Lcd_pcf8574 menu issues with type: custom

ESPHome
1

I have a simple lcd menu set up with esphome on a lcd_pcf8574.
It’s connected with a rotary encoder which controls the menu.
It is all working perfectly. I can operate simple menu items.

If I read Display Menu — ESPHome
correct I can create a custom menu item. I just can’t get it to work. Can anyone share a working example?

lcd_menu:
  items:
    - type: custom
      immediate_edit: false
      text: 'My Custom'
      value_lambda: 'return to_string(some_state);'
      on_next:
        then:
          lambda: 'some_state++;'
      on_prev:
        then:
          lambda: 'some_state--;'

The example is not working out of the box.

error: 'some_state' was not declared in this scope
       value_lambda: 'return to_string(some_state);'
                        ^~~~~~~~~~

How can I declare variable some_state the best way to get is minimalistic example working?

Below some config snapshots:

display:
  - platform: lcd_pcf8574
    id: my_lcd
    dimensions: 20x4
    i2c_id: bus_a
    address: 0x27
    update_interval: 1000ms
    user_characters:
      - position: 0
        data:  # mark_back symbol
          - 0b00100
          - 0b01000
          - 0b11110
          - 0b01001
          - 0b00101
          - 0b00001
          - 0b11110
          - 0b00000

lcd_menu:
  id: my_lcd_menu
  display_id: my_lcd
  active: false
  mode: rotary
  mark_back: 0x08
  mark_selected: 0x3e
  mark_editing: 0x2a
  mark_submenu: 0x7e
  on_enter:
    then:
      lambda: 'ESP_LOGI("display_menu", "root enter");'
  on_leave:
    then:
      lambda: 'ESP_LOGI("display_menu", "root leave");'
  items:

    - type: command
      text: 'Show Main'
      on_value:
        then:
          lambda: |-
            <blah blah>

    - type: command
      text: 'start full cycle'
      on_value:
        then:
          <blah blah>

    - type: menu
      text: 'Manual control'
      on_enter:
          then:
            lambda: 'ESP_LOGI("display_menu", "enter: %s", it->get_text().c_str());'
      on_leave:
          then:
            lambda: 'ESP_LOGI("display_menu", "leave: %s", it->get_text().c_str());'
      items:
        - type: back
          text: 'Back'

        - type: label
          text: !lambda |-
            <blah blah>
2

Lambda variables are always local to each lambda:

Declare a global variable in your yaml, you can then reference it in lambda using id(variable_name)

https://esphome.io/components/globals

3

Thank you, this was helping me in the right direction.

For future readers:

globals:
  - id: my_number
    type: int
    restore_value: no
    initial_value: '0'

- type: custom
  immediate_edit: false
  text: 'My Custom'
  value_lambda: 'return to_string(id(my_number));'
  on_next:
    then:
      lambda: 'id(my_number)++;'
  on_prev:
    then:
      lambda: 'id(my_number)--;'