How can I verify that an advanced option has taken effect?

[saturnv5]

I'm trying out the automated_dampening_suppression_entity option and here's what my solcast-advanced.json file looks like:

{
    "automated_dampening_suppression_entity": "curtail_solar"
}

What's the best way to verify this has actually taken effect? I have DEBUG logging enabled.

I am seeing what appears to be a an error in the logs, but not sure if that's just transient (if I edit the file again, the error doesn't show up again):

2025-12-16 12:16:15.986 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.coordinator] Running task watchdog_advanced
2025-12-16 12:16:15.989 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.coordinator] Monitoring /config/solcast_solar/solcast-advanced.json
2025-12-16 12:16:16.491 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.solcastapi] Advanced options file /config/solcast_solar/solcast-advanced.json exists
2025-12-16 12:16:16.497 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.coordinator] Cancelled task watchdog_advanced
2025-12-16 12:16:16.497 ERROR (MainThread) [homeassistant] Error doing job: Task exception was never retrieved (None)
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/config/custom_components/solcast_solar/coordinator.py", line 403, in watch_advanced_file
    change = await self.solcast.read_advanced_options()
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/config/custom_components/solcast_solar/solcastapi.py", line 520, in read_advanced_options
    if option not in options_present:
                     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
UnboundLocalError: cannot access local variable 'options_present' where it is not associated with a value

Thanks!

[BJReplay]

I have DEBUG logging enabled.

@saturnv5 This is the way.

You'll see the advanced options set when:

• the date rolls at midnight:

2025-12-16 00:00:00.160 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.coordinator] Date has changed, recalculating splines, setting up auto-updates, updating estimated actuals and generation data
2025-12-16 00:00:00.161 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.solcastapi] Advanced option set estimated_actuals_log_ape_percentiles: [10, 50]
2025-12-16 00:00:00.161 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.solcastapi] Advanced option set estimated_actuals_log_mape_breakdown: True
2025-12-16 00:00:00.161 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.solcastapi] Advanced option set forecast_day_entities: 14
2025-12-16 00:00:00.161 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.solcastapi] Advanced option set reload_on_advanced_change: True
2025-12-16 00:00:00.161 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.solcastapi] Resetting failure statistics
2025-12-16 00:00:00.215 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.solcastapi] Saved dampened cache

• if you have the reload_on_advanced_change set to true

• or if you reload:

2025-12-16 13:45:19.371 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.coordinator] Cancelling coordinator task listeners
2025-12-16 13:45:19.372 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.coordinator] Cancelling coordinator task check_fetch
2025-12-16 13:45:19.372 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.coordinator] Cancelling coordinator task midnight_update
2025-12-16 13:45:19.372 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.coordinator] Cancelling coordinator task watchdog_advanced_start
2025-12-16 13:45:19.372 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.coordinator] Cancelling coordinator task watchdog_advanced
2025-12-16 13:45:19.377 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Remove action solcast_solar.clear_all_solcast_data
2025-12-16 13:45:19.377 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Remove action solcast_solar.force_update_estimates
2025-12-16 13:45:19.378 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Remove action solcast_solar.force_update_forecasts
2025-12-16 13:45:19.378 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Remove action solcast_solar.get_dampening
2025-12-16 13:45:19.378 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Remove action solcast_solar.query_estimate_data
2025-12-16 13:45:19.378 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Remove action solcast_solar.query_forecast_data
2025-12-16 13:45:19.378 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Remove action solcast_solar.remove_hard_limit
2025-12-16 13:45:19.378 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Remove action solcast_solar.set_dampening
2025-12-16 13:45:19.378 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Remove action solcast_solar.set_hard_limit
2025-12-16 13:45:19.379 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Remove action solcast_solar.update_forecasts
2025-12-16 13:45:19.380 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Options actuals: {'get_actuals': True, 'use_actuals': 0}
2025-12-16 13:45:19.380 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Options attributes: {'attr_brk_detailed': False, 'attr_brk_estimate': False, 'attr_brk_estimate10': True, 'attr_brk_estimate90': False, 'attr_brk_halfhourly': True, 'attr_brk_hourly': False, 'attr_brk_site': False}
2025-12-16 13:45:19.380 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Options auto: {'auto_dampen': True, 'auto_update': 1}
2025-12-16 13:45:19.380 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Options custom: {'customhoursensor': 15}
2025-12-16 13:45:19.380 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Options estimate: {'key_estimate': 'estimate'}
2025-12-16 13:45:19.380 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Options exclude: {'exclude_sites': []}
2025-12-16 13:45:19.380 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Options export: {'site_export_entity': '', 'site_export_limit': 0.0}
2025-12-16 13:45:19.380 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Options generation: {'generation_entities': ['sensor.legacygateway_solar_export']}
2025-12-16 13:45:19.380 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Options limit: {'hard_limit_api': '100.0'}
2025-12-16 13:45:19.380 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Options schema: v18
2025-12-16 13:45:19.380 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar] Options update_max: {'api_quota': '20'}
2025-12-16 13:45:19.403 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.solcastapi] Configuration directory is /config/solcast_solar
2025-12-16 13:45:19.404 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.solcastapi] Advanced options file /config/solcast_solar/solcast-advanced.json exists
2025-12-16 13:45:19.406 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.solcastapi] Advanced option proposed forecast_day_entities: 14
2025-12-16 13:45:19.407 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.solcastapi] Advanced option set estimated_actuals_log_ape_percentiles: [10, 50]
2025-12-16 13:45:19.407 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.solcastapi] Advanced option set estimated_actuals_log_mape_breakdown: True
2025-12-16 13:45:19.407 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.solcastapi] Advanced option set forecast_day_entities: 14
2025-12-16 13:45:19.407 DEBUG (MainThread) [custom_components.solcast_solar.solcastapi] Advanced option set reload_on_advanced_change: True

[saturnv5]

Thanks! I reloaded the integration and could confirm the option was indeed set.

[BJReplay]

If you were editing with the Visual Studio add-on, and you had a partially edited file, that error may have been thrown by the integration loading the partial edit.

[saturnv5]

I was indeed using the VS add-on, so that's almost certain what happened. Thanks!

[BJReplay]

Note, you'll also typically see some logging associated with many advanced options (but not all).

@saturnv5 Post your advanced options here - at a guess, it looks like an error in the contents or formatting of the file that has caused that error.

[autoSteve]

Thanks for the exception report, @saturnv5.

This will now be suppressed in v4.4.10, with an HA issue raised instead.

[BJReplay]

@autoSteve with the Visual Studio Code add-on, when VS Code is set to auto-save, it can be saving the solcast-advance.json file in inconsistent (invalid) states.

An issue arises when you've previously saved it with reload_on_advanced_change: True set, so the file change watchdog is watching; then with (pretty much) any keystroke, VS Code saves it, and the integration reloads it; this can see it reloading with at best an invalid key, and at worst, with invalid json.

I'm pretty sure I've seen similar errors.

[autoSteve]

Indeed.

Auto-save after a period of do-nothing is the default.

For a quickie, command-shift-P for me (MacOS, or ctrl-shift-P for Windoze/Linux) and toggle auto-save.

Auto-save is the work of The Devil and I hate it.

[autoSteve]

Righto.

The latest commit to PR #421 builds in a sixty-second dead-man switch to cope with auto-save being turned on by default.

(Why anyone would want to auto-save anything other than a Word or Excel document is beyond me. I blame Microsoft for the fad, driven by need because their products crash, often spectacularly and without warning, in the past causing the loss of potentially hours of hard labour.)

(Hang on... VSCode is a Microsoft product... This explains a lot. Heh. He, heh. Bwahaha he, he, heh. Yeah I've had it spectacularly crash and lose code, so fair enough...)

Theory of operation goes thusly:

1. Auto-save with an invalid JSON file while still editing, and a warning is issued that an issue will be raised in 60 seconds.
2. Continue editing until you're happy, with each subsequent auto-save resetting the clock.
3. Finish on a valid file, and save (or wait for the abomination that is auto-save), and the clock gets cancelled.
4. Finish on an invalid file, and after sixty seconds of not being f*cked with by auto-save, the automation will raise an issue and log an error about file format.