Ubidots CLI

Build IoT applications — from raw sensor data to production-ready dashboards — using your local AI coding assistant and the Ubidots platform.

What this is

The Ubidots CLI connects your local development environment to the Ubidots IoT platform. When paired with an AI coding assistant (Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Codex, Cursor), it creates a tight feedback loop: write code locally, push to Ubidots, trigger it, read the logs, iterate — without leaving your terminal.

The CLI caters to both types of IoT application developers:

• Pure backend — Use Ubidots as your data processing and storage layer. Leverage its built-in capabilities:

  • Device management — Devices, device groups, and device types.
  • Data management — Industry-proven time-series storage and retrieval at scale; events/rules engine; hybrid hot/cold storage for 10+ years of efficient retention; PDF/XLS reporting; Data APIs for querying and transforming time-series; synthetic variables; outbound data pipelines; and more.
  • Serverless computing — Deploy Python or Node.js serverless functions to customize your backend. Ingest data from devices (HTTP / MQTT / CoAP), run transformations, call external APIs, apply business logic, or run ML models — Ubidots handles the data infrastructure.

• Full-stack IoT application — Combine all of the above with Ubidots dashboards: use pre-built widgets, drop in custom HTML/JS widgets, or build entire UIs with Ubidots Pages (HTML/JS/CSS pages embedded directly in the platform). Go from sensor data to a production UI without deploying any servers.

Devices → Ubidots (data + events + APIs) → UbiFunctions (custom logic) → Pages (UI)

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Requirements

• Python 3.9+
• Docker (for local development only — not needed for cloud-only operations)
• An Ubidots account with Industrial license or above

Installation

pip install ubidots-cli
ubidots --help

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Authentication

All commands that talk to Ubidots require a profile. Create one with your API token:

# Interactive setup
ubidots config

# Non-interactive (useful in scripts or CI)
ubidots config --no-interactive --profile prod --token BBFF-your-token-here

# Set as default so you don't need --profile on every command
ubidots config --default prod

Profiles are stored at ~/.ubidots_cli/profiles/<profile-name>.yaml.

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UbiFunctions

UbiFunctions are serverless Python or Node.js functions triggered by HTTP, MQTT, or a scheduler. They can read and write device data, call external APIs, process payloads, and return responses.

The development loop

dev add → dev start → (write code) → dev stop → push → run → logs

1. Create a local function project

ubidots functions dev add --name my-function --language python --runtime python3.11:lite
cd my-function

This creates a project folder with starter code, a manifest.yaml, and a Docker-based local runtime.

2. Start the local server

ubidots functions dev start

Prints a local URL (e.g. http://localhost:32768). Send HTTP requests to it while you develop.

curl -X POST http://localhost:32768 -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"value": 42}'

Watch logs in real time:

ubidots functions dev logs --follow

3. Push to production

ubidots functions push

4. Trigger and inspect logs

# Trigger with a payload and immediately print execution logs
ubidots functions run --label my-function --payload '{"value": 42}' --logs

# Show logs for the last 5 activations (default)
ubidots functions logs --label my-function

# Show logs for the last 3 activations
ubidots functions logs --label my-function --tail 3

Managing functions in the cloud

# List all functions
ubidots functions list

# Get details (including the webhook URL)
ubidots functions get --label my-function --fields url,id,label,serverless,triggers --format json

# Update runtime or configuration
ubidots functions update --label my-function --runtime python3.11:base --timeout 30

# Delete
ubidots functions delete --label my-function --yes

Pull an existing remote function to edit locally

# Run from the parent directory where you want the function folder created
ubidots functions pull --remote-id <function-id>
cd <function-name>
ubidots functions dev start

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Ubidots Pages

Pages are custom dashboard views embedded in the Ubidots platform. Each page is an HTML/JS/CSS project that runs inside Ubidots and has access to the Ubidots JS SDK — giving it direct access to your device data.

The development loop

dev add → dev start → (write HTML/JS/CSS) → dev stop → push

1. Create a local page project

ubidots pages dev add --name "Fleet Monitor" --type dashboard
cd fleet-monitor

Creates a project with body.html, script.js, style.css, static/, and a manifest.

2. Start the local preview server

ubidots pages dev start

Prints a local URL. Open it in a browser. Edits to your files are reflected immediately — no container restart needed.

3. Push to Ubidots

ubidots pages push

The page is now live inside the Ubidots platform.

Managing pages in the cloud

# List all pages
ubidots pages list

# Get details (including the live URL)
ubidots pages get --label fleet-monitor --fields id,label,url --format json

# Update the display name
ubidots pages update --label fleet-monitor --new-name "Fleet Monitor v2"

# Delete
ubidots pages delete --label fleet-monitor --yes

Pull an existing remote page to edit locally

ubidots pages pull --remote-id <page-id>
cd <page-name>
ubidots pages dev start

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Devices and Variables

# Create a device
ubidots devices add plant-sensor --name "Plant Sensor A" --tags climate,plantA

# List devices with a specific tag
ubidots devices list --filter "tags__contains=plantA" --format json

# Get a device
ubidots devices get --label plant-sensor --fields id,label,lastActivity,variables

# Create a variable on a device
ubidots variables add ~plant-sensor temperature "Temperature" --unit "°C"

# List variables in JSON
ubidots variables list --fields id,label,lastValue,unit --format json

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Typical application build — end to end

Below is the sequence an AI assistant would follow to build a complete IoT application on Ubidots from scratch.

Step 1 — Authenticate

ubidots config --no-interactive --profile prod --token BBFF-your-token

Step 2 — Scaffold the backend function

ubidots functions dev add --name data-processor --language python --runtime python3.11:lite
cd data-processor
# Write your logic in main.py
ubidots functions dev start
# Test locally
curl -X POST http://localhost:<port> -d '{"deviceLabel": "sensor-1", "value": 22.5}'
ubidots functions dev logs --follow
# Push when ready
ubidots functions dev stop
ubidots functions push --yes --profile prod

Step 3 — Verify deployment

ubidots functions run --label data-processor --payload '{"deviceLabel": "sensor-1", "value": 22.5}' --logs --profile prod

Step 4 — Build the frontend page

cd ..
ubidots pages dev add --name "Sensor Dashboard" --type dashboard
cd sensor-dashboard
# Edit body.html, script.js, style.css using the Ubidots JS SDK
ubidots pages dev start
# Preview at the printed URL
ubidots pages push --yes --profile prod

Step 5 — Iterate

# Check what's running in production
ubidots functions logs --label data-processor --tail 5 --profile prod  # target prod explicitly

# Pull a function down to fix a bug
ubidots functions pull --remote-id <id> --profile prod
cd data-processor
ubidots functions dev start
# Fix, test, push
ubidots functions push --yes --profile prod

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Profiles and multi-environment workflows

Every cloud command uses your default profile (set by ubidots config --default <name>). The --profile flag lets you override that for a single command — useful when managing multiple environments (e.g. staging, prod) without changing your default.

ubidots config --no-interactive --profile staging --token BBFF-staging-token
ubidots config --no-interactive --profile prod --token BBFF-prod-token
ubidots config --default staging

# Override for a single command
ubidots functions push --profile prod

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Function runtimes

Runtime	Description
python3.11:lite	Python 3.11 — minimal dependencies
python3.11:base	Python 3.11 — common data/HTTP libraries
python3.11:full	Python 3.11 — full scientific stack
python3.9:lite	Python 3.9 — minimal
python3.9:base	Python 3.9 — common libraries
python3.9:full	Python 3.9 — full stack
nodejs20.x:lite	Node.js 20 — minimal (default)
nodejs20.x:base	Node.js 20 — common libraries

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Command reference

ubidots config                        Set up authentication profiles
ubidots functions dev add             Create a local function project
ubidots functions dev start           Start the local function server
ubidots functions dev stop            Stop the local function server
ubidots functions dev restart         Restart the local function server
ubidots functions dev status          Check local server status
ubidots functions dev logs            Stream local logs
ubidots functions dev clean           Remove local containers and images
ubidots functions push                Upload local code to Ubidots
ubidots functions pull                Download remote function to local
ubidots functions run                 Trigger a remote function
ubidots functions logs                View remote activation logs
ubidots functions list                List all remote functions
ubidots functions get                 Get details for a remote function
ubidots functions add                 Create a new remote function
ubidots functions update              Update a remote function
ubidots functions delete              Delete a remote function
ubidots pages dev add                 Create a local page project
ubidots pages dev start               Start the local page preview server
ubidots pages dev stop                Stop the local page server
ubidots pages dev restart             Restart the local page server
ubidots pages dev status              Check page server status
ubidots pages dev list                List all local page containers
ubidots pages dev logs                Stream local page server logs
ubidots pages push                    Upload local page to Ubidots
ubidots pages pull                    Download remote page to local
ubidots pages list                    List all remote pages
ubidots pages get                     Get details for a remote page
ubidots pages add                     Create a new remote page
ubidots pages update                  Update a remote page
ubidots pages delete                  Delete a remote page
ubidots devices list                  List devices
ubidots devices get                   Get device details
ubidots devices add                   Create a device
ubidots devices update                Update a device
ubidots devices delete                Delete a device
ubidots variables list                List variables
ubidots variables get                 Get variable details
ubidots variables add                 Create a variable on a device
ubidots variables update              Update a variable
ubidots variables delete              Delete a variable

All commands support --help for full option details.