Build a sensor publisher

Use this quickstart to give a sensor one canonical UUID, publish its typed entity event, and attach a location, including Position Location Information (PLI). In three steps, you will validate the examples, choose a durable identity, and publish the sensor and its position.

Before you begin, complete installation and have two shells available for the mock broker and publisher.

Run profile: offline model check and loopback mock. The publication commands are staging- and production-oriented only for a sensor integration whose broker ACLs authorize the exact entity and location publications. Live use changes ECN-visible state.

Shell labels (A, B) mark blocks that must run concurrently. Each block inlines the loopback-mock connection variables; for a live ECN, replace them with the authentication block.

1. Validate the examples offline

python examples/publish_entity.py --check
python examples/publish_location.py --check

These checks validate the example inputs without connecting to a broker.

2. Choose one durable identity

Generate a UUID once for the sensor and persist it in your own configuration. Reuse that UUID across JSON or protobuf entity events, ordinary location updates, PLI, and any task targeting for the same physical or logical sensor.

3. Publish the entity and position

Shell A — mock broker (leave running):

picogrid-mock-ecn --mqtt-port 1883

Skip Shell A if you are targeting a live ECN.

Shell B — publisher:

export ECN_HOST=127.0.0.1
export ECN_MQTT_PORT=1883
export ECN_INTEGRATION_NAME=example-integration
export ECN_BEARER_TOKEN=mock-full-access
export ECN_ALLOW_INSECURE=1

export ECN_ENTITY_ID=00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000001
export ECN_ENTITY_CATEGORY=SENSOR
export ECN_ENTITY_TYPE=weather-station
export ECN_ENTITY_NAME=synthetic-sensor
python examples/publish_entity.py

export ECN_LATITUDE=0
export ECN_LONGITUDE=0
python examples/publish_location.py

Each command is a mutation and must be authorized by the broker ACL. A publication receipt reports the MQTT operation; it does not promise persistence or downstream processing.

Your next step is the sensor integration guide, where you can choose update cadence, wire format, QoS, and lifecycle behavior.