbrxapi.cbrx_firmware(["add", "CambrionixFirmware-un", encodedBytes])

# Example of removing firmware from API storage
cbrxapi.cbrx_firmware(["remove", "CambrionixFirmware-un"])

# Example of listing available firmware files
list = cbrxapi.cbrx_firmware(["list"])
print(list)
# Would give something like:
# {
#   {filename: "CambrionixFirmware-un", version: "1.79"},
#   {filename: "AnotherFirmwareFile-un", version: "1.78"}
# }

# Example of starting firmware update (in this case the charger firmware)
# Other types of firmware can be available for different products,
# such as "display" for hubs with more complex LED arrangements.

# Firmware updates can either be specified with a single file,
# or an object files keyed on the type of firmware update.

handle = cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_open(["1212343456567878"])

# Update only the charger firmware from a file with charger and display within.
cbrxapi.cbrx_firmware(["update", handle, "CambrionixFirmware-un", "charger"])
# Or, update all firmware for selected device from the firmware files provided.
cbrxapi.cbrx_firmware(["update", handle, ["CambrionixFirmware-un", "MotorControlFirmware-mc"]])

# Example of getting status of firmware update
cbrxapi.cbrx_firmware(["status", handle])

# Could give:
# {
#   Status: "flashing",
#   Version: "1.79",
#   Type: "display",
#   Progress: 60,
#   Stage: "flashing"
# }

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "firmware-progress",
  "params": {
    "Progress": 60,
    "Stage": "flashing",
    "Type": "charger",
    "HostDevice": "1212343456567878",
    "HostSerial": "/dev/tty.usbmodem1421502",
    "HostDescription": "PS15-USB3"
  }
}

cbrx_connection_closeandlock

Deprecated - This was required for the old API so that it did not interfere with the separate firmware updater application.

Forcibly close all connections to a Cambrionix unit and lock it against further use until released by cbrx_connection_unlock. Other processes that were using these connections will get errors returned if trying to access this Cambrionix unit. Locking a Cambrionix unit that was not previously opened does no harm and will succeed.

Input parameter:

• A unit ID as returned by a previous call to discover.

Returns:

• On success: the boolean value true will be returned
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

Note: It is important to receive the response before closing the socket to ensure the operation has time to be actioned.

Example Python call:

cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_closeandlock("DB0074F5")

Example JSONRPC request:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_closeandlock",
    "params": ["DB0074F5"],
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": true
}

Example unsuccessful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "error": {
        "code": -10001,
        "message": "ID not found"
    }
}

cbrx_connection_unlock

Deprecated - This was required for the old API so that it did not interfere with the separate firmware updater application.

Unlock a Cambrionix unit that was previously locked. Unlocking a Cambrionix unit that was not previously locked does no harm and will succeed.

Input parameter:

• A unit ID as returned by a previous call to discover

Returns:

• On success: the boolean value true will be returned
• On failure: a JSON-error object will be returned.

Note: It is important to receive the response before closing the socket to ensure the operation has time to be actioned.

Example Python call:

cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_unlock("DB0074F5")

Example JSONRPC request

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_unlock",
    "params": ["DB0074F5"],
    "id": 0
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "result": true
}

Example unsuccessful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "error": {
        "code": -10001,
        "message": "ID not found"
    }
}

cbrx_connection_cli

Perform command line interface operation on the connected hub and return the complete result. This allows you to run commands directly on the hub’s command line without stopping the API service, connecting to the serial port and so on.

The return is an array of strings containing all the lines of output returned from the command.

cbrxapi.cbrx_connection_cli(7654, "id")

Example JSONRPC request

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_cli",
    "params": [7654, "id"],
    "id": 1337
}

Example successful response:

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 1337,
    "result": [
        "mfr:cambrionix,mode:main,hw:PP15S,hwid:0x13,fw:1.83,bl:0.12,sn:000000,group:-,fc:un"
    ]
}

Feature Sets

The following feature sets are available:

All Cambrionix units support the base feature set.

The range of possible values for a tag in the base feature set can be extended if an additional feature set is also available. For example, Port.n.flags can only return a flag S (port is in Sync mode) on a device that also implements the sync feature set.

The Hardware key returns a value for the type of Cambrionix unit.

These are the extra feature sets CambrionixApiService supports for the various types of Cambrionix unit:

¹ It is to be noted that while the PD-Sync 4 does not implement the “sync” feature set as such, nevertheless it does have sync capabilities and these are always available. This means that there is no need to switch between charge mode and sync mode.

² The ModIT Pro will identify itself as a ThunderSync3-16, but it has additional hardware for gate control.

Get Dictionary

Get Dictionary Variables

7

"Jul 08 2015 10:43:20"

Get EnabledProfiles

List of global profiles currently enabled

Example return value:

"1 2 3 4"

"1.55"

[
    {
        "Bootloader": "0.13",
        "Firmware": "1.83",
        "FormFactor": "un",
        "Group": "-",
        "Hardware": "PP15",
        "Manufacturer": "cambrionix",
        "PanelID": 0,
        "SerialNumber": "DN004ANJ"
    }
]

""

5.58

3.5

5.25

5.25

5.2

{
    "1": "open",
    "2": "closed",
    "3": "closing",
    "4": "opening"
}

"-"

"ThunderSync3-16"

"SLET"

true

"OV UV"

24.7

9.59

24.03

24.14

23.82

0

true

8

"Absent"

{
    "CurrentLevel": 78,
    "CurrentTime": 15234254346,
    "StartLevel": 23,
    "StartTime": 15124151512,
}

0

"SuperPhone6"

0.0

"R D S"

"SuperPhone Makers Inc"

0

0

"1 2 3 4"

"1127dfa9037s1a8cb1"

-1

0

{
    "SerialNumber": "23213dfe12e2412",
    "Description": "SuperPhone6",
    "Manufacturer": "SuperPhone Makers Inc"
}

0

520

false

100

true

false

"cambrionix U8S-EXT 8 Port USB Charge+Sync"

37.7

""

65.0

39.9

0

3.4

""

14.5

9.59

12.43

12.52

12.31

151304

Set Dictionary

# Example - setting all ports to sync mode
cbrx_connection_set(handle, 'Mode', 's')

{
    "id": 0,
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_set",
    "params": [
        handle,
        "Mode",
        "s"
    ]
}

# Example - setting port 1 to charge mode
cbrx_connection_set(handle, 'Port.1.mode', 'c')

{
    "id": 0,
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_set",
    "params": [
        handle,
        "Port.1.Mode",
        "c"
    ]
}

# Example - setting port 1 LED 1 to flash rapidly
cbrx_connection_set(handle, 'Port.1.led1', 170) # 170 = 0b10101010

{
    "id": 0,
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_set",
    "params": [
        handle,
        "Port.1.led1",
        170
    ]
}

# Example - setting port 1 LED 2 to flash slowly
cbrx_connection_set(handle, 'Port.1.led2', 240) # 240 = 0b11110000

{
    "id": 0,
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_set",
    "params": [
        handle,
        "Port.1.led2",
        240
    ]
}

# Example - setting port 1 LED 3 to stay on
cbrx_connection_set(handle, 'Port.1.led3', 255) # 255 = 0b11111111

{
    "id": 0,
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_set",
    "params": [
        handle,
        "Port.1.led3",
        255
    ]
}

# Python example - setting port 1 LEDs to all flash at different rates
led1 = 0b10101010
led2 = 0b11001100
led3 = 0b00111100
pattern = led1 << 16 | led2 << 8 | led3         # 11,193,404
cbrx_connection_set(handle, 'Port.1.led34', pattern)

{
    "id": 0,
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_set",
    "params": [
        handle,
        "Port.1.leds",
        ‭11193404‬
    ]
}

# Python example - setting port 1 ModIT LEDs to yellow
# This colour is the same as specifying "#FF0", "FF0" or "FFFF00FF"
cbrx_connection_set(handle, 'Port.1.RGB', "#FFFF00")

# or at half intensity
cbrx_connection_set(handle, 'Port.1.RGB', "#FFFF0080")

{
    "id": 0,
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_set",
    "params": [
        handle,
        "Port.1.RGB",
        "ff08"
    ]
}

# Python example setting port available 1 profiles to 1, 2 and 3
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "Port.1.profiles", "1,2,3")

{
    "id": 0,
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_set",
    "params": [
        handle,
        "Port.1.profiles",
        "1,2,3"
    ]
}

# Python example to open gate of port 1
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "Port.1.gate", "open")

{
    "id": 0,
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_set",
    "params": [
        handle,
        "Port.1.gate",
        "open"
    ]
}

# Python example
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "ClearLCD")

# Python example
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "LCDText.0.0", "Hello World!")

# Python example
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "LCDText.0.0", "Hello World!")

{
    "id": 0,
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "method": "cbrx_connection_set",
    "params": [
        handle,
        "RGBControl",
        {
            "start": 1,
            "end": 8,
            "enable": true
        }
    ]
}

# Python example
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "SecurityArmed", true)

# Python example - beep for 1/4 sec
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "Beep", 250)

# Python example
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "ClearRebootFlag", true)

# Python example
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "ClearErrorFlags", true)

# Python example
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "Reboot", true)

# Python example
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "FiveVoltRail.OverVoltage", true)

# Python example
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "FiveVoltRail.UnderVoltage", true)

# Python example
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "TwelveVoltRail.OverVoltage", true)

# Python example
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "TwelveVoltRail.UnderVoltage", true)

# Python example
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "InputRail.OverVoltage", true)

# Python example
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "InputRail.UnderVoltage", true)

# Python example
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "Temperature.OverTemperature", true)

# Python example, enabling profile 1
cbrx_connection_set(handle, "ProfileEnable.1", true)

Android

ADB can be used to query the battery level on any Android devices providing a few conditions are met.

• The Android platform tools are installed.
• The ADB binary is in the path, or it’s path is provided to the API via cbrx_config_set.
• The device has USB debugging enabled.
• You have trusted the computer from the phone if the phone requires it.

See this page for details on enabling debug mode on Android devices. The only options that are required are to enable developer mode and USB debugging.

# Install Android platform tools on Linux
sudo apt install android-platform-tools

# Install Android platform tools on macOS
brew cask install android-platform-tools

# Install Android platform tools on Windows
# Goto https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/platform-tools
# Download SDK Platform-Tools for Windows
# Extract and add the folder to your path, or use
# cbrx_config_set("adb_path", <pathname>) to add to API settings.

{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 0,
    "method": "cbrx_config_set",
    "params": {
        "adb_path": "/usr/local/bin"
    }
}