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The ETS workflow

This page walks the lifecycle of a KNX project inside ETS — from an empty project to a commissioned building and a .knxproj in KNX Clarity. You will never run these steps in KNX Clarity (it is not a commissioning tool), but understanding them makes every screen in the User Guide legible.

The lifecycle​

1 · Create the project​

A new ETS project is an empty container with a chosen group-address style (two- or three-level) and, for modern projects, a security setting.

2 · Import products​

The integrator pulls each device's application program from the KNX online catalog (or imports a manufacturer .knxprod). This is the device "driver": it defines what parameters and group objects the device has.

3 · Build the topology​

Devices are placed into areas and lines that mirror the physical bus wiring. Couplers are inserted where segments join.

4 · Assign individual addresses​

Every device gets its unique area.line.device address. This is what ETS uses to find the device on the bus during download.

5 · Parameterise​

Each device is configured: a blind actuator's travel times, a thermostat's control algorithm, a button's long/short press behaviour. This is where most of the engineering effort goes and where most of a .knxproj's bytes live.

6 · Create & link group addresses​

The group addresses are created and devices' group objects are linked to them. After this step the logic of the building exists as data — even before any device is touched.

7 · Download (commission)​

ETS connects to the bus through an interface (USB or KNX-IP) and writes the individual address, application, and parameters into each physical device. Now the data is the building's behaviour.

8 · Test & diagnose​

Using the Group Monitor (watch live telegrams) and Bus Monitor, the integrator verifies each function and fixes mis-links, wrong DPTs, or flag mistakes.

9 · Export the .knxproj​

The finished project is exported as a single .knxproj. This is the artefact that should be preserved, versioned, and handed over.

Why the order matters for reading a project​

When you open a project in KNX Clarity you are seeing the result of steps 3–6 frozen at the moment of export:

  • Rooms & devices ≈ topology + building structure (steps 3–4) projected onto the building.
  • Group addresses ≈ step 6 — the logic.
  • ETS files ≈ a versioned history of step 9, so you can compare what changed between commissioning visits.

Re-commissioning and drift​

Buildings change: a room is repurposed, an actuator is added, a bug is fixed on site. Each change is a new ETS download and should be a new export. In the real world the on-site laptop and the "master" project drift apart — the classic KNX maintenance problem.

The drift problem

If site changes are not exported and preserved, the .knxproj no longer matches the building. The next technician trusts a wrong map. Versioning every export — with who uploaded it and when — is exactly the discipline KNX Clarity enforces so drift is visible instead of silent. See ETS files.