How to Control Philips Hue Lights From a Mac

If you work at a Mac all day, picking up your phone to dim the office lights pulls you out of whatever you were doing. It works better when your lights sit next to the rest of your work and you can reach them from the keyboard. This guide shows how to set that up with HueCommand's Mac app.

If your Bridge is already in Apple Home, the Mac Home app lets you click an accessory to switch it on or off and Siri on Mac can control accessories set up in the Home app. The rest of this guide covers HueCommand.

A windowed Mac app, not a menu-bar app

HueCommand on Mac behaves like Mail or Finder. It has a Dock icon, a window you can resize and commands in the menu bar at the top of the screen. When HueCommand's site talks about "menu bar integration", it means those normal macOS app menus. It does not mean an icon in the corner of the menu bar.

Earlier builds did live in a menu bar panel, but the current Mac app is a standard window app, and right now there is no menu bar light switch. The keyboard shortcuts below are the quickest way to get around. You get full room, scene and effect control in a window you can keep beside your work.

Set up HueCommand on your Mac

You need a Mac running macOS 14 Sonoma or later and a Philips Hue Bridge (the square v2 or newer) on the same network. HueCommand doesn't support Bluetooth-only bulbs without a Bridge.

1. Download Command for Philips Hue from the App Store. Your Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Vision Pro all use the same listing.
2. Open the app. It searches your network for your Hue Bridge.
3. When the app asks, press the round link button on top of the Bridge to pair.
4. Your rooms appear on the Rooms tab. Click a room card to switch it on or off, or open it for brightness, color and scenes.
5. No Bridge yet? Choose demo mode and try the app with sample rooms first.

Commands go straight to the Bridge over your local network. The Philips Hue cloud only comes into play if you turn on remote access (see below).

Menus, shortcuts and right-click

Every tab is in the menu bar at the top of the screen, and each one has a keyboard shortcut:

Right-click a room to switch it on or off, rename it or rearrange your rooms. All On and All Off on the Rooms tab switch the whole house at once.

On a room's color picker, the lights start out linked, so dragging the color wheel recolors the whole group. Double-click a light to unlink it and give it a color of its own. The light changes as you drag, so you don't have to press an Apply button. More about this in the color wheel guide.

What the Mac app does, and what it doesn't

Here is what the Mac version can do, and whether each feature is free or part of Command Pro:

If you want widgets or a one-tap Control Center toggle, those are on iPhone and iPad (widgets guide). The full device breakdown is on the compare page.

Command Pro costs $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year (US prices), or a one-time Lifetime purchase. If you buy Pro on another device with the same Apple Account, you can restore it on your Mac.

Tips for a desk setup

End the workday with Goodnight. Open the office room, choose Goodnight and pick a fade time. HueCommand sends the Bridge one command with a long transition, so the lights keep fading after you close the lid. The button only shows up when at least one light in the room is on. See the Goodnight guide.

Make a focus scene once and use it everywhere. Press ⌘2, click +, pick your office and start from the Reading template or Capture Current. Scenes are saved on your Bridge, so the same scene shows up on your iPhone, Apple TV and in the official Hue app.

Put music on. Press ⌘4, pick a room under Target room, and click Music Reactive. The first time, allow microphone access when you're asked. Your Mac's microphone does the listening, and the audio is analyzed on the Mac. Music sync runs only while the app is open and stops when HueCommand goes to the background, so keep the app open while the music plays. Use the Sensitivity slider to tune how strongly the lights react. Details in music sync.

Check on home from the office (Pro). Go to Settings → Remote Access, click Sign in to Account and sign in on the Philips Hue page. Then press the Bridge's link button and click Enable Remote Access under Remote Pairing. The Auto connection mode uses your local network when you're home and the Hue cloud when you're away. Full steps are in the remote access guide.

Several Bridges (Pro). A large home can outgrow one Bridge. Philips Hue says a Hue Bridge handles up to 50 lights and 12 accessories, and the Bridge Pro 150+ lights and 50+ accessories. With Pro, HueCommand shows every Bridge in one Rooms view, and ⌘R refreshes them all.

Use it next to the Hue app. Both apps control the same Bridge, and HueCommand listens to the Bridge's event stream, so changes you make in one show up in the other. You still add new lights and create entertainment areas in the official app.

Next steps

• Read the Mac app page for more detail on the windowed app.
• Build your first desk scene with the scenes guide.
• Compare what each Apple device can do on the features page.

HueCommand is a free download on the App Store. Learn more at huecommand.com.

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