Awesome!
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CatmanV2
@CatmanV2
Having been messing around with some stuff I worked a way to self trigger some tests that I wanted to do on the HA <> MSR integration
This got me wondering if there's an entity that changes state / is exposed when a configured controller goes off line? I can't see one but thought it might be hidden or something?
Cheers
C
Using build 25328 and having the following users.yaml configuration:
users:
# This section defines your valid users.
admin: *******
groups:
# This section defines your user groups. Optionally, it defines application
# and API access restrictions (ACLs) for the group. Users may belong to
# more than one group. Again, no required or special groups here.
admin_group:
users:
- admin
applications: true # special form allows access to ALL applications
guests:
users: "*"
applications:
- dashboard
api_acls:
# This ACL allows users in the "admin" group to access the API
- url: "/api"
group: admin_group
allow: true
log: true
# This ACL allows anyone/thing to access the /api/v1/alive API endpoint
- url: "/api/v1/alive"
allow: true
session:
timeout: 7200 # (seconds)
rolling: true # activity extends timeout when true
# If log_acls is true, the selected ACL for every API access is logged.
log_acls: true
# If debug_acls is true, even more information about ACL selection is logged.
debug_acls: true
My goal is to allow anonymous user to dashboard, but MSR is still asking for a password when trying to access that. Nothing in the logs related to dashboard access. Probably an error in the configuration, but help needed to find that. Tried to put url: "/dashboard" under api_acls, but that was a long shot and didn't work.
I use Virtual Entity Controller virtual switches which I turn on via webhooks from other applications. Once a switch triggers and turns on, I can then activate associated rules.
I would like each virtual switch to automatically turn off after a configurable time (e.g., 5 seconds, 10 seconds).
Is there a better way to achieve this auto-off behavior instead of creating a separate rule for each switch that uses the 'Condition must be sustained for' option to turn it off?
With a large number of these switches (and the associated turn-off rules), I'm checking to see if there is a simpler approach.If not, could this be a feature request to add an auto-off timer directly to the virtual switches.
Thanks
Reactor (Multi-hub) latest-26011-c621bbc7
VirtualEntityController v25356
Synology Docker
TL;DR: Format of data in storage directory will soon change. Make sure you are backing up the contents of that directory in its entirety, and you preserve your backups for an extended period, particularly the backup you take right before upgrading to the build containing this change (date of that is still to be determined, but soon). The old data format will remain readable (so you'll be able to read your pre-change backups) for the foreseeable future.
In support of a number of other changes in the works, I have found it necessary to change the storage format for Reactor objects in storage at the physical level.
Until now, plain, standard JSON has been used to store the data (everything under the storage directory). This has served well, but has a few limitations, including no real support for native JavaScript objects like Date, Map, Set, and others. It also is unable to store data that contains "loops" — objects that reference themselves in some way.
I'm not sure exactly when, but in the not-too-distant future I will publish a build using the new data format. It will automatically convert existing JSON data to the new format. For the moment, it will save data in both the new format and the old JSON format, preferring the former when loading data from storage. I have been running my own home with this new format for several months, and have no issues with data loss or corruption.
A few other things to know:
If you are not already backing up your storage directory, you should be. At a minimum, back this directory up every time you make big changes to your Rules, Reactions, etc.
Your existing JSON-format backups will continue to be readable for the long-term (years). The code that loads data from these files looks for the new file format first (which will have a .dval suffix), and if not found, will happily read (and convert) a same-basenamed .json file (i.e. it looks for ruleid.dval first, and if it doesn't find it, it tries to load ruleid.json). I'll publish detailed instructions for restoring from old backups when the build is posted (it's easy).
The new .dval files are not directly human-readable or editable as easily as the old .json files. A new utility will be provided in the tools directory to convert .dval data to .json format, which you can then read or edit if you find that necessary. However, that may not work for all future data, as my intent is to make more native JavaScript objects directly storable, and many of those objects cannot be stored in JSON.
You may need to modify your backup tools/scripts to pick up the new files: if you explicitly name .json files (rather than just specifying the entire storage directory) in your backup configuration, you will need to add .dval files to get a complete, accurate backup. I don't think this will be an issue for any of you; I imagine that you're all just backing up the entire contents of storage regardless of format/name, that is the safest (and IMO most correct) way to go (if that's not what you're doing, consider changing your approach).
The current code stores the data in both the .dval form and the .json form to hedge against any real-world problems I don't encounter in my own use. Some future build will drop this redundancy (i.e. save only to .dval form). However, the read code for the .json form will remain in any case.
This applies only to persistent storage that Reactor creates and controls under the storage tree. All other JSON data files (e.g. device data for Controllers) are unaffected by this change and will remain in that form. YAML files are also unaffected by this change.
This thread is open for any questions or concerns.
Just another thought. Adding devices from my Home Assistant / Zigbee2MQTT integration. Works perfectly but they always add as their IEEE address. Some of these devices have up to 10 entities associated, and the moment they are renamed to something sensible, each of those entities 'ceases to exist' in MSR. I like things tidy, and deleting each defunct entity needs 3 clicks.
Any chance of a 'bulk delete' option?
No biggy as I've pretty much finished my Z-wave migration and I don't expect to be adding more than 2 new Zigbee devices
Cheers
C
Build 21228 has been released. Docker images available from DockerHub as usual, and bare-metal packages here.
Home Assistant up to version 2021.8.6 supported; the online version of the manual will now state the current supported versions;
Fix an error in OWMWeatherController that could cause it to stop updating;
Unify the approach to entity filtering on all hub interface classes (controllers); this works for device entities only; it may be extended to other entities later;
Improve error detail in messages for EzloController during auth phase;
Add isRuleSet() and isRuleEnabled() functions to expressions extensions;
Implement set action for lock and passage capabilities (makes them more easily scriptable in some cases);
Fix a place in the UI where 24-hour time was not being displayed.
Just for the record, in case anyone is following, I'm really rather impressed.
I have installed one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B6P22YJC?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1
That's connected (physically) to the VM running on my Synology, with a 2m USB extension.
The same host also runs Openluup, Mosquito, HA Bridge.
Yesterday I installed Zigbee2mqtt. That was a bit of a PITA but mostly because of ports and permissions.
Once up and running, and the correct boxes ticked, immediately visible in Home Assistant via the MQTT integration, and thence into Reactor
I've only got two devices. I bought the cheapest sensor I could find, which is a door sensor. Dead easy to add to ZIgbee2mqtt and again, immediately visible in HA.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FPQLWRW1?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
The dongle is on the top floor of the house, and I wanted the sensor on the back door (just about as far apart as it's possible to get short of going into the garage) When I moved the sensor downstairs it dropped out pretty instantly (which wasn't a huge surprise) so quick bit of research found out that smart plugs will act as routers so...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FDQDPGBB?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
Took me about 30 seconds to connect. Updated the name. Instantly visible in Reactor with the new name pushed over from Zigbee2mqtt.
And lo, the door sensor now has a signal of 140 and works as far as I can tell perfectly and instantly (unlike my z-wave one).
A few more of those will be purchased and used to replace the Tuya wifi cloud devices and the (continually failing) Z-wave plugs (yeah, they were TKB so....)
Commended to the house. Thanks for everyone that got me on the right lines.
C
If you’re like me and still running HABridge to control your devices locally via Alexa, you might need to tweak your endpoints to call Reactor via HTTP. Here’s the best way to do it, IMO:
Insert the Reactor Canonical ID (e.g., zwavejs>71-1) into the MapID field, but make sure it’s URL-encoded like this: zwavejs%3E71-1.
Then, configure these endpoints as needed:
On: http://[ReactorIP]:8111/api/v1/entity/${device.mapId}/perform/power_switch.on
Off: http://[ReactorIP]:8111/api/v1/entity/${device.mapId}/perform/power_switch.off
Dim:
For lights: http://[ReactorIP]:8111/api/v1/entity/${device.mapId}/perform/dimming.set?level=${intensity.decimal_percent}
For roller shutters: http://[ReactorIP]:8111/api/v1/entity/${device.mapId}/perform/position.set?value=${intensity.decimal_percent}
Color: http://[ReactorIP]:8111/api/v1/entity/${device.mapId}/perform/rgb_color.set_rgb?red=${color.r}&green=${color.g}&blue=${color.b}
Just replace [ReactorIP] with your actual IP address. By using these placeholders, you can standardize your endpoints across all devices, making maintenance easier.
This setup works with any device mapped under MSR, regardless of the controller (ZWaveJS, Vera, HASS, OpenSprinkler, virtual, MQTT, DynamicEntities, etc.). If you need different calls, just go to the entities, get the action and parameters, and adjust accordingly. Enjoy super fast access to your devices via Alexa!
If you're migrating from Vera, the endpoints are (URL-encoded) in a file called device.db, in JSON format, under your config. You'd write a script to align the new endpoints to the new one, if you prefer to do it automatically. YMMV.
I have tried numerous ways to define a recurring annual period, for example from December 15 to January 15. No matter which method I try - after and before, between, after and/not after, Reactor reports "waiting for invalid date, invalid date. Some constructs also seem to cause Reactor to hang, timeout and restart. For example "before January 15 is evaluated as true, but reports "waiting for invalid date, invalid date". Does anyone have a tried and true method to define a recurring annual period? I think the "between" that I used successfully in the past may have broken with one of the updates.
Good evening all,
For about the past week or so, I've been having problems with a specific rule in my home automation that controls when my home goes from an Away mode to Home mode. One of the conditions it checked for was my alarm panel, when it changed from Armed Away to Disarmed. There seems to have been a firmware update on the panel that added an intermittent step of "pending", and I can't say for certain it happens 100% of the time.
Is there a way to write a condition that so it changes from one condition, to the next, and then another condition? As in, Home alarm changes from armed_away to pending to disarmed.
Thanks.
No idea how easy this would be. During my migration away from Z-wave I've been replacing the Z-wave devices with Sonoff which has broken some of my automations.
Any chance of a 'Test Reaction' function to call out which ones are broken because an entity no longer exists? Without actually running the reaction?
Or does this exist already and I'm just not aware of how to do it? Obviously I can see entities that are no longer available, but not quite what I'm looking for.
I guess it's something of an edge case so no huge issue.
TIA!
C
Posts
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Self test -
Self testHaving been messing around with some stuff I worked a way to self trigger some tests that I wanted to do on the HA <> MSR integration
This got me wondering if there's an entity that changes state / is exposed when a configured controller goes off line? I can't see one but thought it might be hidden or something?
Cheers
C
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HA and AIHaving hours of (actually quite fun) interaction with AI (Chat GPT) making up dashboards and sensors for HA.
It's OK (well it's better than I am!) but it makes soooo many mistakes. Gets there in the end though, if you've half a clue (which I do half the time)
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How to upgrade from an old version of MSR?Another vote. Moved off Vera years ago. Ran OpenLuup on a Zwave.me stick. Minimised my Z-wave network this last month. I have two thermostats, a fibaro smart module with three temperature sensors that I don't need, and some virtual switches that I'm migrating into HA / Reactor.
Once I can settle on replacements for the thermostats, it'll all go, and I'll be HA / MSR only / MQTT onlyC
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Possible feature request 2? -
Genuinely impressed with Zigbee and HA / ReactorWell pretty much complete with the migration. I have one Fibaro smart module left which will be retired when my external Temperature / Humidity sensor arrives today, then the main and underfloor thermostats (which I will probably keep as response time is not really a major issue)
There's a stack of virtual switches which trigger things like getting up and going to bed. I can replace those in HA (and probably will).
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Possible feature request 2?Just another thought. Adding devices from my Home Assistant / Zigbee2MQTT integration. Works perfectly but they always add as their IEEE address. Some of these devices have up to 10 entities associated, and the moment they are renamed to something sensible, each of those entities 'ceases to exist' in MSR. I like things tidy, and deleting each defunct entity needs 3 clicks.
Any chance of a 'bulk delete' option?
No biggy as I've pretty much finished my Z-wave migration and I don't expect to be adding more than 2 new Zigbee devices
Cheers
C
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[HowTo] Using HABridge with ReactorAhh well I rather assumed that someone smart (like you two) would look at my URL in HA bridge and immediately spot the fault
As ever, appreciated and working
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[HowTo] Using HABridge with Reactor -
[HowTo] Using HABridge with ReactorWell, OK but I'm pretty sure there isn't (or I would have, or at least tried to diagnose it myself)
[latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:15:08.186Z <httpapi:INFO> HTTPAPI(#1) API request from ::ffff:192.168.70.249: GET /api/v1/netstatus [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:15:08.193Z <Rule:INFO> Internet Check (rule-m6z41xhd in Office Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because entity-changed System#reactor_system>system [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:15:41.714Z <Rule:INFO> Cinema Is Occupied (rule-m4ocf1di in Cinema Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because entity-changed BinarySensor#hass>binary_sensor_cinema_presence_presence [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:15:53.631Z <Rule:INFO> Internet Check (rule-m6z41xhd in Office Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because entity-changed System#reactor_system>system [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:15:53.635Z <Rule:INFO> Internet Check (rule-m6z41xhd in Office Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because entity-changed System#reactor_system>system [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:15:53.638Z <Rule:INFO> Internet Check (rule-m6z41xhd in Office Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because entity-changed System#reactor_system>system [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:15:53.643Z <Rule:INFO> Internet Check (rule-m6z41xhd in Office Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because entity-changed System#reactor_system>system [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:03.261Z <httpapi:INFO> HTTPAPI(#1) API request from ::ffff:192.168.70.249: GET /api/v1/netstatus [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:03.264Z <Rule:INFO> Internet Check (rule-m6z41xhd in Office Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because entity-changed System#reactor_system>system [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:40.341Z <httpapi:INFO> HTTPAPI(#1) API request from ::ffff:192.168.70.249: GET /api/v1/entity/switch.garage_lights/perform/power_switch.on [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:41.721Z <Rule:INFO> Cinema Is Occupied (rule-m4ocf1di in Cinema Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because timer-trigger Timer#rule-m4ocf1di [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:41.722Z <Rule:INFO> Cinema Is Occupied (rule-m4ocf1di in Cinema Environment) evaluated; rule state transition from SET to 'RESET' [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:41.729Z <Engine:INFO> Enqueueing "Cinema Is Occupied<RESET>" (rule-m4ocf1di:R) [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:41.742Z <Engine:NOTICE> Starting reaction Cinema Is Occupied<RESET> (rule-m4ocf1di:R) [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:41.743Z <HassController:INFO> HassController#hass perform power_switch.off on Switch#hass>switch_cinema_heater with { } [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:41.744Z <HassController:INFO> HassController#hass service homeassistant.turn_off target data is { } (empty), assuming default entity target [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:41.745Z <HassController:INFO> HassController#hass: sending payload for power_switch.off on Switch#hass>switch_cinema_heater action: { "type": "call_service", "service_data": { }, "domain": "homeassistant", "service": "turn_off", "target": { "entity_id": "switch.cinema_heater" } } [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:41.754Z <HassController:INFO> HassController#hass action power_switch.off({ }) on Switch#hass>switch_cinema_heater succeeded [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:41.756Z <Engine:INFO> Resuming reaction Cinema Is Occupied<RESET> (rule-m4ocf1di:R) from step 1 [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:41.757Z <Engine:INFO> Cinema Is Occupied<RESET> all actions completed. [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:53.631Z <Rule:INFO> Internet Check (rule-m6z41xhd in Office Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because entity-changed System#reactor_system>system [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:53.637Z <Rule:INFO> Internet Check (rule-m6z41xhd in Office Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because entity-changed System#reactor_system>system [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:53.640Z <Rule:INFO> Internet Check (rule-m6z41xhd in Office Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because entity-changed System#reactor_system>system [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:16:53.644Z <Rule:INFO> Internet Check (rule-m6z41xhd in Office Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because entity-changed System#reactor_system>system [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:17:08.399Z <httpapi:INFO> HTTPAPI(#1) API request from ::ffff:192.168.70.249: GET /api/v1/netstatus [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:17:08.403Z <Rule:INFO> Internet Check (rule-m6z41xhd in Office Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because entity-changed System#reactor_system>system [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:17:53.632Z <Rule:INFO> Internet Check (rule-m6z41xhd in Office Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because entity-changed System#reactor_system>system [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:18:03.470Z <httpapi:INFO> HTTPAPI(#1) API request from ::ffff:192.168.70.249: GET /api/v1/netstatus [latest-25325]2026-01-05T14:18:03.476Z <Rule:INFO> Internet Check (rule-m6z41xhd in Office Environment) starting rule state evaluation; because entity-changed System#reactor_system>systemApologies anyway
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[HowTo] Using HABridge with Reactor@therealdb OK so I'm doing something wrong
Testing on my Garage lights which I believe has canonical ID
switch.garage_lights
Which I don't think needs URL encoding. (Well the URL encoder I checked didn't make any changes)
So I have this in my HA Bridge:
http://192.168.70.249:8111/api/v1/entity/switch.garage_lights/perform/power_switch.onOn testing HA bridge suggests all is well, but nada happens to the the switch
Reactor logs the request
[latest-25325]2026-01-05T10:48:19.404Z <httpapi:INFO> HTTPAPI(#1) API request from ::ffff:192.168.70.249: GET /api/v1/entity/switch.garage_lights/perform/power_switch.onI've set the type as HTTP in HA Bridge (and tried as Vera)
Please forgive my idiocy...
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[HowTo] Using HABridge with Reactor -
Genuinely impressed with Zigbee and HA / Reactor@therealdb if you could, that would be super. I seem to have missed...
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Genuinely impressed with Zigbee and HA / Reactor@therealdb only just caught up on this. HA bridge works fine for me, in fact it's 100% reliable until it's not (if that makes sense)
Biggest issue I have is that Alexa is very reluctant to update a named entity. If I point the same HA Bridge endpoint to a different Vera device, that's fine. If I delete one and re-create one with the same name, absolutely no go as far as Alexa is concerned. Delete it from the Alexa app, re-discover. Totally not interested.
So I've worked out a hack where I call it something random in HA Bridge, then Alexa discovers it, it works fine, then I can rename it in the Alexa app.
I am, however, having issues getting Alexa to see exposed endpoints from HA
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Difficulty defining repeating annual period@therealdb oh that sounds like a neat idea. Might well upgrade to that. Thanks for the suggestion
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Difficulty defining repeating annual period@retireditguy Hmm, not sure if it's much help, or a parallel use case, but I have a couple of reactions that only work during the festive period. More explicitly there are additional actions which are constrained
Here's one of my constraint groups which has been working fine this year and untouched since last year.
And the second
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Possible feature request? -
Possible feature request?No idea how easy this would be. During my migration away from Z-wave I've been replacing the Z-wave devices with Sonoff which has broken some of my automations.
Any chance of a 'Test Reaction' function to call out which ones are broken because an entity no longer exists? Without actually running the reaction?
Or does this exist already and I'm just not aware of how to do it? Obviously I can see entities that are no longer available, but not quite what I'm looking for.
I guess it's something of an edge case so no huge issue.
TIA!
C
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Logic Assistance: Exterior Lights on when Illuminance Below Threshold -
Genuinely impressed with Zigbee and HA / ReactorSo far just keeps getting better. I thought I'd hit a snag yesterday wit the newly installed garage light switch being slow to trigger (IRO 6 seconds) but realised I was using the wrong HASS sensor attribute (durrr) once I sorted that, it's all sorted. Typical response times are sub second.
Some oddities in where I've migrated with some hacky virtual switches which I need to track down. I'd get rid of them but trying to expose HA entities to Alexa seems a bit hit and miss...
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