Blueprint documentation tips/tricks and like "help"

Configuration
1

Hello, I’ve been using homeassistant for some years now and I do make my own blueprints for my specific needs.

However, every now and then blueprints breaks due to updates and whenever at least I make new blueprint I either have to do a lot of trial and error or find a similar blueprint already publicly available because I just cannot find the appropriate documentations.

For example, I use Zigbee2mqtt (and I will move more and more towards mqtt based blueprints because they seem to make sense) but anyway, I had a script that worked flawlessly with conbee2 + Zigbee2mqtt + the standard MQTT integration with mosquito.

The trigger to that particular blueprint were a state change based on the “action” which is available in the payload.

Then, I changed to slzb-06 + Zigbee2mqtt + the standard MQTT integration with mosquito and that blueprint stopped working.

I had to remake the blueprint to use mqtt specifically but that’s my issue, why did the previous blueprint work with the previous antenna and why did it stop working now, where’s the docs that tells me what works with what?
For example conbee 2 might have a different payload that slzb-06 I dunno but if it does, where’s the docs?

And we’re do I find the docs about what device domains there are, what actions is available for state changes, events etc etc.

There’s so much I feel is missing I just get frustrated when dealing with it, enough so that I’ve been close to changing to honey pro multiple times but once again I’m stubborn and there gotta be good documentation out there?

2

Hi snowless0031,

Blueprints are written by individuals such as myself, and it is the responsibility of the Blueprint Author to document what they did for the user. Not all Blueprint Authors understand or do this, unfortunately. I personally attempt to over document my Blueprints as an attempt yo reduce my support load, and for the most part it works. For instance I just did a YT video on how to write a Blueprint.

All pieces of hardware are different with different controls and not all of them are documented.

So it may be frustrating, but this is the current landscape. Trial and error is a big part of writing the automations that Blueprints are based on. You may be doing blueprints, but you are asking questions about automations or scripts really.

Feel free to look at the documentation on my Blueprints and copy anything that helps you.

My Blueprints

3

It’s not blueprint documentation I’m frustrated with, it’s the documentation of Homeassistant integrations what they bring to blueprints etc etc.

Say I use ZHA, what device type is device A, what domain is device B what are the actions available for those devices etc etc

Same with mqtt, same with the various tv integrations, for me it’s specifically Samsung,

Etc etc,

I totally get why blueprints is not well documented, they’re usually quite straightforward to understand assuming the creator choose a decent naming for the variables and then the rest of the flow usually makes sense.

But in order to get there, make those blueprints, there gotta be documentation of Homeassistant itself, at least listing what’s possible.

If they just listed all actions, domains etc in a somewhat structured list with nothing else it would probably be fine.

But I’ve seen very little documentation, there are some examples but I’ve for example managed to make blueprints nowhere close to those examples by trial and error and I’m rather sick of trial and error.

I’d want a proper documentation place of what the different integrations exposes, what the different parts of a blueprint does and what options there are.
(There are a list of actions, I usually use state actions but here I’d want to know what possible arguments there are here. Etc etc)

And lastly, not related to this but just in case someone agrees with me they might be able to open a thread about it.
I’m also quite sick about Homeassistant updates breaking blueprints and automations made with visual editor because those updates does not provide an automatic conversion from old scripting to new scripting nor a rollback migration. (Rant over)

:slight_smile:

4

My latest example.

I’m using Zigbee2mqtt with slzb06 coordinator before I used a conbee coordinator (all devices have been moved to the new coordinator.)

If I listen to zigbee2mqtt/sensors/temperature/livingroom/sonoff_0

I get the sensor readings including humidity as supposed.

When I used the conbee stick I could just choose entitet sensors_temperature_livingroom_sonoff_0 humidity and choose a below / above value.

The entity still shows up as expected but now that does not work despite being the correct device it simply does not trigger, I have to explicitly use mqtt in the trigger for the the trigger to occur.

Why does entities work with the same setup with conbee but not with slzb06? The MQTT payload is the same so it makes no sense? Where’s the docs for that XD. It’s frustrating.

I’ve solved the issue by simply listening to the specific mqtt topic but from my understanding it should work like it did before but it simply does not.

5

None of any of this has to do with blueprints.

6

Really? It’s about blueprint creation isn’t it?

7

Really.
You have a concern about

Your words.
Your concern is valid, it was just moved from blueprints category to configurations. The documentation affects everything, not just the Blueprint part.