RESTFUL Sensor - limit the update to once per day

Development
1

Hi guys,

I have sensors which get their values from a website API.

sensor:
  - platform: rest
    name: Prayer Times 
    json_attributes:
      - fajr
      - dhuhr
      - asr
      - magrib
      - isha
    resource: https://www.somewebsite.com/api/times/?format=json&key=blank
    value_template: '{{ value_json.city }}' 
  - platform: template
    sensors:
      elm_fajr: #this will now be the official id of your sensor
        friendly_name: 'Fajr'
        value_template: '{{ state_attr("sensor.prayer_times","fajr") }}'
        device_class: timestamp
        icon_template: mdi:clock

How can I ensure that this only updates once per day (say, at 11pm).

I don’t know exactly how frequently it is updating in its present state and am worried about unnecessarily spamming the API provider’s servers unnecessarily.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you!

2

If you want it updated at a certain time you can set the scan_interval: to a really long time (say 172,000) and call the homeassistant.update_entity service in an automation that triggers at 11pm.

3

Thanks Tom.

I noticed that the documentation for scan_interval says: “These options are being phased out and are only available for single platform integrations.”

Is it best practice to use this (and set a really long timer)?

And thank you for pointing me to homeassistant.update_entity. That’s perfect! !:slight_smile:

4

I don’t see how you can use the update entity service without it in this situation. This is a perplexing development and I can’t find any more information about it.