Use a template sensor.
Also input_boolean will restore its state in a HA restart
Exactly, which was part of the question.
Ok, so I create this as a boolean_input:
testdoorswitch:
name: TestDoorSwitch
initial: on
icon: mdi:door-closed
Now how do I process the MQTT to turn this on/off?
I picture creating MQTT sensors like this:
- platform: mqtt
name: "TestDoorSwitchOPEN"
state_topic: "rflink/SelectPlus-065afa"
value_template: '{{ value_json["SWITCH02"] }}'
icon: mdi:door-open
- platform: mqtt
name: "TestDoorSwitchCLOSED"
state_topic: "rflink/SelectPlus-065af8"
value_template: '{{ value_json["SWITCH02"] }}'
icon: mdi:door-closed
I can create an automation based on these sensors that would flip the boolean_input.
But what I don’t understand is that once the sensor gets the “ON”, there is nothing to turn it off. I feel like I would still need to add something to set the OPEN sensor to “OFF” when the CLOSED sensor gets an “ON” message?
Does that make sense?
I made this change to my sensors (adding the expire_after value) and will see how this works:
- platform: mqtt
name: "TestDoorSwitchOPEN"
state_topic: "rflink/SelectPlus-065afa"
value_template: '{{ value_json["SWITCH02"] }}'
expire_after: 2
icon: mdi:door-open
- platform: mqtt
name: "TestDoorSwitchCLOSED"
state_topic: "rflink/SelectPlus-065af8"
value_template: '{{ value_json["SWITCH02"] }}'
expire_after: 2
icon: mdi:door-closed
I created these automations to process the data and make the boolean change:
- id: testdoorswitchopened
alias: testdoorswitch-opened
description: TestDoorSwitch Opened
trigger:
platform: state
entity_id: sensor.testdoorswitchopen
to: 'ON'
action:
- service: input_boolean.turn_on
data:
entity_id: input_boolean.testdoorswitch
- id: testdoorswitchclosed
alias: testdoorswitch-closed
description: TestDoorSwitch Closed
trigger:
platform: state
entity_id: sensor.testdoorswitchclosed
to: 'ON'
action:
- service: input_boolean.turn_off
data:
entity_id: input_boolean.testdoorswitch
I want to point out that your code won’t capture the door’s state when HA is not running (reboot etc).
If you don’t mind having yet another MQTT topic, it is possible to do the following:
- create an automation with MQTT triggers that will publish the received state (
ON/OFF) to a dedicated topic likehouse/ground_floor/doorwithretain: true - create a normal MQTT binary sensor for that topic - it will be your door sensor’s state
That way you’ll know the door’s last reported state even if you restart/shutdown your HA for a while (provided your MQTT broker is up and running).
Like this?
- id: testdoorswitchopened
alias: testdoorswitch-opened
description: TestDoorSwitch Opened
trigger:
platform: state
entity_id: sensor.testdoorswitchopen
to: 'ON'
action:
- service: input_boolean.turn_on
data:
entity_id: input_boolean.testdoorswitch
- service: mqtt.publish
data:
topic: doorswitches/testdoorswitch
payload: on
retain: true
- id: testdoorswitchclosed
alias: testdoorswitch-closed
description: TestDoorSwitch Closed
trigger:
platform: state
entity_id: sensor.testdoorswitchclosed
to: 'ON'
action:
- service: input_boolean.turn_off
data:
entity_id: input_boolean.testdoorswitch
- service: mqtt.publish
data:
topic: doorswitches/testdoorswitch
payload: off
retain: true
With binary_sensor:
- platform: mqtt
name: bs_testdoorswitch
state_topic: "doorswitches/testdoorswitch"
device_class: door
Do I still need the input_boolean?
you don’t need sensor.testdoorswitchopen, only bs_testdoorswitch.
you don’t need input_boolean as the data will be stored by MQTT broker.
you do need automations that trigger on state MQTT messages and publish ON/OFF and on “doorswitches/testdoorswitch” with retain: true
That’s why I need sensor.testdoorswitchopen - it reads the MQTT publish for opening since the switch itself sends one topic for open and a different topic for close.
Then I have those automations to do the publish commands for either the open or the close.
In my previous post I linked a MQTT trigger - don’t you think it’ll help you instead of MQTT sensor?
Oh, I see now. You mean this: MQTT TRIGGER
It did not show up as a hyperlink in your original message.
I dropped the sensors and changed the automations to:
- id: testdoorswitchopened
alias: testdoorswitch-opened
description: TestDoorSwitch Opened
trigger:
platform: mqtt
topic: "rflink/SelectPlus-065afa"
action:
- service: mqtt.publish
data:
topic: doorswitches/testdoorswitch
payload: on
retain: true
- id: testdoorswitchclosed
alias: testdoorswitch-closed
description: TestDoorSwitch Closed
trigger:
platform: mqtt
topic: "rflink/SelectPlus-065af8"
action:
- service: mqtt.publish
data:
topic: doorswitches/testdoorswitch
payload: off
retain: true
I will test with the actual door switch and will see how it works.
Thank you!
I’ve tested the following suggested solution and it works.
Step 1 - Create a binary_sensor to represent your door
Define a simple binary_sensor that subscribes to a “middleman” topic:
- platform: mqtt
name: 'Front Door'
state_topic: tmp/front_door
device_class: door
Restart Home Assistant to load the new binary_sensor.
Step 2 - Create an automation to manage the binary_sensor’s state
Create an automation that subscribes to both of the rflink’s topics. Depending on which topic triggers the automation, it will publish the appropriate state to the “middleman” topic.
- alias: 'Door Binary Sensor'
trigger:
- platform: mqtt
topic: rflink/SelectPlus-065afa
- platform: mqtt
topic: rflink/SelectPlus-065af8
action:
service: mqtt.publish
data_template:
topic: tmp/front_door
payload: "{{ 'ON' if trigger.topic[-1] == 'a' else 'OFF' }}"
retain: true
After creating the automation, be sure to click Configuration > Server Controls > Reload Automations
Proceed to test and confirm it works properly.
NOTE
The automation disregards the received payload. All it cares about is which of the two topics triggered it.
- If the topic’s name ends with the letter
'a'then that’s the topic (SelectPlus-065afa) responsible for indicating when the door is open so the automation publishesON. - If the triggering topic’s name doesn’t end with
'a'(meaning it was triggered by SelectPlus-065af8) then it publishesOFF.
If you know the topic’s payload should NOT be ignored (perhaps because it not only reports CMD: ON but also CMD: OFF) then let me know and we can adjust the automation.
EDIT
Simplified the suggested solution; it no longer relies on a python_script.
well, it does not seem to keep the last state after HA reboot, does it?
and as the mqtt sensor is subscribed to a dummy topic, maybe it can be replaced with a template sensor or something more basic?
actually, going this route we arrive to the beginning of this story - it’s easier to use input_boolean + mqtt automation, no need for python_script.set_state and the last state will survive HA restart. If needed, input_boolean can be wrapped with binary template sensor.
or I missed something?
No, you were right, the binary_sensor failed to maintain its state after a restart. Thanks for bringing that to my attention because, after reviewing my entire approach with fresh eyes, I was not only able to fix the deficiency, I simplified the solution.
It no longer relies on a python_script. The automation simply publishes the appropriate state to the binary_sensor’s topic (as a retained message). Easy-peasy.
I presume that all sensors don’t do that by design as they are not containers.
I don’t know about “by design” but what I overlooked to take into account (in the first version I had posted) was that on startup the binary_sensor would look to its state_topic to determine its current state. The topic has no message so Home Assistant sets the binary_sensor’s state to off by default.
In the revised version, the automation no longer uses python_script.set_state and opts for publishing a retained message to the binary_sensor’s state_topic. This effectively stores the binary_sensor’s value. On startup the binary_sensor acquires this retained message and so its state is restored to whatever it was prior to restart.
I have a bunch of MQTT Sensors and MQTT Binary_Sensors configured like this and yet I managed to forget all about it when I created the original suggestion! 
The code worked for me but I had to make a change to the binary_sensor to add the payload values.
- platform: mqtt
name: "TestDoorSwitch State"
state_topic: "doorswitches/testdoorswitch"
device_class: door
payload_on: on
payload_off: off
payload_available: "online"
payload_not_available: "offline"
Prior to this change, I was getting these errors in the log and it was not changing the state when I moved the switch back and forth.
2020-03-17 18:14:51 INFO (MainThread) [homeassistant.components.automation] Executing testdoorswitch-opened
2020-03-17 18:14:54 INFO (MainThread) [homeassistant.helpers.script] Script testdoorswitch-opened: Running script
2020-03-17 18:14:54 INFO (MainThread) [homeassistant.helpers.script] Script testdoorswitch-opened: Executing step call service
2020-03-17 18:14:55 WARNING (MainThread) [homeassistant.components.mqtt.binary_sensor] No matching payload found for entity: TestDoorSwitch State with state topic: doorswitches/testdoorswitch. Payload: True, with value template None
After I added the payload items then it worked just fine. However, I did not try restarting HA to see if it retained the messages. I will have to give that a try and report back.
Thanks!
I recommend you try the example I posted above. The binary_sensor’s configuration is far simpler (uses default values) and it requires only one automation.
Ok, as I had the code I would open the switch and restart HA or even reboot and when it came back up the binary_sensor was still showing open.
I changed my binary_sensor to match yours:
- platform: mqtt
name: "TestDoorSwitch State"
state_topic: "doorswitches/testdoorswitch"
device_class: door
And I changed my automation down to a single one to match yours as well:
- id: testdoorswitchopenedclosed
alias: testdoorswitch-openedclosed
description: TestDoorSwitch Action
trigger:
- platform: mqtt
topic: rflink/SelectPlus-065afa
- platform: mqtt
topic: rflink/SelectPlus-065af8
action:
service: mqtt.publish
data_template:
topic: doorswitches/testdoorswitch
payload: "{{ 'ON' if trigger.topic[-1] == 'a' else 'OFF' }}"
retain: true
It works and it keeps the last setting after restart or reboot.
However, if HA is down and I change the state of the switch it is not picked up when HA comes back online.
I think that makes sense since RFLink & espRFLinkMQTT are still capturing the events from the physical device and publishing the MQTT to the broker but HA is missing that message while it is offline. I’m not sure how to address that. Does espRFLinkMQTT need to publish those with retain as well or would that mess something else up?
Thank you all for your help. This works now. This last issue isn’t the end of the world but if there is a way to address it, it would be nice.
-TimG
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mate, that’s what I already warned you about above
you need a message with retain: true for the state to be preserved. and a running broker.