---
layout: page
title: "Blink"
description: "Instructions for how to integrate Blink camera/security system within Home Assistant."
date: 2017-03-05 22:13
sidebar: true
comments: false
sharing: true
footer: true
logo: blink.png
ha_category: Hub
ha_release: "0.40"
ha_iot_class: "Cloud Polling"
---

The `blink` component lets you view camera images and motion events
from [Blink](http://blinkforhome.com) camera and security systems.

You will need your Blink login information (username, which is
usually your email address, and password) to use this module.

## {% linkable_title Configuration %}

To enable devices linked in your [Blink](https://blinkforhome.com) account, add the following to your `configuration.yaml` file:

```yaml
# Example configuration.yaml entry
blink:
  username: YOUR_USERNAME
  password: YOUR_PASSWORD
```

{% configuration %}
username:
    description: The username for accessing your Blink account.
    required: true
    type: string
password:
    description: The password for accessing your Blink account.
    required: true
    type: string
scan_interval:
    description: How frequently to query for new data. Defaults to 60 seconds.
    required: false
    type: integer
binary_sensors:
    description: Binary sensor configuration options.
    required: false
    type: map
    keys:
        monitored_conditions:
            description: The conditions to create sensors from.
            required: false
            type: list
            default: all (`motion_enabled`, `motion_detected`)
sensors:
    description: Sensor configuration options.
    required: false
    type: map
    keys:
        monitored_conditions:
            description: The conditions to create sensors from.
            required: false
            type: list
            default: all (`battery`, `temperature`, `status`, `wifi_strength`)
{% endconfiguration %}


Since the cameras are battery operated, setting the `scan_interval` must be done with care so as to not drain the battery too quickly, or hammer Blink's servers with too many API requests.  The cameras can be manually updated via the `trigger_camera` service which will ignore the throttling caused by `scan_interval`.  As a note, all of the camera-specific sensors are only polled when a new image is requested from the camera. This means that relying on any of these sensors to provide timely and accurate data is not recommended.

**Note:** Each camera reports two different states, one as `sensor.blink_<camera_name>_status` and the other as `binary_sensor.blink_<camera_name>_motion_enabled`.  The `motion_enabled` property reports if the `camera` is ready to detect motion *regardless if the system is actually armed**.  The `status` property is more descriptive, and can be one of the following states:

- `disabled`: System is disabled.
- `disarmed`: Camera and/or system are disarmed and not ready to detect motion.
- `armed`: System and camera are armed and detecting motion.

Below is an example showing every possible entry:

```yaml
# Example configuration.yaml entry
blink:
  username: YOUR_USERNAME
  password: YOUR_PASSWORD
  scan_interval: 60
  binary_sensors:
    monitored_conditions:
      - motion_enabled
      - motion_detected
  sensors:
    monitored_conditions:
      - battery
      - temperature
      - status
      - wifi_strength
```


## {% linkable_title Services %}

### {% linkable_title `blink.blink_update` %}

Force a refresh of the Blink system.

### {% linkable_title `blink.trigger_camera` %}

Trigger a camera to take a new still image.

| Service Data Attribute | Optional | Description                            |
|------------------------|----------|----------------------------------------|
| `name`                 |     no   | Name of camera to take new image with. |

### {% linkable_title `blink.save_video` %}

Save the last recorded video of a camera to a local file.  Note that in most cases, home-assistant will need to know that the directory is writable via the `whitelist_external_dirs` in your `configuration.yaml` file (see example below).

| Service Data Attribute | Optional | Description                              |
|------------------------|----------|------------------------------------------|
| `name`                 |    no    | Name of camera containing video to save. |
| `filename`             |    no    | Location of save file.                   |


```yaml
homeassistant:
    ...
    whitelist_external_dirs:
        - '/tmp'
        - '/path/to/whitelist'
```