• DATA
  • HEALTH
  • FILTER
  • HUMAN

How to query IoT telemetry and alarms with your AI

Connect ThingsBoard to your AI client to turn raw sensor streams into conversational insights. Once connected, you can ask questions about device status and system alerts without digging through dashboards.

Ask AI about this page

Short answer

How can I ask my AI for sensor data and alarms?

Your AI uses specific tools to pull telemetry values and list active alarms from your ThingsBoard instance. You get direct answers about device readings and system health through natural language.

Data outcomes

Where your data lands.

The AI processes your requests and directs the information to these outcomes.

DATA

Direct sensor readings

The AI pulls specific telemetry values for any device you ask about. You get the exact numbers you need for analysis.

HEALTH

System status reports

Your agent scans for active alarms to tell you if something is wrong. It identifies which devices are currently reporting issues.

FILTER

Targeted data subsets

Instead of a full dump, the AI filters for specific time ranges or device types. You only see the data that matters to your question.

HUMAN

Manual intervention

The AI identifies critical failures but cannot fix hardware or clear alarms. You decide when to step in and take action.

The workflow

What your AI does when you ask a question.

The AI translates your plain English into specific tool calls to ThingsBoard.

  1. Identify the request

    Your agent determines if you are looking for a specific sensor value or a list of system errors.

    get_telemetryfind_alarms

  2. Fetch sensor values

    The AI pulls the requested telemetry data from your devices.

    get_telemetry

  3. Locate system issues

    The agent searches for active alarms to check the current health of your network.

    find_alarms

  4. Summarize findings

    The AI combines the telemetry and alarm data into a clear response for you.

    get_telemetryfind_alarms

Try it

Copy these to start.

Use these prompts to begin interacting with your IoT data.

Starting points

These are examples. Swap out the device names and sensor types for your actual ThingsBoard entities.

ThingsBoard Connector

You're all set. Choose your MCP client and follow the setup instructions.

Connector linkhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_UBFK6iWx3s89gzkdjDu4NajRmw3hiTs6UjT809b1/mcp

Claude Desktop

Follow the steps below to connect in seconds.

  1. 1In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Connectors.
  2. 2Click “Add custom connector” and paste the connector link above as the remote MCP server URL.
  3. 3Click Add and start a new chat — ThingsBoard capabilities are ready to use.
Configuration · claude_desktop_config.jsonCopy
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "thingsboard-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_UBFK6iWx3s89gzkdjDu4NajRmw3hiTs6UjT809b1/mcp"
    }
  }
}
Copy into chat04

  • What was the last temperature reading for the Greenhouse_01 sensor?

  • Show me all active alarms for the Water_Pump device.

  • Get the humidity telemetry for all sensors in the North Warehouse over the last hour.

  • Are there any critical alarms currently active in the system?

  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • Cursor
  • VS Code
  • Windsurf
  • Claude Code
  • JetBrains
  • Cline

Start here

Connect ThingsBoard once, then ask.

Enter your ThingsBoard credentials once. The connection is managed securely, and you can immediately start chatting with your data in any compatible client.

Connect ThingsBoard to your AI

FAQ

How this task behaves.

  • 01

    Can the AI change device settings?

    No. The AI can only read telemetry and find alarms. It cannot modify device configurations or update settings.

  • 02

    Can the AI clear an alarm once it's triggered?

    No. The AI can find and report on alarms, but clearing or acknowledging them must be done by you in ThingsBoard.

  • 03

    Does the AI see all my ThingsBoard data?

    The AI only sees the data it retrieves through the specific tools provided by the MCP.

  • 04

    Can I ask for data from a specific time range?

    Yes. You can ask for telemetry from specific times or durations, and the AI will use the telemetry tool to find it.

  • 05

    Can the AI create new telemetry attributes?

    No. This MCP is limited to retrieving existing telemetry and alarm data.

  • More questions about ThingsBoard? See everything the ThingsBoard Connector can do

Connect ThingsBoard to Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT & more