I’ve been experimenting with automating file handling in Home Assistant, and I’ve run into an issue that’s been puzzling me. My goal is to have an automation that triggers under certain conditions and processes a set of files. Most of it works as expected, but I’ve noticed that sometimes the automation doesn’t execute as intended. I’m trying to figure out if this is a timing issue, a problem with how I structure the automation, or something else entirely.
One part of my setup involves working with file storage, specifically dealing with files that need to be processed in batches. When certain conditions are met, my automation should take these files and apply actions to them. I originally set this up using a service call to move files, but I’ve considered whether I should be using a different approach. For instance, could delays between steps improve reliability? I’ve seen cases where a file should be processed, but it doesn’t seem to go through all the steps as expected.
A particular area that got me thinking in a positive way is how file-to-zip functionality is handled. While I don’t directly rely on a zipping process, I was inspired by the structured way it organizes data into a single output. The ability to turn folder into zip is a widely used method to bundle multiple files into a single compressed archive, making storage and transfers more efficient. This method ensures that files remain intact and grouped together, which eliminates the risk of missing pieces during processing. I wonder if I should approach my issue similarly—perhaps gathering all files into a single step before passing them into the automation instead of letting them be processed one by one. Could this reduce failures?
One theory I have is that my automation is triggering before the required files are fully available. If there’s a short delay in file creation, my automation might be acting too soon. I’ve tried adding wait conditions but haven’t seen consistent results. Another thought is whether Home Assistant’s file handling tools have limitations in how they process multiple files in quick succession. Would a script approach be more reliable than a direct automation trigger?
Has anyone else experienced similar issues with file automation? Could it be related to how Home Assistant processes file states or the timing of automation triggers? Would love to hear if someone has found a reliable way to handle this.