Oddball plugins, any interest?

Posted on
Sun Mar 04, 2018 2:56 pm
kmarkley offline
Posts: 185
Joined: Nov 15, 2016

Oddball plugins, any interest?

I have few plugins that I use a lot but have not added to the plugin store. I suspect they're too peculiar to my system to be of general interest, but I could be wrong. Let me if any of these seem useful and I will clean them up and release them.

(You're also welcome to try them out directly from my github account. Just be aware that I am not as conscientious about releases and documentation for the ones not in the plugin store.)

Confirmed Lock

My ZWave locks have been pretty reliable, but one failed once -- which was enough for me to adopt a belt-and-suspenders approach.

This plugin will make multiple attempts to lock the lock and execute an action group (likely a notification) on failure (and optionally create a pester to repeat the action group). It will also check a door open/close sensor (if you have one) before attempting to lock, and will check a deadbolt sensor (if you have one) afterwards to confirm that the the lock is really, truly locked.

Group Change Listener

Previously released on the forums but not yet transferred to the plugin store. This is similar to berkinet's Group Trigger plugin, but more general (not limited to on/off or true/false device states). The intended use is to 'listen' for any kind of relevant change and then execute a tiny bit of python to determine whether to take action when the desired logic doesn't easily fit in trigger conditions. Here's an example I use for a buglight:

Code: Select all
(not isRaining) AND (zapperScheduledHours OR ((houseModeOutside) AND (not isDaylight)))


iTunes Local Control

A simple wrapper plugin to control local iTunes (i.e. on the same machine as Indigo) with applescript (via the approved applescript python module). I use it in conjunction with the official iTunes plugin to do things it can't like:

    • Activate and deactivate airplay devices
    • Set airplay device volumes (as % of master volume)
    • Slow fade the master volume
    • Set the shuffle mode (Songs, Albums, Groupings)
    • Set the EQ on/off setting and preset
    • Save/recall shuffle, repeat, volume, airplay, etc. to/from variables.
The complete list of available actions is quite extensive.

State Tree Actions

This plugin is a hierarchical state machine that I now use for about 65% of my automation.

I took the general idea of the Variable Watcher script described in the wiki and took it way way too far. It's bit complicated to describe succinctly, but all the details are on the github readme.

Unistat

This plugin co-opts Indigo thermostat devices as general purpose threshold-response devices.

Any numerical device state or variable value can be used as input (analogous to temperature), and devices can be switched on/off or action groups executed in response to the input value crossing a high threshold (analogous to cooling) and or low threshold (analogous to heating).

The point is to encapsulate related logic into a single device vs maintaining multiple triggers and variables. This is especially convenient if you want to change thresholds (setpoints) or change function (mode) like you would with a regular thermostat.

Posted on
Sun Mar 04, 2018 3:35 pm
Korey offline
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Re: Oddball plugins, any interest?

Cool! Thanks for sharing!

--
Korey

Posted on
Mon Mar 05, 2018 11:04 am
jay (support) offline
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Re: Oddball plugins, any interest?

kmarkley wrote:
I have few plugins that I use a lot but have not added to the plugin store. I suspect they're too peculiar to my system to be of general interest, but I could be wrong. Let me if any of these seem useful and I will clean them up and release them.


I don't think any of them sound specific enough to your system that they wouldn't be useful, so I'd encourage publishing them. If they're already on GitHub, then you're basically done anyway - just add a release (if you haven't already). Icons are nice but not required.

kmarkley wrote:
The intended use is to 'listen' for any kind of relevant change and then execute a tiny bit of python to determine whether to take action when the desired logic doesn't easily fit in trigger conditions. Here's an example I use for a buglight:

Code: Select all
(not isRaining) AND (zapperScheduledHours OR ((houseModeOutside) AND (not isDaylight)))



Just curious - isn't this the same thing?

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Jay (Indigo Support)
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Posted on
Mon Mar 05, 2018 11:31 am
kmarkley offline
Posts: 185
Joined: Nov 15, 2016

Re: Oddball plugins, any interest?

jay (support) wrote:
I'd encourage publishing them.

ok

jay (support) wrote:
Just curious - isn't this the same thing?

Yes, but also not really the point now that I think about it. Using conditions works fine for turning the device on, but a second trigger is still required to turn it off.

The plugin creates triggers that fire when any of a selected group of devices or variables has any change. So a single trigger can fire if any of isRaining, zapperScheduledHours, houseModeOutside, or isDaylight changes. Once the trigger fires, you can use conditions to determine action in one direction or python to determine action in both directions.

Either way, the point is to create/maintain fewer triggers total to get the desired effect.

Posted on
Mon Mar 05, 2018 1:02 pm
jay (support) offline
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Re: Oddball plugins, any interest?

kmarkley wrote:
Yes, but also not really the point now that I think about it. Using conditions works fine for turning the device on, but a second trigger is still required to turn it off.

The plugin creates triggers that fire when any of a selected group of devices or variables has any change. So a single trigger can fire if any of isRaining, zapperScheduledHours, houseModeOutside, or isDaylight changes. Once the trigger fires, you can use conditions to determine action in one direction or python to determine action in both directions.

Either way, the point is to create/maintain fewer triggers total to get the desired effect.


Gotcha, I was just curious. Sounds like a worthwhile plugin to have in the store.

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Posted on
Tue Mar 06, 2018 9:18 pm
matt (support) offline
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Re: Oddball plugins, any interest?

We just published / approved all your submitted plugins. Thanks for taking the time to submit them to the plugin store!

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Posted on
Wed Mar 07, 2018 10:26 am
jay (support) offline
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Re: Oddball plugins, any interest?

Yes, thanks! The ecosystem is what makes Indigo strong.

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Posted on
Sat May 02, 2020 6:53 am
rgspb offline
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Location: Florida

Re: Oddball plugins, any interest?

Will you be updating iTunes Local Control to work with Catalina?

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