How do you debug issues like this? | Home Assistant | Page 1

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 5:33 PM

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I'm pretty sure it's from this:

  - service: system_log.write
    data:
      level: info
      message: >
        "Playing {{ show_title }} - Shield= {{ shield_id }} App_State= {{ states(shield_id) }}"

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So what's the proper way to dump the states of an entity in a log?

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If I remove, specifically the "states(shield_id)", then I make it further and it dies on this condition:

      - conditions:
          - condition: template
            value_template: "{{ is_state_attr(shield_id, 'app_id', 'com.plexapp.android') }}"

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 5:37 PM

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use the dev tools teplate tool to make sure your templates are evaluating how you think they are

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 5:37 PM

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I'm just not sure how to bridge the gap between template and blueprint here, since the entities are provided from the blueprint ui

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hard coding, i guess?

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 5:38 PM

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blueprint is still yaml script behind the scenes which you can open and view in notepad or something.

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maybe when you do a states lookup, the entity needs to be in single quotes?
states('shield_id')??

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 5:39 PM

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it's a variable being set in a "variables:" block, so that it expands the input into a variable readable by the template

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 5:39 PM

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devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 5:40 PM

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!input shield_player

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 5:40 PM

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hrmm

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 5:40 PM

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where the shield player is a media_player

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 5:40 PM

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yeah, I'm not sure.

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 5:41 PM

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Like- I'm 100% sure this is all doable, I just need to figure out what the machine sees at different times and that's the hardest part, it seems

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 5:42 PM

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well, as I said... I have been using chatGPT to help troubleshoot my templates and scripts.,

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it is not always right, but often provides a good idea to look more into

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paste your code and the error and ask it to help you find the issue...

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just don't put in sensative data

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at best it'll help solve the issue, at worst, you'll get some good ideas to google.

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haha

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 5:49 PM

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Lol yeah, that's my typical expectation as well. It usually gets close enough to tell you what to google

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fwiw, I used chatgpt first. It had some really unhelpful responses

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It's literally giving me back the same input I give it saying that it should work, so 🤷‍♂️

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 5:50 PM

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I asked, and it suggested that maybe the shield_id is being treated as a dictionary instead of a string or entity ID

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 5:51 PM

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yeah, it likely is because it's a target selector from the input

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is there a way to grab the entity id off of a target selector with one entity?

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 5:54 PM

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I'm not sure

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I personally like to reverse engineer blueprints until I have a good understanding of them, and then build a more tailored solution for my needs. more customizable and easier to troubleshoot imo.

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 5:58 PM

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Yeah, I hear you. It's been super hard finding exact references for things like this.
The documentation typically gives the most basic examples and everything else is figuring it out.

I had to install MQTT explorer before I was able to figure out the missing params in my payload to get device discovery to work 😦

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 6:06 PM

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yeah... Homeassistant is mostly researching and troubleshooting and a little bit of enjoying your automations. lol

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but, I love it, and for my needs it is the best available option.

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 6:07 PM

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Yeah, it's super rad! I am an advocate, for sure

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coming from the gamedev world, it's kind of in the "unreal" space- where it's really powerful, but the documentation might turn ppl away

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 6:07 PM

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I used to have smartthings... which was eh...
Then samsung bought it and it was gross.

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found this and have been super happy with it

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 6:08 PM

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Yeah, it feels so good to actually be in control of your smart home

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 6:08 PM

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right?

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 6:08 PM

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I bought a multi relay and hooked up my dumb garage over the weekend

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 6:08 PM

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large learning curve, but good payout at the end

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 6:08 PM

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even wrote a script to hold down the button until the door is closed because one of the eyes is broken

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i love the control

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 6:08 PM

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nice

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 6:08 PM

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and right now, I'm making buttons to play tv shows haha

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 6:09 PM

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I just got done writing a script to log the amount of youtube time on the tv, and to deny the app after a certain amount of time each day

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lol

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take that kids!

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 6:09 PM

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lol poor kids are gonna have to learn their own whiley ways to get around it now

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let the arms race of figuring shit out commence 😉

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 6:10 PM

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yep

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it'll make them critical thinkers

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 6:10 PM

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love it

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 6:10 PM

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Anyways... gotta run. Glad you sorted out your issue. Happy automating!

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 6:10 PM

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i remember running a 50ft ethernet cable from my sister's room when my dad shut me off haha

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 6:10 PM

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lol

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 6:11 PM

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yeah! thanks for the help!

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 6:11 PM

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my dad put a bios password on our first pentium 386...

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I figured out how to reset the bios via motherboard switch... 😮

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 6:11 PM

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that's extreme lol

cursive peak Apr 5, 2024, 6:11 PM

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he was like "wasn't there a password? what happened to the password"

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before bios was smart...

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anyways... later!

devout sage Apr 5, 2024, 6:12 PM

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have a good one!

#How do you debug issues like this?