Get string values via HTTP/XML

The Problem

Loxone Miniserver natively supports receiving numeric values via HTTP, but cannot receive string/text values. This is a significant limitation when you need to:

Display text from external APIs
Show status messages from smart home devices
Integrate text-based data from third-party services

The Solution

This PicoC program runs directly on your Loxone Miniserver and:

Fetches data from any HTTP endpoint
Parses XML response
Extracts string values
Makes them available as text outputs in Loxone Config

https://github.com/MiCKov3r/LXC-Loxone-connect

Installation

Open Loxone Config
Create a new PicoC Program Block
Copy the code from lxc.c into the program block
Configure your inputs and outputs
Save and deploy to Miniserver

Configuration

Inputs

Input	Type	Description

Input	Type	Description
AI 1	Analog	Trigger (value > 0 activates the program)
TI 1	Text	Server address (optional - uses default if empty)
TI 2	Text	HTTP endpoint path/command
TI 3	Text	XML tag name to extract

Outputs

Output	Type	Description

Output	Type	Description
TQ 1	Text	Extracted string value

Server Configuration

You can configure the server in two ways:

Via TI 1 input — Set server address dynamically (e.g., 192.168.1.100:8080)
Default fallback — If TI 1 is empty, uses the hardcoded default in the code

To change the default server, modify this line:

val = httpget("YOUR_SERVER_IP:PORT", t2);

Recommended Loxone Config Setup

For the cleanest configuration, use a Text Generator block:

Text Generator	Value	Connects to

Text Generator	Value	Connects to
Txt1	Server IP:PORT (or empty for default)	T1
Txt2	/api/endpoint	T2
Txt3	xml_tag_name	T3
Txt4	1	I1 (trigger)

This approach:

Keeps all configuration in one place
Easy to switch between different API endpoints
No need for multiple Memory blocks

How It Works

┌─────────────┐     HTTP GET      ┌─────────────┐
│   Loxone    │ ────────────────► │   External  │
│  Miniserver │                   │   Server    │
│   (PicoC)   │ ◄──────────────── │   (XML)     │
└─────────────┘    XML Response   └─────────────┘
       │
       ▼
  Extract string
  from XML tag
       │
       ▼
  Text Output
  (available in
  Loxone Config)

Example Use Cases

Weather: Display current weather conditions as text
Calendar: Show next appointment name
Media: Display currently playing song title
Notifications: Show alert messages from external systems
Integration: Any API that returns XML data

Requirements

Loxone Miniserver (Gen 1 or Gen 2)
Loxone Config software
External server providing XML responses

Error Handling

The program includes built-in error handling:

"HTTP error" — Failed to connect to server or fetch data
"XML error" — XML parsing failed or tag not found
Empty string — Program not triggered (input ≤ 0)

Polling Interval

Default polling interval is 1000ms (1 second). Adjust the sleep() value to change.