samsungctl is a library and a command line tool for remote controlling Samsung televisions via a TCP/IP connection. It currently supports both pre-2016 TVs as well most of the modern Tizen-OS TVs with Ethernet or Wi-Fi connectivity.
- Python 3
websocket-client(optional, for 2016+ TVs)curses(optional, for the interactive mode)
samsungctl can be installed using pip:
# pip install samsungctlAlternatively you can clone the Git repository and run:
# python setup.py installIt's possible to use the command line tool without installation:
$ python -m samsungctlYou can use samsungctl command to send keys to a TV:
$ samsungctl --host <host> [options] <key> [key ...]host is the hostname or IP address of the TV. key is a key code, e.g. KEY_VOLDOWN. See Key codes.
There is also an interactive mode (ncurses) for sending the key presses:
$ samsungctl --host <host> [options] --interactiveUse samsungctl --help for more information about the command line arguments:
usage: samsungctl [-h] [--version] [-v] [-q] [-i] [--host HOST] [--port PORT]
[--method METHOD] [--name NAME] [--description DESC]
[--id ID] [--timeout TIMEOUT]
[key [key ...]]
Remote control Samsung televisions via TCP/IP connection
positional arguments:
key keys to be sent (e.g. KEY_VOLDOWN)
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--version show program's version number and exit
-v, --verbose increase output verbosity
-q, --quiet suppress non-fatal output
-i, --interactive interactive control
--host HOST TV hostname or IP address
--port PORT TV port number (TCP)
--method METHOD Connection method (legacy or websocket)
--name NAME remote control name
--description DESC remote control description
--id ID remote control id
--timeout TIMEOUT socket timeout in seconds (0 = no timeout)
E.g. samsungctl --host 192.168.0.10 --name myremote KEY_VOLDOWNThe settings can be loaded from a configuration file. The file is searched from $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/samsungctl.conf, ~/.config/samsungctl.conf, and /etc/samsungctl.conf in this order. A simple default configuration is bundled with the source as samsungctl.conf.
samsungctl can be imported as a Python 3 library:
import samsungctlA context managed remote controller object of class Remote can be constructed using the with statement:
with samsungctl.Remote(config) as remote:
# Use the remote objectThe constructor takes a configuration dictionary as a parameter. All configuration items must be specified.
| Key | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| host | string | Hostname or IP address of the TV. |
| port | int | TCP port number. (Default: 55000) |
| method | string | Connection method (legacy or websocket) |
| name | string | Name of the remote controller. |
| description | string | Remote controller description. |
| id | string | Additional remote controller ID. |
| timeout | int | Timeout in seconds. 0 means no timeout. |
The Remote object is very simple and you only need the control(key) method. The only parameter is a string naming the key to be sent (e.g. KEY_VOLDOWN). See Key codes. You can call control multiple times using the same Remote object. The connection is automatically closed when exiting the with statement.
When something goes wrong you will receive an exception:
| Exception | Description |
|---|---|
| AccessDenied | The TV does not allow you to send keys. |
| ConnectionClosed | The connection was closed. |
| UnhandledResponse | An unexpected response was received. |
| socket.timeout | The connection timed out. |
This simple program opens and closes the menu a few times.
#!/usr/bin/env python3
import samsungctl
import time
config = {
"name": "samsungctl",
"description": "PC",
"id": "",
"host": "192.168.0.10",
"port": 55000,
"method": "legacy",
"timeout": 0,
}
with samsungctl.Remote(config) as remote:
for i in range(10):
remote.control("KEY_MENU")
time.sleep(0.5)The list of accepted keys may vary depending on the TV model, but the following list has some common key codes and their descriptions.
| Key code | Description |
|---|---|
| KEY_POWEROFF | Power off |
| KEY_UP | Up |
| KEY_DOWN | Down |
| KEY_LEFT | Left |
| KEY_RIGHT | Right |
| KEY_CHUP | P Up |
| KEY_CHDOWN | P Down |
| KEY_ENTER | Enter |
| KEY_RETURN | Return |
| KEY_CH_LIST | Channel List |
| KEY_MENU | Menu |
| KEY_SOURCE | Source |
| KEY_GUIDE | Guide |
| KEY_TOOLS | Tools |
| KEY_INFO | Info |
| KEY_RED | A / Red |
| KEY_GREEN | B / Green |
| KEY_YELLOW | C / Yellow |
| KEY_BLUE | D / Blue |
| KEY_PANNEL_CHDOWN | 3D |
| KEY_VOLUP | Volume Up |
| KEY_VOLDOWN | Volume Down |
| KEY_MUTE | Mute |
| KEY_0 | 0 |
| KEY_1 | 1 |
| KEY_2 | 2 |
| KEY_3 | 3 |
| KEY_4 | 4 |
| KEY_5 | 5 |
| KEY_6 | 6 |
| KEY_7 | 7 |
| KEY_8 | 8 |
| KEY_9 | 9 |
| KEY_DTV | TV Source |
| KEY_HDMI | HDMI Source |
| KEY_CONTENTS | SmartHub |
Please note that some codes are different on the 2016+ TVs. For example, KEY_POWEROFF is KEY_POWER on the newer TVs.
I did not reverse engineer the control protocol myself and samsungctl is not the only implementation. Here is the list of things that inspired samsungctl.
React
Typescript
Django
Laravel
Facebook
Microsoft
Google
Alibaba
D3
Tencent