Helpers in Home Assistant (Help!)

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Helpers in Home Assistant (Help!)

peejayw

1841 posts

Uber Geek

#293452 23-Jan-2022 08:27

I have purchased an Aqara Magic Cube (not arrived yet) to use to control lights, TV, Sound Volume etc in Home Assistant. I have found a Blueprint here that seems to do what I need but then it mentions needing a Helper and thats where my HA expertise flys out the window 😀.

If anyone knows what steps I need to take to get this set up and can point me in the right direction I would be most grateful.

Thanks.

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

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13457 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2855023 23-Jan-2022 08:30

should you not have looked into this before purchasing it?

peejayw

1841 posts

Uber Geek

#2855024 23-Jan-2022 08:37

No, not really. I can use it to do a simplified version of what I want using just my admittedly limited knowledge but the blueprint I referenced has an additional feature that I would like to be able to use, unfortunately I lack the know-how to implement it, hence my asking here.

Thanks for the input.

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

mattenz

190 posts

Master Geek

#2855025 23-Jan-2022 08:41

You've got a Zigbee hub?

peejayw

1841 posts

Uber Geek

#2855026 23-Jan-2022 08:59

Yep, a Conbee II

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

eonsim

398 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#2857960 28-Jan-2022 20:31

Helpers are just variables/values that you can manually control in home assistant they're a way for you to add inputs into automations. There are various types and you can create them through the GUI, have a look here for one of the standard ones: https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/input_boolean/

Or https://thesmarthomejourney.com/2021/10/09/home-assistant-helpers/ for some more examples.

Newtown

133 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

#2857982 28-Jan-2022 21:50

Fun project!

So, adding to eonsim's instructions:

Install the blueprint first
Navigate to the Helpers page (just add /config/helpers to the url, e.g. YOURIP:8123/config/helpers)
Add a Text helper and call it cube_current_side
Go back to list of blueprints
For the Cube blueprint, click on Create Automation
Pick the helper for (Required) Helper - Last Face

Are you happy with the Conbee II?

peejayw

1841 posts

Uber Geek

#2858034 29-Jan-2022 06:59

Thanks for the helpers 😀 Will have a go as soon as the cube arrives. I am using the Conbee on ZHA and it was very easy to use, totally plug and play.

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

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peejayw

1841 posts

Uber Geek

#2876291 28-Feb-2022 14:16

Well my Magic Cube has arrived and I have hit a snag, when I configure the blueprint I want to use, it is not being saved. I tried another blueprint which does not make use of the helper and it works fine so I am thinking I am doing something wrong in setting up the helper.

Here is what I did....

Config/Helpers/ Add new helper I create a new text helper called cube_current_side

Then I go to Automations and choose new automation from blueprint and select the blueprint I have downloaded. I fill in the blueprint to use, the device and the helper.

After I have set up all the configs I hit the save button but although I am not seeing an error messages, the automation is not saved.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

mattenz

190 posts

Master Geek

#2876348 28-Feb-2022 14:35

Are you getting any errors in the logs?

peejayw

1841 posts

Uber Geek

#2876357 28-Feb-2022 14:43

No, I am not seeing any errors and I have just noticed that although the automation is not being saved, it is showing the the automations.yaml file. It still doesnt work though.

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

mattenz

190 posts

Master Geek

#2876359 28-Feb-2022 14:47

What blueprint are you using?

peejayw

1841 posts

Uber Geek

#2876361 28-Feb-2022 14:55

This is the yaml file...

id: '1646011894287'

alias: Magic Cube

description: ''

use_blueprint:

path: miguellobato84/zha-aqara-magic-cube.yaml

input:

remote: 492244ad654a4bc6d120d8835e244034

helper_last_face: input_text.cube_current_side

flip_2:

- service: light.turn_on

data: {}

target:

entity_id: light.lounge

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

peejayw

1841 posts

Uber Geek

#2876373 28-Feb-2022 15:47

This one.

https://community.home-assistant.io/t/zha-aqara-magic-cube-24-actions/377162

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

mattenz

190 posts

Master Geek

#2876374 28-Feb-2022 15:49

Yep, that's not the YAML of the blue print, it's an example configuration.

I had this working a couple of days ago, but now it's not, which is strange! However, I certainly am getting an error in the logs. Could you try clearing the log, then adding the automation again via the blueprint, then refreshing the log?

peejayw

1841 posts

Uber Geek

#2876376 28-Feb-2022 15:54

That is taken from my automation.yaml and references the light I am trying to turn on light.lounge so wouldnt that mean its an actual file and not an example? I am confused. I will clear everything and start again and see if there are any errors showing in log, thanks.

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

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