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Blueprints

A blueprint is one of your products, for example "Smart Greenhouse" or "Pump Controller". Everything about that product lives on its blueprint: its devices (one per unit you make), its dashboard (the widgets your customers see) and the hardware setup.

Blueprints & Devices​

Choose Blueprints & Devices in the menu. It has two tabs:

  • Blueprints: one card per product, with its hardware, connection, key, and how many devices it has, how many are online and how many use a plan slot. Click a card to open the product.
  • All devices: every device of every blueprint, to manage plan slots. See Devices.
Blueprints and Devices page with blueprint cards and the How it works guide
Blueprints & Devices: a card per product. How it works can be hidden.

Create a blueprint​

You need an active plan to create blueprints.

  1. Choose New blueprint (top right, or the dashed New blueprint card).
  2. Fill in the form:
FieldWhat to enter
Blueprint NameThe product's name, for example "Smart Greenhouse".
DescriptionOptional. What it is for, for example "Climate monitoring and irrigation".
VersionOptional. Your own label, for example 1.0.
Hardware TypeThe board, for example ESP32.
Connection TypeHow it connects, for example WiFi or GSM (4G).
  1. Save. ThingsLinker gives the blueprint a Blueprint Key, a code starting with BLUE. Every device's firmware needs it.

The blueprint page​

Open a blueprint to manage the product. Everything you need is on one page.

A blueprint's page: header with key and counts, four steps, and the Devices tab
A blueprint's page: the header, the four steps, and the Devices tab.

The header shows the hardware and connection, the Blueprint key with a copy button, Add devices, and four numbers: devices, online now, using a plan slot, and dashboard widgets.

The four steps show what is done and what is next, and take you there when clicked:

  1. Design the dashboard: the widgets customers see and use.
  2. Add devices: one for each unit you make.
  3. Set up the hardware: flash the code with each device's token.
  4. Ship it: customers scan the bar code in the app.

The tabs:

TabWhat it is forGuide
DevicesThe product's devices: online/offline, plan slot, customer, last report, and per-device actions.Devices
DashboardThe widgets every device of the product starts with, and Edit dashboard.Dashboards and widgets
Hardware setupThe steps from installing the library to handing the device to a customer.Device developers

The bar on the right of the tabs shows your plan slots across all blueprints, for example 3 / 5.

The Dashboard tab of a blueprint, listing its widgets
The Dashboard tab: what your customers see, with Edit dashboard.
The Hardware setup tab of a blueprint
The Hardware setup tab: the steps for the developer.

Edit a blueprint​

On Blueprints & Devices, use the pencil on the blueprint's card to change its name, description, version, hardware type or connection type. The Blueprint Key never changes, so devices keep working.

Delete a blueprint​

Use the bin on the blueprint's card and confirm.

Deleting a blueprint deletes its devices

Deleting a blueprint also permanently deletes every device created under it. Those devices stop working, disappear from their users' accounts, and cannot be restored. Only delete a blueprint you no longer need for any device.