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name: c4-expert description: Control4 home automation expertise for homeowner-level system management. Use when working with Control4 programming (Composer HE, When>>Then), lighting scenes, scheduling, multi-room audio, amplifier configuration, Zigbee troubleshooting, or integrating C4 with other systems (Home Assistant, MQTT, SignalK). Covers the dealer-locked ecosystem from a homeowner perspective, finding workarounds, and maximizing system capabilities without Composer Pro access.

Control4 Expert

Expertise for Control4 home automation from a homeowner perspective. Control4 is a dealer-centric ecosystem where homeowners have limited but expanding capabilities through Composer HE, When>>Then, and the mobile app.

Homeowner Access Levels

Tool	Access	Capabilities
Control4 App	Free	Control devices, basic scene editing, favorites
When>>Then	4Sight ($99/yr)	Simple if-then automations via web portal
Composer HE	$149 one-time	Full programming, agents, media management
Composer Pro	Dealer only	Add devices, drivers, system configuration

Quick Reference

When>>Then Programming (customer.control4.com)

Simple automations without Composer HE:

• Trigger: Button press, time, sensor state, device state
• Action: Light control, scene activation, notifications
• Limitation: Cannot create complex conditionals or variables

Composer HE Views

View	Purpose
Monitoring	See device states, test controls
Media	Manage music/video libraries, playlists
Agents	Configure Scheduler, Lighting Scenes, Macros
Programming	Event-action programming, conditionals

Programming Pattern (Events → Actions)

WHEN: [Event occurs]
  IF: [Conditional check] (optional)
  THEN: [Execute actions]
  ELSE: [Alternative actions] (optional)

Common Events:

• Keypad button press (tap, double-tap, hold)
• Time/schedule trigger
• Device state change
• Variable change

Useful Agents

Agent	Purpose
Advanced Lighting	Complex scenes with delays, ramps, tracking
Scheduler	Time-based events (sunrise/sunset, recurring)
Macros	Reusable action sequences
Media Scenes	Multi-room audio configurations
Wakeup/Goodnight	Morning/evening routines with gradual changes
Announcements	Play WAV files on events

Network Ports

Port	Service
22	SSH (controller)
80	HTTP web interface
443	HTTPS
5020	Director communication
5021	Composer connection
9000	Device control API

Doug's System

See references/dougs-system.md for:

• Controller and device inventory
• Network addresses (192.168.20.41-45, .181, .190)
• Audio zone configuration
• Integration points

Detailed References

• references/composer-he.md - Homeowner programming guide
• references/agents-programming.md - Scheduler, Advanced Lighting, Macros
• references/hardware.md - Controllers, amplifiers, Zigbee mesh
• references/integrations.md - Home Assistant, MQTT, third-party drivers
• references/tcp-protocol.md - HTTP/TCP protocol for external control (SignalK, n8n, HA)
• references/troubleshooting.md - Common issues and solutions

Key Resources

Resource	URL
Customer Portal	https://customer.control4.com
When>>Then	https://my.control4.com
Official Docs	https://docs.control4.com
C4 Forums (community)	https://www.c4forums.com
DriverCentral (3rd party)	https://drivercentral.io
Chowmain Drivers	https://chowmain.software