TuyaOpen IDE Agent Development Guide

Overview

TuyaOpen IDEs connect Tuya IoT hardware to cloud-based AI capabilities. You develop and deploy an Agent once, then bind it to one or more devices through a unique Product ID (PID). The device uses standardized Data Points (DPs) to send telemetry and receive control commands from the Agent.

• How the device-cloud-Agent architecture works
• Creating and defining a product in the IDE
• Managing DP definitions with AI assistance
• Developing and publishing an Agent
• Binding an Agent to a product

How It Works

The TuyaOpen IDE system follows a three-layer binding model. Every piece of data flows through this architecture consistently.

┌─────────────────┐         ┌─────────────────┐         ┌─────────────────┐
│   Device PID    │◄───────►│   Tuya Cloud    │◄───────►│    AI Agent     │
│  Hardware Code  │ DP API  │ Product + DPs   │ LLM     │ Skills / MCP   │
│                 │  Sync   │                 │ Call    │   Workflows     │
└─────────────────┘         └─────────────────┘         └─────────────────┘

Binding Principle

Product ID (PID) is the single binding identifier across all three layers. Every device has a hardware PID. Every cloud product has a PID. Every Agent is bound to a PID. When all three share the same PID, they interoperate automatically.

DP (Data Point) is the data contract. DPs define every piece of data that flows between device and cloud — sensor readings, switch states, raw binary payloads, and more. The Agent reads and writes DPs to observe and control the device.

1. Enable Agent Development

When you create a new TuyaOpen project in the IDE, you can optionally enable cloud Agent development. Not every project needs cloud capabilities — skip this for local-only firmware.

1. Create or open a TuyaOpen project
2. On the project landing page, select Agent from the navigation bar
3. Confirm you want to enable cloud IoT Agent features

Once enabled, the Agent development page shows four main panels:

2. Create a Product

Before developing an Agent, you need a cloud product. The product holds the DP model that both device firmware and Agent code share.

You can create a product in two ways:

AI-assisted (recommended)

Describe your product to the IDE AI assistant. It creates the product and generates appropriate DP definitions automatically.

1. Open the Agent page in your project
2. In the IDE chat, type: "Create a smart temperature sensor product for me"
3. The assistant creates the product, defines relevant DPs, and syncs them to your project

Manual

Step through product configuration in the cloud console.

1. On the Agent page, click Create Product
2. Select a product category (e.g. Smart Home > Sensor)
3. Enter a product name and description
4. Choose the connection protocol
5. Save to generate a PID

3. Define DP Data Points

DPs (Data Points) are the data contract between device firmware and the cloud. Every value the device reports, and every command the device receives, travels through a DP.

Each DP has:

AI-assisted DP management

Use the IDE AI assistant to create, modify, or extend DP definitions. This is the recommended method because it validates DP format and constraints automatically, updates the cloud product model, generates matching device firmware code, and updates panel/app definitions.

Example prompts:

1. Add a boolean DP for a relay switch on channel 1
2. Create a temperature reporting DP with range -40 to 125°C and 0.1°C precision
3. Add a raw data DP for RGB LED strip control — 3 bytes, R G B
4. Create a 3-gang switch with three boolean DPs

Viewing DPs

On the Agent page, the DP Data Points panel shows all DPs defined for the product PID. You can see the DPID, type, name, and current constraints.

DPs as the Agent control interface

The Agent uses DPs to both read and control the device. At inference time: the Agent receives all current DP values from the device, the LLM reasons about device state using those values, and the Agent can write DP values back to the device to execute actions. This is how an Agent performs device control — by reading and writing the DP contract.

4. Develop an Agent

You create an Agent in one of two modes:

Create a new Agent

1. On the Agent page, go to the Agent panel
2. Click Create New Agent
3. Enter a name and description for your Agent
4. Select the mode: Agent or Workflow

Reuse an existing Agent

You can bind a previously published Agent to your product. This is useful when you want the same Agent logic across multiple device types.

1. On the Agent page, go to the Agent panel
2. Click Select Existing Agent
3. Choose from the list of published Agents

5. Agent Mode

Agent mode is the default and simplest development model. You configure a single LLM with a system prompt, tools, and capabilities.

1. On the Agent page, click Develop Agent
2. The Agent editor opens

In Agent mode you configure:

Example system prompt for a thermostat Agent:

You are a thermostat control Agent. Monitor room temperature and humidity.
When temperature exceeds 26°C, turn on the cooler (switch_2 = true).
When temperature drops below 20°C, turn on the heater (switch_1 = true).
Always report the current temperature and humidity when asked.
Keep responses concise and helpful.

6. Workflow Mode

Workflow mode lets you build complex multi-step Agent systems. Use it when you need intent recognition, model chaining, conditional logic, or parallel execution.

Workflow mode capabilities:

• Intent recognition: Route user queries to different handlers based on intent
• Multi-model orchestration: Call different models for different tasks
• Conditional branches: Logic gates based on intermediate results
• Synchronous and parallel execution: Control execution flow

7. Publish and Bind

After developing your Agent:

1. Click Publish in the Agent editor
2. Select a version tag or use auto-versioning
3. Wait for deployment to complete

Best Practices: Designing Good Agent-Enabled Devices

The most successful Agent-hardware products follow these principles:

See Also

• TuyaOpenClaw Quick Start (T5-AI)
• Hardware Skill Development
• Custom Device MCP