Adding `unifi_client` library as a dependency

Run this command in a terminal, in your project's directory:

cargo add unifi-client

To add it manually, edit your project's Cargo.toml file and add to the [dependencies] section:

unifi-client = "0.4.0"

The unifi_client library will be automatically available globally.

Back to the crate overview.

Readme

unifi-client

UniFiClient is a third party Ubiquiti UniFi API client, allowing you to easily build your own UniFi integrations in Rust. UniFiClient comes with two primary sets of APIs for communicating with UniFi controllers, a high level strongly typed semantic API, and a lower level HTTP API for extending behaviour.

Note: This crate is not officially associated with or endorsed by Ubiquiti Inc.

Features

🔐 Secure authentication with UniFi controllers
🌐 Access via a convenient singleton or multiple independent clients
🛜 Complete guest management: authorize, list, and unauthorize guests.
🔄 Async API with Tokio runtime support
🛡️ Comprehensive error handling
🧪 Well-tested (unit and integration tests)
🧩 Extensible architecture, ready for additional API endpoints

Installation

Run this command in your terminal to add the latest version of UniFiClient.

cargo add unifi-client

Quick Start

The easiest way to use unifi-client is with the singleton pattern. This provides a single, globally accessible client instance.

use unifi_client::{UniFiClient, UniFiError};

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), UniFiError> {
    // 1. Initialize the singleton client (ONCE, at the start).
    //    Get your credentials securely (e.g., from environment variables).
    let client = UniFiClient::builder()
        .controller_url("https://your-unifi-controller:8443") // Replace!
        .username("your_username") // Replace!
        .password_from_env("UNIFI_PASSWORD") // Best practice
        .site("default")  // Or your site ID
        .accept_invalid_certs(false)  // Set to `true` if you don't have valid SSL certificates
        .build()
        .await?;
    unifi_client::initialize(client);

    // 2. Access the client anywhere using `unifi_client::instance()`:
    let guests = unifi_client::instance().guests().list().send().await?;
    println!("Guests: {:?}", guests);

    Ok(())
}

API Overview

Semantic API

The semantic API is a high level API that provides a type-safe way to interact with the UniFi controller. It is built around a set of models that map to the UniFi controller's API. Currently the following modules are available.

guest - Guest access management.

Authorizing a guest

unifi-client uses a builder pattern for constructing API requests.

All methods with multiple optional parameters are built as Builder structs, allowing you to easily specify parameters.

use unifi_client::{UniFiClient, UniFiError};

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), UniFiError> {
    let client = UniFiClient::builder()
        .controller_url("https://your-controller:8443")
        .username("your_username")
        .password_from_env("UNIFI_PASSWORD")
        .build()
        .await?;
    unifi_client::initialize(client);

    let unifi_client = unifi_client::instance();

    // Authorize a guest:
    let new_guest = unifi_client.guests()
        .authorize("00:11:22:33:44:55")
        .duration_minutes(60)
        .up(1024)
        .down(2048)
        .data_quota_megabytes(1024)
        .send() // *MUST* call .send()
        .await?;

    println!("Authorized Guest: {:?}", new_guest);

    // List guests (with optional filtering):
    let guests = unifi_client.guests().list().within(24).send().await?;

    // Unauthorize a guest:
    unifi_client.guests().unauthorize("00:11:22:33:44:55").send().await?;

    //Unathorize all guests
    unifi_client.guests().unauthorize_all().send().await?;
    Ok(())
}

Error Handling

All API methods return a Result<T, UniFiError>.

use unifi_client::{UniFiClient, UniFiError};

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), UniFiError> {
    let client = UniFiClient::builder()
        .controller_url("https://your-controller:8443")
        .username("your_username")
        .password_from_env("UNIFI_PASSWORD")
        .build()
        .await?;
    unifi_client::initialize(client);
    
    let result = unifi_client::instance().guests().list().send().await;
    
    match result {
       Ok(guests) => println!("Guests: {:?}", guests),
       Err(UniFiError::ApiError(msg)) => eprintln!("API Error: {}", msg),
       Err(UniFiError::AuthenticationError(msg)) => eprintln!("Auth Error: {}", msg),
       Err(e) => eprintln!("Other Error: {:?}", e),
    }
    Ok(())
}

Advanced Usage

Builder vs. Singleton: Choosing the Right Approach

UniFiClient supports two patterns for client creation and access:

Builder (UniFiClient::builder()):
Create new, independent client instances with custom configurations.
Use when:
- Connecting to multiple controllers in a single application.
- Writing tests (e.g., with wiremock) or needing isolated configurations.
- Spinning up short-lived clients for specific tasks.
Singleton (initialize() / instance()):
Set up a global client for simplified, centralized access.
Use when:
- Your app interacts with a single UniFi controller.
- You want to avoid passing client instances around.
- A uniform configuration is needed throughout your codebase.

Best Practices:

Single Controller: Call initialize() early (typically in main) and use instance() anywhere else.
- Note: If initialize() isn’t called, instance() refers to an inert default client; any requests will return a configuration error.
Multiple or Custom Instances: Use the builder to create each client independently.

Feature Flags

default-client (enabled by default):
- Provides the global singleton (initialize() / instance()), implemented with a thread-safe Arc and ArcSwap.
- Starts with an inert default client (invalid URL, no credentials, cookie store enabled).
- Recommended for apps that interact with a single controller and prefer global access.

Disable the global client if you want explicit dependency injection only:

[dependencies]
unifi-client = { version = "*", default-features = false }

When disabled, call UniFiClient::builder() and pass the client handle through your application.

Creating Multiple Clients

If you need to connect to multiple UniFi Controllers, or you need different client configurations within the same application, create independent client instances using UniFiClient::builder() without calling initialize():

use unifi_client::{UniFiClient, UniFiError};

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), UniFiError> {
    let client1 = UniFiClient::builder()
        .controller_url("https://controller1.example.com:8443")
        .username("user1")
        .password("password1")
        .build()
        .await?;

    let client2 = UniFiClient::builder()
        .controller_url("https://controller2.example.com:8443")
        .username("user2")
        .password("password2")
        .build()
        .await?;

    // Use client1 and client2 independently.
    let guests1 = client1.guests().list().send().await?;
    let guests2 = client2.guests().list().send().await?;

    println!("Guests on controller 1: {:?}", guests1);
    println!("Guests on controller 2: {:?}", guests2);

   Ok(())
}

Custom HTTP Client

use unifi_client::{UniFiClient, UniFiClientBuilder};
use reqwest::Client as ReqwestClient;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let custom_http_client = ReqwestClient::builder()
        .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(60))
        .redirect(Policy::none())
        .cookie_store(true)
        .build()?;

    let client = UniFiClient::builder()
        .controller_url("https://your-controller:8443")
        .username("your_username")
        .password_from_env("UNIFI_PASSWORD")
        .http_client(custom_http_client)
        .build()
        .await?;
    Ok(())
}

Planned Features

Statistics and reporting

Compatibility

UniFi

This library has been tested with:

UniFi Controller version 9.x

Minimum Supported Rust Version (MSRV)

MSRV: Rust 1.74.0 (edition 2021)

We set rust-version = "1.74" in Cargo.toml. Downstream crates can remain on older editions (e.g., 2018/2021); they just need a toolchain new enough to compile this crate.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Fork the repository
Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT license.

Acknowledgements

This library is inspired by various UniFi API clients in other languages
Thanks to the Ubiquiti community for documenting the unofficial API

Adding unifi_client library as a dependency

Adding `unifi_client` library as a dependency