How to edit REST address on the fly?

Configuration
1

Hi all, newbie here trying to figure out how to integrate an outside API into HA. This will be for Toggl, which I use for time tracking and it would be amazing if HA could make decisions based on it, since it gives very accurate readings of what I’m doing.

I want to fetch this data with REST sensors, but I unfortunately need to make 2, one after the other. I’ve already got the first one sorted:

 #toggl
  #get current time entry
  - platform: rest
    resource: https://www.toggl.com/api/v8/time_entries/current
    name: Toggl
    json_attributes:
        - data
    username: !secret TOGGL_TOKEN
    authentication: basic
    password: api_token
    value_template: '{{ value_json["data"]["description"]}}'
  - platform: template
    sensors:
      toggl_description:
        friendly_name: 'Description'
        value_template: '{{ states.sensor.Toggl.attributes.data.description }}'
      toggl_project_id:
        friendly_name: 'Project ID'
        value_template: '{{ states.sensor.Toggl.attributes.data.pid }}'
      toggl_duration:
        friendly_name: 'Duration'
        value_template: '{{ (states.sensor.Toggl.attributes.data.duration + (states.sensor.seconds_since_epoch.state|float))|timestamp_custom("%-H:%M", false) }}'

That returns me lots of good info, the most relevant of which is the project_id. I need this to make my second REST request, to get the project name. But for that, the URL needs to take the form of https://www.toggl.com/api/v8/projects/[PROJECT_ID].

I can’t figure out how to generate this URL on the fly. My failing attempt is below, although I’m now fairly sure that’s a dead end attempt.

- platform: rest
    resource: https://www.toggl.com/api/v8/projects/{{sensor.toggl_project_id}}
    name: Toggl Project
    json_attributes:
        - data
    username: !secret TOGGL_TOKEN
    authentication: basic
    password: api_token
    value_template: '{{ value_json["data"]["name"]}}'

Any advice/tricks on how to accomplish this easily without too much convolution? I’ve researched and can’t find a good way to make an appended string like this on the fly.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

2

Well, I think your main problem is you didn’t enclose the template in quotes. Also, you need to change the actual expression. Try this:

resource: "https://www.toggl.com/api/v8/projects/{{ states('sensor.toggl_project_id') }}"
3

Hmmm, definitely good thought. I ran that and still get a response of Invalid Project ID. I’m attempting to find out how to inspect what the ending address actually is when it makes the request, maybe in the logs somewhere.

Just a note, that I tried the address that it should be in curl and it’s working fine there.

4

Honestly, I’m not very surprised. I can go into details later if necessary. For now, what does sensor.toggl_project_id look like on the states page? Or, if you put this into the template editor:

{{ states.sensor.toggl_project_id }}

what do you get?

5

Screen caps to answer your questions:

image
image703×33 3.62 KB

image
image1396×258 18.7 KB

Oof, I can see why the template was having issues. That’s enlightening.

6

Actually, not really. The template used:

{{ states('sensor.toggl_project_id') }}

and the states function should have returned the state, which was 96189062. Is that right?

7

Ah, my mistake. Put in the old instead of the new.

image
image1152×179 15.3 KB

That looks like the address I want. Still getting a bad response back of Invalid Project ID. I’ve tried hardcoding the value into the the resource address, and that gets a valid response. So it still isn’t coming out right. Something about that implementation is still wrong somehow. Is there a way to view logs on rest requests made to see the requested address? Right now the only error I know how to see is what the response is.

8

Actually, I think the problem is that the REST Sensor’s resource parameter doesn’t seem to support templates. :frowning: I ran into the same thing earlier today. I just assumed it would support templates. It certainly should.

9

Found a few feature requests regarding this issue, I’m voting for this one here: RESTful Sensor - Support template in resource

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