Configuring Weather Services¶

As a platform admin, this is where you set the instance-wide default settings for the public weather services offered to every site in Weather Sources per Location: Open-Meteo, the German Weather Service (DWD), and OpenWeatherMap.

Platform admins only

The weather services settings are only accessible to users with the platform role admin. In light mode, the page is reachable directly without login, since the instance's single user is treated as the operator there.

Prerequisites¶

Platform role admin (full mode) or light-mode operation
Access via Account Settings > Weather Services

Where to find the settings¶

Open Account Settings (click your profile picture in the top right).
Select the Weather Services tab — it appears in the same place as the Storage tab, right next to it.

The page shows three areas: one card per weather service, the global OpenWeatherMap key, and the general fetch settings.

Enabling and Adjusting Weather Services¶

For each of the three services — Open-Meteo, the German Weather Service (DWD), and OpenWeatherMap — a dedicated card shows:

Field	Description
Enabled	Toggle for whether the service is available instance-wide. If you disable a service, it disappears immediately from the selection list in every site's weather source dialog — sources already configured for that service stop receiving new data until it is re-enabled here.
Base URL (optional)	Overrides the service's default address. Leave empty to use the default address.
Attribution	The attribution text Kamerplanter displays in the weather source dialog and in the preview (e.g. Open-Meteo's license notice).

What is a base-URL override?

The base URL is the address at which Kamerplanter reaches the weather service in the background (e.g. https://api.open-meteo.com/v1/forecast). An override is only needed in special cases — for example if you run a self-hosted mirror of a service, or need to route through an internal proxy in a locked-down network environment. For normal operation, leave the field empty.

Testing the Connection¶

Click Test on a service to immediately check its reachability — regardless of whether any site already uses that service. Kamerplanter fetches sample weather data for a reference location and shows:

Service reachable — including a short preview of the next three days (minimum/maximum temperature, precipitation)
Service not reachable — with as specific an error message as possible (e.g. a timeout or an invalid key)

When to test

Test a service right after setting a base-URL override or entering the global OpenWeatherMap key — that way you catch typos or reachability problems immediately, instead of only once a site stops receiving weather data later on.

Global OpenWeatherMap Key (Fallback)¶

OpenWeatherMap is the only one of the three services that requires a personal API key. So that not every site needs its own key, you can store an instance-wide fallback key here.

How the fallback works: If a user sets up an OpenWeatherMap source at their site without entering their own key, Kamerplanter automatically uses the global key stored here. If a site has set its own key, that key takes precedence over the global fallback.

The key stays secret

The global key is stored encrypted and is never shown in plain text — neither in the UI nor in any API response. A status chip simply shows "Key stored" or "No key". If you leave the input field empty when saving, an already-stored key remains unchanged. Use the eye icon to double-check your freshly entered input in plain text before saving.

Cost control on shared instances

If you use the global key on an instance with multiple tenants (e.g. a community garden), all sites without their own key share the same OpenWeatherMap quota. With many active sites, this quota can be exhausted faster than with a single personal key. Check your usage quota directly in your OpenWeatherMap account if needed.

Fetch Settings¶

Field	Description
Timeout	Maximum wait time per weather request in seconds (1–120). If a service does not respond within this time, the request is considered failed and Kamerplanter — if configured — tries the next source in that site's priority list.
Default Source	The public weather service Kamerplanter suggests when a site has not defined its own priority list yet.

For Technical Users / Self-Hosters¶

Every value set here overrides the corresponding backend environment variable while it is set via the UI. If no value is stored in the database, the environment-variable default applies:

Environment variable	Default	Corresponds to field
`OPEN_METEO_ENABLED`	`true`	Open-Meteo → Enabled
`OPEN_METEO_BASE_URL`	`https://api.open-meteo.com/v1/forecast`	Open-Meteo → Base URL
`DWD_ENABLED`	`true`	DWD → Enabled
`DWD_BASE_URL`	`https://api.brightsky.dev`	DWD → Base URL
`OPENWEATHERMAP_ENABLED`	`true`	OpenWeatherMap → Enabled
`OPENWEATHERMAP_BASE_URL`	`https://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5`	OpenWeatherMap → Base URL
`WEATHER_FETCH_TIMEOUT_S`	`20`	Timeout
`WEATHER_DEFAULT_PUBLIC_SOURCE`	`open-meteo`	Default Source

A value set via the UI takes effect immediately, without a backend restart. Resetting a base URL to empty via the UI editor clears the database override again — the environment-variable default then applies once more.

SSRF protection for base-URL overrides

A base URL set via the UI is validated server-side (scheme allowlist, no private/internal addresses) before it is persisted — the same check used for the storage and Home Assistant settings. This prevents a misconfigured base URL from redirecting the backend to an unintended internal target.

Frequently Asked Questions¶

What happens to existing site weather sources if I disable a service here?

Sites that have already configured this service as a weather source stop receiving new data through it from the moment it's disabled. The site-level configuration itself is kept (not deleted) — if you re-enable the service here later, the site's source works again without any further action.

Why don't I see a key field for Open-Meteo or DWD?

Open-Meteo and the German Weather Service don't require an API key — both services can be used without registration. Only OpenWeatherMap requires a key, either per site or via the global fallback key on this page.

Do I have to configure a global key?

No. Without a global key, OpenWeatherMap still works — but then every site that wants to use OpenWeatherMap must store its own personal key in the weather source dialog.

Does a base-URL override affect all sites at once?

Yes. The base URL applies instance-wide for the given service and affects every site that uses it as a source. An individual site cannot override the base URL on its own.