By Wren Calloway Fact-checked by Hugo Lindgren Published
BUILD
What it is
Scott J. Goldman (GitHub: scottjg) has published coway-local, an experimental Home Assistant custom integration that controls the Coway Airmega IconS (AP-1022K) air purifier entirely on your local network, with no Coway cloud. According to the project’s GitHub README, you install it through HACS and set it up from a web page that uses Web Bluetooth to hand the purifier your Wi-Fi details and your Home Assistant address. The README states that the project is not affiliated with Coway and is not an official Home Assistant integration.
How it works
- Boards: No extra boards are needed. The project uses the purifier’s own hardware, and the README and Tom’s Hardware both describe it as a software-only build with no soldering.
- Sensors and motors: The integration works with the purifier’s built-in fan and electronics. It does not add or replace any parts.
- Setup over Bluetooth: The README says the setup page uses Web Bluetooth to send the purifier two things: your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi credentials and the LAN address of your Home Assistant server. Chrome only allows Web Bluetooth on HTTPS pages, so Goldman hosts the setup page on GitHub Pages.
- Code: The Home Assistant side is a custom integration installed through HACS. Once the purifier has been set up this way, it talks to your Home Assistant server instead of to Coway.
- The trade-off: The README and Tom’s Hardware both note that a purifier set up this way is cut off from Coway’s cloud. The Coway app no longer controls it.
- What it replaces: Until now, the usual Home Assistant route for Airmega purifiers was RobertD502’s home-assistant-iocare HACS integration. That integration works through Coway’s IoCare cloud, not locally. coway-local removes that cloud dependency.
Release history: The GitHub release page lists v0.1.0 as “an initial experimental release” for the AP-1022K. It requires Home Assistant Core 2026.10.2 or newer. Releases v0.1.1, v0.1.2 and the v0.2.x series came out the same day. Version v0.2.2 made the Bluetooth setup model-independent. Even so, only the AP-1022K has been tested on real hardware, and other models remain experimental. A Local Smart Home Guide roundup covering Nov 7 to 13, 2026 reports that the project had reached v0.5.2 by 2026-11-12, so check the repo for the current release before you start.
Parts list
| Part | Role | Rough price |
|---|---|---|
| Coway Airmega IconS (AP-1022K) | The purifier being controlled. It is the only model tested on real hardware. | Varies; the project assumes you already own one |
| Home Assistant server running Core 2026.10.2 or newer | Runs the integration and controls the purifier locally | Existing hardware; the project assumes you already run one |
| HACS (Home Assistant Community Store) | Installs the custom integration | Free |
| coway-local integration | Local control code | Free download from GitHub |
| 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network | The purifier’s network connection | Existing |
| Mac or Android device with Chrome | Runs the Web Bluetooth setup page | Existing |
No boards, wiring, or soldering are needed. As the README and Tom’s Hardware put it, the cost is the purifier plus an existing Home Assistant server.
How to build your own
- Difficulty: Moderate, software only.
- Time: Short if your Home Assistant setup already meets the requirements. Allow extra time if you need to update Home Assistant Core or set a fixed address first.
- Skills: Comfort with HACS, router settings for fixed LAN addresses, and accepting that you are running experimental software.
Steps (high level):
- Check your Home Assistant version. You need Core 2026.10.2 or newer.
- Give Home Assistant a fixed LAN address. The purifier is told this address during setup, so it must not change.
- Confirm you have 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. The purifier needs a 2.4 GHz network.
- Install coway-local through HACS. Follow the steps in the scottjg/coway-local README.
- Open the setup page. Use Chrome on a Mac or Android device. The page is hosted on GitHub Pages because Web Bluetooth requires HTTPS.
- Send the purifier its settings over Bluetooth. The page passes it your Wi-Fi details and your Home Assistant address.
- Control the purifier from Home Assistant. After setup, the purifier is cut off from Coway’s cloud and the Coway app.
Before you start: Decide whether you are comfortable giving up the Coway app for this purifier. If you own a model other than the AP-1022K, treat it as an experiment. The v0.2.2 release made Bluetooth setup model-independent, but only the AP-1022K has been tested on real hardware.
What we would change
- Broader setup support. Setup currently needs Chrome on a Mac or Android device. A path for iPhone users or other desktop setups would help more people try it.
- A documented way back. Losing the Coway app is a real trade-off. We would like clear instructions for returning a purifier to stock cloud control, in case someone wants to sell it or stop using Home Assistant.
- More tested models. Confirmed results from owners of other Airmega models would help move them out of “experimental.”
- Flexibility on the fixed address. Requiring a fixed LAN address for Home Assistant is reasonable, but it is easy to miss. A way to re-point the purifier if the address ever changes would make the setup sturdier.
Not to be confused with: MartinLeisssoo’s esphome-coway-airmega-250s is a different project for a different model, the Airmega 250S. It swaps the purifier’s Wi-Fi module for an ESP32-C3 running ESPHome, which is a hardware mod. coway-local needs no hardware changes.
Credit
This build is the work of Scott J. Goldman (GitHub: scottjg). Artoo Maker Lab did not build it; we are spotlighting it. The original write-up, install instructions, and release notes are in the scottjg/coway-local repository on GitHub. Tom’s Hardware also covered the project.
Notes on this article
- Fact-checked by Hugo Lindgren before publication.
- Published
Fact-checking
- Every claim is checked by Hugo Lindgren; anything we cannot confirm is corrected, labelled or removed.
