Help needed to compare trigger.from_state and trigger.to_state for automation activations filtering

Topolynx · June 12, 2022, 8:20am

Hi. Im’ trying to get rid of frequent notifications from an automation that should only notify me when my public ip changes, but runs every time the public ip sensor is updated without any change.
Here the code of my automation:

alias: '[WAN] [01] - Nuovo IP Pubblico'
description: Avvisa al cambio di IP Pubblico
trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id:
      - sensor.ip_pubblico
condition:
  - condition: template
    value_template: '{{ trigger.from_state.state != trigger.to_state.state }}'
action:
  - service: notify.mobile_app_iphone_3
    data:
      message: '{{ states.sensor.ip_pubblico.state }}'
      title: Il Tuo IP Pubblico è cambiato in
mode: single

The error message I’m currently receiving is "template value should be a string for dictionary value @ data[‘value_template’]. Got None".
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks!!

browetd · June 12, 2022, 8:36am

Shouldn’t it be like this ?

    value_template: '{{ trigger.from_state != trigger.to_state }}'

Topolynx · June 12, 2022, 8:47am

I’ve got the same error message "template value should be a string for dictionary value @ data[‘value_template’]. Got None"
In sensor.yaml this is my public ip sensor:

- platform: rest
  name: IP Pubblico
  resource: http://ip.jsontest.com
  value_template: "{{ value_json.ip }}"

I’ve tried to access its value with

{{ state_attr('sensor.ip_pubblico', 'from_state')}}

but i get “None”

tom_l · June 12, 2022, 9:09am

That is a known issue with the automation editor:

github.com/home-assistant/frontend

UI Testing of Automation Conditions Does Not Work with Template Conditions

opened 01:22PM - 08 Apr 22 UTC

closed 09:18AM - 16 Sep 22 UTC

marlemion

### The problem In order to implement a somewhat more complex template conditio…n, I came across the problem that (at least testing) templates conditions do not work (anymore). What I did: Create a simple automation having a template condition: ``` - condition: template value_template: "{{ 1 > 2 }}" ``` So, this is extremely simplifed. The expression should return False, but instead I get the following error when testing this expression in the condition frontend (under automatisations): `Error handling message: template value should be a string for dictionary value @ data['value_template']. Got None (invalid_format)` If I enter the same snippet of code in the templates section un der developer tools, it prints false. Either there is a problem in the code just adding the template condition in the automatisation frontend or something is completely borked. ### What version of Home Assistant Core has the issue? 2022.4.1 ### What was the last working version of Home Assistant Core? _No response_ ### What type of installation are you running? Home Assistant Container ### Integration causing the issue Automation ### Link to integration documentation on our website _No response_ ### Diagnostics information _No response_ ### Example YAML snippet ```yaml - condition: template value_template: "{{ 1 > 2 }}" ``` ### Anything in the logs that might be useful for us? ```txt 2022-04-08 14:40:54 ERROR (MainThread) [homeassistant.components.websocket_api.http.connection] [140209354674720] Error handling message: template value should belue_template']. Got None (invalid_format) ``` ### Additional information _No response_

Your template condition is fine.

Your message should be this though:

message: "{{ states('sensor.ip_pubblico') }}"

https://www.home-assistant.io/docs/configuration/templating/#states

Topolynx · June 13, 2022, 8:27am

Thank you!

The working code is now:

alias: '[WAN] [01] - Nuovo IP Pubblico'
description: Avvisa al cambio di IP Pubblico
trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id:
      - sensor.ip_pubblico
    for:
      hours: 0
      minutes: 0
      seconds: 5
condition:
  - condition: template
    value_template: '{{ trigger.from_state != trigger.to_state }}'
action:
  - service: notify.mobile_app_iphone_3
    data:
      message: '{{states('sensor.ip_pubblico')}}'
      title: Il Tuo IP Pubblico è cambiato in
mode: single

Topolynx · June 13, 2022, 11:49am

Since it happened that I have received some duplicated notifications, finally I switched to a sensor made in Node-Red and the node node-red-contrib-public-ip-address.

Now the automation is really simplified without conditions, since the Node-Red flow doesn’t output state changes if the public ip address doesn’t change.

Here a screenshot of that simple flow and the code for sharing Thanks to you all!

Flow code:

[{"id":"c0facedc.0275a","type":"tab","label":"Sensore Ip Pubblico Per HA","disabled":false,"info":""},{"id":"ea8e2a74.4bfd98","type":"public-ip-address","z":"c0facedc.0275a","name":"","x":410,"y":300,"wires":[["5a6babd4.99f614"]]},{"id":"57c36e65.78a9d","type":"inject","z":"c0facedc.0275a","name":"Trigger ogni minuto","props":[{"p":"payload"},{"p":"topic","vt":"str"}],"repeat":"60","crontab":"","once":true,"onceDelay":0.1,"topic":"","payload":"","payloadType":"date","x":220,"y":300,"wires":[["ea8e2a74.4bfd98"]]},{"id":"5a6babd4.99f614","type":"ha-entity","z":"c0facedc.0275a","name":"Ip Pubblico Node-Red","server":"b6476084.b9987","version":2,"debugenabled":false,"outputs":1,"entityType":"sensor","config":[{"property":"name","value":"Ip Pubblico Node-Red"},{"property":"device_class","value":"sensor"},{"property":"icon","value":"mdi:ip-network"},{"property":"unit_of_measurement","value":""},{"property":"state_class","value":""},{"property":"last_reset","value":""}],"state":"payload","stateType":"msg","attributes":[{"property":"entity_id","value":"sensor.node-red.ip_pubblico","valueType":"str"}],"resend":true,"outputLocation":"","outputLocationType":"none","inputOverride":"allow","outputOnStateChange":false,"outputPayload":"","outputPayloadType":"str","x":620,"y":360,"wires":[["9deef2f7.9c2e1"]]},{"id":"4794ed24.5bc924","type":"inject","z":"c0facedc.0275a","name":"Test Ip 37.128.5.123","props":[{"p":"payload"},{"p":"topic","vt":"str"}],"repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"topic":"","payload":"37.128.5.123","payloadType":"str","x":210,"y":360,"wires":[["5a6babd4.99f614"]]},{"id":"3a43bebf.8bfa32","type":"inject","z":"c0facedc.0275a","name":"Test Ip 99.99.99.9","props":[{"p":"payload"},{"p":"topic","vt":"str"}],"repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"topic":"","payload":"99.99.99.9","payloadType":"str","x":210,"y":420,"wires":[["5a6babd4.99f614"]]},{"id":"9deef2f7.9c2e1","type":"debug","z":"c0facedc.0275a","name":"","active":false,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"false","statusVal":"","statusType":"auto","x":890,"y":360,"wires":[]},{"id":"b6476084.b9987","type":"server","name":"HA-Local","version":2,"addon":false,"rejectUnauthorizedCerts":false,"ha_boolean":"y|yes|true|on|home|open","connectionDelay":true,"cacheJson":true,"heartbeat":false,"heartbeatInterval":30}]

tom_l · June 13, 2022, 11:52am

Because you changed your condition from this (which is correct):

condition:
  - condition: template
    value_template: '{{ trigger.from_state.state != trigger.to_state.state }}'

To this (which is not)

condition:
  - condition: template
    value_template: '{{ trigger.from_state != trigger.to_state }}'

You want to compare the from and to states. Not the to and from state objects.

tarmo · January 12, 2023, 1:36pm

Hi guys!
This looks like a suitable thread for my question.
I have fiddled now with it a fair share of time and incline to think I’m into some strange bug here. Or I’m just plain stupid. Latter is more probable tho.

Anyway, I have a super simple automation to let know when car is locked-unlocked. Great and works!
Now what I want to exclude is when BMW Cloud connectivity is lost and I wouldn’t get false alarms once it’s back up, so I added conditions to make sure we are not dealing with unavailable values.

So what I do have is this:

alias: Notify on BMW Lock events
description: ""
trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id:
      - lock.320d_xdrive_lock
condition:
  - condition: template
    value_template: trigger.to_state.state != 'unavailable'
  - condition: template
    value_template: trigger.from_state.state != 'unavailable'
action:
  - service: notify.mobile_app_tarmos_iphone
    data:
      message: >-
        BMW now {{states('lock.320d_xdrive_lock')}}, from
        {{trigger.from_state.state}} to {{trigger.to_state.state}}
      title: BMW lock
mode: single

All works there without the conditions block. Without it, I get nice updates like:

The issue is - and I can’t figure it out - no matter of the state values I play with in the Dev Tools - with the conditions block as above - I get nothing and in trace it falls to the first branch:

… with

Result:
result: false
entities:

Essentially, I cant get trigger.to | from_state.state expressions to work, but displaying wise - all OK.

Thoughts? What I do wrong that I can’t spot?

robchandhok · February 6, 2023, 5:43pm

Probably should be something like

    value_template: '{{trigger.to_state.state != "unavailable"}}'

In other words, get your quoting more like the examples earlier in the thread.