Send Telemetry with Python

Send sensor readings from a Python script to ThingsBoard over MQTT using the paho-mqtt client. This recipe uses an Access Token for authentication — see Getting Connected for other credential types.

Prerequisites

Python 3.7+
A ThingsBoard device with an Access Token — see Devices

Setup

Install paho-mqtt:
Terminal window
```
pip install paho-mqtt
```
Copy your device’s Access Token from Devices & assets → Devices → [device] → Copy Access Token.

Send Telemetry

import paho.mqtt.client as mqtt
import json
import time

THINGSBOARD_HOST = "thingsboard.cloud"   # replace with your host
ACCESS_TOKEN = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"        # replace with your device token
TELEMETRY_TOPIC = "v1/devices/me/telemetry"

def on_connect(client, userdata, flags, rc):
    if rc == 0:
        print("Connected to ThingsBoard")
    else:
        print(f"Connection failed: {rc}")

client = mqtt.Client()
client.username_pw_set(ACCESS_TOKEN)
client.on_connect = on_connect

client.connect(THINGSBOARD_HOST, 1883, 60)
client.loop_start()

try:
    while True:
        payload = {"temperature": 22.5, "humidity": 61}
        client.publish(TELEMETRY_TOPIC, json.dumps(payload))
        print(f"Sent: {payload}")
        time.sleep(5)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    pass

client.loop_stop()
client.disconnect()

The script connects once and publishes a reading every 5 seconds until interrupted with Ctrl+C.

Send a Single Reading

To publish one payload and exit — useful for cron jobs or serverless functions:

import paho.mqtt.client as mqtt
import json

THINGSBOARD_HOST = "thingsboard.cloud"
ACCESS_TOKEN = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"

client = mqtt.Client()
client.username_pw_set(ACCESS_TOKEN)
client.connect(THINGSBOARD_HOST, 1883, 60)

payload = {"temperature": 22.5, "humidity": 61}
client.publish("v1/devices/me/telemetry", json.dumps(payload))
client.disconnect()

Send with Client-Side Timestamp

Include ts (Unix milliseconds) when the device has a reliable clock and you want the exact measurement time stored instead of the server receive time:

import time

payload = {
    "ts": int(time.time() * 1000),
    "values": {"temperature": 22.5, "humidity": 61}
}
client.publish("v1/devices/me/telemetry", json.dumps(payload))

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