
LIFXstyle - home lighting controller for MacOS
This app is now enjoying a happy retirement. Thank you for your interest.
LIFXstyle manual
1. Tasks
1.1 How do I get everything set up?
1.2 How do I schedule a lamp to switch on / off / change brightness?
1.2a The sunrise/set times don't seem to be accurate / how does the twilight setting work?
1.4 Can I switch lamps on or off by a keystroke?
2. Troubleshooting
2.1 When first started, not all bulbs / groups show
2.2 F-key assignment doesn't work
1. Tasks
1.1 How do I get everything set up?
1. You will need to connect your bulbs to your network using the free iOS app. Then start LIFXstyle.
1.2 How do I schedule a lamp to switch on / off / change brightness?
1. Press the Schedules button or 'Show schedules' from the View menu (command-2 also shows this window).
2. Press the [+] button at the bottom-left of the Schedules window.

3. Fill in this box, it should all be self-explanatory. Click somewhere outside of the box to save and close those settings.
4. When setting light(s) to switch 'On & Off', the days of the week apply to the 'on' time. If the 'off' time goes past midnight, then the lamp will obviously be turned off the following day.
1.2a The sunrise/set times don't seem to be accurate / how does the twilight setting work?
If you make a schedule, to switch a lamp / group on and/or off and check "link these times to local sunrise/set". You should see the times grey out, and they'll now set to your sunrise/set times.
If the times that are used don't appear to be as expected, go to Preferences. There are a number of different definitions of sunrise/set, ranging from the time that the sun first hits the horizon (when it's still fully light) to when it's fully behind the horizon (it's pretty dark by then). Experiment with the drop-down box (Sunrise/set, Nautical, Civil, Astronomical) and see which suits you best.
1.4 Can I switch lamps on or off by a keystroke?
Choose 'Assign hotkeys' From the Presets drop-down in the toolbar or go to Preferences > Hotkeys. Simply select which preset you'd like to assign to F keys. If this interferes with other software you use, you can set a modifier too. (ie if you're unable to use F1 because another app uses that key, set cmd-F1 or ctrl-F1)
If pressing your Function key does something else (like screen brightness, or volume) then you may need to press the 'fn' key at the same time as your f-key to make it work as an f-key. You can reverse this behaviour (ie it works as an f-key without the 'fn' key but requires the 'fn' key to work as brightness, volume etc) in System Preferences.
1.5 How do I use the effects designer?
The effects designer comes with version 2.0.
The Effects designer is 'pre-loaded' with some effects such as TV simulator and Fire, plus two which are designed to replace the old 'false dawn' and 'false dusk'.
The new dawn / dusk effects change colour through gold and blue while reducing or increasing the light in order to simulate dawn or dusk more realistically. More importantly, they're editable and you can customise them as you see fit.
Note that If you did have any 'false dawn / dusk' set up on schedule, you'll need to open these and change them to 'Effect' and choose the appropriate effect.
You can open the list of effects by pressing the effects button at the end of each control strip (swirly symbol) and choosing 'add / edit effects' or View > Show Effects (cmd-3)
Double-click to open one of the existing ones, or use the [+] button to add a new effect.
With the effect sheet open, add as many 'sliders' as you like (each one is a change of colour or brightness).
A slider with zero brightness will switch the bulb right off. This is important with non-looping effects such as the false dusk where we want to leave the lamp switched off rather than just minimum brightness.
2. Troubleshooting
As always, please make sure that you're using the most recent version of the app.
2.1 When first started, not all bulbs / groups show
Not all bulbs respond at the same time. Give it time and if LIFXstyle hasn't added all of your bulbs / groups within say 30 seconds, try quitting and re-starting the app.
Failing that, make sure that all of your bulbs are connected to your wi-fi network using the free iOS app.
2.2 F-key assignment doesn't work
If you're using a laptop or a newer apple keyboard, you may have an fn key in the bottom-left or in the middle. Your Function keys may have certain MacOS functions assigned to them - dimming the screen / keyboard etc. (They may have icons for those functions printed on them more prominently than the 'F' number). You will need to press the fn key along with the actual F-key in order to make it work as an F-key (also with a modifier if you've set one in LIFXstyle preferences).
You can change this behaviour in System Preferences > Keyboard > 'Use all F keys as standard F keys'. In that case you will then need to press the fn key to access the special feature of each key.