I wanted Home Assistant in my system tray, so I built Lilac

Description and use

Lilac is a system‑tray app that discovers Tuya/Smart Life devices on the LAN, logs in via QR code, and controls them directly, eliminating the need for multiple apps or a server.

Problem

Need a single tray app to control all Tuya/Smart Life devices without running a separate server.

Outcome

Lilac enables one‑click control of all Tuya/Smart Life gadgets from the system tray, eliminating the need for multiple apps or a dedicated server.

Workflow

• Discover Tuya devices on LAN via UDP broadcasts
• Log into Smart Life using a QR code to obtain local keys
• Store keys in OS keychain
• Send commands to devices over LAN using local keys
• Fallback to cloud for devices not reachable locally

Evidence

Control your Tuya / Smart Life gadgets from the menu bar — over your own network.

Source

It finds them on the network, logs into Smart Life once with a QR code to grab the local keys, and after that talks to the devices directly over the LAN.

Source

The project is vibe‑coded. It was built in a long conversation between a human and an AI… It has a real test suite… but it is experimental — expect rough edges and read the code before trusting it with anything important.

Source