Skip to content
Docs · Fermentation & sensors

Connect a sensor and log readings

Onboard a Tilt, iSpindel, RAPT, or manual-entry sensor, assign it to a vessel, and record its readings.

A sensor is anything that gives you a reading — a Tilt or RAPT floating in a fermenter, an iSpindel, or just you with a hydrometer and a notebook. Brewstiller keeps every reading against the vessel it came from, so a batch builds its own record of temperature, gravity, and whatever else you track.

Sensors live under Sensors in the left-hand navigation, in the Sensors group.

View your sensors

  1. In the navigation, choose Sensors. The list shows every sensor with its Name, its Assignment (what it's attached to, or Unassigned), a Status badge, and its Latest reading (the most recent recorded value).
  2. The Status badge reads Live when a reading has arrived recently, Awaiting reading before the first one, No recent data when it's gone quiet, or Retired once you retire it.
  3. Narrow the list with the Search sensors by name… box, or tick Show retired to include retired sensors.
  4. Choose Load more to fetch the next page if there is one.
  5. Choose a sensor's row, or its Manage button, to open it.

A new workspace shows No sensors yet with an Onboard a sensor button.

Onboard a sensor

  1. From the Sensors list, choose Onboard a sensor (top right).
  2. Choose a Sensor type. Picking a catalog type (for example a Tilt or RAPT) fills in the measurements that device reports. Choose Untyped to set the measurements yourself.
  3. Enter a Name — something you'll recognise, like Fermenter 1 Tilt.
  4. Optionally enter a Vendor device ID (the id the device firmware reports under) and a Sample rate override (seconds) to override the type's default reporting interval. Both can be left blank.
  5. Under Measurements, confirm what the sensor measures. A catalog type seeds these for you; for an untyped sensor, choose Add measurement and set the Measurement, a Unit (required — for example °C), and an optional Label. You need at least one measurement.
  6. Choose Onboard sensor. On success you're taken to the new sensor's page.

If your plan's sensor limit is full, Brewstiller tells you so instead of creating the sensor — retire a sensor (or upgrade) to add another.

Understand the sensor page

Opening a sensor shows its Name and a status badge, its Type and Device ID (if set), and:

  • A Latest reading card with the most recent recorded value and the lifetime readings received count. This is a snapshot of the last reading — it isn't a live stream.
  • A Live chart card plotting the sensor's readings over time and updating in real time as new readings stream in (see the beta note below).
  • An Assignment card showing what the sensor is attached to.
  • A Measurements card listing what it measures.
  • Setup panels for connecting cloud devices (Tilt Cloud URL, iSpindel Service URL, RAPT Webhook URL).

Beta — live charts. The live chart updates in real time as readings stream in. Live streaming is currently in beta and may be switched off for your workspace — when it is, the chart still shows the sensor's recent history and reads live updates unavailable instead of updating as you watch. You may not see live updates yet.

Assign a sensor to a vessel

Readings are recorded against whatever a sensor is assigned to, so assign it before you rely on the data.

  1. Open the sensor and, on the Assignment card, choose Assign (or Change assignment if it's already assigned).
  2. In the dialog, choose a Target type — Equipment, Cooperage, or Location.
  3. Choose the Target from the list of that type in your workspace.
  4. Choose Assign. To detach a sensor instead, choose Unassign.

Record a reading by hand

Use manual entry when you're reading a hydrometer or thermometer yourself, or transcribing a paper log.

Prerequisite: the sensor should be assigned to a vessel that's on an active batch stage. A reading recorded against an unassigned sensor (or one whose vessel isn't mid-batch) is accepted but not saved — Brewstiller warns you when that's the case.

  1. Open the sensor and choose Record reading.
  2. In Observed at, leave the time on now, or back-date it to record a reading from a paper log. (It can't be in the future.)
  3. Under Readings, enter a value for each measurement you're recording. The unit is shown beside each field. Leave a row blank to skip it; you need at least one value.
  4. Choose Record reading. On success you see Reading recorded and return to the sensor.

If the sensor isn't on an active stage, you'll see Reading not recorded — assign it to a vessel that's mid-batch, then record again. If you record too many readings too quickly, Brewstiller asks you to wait a moment and try again.

Connect a cloud device (Tilt, iSpindel, RAPT)

Cloud devices push their own readings to Brewstiller through a private URL. Generate that URL on the sensor's page, then paste it into the device's app.

  1. Open the sensor. Find the panel for your device — Tilt Cloud URL, iSpindel Service URL, or RAPT Webhook URL.
  2. Identify which device the readings come from:
    • Tilt — pick the Tilt color of the hydrometer reporting to this sensor.
    • iSpindel — enter the iSpindel device name it reports under.
    • RAPT — enter the RAPT device name or MAC.
  3. Optionally add a Name to recognise the URL later.
  4. Choose Generate Cloud URL (or Generate URL). The full URL is shown once — copy it now with Copy URL; it can't be shown again. If you lose it, revoke it and generate a new one.
  5. Paste the URL into your device's app (the Tilt app's single Cloud URL field, iSpindel's HTTP/generic service config, or RAPT's webhook config).

Generated URLs appear in the panel so you can Revoke one later. Revoking stops that URL working immediately — you'll need to generate a new one and update the device.

Beta — cloud ingestion. Cloud ingestion is still being rolled out. A generated URL is valid, but won't accept readings until it's switched on for your workspace, so a freshly-pasted URL that isn't ingesting yet isn't a broken setup.

Retire a sensor

Retiring de-provisions a sensor and revokes its ingest tokens. Its historical readings are kept, but it stops accepting new data.

  1. Open the sensor and choose Retire sensor.
  2. In the dialog, choose Retire sensor to confirm.

A retired sensor stays visible when you tick Show retired in the list. Retiring can't be undone — onboard a replacement to keep recording.